Chapter 141 – Extracting Cultivation, the Changes of Spirit Transformation Stage! (5k Big Chapter)
by spirapiraSu Xing sighed at the sight of this.
“As expected, it still comes down to lacking spiritual energy and spirit stones!”
“Cultivation at the Spirit Transformation stage requires a sufficient supply of spiritual energy…”
Su Xing fell into deep thought.
Obtaining spiritual energy wasn’t actually difficult — Su Xing still had thirty Spirit-Gathering Flower seeds in his possession.
Through the cheat that was the simulator, Su Xing could easily extract hundreds, even thousands of Spirit-Gathering Flowers in a single simulation.
But apart from Spirit-Gathering Flowers, spirit stones were also essential.
Because spirit stones were solidified spiritual energy, and whether used for cultivation or restoring spiritual power, their efficiency far exceeded that of ambient spiritual energy.
On top of that, if Su Xing wanted to plant spirit rice on a large scale to strengthen humanity’s power, he couldn’t do without an ample supply of spirit stones.
“At the end of the day, it’s still a shortage of spirit stones! The thousand spirit stones I have on hand probably aren’t even enough for cultivating through a single minor realm of the Spirit Transformation stage…”
“And of all the ways I know to obtain spirit stones, it seems only one remains…”
“Old Dog Zong… it’s gotta be you!”
Su Xing figured that as a wily old fox who’d lived for one or two thousand years, Old Dog Zong surely possessed a considerable number of spirit stones.
If Su Xing could rob him… he probably wouldn’t need to worry about a spirit stone shortage for quite some time.
“Unfortunately, that old dog is no pushover. With my cultivation having just broken into Spirit Transformation, I might not be his match…”
“Once I raise my body tempering strength a bit more, this young master will go settle the score with that old dog!”
Regardless, being able to break through four barriers in succession and step into the Spirit Transformation stage had already exceeded Su Xing’s expectations.
Now that the barriers were broken, everything going forward was simple — just spend time grinding cultivation!
With that thought, Su Xing’s gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【Year Twenty: You continued slaughtering at Demon-Sealing Pass.】
【As the endless killing continued, your combat experience and strength steadily improved. Gradually, you became a renowned Martial Emperor powerhouse at Demon-Sealing Pass.】
【Every year on the Demon Slaying Rankings, you placed near the top. You even had the feat of single-handedly holding off two Demon Emperors at once!】
【And so, another two years passed.】
【Year Twenty-Three: The situation at Demon-Sealing Pass grew increasingly dire. Even though you slaughtered hundreds or thousands of demons daily, for the vast Demon-Sealing Pass, it was still a drop in the bucket.】
【But your Qi Refinement cultivation also improved slightly. Although the lack of spiritual energy prevented prolonged cultivation, your cultivation gradually approached the second layer of Spirit Transformation stage.】
【Year Twenty-Four: In the span of a single year, you slew dozens of Demon Emperors.】
【This was not only because your strength kept growing, but also because the number of Demon Emperors assaulting Demon-Sealing Pass kept increasing.】
【You had a premonition — that day was perhaps not far off.】
【Year Twenty-Five: Hundreds of legendary demon beasts invaded Demon-Sealing Pass. Countless human soldiers perished!】
【Even giving everything you had, you barely managed to hold off a single legendary demon beast for a dozen rounds before ultimately dying in its jaws.】
【You have died. Talent “Die With Eyes Open” activates…】
【Ding! This simulation has ended!】
After the simulation ended, Su Xing let out a long breath.
His gaze turned to the reward options on the simulation panel.
【I’m Background Extra A】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy points.
【Twenty-Six Years of Alchemy Experience】: Alchemy insights, includes partial Nascent Soul Tempering Pill (Mastery-level). Price: 1,000,000 energy points.
【Spirit Transformation Stage, First Layer】: Having broken through five barriers and stepped into Spirit Transformation, you have become a Spirit Transformation ancestor among cultivators. Price: 10,000,000 energy points.
【Divine Power Realm, Fourth Layer】: Body tempering cultivation. Price: 30,000,000 energy points.
【Eight Years of Combat Experience】: Contains your eight years of slaughter experience at Demon-Sealing Pass, with a minor improvement in insight into demon race weaknesses. Price: 800,000 energy points.
Su Xing looked at the simulation reward options before him and fell into thought.
“I’m Background Extra A” — was this talent strong?
It was indeed top-tier, the kind of conceptual talent! Whenever Su Xing didn’t want others to notice him, this talent was absolutely effective.
For instance, in this simulation, Su Xing had used this very talent to steal from the Advent Cult’s treasury!
And the treasury contained far more than just medicinal herbs — there were many other treasures as well.
Even if Su Xing had no personal use for those treasures, they could be exchanged for energy — an astounding amount of energy, without question.
But this talent’s drawbacks were also obvious — sometimes it would bring Su Xing no small amount of trouble.
After hesitating for a while, Su Xing sighed:
“Fine, I’ll leave this talent in the talent reward pool for now… I’ll draw it out when I need it later!”
Having confirmed he didn’t currently need this talent, Su Xing had nothing to agonize over.
Turning his gaze to the two cultivation rewards, Su Xing silently declared:
“I choose the Spirit Transformation stage cultivation and the Divine Power Realm, Fourth Layer cultivation!”
Immediately, the simulator’s notification chimed in Su Xing’s ears.
【You have successfully extracted Spirit Transformation Stage, First Layer cultivation. Cost: 10,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 45,680,000 points.】
【You have successfully extracted Divine Power Realm, Fourth Layer cultivation. Cost: 30,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 15,680,000 points.】
As the simulator’s notifications faded, two streams of profound energy flowed into Su Xing’s body.
What Su Xing felt first was the explosive surge in strength and physical body!
Divine Power Realm, First Layer… Divine Power Realm, Second Layer… Divine Power Realm, Third Layer…
Like water flowing naturally to the sea, each wave higher than the last!
Finally — Divine Power Realm, Fourth Layer!
For a body tempering cultivator in the Divine Power Realm, each layer of advancement directly increased strength by thirty percent!
Going from the first to the fourth layer, Su Xing underwent three transformations in total.
His strength was now approximately 2.2 times what it had been!
This meant Su Xing’s raw strength had jumped from twenty million jin straight to forty-four million jin.
More than double the strength!
And body tempering cultivation represented Su Xing’s current peak combat power.
This also meant that Su Xing’s overall strength had effectively more than doubled in this single moment!
“Hiss~ The Divine Power Realm is terrifying… a thirty percent strength increase with each layer. By the end, the growth will be explosive!”
Su Xing drew a deep breath.
Moreover, this forty-four million jin of tremendous force was merely Su Xing’s pure physical strength. After channeling primordial force on top of it…
Su Xing’s strength would double yet again, reaching an astonishing eighty million jin!
“No wonder they say body tempering cultivators only unleash their true power upon reaching the Divine Power Realm…”
Su Xing murmured.
The saying “one force breaks ten thousand techniques” — this must be what it meant!
At lower stages, body tempering cultivators and Qi Refinement cultivators each had their advantages. While body tempering cultivators had stronger physical bodies, Qi Refinement cultivators had ranged attacks through their techniques.
Ordinary body tempering cultivators simply couldn’t close the distance.
But now, at the Divine Power Realm, the explosive power growth could directly teach Qi Refinement cultivators a lesson!
“My pure physical strength alone should be no weaker than Old Dog Zong’s now, right?”
This thought suddenly rose in Su Xing’s mind.
In their exchange during the last simulation, Old Dog Zong had been at the peak of Spirit Transformation in Qi Refinement, with his body tempering also approaching Divine Power Realm, Great Perfection.
He had outmuscled Su Xing in raw power. But now, with Su Xing’s strength doubled, the gap between them should be negligible.
Su Xing pondered this thoughtfully.
Just then!
A surging force began reverberating through Su Xing’s body!
“A breakthrough is coming!”
Su Xing’s heart stirred. He immediately gathered his focus, concentrating all his willpower on controlling the fluctuations of spiritual power within his body.
The next instant, an aura erupted from Su Xing like a mighty river in flood!
The spiritual power within him soared level after level, ascending several stages in the span of just a few breaths.
The Nascent Soul within his dantian began to transform, becoming in an instant a golden miniature figure bearing Su Xing’s likeness.
His perception of the surrounding heaven and earth’s spiritual energy surged upward like a rising tide.
Su Xing could sense the faintest currents of spiritual energy drifting through the air.
The most dramatic change of all was the explosive growth of his spiritual sense!
Due to the limited space of the Blessed Spirit Field, Su Xing couldn’t tell just how far his spiritual sense had expanded.
He could only perceive the chaotic currents in the spatial cracks beyond the Blessed Spirit Field, and the vast void that lay there.
Once the aura around Su Xing stabilized and the river-like torrent of spiritual power within him was fully drawn inward—
Su Xing slowly opened his eyes and murmured:
“So that’s how it is. Borrowing heaven and earth’s momentum with the power of one’s own body… so this is what it means to be a Spirit Transformation cultivator?”
From the breakthrough of Nascent Soul to Spirit Transformation, the total volume of spiritual power within Su Xing had roughly doubled again!
And that wasn’t even the most critical part!
The true strength of a Spirit Transformation cultivator lay in the ability to borrow the momentum of heaven and earth, channeling the spiritual energy between heaven and earth to augment oneself.
This way, techniques became more powerful, and the speed of recovering spiritual energy became much faster!
Sensing the changes within his body, Su Xing reflected:
“If this were still an era abundant with spiritual energy, I probably would have stood no chance against Old Dog Zong before…”
“Because a Spirit Transformation cultivator, drawing on heaven and earth’s spiritual energy, has both technique power and sustained combat ability that a Nascent Soul cultivator simply cannot match!”
“But precisely because this is the Dharma-Ending Era… with no spiritual energy between heaven and earth, Old Dog Zong’s Spirit Transformation strength couldn’t be fully brought to bear. That must be why I was able to hold out for so long.”
Su Xing furrowed his brows slightly. The lack of spiritual energy between heaven and earth was clearly not good news for him—after all, spiritual energy was the very foundation of a cultivator.
Without spiritual energy, Su Xing couldn’t bring his full strength to bear.
But compared to other cultivators, Su Xing still held a certain advantage—the Blessed Spirit Field!
Though the outside world lacked spiritual energy, after breaking through to Spirit Transformation, Su Xing could rely entirely on the Blessed Spirit Field to rapidly restore his spiritual power, allowing him to sustain prolonged combat!
Thinking of this, Su Xing stroked his chin and said:
“No wonder cultivators always say: wealth, companions, techniques, and land. The value of a blessed cave dwelling in the Dharma-Ending Era is truly terrifying!”
After a brief pause, a faint glimmer flashed through Su Xing’s eyes as he murmured:
“Then let’s see just how much my divine sense has grown.”
With a thought, Su Xing appeared inside the school dormitory building.
His divine sense spread outward like a tide.
A hundred zhang… a thousand zhang… two thousand zhang… three thousand zhang!
Su Xing’s divine sense extended all the way to three thousand zhang before he finally felt himself touching the limit.
“So that’s how it is… my current divine sense reaches just over three thousand zhang!”
“Converted to modern units, that’s a full ten kilometers!”
A flash of pleasant surprise crossed Su Xing’s eyes.
A radius of ten kilometers—that practically covered the entire central district of Capital City!
This meant that as long as Su Xing extended his divine sense, there would be nothing happening in the heart of Capital City that he wouldn’t know about!
Whether for tracking someone down or for self-protection, this was nothing short of a divine ability!
However, divine sense naturally couldn’t be used without limit.
Maintaining the three-thousand-zhang range for merely a quarter of an hour, Su Xing already felt a trace of fatigue in his primordial spirit.
He then tried maintaining his divine sense at roughly thirty zhang around his body. At this range, the consumption was virtually imperceptible.
This meant Su Xing could keep his divine sense active at all times, detecting every movement within a thirty-zhang radius.
“Within thirty zhang of my body—equivalent to a hundred meters—I can detect any danger at any time!”
Su Xing felt a quiet satisfaction.
This range was enough to avoid the vast majority of ambushes and dangers.
With a thought, Su Xing summoned his Class User panel.
【Name: Su Xing】
【Age: 22】
【Class: Immortal Cultivator (Unique Hidden Class)】
【Cultivation: Spirit Transformation Stage, First Layer; Divine Power Realm, Fourth Layer】
【Technique: Eternal Spring Art】
【Talents: Sword Maniac, Spontaneous Epiphany, Alchemy Prodigy, King of Gluttons, Wood-Fire Dual True Spirit Root, Strength to Uproot Mountains, Fortune in Commerce, Peerless Adonis, Plant Affinity, Level 10 Beast Tongue, Die With Eyes Open, Lucky Streak, Blessed by Fortune…】
【Skills: Separation Fire (Minor Mastery-level), Alchemy Art (Minor Mastery), Spirit Burst (Minor Mastery), Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique (Beginner-level), Three-Thousand-Zhang Divine Sense (Five Senses Realm), Elemental Power Mastery (Entanglement-level), Three Talents Sword Art (Human Sword, Minor Mastery), Myriad-Mile Tracking Art (Beginner)】
【Equipment: Blackice】
After accumulating gains across several simulations, Su Xing’s Body Tempering and Qi Refinement cultivation had both improved enormously.
And the boost from his talents made Su Xing comparable to a walking stat monster.
Even his skill panel showed he had mastered a considerable number of divine arts and techniques—barely enough to bring out combat power equivalent to the Spirit Transformation stage.
“But this cultivation technique…”
Su Xing furrowed his brows slightly. The technique he currently practiced was still the Eternal Spring Art he’d obtained before, which could only be cultivated up to Void Return stage, Great Perfection.
Though Su Xing had only just entered Spirit Transformation, he had to plan ahead. Otherwise, searching for a technique later would waste considerable time.
A thought stirred in Su Xing’s mind as he murmured:
“Come to think of it, I have a Wood-Fire Dual Spirit Root, but the technique I’m currently practicing is wood-attribute only. I still haven’t mastered a fire-attribute technique…”
“And right now, I know of four possible ways to obtain cultivation techniques.”
“First, through the Luotian Assembly dungeon—memorizing techniques through repeated immersive simulations… but that costs too much simulation energy and mental effort. Without triggering an epiphany, it would take at least a dozen simulations just to fully memorize a single Earth-grade technique!”
“Second, through that bastard Old Dog Zong… as a monster who’s lived for two thousand years, he should have techniques leading to higher realms. Maybe I can get my hands on them…”
“Third, there’s naturally the Dharma-Ending Era dungeon. I haven’t been there yet, but by now I can basically confirm that Old Dog Zong originated from that dungeon, and the Eternal Spring Sect from before should also belong to it…”
“So even though spiritual energy has dissipated, I can’t rule out the possibility of finding higher-level techniques there!”
“And lastly… naturally, after breaking through to the Void Return stage, I’d go find my bargain-bin master Qingyunzi and see if I can get a more advanced technique from him!”
Su Xing deliberated carefully.
Forcibly memorizing techniques through the Luotian Assembly wasn’t cost-effective—the total simulation energy investment could run into the hundreds of millions.
That path could only serve as a fallback. Unless absolutely necessary, Su Xing was unwilling to go that route.
As for breaking through to the Void Return stage and seeking out the old Daoist Qingyunzi—there were too many uncertainties!
After all, Su Xing still hadn’t figured out Qingyunzi’s true nature. Though the old Daoist was technically Su Xing’s master, one could never be too cautious. What if Qingyunzi turned out to be some great demon lord who wanted to refine Su Xing into a Human Pill?
When he first began cultivating, Su Xing hadn’t understood the cruelty of the cultivation world.
But now, through Old Dog Zong, Su Xing had come to understand just how ruthless it truly was.
Reaching the Void Return stage in less than a year—that was far too shocking. What if Qingyunzi wanted to dig into the secrets behind his rapid advancement…
He sucked in a breath. The consequences would be unthinkable!
With Su Xing’s cautious nature, he naturally wouldn’t take such a risk!
“So that leaves only the last two paths!”
Su Xing’s gaze sharpened.
“The Dharma-Ending Era… and Old Dog Zong. These two paths—I want them both!”
With a plan for the future in place, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.
He was just about to return to the Blessed Spirit Field to practice alchemy when his divine sense suddenly detected a figure within its range.
Su Xing’s expression shifted slightly.
“That’s Wang Qingxuan… why is she hiding behind the dormitory building crying by herself?”
Su Xing felt somewhat puzzled. He didn’t dislike this junior schoolmate—he even felt a mild fondness toward her.
After all, Wang Qingxuan wasn’t a bad person. She had always been kind to Su Xing, and in the early days, she had even helped him obtain the Eternal Spring Art, a genuine immortal cultivation technique.
“So what kind of trouble has Wang Qingxuan run into?”
With a thought, Su Xing pretended to be passing behind the dormitory building by chance, manufacturing a coincidental encounter.
“Junior, what’s… what’s wrong?”
Su Xing looked at Wang Qingxuan huddled in the corner, sobbing continuously. She looked so helpless, so small.
Su Xing couldn’t bear to just watch. He handed her a tissue.
When Wang Qingxuan saw it was Su Xing, she instantly felt even more ashamed, as if she didn’t want the person she admired to see her like this.
She frantically tried to flee.
Su Xing quickly grabbed Wang Qingxuan’s arm, wiped the tears from her face with the tissue, and asked with concern:
“Junior, whatever it is, you can tell me!”
Wang Qingxuan looked up at Su Xing. Warmth rose in her heart, and she could hold back no longer. She threw herself into Su Xing’s arms and broke down crying.
“Senior… my, my mom and dad… they’re dead… they’re dead…”
Su Xing’s expression changed instantly. Wang Qingxuan’s parents were dead?
He quickly said:
“Junior, don’t panic. Take your time and tell me what happened…”
Wang Qingxuan took the tissue, slowly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and recounted everything that had happened to her recently.
As it turned out, while Wang Qingxuan’s family wasn’t exactly wealthy, both her parents were Silver-stage Class Users.
They had been working for an organization called the “Black Dragon Class User Guild.”
Class User guilds were among the most common Class User organizations in society.
After graduating from Class User universities, aside from the rare few geniuses who were specially recruited by the government, most Class Users would join trading companies, guilds, corporations, and similar organizations.
The main work of a Class User guild involved running dungeons to farm equipment, or helping employers obtain rare items from dungeons, power-leveling clients, and so on.
Class Users hired by guilds received salaries, and they also earned a percentage of the equipment and items obtained from dungeons.
Guilds were formidable in strength. When many Class Users teamed up to run dungeons together, they leveled up faster and had much better safety guarantees.
But according to Wang Qingxuan…
Half a month ago, her parents had perished inside a dungeon due to faulty mission intel from the Black Dragon Guild.
While such incidents weren’t exactly common, they occurred from time to time every year.
After all, running dungeons wasn’t like playing a video game—it meant fighting for your life against real dungeon monsters!
One moment of carelessness and death was perfectly normal.
But the issue was that those who died in service to the guild should have been entitled to a substantial compensation payout!
Especially for someone like Wang Qingxuan, still studying at university, right in the critical period of growing stronger—the phase where money mattered most.
With both her parents killed in action, the compensation they were owed could have exceeded ten million yuan!
But the Black Dragon Trading Company refused to pay, and had even tampered with the contracts.
And Wang Qingxuan, a mere university student—how could she possibly fight against a powerful guild?
With her parents gone and her primary source of income lost, Wang Qingxuan felt as though her life had reached a dead end.
Looking at Wang Qingxuan sobbing uncontrollably in his arms, Su Xing felt a pang of sympathy.
“The Black Dragon Class User Guild… that name sounds familiar somehow.”
Su Xing suddenly recalled something, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.
“That’s right! I remember in one of my simulations, there was a trading company I took down called the Black Dragon Trading Company… could there be some connection between the two?”
A thought stirred in Su Xing’s mind. While continuing to comfort Wang Qingxuan in his arms, he said:
“Junior, take a few days to collect yourself. As for this matter—I’ll see what I can do!”