Faced with this Azure Lightning Bamboo of Immortal-grade potential, Qi Ping did not hesitate to form a contract. For a special tree whose potential was already certain, there was no need to test it slowly like the others.
In this immortal world, the growth of spirit trees was quite different from that of spirit insects, beasts, or humans. The growth and transformation of trees had a natural stability; the risks of breakthrough and growth were much lower.
The spirituality born within a spirit tree represented its potential. In a sense, the tree's spirituality and its physical body were one and the same. They did not have the high difficulty of power control found in spirit beasts or humans, where an insufficient Dao heart would lead to a backlash of power and the destruction of the soul. To an extent, a spirit tree's spirituality was its spiritual Dao heart!
'Let me see what is so unique about you!'
With that, Qi Ping manifested his Treant Spirit Contract ability, and a special contract formation quickly took shape. As the unique dark-green light fused with the Azure Lightning Bamboo's spirituality, a very special connection was established between them.
'This is...? Such terrifying law affinity!'
The moment the contract was complete, Qi Ping immediately sensed the bamboo's uniqueness! Through the bamboo's spirit, he could clearly feel its terrifying affinity for the laws of the lightning attribute! That seemingly ordinary spirituality actually possessed incredible smoothness in law interaction and spiritual fusion.
'No wonder this bamboo has such high potential!' The doubt in Qi Ping's heart was instantly resolved.
As long as such a tree had enough spiritual energy and lightning-attribute energy, its growth speed would be horrific. Specialized lightning energy would drastically accelerate its maturation!
'This means the nurturing speed for the Azure Lightning Bamboo can be much faster!' This was a massive surprise.
He had originally thought nurturing a powerful spirit tree would take vast amounts of time and require him to spend much of his day using Plant Growth. But it now appeared that the previous spirit plants simply didn't have the supreme spiritual potential of the Azure Lightning Bamboo. For this bamboo to grow, all it needed was resources!
The only remaining uncertainty was the manifestation of the tree's consciousness. Consciousness in trees was incredibly mysterious; legends told of trees reaching the Immortal-grade without ever developing a complete consciousness! Compared to spirit beasts and humans who were born with consciousness, trees had their own trade-offs. The nature of a tree made the birth of consciousness extremely difficult, which was one reason why spirit tree monsters were so rare in the cultivation world. Otherwise, if creatures with so few growth restrictions could easily develop consciousness, the world would have long since been dominated by them.
'But even if it can't develop a complete consciousness, I can still nurture it into a Treant Warrior for combat!'
As long as these trees were powerful enough, the Treant Warden's abilities would reach a terrifying level!
Once the contract was finished, Qi Ping quickly imprinted a lightning-attribute technique into the bamboo's spirit. Its function was to devour and refine lightning energy; it was a foundational spell with nearly one hundred percent compatibility.
'Once it grows a bit more, I'll match it with the most suitable spells based on its growth traits and direction!'
After finishing the Spell Imprinting, Qi Ping took out a pile of lightning-attribute resources from his storage ring and placed them beside the bamboo, which was planted at the center of the 4th-grade spirit vein, allowing it to absorb them at will. Simultaneously, he set up a powerful lightning-attribute Spirit Gathering Array around it!
In an instant, the area around the Azure Lightning Bamboo was filled with dense lightning energy! With the help of this power, the bamboo's growth speed surged several times over! The entire bamboo began to transform rapidly; its originally green stalk gradually gained a hint of purple, and purple lightning marks radiating the intent of thunder began to surface!
'Absorb, absorb all you want!'
Qi Ping was excited to see this. The faster it grew, the better! He didn't care about these lightning-attribute resources at all. Given the current tax revenue of the Azure Heaven Domain, the resources the bamboo consumed were less than a single hair from nine oxen. This was Qi Ping's current confidence! He had so many spirit stones he couldn't spend them all!
As the lord of the flourishing Azure Heaven Domain, Qi Ping had virtually unlimited access to any resources below the Soul Transformation stage—especially those below the Nascent Soul stage. While that was a slight exaggeration, it highlighted his wealth. Nurturing an Azure Lightning Bamboo was a breeze.
'The only difficulty will be truly high-level lightning resources...' He had no current way to obtain those in bulk. From the Nascent Soul stage upward, resources became exceedingly precious. Even with Qi Ping's status, acquiring large amounts of Soul Transformation resources was impossible.
'However...' A special smile appeared on Qi Ping's face.
He might worry about other attributes, but lightning? He wasn't worried at all. Was there any lightning resource better than a lightning tribulation? And what was the Azure Heaven Domain currently not lacking? Lightning tribulations!
The domain currently had so many cultivators and discovered geniuses that breakthroughs occurred daily. Golden Core cultivators were no longer rare. Moreover, for the sake of safety, the vast majority of these cultivators chose to break through in the sanctuaries Qi Ping had established, as they guaranteed absolute safety. Unless someone could kill Daoist Bee first, it was impossible to disrupt a breakthrough in the sanctuary. And kill Daoist Bee? In your dreams!
In today's Azure Heaven Domain, Daoist Bee was a god! Not only the domain's own cultivators, but even those from other sects—as long as they didn't have a grudge against Daoist Bee—often chose to spend spirit stones to come to the sanctuaries here for their breakthroughs. There was no other reason than safety!
The measure Qi Ping had originally implemented to attract people and use the inspiration of breakthroughs to strengthen the domain had now become the best training ground for the Azure Lightning Bamboo! Who knew what level the bamboo would reach after devouring the terrifying power generated by these frequent lightning tribulations?
Furthermore, every breakthrough produced special Daoist rhythms and spiritual inspirations. Absorbing a small amount might not help much, but years of continuous consumption would likely drastically increase the bamboo's potential!
'Once the Azure Lightning Bamboo reaches the 3rd-grade, I'll create a specialized spirit field within the breakthrough sanctuary and let it reside there permanently!'
Qi Ping looked forward to seeing what an Azure Lightning Bamboo that devoured countless tribulations would become. A Tribulation-Divine Bamboo? A strong sense of anticipation rose within him. This bamboo's growth was truly something to look forward to!
As Qi Ping contemplated how to nurture it, the bamboo grew significantly, and a special realization surfaced from its body. Qi Ping immediately used his Plant Sovereign ability to fuse with this unique insight. When the insight entered his mind, his eyes widened.
'The insight provided by this Azure Lightning Bamboo is indeed different from ordinary trees. This realization, born from a near-fusion with the laws of lightning, is far superior to ordinary spirit wood!'
'It seems I have another reason to nurture Immortal-grade spirit trees!'
Setting aside their rarity and combat power, the goal of using Plant Sovereign to obtain Immortal-grade insights was reason enough for Qi Ping to invest heavily!
'In that case, if I can quickly gather Immortal-grade potential trees for Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, my comprehension of the laws will be accelerated and elevated to an even more terrifying level!'
Thinking of this, Qi Ping's gaze pierced through space to land on the siblings, Chang Qing and Chang E. They were currently using their unique talent to select seeds most likely to develop spirituality.
'Keep it up, little ones!'
'I've already arranged the safety, resources, and materials needed to heal your foundations. Whether I can gather the Immortal-grade potential trees of every attribute faster depends on you!'
The appearance of these siblings was a truly pleasant surprise for Qi Ping. As long as they helped him collect the trees, he could ensure they broke through to the top tier of the Azure Heaven Domain. As for their family's destruction, he could settle that debt with a wave of his hand—though revenge was always more satisfying when taken personally.
Qi Ping was very satisfied with their work state. 'But at this rate, the supply of spirit seeds won't keep up. I need to accelerate the acquisition of all kinds of spirit seeds!'
After a brief thought, he summoned Lin Yue. Not long after his message was sent, his toiling subordinate—Lin Yue—appeared once more! But unlike before, Lin Yue's cultivation had now reached the Nascent Soul stage! This was his reward for his service.
"Dean, what instructions do you have for me?" Lin Yue asked with the utmost respect. Among Qi Ping's faithful followers, Lin Yue was the strongest.
"Find a way to collect more spirit seeds, starting from low-grade ones, and give them to Chang Qing and Chang E for selection and nurturing. We must ensure every suitable seed is planted and utilized. You know how to do this better than I do!"
"Since the academy currently has plenty of spirit stones, I want you to organize more people. Before the price of spirit seeds skyrockets, buy up the entire visible stock of the Star-Sea Continent as fast as possible!"
"In short, I want the maximum number of spirit tree seeds in the shortest time. The rest is up to you and your team!"
Qi Ping quickly shared his ideas with Lin Yue. How to acquire the most seeds at the lowest cost was Lin Yue's problem. He was already skilled in this area, and his current brain trust was full of talent. With anticipation and planning, managing the acquisition wouldn't be difficult. After this purchase was complete, Qi Ping wouldn't care how high the prices soared. He might even sell a batch of spirit trees to capitalize on the craze. Once he stopped buying in bulk, the market would slowly stabilize.
The number of seeds Qi Ping wanted was so vast that he wasn't sure if even his terrifying wealth could easily cover it. But no matter what, he was determined to do it! Finding a single spirit tree with Immortal-grade potential made the whole thing profitable! If he could find a set for all attributes, "profitable" wouldn't even begin to describe it.
Most importantly, after this, he would not only have a legion of the most powerful Treant Warriors, but his speed in comprehending laws would also drastically increase! 'How powerful the Treant Warden profession can become in the short term depends on the results of this wave...'
Having increased the stakes for the search, Qi Ping settled down to nurture his other spirit trees—imprinting suitable spells into each one based on their unique attributes. While these trees didn't currently show Immortal-grade potential, it didn't mean their upper limits were fixed. As they grew and changed, more powerful trees might emerge in the future. He just wouldn't dump a disproportionate amount of resources into them. Only the strongest would earn the right to become his contract partners.
'These are the foundations of the future Azure Heaven Domain!'
It took Qi Ping nearly a month to finish imprinting spells for all the trees possessing spirituality. Looking at the thriving trees, he felt deeply satisfied. This vast number of high-potential trees would eventually become the strongest foundation for the domain's Zhou Heaven Array and provide the greatest boost to the spirit veins' growth. Their spiritual essence could drastically increase the veins' maturation speed.
Actually, Qi Ping was now spending spirit stones to have cultivators in the domain actively contribute a portion of their original spiritual power and spirituality to the spirit veins, within safe limits. Because he provided recovery pills, didn't harm their foundations, and offered spirit stones, many cultivators were attracted by his call.
The reason the domain's spirit veins could advance so quickly was that they gathered the will, essence, and inspiration of all living beings! Under this power, the veins were transforming at an incredible speed and gaining more spirituality! Qi Ping could clearly sense that this spirit vein was undergoing an unbelievable metamorphosis. He even felt it might eventually surpass the unique Dragon Vein in the Cloud-Mist Mountains. The future was bright!
Such a spirit vein growing under these unique conditions was likely unprecedented in the history of the immortal world. The only downside for Qi Ping was the annual expenditure of vast amounts of spirit stones and resources. But compared to the long-term benefits of a powerful spirit vein, the return on investment was exceptionally high.
Having finished this, Qi Ping began to wait quietly for the results of Lin Yue's acquisition mission across the continent. He couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation. However, before the acquisition even began, something happened that gave him a massive surprise:
The Void-Aether Fish had arrived!