Once the insight for breakthrough appeared in his heart, Qi Ping's realm began to stir. Thus, he did not delay and immediately set out for his breakthrough location.
However, this time, the location Qi Ping chose for his breakthrough was not within the Qingtian Domain.
The feeling Supreme Grand Elder Ling Qianjue gave Qi Ping was simply too terrifying. A Rank 4 Formation Master, the number one Nascent Soul in the domain, the oldest monster... any of these titles could be fatal, and none were things Qi Ping wanted to face.
Having met Ling Qianjue, Qi Ping had developed a greater reverence for the terrors within the cultivation world. He realized that as his strength grew and after slaying many Golden Core cultivators, he had gradually lost his reverence for other cultivators. Fortunately, Ling Qianjue's appearance had brought back his heart of awe.
Unnecessary conflicts should be avoided. Only by staying alive and cultivating well could there be hope.
Thus, after extensive investigation, Qi Ping chose a frontier land called the Desolate Domain. At the same time, before heading there, he actively left a clone in the Qingyuan Sect to distract the attention of Ling Qianjue and Lin Wuji.
The Desolate Domain was a place where all major leylines and spiritual veins had been stripped away. Here, let alone Rank 3 spiritual veins, even Rank 2 ones were rare.
For this reason, the overall cultivation of cultivators in the Desolate Domain was extremely low. It was said that even Golden Cores were rare. Furthermore, because no high-level sects were established here, the cultivation civilization was extremely backward. The lack of a leading power resulted in constant, year-round strife and conflict.
This led to a birth rate of cultivators that was far lower than the rate of death and departure. In this state, the Desolate Domain was declining by the day, to the point where even the Celestial Alliance was unwilling to establish a presence. With insufficient people, the suitable "blood food" was naturally scarce. They only developed a few local powers as representatives to periodically harvest blood food.
In choosing a way to travel to the Desolate Domain, Qi Ping opted to have the Little Stone Spirit carry him, along with the Earth-Vein Ants and the Little Immortal Tiger, through the underground. This allowed him to avoid many unnecessary dangers.
Because it had devoured many Rank 3 weapons and mineral veins, the Little Stone Spirit had currently reached the late stage of Rank 3. It was estimated that it wouldn't be long before it reached the peak of Rank 3. It was the fastest-growing among all of Qi Ping's animal companions—the advantage of being a special primordial lifeform.
At this realm, the Little Stone Spirit traveled through the earth with incredible speed.
Yet, even at such speed, it took Qi Ping more than two months to reach the Desolate Domain described in the records.
Happily, during the journey through the subterranean world, thanks to Qi Ping's Power of Qi Fortune and the Little Immortal Tiger's favor, they encountered many significant opportunities. These items could be sold for a good amount of spirit stones, which was a nice harvest for the currently penniless Qi Ping.
Upon arriving at the Desolate Domain, Qi Ping did not rush to break through. Instead, he spent nearly two weeks scouting the area to confirm its safety. After having the Little Immortal Tiger perform calculations and confirming there were no dangers, Qi Ping finally settled on this as his place of breakthrough.
However, seeing the current state of the Desolate Domain only strengthened Qi Ping's resolve to protect the Qingtian Domain.
According to what Qi Ping had learned, this place wasn't originally called the Desolate Domain, but the Verdant Stream Domain. Long ago, it had been a place with countless spiritual veins and ancient trees, and it even had a spiritual river famous throughout the cultivation world. The Verdant Stream Domain at that time was matchlessly powerful.
But now, Rank 2 spiritual veins were almost entirely gone, the cultivation civilization was extremely backward and weak, and it was generally branded with the ill name of the Desolate Domain.
"What a pity for such a good place. Is this what the world looks like after it declines?"
Witnessing the state of the Desolate Domain, Qi Ping couldn't help but sigh. When the world declines, the amount of heaven-earth power that can be mobilized is extremely small!
The effects of his Druid talents were significantly reduced! The power he could call upon was also greatly diminished!
The laws of heaven and earth were weak—so weak that even slightly powerful arrays could not be set up!
Overall, it could be described in four words: utterly wretched.
"If one were to cultivate in such a place, they could forget about achieving anything in their life!"
"The only thing to be thankful for is that the laws of heaven and earth are still somewhat intact. If they weren't, I probably couldn't even break through here."
Qi Ping truly couldn't imagine if the Qingtian Domain were to decline to this extent; he would likely have to relocate.
In fact, during the time the Celestial Alliance was frantically plundering blood food, if Qi Ping hadn't stopped them, the Qingtian Domain would have declined by at least ten percent.
Furthermore, the reason the Qingtian Domain was able to stop its continuous decline was largely due to Qi Ping nurturing many precious Rank 3 spiritual trees and several powerful animal companions!
These spiritual beasts and trees grew and became stronger within the Qingtian Domain, providing no small benefit to the world itself. This prevented the Qingtian Domain from continuing to decline and even gave it a faint trend of becoming stronger!
The reason the Heaven-Earth Favor on Qi Ping continued to strengthen was not only because he acted on behalf of heaven to clear away diseases, but also partly because he was constantly nurturing powerful spiritual trees and beasts. The laws of the Dao could perceive such a Druid and, after obtaining benefits, would continue to consume a portion of those benefits to enhance Qi Ping's talent and fortune. It was a process of mutual benefit.
"Moreover, besides the reduction in the heaven-earth power I can call upon, some of the effects of my Homeland Domain talent have also disappeared. Those only take effect in the Qingtian Domain."
Coming to this place, Qi Ping's overall strength had dropped significantly.
"But regardless, with no powerful enemies around, this is still a good place for a breakthrough!"
Right now, a stable environment for breakthrough was more important than anything.
After selecting a range of desolate mountains as his breakthrough site, Qi Ping released the Netherworld Bee swarm, the Sky-Flame Bee swarm, Yaya, the Earth-Vein Ants, the Little Stone Spirit, and the Little Immortal Tiger.
Although there were no strong enemies here, necessary caution was indispensable. Only by surrounding the area so tightly that even a Nascent Soul cultivator could be killed could Qi Ping break through in peace.
Finally, he had the Little Immortal Tiger perform one last deduction and received a result of Great Luck. Only then did Qi Ping truly feel at ease.
"I'm finally going to break through to the Golden Core stage!"
Once he broke through, not only would his personal strength skyrocket, but his lifespan would increase to over a thousand years!
A thousand-year lifespan could already be called a "lesser longevity." For Qi Ping, who sought immortality above all else, how could he not be joyful!
Longevity!
"If I successfully break through to the Golden Core today, I will be one step closer to the immortal path of longevity!"
"I wonder what kind of Golden Core Phenomenon I will condense today?"
In the cultivation world, every being would manifest a special phenomenon at the moment of successfully condensing their Golden Core. The higher the intensity and the greater the potential of the Golden Core, the more powerful the phenomenon would be.
For instance, the phenomenon of many ordinary Golden Core cultivators was just a basic spiritual aura. This was the most common and weakest type.
Stronger phenomena included things like the River of Sword Qi, the Adoration of Ten Thousand Demons, and the Descent of the Celestial Spirit. These were the top-tier powerful phenomena in the cultivation world. Only those whose foundation, Dao-heart, and law comprehension had all reached an extremely high level could possibly condense such formidable manifestations.
While the Little Stone Spirit's Phenomenon of Ten Thousand Weapons and Yaya's Golden Crow Phantom weren't quite that exaggerated, they were certainly not poor. They had already surpassed countless geniuses of the same level and had room for further improvement in the future. This was why those Golden Core cultivators had become so frantic upon seeing Yaya's phenomenon.
However, while a cultivator's Golden Core phenomenon represented their strength and potential, it did not mean it was eternal or unalterable. It could be slowly perfected and strengthened in the future, though the difficulty would be higher.
"A Golden Core phenomenon is born from the complete fusion of various factors such as one's immortal foundation, physical body, Dao-heart, and law comprehension..."
"Regarding my immortal foundation, I used the Yin-Yang True Scripture as a base to create the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Scripture, which is more suited to me. I further polished my foundation to a point where it can no longer be improved using precious Yin-Yang resources."
"Regarding my physical body, I created a technique, the Yin-Yang Five Elements Physique, that can temper every inch of my flesh. At the same time, I used precious Yin-Yang resources to polish and strengthen it. I am stronger than even body cultivators of the same level!"
"In my Dao-heart, I have comprehended the second stage: Homeland Domain. It can amplify, protect, and slay..."
"In law comprehension, I used my extraordinary comprehension combined with the Plant Sovereign talent to refine plant laws, bringing my comprehension of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements Laws all to the second stage."
Qi Ping began to circulate the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Scripture while recalling his cultivation foundation. Insights regarding his cultivation continued to emerge in his mind.
Under this state of realization, Qi Ping gradually entered a very special state. His spiritual energy became exceptionally active, and the power of the laws around him began to churn!
Anyone who had ever broken through to the Golden Core stage would clearly know that this was the state right before a breakthrough!
As the circulation speed of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Scripture within Qi Ping became faster and faster, at a certain moment, the aura of a Golden Core radiated from his body!
At this moment, as if something had been triggered, the aura on Qi Ping began to rise continuously, and the scent of the Golden Core grew stronger and stronger!
A massive amount of Yin-Yang and Five Elements energy began to converge around Qi Ping, firmly guarding him in the center.
Nearby, Yaya and the Little Stone Spirit were stunned when they felt Qi Ping's aura!
Because the Golden Core pressure and aura Qi Ping was currently producing were stronger than when they had broken through!
It wasn't just slightly stronger, but significantly so!
At this moment, the terrifying foundation Qi Ping had spent countless resources and a century of time polishing also displayed its incredibly powerful strength.
A century of tempering, finally achieved!
As time passed and Qi Ping's Golden Core Dao-fruit gradually took shape, a startling thing happened: a massive phantom of a mountain range appeared around Qi Ping.
Moreover, even more astonishing was that this massive mountain phantom seemed to be only the beginning...