On the way back from his meeting with Meng Yan, Qi Ping detoured to deliver several jars of honey made from first-grade mid-rank spirit herbs to Sister Nan. He had a sufficient supply of herbs at this level, and helping her break through to the late stage of Qi Refinement was something he had already decided to do.
Once Sister Nan reached the late stage, and assuming the chaos in Qingshi County eventually settled, she could live a relatively comfortable life. A rogue cultivator of that level, provided they hid their strength and didn't fight over rare resources or secret manuals, could thrive simply by tending to a piece of spiritual land. Free from illness and with a lifespan of nearly two hundred years, it was an enviable state.
Qi Ping had heard from Old Man Zhou about a late-stage Qi Refinement uncle in the Yunwu Mountain Range who lived exactly like that. Knowing he had no hope for Foundation Establishment, he moved to a low-rank spiritual land where mid-stage cultivators gathered, never worrying about others coveting his resources. No cultivator would offend a late-stage expert for such small gains. That uncle's only hobby was preparing various delicacies—supposedly because he had been hungry as a mortal. Such a choice was indeed refreshing; with nothing to his name, he satisfied his life's greatest wish of tasting every food.
Qi Ping hoped Sister Nan could lead a similarly simple life. Without the certainty of progressing further, there was no need to endure so many dangerous trials. What he could do within his power was help her reach the late stage for self-preservation. However, his timing was poor—arriving in the middle of the night gave her a fright, thinking some bandit had broken in, only to find it was Qi Ping.
After delivering the honey, Qi Ping returned to his own peaks.
'This was a good harvest!'
Teaming up with Meng Yan had been risk-free and highly profitable—far more comfortable than acting alone.
Regarding spirit stones, he had gained 4,312. Added to his existing thousand, his cash reserves sat at over 5,300. After another month, he estimated he would earn another 3,000 from Spirit-Nurturing Honey. The profit was high because the bees found their own food, saving him a vast amount of Hundred-Spirit Grass. With the price of the honey being higher than expected, his quarterly income was estimated to be just over 4,000 spirit stones.
In a month, his total wealth would likely reach the staggering sum of 8,000! Including miscellaneous items in his storage bag, he could easily scrape together 9,000. This was more than enough to purchase a spirit-soul attribute spirit beast; even some Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't have such a net worth.
'Until I become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, I'll cap the production of Spirit-Nurturing Honey at this level. Increasing it further would bring too much risk.'
Earning stones was for the sake of cultivation, not his ultimate goal.
'Once I have enough, I'll have Brother Meng help me buy things. I can pay a twenty percent premium so he's more willing to help, while I avoid the risk of being drawn into sect politics.'
Aside from stones, his other major gain was the Fire-Glow Pill recipe and its associated herbs. Four mid-rank and two high-rank spirit herbs—three of which were viable for planting. While they weren't immediately useful for his cultivation, he wanted them as samples for future honey experimentation.
Finally, there was the hammer stored in a special jade box. It was a high-grade spirit tool, incredibly dense and capable of enduring ten million strikes. Meng Yan had already moved on to an ultimate-grade hammer. Qi Ping didn't plan to use it as a tool; the True Meaning residue was precious. It would be better to wait until he contracted his new animal companion and gained a spirit-soul talent before attempting to perceive it.
'I should be able to complete the contract for the third animal companion within two months at the latest!'
'Now, the priority is to increase my realm to the ninth level of Qi Refinement while using the Fire-Glow Honey to enhance my physical strength and fire-attribute talent.'
'That way, the power of my Explosive Flame spells will increase, and I won't injure my meridians because my body isn't strong enough to handle the force.'
After his recent battle, Qi Ping's fondness for the Explosive Flame spells had grown. Their performance in combat was brilliant—high explosive power, long-range capability, and top-tier survival and escape potential. They merged perfectly with the Beast King's Flame. He estimated that by the time he reached perfection in those spells, he would have comprehended the True Meaning of Fire. At that point, he would likely be able to hold his own even against Lin Qingshu.
'Time to work hard!'
As he drew closer to the Foundation Establishment stage, Qi Ping's fighting spirit intensified. Within just five days, he successfully broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refinement!
His spiritual energy intensity and volume increased by several dozen percent. Combined, his combat power saw a massive jump. He felt the surge of power and vitality within his body and was immensely satisfied.
'If I fought that Heavenly Fire Pavilion disciple again, I could intercept his flying sword with much more ease!'
Despite such rapid progression, his foundation remained solid—something impossible for ordinary late-stage cultivators. If they tried to refine spirit herbs as frantically as Qi Ping, they would suffer from either energy backlash or dangerously unstable foundations.
'So this is the benefit of high talent. Refreshing!'
Having spirit herbs but not daring to use them would have been the ultimate frustration. Of course, the key was his deepening comprehension of the True Meaning of Fire and his Dao-heart Intent, which allowed him to control the increased energy.
Ten days after reaching the eighth level—fifteen days after the battle—the first batch of Fire-Glow Honey was successfully brewed.
'This batch was designed using ten different honey recipes based on the Fire-Glow Pill recipe, aided by my study of the Alchemy Note and the Spirit Herb Encyclopedia.'
'I wonder if there will be a surprising result.'
His progress in spells and realm was already great; he only needed to bring his physical strength up to par so he wouldn't injure himself every time he unleashed his power. The creator of the Explosive Flame Technique likely never imagined a Qi Refinement cultivator would possess a life-fire...