With Qi Ping's current status, by today, almost all information regarding spirit beasts on the Star-Sea Continent had been actively contributed to him. With the Little Immortal Tiger calculating based on all the gathered information, a suitable animal companion for Qi Ping was quickly located.
It didn't cost Qi Ping much effort. He simply issued the requirement and stated that this matter was very important to him and needed to be handled seriously. Once he expressed this need, his subordinates naturally worked desperately to get it done.
This was where the benefit of being the head of a major power showed. With a simple command, his people brought him information on almost every Wood-attribute spirit beast with high talent on the continent. If he had done this alone, he wouldn't have known how many years or how much energy it would take to investigate. Now, with one sentence, the task was completed in less than a month, and the quality of the result exceeded his expectations.
Faced with such excellent work from his subordinates, Qi Ping was not stingy and gave out generous rewards. These rewards were nothing to him. Never mind the Nine Domains; the massive tax revenue from the Qingtian Domain alone filled his pockets. Even the spirit stones earned from selling the special honey produced by the Golden Marrow Bees were more than he could spend. Most of the time, he used them to subsidize infrastructure in the Qingtian Domain, and now he was spending a vast amount to subsidize the Nine Domains.
These subsidies went toward things like the development of spiritual fields and the large-scale planting of spiritual trees—matters that concerned the growth ceiling of his Earth Immortal domain and his potential as a Shepherd of Trees.
However, this didn't mean Qi Ping lacked resources. He only lacked the ordinary resources that spirit stones could buy. What he truly lacked now were seeds at the Soul Transformation and Void Refinement levels, space and time-attribute manuals, and spiritual trees with Immortal-grade potential. Or rather, rare and legendary resources like the Seven-Colored Ancestral Vein were what Qi Ping truly pursued. Most of these things could not be bought with spirit stones; they were hard even to encounter.
Still, the feeling of having ample spirit stones was great. Although he didn't lack them, it was precisely because he had them that he could build a massive power, complete the infrastructure of his Earth Immortal domain, support future rapid development, and nurture a vast number of trees to find those with Immortal-grade potential.
"It feels so good to have the support of a major power!" Qi Ping stroked a giant egg covered in azure scales and surrounded by dense Wood-attribute spiritual energy. A rare smile hung on his face.
This azure egg, which was significantly larger than him, was the target of his current contract: The Azure Dragon Egg!
The target for this animal companion contract was somewhat beyond Qi Ping's expectations. In his estimates, the most likely candidate was a tree-type Wood spirit beast or a beast with the bloodline of the Qilin. Such creatures were rare in the Star-Sea Continent but could still be tracked down. However, none of them had been particularly impressive, which was why Qi Ping had originally chosen the Void-Aether Fish school for his tenth companion instead of a Wood-attribute beast. In terms of rarity and power, the fish school simply crushed ordinary Wood-attribute spirit beasts.
He had figured he would rather contract the fish first and then wait for Crowy and the others to kidnap a powerful Wood beast for him from the Forest Sea Demon Realm before he broke through to the Soul Transformation stage. But now, Qi Ping had no time to wait. The crisis was imminent, and he had to raise his strength as quickly as possible. He even had to forcibly contract a new animal companion despite his Druid level not having broken through.
Furthermore, Qi Ping had realized that the strength of a Wood-attribute talent was no longer that vital to him; what was crucial was forming a stable balance among the five elements. But the appearance of the Azure Dragon egg was a massive surprise! This was an Azure Dragon egg, and its bloodline rank appeared to be at least Rank 6 peak-grade, possibly even higher!
The Azure Dragon belongs to the Wood element among the five elements and is one of the Four Symbols. In this cultivation world, it was known as the God of the East, symbolizing spring and vitality. It controlled wind and rain, representing auspiciousness and authority. Whether in appearance, bloodline, or what it represented, it was an incredibly impressive existence. According to various ancient records, the Azure Dragon lineage was extremely scarce; even spirit beasts with thin Azure Dragon bloodlines were rarely seen.
Qi Ping had considered that if he could contract an Azure Dragon as an animal companion, it would be an excellent choice. But when he had performed deductions across the continent before, he hadn't found any suitable bloodlines. Who would have thought one would appear today!
This Azure Dragon egg was provided by a plain, low-profile sect. It was a mystery known only to their successive sect leaders. However, there was only a very faint aura of life inside the egg. Their sect had gone through countless generations without ever successfully hatching it. This generation's sect leader, after careful consideration, finally chose to reveal the information to the Bee Daoist, whose reputation and word-of-mouth were excellent.
The Little Immortal Tiger used this information as a karmic clue, combined with the protection of the Qi Fortune provided by Qi Ping, to finally calculate that this was the most suitable companion for Qi Ping on the continent.
Only after Qi Ping got his hands on the egg did he discover why it couldn't be detected before, and why the sect holding it couldn't hatch it. The interior of the egg was under a very powerful seal, placed by someone at least at the Unity Stage. This seal carried the power of time and the power to isolate karma. If not for the information about the egg acting as a lead, even the Little Immortal Tiger—despite the help of Qi Fortune—could not have found it out of thin air.
Additionally, for unknown reasons, the egg was heavily damaged, and its life aura was weak. If not for the seal and the efforts of that small sect over generations, the life force might not have lasted until today. It likely would have become a dead egg in the river of history and never fallen into his hands.
"It seems the origin of this egg is unusual. There must be a special story behind it..."
A faint intuition from the Great Dao told Qi Ping that this egg existed during the era when all the Mahayana cultivators of the Star-Sea Continent perished and the continent was besieged by the Demon Race. Perhaps the egg was damaged and sealed during that war.
"But after so much time, the things related to it have probably turned to dust, right?"
Qi Ping wasn't certain. Cultivators at the peak of the world could live for a very long time; perhaps some karmic connection still existed.
"But the karma with the Demon Race hasn't been severed, that's for sure. Meeting me at this time and junction might truly be a kind of fate."
Currently, he needed a Wood-attribute companion to fill the final gap in his five elements. In the current Star-Sea Continent, he was likely the only one with enough resources and methods to save this egg that was nearing the end of its life. The depletion of this egg was simply too severe. Qi Ping estimated it would need a vast amount of spiritual herbs to be nurtured back. And this nurturing wasn't just a simple stacking of resources; it required specialized cultivation methods.
Because Qi Ping possessed the Earth Immortal Druid power to see through the essence of the world and extraordinary insight, and because he had learned many spirit beast cultivation techniques as a Beast King Druid, he was able to find a way to nurture and hatch the egg.
After obtaining the Azure Dragon egg, Qi Ping spent the majority of his time and energy on its hatching and his own cultivation, leaving only a small amount of time to observe the development of the Nine Domains. Fortunately, Lin Yue's management didn't disappoint him. Even though the management area had expanded to the Nine Domains, he still kept the place in perfect order, with every industry in a state of flourishing development.
Therefore, for most of the following time, Qi Ping stayed inside a core cave dwelling within the Seven-Colored Ancestral Vein. As the days passed, Qi Ping's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds within this Rank 6 peak-grade ancestral vein. The ancestral vein's effect on breakthroughs was extraordinary, allowing his cultivation speed to far exceed the past and strengthening his cultivation in all aspects—improving his aptitude, foundation, and comprehension.
Furthermore, what made Qi Ping exceptionally excited was that under the nurturing of the ancestral vein and various resources, the Azure Dragon egg's life aura had changed from weak to incredibly robust. Even though it hadn't hatched yet, Qi Ping could feel the powerful heartbeat inside and an increasingly strong pressure!
He also noticed that as the egg gradually recovered, an unusually powerful Qi Fortune began to gather around it. Because of his special status, Qi Ping could even sense that the world itself had a special affinity for this egg. This made him feel that the background of this Azure Dragon egg might truly be extraordinary.
Perhaps for this reason, combined with the ample resources and the proximity of the ancestral vein, the egg's bloodline pressure and concentration grew stronger, faintly breaking through toward Rank 7. From a pressure at Rank 4 to nearly Rank 7, the difference was enough to stun anyone.
"Perhaps 'recovery' is a more appropriate term than 'breakthrough'..."
As Qi Ping's understanding of the egg grew clearer, he sensed its latent potential. It seemed the hatching would still take quite some time. But sensing the little fellow's affection and dependence on him, Qi Ping was quite satisfied. He wasn't in a great hurry because he only needed to fully complete his five-element physique before reaching the Soul Transformation stage. When the little fellow inside wanted to come out, Qi Ping even sent a message telling it to wait patiently.
He had discovered that the seal on the egg didn't just contain the powers of time and karma; it also held a special inheritance and strengthening force. This special force appeared only after the dragon inside had mostly recovered. Now, this power was combining with the ancestral vein's energy to try and push the little fellow's bloodline to an astonishing level. Qi Ping naturally gave his full support to such a good thing.
In the time that followed, Qi Ping specifically set aside a portion of his mind to observe the egg to ensure no accidents occurred. Otherwise, he used the power of the Rank 6 ancestral vein to frantically raise his cultivation. Because his comprehension in all areas far exceeded his current level—even the most difficult Way of Sentient Beings had reached an unprecedented height—what he lacked most was the accumulation of spiritual power.
With the help of the nearly Rank 7 ancestral vein, Qi Ping's realm grew with almost every breath. The speed was incredible. During this process, as the little fellow in the egg matured, Qi Ping completed the animal companion contract with it, successfully sharing the little dragon's talent.
(TN: Shared Talent - Azure Wood Divine Body: Possesses the pure and powerful bloodline of the Azure Dragon, one of the Four Symbols. Features one of the strongest recovery constitutions among divine beasts. The physique is incredibly tough, possessing near-immortal power. Can effectively resist forces intended to obliterate the self. As long as power is not exhausted, the soul and body will not perish. Possesses supreme Wood-attribute cultivation talent, allowing cultivation speed to advance by leaps and bounds.)
Qi Ping did not hesitate in choosing the little dragon's talent. Although as a pure and powerful Azure Dragon, its other two talents were also very strong—including super divine abilities to control wind and rain that made Qi Ping very envious—to complete his five-element physique, the Azure Wood Divine Body was the only choice.
Even if he could choose freely, Qi Ping would still have picked the Azure Wood Divine Body. This talent was simply too powerful. As one of the Four Symbols, the Azure Dragon's cultivation talent in the Wood element went without saying. The terrifying recovery ability and damage resistance were nearly immortal, and when stacked with a high-level cultivator's already undying constitution, it was a massive "undying buff."
Once Qi Ping understood the power of this talent, he finally realized that the egg had lasted until now not just because of the seal, but because the dragon itself possessed an immortal trait. It could resist any external force, including the erosion of time, allowing it to span the river of time and endure until today despite being unhatched.
This time, Qi Ping had truly witnessed what pure divine beast power was like. It was incredibly powerful. And just as Qi Ping completely finished merging the Azure Wood Divine Body—completing the final gap in his five elements with the highest-tier Wood talent—an incredibly wondrous power began to appear around his body...