Profound Gold Killing Array, activate!

As Qi Ping activated the Profound Gold Killing Array imprinted on the Nether Stone Scale Armor, a terrifying array enveloped the mid-stage Foundation Establishment elder!

Using the Nether Stone Scale Armor as a base, it connects to the power of heaven and earth!

The overwhelming pressure made every hair on the elder's body stand on end.

"This temporarily set-up array is far inferior to a complete array that has been painstakingly set up on a domain."

"Not only does it require me to spend more Power of Divine Soul and Spiritual Power to control it, but its endurance and the power of heaven and earth it draws upon are significantly lesser…"

With just a glance, Qi Ping judged the strength of the array.

For an Array Master, the gap in combat strength is substantial between encountering battle, having time to set up an array in advance, and fighting in one's long-established stronghold.

"But it's more than enough to deal with this old guy!"

At the moment the array took form, Qi Ping ignored the elder's frightened reaction inside and directly manipulated five razor-sharp Profound Gold Sword Qi, instantly piercing through the heart and head of the Foundation Establishment elder who was fighting with Yaya!

When dealing with an enemy at a higher realm than himself, Qi Ping dared not hold back in the slightest.

After slaying the enemy, Qi Ping quickly fled with the storage bag of the Foundation Establishment elder.

As for the body, Qi Ping left some bees to carry it away and deal with it, hoping that this action might buy him some time.

...

After leaving, during his escape, Qi Ping forcibly broke open the Primordial Spirit seal on the Foundation Establishment elder's storage bag.

At such times, he must quickly take out the useful items inside and discard anything that could reveal his location and has no value.

However, upon opening the Foundation Establishment elder's storage bag, Qi Ping couldn't help but frown.

"How could there be so many human corpses and products in here?"

Judging by the contents of the elder's storage bag, he was indeed a loose cultivator.

Because the contents were numerous and messy, but there weren't many truly valuable Spirit Stones, totaling only just under four thousand.

Compared to the early Foundation Establishment disciples of those sects, this was quite impoverished.

The cultivation techniques were also a mishmash, which Qi Ping knew from having killed quite a few sect disciples, as sect disciples are generally not allowed to carry sect techniques out of the sect.

The elixirs in there were of rather poor quality.

A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's assets were impoverished to this extent!

The difficulty of cultivation for loose cultivators was evident.

The only decent finds were three Foundation Establishment level cultivation techniques and three Tier Two spiritual seeds, one of which even exuded a rich Fire Attribute Spiritual Power!

Although Qi Ping estimated the cultivation techniques and spells might not be very powerful, they were quite useful for his study and accumulation of Foundation Establishment level techniques.

But those three Tier Two spiritual seeds brought Qi Ping a pleasant surprise!

No wonder this old man would ambush him based on mere speculation; he already had the idea of collecting three Tier Two spiritual seeds.

However, what truly unsettled Qi Ping was not the meager possessions, but rather the items clearly originating from different cultivators.

Upon estimating, Qi Ping found that the various items in the bag came from at least ten different cultivators. Given today's ambush, these were likely from those he had actively intercepted and killed to gain potential wealth and fortune.

Coupled with the human corpse item's refinement for cultivation, it was not hard to guess the elder's past actions and cultivation methods.

"Probably driven to this mad path due to the scarcity of cultivation resources..."

In the Qingtian Realm, Qi Refining Stage cultivators could earn resources through farming and animal husbandry, but upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, resources were nearly impossible to obtain.

"Is that why he collected Tier Two spiritual medicine seeds?"

"Then resorted to killing for wealth… hoping to use human corpses to enhance his cultivation and talents…"

"No wonder the presence of evil qi was so palpable on this person!"

Refining corpses to enhance cultivation and talents was a notion that made Qi Ping deeply uncomfortable.

"How many have gone mad pursuing the path of immortality... and how many have died?"

Estimating just how many cultivators perished due to this elder alone, it must be a terrifying number.

If Qi Ping placed himself in the elder's situation—rejected by a sect, reaching Foundation Establishment but devoid of resources to improve, knowing his talents could carry him further, and possessed of an ardent Dao Heart—what would he become?

Thinking it over, Qi Ping couldn't determine what he would turn into under such desperate conditions; without experiencing it firsthand, any answer is speculative. The potential to be driven mad by a hopeless situation is immense.

As Qi Ping transferred all useful items into another storage bag and instructed the bees to carry them off to weather the risky period, he discovered a remarkably exquisite book made from special spiritual materials.

Four bold characters adorned the cover: "Immortal Dao Notes"!

"Could this be the cultivation insights of some formidable cultivator?"

After escaping to a safe place, Qi Ping kept the book and asked the bees to help him open it.

[Began Qi Refining at twelve! Reached mid-stage Qi Refining by sixteen! At eighteen, already at the Fifth-Layer of Qi Refining, tomorrow I shall join the Cyan Origin Sect and forge ahead on the path of immortality!]

[Rejected by ten sects due to my advanced age. Am I truly hopeless on the path of immortality? No, I refuse to accept this! Why should the path of immortality be closed to me?]

[Qi Refining finally perfected, yet after decades of searching, I still couldn't obtain a Foundation Establishment Technique—must my path of immortality end here?]

[After decades of searching, I found a Foundation Establishment Technique, "Blood Evil Technique", on a Qi Refining youngster! Using flesh and blood as foundation? It turns out the flesh and blood of a genius cultivator is the best Foundation Establishment Pill! How cruel! But... Foundation Establishment... here I come!]

[Hunted nine sect disciples, melded blood and flesh into a divine pill, finally broke through Foundation Establishment! I command my own destiny, not heaven!]

[They say Foundation Establishment loose cultivators have no future, but I refuse to accept this! Even if I must tread over the bones of countless others, I will climb upwards! If resources lack, I shall rob! If talents lack, I shall melt flesh and blood!]

[Hehe! I have achieved mid-stage of Foundation Establishment! The next step! Late-stage Foundation Establishment!]

...

"Is this really this person's cultivation notes?"

Upon finishing the "Immortal Dao Notes", Qi Ping felt both disappointment and a profound sigh.

This notebook lacked a signature, but Qi Ping guessed the true owner was this elder, especially since the crucial item, "Blood Evil Technique", appeared in the elder's storage bag.

The notebook spanned dozens of thick pages, documenting all significant events since the elder began his cultivation journey. The last entry was about attempting to ambush a "fat sheep" who might know about Tier Two Spirit Veins…

This "fat sheep" naturally referred to Qi Ping. In the latter pages, the words "fat sheep" and "blood food" appeared more frequently.

The notebook outlined the full transformation of this elder from an ambitious youth to a frenzied Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivator.

"Ah… could it be that madness becomes more prevalent starting with Foundation Establishment?"

Driven to despair by resource scarcity, driven insane by arduous cultivation, with Dao Hearts collapsing…

Qi Ping suddenly felt that the further one progressed on the path of cultivation, the more they might uncover the terrifying aspects of the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

From what Qi Ping had gathered, it seemed only Qi Refining Stage cultivators and mortals lived fairly well under the ironclad protection of top sects in the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

In contrast, the scarcity of Foundation Establishment Stage resources certainly produced many mad individuals, especially those with strong Dao Hearts, who were more prone to madness.

However, the most chilling realization for Qi Ping was learning that the "Blood Evil Technique" had been noted among practitioners on the wanted list at a Mysterious Black Market; it was a technique for cultivating superior blood food!

Meaning, this elder's lifelong journey of madness was merely leading himself to become superior blood food! How pitiful and laughable!

Contemplating this, Qi Ping couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

"Now that I have the spiritual seeds, it'd be wise to wander less, lest I run into more madmen!"

"Better to return quickly to the territory and utilize the spiritual medicine to promptly enhance the strength of myself and my animal companions!"

Especially since the Fire Attribute spiritual seed was of Tier Two Intermediate level, although Qi Ping couldn't currently discern what type of spiritual medicine this seed was.

Yet from the Druid's perception and the deductions from "Natural Perception", it seemed the spiritual seed was something exceptional.

Qi Ping estimated that with it, he should be able to significantly enhance his strength and allow Yaya to complete his transformation.

Upon making his decision, Qi Ping immediately set off on his return journey...

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