The Mysterious Armored Old Turtle's words had barely faded when it vanished from Qi Ping's sight, leaving behind only a patch of grim, white bones.
Qi Ping, however, had yet to recover from the shock of the trade price being hiked by twenty percent.
'A gift?'
Qi Ping's heart stirred. He wondered what sort of scheme this Mysterious Armored Old Turtle was concocting.
Judging by the turtle's recent attitude, that twenty percent increase in trade value seemed insignificant compared to this "gift." Yet Qi Ping knew all too well how staggering the resource gains from that twenty percent would be. The Mysterious Armored Old Turtle undoubtedly knew this as well.
What could possibly be so precious that it made such terrifying profits look like pocket change?
What baffled Qi Ping most was why the Mysterious Armored Old Turtle was doing this.
'Simply because my words helped it break through its shackles and comprehend the Great Dao?'
While there was a saying that the debt of achieving the Dao could never be fully repaid, it was perfectly reasonable for the turtle to offer a gift to sever that karma. However, in Qi Ping's view, the first gift was already generous enough. This even more substantial second gift made him suspicious of a hidden agenda.
Accustomed to the deceptions and schemes of the cultivation world, he found it difficult to believe this was a simple act of gratitude.
But Qi Ping had to admit—he was tempted!
At his current realm and position, the Star Sea World had practically no resources left that could help him break through further. To use an analogy for ordinary people, he was currently in a state of perpetual hunger.
Given the Mysterious Armored Old Turtle's strength and status, combined with the immense value of the first gift, this second gift was likely a resource beyond imagination. After all, the turtle's opening move during their first meeting had been a piece of incredibly rare eighth-grade Resentful Tea!
'No matter what, I am currently just a spirit body. What is there to fear? Furthermore, the trade between our two worlds has been finalized. The other party wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the interests of both realms...'
With that thought, Qi Ping temporarily pushed aside his paranoid musings. However, his original body remained ready to respond to any potential crisis at a moment's notice.
'But who is this Little Jinling?'
The Mysterious Armored Old Turtle had left only a name, leaving Qi Ping in the dark about everything else.
Since wandering aimlessly seemed inappropriate, Qi Ping sat down directly on the white bones and began to carefully sense the laws and spiritual energy of the Forest Sea Demon Realm. He was particularly keen on finding Yaya and the others, so it was best to remain steady.
From his previous conversation with the turtle, it was clear the elder was fully aware that he had sent Yaya, the Little Spirit Fox, the Flower Fairy, the Tricolor Deer, and the Little Green Snake into the Forest Sea Demon Realm years ago. It seemed the turtle simply hadn't interfered.
So many years had passed, and Qi Ping had no idea how they were faring. To prevent them from being discovered as the pets of a human cultivator, Qi Ping had suppressed all contract marks except for those essential for life-saving. Thus, he was currently unaware of his animal companions' circumstances.
Time flowed like a river, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Fortunately, for a cultivator at the Integration Stage, such a short duration was nothing. Qi Ping used the denser spiritual energy and more powerful laws of the Forest Sea Demon Realm to gradually digest the power brought by the Resentful Tea.
Now, with a mere flick of his thought, a terrifying super-battlefield would manifest in his mind, transforming into a weapon for both offense and defense. For Qi Ping, even if this trip had yielded only the eighth-grade Resentful Tea, the harvest would have been astonishing.
He also felt the massive gap between the Star Sea World and other powerful realms. If the Star Sea World truly wanted to stand tall in this universe, the road ahead remained long and arduous.
Today, Qi Ping's wait finally came to an end.
He felt with absolute clarity that one of the two blazing suns overhead suddenly began to glow with increasing intensity. Most terrifyingly, a vast aura and a colossal surge of life essence were awakening within it.
"This is actually a living creature?"
Qi Ping had originally assumed the two suns were a unique feature of the Forest Sea Demon Realm. He never imagined that one of those scorching suns was actually a living being!
What kind of existence could transform its body into a blazing sun?
In Qi Ping's perception, a pair of unimaginably massive golden wings suddenly unfurled from the sides of the sun. The boundless aura of an eighth-grade divine beast—the equivalent of a Great Vehicle Stage expert—erupted forth!
It was a Golden Crow!
And a Golden Crow with an extremely potent bloodline!
"It can't be..."
An odd thought suddenly rose in Qi Ping's mind. Could the "Little Jinling" mentioned by the Mysterious Armored Old Turtle be this Great Vehicle Golden Crow that had manifested as a sun?
A Great Vehicle Golden Crow was likely a peerless, terrifying existence in any world; it was impossible to associate it with the word "little." However, the name "Jinling" seemed inextricably linked to the Golden Crow.
In the next moment, all doubt vanished from Qi Ping's mind. The Golden Crow, which had been the sun, was now hurtling toward him like a falling star.
'What exactly is that Mysterious Armored Old Turtle's strength and status?' Qi Ping wondered. From the current situation, the turtle's identity and power likely far exceeded his previous estimates.
As the sensation of burning intensified, the Golden Crow drew closer. By the time Qi Ping could make out its appearance, he already felt a searing pain deep within his soul. His spirit body manifested a suit of wood-grain battle armor with self-repairing capabilities just to barely prevent himself from melting away.
Fortunately, at the very last moment before Qi Ping could no longer endure it, the pressure abruptly dissipated.
Following that, a bald man with bulging muscles crashed heavily in front of Qi Ping, instantly pulverizing the countless white bones into dust. Endless fire-attribute spiritual energy surrounded the bald man like subjects bowing to an emperor.
'Do all these fellows in the Forest Sea Demon Realm enjoy these "limit tests"?' Qi Ping felt somewhat helpless.
However, since he was the weaker party, he didn't dwell on it. After all, the Forest Sea Demon Realm had not actively tried to harm him. Moreover, if he were in their position and someone wanted to do business on equal terms, a little testing was only natural.
He just hadn't expected to encounter terrifying existences of this caliber one after another in such a short time. At the same time, he couldn't help but look forward even more to what the Mysterious Armored Old Turtle's second gift was—something that required a Great Vehicle existence to specifically awaken from seclusion.
On the other side, the Golden Crow that had been the sun was also filled with shock. It could actually sense the aura of Resentful Tea on Qi Ping!
"Integration Stage? Eighth-grade Resentful Tea? Is this combination even possible?"