Spirit Vein Essence: The source of life energy in the cultivation world. It produces spiritual energy that grants vitality to all things and nourishes the world. It is one of the primal forces of the cultivation world.
The most fundamental way for Spirit Vein Essence to grow is via the mountain and earth pulses. At the center of the earth's network, it absorbs natural forces to form a special spirit vein. The more powerful the mountain pulses, the stronger the vein they can nurture. A spirit vein is a special location formed by the combination of the essence and the earth's pulses, capable of gathering natural force and rapidly condensing and conducting spiritual energy.
'Earth pulses are the foundation, but they aren't very useful for me...'
For one, the best mountain ranges in the world were already occupied by major powers; Qi Ping couldn't compete for them. Secondly, relying purely on the earth pulses meant the vein would take years, even decades, to form. The advantage of the earth pulses was their massive range, but the slow formation was a disadvantage.
The mediocre mountain pulses of the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range meant Qi Ping couldn't take that path. Furthermore, if the range produced a massive, powerful vein, it would be a curse rather than a blessing for him!
'So, the traditional path of earth pulses doesn't suit me. The best way for me is to nurture the vein with spiritual objects!'
'However, I have an advantage in comprehending natural forces. I can use arrays to draw a portion of the earth's and nature's power into the Spirit Vein Essence, accelerating its growth and energy production.'
This wouldn't have a massive effect, but it would be a steady stream, enough to support the growth of ordinary spirit herbs. Especially since Qi Ping's arrays would lock all the energy within his territory, the results would be quite substantial. For a large sect, it would be a drop in the bucket, but for one person, it was excellent.
'Then comes nurturing the essence with spiritual objects...'
The cost of this was high, but it was an inevitable choice for many rogue cultivators. Some powerful cultivators who preferred solitary practice also used a combination of earth pulses and spiritual objects to accelerate growth. The high cost brought benefits: it allowed the vein to grow quickly and kept the energy confined to a small area. Furthermore, using different spiritual objects could imbue the vein with special effects.
The better the objects used, the better the effects. For example, if someone used Earth-Fire Essence, the resulting vein would have fire-attribute properties, greatly benefiting those practicing fire techniques. Or, if someone used a cultivator's corpse, the vein would be full of resentment and killing intent, perfect for demonic techniques.
'If I use spirit tree essence as the primary fuel, supplemented by the Five Elements and the power of the Sun, Moon, and Stars... what kind of vein will be born?'
Qi Ping had great ambitions for his spirit vein. First, his advantage in nurturing it came from his skills, Tree-Spirit Contract and Natural Sanctuary.
Within the range of the Natural Sanctuary, trees contracted via Tree-Spirit Contract can recover rapidly as long as they aren't dead.
With these two skills, he could nurture the spirit vein at maximum speed without spending a fortune on external objects, simply by using the essence of his own spirit trees. Furthermore, a vein nurtured with the essence of various spirit trees would likely have extraordinary effects, at least for a Druid.
'Unfortunately, in all the books I've read, I've never seen anyone nurture a vein solely with spirit tree essence. The cost is simply too high!'
'If it weren't for the Natural Sanctuary, even with Plant Growth, I wouldn't be able to afford such a luxury.'
His intuition told him that if he continued this way for years, he would create a truly unique spirit vein, especially by using those rare spirit woods. His goal went even further: he wanted to add the Five Elements and the Sun, Moon, and Stars. The Five Elements were the foundation of laws, and the Sun, Moon, and Stars were among the most unique forces in nature. Integrating these into the vein would undoubtedly benefit both Qi Ping and the vein's growth, potentially raising its growth ceiling significantly.
Having decided on the method, he immediately took action. He took out the radiant Spirit Vein Essence and placed it underground at the center of his array. Then, he spent some effort setting up two more arrays: one to draw in the power of the earth pulses and another for natural force. These were not difficult for an array master, and Qi Ping had already prepared for them; with his Tri-Color Spirit talent, setting them up was even easier.
'The array for the earth pulses is enough. Any more would cause anomalies in the mountain range. But the array for natural force can be researched further. The power of nature in this world is so vast; as long as my array skills are high enough, it doesn't matter how powerful the array is!'
As the forces were poured in, the Spirit Vein Essence began to revive, and strands of pure spiritual energy drifted from it.
"Not bad, not bad!" Feeling the pure energy, Qi Ping was filled with joy. He could finally produce his own spiritual energy! From now on, no one could hold him by the throat because of a spirit vein!
After setting up the arrays, he used a spirit herb refinement method to extract about ten percent of the tree essence from the Star-Dust Wood. Once extracted, the tree became noticeably weaker, but it wasn't a major issue. Within the Natural Sanctuary, the injured wood would slowly recover. Because it involved the essence of life, the recovery wasn't instant, but it wasn't slow either.
'It should be fully recovered in a while!'
After confirming the tree's status, he went to the spirit vein and covered it with the tree essence. As the essence appeared, the vein seemed to sense it and began to actively absorb it! With the essence absorbed, the vein's aura strengthened, and it produced even more energy!
'The effect is great!'
'At this rate, once I raise the four Rank 3 spirit woods, it shouldn't take many years for this essence to reach Rank 1 Great Perfection or even evolve into a Rank 2 vein. Then I can truly focus on spirit herbs and my own cultivation.'
He was very satisfied. And this was just using a Rank 2 tree; once his Rank 3 woods matured, the vein's growth would accelerate even more.
Just as the spiritual energy from the vein increased, the little Stone Spirit—who usually couldn't be woken even by a loud noise—suddenly woke up!