Druid Fairy

Chapter 166 Eighth Level of Qi Refining
Lingshan.

Time passes.

Years of secluded cultivation have made Li Pingcan's cultivation level as stable as a rock at the peak of the seventh level of Qi Refining. He is only one step away from being able to glimpse the path to the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Unfortunately, that kick seemed to be separated by an insurmountable chasm.

"Gone again."

Li Pingcan sighed, looking helplessly at the last empty medicine bottle in front of him, feeling a dull ache in his heart.

Of the massive resources plundered, seven or eight tenths have already been consumed.

Those elixirs that once brought him joy for half a day now vanish without a trace once they enter his stomach, like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil, barely causing a ripple before disappearing without a trace.

"Little carp, your cultivation is such a waste!"

The Azure Dragon lazily coiled up, scratching its belly with the tip of its tail. "I, your Lord Dragon, swallowed a second-tier demon core and only managed to advance from the peak of the late stage of the first tier to the late stage of Qi Refining. You've only gone from the seventh to the eighth level, and you've eaten more than me! Is your stomach a bottomless pit?"

Since signing the soul contract, it could sense the immense demand for magical power within Li Pingcan's body, like a ravenous beast. The terrifying speed at which he devoured it made its heart pound.

"What do you know? This is called accumulating knowledge and experience before unleashing it." Li Pingcan rolled his eyes at it, annoyed.

His dual cultivation of immortality and martial arts, with the Druidic path and the Golden Body of Martial Arts complementing each other, naturally made his foundation far stronger than that of other cultivators of the same level, and his combat power was nothing short of monstrous.

However, the energy required for each breakthrough is several times or even ten times that of ordinary cultivators.

"It seems we have no choice but to use our last reserves."

With a thought, a piece of flesh and blood from a second-tier demon beast, radiating immense power of blood and qi, appeared out of thin air in front of him.

This is the essence of that atavistic river python, its last remaining stock, a treasure kept as a trump card to break through the bottleneck.

Without further hesitation, Li Pingcan controlled the fire to cook the python meat until it was three-quarters done, then opened his mouth and swallowed the piece of python meat.

"boom!"

An energy a hundred times more violent than any previous pill erupted within his body like a dormant volcano!

In that instant, Li Pingcan felt as if his limbs and bones were about to be burst by this violent energy.

He quickly composed himself and activated the "Heaven and Earth Furnace Body Forging Technique," transforming himself into a giant furnace and frantically refining the energy.

The Azure Dragon was also startled by this sudden and terrifying aura, its golden vertical pupils filled with surprise and uncertainty.

The surrounding spiritual energy was converging into Li Pingcan's body at an alarming speed, forming a visible vortex of spiritual energy.

"This guy... is about to break through again?! His cultivation speed is faster than me drinking water! Just what kind of monster is he?"

It still remembered when they first met, Li Pingcan was just a "little kid" in the early stage of Qi Refining. How come only a few years have passed? He's already about to break through to the eighth level of Qi Refining!

Such speed is beyond the reach of even the so-called chosen ones of heaven in ancient times!

Then, worriedly, she said, "Little carp, are you alright? Don't burn yourself out!"

Lee Pyeongchan didn't have the energy to respond to it.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the vortex of magical energy spun wildly at an unprecedented speed, and his dantian expanded continuously amidst the pain of being torn apart and reassembled.

The bottleneck that had plagued him for months finally showed a barely perceptible crack under the repeated impact of this domineering energy.

Li Pingcan concentrated all his energy into one point, like a giant axe that splits the heavens, and slammed it down fiercely into the crack!

"Crack!"

It sounded like shattering glass; the neck of the bottle broke in response!

A more refined and profound magical power arose from his dantian, flowing like a surging river throughout his body in an instant.

Eighth level of Qi refining!

The essence of the second-tier demonic python's flesh and blood was so vast that even after helping him break through the eighth level, most of its energy still remained deposited in his body.

Li Pingcan, inspired by a sudden inspiration, did not stop but instead used this momentum to continue circulating his cultivation technique.

Qingjiao watched in utter disbelief, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

"Pervert! Absolutely a pervert! This isn't cultivation, it's guzzling!"

It had never seen anyone "consume" spiritual energy like this before; the efficiency was even more terrifying than when it directly swallowed a demon core!
After a long while, Li Pingcan exhaled a breath of stale air, held his breath, opened his eyes, and looked at the panel.

A few days ago, thanks to the combined efforts of Li Mengjin and himself, the Druid's level successfully broke through to level eleven.

Congratulations! Your Druid class level has increased.

You have learned a new Druid branch skill: Heart of the Earth.

[Heart of the Earth (Ring 1): You have established a deeper connection with the earth beneath your feet. You can clearly perceive the direction of the earth's veins, the distribution of minerals, and energy nodes within a hundred miles. You can communicate with the earth to a limited extent, soothe its "emotions," and more efficiently mobilize the power of the soil and rocks for your use.]

"Heart of the Earth? This skill can be used to sense spiritual veins and ores, regulate earth veins, and construct formations..."

The importance of spiritual veins goes without saying. The reason why the Great Yu Dynasty and the Great Qian Dynasty fought for several years was precisely because of a newly formed spiritual vein ore.
The fact that I can now discover the spiritual vein node means that I can purchase a private mine before the dynasty discovers it, legally own it, and mine it discreetly and in accordance with the rules.

They can even capture the earth's energy veins and relocate them—a testament to the magnificent bloodline of the Li family.

Under the cover of the Druid's dojo, the dynasty could not detect any unusual activity.

As Li Pingcan felt the new power of the Heart of the Earth within his body, a communication mushroom in his arms suddenly began to vibrate gently.

It's Mengze!
A thought struck him, and he quickly focused his mind.

A massive stream of information instantly flooded his mind. It consisted of what Li Mengze had seen and heard in the capital over the past few months, as well as the fragmented information he had painstakingly gathered about the "Blood Maple Forest" and those second-tier spiritual materials.

"The Blood Maple Forest... a forbidden area of ​​the Great Qian Dynasty... is related to some kind of large-scale sacrificial ceremony..."

"As expected of my son, Li Pingcan, he has already uncovered the core secrets of the royal family in just a few years."

He first boasted with great satisfaction, then gasped, "But these spiritual materials don't sound like good places at all. They're related to the border victory and the dynasty's dragon aura. The karmic consequences behind them are probably greater than those of the dead zombies in Old Yin Mountain."

Li Pingcan frowned deeply. Although the information about his son was fragmented, he sensed an unusual and dangerous aura.

This war is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

"No, before everything becomes clear, we must first make our stronghold impregnable!"

The idea began to take hold.

Peach Blossom Mountain is a place of beautiful scenery and abundant natural resources. In recent years, thanks to the improvements made by the Seven Star Formation and the Mulberry Spirit Tree, it is no longer as barren of spiritual energy as it once was.

Taking advantage of the awakening of the Heart of the Earth, why not transform the entire Peach Blossom Mountain into an absolute domain where no cultivator can easily detect anything unusual!
He told Qingjiao his idea. "You're going to hollow out this mountain?"

The Azure Dragon was stunned. "Wow, you're really something! Little carp, I've noticed you're getting better and better at having fun!"

"Wouldn't that be great? You'll be the guardian dragon of the mountain then, even more majestic and powerful than the Lord of Qingjiang?"

"That's true." The Azure Dragon perked up instantly, imagining its majestic appearance in the future, and its tail wagged happily.

Just do it!

Li Pingcan immediately embarked on his path as an "infrastructure maniac".

The first step is to analyze the earth's veins.

He arrived deep within the sacred mountain, placed his hands on the ground, and activated [Heart of the Earth] and the first-level [Sculpting Earth] ability simultaneously!
"Rumble..."

The entire Peach Blossom Mountain began to tremble slightly, and the soil beneath his feet seemed to turn into smooth flowing water, making way for him to create a path leading deep underground.

He went deep underground, hundreds of feet, and "saw" the network of earth veins in Peach Blossom Mountain, which resembled the meridians of the human body.

However, most of these networks are narrow and congested, making the flow of spiritual energy quite sluggish.

"open!"

Li Pingcan let out a low shout, mobilizing all his magical power to widen and clear the narrow and blocked spiritual energy channels. He also drew in a mountain spring, carving out an underground river. The water flowed with the soil, and the spiritual energy flowed with the water, forming a perfect self-circulating system.

This process took him three whole days and three nights. The concentration of spiritual energy in the entire Peach Blossom Mountain increased by more than 30% compared to before, and even a single breath was refreshing.

Having done all that, he immediately began the second step—the return of the array spirit to its place.

He carefully took out the small stone spirit that he had already nurtured until it was shiny and smooth.

"Little one, this will be your new home from now on."

Li Pingcan soothed it with the language of dreams, 'I will nourish you with the spiritual energy of the entire mountain, and you will become the heart of this great formation, guarding the foundation of this home with me.'

The little stone spirit exuded a joyful and excited feeling.

Strangely enough, apart from the little stone spirit who was willing to communicate with him, all the other spirits and monsters were like mice in front of a cat.

He tried to contact other spirits he found in the mountains, such as a "giant strange rock" with a spirit, or an "ancient vine spirit" that had lived for hundreds of years. However, the responses he received were all resistance, as if there was an insurmountable barrier between them.

"It seems that it is not easy for something to develop intelligence and communicate with me."

"Wild animals are never as well-behaved as domesticated ones."

Li Pingcan sighed for a moment, then arrived at the core of the [Seven Spirits Array], removed all the mid-grade spirit stones that served as the array's core, and solemnly placed the little stone spirit on top of them.

"Buzz!"

The moment the little stone spirit touched the core of the formation, the entire [Seven Spirits Formation] suddenly burst forth with dazzling seven-colored light!

The dead formation, which had been passively gathering spiritual energy, seemed to be infused with a soul at this moment and came to "come alive" completely!

It began to "breathe" rhythmically, and with each breath, the spiritual energy of the entire Peach Blossom Mountain rose and fell with it.

As the core of the formation, the little stone spirit received tremendous benefits from the formation's feedback. Its originally dull gray stone body gradually developed natural jade-like patterns, greatly increasing its spirituality and conveying some vague, childlike emotions—joy, closeness, and satisfaction.

"This is the true return of the array spirits," Li Pingcan thought to himself with emotion.

The final step is to upgrade the defense system.

He arrived at the mulberry tree that had long since grown tall and shady.

[Spiritual Plant Enlightenment]!
He placed his palm on the tree trunk, and the natural magical power within his body poured out like a floodgate opening, without reservation!

This is an extremely mana-consuming process, and one has to swallow a divine berry to replenish the energy consumed.

This process was repeated more than ten times. Just when he was almost completely drained, the mulberry tree finally completed its final transformation with a clear buzzing sound.

The leaves, which were originally just green leaves, have now become like jade carvings, with each vein flowing with a visible spiritual light.

The tree trunk is covered with mysterious runes, exuding a reassuring aura of life.

【Mulberry Spirit Wood (Tier 1, Superior): Forged from the Mulberry Spirit Tree, its leaves can calm the mind, its fruit can enhance the spirit, and its heartwood is an excellent material for crafting spirit-type magical artifacts.】

"It's worth it!"

Li Pingcan looked at the transformed "sacred tree" with complete satisfaction.

Immediately afterwards, he took out several unusual seeds that he had "picked up" from his storage bag.

He planted these seeds at several key defensive nodes in Peach Blossom Mountain, and then activated the power of the newly upgraded Mulberry Spirit Wood to cast [Plant Growth] once again.

With the blessing of the sacred tree, the fertilization process went much more smoothly.

A few days later, Peach Blossom Mountain's defense system gained several "new members".

At the entrance to the mountain gate, dozens of thorny bushes, each half a person tall, quietly grew. The bushes were entirely black, with the tips of their thorns gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light. These were the [Azure Ghost Thorns], capable of shooting out paralyzing poisonous thorns.

Any unauthorized intruder will be instantly overwhelmed by thousands of poisonous thorns and left at the mercy of others.

On several cliffs behind the mountain, there is a vine that is entirely red, with fist-sized fruits that look like they might explode at any moment.

【Exploding Vine (Tier 1, High Grade): When it senses a violent fluctuation of magical power or a physical impact, the 'Exploding Fruits' on the vine will explode instantly, with power comparable to a full-force attack from a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.】

"Purely natural, pollution-free 'landmines' that explode when stepped on?" Li Pingcan nodded in satisfaction, planted them on several essential routes leading up the mountain, and disguised them.

There were also purple flowers that looked delicate and beautiful, but exuded a dangerous aura.

【Three Profound Paralysis Flower (Tier 1, High Grade): Its pollen is colorless and odorless. Once inhaled by a cultivator, it will quickly paralyze their meridians, causing their magical power to stagnate and their consciousness to become dull, preventing them from gathering magical power for three days and three nights.】

"This is good; it can seduce people without them even realizing it."

A gentle breeze can carry pollen to cover a large area.

As for the last type of spiritual plant, it was an unremarkable plant that looked like foxtail grass, but the edges of its leaves shimmered with a metallic cold light.

【Shadowless Throat-Cutting Grass (Tier 1, Superior): Its leaves are as sharp as knives and incredibly tough. When a creature approaches, it springs up like a spring, silently slashing at the opponent's throat or vital meridians.】

Li Pingcan planted them in several hidden defensive blind spots.

After everything was arranged, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Now, Peach Blossom Mountain can finally be considered a safe and secure base camp.

(End of this chapter)