Natural Sanctuary, Cloud-Mist Mountain Range.
Qi Ping looked at the seeds before him with excitement.
"Rank 3 high-grade Netherworld Locust. Runes grow on its bark, and its falling leaves sound like the whispers of souls. Legend says it was born in the Netherworld Fissure. It can absorb Extreme Yin qi and produce the Soul-Netherworld Leaf..."
"Rank 3 high-grade Radiant Sun Jujube. It absorbs the essence of the sun and the Extreme Yang qi of the world. Its fruits are like miniature suns..."
Qi Ping had purchased five such seeds that could produce Rank 3 Yin-Yang items. Besides those two, there was a Rank 3 high-grade Pure Yang Peach Wood, a Rank 3 mid-grade Hao-God Mulberry, and a Rank 3 high-grade Nether-Mystic Vine.
But the heavyweights were two Rank 4 seeds: the Frost-Abyss Fir and the Fusang Golden Wu-Tree! Especially the latter, which was said to be closely related to the legendary Fusang Tree.
[Fusang Golden Wu-Tree: Rank 4 mid-grade spirit tree. Its crown looks like the phantom of a setting sun, and its leaf-veins flow like lava. Can produce Golden Wu Liquid.]
[Frost-Abyss Fir: Rank 4 low-grade spirit tree. Born in the freezing abyss. Its leaves are like profound ice-crystals that can freeze flesh and soul. Can produce Frost-Abyss Soul Essence.]
"This time, I've gathered nearly all the high-level Yin-Yang seeds that could be found in the domains neighboring the Qingtian Domain!"
He wanted to buy more but found that these were the only ones available. He could find common spirit tree seeds through his connections in the Qingyuan Sect; he didn't need to waste precious Black Market points on them.
At this stage, he found it harder to earn points. After clearing the Alliance's subordinate powers, the high-point missions were gone. Only a few remained: slaying Alliance Golden Cores, slaying the Envoy Lin Wuji, or destroying the Alliance headquarters.
Slaying a few Golden Cores was one thing, but slaying an Envoy or destroying the headquarters was something he only dared to think about. An Envoy's combat power started at the Nascent Soul level, and the altars were forged with immense effort and connected to the mysterious Immortal Lord.
Destroying an altar was harder than killing ten Nascent Soul experts. Furthermore, the Alliance's background was too deep. Wiping out subordinates was one thing, but wiping out the Alliance might draw out Soul Transformation or Void Refinement old monsters.
The wise path was to stay low, develop, and explore the underground. He would only strike when forced. That was his survival way.
He had one question: why could the Black Market only find these few Yin-Yang woods if it claimed to have everything?
He asked the Crate Golem during the trade and learned it was a matter of Tier. To find higher-level resources, he had to increase his internal rank by slaying an Envoy and destroying a Blood-Spirit Altar.
Qi Ping wanted to roll his eyes. An Envoy was at least a Nascent Soul expert. And the altars were connected to the Immortal Lord. But the golem said that if he succeeded, he would become a true member of the Black Market, gaining benefits and access to circles he currently couldn't imagine.
Furthermore, there was a geographical limit. Once his rank increased, he could pay more points to buy things from further away. The prices were already higher than market value, so adding more felt like highway robbery. But the channel was indeed unparalleled.
...
"Regardless, with so many Yin-Yang woods, plus the ones I already have, nurturing the bees and Ya Ya won't be a problem..."
Especially the Fusang Golden Wu-Tree; it was a perfect match for Ya Ya's next promotion.
But the seeds brought a new problem: the difficulty of nurturing them. High-level trees required specific environments, not just spiritual land. The Frost-Abyss Fir needed a Rank 4 land with dense freezing Yin-energy. The Netherworld Locust needed souls.
This was the hurdle for all high-level planters, and even a Druid had to respect these limits. Without sunlight, the Radiant Sun Wood couldn't grow properly. [Plant Growth] only accelerated growth and provided specific energy; it couldn't replace the basic requirements of spiritual energy, sunlight, or Yin-qi. Many wild herbs had gone extinct because their specific environments vanished.
But Qi Ping had confidence.
First, he moved all non-essential herbs and trees out of the core area, leaving only the ones needed for mass-producing his swarm. He set up several Spirit-Gathering Formations. With his skill, he used the formations to pull the vast majority of the vein's energy into the core area.
"Good, good!" He was delighted. The land within the formations was rapidly upgrading to Rank 3. He planted all the new seeds.
For a while, he put all his energy into nurturing them, using [Plant Growth] whenever he could. He only spent a small portion of time on formation research and consolidating his foundation.
But after a period of frantic nurturing, a new problem arose: he had consumed all the spiritual energy the vein produced. It was now in a state of deficit.
He felt the same limitation he did when he first started. Without a high-level land, even his mastery of [Plant Growth] had limits. This was the dead end most cultivators in the domain faced. No matter how talented, they couldn't break this barrier. It was why many turned to evil.
But his predicament was temporary. His spirit vein showed signs of promoting to Rank 3. With its high spirituality and the ants' help, it would be far stronger than a normal Rank 3 vein once it succeeded.
While waiting, he focused on formation research. If the environment wasn't good enough, he would change it. That was the power of a cultivator. He used formations and high-level items to create artificial environments for the trees.
Time passed as he immersed himself in formations. When he finished his research, the Ant King brought him great news:
"Squeak... (Boss! The vein has reached Rank 3!)" The Ant King was incredibly excited. It knew how much Qi Ping wanted this.
Furthermore, a higher vein meant easier reproduction for the ants.
"It promoted?" Qi Ping's eyes sparked with joy.
"Squeak... (Yes! And even better, thanks to the Dragon-Vein Remains, it has evolved into a rudimentary Dragon Vein!)"
The Ant King was shocked by the vein's spirituality; it was the most spiritual one it had ever seen.
The moment it finished speaking, a clear dragon-like roar echoed. The spiritual energy in the air froze, then surged with several times its previous activity, as if celebrating a birth. Dense spiritual energy seeped from the ground, containing pure Five Element power.
More astonishingly, it contained Extreme Yang and Extreme Yin spiritual energy! Even the power of the sun, moon, and stars!
The animal companions were stunned. As spirit beasts, they knew what this meant.
"The spirit vein is finally a success!" Qi Ping was overjoyed. The resources he had poured into it—more than he and his companions used combined—had finally borne fruit.
"Everything was worth it!"
Fusing the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, and integrating the sun, moon, and stars... this vein had a limitless future.
Vast amounts of spiritual energy flowed out. The Yin and Yang energy perfectly met his needs for the spirit trees. The Solar Intent it produced provided a massive boost to his Yang-attribute trees.
With the vein's breakthrough and the specialized formations, his spirit trees began to grow at an unprecedented speed! Qi Ping entered a state of frenzied farming.
But while his territory was prospering, his Treant Clone in the Qingyuan Sect, Lin Ya, faced a new problem: the high-level leadership of the sect had begun to suspect his connection to the Bee Daoist...