After his Yang-Fire Physique evolved into the Gold-Flame Physique, Qi Ping could clearly sense the terrifying flame buried deep within his bloodline.
'The True Fire of the Great Sun!'
The presence of this flame gave him a peerless fire-attribute talent, constantly tempering his body toward an even more powerful state.
'My affinity with fire-attribute spiritual energy has increased dramatically! My perception of the Fire Laws is much clearer; I can channel far more Fire Intent now. Spiritual energy flows through my body with incredible fluidity, and my refinement speed has skyrocketed!'
The tests left Qi Ping reeling with shock.
'No wonder some people can advance so quickly with only mediocre resources; the efficiency granted by a superior talent is simply too high!'
'My advancement through the Foundation Establishment stage will be much faster now.'
He was immensely satisfied. His current goal was to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment and break through to the Golden Core realm. He intended to lead with the fire attribute; with his Beastmaster's Flame, solar essence, and Gold-Flame Physique, his understanding of the Fire Laws was his deepest path. It offered the lowest risk for a breakthrough.
Once he reached the Golden Core stage and gathered a Five-Element Physique, he could transition to the path of the Five Elements. He wanted to walk the path of the "Creation of All Things," but that was a goal for the future. For now, in a domain filled with experts stronger than him, his priority was raw cultivation.
After letting Yaya familiarize itself with its new power, Qi Ping began arranging the inventory of his spoils.
'Two years have passed. The eyes of the world should have moved on. It's time to harvest!'
Hundreds of thousands of spirit stones! Various treasures, ores, and weapons! Dozens of storage bags filled with techniques, spells, and knowledge! Qi Ping had endured for two years before touching this wealth.
It wasn't paranoia. In the first few months after the "Bee Daoist" incident, large groups of people had scoured the region, hoping to find the loot stolen from the families. He didn't know if they used secret methods or simply got lucky, but they had actually found several of his stashes.
Even though he had personally checked those storage bags to ensure no tracking marks remained, five or six of them were still discovered. Fortunately, he had split the loot from each family into dozens of different locations, so the losses were minimal.
It was a relief he hadn't gathered everything in one place. Losing money was one thing, but exposing his main body or the fact that the Bee Daoist was alive would have been catastrophic. Provoking the Celestial Alliance into a full-scale manhunt was a risk he couldn't take.
What bothered him most wasn't the lost wealth, but the how. How were those stashes found?
'I've only scratched the surface of the path of cultivation. It's normal that I don't understand everything.'
'This harvest includes thousands of books on techniques and knowledge. There must be many regarding tracking... Once I study them all, I should be able to figure it out. My knowledge and foundation will be much richer.'
To Qi Ping, this wealth of knowledge was far more valuable than spirit stones. He could always earn money, especially as a Druid, but such a massive collection of knowledge was a rare opportunity. Many of these books were things he wouldn't even have thought to buy—a limitation of his own perspective. Once he digested the archives of those families, his worldview would undergo a quantum leap.
After finalizing his plan, Qi Ping took his Treant Clone, the Gold-Flame Crow, the mid-tier second-grade Hundred-Eyed Flower Demon, and the bee swarm and left the territory. He traveled far from Qishi County and spent several days setting up ten mid-tier second-grade arrays before he began retrieving and counting the loot.
He did this out of an abundance of caution, fearing that a late-stage expert might have found a stash and set a trap, waiting for the "Bee Daoist" to return. But with these arrays and the support of Yaya and the Flower Demon, he was ready to face even multiple late-stage experts.
Once prepared, he had the Treant Clone retrieve a tenth of the spoils and began the count. He then used his Black Market token to summon the box puppet.
The first transaction was smooth. After the sale, he received 53,697 low-grade spirit stones, along with some ores and a large amount of literature. He then hid the proceeds in a new, separate location.
A week later, he processed the next tenth. He wasn't in a hurry; safety was paramount. Staying here didn't hinder his comprehension of the Fire Laws; in fact, the change in environment seemed to improve his efficiency.
'It's not bad to change scenery for enlightenment once in a while.'
He continued this process every week, successfully clearing seven-tenths of the haul. From these portions alone, he gathered approximately 370,000 spirit stones, along with a mountain of ores and jade slips. Everything was safely hidden.
However, an incident occurred as he was retrieving the eighth portion. Shortly after the bees brought the stash back, three late-stage Foundation Establishment auras closed in on his position!
Qi Ping's heart skipped a beat.
'Someone is here?'
'So someone was watching my loot!'
He had only been acting out of caution, but he had actually caught some "big fish." He was glad he had been so thorough.
'Three late-stage experts?'
He triggered Natural Perception multiple times. Once he confirmed there was no overwhelming, unavoidable danger, he finally relaxed. He looked at the Gold-Flame Crow and the Flower Demon by his side, then at the fifteen arrays he had deployed...
Since he had gained the Gold-Flame Physique and Heaven-Earth Favor, the power of his fire-attribute arrays was on a completely different level.