"Young friend... thank you."
Four extremely faint yet majestically authoritative voices echoed through the world. The voices didn't ring in his ears but originated from the heaven and earth themselves. If Qi Ping's perception hadn't been strong enough, he wouldn't have been able to sense this intent.
"These two inheritances... young friend may choose one of the two."
After releasing that thought, the aura of the Four Ancestral Beasts vanished completely. Even when Qi Ping pushed his Druid perception to the limit, he couldn't sense them at all. Even the four chains that had sealed the altar turned to ash and disappeared without a trace.
'The Four Ancestral Beasts... they've just vanished?' Qi Ping was stunned. Those Ancestors were the peak existences of the Forest Sea Demon Realm, terrifying beings who could look down upon heaven and earth.
'That Zhou Tianqi, who resembled Old Man Zhou, should have been completely eliminated as well, right?'
Sensing that the altar's aura had also vanished, Qi Ping secretly breathed a sigh of relief. That Zhou Tianqi had felt far too terrifying. Even as a spirit body, Qi Ping hadn't felt a single shred of safety.
Fortunately, this trip was not without its harvests. Not only had the strength of his War Mark significantly increased, but he had also obtained a choice of Ancestral Beast inheritances!
'The essence blood inheritances of the Phoenix Divine Bird and the Kunpeng Ancestor?'
Gazing at the two inheritances radiating vast auras, a look of desire appeared in Qi Ping's eyes. He knew exactly what this meant! Even during the peak of the Star Sea World, the essence blood of such beings would have been the most precious of treasures—not to mention the complete bloodline inheritance techniques contained within.
The only downside was that for human cultivators, these bloodline techniques of divine beasts could only serve as a reference; they couldn't be practiced directly. Yet, even that was incredibly precious. In the hands of a brilliantly gifted Great Vehicle cultivator, they could be used to comprehend terrifying techniques that would shock the ages and become the foundation of a sect!
'But for me, it seems I can use them in an even better way...'
A smile suddenly appeared in Qi Ping's eyes as a thought struck him.
'In the past, when I was in the Star Sea World, practicing human techniques was enough for me. I didn't need the Beast King Druid's basic ability, the Beast King True Form, nor had I encountered the power of a divine beast that truly moved me.'
At that time, nothing was more important to Qi Ping than building a solid foundation. Spending vast effort on the Beast King True Form would have been a poor investment, and he lacked the appropriate resources.
'But now, the Great Vehicle immortal methods of the Star Sea World have been cut off. Who knows when or where I might find a Great Vehicle cultivation method?'
'Under these circumstances, I might as well practice the Beast King True Form first. I can reach the Great Vehicle realm in beast form and then seek out the human version of a Great Vehicle method!'
With that thought, Qi Ping immediately made his decision. For the coming period, he would focus on the Beast King True Form and break through to the eighth grade in beast form! Once he had the combat power of a Great Vehicle stage, he would have the right to truly explore the universe. For an Integration Stage cultivator, the difficulty of finding a Great Vehicle cultivation method in the vast universe was more than just "high."
'Now, I will use this essence blood inheritance as a catalyst to forge my first Beast King True Form!'
Having made his final choice, Qi Ping turned his gaze to the two inheritances:
The Phoenix Ancestor wielded eternal fire; its physical and magical combat power were top-tier, and it possessed the best life-saving capabilities...
The Kunpeng Ancestor possessed two forms, corresponding to peerless speed and strength. To some extent, its combat prowess exceeded the Phoenix's. It could both fight and flee; few could match it in speed.
'Which of these two inheritances is more suitable for me?'
As for why there were only two, Qi Ping already had an answer. The other two—the Earth Beast and the Black Tortoise—had likely fought to the point where they couldn't even leave an inheritance. After all, untold ages ago, they had already sacrificed themselves to the world. They simply lacked the strength to leave anything behind.
After a moment of contemplation, Qi Ping decisively reached out and grasped the Kunpeng essence blood, which resembled both a fish and a bird.
"I choose you, Kunpeng!"
After careful consideration, he felt the Kunpeng inheritance was more suitable for him. While the Phoenix possessed powerful self-healing and nirvanic rebirth powers, and the fire attribute was part of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements path he practiced, making it a near-perfect choice for someone who valued survival, Qi Ping ultimately felt the Kunpeng was better.
In the Kunpeng's two forms, the Kun governed water and Taiyin, while the Peng governed the sun and wind. Together, they mastered spatial power. They used space to achieve extreme speed and the Sun and Taiyin to cultivate the peak of strength. In this context, the Kunpeng inheritance would be a greater help to Qi Ping in practicing his path of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. The hardest part of Qi Ping's current cultivation was harmonizing those forces, and the Kunpeng inheritance offered the greatest assistance there.
Furthermore, spatial power and greater speed would undoubtedly be of more help in his upcoming exploration of the universe. Strengthening his Spatial Druid abilities was also something Qi Ping had long desired; the assistance provided by extreme spatial power was simply too great. It wasn't that the Phoenix inheritance was weak, but rather that the Kunpeng inheritance was rarer and offered him greater utility.
The moment Qi Ping's palm touched the Kunpeng essence blood, it transformed into streaks of golden light that flowed through his body, rapidly merging with his blood. Simultaneously, memories of the Kunpeng's core techniques began to appear in his soul.
"Now is the time! Beast King Druid—Beast King True Form! Kunpeng Form!"
The moment the essence blood entered his body, Qi Ping activated the transformation of his Beast King True Form! One had to know that this was the core form of a Beast King Druid. Once determined, the difficulty and cost of changing it were extremely high, but it would allow him to truly possess all the power of the beast form! He would be no different from a true demon beast!
Qi Ping was very fortunate that he hadn't truly used the power of the Beast King True Form before; otherwise, he could never have used this opportunity to transform into a Beast King True Form with such extraordinary potential. After all, nothing was more suitable as a catalyst than the essence blood of an Ancestral Beast.
Qi Ping was filled with anticipation. How high would the potential of his Beast King True Form reach with a drop of Kunpeng Ancestor essence blood?
The moment he activated the form, vast natural power surged toward him like a tidal wave, beginning to fuse with and reconstruct his body with unimaginably mystical power! Almost instantly, a Kunpeng phantom radiating extreme bloodline pressure rose rapidly from Qi Ping's body!