At this moment, Qi Ping was draped in a truly awakened Sovereign Dao Armor and held a demonic blade capable of cleaving the heavens and earth, yet his attention was not on himself.
The awakening of this armor and the birth of the Heaven-Cleaving Demonic Blade were rooted in tragedy—born from the deaths of countless Star-Sea citizens.
More importantly, Qi Ping sensed Bai Liyun's aura within the blade!
'It contains Daoist Bai's true, pure demonic nature!'
'And this blade... it was forged from Daoist Bai's Life-Soul Tool, his physical body, and his entire Dao-fruit. It has also fused with a terrifying power... there are the laws of the Great Dao, and the aura of the Primordial Battlefield. Thus, the power within this blade has nearly reached the limit of the Unity stage.'
'Because of this, Daoist Bai—who should have perished—has managed to leave a sliver of his true spirit and demonic nature within it. If that's the case, if I can nurture and strengthen this sliver of spirit, he might actually have a chance at resurrection!'
Excitement surged through Qi Ping at the realization. Bai Liyun still had a chance!
"Dao of All Living Things... Spirit Nurturing!"
Discovering this possibility, Qi Ping immediately manipulated the gentlest power of his Dao, carefully layering protection around that sliver of demonic spirit. Simultaneously, he etched Bai Liyun's Dao-imprint onto the Heaven-Cleaving Demonic Blade.
Only after setting as many protective seals and nurturing arrays as possible did Qi Ping let out a sigh of relief.
Watching that sliver of demonic spirit grow slightly stronger, a smile finally appeared in Qi Ping's eyes. At this moment, he was absolutely certain that Bai Liyun had hope of returning!
"Hahaha, good, very good!"
"Daoist Bai, I will surely let you see the light of day again!"
With hope for Bai Liyun's revival, the grief in Qi Ping's heart lessened slightly. He was finally able to turn his focus toward his newly transformed Sovereign Dao Armor and the Heaven-Cleaving Demonic Blade.
'So this is the true power of the Sovereign Dao Armor... the previous armor was merely something the Star-Sea citizens bestowed upon me. It forcibly increased my power rather than being something I cultivated and understood myself.'
Truth be told, Qi Ping considered himself a selfish person. He was afraid of death and preferred to hide away, slowly growing stronger in the peace and quiet of his high-grade spirit fields.
Had he not been threatened from the outside—had those bastards not recklessly destroyed the natural energy that formed his foundation as a Druid—he might never have stepped out into the world.
But as a Druid, he was forced to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the balance of heaven and earth. Otherwise, if he lost his Druid powers, the very foundation of his path to immortality would be ruined.
And so, swept along by the tides of fate, he had stepped up to become the Lord of the Qingtian Domain and eventually the Sovereign of the Star-Sea. His original intention was simply to strengthen his Druid powers and protect himself. Perhaps there was a small, lingering desire to make the world a better place, but that was all.
How could such a selfish person truly grasp the power of the Sovereign Dao?
When Qi Ping first obtained the power of the Dao of All Living Things, he was essentially a child who had been handed a divine weapon!
But as he walked this path... Qi Ping watched the world slowly improve under his leadership and actions. He saw Lin Yue, Wang He, Meng Tianqi, and Bai Liyun fighting with all their heart and soul for a goal that seemed completely impractical.
He saw the ordinary cultivators and common people living in unprecedented peace under his protection. He saw geniuses slowly blooming in their respective fields.
They were smiling. They were praising Qi Ping as the unprecedented leader of the Star-Sea. they offered him their total loyalty and faith.
Slowly and imperceptibly, Qi Ping had been changed by this process. Even he hadn't realized that his goal had shifted beyond merely increasing his Druid strength.
In this life-or-death battle between the Star-Sea and the Demon Realm, watching his friends fight to the death for him, watching his subjects fight for their home, and seeing the Heaven-Cleaving Demonic Blade forged from Bai Liyun's sacrifice... he finally realized the change within himself.
It was a Sovereign's Heart that had gradually manifested without him knowing.
At this very moment, the Sovereign Dao power attached to his body was truly understood by him.
"Sovereign Dao Armor!"
"Dao of All Living Things... manifested through the power of all life. I am the Sovereign of all life in the Star-Sea, and behind me stand all its living souls. Their power is my power."
"And now, this Sovereign Dao power has become a new realm for me. This realm is a unique path of cultivation. In other words, in addition to my own cultivation level, I now possess a Sovereign Dao foundation equivalent to the late-stage Unity realm."
"This Sovereign Dao foundation has its own powers and divine abilities, and it can also be added to any other divine ability I have mastered."
"My own cultivation remains at the near-perfect Soul Transformation foundation, but I now have a Sovereign Dao foundation that is currently equivalent to the late-stage Unity realm!"
"I see!"
After digesting the information about the Sovereign Dao Armor, Qi Ping finally understood the true meaning of the Dao of All Living Things! This was a cultivation foundation bestowed upon him by the people of the Star-Sea—a unique foundation composed of all their lives!
At that moment, Qi Ping saw information regarding the Sovereign Dao Armor appear on his attribute panel:
(Sovereign Dao Armor: Late-stage Unity)
(Cultivation Realm: Late-stage Soul Transformation)
"And this Heaven-Cleaving Demonic Blade..."
"It turns out that after Daoist Bai merged with the Dao, he seized the power of the Great Dao laws and the Primordial Battlefield. Thus, it has transformed into a Unity-level Dao Weapon with unique spirituality and life."
"Aside from its Heaven-Cleaving characteristic, it also possesses the power to devour demons to strengthen itself?"
"Does that mean as long as I let the blade devour more Unity-level demons, Daoist Bai's spirituality will recover faster?"
"Good, very good!"
In this moment, Qi Ping had completely realized his own power. He now had even greater confidence that he could slay more Unity-level demons.
Whether it was the Sovereign Dao Armor or the Heaven-Cleaving Demonic Blade, the power they possessed was beyond what an ordinary late-stage Unity cultivator could imagine. It was a magnificent force occupying an absolute high ground!
This was the source of Qi Ping's confidence in being able to slay more Saint-grade demons.
"Demonic brats... it is time you paid the price for the people of the Star-Sea."
As the thought settled, Qi Ping's form tore through the void and stepped out!
But he soon paused, for a notification he had never anticipated appeared.
(Triggering fourth Druid profession... Sovereign Dao Druid!)
(Sovereign Dao Druid awakening in progress...)