Through his testing, Qi Ping discovered that the Lord of Mountains and Rivers talent was not limited to Mountain-River Favor, Projection, and Ruling. It could be developed in many other ways.
'In essence, since I obtained this talent, I am the true ruler of the Qingtian Domain. It's just that because my unlock progress is low, I can only use a portion of that power.'
'But even that portion is enough to play a huge role—for instance, in the field of formations.'
Formations were, at their core, the manipulation of heaven-earth power. Most formation masters had to spend long periods of time learning complex methods to manifest that power based on their comprehension of laws. But as the ruler of the land, Qi Ping had a peerless advantage. Manipulating the power of mountains and rivers was, for him, almost as easy as manipulating the spiritual energy in his own body.
Recently, while setting up formations, he found that powerful arrays he had struggled to build in the past could now be set up effortlessly! This was a massive surprise. His formation level would surely advance by leaps and bounds, drastically closing the gap with Ling Qianjue.
Thus, he set a plan to quickly learn Rank 3 formations and comprehend parts of Rank 4 formations. With his talent, he was confident he could achieve this. Rank 3 knowledge was not hard for him to find within the Qingyuan Sect. The only trouble was Rank 4 knowledge, which he currently lacked the authority to access.
He planned to secretly complete some tasks for the mysterious Black Market in the neighboring Sky-Fire Domain to earn enough points for Rank 4 knowledge without alerting local powers.
Furthermore, he discovered that while he had an advantage in building formations, he had an even greater one in dismantling them! Building required profound knowledge, but dismantling just required disrupting the flow of energy. For other cultivators, this was difficult, but for Qi Ping, who held authority over the land's power, it was easy!
Once he confirmed these two things, he decided to focus all his energy—aside from plant nurturing—on formations.
'As long as my formation level reaches the point where I can quickly destroy Rank 4 arrays, Ling Qianjue's identity as a Rank 4 Formation Master will no longer be a threat.'
Eliminating a formation master's ability to use arrays was like cutting off his strongest arm.
Moreover, his urgency to improve his formation level served another important purpose: to completely shatter the leyline arrays Ling Qianjue had placed underground and rescue the Geo-Fire Salamanders. Qi Ping was certain that once these two things were done, his control over the Qingtian Domain would rise significantly, and his Power of Living Beings would explode, greatly increasing his chances of victory.
For cultivators above the Golden Core stage, time passed quickly. A single session of comprehension could take several years. For Qi Ping, twenty years passed in a flash.
He had intended to continue his seclusion, but today, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. A vague sense of crisis stirred in his instincts, warning him that danger was coming and he needed to prepare.
"Danger is coming? What's going on?"
Sensing that faint warning, he immediately became alert. He hadn't felt this way in many years; its reappearance made him tense. He immediately thought of Ling Qianjue's schemes, but he didn't jump to conclusions, as blind attribution in the cultivation world was foolish.
He called the Little Immortal Tiger to perform a deduction. After a while, a thread of blood actually leaked from the tiger's mouth. Qi Ping immediately stopped it.
"I understand. You don't need to continue. I'll handle the rest!"
Seeing the blood, Qi Ping was glad the tiger was a beast of favor. Its luck-power had blocked the backlash of the heavenly secrets; otherwise, it would have been heavily injured. This wasn't an attack from another master of secrets, but a backlash caused by the scale of the matter being deduced. This was why Qi Ping didn't dare practice the path of secrets himself; without immense lifespan or luck-protection, it was a path to self-destruction.
'However, it is now certain that this is related to Ling Qianjue. But what could cause such a backlash?'
In the final scene, the tiger had only seen a massive, bizarre green object that shrouded the sky, with countless strange things attached to it. Then, the deduction had to be cut short.
'Regardless, it is time to move. If the Qingtian Domain is destroyed, my path to longevity will be much harder.'
With that, Qi Ping began to count his accumulations and growth from the past twenty years to determine his plan of action.
One important task he had completed was the development of a second sanctuary. In a secret, deep underground layer several domains away from the Qingtian Domain, beneath a layer of incredibly hard rock, he had transformed a worthless, abandoned site into a fortress protected by powerful concealment and defense arrays. Even a Golden Core cultivator would find it a deathtrap.
Within these arrays were silhouettes of King-Grade bees, and at the center was a terrifying tree radiating the aura of the Yellow Spring! A massive amount of spirit stones and Yin-attribute items were piled around it for absorption.
This was the Yellow Spring Tree, a legendary wood. Legend said that when it matured, it could communicate with the Netherworld! Now, this miracle tree had completed a Life-Binding Covenant with Qi Ping. From now on, no matter where Qi Ping died, as long as this tree lived, he could be resurrected here!
With this second base, Qi Ping had much more confidence in venturing through the cultivation world.
'With this second sanctuary and my thick Power of Living Beings, I can finally go all out!'
With his life secured, the priority was to fight for resources and protect his territory.
Secondly, his animal companions had grown significantly over the past twenty years. The Little Immortal Tiger, Little Spirit Fox, Little Flower Fey, Little Green Snake, and the Four-Colored Deer had all reached the peak of Rank 2 and were ready for breakthrough.
The Little Green Snake, in particular, had begun to show its terrifying talent and growth. With Qi Ping's resources and the knowledge of his other companions to learn from, it had become matchless in the second rank—body, soul, combat skill, spells, and experience were all flawless. It was even more ridiculous than Yaya had been at that rank. The potential of the Illumination Mysterious Green Snake was truly frightening.
However, Qi Ping didn't rush their breakthrough. He wanted them to continue polishing their foundation until the matter of the two Nascent Soul experts, Ling Qianjue and Lin Wuji, was settled. Spirit beasts had much longer lifespans than humans, so a solid foundation was better for them.
He was very satisfied with their growth and had high expectations. Each would eventually provide him with powerful talents and combat boosts. As long as his companions were strong, the Beast-King Druid's power had no ceiling!
Of course, the growth of his other companions was even more astonishing!
The Earth-Vein Ants had grown to over two hundred thousand! Though most were common Rank 2 ants, their combined exploration speed was insane. By now, every part of the Qingtian Domain—except the deepest, inaccessible layers—had been mapped. Even several neighboring domains had been largely explored.
Through this frenzied exploration, he had gathered countless Rank 1 and Rank 2 resources, even finding many Rank 3 items. He had also found three Rank 4 items: a massive piece of late-stage Rank 4 South-Abyss Iron, a mature mid-stage Rank 4 Earth-Attribute Yellow Essence Reishi, and a buried piece of Dragon-Blood Wood, which he estimated was nurtured by the blood of a Rank 5 flood dragon.
The Ant Queen had used a portion of the Yellow Essence Reishi to reach the peak of Rank 3, and Qi Ping's shared Earth-Vein Spirit Body talent had improved significantly.
But the ants' greatest contribution was finding more ecological issues and two more of Ling Qianjue's secret locations. Most of the ecological issues had been resolved, greatly increasing his control over the domain and his Power of Living Beings. Now, he was certain he could use that power to resurrect at any time.
Except for the unexplored depths, the underground world of the Qingtian Domain held no secrets from Qi Ping. He had even finished the preliminary restoration of the leylines and the planning of complex underground escape routes.
As for the swarms, thanks to the ants' resources, the Bixia Earth Loongs had reached several tens of thousands. They produced massive amounts of Wood-Spirit Vitality, causing the sanctuary's plant production to skyrocket. This abundance was then brewed into honey by the sub-king Equilibrium Bees, fueling the expansion of the Netherworld and Sky-Flame swarms.
The numbers of Netherworld and Sky-Flame Bees had officially surpassed three thousand! Though it seemed small, these were King-Grade bees! With the custom combat arrays Qi Ping had designed for them, they already possessed the power to slay a Nascent Soul expert!
Compared to the bees, Yaya's growth was relatively slower, having recently broken through to the mid-stage Golden Core realm. But with her bloodline, she could easily handle a late-stage Golden Core.
The most exaggerated growth was the Little Stone Spirit. With the South-Abyss Iron and the minerals from countless mines, it had reached Rank 4! This breakthrough had occurred at the Verdant Stream Domain under Qi Ping's watch. Even the sentient Sin-Burning Sword had been nurtured into a Rank 4 spiritual weapon.
Qi Ping had tested it; it was indeed a divine weapon, though its power in his hands was limited compared to the Little Stone Spirit's. In fact, it wasn't as strong as his own luck-treasure, the Mountain-River Seal. After obtaining the Lord of Mountains and Rivers talent, the seal's true power had been unleashed, becoming his strongest weapon. Under the Stone Spirit's repairs, its power continued to grow.
Now, with a Rank 4 Stone Spirit and the Sin-Burning Sword, his combat power was terrifying, and his defense was even more ridiculous. Overall, he had two animal companions capable of Nascent Soul-level combat power, and both were super-standard. With their empowerment, Qi Ping's Beast-King True Form alone granted him Nascent Soul-tier strength!
And that was before considering his personal combat power and the boost from the Lord of Mountains and Rivers.
'Furthermore, twenty years of formation research and the internal coordination of the Lord of Mountains and Rivers mean that destroying Ling Qianjue's arrays should be no problem. I have the methods and confidence to destroy his secret bases and rescue the salamanders.'
After repeated combat analysis and ensuring nothing was missed, Qi Ping stepped out of the Natural Sanctuary with the swarms and the Little Stone Spirit.
This time, he decided to strike actively as the Bee Daoist. He would use the destruction of Ling's underground layouts to drastically increase his control over the Qingtian Domain.
'After all these years of preparation, this battle will determine whether I can settle the world in one stroke...'