"Little Stone Spirit, you stay here for now and refine this immortal manor. Put your explorations on hold and break through to the Soul Transformation stage as soon as possible!"
"Little Immortal Tiger, you stay in the domain and focus on your cultivation as well!"
"Awoo! (Yes, Boss!)"
"Ding-ding! (Don't worry, Boss, I'll break through soon!)"
Qi Ping believed that with the Little Stone Spirit's unique talent and a Rank 6 artifact to devour, it could break through faster than anyone else. Now that it had the Beast Warden talent, it could also be resurrected if needed, making it a reliable combatant.
Since sending the crows to the Forest Sea Demon Realm, the resource output of the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range had increased significantly. Even without "explosive colony growth," there were enough resources for the tiger to cultivate alongside the stone spirit.
Since Qi Ping's reputation had spread, people occasionally tried to divine information about him. But as an Earth Immortal Druid, he was shielded. With the tiger's help in counter-attacking, those who tried were either killed or severely injured. Gradually, he earned the reputation of being a "Heavenly Secrets Taboo Zone." In the Star-Sea Continent, those who practiced divination now trembled at the name "Bee Daoist."
After handing the manor over to the stone spirit, Qi Ping returned to the Qingyuan Mountain Range. It had evolved into a Rank 4 spirit vein, shrouded in thick spiritual energy. At the core, within a Rank 4 Spirit-Gathering Array, the energy was even liquefied. This was where his cultivation soared.
In less than a hundred years, he had broken through from the Early-stage to the Late-stage of the Golden Core realm. With ample resources, top techniques, peak comprehension, and a firm Dao-heart—combined with the Druid system—his progress was unstoppable.
The Spirit of the Land that had merged with him years ago had also awakened. He placed it in the Qingtian Domain to help manage its development. It loved watching its "children" thrive. Its only sadness was that its original home was now in ruins. Qi Ping comforted it, saying that once he grew stronger, he would incorporate that land into his domain and restore it. This filled the Spirit of the Land with motivation.
"Now that the urgent matters are settled, I can focus on the Treant Warriors."
He had high expectations for them. The Treant Legions of the Shepherd of Trees had left a deep impression on him. But this was the cultivation world. "If only I could plant the most powerful spirit trees here—the Fusang Tree, the Bodhi Tree, the Heaven-Reaching World Tree..."
He could only imagine how strong they would be as Treant Warriors. But such trees were legendary; even Mahayana experts might never see them. In the current era, top-tier spirit trees were nearly extinct. Any appearance of one would spark a war between humans, demons, and the demon-race.
"I can't rely on finding seeds. I must cultivate them myself from the countless spirit trees available, finding the ones with the potential to reach the Saint-grade!"
He had a plan, but he first needed to modify the Shepherd of Trees' core talents: Tree-Spirit Contract and Treant Warrior. He entered a period of closed-door cultivation.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye. For a cultivator, this was but a nap. But Qi Ping never stopped practicing his techniques even while researching. His progress was inseparable from his hard work. As an Earth Immortal Druid in his own domain, his soul and spiritual energy were near-infinite.
When he opened his eyes, he smiled. He had successfully modified the talents. This feat was only possible with the help of his Earth Immortal status. He had extracted the ability he wanted.
Originally, only trees under a Tree-Spirit Contract could become Treant Warriors. While his soul was strong, there was a limit to how many contracts he could hold. He wanted to break that limit. The key to creating a Treant Warrior was "Spirituality." Most trees lacked enough of it, so the contract shared the Shepherd's own soul-spirituality with the tree to compensate.
"If I can ensure the trees have enough spirituality on their own, they can all become Treant Warriors! I need to plant on a massive scale to screen for trees with spiritual potential."
He estimated that trees with such potential were one in a thousand. In the Qingtian Domain, the current probability was between one in several hundred to one in a thousand. But he couldn't tell which seeds had potential until they had grown for a while.
"I need to plant a massive number of spirit trees! But the Qingtian Domain's veins and area cannot support that many forever."
His solution was simple: trees that reached maturity without showing spiritual potential would be sold as products, and new ones would be planted in their place. This required complex logistics: where to plant, who would plant, how to sell them without crashing the market, and how to avoid impacting other industries.
He decided to call for his best manager. "Lin Yue, come here!"
The vice-principal of the Qingyuan Academy appeared quickly. He looked healthy and was nearing a breakthrough. Managing the complex affairs of the domain was his form of "practicing the Dao."
"Principal, what are your orders?"
"You've done well. I've prepared resources for your Nascent Soul breakthrough and a Rank 4 spirit vein for your retreat."
"Thank you, Principal!" Lin Yue was overjoyed.
"You earned it. I have a new task. I want to plant spirit trees on a massive scale across the domain. Any grade will do. Once they mature, I will pick the top few hundred and the rest must be sold to make room for new ones. I want you to turn this into an industry that doesn't disrupt our current development. The more trees, the better. We can offer spirit stone subsidies for planting."
"No problem! I will see it done!" Lin Yue promised.
Watching him leave, Qi Ping knew the matter was settled. "Once the spiritual ones are screened out, I will use my Enlightenment Art on them." This was a technique he had created by combining cultivation methods with the Tree-Spirit Contract. "Then, I must find those with the potential to reach the Saint-grade and give them the best nurturing..."
To do this, he had to truly master the Treant Warrior ability and evolve it.