Spirit Mountain.
Time flowed quietly.
Years of secluded cultivation had stabilized Li Pingcan's cultivation at the peak of Refining Qi Stage Seven, just one step away from glimpsing the threshold of Stage Eight.
Yet this final step seemed separated by an insurmountable chasm.
"Gone again."
Li Pingcan sighed, staring helplessly at the last empty pill bottle before him, feeling a dull ache in his chest.
The vast resources he had gathered were now seventy to eighty percent depleted.
Those spiritual pills that once delighted him for half a day now felt like a single drop of water falling into boiling oil - producing only the slightest ripple before vanishing without trace.
"Little Carp, your cultivation is bankrupting us!"
The Green Jiao lazily coiled around itself, scratching its belly with its tail tip. "When I swallowed a second-grade demon core, I only progressed from late first-stage peak to late Refining Qi stage. You're just moving from seventh to eighth stage, yet you've consumed more than me! Is your stomach a bottomless pit?"Since forming their soul contract, it could sense the ravenous magical energy demands within Li Pingcan's body - that terrifying rate of consumption made even its scales crawl.
"What do you know? This is called storing up strength for a big leap forward." Li Pingcan shot it an annoyed glare.
Cultivating both immortal and martial paths simultaneously, with Druid techniques complementing his Martial Way Golden Body, gave him foundations far more solid than peers at his level and combat power bordering on monstrous.
But correspondingly, the energy required for each breakthrough was several times - even dozens of times - greater than ordinary cultivators.
"Looks like I'll have to use the last of my 'emergency reserves'."
With a thought, a chunk of second-grade demon beast flesh radiating vast blood qi energy materialized before him.
This was the essence extracted from that ancestral River Serpent - his final stockpile, deliberately saved for breaking through bottlenecks.
Without hesitation, Li Pingcan used Fire Control to roast it medium-rare before devouring the serpent meat whole.
"Boom!"
An energy a hundred times more violent than any pill erupted within him like a waking volcano!
For a moment, Li Pingcan felt his limbs might explode from the overwhelming force.
He hurriedly focused his mind, activating the Heaven and Earth Furnace Body Tempering Art to transform himself into a massive crucible, desperately refining the energy.
The Green Jiao recoiled from the sudden terrifying aura, its golden vertical pupils filled with shock.
The surrounding spiritual energy converged toward Li Pingcan at a frightening rate, forming a visible vortex.
"This guy... breaking through again?! His cultivation speed makes my drinking look slow! What kind of monster is he?"
It remembered when they first met - Li Pingcan had been just a "tiny" early Refining Qi cultivator. Now, mere years later, he was charging toward Stage Eight!
Even those so-called heavenly geniuses of antiquity couldn't match this pace!
Then it worried: "Little Carp, you okay? Don't refine yourself into an explosion!"
Li Pingcan had no energy to respond.
Within his consciousness sea, his magical energy vortex spun at unprecedented speed while his dantian expanded painfully through repeated tearing and reconstruction.
The bottleneck that had stalled him for months finally developed hairline cracks under this tyrannical energy's assault.
Gathering all energy into a single point like a world-cleaving axe, Li Pingcan struck viciously at those cracks!
"Crack!"
Like shattering glass, the bottleneck collapsed!
A purer, denser magical energy surged from his dantian, flooding through his limbs like a raging river.
Refining Qi Stage Eight!
The ancestral serpent's flesh contained such vast energy that even after breaking through, over half remained stored within him.
Seizing this opportunity, Li Pingcan continued circulating his techniques without pause.
The watching Green Jiao gaped, its jaw nearly hitting the ground.
"Monster! Absolute monster! This isn't cultivation - it's outright devouring!"
It had never seen anyone "consume" spiritual energy so voraciously - more terrifying than its own demon core swallowing!
Finally, Li Pingcan exhaled turbid air, steadying his breath before checking his status panel.
Days earlier, through combined efforts with Li Mengjin, his Druid class had successfully reached Level 11.
[Congratulations on your Druid class level increase.]
[You have comprehended a new Druid branch skill: Heart of Earth.]
[Heart of Earth (First Ring): You establish deeper connection with the land beneath you. You clearly perceive underground veins, mineral distributions and energy nodes within a hundred li. You can communicate with the earth to soothe its "moods" and more efficiently manipulate earth and stone.]
"Heart of Earth? This skill could help locate spirit veins, organize terrain, construct formations..."
The importance of spirit veins went without saying. Wasn't the years-long war between Great Yu and Great Qian dynasties over a newly born spirit vein?
Now he could identify vein nodes before the dynasties, legally purchasing private mines for discreet, rule-compliant extraction.
He might even capture earth dragon veins to relocate them, strengthening the Li bloodline.
Under the Druid training site's concealment, the dynasties wouldn't detect any anomalies.
As Li Pingcan marveled at this new power, a messaging mushroom in his pocket vibrated gently.
Mengze!
Excited, he immediately focused his consciousness.
A flood of information poured into his mind - Li Mengze's months of observations in the capital, plus painstakingly gathered fragments about "Blood Maple Forest" and second-grade spirit materials.
"Blood Maple Forest... Great Qian Dynasty's forbidden land... connected to large-scale sacrificial rites..."
"That's my boy! Just a few years and he's already touching royal secrets!"
First pride swelled his chest, then shock: "But these materials sound dangerous, tied to border victories and dynasty dragon energy - the karma involved might dwarf even Old Yin Mountain's undead stiff."
Li Pingcan frowned deeply. Though fragmented, his son's intelligence carried an unusual sense of peril.
This war ran far deeper than surface appearances.
"Until things clarify, I must fortify our base into an impregnable stronghold!"
Peach Blossom Mountain's scenic beauty held decent earth energy. After years of Seven-Star Formation and Mulberry Spirit Tree enhancements, its former spiritual poverty was long gone.
Now with Heart of Earth awakened, why not transform the entire mountain into an undetectable sanctuary?
He shared his vision with Green Jiao.
"You want to hollow out the mountain?"
Green Jiao blinked stupidly. "Well done, Little Carp! You keep getting more outrageous!"
"Not good? You'd make a splendid mountain guardian dragon - far more majestic than Qing River's lord."
"True enough." Instantly energized, Green Jiao happily flicked its tail imagining future glory.
Action followed thought!
Li Pingcan embarked on his "infrastructure frenzy."
First step: reorganizing earth veins.
Deep in Spirit Mountain, he pressed palms to ground, activating both [Heart of Earth] and first-ring [Earth Shaping] simultaneously.
"Rumble..."
Peach Blossom Mountain trembled slightly as soil flowed like water, parting to reveal a path descending hundreds of feet underground.
There he "saw" the mountain's vein network resembling human meridians - mostly narrow and clogged, causing sluggish energy flow.
"Open!"
Channeling full power, Li Pingcan widened and cleared blocked passages. He diverted mountain springs to create underground rivers, forming a perfect self-circulating system where energy followed water's path.
Three days and nights later, the mountain's spiritual energy concentration had increased by over thirty percent - each breath now refreshingly invigorating.
Next step: installing the formation spirit.
Carefully retrieving the well-nurtured small stone spirit:
"Little one, this will be your new home."
Using [Dream Language] to reassure it: "I'll nourish you with the mountain's entire vein system. In return, become this grand formation's heart - guarding our family's foundation with me."
The small stone spirit radiated joyful agreement.
Strangely, while it communicated willingly, other spirits avoided him like mice shunning cats.
Attempts to contact other awakened entities - like a sentient boulder or ancient vine spirit - only met resistance, as if blocked by an impassable barrier.
"Seems achieving sentience and communication isn't easy."
"Wild ones can't compare to domesticated obedience."
After this reflection, Li Pingcan replaced the Seven Spirit Array's core medium-grade spirit stones with the small stone spirit at its center.
"Hum!"
Upon contact, the entire array erupted in dazzling rainbow light!
The formerly passive energy-gathering formation seemed infused with a soul, truly coming "alive"!
It began rhythmic "breathing," each cycle causing the mountain's energy to ebb and flow accordingly.
Meanwhile, the small stone spirit benefited enormously from this feedback, its dull gray surface developing jade-like veins as its spirituality grew, emitting childlike emotions - joy, affection, satisfaction.
"Now this is proper formation spirit installation," Li Pingcan mused.
Final step: upgrading defenses.
He approached the now towering Mulberry Spirit Tree.
[Spirit Plant Awakening]!
Pressing hands to trunk, he channeled natural energy like a bursting dam.
The exhausting process required repeated Divine Berry consumption.
After nearly draining himself a dozen times, the tree finally completed its metamorphosis with a crystalline hum.
Originally green leaves now resembled carved jade, veins pulsing with visible light.
The trunk bore naturally formed mystical runes exuding soothing vitality.
[Mulberry Spirit Wood (First-Grade Superior): Awakened from Mulberry Spirit Tree. Its leaves calm minds, fruits enhance souls, and heartwood makes perfect spirit artifact material.]
"Worth it!"
Li Pingcan admired this reborn "divine wood" contentedly.
Next he planted several "bargain" seeds at key defensive positions before channeling the enhanced tree's power for another [Plant Growth].
With divine wood's assistance, the process proceeded smoothly.
Days later, Peach Blossom Mountain's defenses gained new "members":
At the mountain entrance grew waist-high [Darkblue Ghost Thorns] - jet-black brambles with glowing blue spikes that could shoot paralyzing needles.
Any unauthorized intruder would instantly face thousands of venomous spines, left completely helpless.
Cliff faces behind the mountain now hosted [Explosive Vines] - crimson creepers bearing fist-sized "bombs."
[Explosive Vine (First-Grade Superior): When detecting intense energy fluctuations or physical impacts, its "blast fruits" detonate with Refining Qi mid-stage cultivator's full-force strike.]
"Natural, pollution-free, step-activated 'landmines'?" Satisfied, Li Pingcan planted these along primary paths with careful camouflage.
Then came seemingly beautiful but dangerous purple [Triple Mystic Paralysis Flowers].
[Triple Mystic Paralysis Flower (First-Grade Superior): Its scentless, colorless pollen rapidly paralyzes meridians upon inhalation, leaving victims unable to gather energy for three days.]
"Perfect for subtle ambushes."
A breeze could spread pollen across wide areas.
Finally, unassuming [Shadowless Throat-Cutting Grass] resembling dogtail grass but with razor-edged leaves.
[Shadowless Throat-Cutting Grass (First-Grade Superior): Its blade-sharp leaves are incredibly tough. When creatures approach, they spring like traps to silently slash throats or vital meridians.]
Li Pingcan planted these at hidden defensive blind spots.
Only after completing all arrangements did he finally exhale in relief.
Now Peach Blossom Mountain truly qualified as a secure stronghold.