"The information is gathered?"
"Finally!"
Seeing the message, Qi Ping felt a surge of joy. He had waited so long for this day! The more he cultivated, the more he felt the frustration of his average comprehension. If the Explosive Flame spells hadn't been fire-attribute—benefiting from his Sun-Fire Physique and life-fire—he would have struggled just to learn the basics, let alone reach Initial Mastery in a month.
But as he approached the Great Mastery and Perfection stages, the requirement for his spirit-soul and comprehension grew higher. His physical talent and fire weren't enough to sustain rapid progress anymore. If he wanted to reach Perfection quickly, enhancing his spirit-soul was imperative.
And that was just for those spells. As his cultivation of the Wood-Flame Spirit Manual and his comprehension of the True Meaning of Fire deepened, the bottleneck of his average comprehension became more apparent. He was glad he hadn't chosen to be a "Pure Caster" at the start; with his average intelligence, he would have been eaten by insects long ago.
Excitedly, he prepared his spirit stones. Safety remained his priority, and he also packed the silver token he had promised Meng Yan. Currently, he had over 8,600 spirit stones—all profit from the Spirit-Nurturing Honey.
Boss Gao had been impressively efficient, moving all that honey without any pressure. Qi Ping didn't ask how much Gao made; seeing the man's constant smiles, he knew it was a lot. But Qi Ping was happy with the win-win; Gao's help had been immense, and the man deserved his cut. Qi Ping had earned enough to buy a powerful beast during a market slump, and that was enough.
The Fairy-Trance Spirit Fox was his original backup choice, but the market was closed. However, with the honey production in full swing, he intended to aim for something even better. With Meng Yan's help, he could now access the rarer bloodlines within the Qingyuan Sect!
"Brother Meng! Long time no see!"
Qi Ping entered the courtyard to find Meng Yan already had wine ready.
"It has been a while, Brother Qi. I've been waiting for you!"
"Eh? Brother Qi, your Dao-heart Intent has grown significantly stronger. Have you had new insights?" Meng Yan asked with surprise.
"I have indeed. I observed the sect struggles... and lately, I've been sensing the ancient trees, flowers, and animals of the mountain range..."
"Brother Qi, your Wisdom-Heart is truly extraordinary!"
Meng Yan's praise was sincere. "Wisdom-Heart" described one's talent for Dao-heart cultivation. Many lived for ages and saw everything but never clarified their Dao-heart; it was very common. But some could find their path in a very short time—that was a Wisdom-Heart!
Qi Ping was pleased. He had realized that while his cultivation and comprehension talent were average, his talent for Dao-heart was high. This was a great relief, for the Wisdom-Heart was the hardest thing to improve with external items.
Spirit roots and spirit-souls could be enhanced with rare herbs, but the Wisdom-Heart was elusive. Even the legendary Reincarnation Bodhi—which gave one the memories of a hundred lifetimes—was unreliable. Some gained instant enlightenment, while others went mad from the conflicting memories.
As cultivation progressed, the Wisdom-Heart became increasingly important. Many geniuses with special physiques were eventually stopped by a Dao-heart bottleneck, leading to a loss of control or a failed breakthrough.
After a brief discussion on their recent insights, they turned to the topic of spirit beasts.
"Brother Qi, you are in luck!"
"Did you find a rare spirit-soul beast?"
"Indeed, and not just one, but two! If it weren't for the current situation—where two senior brothers and sisters are desperate for spirit stones—even I wouldn't have been able to convince them to sell!"
Meng Yan sighed at the timing. "Two? What kind of beasts are they to earn such praise from you?"
Qi Ping remembered that Meng Yan hadn't even reacted this strongly to the Sun-Fire Crow. His anticipation grew.
"The Fairy-Trance Spirit Fox and the Spirit-Echo Bird I mentioned before are common compared to these two. Have you heard of the Pure Mystery Flower Spirit and the Fairy-Trance Spirit Fox?"
Pure Mystery Flower Spirit?
Fairy-Trance Spirit Fox?
Hearing those names, Qi Ping's pupils constricted! Having read as many books on spirit beasts as he could find, he recognized the names immediately. But precisely because he recognized them, he found it hard to believe his ears.
How could the Qingyuan Sect have beasts of this caliber?!