With Yaya's full assistance and his own Solar Fire Physique, it had taken Qi Ping two months to create the advanced Great Sun Refinement Method and the Great Sun Body Tempering Art. They were only foundational prototypes, but they could be practiced perfectly and possessed high potential. To reach a truly peak level, one would need to spend much more time and energy.
However, this was enough for Qi Ping. The rest could be left to the Sun-Blaze Wood to grow and perfect according to its own needs. In these two arts, the advanced refinement method possessed far greater traction and refinement capabilities than the common Star-Dust method, being perfectly tailored for solar power. The Body Tempering Art purified that power and used it to temper the tree itself, allowing the Sun-Blaze Wood to strengthen rapidly and produce even higher-quality Solar Essence.
Qi Ping tested them several times to ensure there were no issues. He then etched the Great Sun Refinement Method into a Tree-Spirit Imprint and sent it into the tree spirit.
'The scent of sunlight!'
'Is this how I eat more sunlight? Amazing!'
Sensing the tree's will, he knew the first step was a success. The critical part was the second step: etching the Great Sun Body Tempering Art. He didn't rush this, waiting for over a month until the tree had basic mastery over the first art before nervously etching the second.
'A way to improve the purity of sunlight and use it to strengthen my body?'
'Wonderful!'
"Success!"
Confirming the tree was learning the second art smoothly, Qi Ping finally breathed easy. Although the tree was noticeably slower in learning the second art, it was indeed succeeding. With time for adjustment, it would perfectly merge the two!
With this, all four spirit woods were successfully etched! The Star-Dust and Moon-Glow trees used refinement methods to accelerate resource production and their own growth. The Ghost-Iron Tree used the Ghost-Stone Forging Art to temper itself while forging the Ghost-Stone Scale Armor for Qi Ping.
The final one was the Sun-Blaze Wood standing before him!
Currently, the sunlight in his territory was intense. Vast amounts of solar power were being pulled in by the tree and the crow perched upon it. Under the effect of the Body Tempering Art, Solar Essence far more violent than normal fire pulsed through the trunk, and fierce flames burned in the surroundings.
The black crow on the treetop refused to be outdone; the commotion it caused was even more startling than the tree's! After Qi Ping created these two arts, Yaya was actually the one who benefited most! During the creation process, Qi Ping had shared all his insights, principles, and the final results with Yaya without reservation. After integrating these things with its own bloodline, inherited memories, and the strengths of various manuals, its cultivation efficiency had skyrocketed!
Undoubtedly, with Yaya's talents and the support of the Sun-Blaze Wood, its strength would now enter a period of soaring growth!
While Qi Ping was peacefully nurturing his trees and creating techniques, the mysterious organization whose subordinates he had wiped out was searching for him frantically to seek revenge. For so many years, aside from the Black Market, few had dared to be so arrogant toward them! They set ambushes in many places, even deploying a Golden Core master and nearly ten Foundation Establishment experts. But against a man who hid at the first sign of trouble, their ambushes were for naught.
And they were destined to remain so!
At the same time, the war between the Qingyuan Sect and several other sects was gradually drawing to a close. More than ten Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators were gathered in a massive, energy-rich secret realm—a ruin that likely held an extraordinary inheritance!
However, these high-level masters were puzzled. They had searched the entire Qingtian Domain but had found no trace of the legendary Demon Insect King. They couldn't even find news of the final quarter of the key needed to open the extraordinary inheritance.
"According to the divination made ten years ago with a supreme treasure, the Demon Insect King should have appeared by now to begin the blood sacrifice, and the final quarter of the key should have appeared with it! Which link went wrong?"
"Who knows? We've practically turned the Qingtian Domain upside down. I'm starting to suspect one of you found it and hid it!"
"Don't start infighting at this stage. Finding a solution is the priority! Based on the previous disputes, your Qingyuan Sect holds the largest share. If it doesn't open, your loss will be the greatest!"
"Should we ask that person to perform another divination?"
"Do you have any idea how terrifying the cost is to have him act? Will you pay it?"
"But we've already paid so much. The loss in taxes and population alone is staggering, not to mention our initial investment. Can you bear the cost of giving up halfway?"
"Then tell me, what should we do?"
After a moment of silence, a voice spoke up.
"At this point, we have no choice but to start the blood sacrifice ourselves! If we can't find the final quarter of the key, then so be it. We will use the three-quarters we have to disrupt the restrictions, and then all of us will use my Astral Array to break through!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression shifted; the air seemed to freeze. It was a long time before someone spoke.
"Forming an array to break the restrictions is fine. But if we start the blood sacrifice ourselves, do you think the eyes above are blind? If you want to die, don't drag us with you!"
The others nodded in agreement. However, the person who made the suggestion had clearly anticipated this and replied calmly.
"Have that organization gather a batch of people for us! With them involved, those above won't act rashly. At most, we'll source fewer people. We can sacrifice a few more of our own disciples, especially those with special constitutions. That should be enough."
After another silence, voices responded.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Some remained silent for a long time before finally nodding their heads in resolve.
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
Qi Ping remained unaware of the bloody storm brewing in the shadows of the Qingtian Domain. He only knew that his four contracted spirit woods were thriving, and the spirit vein was improving rapidly. It had reached the mid-stage of Rank 1 and was on the verge of breaking through to the late stage. As his four trees grew and strengthened, the speed of the spirit vein's improvement also increased; using Rank 3 trees to nurture a Rank 1 vein produced miraculous results.
'I will focus on boosting the Sun-Blaze Wood first to raise Yaya's strength and bloodline!'
'Once the spirit vein breaks through to Rank 2, that will be the time my own cultivation speed truly takes off!'