In the path of Dao, there is no sense of time; one knows not how many years have passed!
After Qi Ping plunged into the Manual Pavilion, when he finally came back to his senses, ten years had already slipped by.
For Qi Ping, these years—seemingly dull yet immensely fulfilling—were the true foundation of his pursuit of immortality. As for those conflicts and struggles, they were merely occasional occurrences. Even if the world changed drastically, as long as it didn't involve the imbalance or weakening of heaven and earth, it wouldn't affect his path to longevity.
The collection of techniques, spells, cultivation knowledge, and world curios within the Qingyuan Sect's Manual Pavilion was indeed incredibly rich.
Knowledge that was rare in the outside world was common here, almost ubiquitous!
After examining the various types of knowledge that only Core Disciples could access, Qi Ping finally gained a more comprehensive and clear understanding of the Qingtian Domain and the cultivation world.
The growth in his vision and perspective alone made the arduous effort to scheme his way in worth it.
However, for Qi Ping, the greatest harvest was naturally in his cultivation, which was the most important thing to him.
The Qingyuan Sect possessed vast amounts of cultivation experience and detailed descriptions of the cultivation system. After absorbing the experiences of countless predecessors, Qi Ping finally achieved a comprehensive understanding of cultivation from the Qi Refining stage to the Golden Core stage.
From spiritual energy, the physical body, and the soul, to the relationship between the cultivator and the world, and the fusion with law power... almost every detail he had thought of, and many he hadn't, had clear descriptions here!
And Core Disciples truly lived up to their title as the sect's true inheritors. Aside from critical techniques and spells that required contribution points, almost everything else was open without condition!
Qi Ping even learned a great deal about formations for free. Faced with this knowledge, he felt like a mere toddler just learning to walk!
"These ten years have truly yielded a massive harvest!"
Recalling the gains of the past decade, even Qi Ping couldn't help but be amazed.
With his powerful soul and talent, combined with the comprehension brought by the 'Spirit of Three Colors' and 'Mirror of Illumination,' his gains were many times greater than all the knowledge he had fought for in the outside world.
Now, Qi Ping not only had a stable grasp on breaking through to the Golden Core stage but also possessed methods to make his foundation even more solid and stable.
Furthermore, through this period of reflection, he confirmed that the path he had walked previously was not wrong. The knowledge he had gained from studying countless ordinary techniques and the spells he created through his comprehension of natural laws were essentially correct. While they lacked the perfection of the Qingyuan Sect's records, they would certainly not hinder his success.
Thus, he gained even more confidence in the future. Even if the class restrictions on knowledge were severe or the manuals were full of traps, none of it could hold him back.
"The essence of cultivation is based on the laws of heaven and earth, while a cultivation system is a set of established ways to utilize those law powers. Fundamentally, these utilization methods are similar. This is the essence of techniques and spells!"
"In short, as long as one's comprehension of natural laws is sufficient and one has a clear enough understanding of the essence of techniques, supplemented by reference knowledge, there is a very high probability of a successful breakthrough once the conditions are met!"
Qi Ping even felt that if he continued to study and research, integrating the Druidic power system, he might even have a chance to carve out a new path of cultivation.
However, he felt his current accumulation was still insufficient, and there was no immediate need; the orthodox path was currently the stablest.
But he had a faint intuition that this insight into the laws and the essence of cultivation would surely be of great help in the future.
"Soon, the Golden Core stage is not far off!"
Thinking of the Golden Core realm he was about to reach, Qi Ping's heart filled with excitement. A Golden Core cultivator has a lifespan exceeding a thousand years!
After digesting the gains of the past ten years, he did not slack off but began to comprehend even more earnestly, his true body in the territory doing the same.
For Qi Ping, as long as there were no major matters, he would first master all the knowledge required for the breakthrough in the Manual Pavilion.
Just as he had spent another two years in study, he was interrupted by a troublesome matter.
This matter had nothing to do with the Qingyuan Sect. Over the last dozen years, things regarding him within the sect had been peaceful. No one was foolish enough to cause him trouble. It was already fortunate for them that he hadn't sought out those who once framed him. If not for the fact that he was at a critical stage of comprehension and didn't want to cause a stir, he would have squeezed those internal traitors to death one by one long ago.
The troublesome news included one good piece and one bad piece.
[Good news: The soil-attribute colony-dwelling spirit beasts Qi Ping had been hoping for have been found!]
[Bad news: They are trapped within a Rank 3 formation and might die of exhaustion before long...]
"What! Don't let that happen!"
Upon receiving this message, Qi Ping's face twitched.
Little Stone Essence and the Little Immortal Tiger had been out for over ten years searching the underground before finding a suitable colony. He didn't want them to vanish just after being found!
Once the news was confirmed, Qi Ping left the Qingyuan Sect without a word. After multiple route changes and shifting his appearance, he rushed to the location of his companions at top speed.
The location was in a very remote corner of the Qingtian Domain. After Little Stone Essence led him deep underground through a series of twists and turns, they finally reached the spot.
"Awoo... (Boss, it's right here!)"
Looking in the direction the little tiger pointed, Qi Ping saw a group of shriveled ants. A mysterious formation was continuously draining the energy from their bodies.
"Earth-Vein Ants!" The moment he saw the species, joy erupted in his heart.
Good heavens, these were beings he couldn't even find in the mysterious Black Market!
Earth-Vein Ants were an exceptionally rare species in the cultivation world. Their bloodline was linked to the earth veins; while they drew power from the leylines, they also nurtured and organized the earth's network. They could manipulate the power of the earth and possessed extraordinary Earth-Vein Warp techniques...
Five years ago, the stone essence and the tiger had found a decent colony of Thick-Earth Ants. They were powerful ants capable of controlling the power of thick earth, making them decent animal companions.
But Qi Ping wanted to wait. One of the targets he anticipated most was the Earth-Vein Ant!
To think he had truly found them today!
However, when he observed the formation covering the ants, his brow furrowed tightly.
This was a Rank 3 formation!
"Awoo... (Boss, Little Stone originally wanted to break the formation to save them, but as soon as I had that thought, I immediately sensed a life-threatening misfortune. It's a bad omen!)"