Seeing those blood-colored vines and the surrounding environment, Qi Ping's face darkened.
"Supreme Grand Elder... Ling Qianjue!"
In that moment, Qi Ping finally felt a desire to kill Ling Qianjue. What the old man was doing here was not just a matter of one tribe's survival; if it were to explode, it would cause massive damage to the leylines of the Qingtian Domain and could lead to the death of all living beings in the area!
Qi Ping was currently standing at the vent of a magma eruption. Countless rivers of terrifying magma boiled within, and the deafening roar from below sent shivers down his spine.
A Magma Eruption Calamity!
The turbulent power gathered at this vent had reached a terrifyingly unstable level. Based on the current situation, it would likely explode within a few centuries to a millennium.
'Once this power erupts, the leylines will snap, and living beings will suffer...'
To Qi Ping, this was not just a disregard for life; it was a roadblock on his path to longevity. From his position as the Lord of Mountains and Rivers, Ling Qianjue's actions put them on opposite sides of life and death.
'But the most important thing is to solve the problem at hand.'
The reason this vent had become like this was twofold. First, an array had been set up here. This massive array was frantically drawing the fire-spirit energy from the subterranean magma world. Such a relentless extraction disrupted the normal cycle of energy, causing a terrifying accumulation of chaotic power. Qi Ping estimated the array had been running for at least a thousand years.
Combined with the high level of energy, an explosion here would be more terrifying than a Nascent Soul cultivator self-detonating!
The second reason was the very creatures Qi Ping had come to find: the Geo-Fire Salamanders controlled by the array and the Parasitic Blood Seeds.
The Geo-Fire Salamander was a creature that lived in magma, much like the Lava Beasts. They enjoyed wandering through the magma layers, clearing obstructions and resolving local energy imbalances to keep the subterranean magma world stable. This maintenance ensured the safety of the underground and the stable birth of spiritual items, forming a symbiotic relationship with the magma world.
Because they carried the bloodline of flood dragons, their rank was even higher than that of the Lava Beasts. The hundred or so salamanders trapped here included three at the Golden Core level! Two were even at the peak of the Golden Core stage!
Being trapped and farmed here meant they could no longer groom the magma world. The fire-spirit energy extracted by the array was used solely to fuel their reproduction and cultivation.
They were controlled by the Parasitic Blood Seeds. This was an exceptionally cruel and wicked technique, a variation of the Mother-Son technique. While a normal Mother-Son technique allowed the mother-cultivator to devour the cultivation results of the son-cultivator—which required the son to actively practice—the Parasitic Blood Seed was much more domineering. It could be planted directly into spirit beasts to control their intelligence and behavior.
When needed, the seeds would instantly devour the beast's essence, turning it into nourishment for the master. The salamanders covered in horrifying blood-colored vines were clearly in the deep stages of being rooted. Under the seed's control, they were in a state of frenzied consumption of fire energy to grow and reproduce.
In Qi Ping's perception, the aura of Supreme Grand Elder Ling Qianjue was clearly on every vine. He could sense it because planting these seeds was extremely difficult, requiring the master's own blood essence and soul-source—especially for powerful beasts.
'I must investigate carefully first!'
The situation was incredibly thorny. Even with his current strength, he did not dare move recklessly. Especially since he was unclear about the Supreme Grand Elder's true power, a reckless move could lead to a worse outcome.
Qi Ping used Natural Perception to predict the outcomes of several actions. Almost all of them returned results of "Calamity" or "Lesser Calamity."
'This is troublesome!'
After some thought, he had to admit he could not solve everything before Ling Qianjue arrived. Furthermore, based on the array's construction, Qi Ping was now certain that the one extracting the leyline power beneath the Qingtian Domain was none other than Ling Qianjue!
'Disregarding the Magma Eruption Calamity, farming Geo-Fire Salamanders with Parasitic Blood Seeds, and extracting the leylines of the entire domain...'
'What is Ling Qianjue trying to do? Could it be...'
A possibility rose in Qi Ping's mind: Deity Transformation!
The Qingtian Domain had not seen a Deity Transformation cultivator for at least tens of thousands of years. Besides the fact that this stage was harder to reach than all previous ones combined, the total resources of the Qingtian Domain were insufficient to support such an existence. With only two Rank 3 spiritual veins, the domain simply couldn't nurture a Deity Transformation master.
Even if all resources were traded away, it might not be enough to buy the necessary pills and herbs—not to mention the Qingtian Domain didn't belong to Ling Qianjue alone. Even Lin Wuji, the Envoy backed by the Celestial Alliance who consumed blood food, was only at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
'That explains it. Only Deity Transformation could justify such elaborate schemes.'
The more Qi Ping thought about it, the more certain he became. Only the pursuit of that realm was worth such effort.
'The Geo-Fire Salamanders, the leylines... he's even keeping an eye on me. And this is just what I've discovered...'
Qi Ping had a feeling that given Ling Qianjue's lifespan and actions, these schemes were not the whole story. They might be just a small fraction!
'Those spirit beasts I haven't found yet, the human cultivators...'
'Ling Qianjue probably has more important beasts and humans farmed in his own dwelling or secret bases.'
Qi Ping felt this wasn't just a guess. If he were in Ling's position, he would keep the most important resources in his own domain. These salamanders were likely just a minor part of the plan, kept here because they had to cultivate in the magma.
'Even those Rank 3 and Rank 2 spiritual veins might have been part of his layout...'
Based on what he knew, this old monster's plans probably exceeded his imagination. It was entirely possible that Ling Qianjue planned to use every resource and living being in the Qingtian Domain to fuel his path to Deity Transformation!
'Wait, could it be that even the high-ranking beings of the domain are part of his scheme?'
The more he thought, the more terrified he became. He had previously thought he had considered the worst when discussing Ling with Wang He, but now it seemed they had only seen the tip of the iceberg. Their imagination was limited by what they hadn't seen—like the farmed salamanders and the extracted leylines. A plan laid out over thousands or even ten thousand years was unfathomable.
'Moreover, the Natural Perception results proved that even with my Rank 4 swarms and the power of Beast-King True Form and Lord of Mountains and Rivers, a direct confrontation still results in "Calamity" or "Lesser Calamity."'
'This means Ling Qianjue's combat power is definitely higher than mine!'
'But since some results were "Lesser Calamity," it proves my current strength can at least contest him or provide a chance to escape. Thus, it's not impossible to deal with him.'
'So, what I need to do now is increase my strength and weaken his. Specifically, the Lord of Mountains and Rivers and the Beast-King True Form are the easiest to enhance!'
Thinking of this, Qi Ping quietly retreated to avoid alerting the enemy. Back at the sanctuary, he began to think seriously about how to deal with the Supreme Grand Elder. He did not dare to be careless; the pressure from this old monster was immense, keeping him in a state of unease. He was glad he had broken through in the Verdant Stream Domain.
He soon settled on two main methods.
The first was the Beast-King True Form. This was the most straightforward: he would frantically increase the strength of the Little Stone Spirit, Yaya, and the swarms. These companions were currently the easiest to improve. Specifically, if the Netherworld and Sky-Flame Bee swarms were large enough, they could grant him combat power equal to their realm! The King-Grade bloodline bees had every chance to reach the peak of Rank 4—the late Nascent Soul stage. If the swarms were large enough, they would be a catastrophe-level force.
To put it into perspective, a grand array of a million Sky-Flame and Netherworld Bees could likely challenge even a Deity Transformation master. Qi Ping just lacked the resources to nurture that many bees.
"So, from now on, every level of resource in the sanctuary will be fully utilized!"
"First, the Earth-Vein Ants: I will rapidly increase the number of Rank 2 ants and have them scout the Qingtian Domain and neighboring domains at full speed. They will bring back everything—resources for the bees, resources for the Bixia Earth Loongs, and information on any of Ling Qianjue's hidden arrangements!"
"Second, I'll increase the number of Bixia Earth Loongs as quickly as possible. Use their Wood-Spirit Vitality to accelerate the growth of our resources!"
Once he decided, he assigned the tasks. A massive army of Earth-Vein Ants began to sweep across the entire underground world! With their high mobility, the sweep expanded rapidly. As new ants were born, the exploration speed grew exponentially!
The waste materials brought back by the ants allowed the loongs to reproduce and produce vitality at an exponential rate. This, in turn, allowed the spirit plants in the sanctuary to grow faster than Qi Ping's own Plant Growth spell could manage. The benefits of scaled-up production were evident, leaving Qi Ping in awe!
As the spirit plants grew, Qi Ping extracted wood essence to accelerate the growth of the spiritual vein. With the ants' help, the vein grew stronger too!
Everything in Qi Ping's sanctuary was developing at high speed. The growth of the Netherworld and Sky-Flame swarm expansion, which had slowed down, picked up pace again. The power granted to him by the Beast-King True Form also grew higher!
"This is the true way to play a Beast-King Druid!"
Looking at his flourishing sanctuary, Qi Ping was filled with emotion. Without the restrictions of a game, the development methods available after contracting so many animal companions were endless. Exploration ants, combat/farming/honey bees, fertilizer loongs, and fortune-calculating tigers... the synergy was incredible.
The combination of Beast-King Druid and the resource-production of the Forest Druid was truly a winning hand. Qi Ping was glad he had chosen these paths; they were perfectly suited for the development of the cultivation world. Furthermore, he had a premonition that the upcoming Druid class he was about to awaken would likely form a "Super Winning Combo" with his current roles.
While the plans for animal companions and his true form were underway, Qi Ping began to work on the layout for the Lord of Mountains and Rivers. In his plans, this would be the true key to countering the Supreme Grand Elder...