Based on his own experiences and the abilities he controlled as an Earth Immortal Druid, and after multiple deductions and tests, Qi Ping had determined the conditions required to become an Earth Immortal Druid of a region.
The most important core was 'Karma.'
This karmic connection was reflected in a deep bond with the living beings and with the environment in which they survived. When Qi Ping first became the Earth Immortal of the Qingtian Domain, it was because he shared a deep karmic bond with its many beings—having resolved several existential crises for them and single-handedly crushing the Celestial Alliance that hunted talented practitioners.
Finally, he had slain the deepest hidden hand in the domain, Ling Qianjue. Throughout his actions, he had earned the faith of a vast number of cultivators and spiritual beasts.
Secondly, in terms of geography, Qi Ping had reshaped the ley lines and spiritual veins of the Qingtian Domain, elevating the living environment by several grades. This was the karmic bond between himself and the environment, specifically the key factors: ley lines and spiritual veins.
Beyond that were factors like the world's blessings and the favor of the mountains and rivers. Being favored by the world's Providence and recognized by the heavens was also a critical condition.
All these factors, combined with the 'Heavenly Timing,' made becoming an Earth Immortal possible. In other words, those who became Earth Immortals were people with genuine, grand achievements and deep karma; those who sacrificed nothing had no right to the title.
Furthermore, achievement alone was not enough; one had to receive the blessing of the world's Providence and the heartfelt faith of the people. If one's character was lacking, they were also unqualified. Only when these conditions were met—and when the world itself needed the birth of an Earth Immortal—could one master the authority over heaven and earth.
Though the world itself did not possess a conscious will, it would not easily grant such authority. Once granted, the power an Earth Immortal could control was enough to destroy an entire ecological chain; they could easily annihilate the living beings within their domain. And this authority was absolute until the Earth Immortal perished or betrayed the laws of the path.
This was why it was so difficult for a world to produce an Earth Immortal. Heavenly Timing, Geographical Advantage, and Human Harmony were all indispensable.
The most important human factor was also the reason Qi Ping's Earth Immortal Domain was currently fixed to the Qingtian Domain. Living beings are the most critical factor of a world, and the beings of the Qingtian Domain only recognized and worshipped that specific region. As their Earth Immortal, Qi Ping's authority was limited to that area. This was the Law of the Earth Immortal—one of the most unique derivative Great Daos, possessing its own way of operation.
Previously, Qi Ping had used these principles to slowly incorporate small areas adjacent to the Qingtian Domain into his territory. These successful experiences gave him the confidence to incorporate the surrounding large domains now.
But there was a problem he had to face: in any newly added territory, the power he controlled was relative to that specific region! That is to say, even if he became the Earth Immortal of a new region, it didn't mean he would possess the same power he had in the Qingtian Domain. In a new territory, he would still be a weakling!
To address these issues, Qi Ping prepared two measures. One was to ensure the new territory possessed a massive population of cultivators who worshipped him; the other was to ensure the ley lines and spiritual veins of the region were sufficiently powerful. Only then could he wield transcendent power in the new lands.
Furthermore, Qi Ping wanted to build an even grander territory! He intended to shift the worldview of every cultivator within his domain, building a complete, unprecedented super-domain!
For instance, a domain named after the "Star-Sea" of the Star-Sea Continent—the Star-Sea Domain!
If he could complete this era-transcending feat, he was certain he could elevate his Earth Immortal power to an unprecedented level! But completing such a unification was no easy task, even for an Earth Immortal. A surface-level merger was meaningless; only by achieving a true, fundamental fusion could he unify all his Earth Immortal powers!
But before that, he had to build the new Earth Immortal territories.
'The Human Harmony factor is ready. Now, I just need to wait for more people to rush to the areas surrounding the Qingtian Domain...'
To accelerate their arrival, Qi Ping even opened up most of the Star-Sea Continent's teleportation arrays and charged only a very low, subsidized fee. This move allowed many who couldn't have made it in time to pack their bags and reach the outskirts of the Qingtian Domain early.
The word had spread: the Bee Daoist was going to build a war fortress no weaker than the Qingtian Domain to protect everyone. This move had even gained the full support of the dozens of strongest remaining factions on the continent!
Just as General Qilin announced the New Domain Plan, every major sect leader—led by Meng Tianqi and Bai Liyun—simultaneously announced their move to the outskirts of the Qingtian Domain to assist in building the new territory, expressing their praise for the Bee Daoist's righteous act!
The voices of these factions were exactly what Qi Ping had requested. He wanted to leverage their voices to make the momentum of his New Domain Plan overwhelming! The addition of these powers naturally caused the plan's popularity to explode!
It was a blatant signal that the entire Star-Sea Continent would be pouring its strength into the construction of this new domain—a miracle never seen in history. Who but the Bee Daoist could have leveraged the power of an entire continent?
Now, he had done it! And it wasn't through forced coercion; it was by aligning with the hearts of every person on the Star-Sea Continent!
It was unique since antiquity!
One could only imagine the strength of a new domain built with the combined might of an entire continent. Perhaps it wasn't just possible for it to surpass the current Qingtian Domain—it was a certainty!
Thus, once this new domain was born, securing a spot within it would bring unimaginable benefits. Whether for safety or development, none could afford to miss out!
Over the following week, the passion of the cultivators completely shocked Qi Ping and Lin Yue. The numbers were so staggering that Qi Ping felt a mix of joy and apprehension. The scale of this enthusiasm far exceeded their expectations; though they had predicted the Demon crisis and the collapse of other factions would drive support, they hadn't expected this much.
Qi Ping speculated that the primary reason for this was the recent war. That conflict had left the Star-Sea Continent with only one voice—that of the Bee Daoist. It had forced the cultivators to witness the horror of demonic practitioners and traitors, elevating the reputation of the Bee Daoist and the Qing-God Army to unprecedented heights.
But this passion also left Lin Yue—the one coordinating every detail—completely overwhelmed. Since the Qing-God Army wasn't enough to maintain order, a massive number of people had to be mobilized from the Qingyuan Academy to assist.
Qi Ping was busy as well. Seeing this unexpected fervor, he had the Little Immortal Tiger perform various deductions and calculations to prevent any accidents. This precaution was not in vain; he truly caught several individuals with ill intentions. Though they were unlikely to cause much trouble, Qi Ping couldn't afford even a single mistake in this once-in-a-million-years opportunity.
While Lin Yue managed the details and the tiger monitored for threats, Qi Ping left the Qingtian Domain with the Void-Aether Fish swarms and their special secret realm. He was going to complete the final preparation for becoming the Earth Immortal of the new regions.
Human Harmony was secure; the continent's support for him had reached a historical peak. Now, only the modification of the living environment remained. For cultivators, the most important environmental factors were ley lines and spiritual veins.
The stronger the spiritual vein, the more spiritual qi it produced and the higher its grade, allowing it to support more cultivators. And for a spiritual vein to grow strong, the ley lines were the most important factor; terrestrial qi was the most vital link between the spiritual vein and the world. Only by leveraging powerful ley lines could the spiritual vein truly exert its function.
The spirituality of the world's beings could only gather upon spiritual veins through the ley lines. To put it simply: ley lines were like the meridians and blood vessels of a human body; only with them could the body operate perfectly.
Thus, good ley lines determined the upper limit of a region. This was why cultivation sects always established their foundations upon the core ley lines, and why cultivators would risk their lives for a true Dragon Vein. It was also why the best ley lines on the continent were all occupied by the strongest sects.
Qi Ping had considered placing the new Earth Immortal territories in those locations, but he had dismissed the idea. If they were scattered, how could his Earth Immortal Domain form a unified whole? If an enemy arrived, wouldn't they be picked off one by one?
Thus, Qi Ping's only choice was the large domains connected to the Qingtian Domain. Fortunately, he now possessed a massive number of Earth-Vein Ants. Back when he first tried to open new territories, he had already begun sending them to secretly open and organize the ley lines in the surrounding areas. By now, the ley lines of the adjacent domains had reached every corner.
Especially after he had executed the traitors, he had used his authority as a Beast-Warden to resurrect the Earth-Vein Ants that had perished under the Earth Lord, while calling back all those scattered across the continent.
Qi Ping had only one goal now: build a super Dragon Vein that connected every corner of the region, ensuring that once spiritual veins were buried there, the spiritual qi of the surrounding domains would surge immediately.
He also intended to let spiritual veins that had been separated from their original lines use the spirituality of the living beings here to recover quickly. He planned to use the spiritual essence of the traitors he had sealed to nourish and strengthen these spiritual veins.
Building a super Dragon Vein was no simple task. The Earth-Vein Ants were currently using the materials best suited for ley-line construction—collected from across the entire continent—to strengthen the Qingtian Domain's veins. It would still take a long time to finish the project.
Fortunately, this enhancement project did not interfere with his next plan. Once the spiritual veins were installed, the work on the ley lines could continue slowly; at any rate, the entire region was already basicially connected. One could say that currently, in the entire Star-Sea Continent, only the areas near the Qingtian Domain were close to being fully linked.
Beyond the ley lines, Qi Ping had another preparation: the Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers he had brought back from the Barbarian Domain. This spirit could significantly enhance the spirituality of a region, increasing Providence and the birth of opportunities and treasures, providing great help for his ascension as an Earth Immortal.
So now, the last and most important thing Qi Ping needed was spiritual veins! The stronger the spiritual veins he placed into the ley lines, the higher he could elevate the living environment of the new domain.
And in terms of spiritual veins, was there any stronger than the one once held by the Star-Sea Continent's number one expert, Ji Qingyue?
That was the only 6th-grade spiritual vein on the Star-Sea Continent!
Qi Ping intended to place this vein at the absolute core outside the Qingtian Domain; it would be under his complete control. In the blueprint of his "Star-Sea Domain," the primary core of the ley-line network was the Qingyuan Academy. The secondary core would be located directly to the east of the academy.
However, in this massive super-dragon ley-line network, a single 6th-grade vein was not enough. Thus, the 5th, 4th, and 3rd-grade spiritual veins from the destroyed sects would also be implanted into various core nodes of the ley lines.
Furthermore, many factions led by Meng Tianqi and Bai Liyun also hoped to place their own spiritual veins into Qi Ping's network. They knew exactly how much the spiritual veins would benefit from being placed in such an extraordinary network. As long as they grew smoothly, it wasn't impossible for them to become 6th or even 7th-grade veins.
Of course, the greatest beneficiary would be Qi Ping. The more spiritual veins there were in the ley lines, the faster the spiritual vein beneath the Qingyuan Academy—the core primary vein that gathered the will of the people—would transform into the strongest spiritual vein in the entire Star-Sea Continent!