Under Qi Ping's control, the spirit veins were slowly integrated into the earth. At that moment, the entire Star-Sea Nine Domains shook violently. Countless legendary auspicious phenomena appeared one after another: purple qi coming from the east, auspicious clouds covering the sky, and spiritual traits manifesting on their own... (TN: "Purple Qi from the East" is a classic symbol of a sage or supreme treasure arriving.)
The Providence and spiritual power of the Nine Domains skyrocketed. Simultaneously, Qi Ping released the massive amounts of spiritual essence from the traitors—including the most talented Bai Yuan and the Number One Body Cultivator Gu Shen. He merged them all into the ley lines.
In an instant, blood-red and golden lights flared! A stronger vibration came from the earth, followed by a powerful suction. The Seven-Color Ancestral Vein, in particular, madly absorbed this rare spiritual essence.
Nourished by this essence, the Ancestral Vein's light grew even more brilliant! Like a plant receiving rain, it quickly took root and grew rapidly within the Nine Domains. It grew larger with every breath, and the damage it had sustained when it was moved was being repaired at an extreme speed.
Before long, all the damage had been completely repaired! A smile appeared on Qi Ping's lips. This was just as he had predicted: the spiritual essence from the cultivators' remains provided immense help to the spirit vein's growth. Compared to the crude methods of burying corpses often found in the cultivation world, his method—researched through his Earth Immortal Druid abilities—was far more sophisticated and maximized the utility of the remains.
The essence from half of the continent's Void Refinement and Soul Transformation experts did not disappoint him. After repairing its damage, the Ancestral Vein's grade and strength rose rapidly! After absorbing the essence, it had reached the late stage of the Sixth Grade—a rise of two small levels!
This was a Sixth-Grade vein, equivalent to the Void Refinement stage, and a rare Seven-Color Ancestral Vein at that! Furthermore, it wasn't over. Once it fully digested the essence and merged with the subterranean ley line being fortified by the Earth-Vein Ants, reaching the Great Circle of the Sixth Grade would be no problem. At that point, it could potentially support the birth of a Unity-stage expert!
(TN: Unity stage, or Integration stage, is the realm beyond Void Refinement.)
Perhaps before the great war, the Star-Sea Continent would have a chance to produce a Unity-stage powerhouse! Besides the Ancestral Vein, the other Fourth and Fifth-Grade veins also received massive benefits, rising by different degrees. This was due to both the essence and the super Dragon Vein Qi Ping had built using the Earth-Vein Ants and materials from across the continent.
These spirit veins had never had such a powerful ley line to support them in their former homes. Now, being merged into the Star-Sea Nine Domains was like a submerged dragon entering the sea; their power naturally reached new heights. Since Qi Ping had controlled the initial damage and then used the essence to repair them, they now erupted with spiritual qi far stronger than before!
'Excellent. This is even better than I anticipated!' Qi Ping was very satisfied.
And if Qi Ping was satisfied, the rest of the people were ecstatic! In the past, every domain on the Star-Sea Continent had special barriers created by generations of cultivators to prevent their spiritual qi from leaking. Such barriers were easy for cultivators to create, making them very popular. The Qingtian Domain had once had one as well.
Due to the precious nature of spiritual qi, destroying a barrier was practically an act of war. Every sect fought to protect its foundation and wealth; spiritual qi was more valuable than Spirit Stones. These barriers were why the strength gap between regions was so vast, and why places like the Barbarian Domain were resource-poor.
But now that Qi Ping had unified the nine domains, there was no need for such barriers. Otherwise, the gap between the regions would remain too large, and the spiritual qi from the Seven-Color Ancestral Vein would not reach everyone. This wouldn't be good for Qi Ping or the people who had joined him. While the qi would be thinner after spreading, it was vital for every cultivator and every new life. It would increase the probability of producing talented cultivators and successful breakthroughs across the entire Star-Sea.
However, this had to be restricted to the Nine Domains. If the area was too large, the Ancestral Vein's effect would be negligible. Thus, Qi Ping established a more perfect barrier at the borders of the Nine Domains—a simple task for him as its Earth Immortal.
This move sent the cultivators of the Nine Domains into another frenzy!
"This spiritual qi density... heavens!"
"This is denser than the caves I used to rent with large amounts of Spirit Stones! The quality is higher too!"
"And this is just an ordinary area. I can't imagine how dense it will be in the caves near the spirit veins!"
"Indeed. Especially that Seven-Color Ancestral Vein. To think it appeared in our generation... that is the greatest opportunity! Senior Bee promised that anyone with enough merit can apply to cultivate there!"
"He's giving us ordinary cultivators a chance. Normally, such a vein would be monopolized by the top experts. We wouldn't even be able to get a sip of the leftovers!"
"I couldn't agree more. The sect that ruled where I used to live... thinking about them makes me sick. Living there wasn't being a cultivator; it was being their cattle!"
"My old home wasn't much better. If I didn't have a relative working as a deacon, I would have lived even worse than you. Those without background or connections lived miserably, and many died from improper cultivation!"
"All crows are black! But Senior Bee is the exception. When I first heard the policies of the Qingtian Domain, I thought it was just pretty words. Who could believe it?"
"But it turned out to be true! It had to be Senior Bee! I've read the records of legendary figures throughout history, but in my eyes, they all pale in comparison to him!"
"Just in terms of magnanimity alone, who can match him? Forget the Ancestral Vein—the merit required will be high—but he decreed that every spirit vein in the Nine Domains must provide a portion of cultivation spots for those with merit. That is the greatest benefit for us ordinary people!"
"Indeed. The Ancestral Vein is a legend, but it's too far from us. Getting a sip of its soup is enough. What matters most are the ordinary veins of all levels. We can get those through hard work. There is hope for our path!"
"I have no hope for myself anymore, but I can secure a future for my child. With my help, my son will have the chance to stand higher!"
"Another great thing is that merit isn't just earned through fighting. Alchemy, talismans, creating techniques, farming, raising beasts... anything that helps development can earn merit. I have a friend who suggested a plan to develop the Qingtian Domain. It was adopted, and he got a hundred thousand merit points! He soared to the heavens in one go!"
"What? A plan earned a hundred thousand points? That isn't soaring; that's ascending on the spot!"
"So, think more when you have time. See how you can help the Nine Domains develop. We're just starting, so there are opportunities everywhere. Maybe we can get a hundred thousand points too? Why don't we plan together?"
"I'm in! As the saying goes, 'Three cobblers can rival a master strategist.' Let's find some trusted friends and work together!"
The eruption of spiritual qi brought about by the remains caused a carnival among the practitioners. This positive, joyful emotion brought an unimaginable vitality to the Star-Sea Nine Domains. This "vitality" had a very positive effect on the world's transformation—like the difference between a spirited youth and a decaying old man.
This, combined with the surge in faith and admiration for Qi Ping, caused his Earth Immortal and Heaven-Earth-Living-Things paths to continue transforming! Yes, his transformation had not stopped; his power was still growing! His gains this time far exceeded his expectations.
Furthermore, through his path of Heaven, Earth, and All Living Things, he could hear almost every conversation below. This made him feel even better. For one, these people truly supported him from the heart! But what excited him most was that they were all thinking of how to earn merit and develop the Nine Domains!
With such a unified force, it would be hard for this land not to prosper! When the wisdom and strength of countless cultivators were unified and managed well, the result was staggering. The Qingtian Domain had grown from a small area precisely because it gathered the wisdom of so many. Now that Qi Ping and his team had experience in managing a large domain, and he had the power to suppress all things, he had absolute confidence.
'This state is wonderful!' Qi Ping was beyond satisfied with the state of his home. If this continued, his Earth Immortal Domain would grow even stronger.
However, as he smiled, his expression suddenly froze. While processing the conversations, he heard some cultivators in a hidden corner discussing how to cause chaos and destruction.
Some of them were formerly in power; having been "masters" for so long, they couldn't handle being on the same level as everyone else, and their minds had become twisted. Some wanted to seek greater profit from the chaos. Others were simply wicked to the core, wanting to destroy for the sake of destruction...
The diversity of living beings was on full display. Qi Ping had nothing to say to such people. A killing intent flashed in his eyes, and he directly manipulated his Earth Immortal power to drag these people out! When they were gathered together, there were tens of thousands of them!
Compared to the massive population of the Nine Domains, this number was tiny. But seeing tens of thousands of cultivators suddenly dragged into the air at once was still a shocking sight. Some of them were quite famous.
"What is happening?"
"Why did Senior Bee suddenly seize tens of thousands of cultivators? And he even imprisoned them?"
This sudden change caused the joy of the crowd to halt. But seeing the terrified and panicked expressions of those seized, most people guessed they had done something wrong. They didn't believe Senior Bee would target them without cause.
But as they looked at the black-robed figure they respected so much, Qi Ping did not explain. Instead, a world-shaking killing intent erupted from him! This terrifying aura chilled everyone's hearts. In the next instant, under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the tens of thousands of living cultivators exploded into a blood mist simultaneously!
Then, without any attempt to hide it, the blood mist was decomposed before everyone's eyes, transforming into pure spiritual essence that merged into the earth to nourish the spirit veins...