After the little Azure Dragon's breakthrough concluded, Qi Ping led the creature back to his secluded cultivation grounds amidst the reverent gazes of the crowd.
In the Star-Sea Nine Domains, everything was now on track. The primary strategies and policies had been established, and Qi Ping only needed to delegate these tasks to his subordinates. He was now the Lord of the Star-Sea in the truest sense; with a single command, the entire continent moved for him.
However, there was one exception.
Lin Yue was currently gathering and transporting spiritual trees from across the Star-Sea Continent for him. Every spiritual plant that possessed a grade was being transplanted into the Nine Domains. This undertaking required a massive amount of labor, but labor was the one thing the Nine Domains did not lack. Cultivators who lacked specialized skills were taught how to identify and transplant spiritual flora and then dispatched to handle this time-consuming work.
Qi Ping waited with anticipation. Over the years, the Qingtian Domain had nurtured many plants with special spiritual nature, even producing several with Immortal-grade potential, such as the Azure Lightning Bamboo. Now that the spiritual trees of the entire continent were gathering, it was certain that even more exceptional specimens would emerge—likely surpassing the number previously born in the Qingtian Domain. After all, this was the accumulation of the continent's history, personally selected by Qi Ping in the largely underdeveloped field of spiritual forestry.
The number of "geniuses" among plants far exceeded those among spirit beasts! Therefore, compared to his Beast King Druid side, the Shepherd of Trees profession could contract and nurture a far greater number of exceptional talents. In terms of future combat strength, the integrated power of these spiritual trees would inevitably surpass that of his animal companions, simply because of the sheer difference in numbers.
Qi Ping's only regret was that he had developed this Shepherd of Trees ability too late. These trees had not yet reached maturity and currently only served to enhance the overall spiritual nature of the continent. However, such a one-in-a-million standard of selection was something he could not have achieved in the past; the threshold was simply too high.
But once that threshold was crossed, the growth ceiling of a Shepherd of Trees would exceed all expectations.
First, regarding the number of contracts, a Shepherd of Trees faced far fewer restrictions than a Beast King did with animal companions. Animal companions shared their talents with Qi Ping, which involved complex laws of power. The Tree-Spirit Contract was much simpler; as long as Qi Ping's soul could bear the weight, there was no limit to the quantity.
As an Earth Immortal Druid of the Nine Domains, Qi Ping had gathered the majority of the world's life and resources into one place. This had strengthened his soul to an incredible degree, far surpassing the limits of a normal cultivator. As long as his main body remained within the Nine Domains, he could maintain a staggering number of contracts. Thus, his Shepherd of Trees profession could contract the most talented spiritual trees and seeds from the continent's long history.
This batch of botanical geniuses would be nurtured by a Shepherd of Trees with unique cultivation abilities. Their potential would be unimaginable. Once these elite trees matured, their combat power would reach a level that would shock the world, becoming a core force in the protection of his home.
It was worth noting that the number of trees Qi Ping had already awakened exceeded ten thousand! Supported by the manuals and spells Qi Ping had inscribed for them, their growth rate was delightful. Some had even begun to take human-like forms. There were Ginseng Spirits, Scholar-Tree Spirits, Blood-Apricot Spirits, and more.
These simple-minded little fellows lived in the Spiritual Tree Academy Qi Ping had established. The academy was filled with manuals and knowledge suitable for plant spirits, and every tree that matured would contribute its own insights to the academy's archives. Currently, the academy was only a prototype, housing tree spirits with simple intellects. However, since trees capable of developing sentience were rare geniuses of their kind, few of them possessed low talent. Once the academy matured, Qi Ping would let it reveal itself to the world, allowing this force belonging to the Shepherd of Trees to truly grow. He saw immense potential in them, believing they would one day rival the Qing-God Army.
After the tribulation, the little Azure Dragon, Xiao Qing, had changed its form. It had shrunk to the size of a human arm, resembling a piece of brilliant emerald jade. However, its fierce four claws and majestic head and horns distinguished it from a mere snake. Little Xiao Qing coiled around Qi Ping's arm and shoulder with extreme intimacy, occasionally rubbing against his cheek.
"Master!" Xiao Qing said in a milky, childish voice.
"Mmm. You're called Xiao Qing. Who gave you this name? Was it yourself?" Qi Ping gently stroked the dragon's scaled body; the texture was remarkably pleasant.
"No, Master! This is the name my mother gave me!"
"Mother? Have you seen your mother?" Qi Ping was startled.
"No, Xiao Qing only felt Mother's aura and voice while I was inside the egg."
"You had already developed consciousness while your mother was still around? Do you know anything about her?" Qi Ping was excited. Had this little dragon actually communicated with a Four Symbols divine beast from the ancient past? Finally, he might learn the truth about the ancient era.
But Xiao Qing's next words disappointed him.
"I don't know, Master. Xiao Qing had just gained consciousness. Mother only spoke to me for a few days before she suddenly told me that she and Father had to go to a very far place. Then she told Xiao Qing to have a good sleep."
"She said when Xiao Qing woke up, I would meet a human who would be very good to me—and that's you, Master! Hee-hee!"
"She also told me to stay close to Master. When I grow up and become an adult, I can find out where they are!"
"Master, Mother said Father is a grand Azure Dragon who stands between heaven and earth. He's a very strong relative I can rely on. But I never felt Father's aura, and I never heard his voice."
"Master, when will Xiao Qing grow up and become an adult? I miss Mother and Father a little..."
The little dragon chattered on without much sadness, instead coiling around Qi Ping and curiously observing the surroundings. A single flower or a stone filled it with excitement and novelty.
Qi Ping, however, was momentarily speechless. He didn't know how to respond to this newly born creature. Given the vast span of time that had passed, Xiao Qing's mother was almost certainly dead—likely having died from the sacrifice that allowed the dragon's life to endure until now. And Xiao Qing's father likely met no better end; otherwise, how could he have stood by while his wife sacrificed herself?
The promise that he could see them upon reaching adulthood was likely a lie. After all, who would want their child to bear the pain of losing both parents from birth? Perhaps the best-case scenario was that the parents had left an inheritance memory that would answer everything once the dragon matured.
'Pity the hearts of parents!'
'I'll keep it a secret for now. I'll let Xiao Qing make friends and build bonds. With those ties, perhaps the truth will be easier to bear in adulthood.'
Having settled on a solution, Qi Ping decided to help the dragon's parents. He replied: "It takes a long time for your Azure Dragon race to reach adulthood. It won't be easy!"
"How can I make it faster?" Xiao Qing asked immediately.
"You need to work hard at cultivation and exercise. Eat seriously. Your inheritance memory should have manuals for cultivation and tempering your body, right?"
"I have them, Master!"
"Then tell me about them..."
In the following period, Qi Ping used his Treant Clone to communicate with Xiao Qing about the inheritance knowledge. Combining this with the spirit beast nurturing methods he had researched, he devised an "Accelerated Adulthood Plan" for the dragon. After playing for a while, Xiao Qing began to cultivate according to the plan, creating a terrifyingly powerful aura. The frightening talent of a Four Symbols divine beast was revealed; even as a juvenile, it possessed power rivaling a Void Refinement expert.
Furthermore, during their conversation, Qi Ping discovered that Xiao Qing's Destiny power was layered twice. It was now confirmed that the dragon had indeed inherited its mother's Destiny. However, Qi Ping could not determine what kind of Destiny it was. His knowledge in this area was too sparse.
The only certain thing was that under the influence of Xiao Qing's Destiny, the Nine Domains gained a special aura of Qi Fortune, resembling a "Sun Rising over the Eastern Mountain." This genuinely shocked Qi Ping. A single Destiny could influence the Qi Fortune of an entire world!
'This Destiny power is even more mysterious and powerful than I expected. It's a shame my knowledge is lacking, and I cannot explore its true secrets.'
Destiny was related to the true source power of the Myriad Worlds and tied to immortality. It was not something easily understood. It was not surprising that he could only see the tip of the iceberg.
'It seems that to obtain truly useful information and secrets, I must open information channels with other worlds.'
As Qi Ping's main body focused on full-effort cultivation, time passed quickly. The Nine Domains entered a state of intense activity. Unless something as significant as Qi Ping's constitution awakening occurred, ordinary matters did not distract them. Everyone knew that this was no time for laziness.
Through a period of cultivation, the power of the Five Elements Celestial Physique was fully demonstrated. This special constitution, born from five top-tier elements, allowed for incredible cultivation speed. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth and all things within the five elements were like best friends to this physique; it seemed everything in the world was assisting his progress.
Under these conditions, although Qi Ping's physique and manuals required a terrifying amount of spiritual energy to polish his foundation, it did not slow him down—especially since he was positioned at the core of the Seven-Colored Ancestral Vein. Almost all the spirit veins of the Nine Domains converged on him through the super-large ley line constructed by the Earth-Vein Ants.
With this power, Qi Ping quickly broke through from the middle to the late Nascent Soul stage, and then to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Even the peak did not stall him for long. Not long after Xiao Qing hatched, Qi Ping's bottleneck for the Soul Transformation stage was breached!
This bottleneck, which stumped countless people, only had the right to delay Qi Ping for a brief moment—and that was mainly because he was reflecting on whether his foundation had reached absolute perfection. Once he confirmed there were no issues, he shattered the limits of the Nascent Soul realm and stepped directly into the Soul Transformation stage.
Upon reaching Soul Transformation, his entire foundation underwent a frantic transformation. His body and soul were becoming divine, gradually shedding their mortal shell. Once one reached this stage, they were a 'God' in the truest sense.
Because Qi Ping's foundation was incredibly deep, the resulting lightning tribulation was terrifying. It was the most frightening tribulation in the history of the Star-Sea Continent—except for Xiao Qing's three-colored tribulation. Xiao Qing's tribulation involved power from outside the continent, which was a special force Qi Ping might not have been able to withstand. Thus, counting the dragon, Qi Ping's tribulation rank was second.
Qi Ping felt no dissatisfaction. He was certain his foundation had reached absolute completion. He had walked well enough on the path of immortality. Furthermore, his ultimate goal was to fully grasp the spiritual energy system; he did not envy special powers he could not yet research or control.
As for the tribulation itself, compared to Xiao Qing's struggle, Qi Ping was much more relaxed. The lightning, which seemed capable of destroying the world, was absorbed by him as easily as eating or drinking. The ultimate power of the Qi Refinement path's Soul Transformation stage was insufficient compared to the power he currently wielded.
After the breakthrough, Qi Ping's strength increased significantly, though it wasn't the explosive surge one might imagine. Simply put, this breakthrough just lengthened his "mana bar" and improved the quality of his energy. His true peak combat power still came from the Way of Sentient Beings and his Earth Immortal Druid abilities. However, this breakthrough also perfected his Way of Sentient Beings, as the foundation of that derivative law was rooted in Qi Refinement cultivation.
Beyond that, what made Qi Ping happiest was that his lifespan had surged by a massive amount! Having officially stepped over the threshold of the Soul Transformation stage, he gained a deeper understanding of the rules governing cultivation power and the growth of lifespan. To him, these were the most fundamental elements.