Chapter 58 – The Complete Eternal Spring Art, Acquired!

【Fortunately, the Blessed Spirit Field contained enough food and water, with beautiful scenery and abundant spiritual energy. You could easily hole up inside until the day the apocalypse arrived.】

【After enduring Elder Jin’s torture, you discovered that your dantian was shattered and your Qi Refinement cultivation had plummeted nearly to the Foundation Establishment stage. Your four limbs had also been melted by the alchemy furnace, leaving you completely disabled and utterly unable to continue cultivating.】

【Though you could no longer cultivate, the methods available to a cultivator meant that living like an ordinary person was hardly difficult for you.】

【In the days that followed, you lived a leisurely life of retirement. Each day you tended the fields, raised chickens, ate a few mouthfuls of fragrant Spirit rice, had some wild vegetables, and occasionally slaughtered a spirit chicken to satisfy your cravings. Life wasn’t bad at all.】

【In the fourteenth year, one day, the entire Blessed Spirit Field space began to shatter. You felt it in your heart and knew that the aberrant beasts had finally arrived.】

【Before dying, you decided to return to the real world for one last look. With a thought, you left the Blessed Spirit Field and returned to the place where you had been refined into a pill.】

【The three-zhang-tall alchemy furnace of old had long since vanished. The surroundings were pitch black, filled with ruins and sludge. You could barely stand, and you realized that you had likely already been swallowed into the belly of a giant beast.】

【Just as you thought death was certain, an aged voice came from behind you.】

【You looked closely and saw a white-haired old man, withered and frail as a guttering candle, trembling as he crawled out from a corner. It was Grand Protector Zong!】

【You were stunned. You hadn’t expected Grand Protector Zong to be so obsessed with refining you into a pill that he had waited a full two years, only to end up swallowed by the giant beast just like you.】

【Upon seeing you, Grand Protector Zong’s face lit up with delight. He was already somewhat deranged, and he stammered tremblingly that you possessed a blessed grotto-heaven.】

【Grand Protector Zong fell to his knees before you with a thud. Tears streamed down his face as he declared that his days were numbered. All he wanted was to see the blessed grotto-heaven you possessed before he died.】

【Seeing Grand Protector Zong in such a wretched state, you broke into a grin and chose to kill yourself.】

【You died!】

【Your talent Die With Eyes Open activates…】

【Seeing your death, Grand Protector Zong went completely insane. You were his only hope for continued cultivation. Now that you were dead, he knew there was no longer any possibility of cultivation for him. His Dao heart collapsed entirely, and he died miserably beside your corpse.】

【Ding, this simulation has ended!】

After the simulation ended, Su Xing fell into deep thought.

The value of this simulation to Su Xing was immense.

First, Su Xing had finally obtained the complete Eternal Spring Art. This meant that his path of immortal cultivation would never be cut short. He now had hope of cultivating all the way to the Void Return stage.

And once he reached the Void Return stage, Su Xing would be able to travel to the Azure Cloud Sect. That place was likely a world belonging to immortal cultivators, and once Su Xing could reach it, he would have access to far more cultivation resources.

At that point, with the simulator at his disposal, his cultivation speed would undergo a qualitative transformation.

Second was the information shock this simulation had delivered.

Su Xing had now confirmed beyond all doubt that he was not the only immortal cultivator in this world.

Or rather, on Earth itself he was indeed the only cultivator, but within those cultivation-themed dungeon instances, the number of cultivators might not be small at all.

What was even more terrifying was that those cultivators might already have found ways to enter the real world and were influencing it.

Their intentions could be good or bad, but for Su Xing—who carried an enormous secret—they were absolutely people he could exploit. The cultivators he could currently confirm were Grand Protector Zong, that old dog, and Protector Dragon, who had instantly killed Su Xing before and was most likely also a cultivator.

Furthermore, Su Xing could now confirm that Grand Protector Zong came from a Dharma-Ending Era dungeon instance.

“The Dharma-Ending Era instance likely conceals quite a few secrets, but with my current strength, trying to explore it personally would be far too dangerous.”

“The best approach is still to explore the Dharma-Ending Era instance through simulations. I might be able to obtain a lot of useful information that way. But before that, I need to raise my strength another level—ideally reaching the Primordial Martial Realm or Nascent Soul realm… Only then would I not be wasting simulation attempts.”

Su Xing’s mind churned with thoughts.

“Secondly, and most critically—in the real world, I absolutely cannot expose my identity! Especially the fact that I can cultivate! Because once that’s exposed, there will likely be no shortage of powerful experts whose cultivation paths have been severed coming to cause trouble. At best they’d imprison me; at worst they might directly refine me into a puppet… I absolutely cannot underestimate those people’s desire for cultivation!”

The moment Su Xing recalled the inhumane torture he had suffered in the simulation, his scalp went numb.

“That Grand Protector Zong was willing to lurk in hiding for several years just to imprison me, all to observe whether I could cultivate steadily.”

“Once he confirmed that I could indeed cultivate, Grand Protector Zong immediately bared his fangs. Even after I escaped, he waited for years more. The depth of his obsession speaks for itself!”

“What’s most terrifying is that there may be far more than just Grand Protector Zong. Those cultivators who emerged from dungeon instances, having experienced the severing of their cultivation paths—once they encounter even a sliver of hope for cultivation, they will absolutely reveal their true nature… And considering that these people have survived from the Dharma-Ending Era to the present, their strength is definitely far beyond mine!”

Su Xing took a deep breath, repeating over and over in his mind:

“Lay low! Lay even lower! Until I possess absolute strength, I absolutely cannot be exposed…”

After a pause, Su Xing thought further: “However, once I do have sufficient strength, perhaps I can find a way to eliminate Elder Zong. After all, that bastard is a Spirit Transformation realm cultivator. His understanding of the cultivation world must be extensive, while I know far too little about cultivation matters. I could use him as a stepping stone to learn more about the cultivation world.”

“But that’s not something to rush. What I need to do right now is still to steadily improve my strength!”

Su Xing took a deep breath, then turned his attention to this simulation’s rewards.

【Level 10 Beast Tongue】: Blue talent. Price: 100,000 energy points.

【Golden Core Stage, Fifth Layer】: Cultivation level. Golden Core quality has further improved, reaching upper-middle grade. Not far from a superior-grade Golden Core. Price: 400,000 energy points.

【ten years of alchemy experience】: Alchemy insights. Price: 10,000 energy points.

【Eternal Spring Art】: The foundational art of the Eternal Spring Sect. It is the prerequisite portion of an even more powerful technique. The Eternal Spring Art can be cultivated up to Void Return, Great Perfection. Price: 500,000 energy points.

Su Xing studied the four simulation rewards before him and fell into thought.

First, the Eternal Spring Art absolutely had to be taken. After all, this was something he had expended enormous effort to obtain, even enduring horrific torture in the simulator to barely acquire it.

If he didn’t take it this time, it would likely waste another simulation attempt.

Of the remaining three options, Su Xing immediately eliminated the alchemy experience, since he hadn’t learned any new pill formulas in this simulation, making it of little value.

After some deliberation, Su Xing said: “I choose to bring out the Eternal Spring Art and the Level 10 Beast Tongue talent!”