The Cyan Origin Sect, Celestial Fire Pavilion, and Seven-Star Sword Sect, no matter how hard they tried, couldnât fathom what the Cyan Origin Sect had deployed in Qingshi County that caused their own disciples to die one after another.
Where there is something unusual, there must be a demon! This made them suspicious, increasing their focus on Qingshi County and elevating its strategic importance by a notch.
"From now on, increase surveillance in Qingshi County, expand the depth of the investigation, and donât overlook any abnormal signs!"
Even more than these sects grew suspicious, Cyan Origin Sect itself was somewhat surprised at why Meng Yan could slay so many geniuses of opposing sects.
They certainly wouldnât let this suspicion go easily, and they would investigate the matter about Meng Yan thoroughly.
...
After Qi Ping and Meng Yan slew the two Foundation Establishment cultivators who attacked, they concealed their auras and quickly left.
This time they were far more cautious than before, fearing that others would track them through the residual spiritual power and traces.
The Cyan Origin Sect had more enemies in Qingshi County than just these two, otherwise, they wouldnât have suffered such a big defeat and lost several Foundation Establishment disciples.
"Thanks to Brother Qi this time, if it werenât for you, I would have been in grave danger!"
Thinking of this, Meng Yan couldnât help but sigh, as the development of the battle had far exceeded his control.
At the same time, he was also very shocked by the changes in Yaya and Qi Pingâs strength.
Whether it was Yayaâs breakthrough to Tier Two and awakening of the Great Sun Body, or Qi Pingâs effortless slaying of several powerful Demon Wolves, it all left him extremely astonished.
He really hadnât expected that after he broke through to Foundation Establishment, Qi Pingâs strength not only hadnât fallen behind but had actually caught up.
Moreover, intuition told him that Qi Ping still had a trump card, making him seem unfathomable.
"Given our relationship, thereâs no need to say such things. The most urgent matter now is to figure out how those two discovered your trace and to quickly heal your injuries..."
Qi Ping noticed that after the recent battle, Meng Yanâs injuries had worsened again.
"Alright! Letâs deal with these spoils first, then weâll move to another place..."
The two quickly disposed of the spoils, then took the valuable and safe items and left again.
In the following days, Qi Ping and Yaya stayed to protect Meng Yan for about a week, waiting until Meng Yanâs injuries had almost healed before leaving with Yaya.
As for the spoils from the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Qi Ping insisted they be divided equally as before.
After dividing, each received items and spirit stones worth about thirty thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones, a quite substantial gain.
These disciples from the big sects at the Foundation Establishment stage were indeed very wealthy.
However, Meng Yan refused to accept the ten thousand Spirit Stones Qi Ping had used to purchase his cultivation technique.
After considering for a moment, Qi Ping didnât insist further, letting Meng Yan have his way.
"Brother Qi, this farewell, I donât know if Iâll survive this war. If we meet again, I will treat you to a drink!"
"Take care!"
On the way back, Qi Ping did not carry the resources he was allocated; instead, as usual, he let the bees take these things and bury them in various places.
Due to the large amount this time, Qi Ping deliberately divided the spoils into several parts; this way, even if one part was compromised, others could still be preserved.
...
After bidding farewell to Meng Yan, Qi Ping visited Sister Nan.
This time Qi Ping did not hide anything but directly stated the danger level of Qingshi County, and that he would set up an Illusion Array and Concealment Array deep in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
She could then hide there safely, and focus on cultivation during this period.
As for the Spirit-Storage Fruit trees and the method of manufacturing spiritual fertilizers that Sister Nan cultivated, Qi Ping bought them with Spirit Stones.
After hearing Qi Pingâs explanation, Sister Nan, without much hesitation, followed Qi Pingâs arrangements obediently.
She had no doubts about what Qi Ping said.
After Sister Nan completed the move-out process, Qi Ping took her deep into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and found a secluded cave.
This cave had been discovered by the bees while they were searching for a personal territory for Qi Ping.
Itâs a concealed location, close to the mountain and water, a good hiding place.
After confirming nothing was problematic with Sister Nan, Qi Ping immediately started setting up the array for her.
Sister Nan was stunned watching Qi Pingâs seamless setup movements, completely taken aback.
Qi Pingâs rapid cultivation progress was within her expectations, but she hadnât imagined that Qi Ping had also started studying arrays, one of the highly difficult four arts of immortal cultivation!
Even more challenging than drawing talismans, itâs hardly possible without exceptional talent.
Entering the path of arrays not only meant Qi Pingâs survival ability greatly increased, but also that he could earn considerable Spirit Stones from it.
"Sister Nan, you should stay here to cultivate for now, itâs getting more dangerous outside. Wait until itâs safer before heading out!" Qi Ping advised after finishing the array setup.
Sister Nan gently nodded in response to Qi Pingâs advice:
"Mm, in the coming time, Iâll stay here and cultivate well..."
She didnât inquire about how Qi Ping learned arrays, nor did she ask where Qi Ping would go.
If Qi Ping didnât wish to disclose these matters, she wouldnât press.
After finishing this task and leaving behind some supplies and honey, Qi Ping took his leave.
Qi Ping had confidence in Sister Nanâs ability to survive; as long as she stayed away from the center of the vortex, with her current Sixth-Layer of Qi Refining at perfection strength, surviving here shouldnât be difficult.
Here is much safer than at the original Spirit Field.
...
"This journey has resolved all my worries; I obtained the Foundation Establishment Technique, and ensured the only potential risk, Sister Nan, is hidden..."
This time, Qi Ping intends to stay peacefully in his territory to reach Foundation Establishment before going out again.
Recently, with so many talented disciples of enemy sects of the Cyan Origin Sect dying here, the losses theyâve suffered are significant, and the upcoming danger level can be expected to increase.
Currently, hiding deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, Qi Ping could be much safer, just in time to avoid the most dangerous phase while using this period to break through to Foundation Establishment.
It was also a good thing that Meng Yan left Qingshi County at this point, as, with his masterâs arrangements, it would be safer than staying here.
The only headache for Qi Ping was that with Meng Yanâs departure, his future attempts to buy cultivation techniques and resources would become more challenging and troublesome.
"Forget it, no need to worry about so much for now. My strength is still too weak; anyway, I have all the resources needed to break through to Foundation Establishment."
"Iâll use the current resources to develop well; everything else will wait until after breaking through to Foundation Establishment!"
Yet, no sooner had Qi Ping returned to his territory than he received news that made him frown deeply:
One of the hiding places for his spoils had been found by a group of terrifyingly powerful cultivators!