'With so many spirit stones in hand, I can now consider spirit beasts at the million-stone level!'
Qi Ping realized that because he could now actively choose talents during the contract process, the slots for his animal companions were more precious than ever. Since he had the means to choose more powerful partners, he naturally intended to select the very best within his reach.
Beyond the spirit stones, the recent spoils included countless artifacts, pills, and spiritual objects. The total value of these items was easily another five million spirit stones. His approach to processing this mountain of treasure was simple and consistent with his previous methods.
'Manuals, spells, cultivation insights, and knowledge-based books... I've harvested many excellent spells and much wisdom this time. Once I integrate and master these, my magical proficiency will surely leap to a new level!'
Qi Ping's current proficiency was already high; he could cast conventional spells with a mere thought, and the power of his fire and metal attribute magic was near-perfection. With his talent, foundation, and the environmental buff from the land, he could crush peers using spells alone. However, since the sheer volume of advanced spells he had acquired was so massive, his Rank 2 wisdom talent, [Spirit of Three Colors], was starting to feel insufficient.
He planned to contract another spirit beast with a million-stone level wisdom talent. This would ensure he could fully digest the vast ocean of knowledge he had harvested. It would also serve him well if he eventually entered the Qing Yuan Sect to study their archives. A powerful wisdom talent was an investment that would never lose its value.
As for his soul talents, with [Beast King's Will] and the Little Spirit Fox's [Bewitching Immortal Seal], he was currently well-equipped. Furthermore, because the Little Spirit Fox had consumed a vast amount of spirit honey, fruits, and lunar essence, it was showing signs of a bloodline metamorphosis. Qi Ping planned to buy resources specifically suited for the fox's breakthrough to help it reach a higher level, which would in turn elevate his own soul-attribute talent.
'The knowledge-based spoils must be kept, and the ores must be given to the Little Stone Spirit.'
As a unique innate lifeform, the Little Stone Spirit carried Qi Ping's high expectations. With the massive haul of rare and precious ores taken from the Foundation Establishment clans and cultivators, the spirit's strength was poised for an explosive surge. Qi Ping couldn't say for certain if it would reach the Golden Core level, but reaching the peak of Rank 2 would be no problem at all. An innate stone spirit at the peak of Rank 2 would likely be a tanky juggernaut that even Crow-Crow would struggle to damage.
'I'll keep the plantable herbs and the materials for arrays. Everything else can be sold!'
Qi Ping prepared to bundle the miscellaneous spirit tools and pills to sell to the Mysterious Black Market. He had his honey for healing and cultivation; as long as the Bee Queen advanced once more and the colony underwent another evolution, he could attempt to have them consume the Demon Insect King's remains. Once the bees grew stronger, he would never have to worry about medicinal pills again. Honey brewed by his own bees was the most trustworthy resource.
Qi Ping's path was the Path of the Five Elements and the Myriad Laws. If he walked this path to its limit, he would be invincible among his peers unless he met a monstrous, epoch-defining genius. The Five Elements path was notoriously difficult to walk, even with his ability to share talents, so he refused to waste time on low-quality artifacts or auxiliary spells. He would only invest time in spells that offered utility, like concealment or tracking.
There was another, more critical reason for his caution. In this cultivation world—which felt more like a giant livestock farm—geniuses were often nothing more than playthings. Defeating them meant nothing to Qi Ping. As he flipped through the secret records he had plundered, he became increasingly convinced that the cultivation world was a massive hunting ground.
He found several 'Progenitor-Vassal' manuals among the spoils. Under normal circumstances, there was nothing wrong with practicing the 'Vassal' manual; it appeared to be a rare, top-tier secret technique. However, at a critical moment, the practitioner of the 'Progenitor' manual could instantly seize control of the Vassal practitioner and devour their entire cultivation and spiritual energy.
Such manuals were common among the clans, and the Celestial Alliance had spread many such techniques to 'farm' high-quality bloodfood. Those who practiced the Vassal manuals were known by a specific name: Human-Shaped Great Medicine. Devouring such a person was often more effective than refining a rare spirit herb. These manuals were distributed as 'fortuitous encounters' or sold at auctions. Many people went to great lengths to pass trials and acquire these techniques, only to earn the privilege of becoming someone else's living pill.
'Perhaps this is the inevitable result of a shortage of resources...'
Just as starving people might resort to cannibalism, the cultivators of this declining world were no different from famished animals. If there was a difference, it was that cultivators were more determined, more patient, and possessed the wisdom to lay traps over centuries without the shackles of morality.
'I can't imagine how insane these people have become for the sake of their path. Celestial Alliance bloodfood, Progenitor-Vassal manuals... what else is there?'
By dismantling the Alliance's affiliates, Qi Ping had glimpsed the dark underbelly that ordinary cultivators never saw. Piece by piece, he was assembling a clear picture of the grim reality of the cultivation world. This was why his first priority upon gaining wealth was to contract a spirit beast with a superior wisdom talent.
'I want the longevity of the immortal path, not to become someone's puppet!'
Qi Ping intended to act like a researcher, using all the knowledge he could find to study the principles of creation and the laws of the world. Only things he truly understood and mastered were his own. Only then could he shatter the monopoly on knowledge held by the upper echelons. Qi Ping did not want to wake up one day and realize he was someone's Human-Shaped Medicine.
'I'll keep the spoils outside for now and collect them once the storm passes. In the meantime, I'll focus on cultivation. I still haven't finished researching half the books I collected last time... and while I've mastered Rank 2 High-grade fire arrays, it's time to develop the water and metal versions.'
With three types of high-grade arrays and the buffs from [Grace of Heaven and Earth] and his [Homeland Domain], he would feel much safer when he eventually went out to retrieve his loot. With a sense of urgency, Qi Ping plunged back into his cultivation, ignoring the chaos of the outside world. As long as the land remained stable and didn't decline further, he was content to stay in his sanctuary.
Ever since his [Grace of Heaven and Earth] had evolved, he could occasionally sense a faint crisis looming in the air, a spiritual intuition that urged him to grow stronger faster.