Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Spiritual Land for Core Formation

After Li Ping picked out the Spiritual Materials he needed, Xu Guikai immediately produced the corresponding items from his Storage Bag.

But when Li Ping tried to take out Spirit Stones to pay, Xu Guikai stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"If it weren’t for the high-tier Spirit Talismans you gave me, Fellow Daoist Li, I might have died long ago in the Yan Kingdom," Xu Guikai said with a smile, shaking his head. "Consider these Spiritual Materials my way of repaying your kindness. There’s no need for Spirit Stones."

Seeing Li Ping hesitate, he spoke again. "How can mere Spiritual Materials compare to you saving my life? Please, Fellow Daoist Li, say no more."

"In that case, I’ll graciously accept." Seeing his firm stance, Li Ping didn’t press the issue of the Spirit Stones. He simply smiled and smoothly accepted, putting the Spiritual Materials into his Storage Bag.

The two chatted for a while longer about their experiences in the Ice Sea before Xu Guikai said his goodbyes.

Just as he stood to leave, Li Ping smiled and pulled a stack of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Talismans from his Storage Bag. "I drew these when I was bored. Please, take them, Fellow Daoist Xu."

Xu Guikai was a straightforward and unpretentious man. He was only slightly taken aback by Li Ping’s words before smiling. "Well then, I won’t stand on ceremony."

With that, he reached out, took the stack of Spirit Talismans from the table, and placed it in his Storage Bag.

’With the Ice Sea Demon Beasts apparently beginning to rampage, I’ll likely face many more battles. Supplies like Spirit Talismans are always welcome—the more, the better.’

’I can accept these Spirit Talismans now, and in the future, I’ll just bring Fellow Daoist Li some more materials to make up for it.’

In fact, he had a faint suspicion about the true nature of his relationship with Fellow Daoist Li Ping.

’If reincarnation is real, then perhaps Fellow Daoist Li Ping and I had a deep connection in a past life.’

...

After seeing Xu Guikai and his companion off, Li Ping headed into the city to gather information. He could clearly feel the tension in the air; every cultivator rushing to and fro wore a hurried expression.

Clearly, news that the Ice Sea Demon Beasts were making landfall in massive numbers had already spread.

Flying Snow City was tens of thousands of li from the edge of the Ice Sea, so the Demon Beasts wouldn’t be able to reach it anytime soon. However, the other Main Cities, the ones closer to the coast, had likely already encountered the beast tide.

And cultivators like Xu Guikai, who were already out hunting Demon Beasts, would certainly know what was happening.

Through word of mouth, most other cultivators, as well as any mortals with the right connections, had learned of the Ice Sea Demon Beasts making landfall.

Before long, the prices of Dharma Artifacts, Spirit Talismans, and Pills within Flying Snow City began to soar, while the prices for various Spiritual Materials plummeted. Cultivators were clearly selling off their materials to hoard supplies in preparation for the coming beast tide.

Li Ping didn’t pay much attention to the fluctuating prices. Although a high-tier artisan like himself could profit handsomely at a time like this, he wasn’t short on Spirit Stones.

His primary goal was still to reach Core Formation as quickly as possible. There was no need to interrupt his cultivation routine for a quick profit.

However, cultivation required a stable environment, which was why he had rushed to see Shi Yutong. He needed to confirm how stable the situation truly was.

If the Ice Sea Beast Tide involved the Tier Four Ice Flood Dragon—or worse, if the beast had already appeared—he would consider leaving Flying Snow City and retreating inland for his own safety.

’Besides, I have the Jade of the Spiritual Eye, so I don’t need to worry about finding a Spirit Vein before attempting my breakthrough to Core Formation.’

’If it came down to it, I wouldn’t mind finding a remote desert, digging a deep hole to hide in, and cultivating to the Peak of Foundation Establishment before worrying about finding a Spirit Vein for my breakthrough.’

’Of course, my spiritual intuition isn’t warning me of anything right now, so the situation clearly isn’t critical enough to flee just yet.’

Arriving at the center of Flying Snow City, he took out the Token Shi Yutong had given him.

A Guard quickly and respectfully led Li Ping to the Ice Jade Hall.

He pushed open the doors, and before he could even step inside, Shi Yutong’s soft, delicate voice reached his ears. "Did Brother Li come all this way just to see little old me? I’ve been waiting for so long. I was starting to think you were ignoring me."

Li Ping automatically ignored Shi Yutong’s coquettish act, shaking his head as he walked into the hall.

His gaze fell upon a beautiful, silver-haired figure sitting amidst the hall, handling various administrative tasks. ’Such a perfect ice queen,’ he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, ’so why does she have to act so coy?’

’Then again, what I see as a coy act, other cultivators probably see as a sweet, considerate little sister.’

The moment they were face to face, Li Ping immediately asked her about the Ice Sea Beast Tide.

At the mention of the beast tide, Shi Yutong’s brow furrowed. She shook her head. "To be honest with you, Brother Li, I don’t know why the beast tide started in the Ice Sea either. And its intensity is incredibly high this time. I estimate nearly every Demon Beast in the entire Ice Sea has come ashore.

Many of the Tier One Spiritual Land settlements under the Main Cities’ jurisdiction have already been destroyed. It’s possible that large numbers of Demon Beasts will appear near Flying Snow City soon as well."

"It’s that serious?" Li Ping asked, surprised.

Still surprised, he followed up with his most pressing question. "Has the Tier Four Ice Flood Dragon made an appearance in this beast tide?"

If the Tier Four Ice Flood Dragon had really appeared, he would flee without a moment’s hesitation, even if his spiritual intuition hadn’t warned him yet.

"The Tier Four Ice Flood Dragon?" Shi Yutong shook her head. "It hasn’t shown itself. However, Tier Three Demon Beasts have already made landfall. Several of them, acting in concert, even destroyed a large Barbarian tribe."

"That’s good." Li Ping nodded, relieved.

He really didn’t want to burrow underground and live like a rat unless he had absolutely no other choice.

"Oh, right, Brother Li," Shi Yutong said with a slight smile, changing the subject. "I recently got some news about the complete version of the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill you asked me to look for. Someone was selling Tier Two puppets over in Silver Moon City. Rumor has it they inherited the legacy of the Celestial Skill Sect. You might be able to get the Cultivation Technique from them."

The eight Main Cities possessed a communication tool similar to the Celestial Secret Mirror, meticulously crafted by a grandmaster of Artifact Refining from the Great Zhou. It allowed for instantaneous communication even across hundreds of thousands of li.

This was how Shi Yutong had received the news from Silver Moon City.

The eight Main Cities also shared intelligence regarding the Ice Sea Beast Tide.

"Silver Moon City?"

Li Ping recalled the map of the Land of the Far North. Silver Moon City was a Main City built less than ten thousand li from the Ice Sea—much closer than Flying Snow City.

He frowned. With the beast tide erupting, the closer one was to the Ice Sea, the more dangerous it was.

As much as he wanted the complete Divine Sense Secret Technique, he wasn’t about to risk his life for it.

"Yes, Silver Moon City," Shi Yutong confirmed with a smiling nod. "But with the beast tide, it’s very dangerous outside the city walls. I suggest you don’t rush off to find the technique, Brother Li. It would be better to wait until the tide recedes."

Li Ping nodded slightly, in complete agreement.

"Oh, and Brother Li," Shi Yutong’s gem-like eyes shifted as she brought up another matter in that same delicate tone, "with this great battle about to begin, I’ve collected a batch of Spirit Medicines for refining healing pills and pills that restore Magical Power. Could I trouble you to refine them for me?

The compensation definitely won’t disappoint you. Please, Brother Li, I’m begging you this time."

Refining pills was a way to contribute to the war effort against the beast tide, and it posed no danger to him. Li Ping had no reason to refuse.

As a human facing the Ice Sea Beast Tide, if the pills he refined could give his fellow cultivators a better chance at survival, it would be a good deed.

With this in mind, he smiled and nodded. "Of course, Alchemy is no problem. I will refine the Pills as quickly as possible. Sect Leader Shi can send someone to retrieve them when they’re ready."

A smile graced Shi Yutong’s face at his words.

She had been worried Li Ping might leave Flying Snow City to pursue the Cultivation Technique. Seeing him agree to perform Alchemy so readily, she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

A high-tier Alchemist would be treated as an honored guest no matter where they went.

...

Li Ping returned to his residence with the Spirit Medicines from Shi Yutong and immediately threw himself into Alchemy.

The Pills Shi Yutong had asked him to refine were mostly Tier Two Lower Grade and Middle Grade. With his skill in Alchemy, he could have crafted them with his eyes closed.

It didn’t take him long to finish them all. He gave the completed Pills to the person Shi Yutong sent to retrieve them.

From this messenger, he also learned that small bands of Demon Beasts had begun to appear near Flying Snow City.

For safety’s sake, the city’s leadership had ordered all cultivators and mortals in the Tier One and Tier Two Spiritual Lands under their jurisdiction to evacuate to Flying Snow City.

Thanks to large Flying Ships and Storage Bags, the evacuation went smoothly.

Of course, some losses were unavoidable.

...

In the years that followed, Demon Beasts appeared frequently near Flying Snow City.

Demon Beast hunters like Xu Guikai, however, were saved the trouble. They no longer had to travel thousands of li to the Ice Sea to hunt, and their hauls increased significantly.

Furthermore, with Flying Snow City serving as a logistical base for supplies, the danger of hunting was also greatly reduced.

Because this bizarre beast tide was essentially a free delivery of kills, the price of Demon Beast materials in Flying Snow City plummeted. Li Ping took the opportunity to buy up and hoard a large quantity of Tier Two Upper Grade materials, which he planned to use for crafting puppets.

However, crafting puppets required other types of materials besides those from Demon Beasts.

As a result, Li Ping only managed to craft two puppets during this time, bringing his total number of Tier Two Upper Grade puppets to five.

Unfortunately, his current Cultivation Technique limited him to controlling a maximum of three puppets at once.

’No rush,’ Li Ping told himself, suppressing his desire for the complete Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill and focusing on his cultivation. ’I’m not leaving the city, so I’m perfectly safe. Everything else can wait until after I form my Golden Core.’

Before he knew it, three years had passed amidst the beast tide.

「In the courtyard.」

Li Ping was discussing something with Xiao Yunzhi.

After three years of arduous cultivation, Xiao Yunzhi had reached the Peak of Foundation Establishment—the Fake Pill Realm—and was ready to attempt her breakthrough to Core Formation.

She possessed a Celestial Spiritual Root, which meant she would face no bottleneck when attempting Core Formation and wouldn’t need the aid of a Core Formation Spiritual Object.

However, a Tier Three Spiritual Land was essential, as only such a location could provide the immense amount of Spiritual Qi required for the breakthrough to Core Formation.

For Xiao Yunzhi, her options for accessing a Tier Three Spiritual Land were to either go through the Flying Snow Sect or return to the Western Wilderness.

This was the very matter the two of them were now discussing.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.