The moment Qi Ping laid eyes on the Yellow Spring Tree Seed, his heart skipped a beat!
Immediately after, his eyes flooded with unbridled excitement!
"It's actually a Yellow Spring Tree Seed!"
Qi Ping's current joy and exhilaration were even more intense than when he had harvested the three Golden Core spirit artifacts earlier!
In his view, the value of a Yellow Spring Tree Seed outweighed everything else he had obtained combined!
This was because the Yellow Spring Tree was a "rankless" spirit wood! Or rather, it was a type of spirit tree without fixed limitations; as long as the supply of resources was sufficient, it could grow with startling speed!
If a Yellow Spring Tree were given to a Sacred Land to nurture, its upper limit would reach heights that Qi Ping currently couldn't even fathom!
"My goodness!"
Qi Ping found it difficult to believe that such a precious spirit tree seed had been found on the Golden Core Early Stage elder whom Wang He had slain with a single strike!
Was this something a Golden Core Early Stage cultivator should possess? To be more precise, was this something any cultivator below the Soul Transformation stage should even dare to covet?
To put it bluntly: if news of the Yellow Spring Tree were to leak out, the Qingyuan Sect would not be far from total annihilation!
And yet, such a precious seed had fallen into Qi Ping's hands. One could only imagine his current state of mind.
"My luck is truly exploding this time!"
It wasn't just as simple as finding a Yellow Spring Tree Seed in a storage ring. If he hadn't spent years planning the move in Starfall City, and if Wang He hadn't stepped forward to achieve enlightenment and break through, using his peak strike in a special state to slay that elder, and if Wang He hadn't then handed over the ring as compensation... Qi Ping would never have obtained this seed!
The chain of coincidences was staggering!
Qi Ping could only attribute this to the power of providence brought by his "Favor of Heaven and Earth," or perhaps because he had rubbed off on some of the Cloud-Dream Immortal Tiger's fortuitous energy.
"Is this what it feels like to be a Child of Destiny?"
"It's actually quite refreshing!"
Qi Ping had struggled and cultivated in this world for so long, and he had almost never obtained anything truly "over-spec." Aside from his Druid profession, nearly everything he owned was the result of his own hard work, planning, and cautious navigation of various dangers.
But even then, all his gains had stayed within the boundaries of normality.
Compared to the Yellow Spring Tree Seed, the difference was night and day!
(TN: The Yellow Spring Tree is one of the Miraculous Trees of Heaven and Earth. It belongs to the Extreme Yin attribute and can absorb Extreme Yin energy to convert it into the Power of the Yellow Spring. Legend says that once matured, it can communicate with the mysterious Netherworld of Death.)
"The perfect candidate for my Life-Binding Covenant has finally been found!"
Qi Ping's Black Market Points were essentially exhausted, and obtaining new ones would have been a massive headache. The appearance of the Yellow Spring Tree solved one of his greatest dilemmas.
Furthermore, the Yellow Spring Tree was superior to any spirit wood Qi Ping could currently find!
The only problem was that nurturing it required a large amount of high-quality Extreme Yin energy.
The reason that Golden Core elder hadn't nurtured it was likely because, aside from lacking a suitable location, the requirement for Extreme Yin energy was a massive obstacle.
However, Qi Ping was quite confident. His Foundation Establishment base was built on the balance of Yin and Yang, and he had two Night Ancient Woods in his territory that could collect Extreme Yin energy to support the tree's growth.
"But what is this scrap of cloth wrapping the seed? It actually blocks all of my divine sense..."
After deciding on the tree's cultivation, Qi Ping turned his attention to the tattered rag that had been wrapped around the seed.
It was a filthy, wretched piece of cloth. It looked entirely unremarkable from the outside, yet it possessed the ability to shield the contents from all perception.
Qi Ping tried to attack it with spiritual energy, but even after exerting his full strength, he couldn't damage the cloth in the slightest.
"It seems this rag is also a rare Extraordinary Item!"
Failing to find any answers, he could only put it away for the time being.
With the inventory of his spoils completed, Qi Ping began to set things in motion for his second base.
This base concerned his second life, so he didn't dare to be careless. For Qi Ping, nothing was more important than staying alive; as long as he lived, everything else was possible!
"Now I have the spirit seed, the resources, the formations... everything is ready. I just need the Little Stone Essence to help me find a suitable subterranean space!"
"If possible, it would be best to find some Yin-attribute spirit springs. The Yellow Spring Tree needs too much Extreme Yin energy; if I rely solely on myself, it will consume too much of my energy..."
While Qi Ping's Treant Clone was organizing the spoils from Starfall City, the Little Stone Essence's breakthrough in another part of the Qingtian Domain had reached its final, critical stage.
Currently, above a desolate mountain range, rolling tribulation clouds covered half the sky. The thunderous roars and dense interweaving of lightning formed an incredibly terrifying spectacle!
"The Little Stone Essence's lightning tribulation seems much stronger than those recorded for most Golden Core cultivators!"
Qi Ping looked at the dissipating tribulation power in the sky, feeling quite fortunate in his heart.
It was a good thing the battle in Starfall City had drawn away all the Golden Core cultivators of the Qingyuan Sect who were free to move. Otherwise, there was no telling how many experts would have been lured here.
With such a massive tribulation, Qi Ping had no way to hide it.
News that someone was undergoing a Golden Core tribulation here had already reached the Qingyuan Sect. Even people like Wang He and Han Li had sent messages to Qi Ping about it.
However, none of the Golden Core cultivators in the sect were in a position to investigate. A few Foundation Establishment cultivators who had attempted to come were blocked by Qi Ping's formations.
What surprised Qi Ping was that even the Immortal Alliance hadn't sent any Golden Core experts.
He was happy for the peace. The Little Stone Essence was now just one step away from its final breakthrough. At this point, as long as it wasn't a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator, Qi Ping had nothing to fear.
As for why he didn't control his Treant Clone to come over—first, the breakthrough was nearly finished, and second, the distance was too great. By the time the clone arrived, several days would have passed. Besides, Qi Ping hadn't expected that the battle in Starfall City would yield the Sky-Flame Seal, one of the sect treasures!
With the Sky-Flame Seal in his possession, the future breakthroughs of his other animal companions would be much more secure.
At the center of the tribulation, one terrifying lightning bolt after another struck the Little Stone Essence's body.
Given this level of power, an ordinary Golden Core cultivator might have been blasted to death!
But when the bolts hit the stone body, they caused little damage. Instead, under the baptism of the lightning, the Little Stone Essence's aura became increasingly sharp, like a supreme divine weapon near completion!
Especially the metallic spirit core within its mouth—as it neared full condensation, the power and Military Conquest energy it radiated became increasingly frightening...