'Since the entire Star-Sea Continent is now basically under my control, I can look for several spiritual beasts with the highest Wood-attribute talent on the continent and see if there is a suitable candidate for a contract.'
'After all, it is just one of the Five-Element talents. As long as its talent is comparable to Crowie or the Little Immortal Tiger, it will be enough. Balance in talent might be better than seeking the extreme in a single attribute.'
After clarifying his foundation and future direction, Qi Ping temporarily set aside his obsession with finding a Wood-attribute talent that reached the absolute extreme. One reason was that he wanted to gather the Five-Element Body; while ensuring a high overall talent ceiling, balance was the most important factor.
Currently, the transformation limits for his other animal companions were the Divine Bird Golden Crow, the Auspicious Beast Bai Ze, the Divine Nine-Colored Deer, and the Innate Being, the Little Stone Spirit. Overall, while there were slight differences in strength between the various divine beast bloodlines, they weren't at a level where there was a massive gap.
'Therefore, I only need to find a Wood-attribute spiritual beast with the bloodline of a divine beast.'
'For this, I can ask the Little Immortal Tiger for help. I'll have it calculate where the most suitable Wood-attribute spiritual beast for my contract is located. At the same time, I can make an official announcement to avoid missing any spiritual beasts whose secrets cannot be calculated.'
Once he decided, Qi Ping sent this requirement directly to Lin Yue, then stopped paying attention to the matter. With his current status, he only needed to give a single order, and the cultivators who received it would scramble to deliver their spiritual beasts to him. If he accepted one, the person who sent it would find their rise to power virtually guaranteed.
On the other side, after receiving Qi Ping's request, Lin Yue quickly arranged the task. As it spread, it was exactly as Qi Ping had expected: almost every cultivator who received the news moved. Especially those who possessed Wood-attribute spiritual beasts; they sent information about their beasts to the Qingtian Domain.
Details included grade, bloodline, talent, and miraculous traits. The announcement had been very clear: this search for spiritual beasts did not look at rank or quality, but only at Wood-attribute talent.
Thus, in just a single day, the Qingtian Domain received countless reports on spiritual beasts. Though the Star-Sea Continent had declined, the number of spiritual beasts it possessed was still beyond count.
Qi Ping's goal was simple: conduct a manual screening based on the reports and have the Little Immortal Tiger use the information as a catalyst for divine calculations to find the most suitable beast. Otherwise, the Star-Sea Continent was too vast; even with the tiger's current strength, it would be difficult to perform a comprehensive calculation for everything. Having this collected data as a lead would make the process simpler and more accurate.
While the information on spiritual beasts was pouring into the Qingtian Domain, Qi Ping began researching his [Animal Companion] talent. Even at his current level, he still only possessed a partial understanding of this talent, unable to glimpse its full mystery.
'Still... though I cannot fully grasp the depths of this talent, using it to contract one more animal companion should be no problem.'
At this thought, a smile appeared on Qi Ping's face. Technically, his Druid level had not reached level eleven, but at his current realm, with his deepening comprehension of the world's essence and the laws of the heavens and earth, he was gradually moving beyond the restrictions of Druid levels.
Ultimately, those were just abilities evolved from the chaotic space of the Druid heritage. Now, if he was willing to meditate on it, he could choose to enter that space at any time to realize some talent abilities. However, entering that chaotic space would cause a significant drain; his intuition told him that he should not enter it too frequently unless necessary.
The core energy of the chaotic space was limited. If he consumed too much of it, he might lack the strength to evolve other Druid abilities in the future. Thus, Qi Ping decided not to consume too much of it unless necessary, saving it for critical moments in the future.
Furthermore, Qi Ping now possessed many methods that transcended Druid skills, so ordinary Druid abilities were of negligible help to him. What mattered most now was utilizing his current abilities to reach the peak of his cultivation, and then entering the chaotic space for ability derivation when he encountered problems he couldn't solve.
Moreover, Qi Ping had a premonition: as he slowly uncovered the truth and essence of this world, he would eventually encounter truly terrifying entities...
'Like the Demon Race.'
At this thought, Qi Ping's eyes narrowed slightly. Having truly understood the nature and capabilities of the Demon Race, even the current Qi Ping felt a slight chill.
This race was a type of "Out-of-Control" being!
So-called Out-of-Control beings were the opposite of Natural beings. Natural beings were born from the evolution of the heavens and earth, their fates linked to the world in an incredibly tight and inseparable bond. This was why a world would reject beings that did not belong to it, and why it was so difficult for a being to integrate into another world.
Out-of-Control beings, however, were countless times more terrifying than ordinary invasive beings! These entities did not belong to any world, and no one knew how they were born. From various clues, it was known that their birth was extremely complex; they were born after the creation of the universe and gradually evolved into beings that would destroy all worlds.
Take the Demon Race, for example. They were born with the ability to invade other worlds, and most possessed talents to weaken the suppression of those worlds. This meant that when they invaded, they weren't just in their element; they possessed advantages that far exceeded any other being.
And because these Out-of-Control beings did not belong to any world or ecological chain, wherever they went, they would cause that world to gradually spiral toward collapse. Once a world collapsed, the Demon Race within it would fall into the endless void and perish. Only those whose strength had reached a certain level had a chance to survive in the void, but they would have to find a new world to invade; otherwise, they would continue to weaken until they died.
To survive, they would madly search for the coordinates of other worlds. Once found, a frenzied invasion would follow. This invasion would never stop so long as the Demon Race existed! It would continue until the entire cultivation world—and even the myriad worlds—perished.
Qi Ping had also found a piece of information, though its veracity was unknown, stating that the Demon Race could never truly die. The worlds they targeted would be marked forever; at some point in the endless river of time, they would inevitably descend again until the world was destroyed. The only way to completely avoid a Demon invasion was to hide the coordinates of one's world and never let them be exposed.
The reason the great masters of the Star-Sea Continent had once set out en masse was precisely because the coordinates of the Star-Sea Continent had been exposed to the eyes of the Demon Race by certain entities. To prevent their home world's destruction, they had united with human masters from other cultivation worlds, intending to completely exterminate the Demon Race!
But in that battle, every master from the Star-Sea Continent had never returned. Afterward, the Demon Race had conducted a world-scale invasion. Even though they had been repelled by a joint effort, no one knew how much strength they still had remaining.
'I just don't know which branch of the Demon Race those bastards from the Heavenly Dragon Continent will draw here.'
There were many records regarding the Demon Race in the myriad worlds, each with different characteristics and bloodline auras, making them easy to distinguish.
'I only hope it is still within our capacity to handle!'
Regarding this matter, Qi Ping did not know if his current strength was enough to completely protect this world. If he couldn't, his only choice would be to flee to the secret realm of the Void-Aether Fish swarms. But if he did that, unless he gained recognition from another world, his path of immortality would effectively come to an end.
'The descent of the Demon Race should be soon. I just don't know the exact time they will traverse the Boundary Sea, nor do I know if the Monster Race will descend at the same time, or what role they will play in this conflict.'
'Therefore, every step must be accelerated.'
With this thought, Qi Ping immediately sent a message to Lin Yue.
[How is the spread and development of the news about the Demon Race? How are the cultivators currently reacting?]
After sending the message, Qi Ping waited for Lin Yue to come to him.
He could already feel the unease radiating from the world itself, as if it also realized that a horrific calamity was about to descend. In this process, Qi Ping could also feel the entire world bestowing more Providence and blessings upon him and the Qingtian Domain. It was as if the final hope had been placed upon his shoulders.
However, the power bestowed upon him had already reached the limit of this world's laws; any further significant increase was virtually impossible. Worlds and their laws have their own limits; they can only exert a finite amount of force and cannot overly interfere with living beings.
For instance, the birth of an Earth Immortal in a world is not something the Heavenly Dao can decide. It can provide conveniences and blessings, but whether one can truly master the power of an Earth Immortal depends on the being themselves.
Originally, the person on the Star-Sea Continent most likely to master Earth Immortal power should have been the Earth Lord. Unfortunately, his temperament was poor, and he could not gain the faith of living beings; he was far from mastering it. Even if one is a Child of Providence, the level of power they ultimately achieve and master depends on the individual.
If it were possible, the world of the Star-Sea Continent would even want Qi Ping to control the power of the entire continent. But that was obviously impossible. If Qi Ping could completely control the entire Star-Sea Continent, the power of the derivative law of "Earth Immortal" would likely reach or even surpass the Mahayana stage. In that case, ordinary Demons or beings from other worlds would have no chance of invasion.
But even if this world could do that, Qi Ping could not bear it. His current realm and Dao-heart strength were limited. Even controlling the power of the Qingtian Domain had been somewhat taxing; if it were the entire Star-Sea Continent, the backlash of that power would likely leave him without even a corpse!
To put it simply: even if it were given to you, you couldn't use it! You simply couldn't hold it!
As Qi Ping's strength and comprehension deepened, his confidence also grew. Just expanding the range of his Earth Immortal Domain tenfold would be dangerous; anything higher might kill him instantly!
'Let's take it one step at a time. Start by adding one large domain and continuously test the limit. I need to see where my current limit truly lies!'
This crisis of the Demon invasion had coincidentally given Qi Ping an opportunity.
In terms of the 'Heavenly Timing,' the entire world was currently bestowing its Providence upon him. Anything he wanted to do would be granted every convenience by the heavens.
In terms of 'Geographical Advantage,' the entire Star-Sea Continent was now within his territory. The expansion of the Earth Immortal Domain had no regional restrictions or inconveniences.
Finally, in terms of 'Human Harmony,' he had more support than ever. Before the Demon invasion, if Qi Ping had even hinted at coveting other regions, he would have likely met with the fierce suppression of other great cultivators. Even the ordinary cultivators in the regions whose rulers were forcibly changed would not have truly submitted to him, regardless of the Qingtian Domain's reputation.
To become an Earth Immortal Druid, a vital factor was the faith of living beings. Without that core factor, becoming an Earth Immortal was impossible.
But now, with the Demon invasion imminent, who didn't place their greatest hope in him? Combined with his recent victory—leading Meng Tianqi and Bai Liyun to suppress all traitors, rebellious sects, and demonic cultivators—his reputation had reached an unprecedented height.
In terms of Human Harmony, he had reached a level unique in history. Thus, Qi Ping now possessed absolute confidence in becoming an even more powerful Earth Immortal!
While Qi Ping was still thinking about more detailed operational steps, Lin Yue arrived quickly after receiving the command.
"Principal, just as you predicted, the entire continent is in a state of massive panic. A migration wave has formed, with people madly moving toward the Qingtian Domain. However, our domain can no longer accommodate any more cultivators. As you instructed, we have temporarily settled them in the large domains adjacent to the Qingtian Domain. We have deployed a large number of Qing-God Army units to maintain order and provide basic survival conditions."
"I believe the time you have been waiting for has arrived. All our preparations are complete. We can launch the New Domain Plan at any time."