Chapter 160 – Advancing to Late Spirit Transformation, Elemental Force Mastery Improved! (5k)
by spirapira【You fell into a wondrous state.】
【In this state, you could barely feel the passage of time. Your eyes and mind held nothing but the elemental force before you.】
【Your sensitivity to elemental force became extraordinarily heightened — you seemed able to feel the subtle vibrations of elemental force across every inch of your skin.】
【This was a detail you had never noticed before — vibration!】
【You maintained this state, carefully manipulating the vibrations of elemental force across your skin, watching them spread bit by bit.】
【Eventually, every inch of your skin was entwined, forming an incomparably solid suit of elemental force armor!】
【In this wondrous state, your mastery over elemental force was improving at breakneck speed!】
【Who knows how long this continued…】
【By the time you came back to your senses, the feeling of epiphany slowly fading, three days had already passed!】
【A sense of wistful loss filled your heart. The sensation of being immersed in epiphany had been extraordinarily wondrous — you had felt like an omnipotent being, but now you had returned to being ordinary.】
【You then took stock of your elemental force mastery, and froze — before erupting into wild joy!】
【In a mere three days, your mastery of elemental force had reached Entwinement Level: Perfection, only one step away from Elemental Force Projection!】
Seeing this, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.
His tightly clenched fists finally loosened.
“Phew~ Not bad luck — triggered a Spontaneous Epiphany, leaping straight to Entwinement Level: Perfection in one go. Elemental Force Projection isn’t far off either…”
“A Spontaneous Epiphany — one day of epiphany is equivalent to ten years… hss, doesn’t that mean an ordinary cultivator would need forty or fifty years of bitter training just to cultivate elemental force to Entwinement Level: Great Perfection?”
Su Xing’s face nearly darkened at the thought.
As expected, Body Tempering cultivation was absolutely not a path ordinary people could walk!
Not only did it demand extremely high physical aptitude and Body Tempering talent, it even required exceptional comprehension ability.
“Good thing this young master has a cheat… otherwise, elemental force cultivation alone would be enough to permanently stall the vast majority of cultivators…”
Su Xing muttered under his breath.
Now that Su Xing’s elemental force had reached Entwinement Level: Perfection, not only had his combat strength further increased —
Most importantly, he had taken a huge step toward the Void-Shattering Realm!
“There are still a few years left before the simulation ends. I wonder if I can break through to the third stage of elemental force — Projection Level?”
Su Xing felt a stirring of anticipation as his gaze returned to the simulation panel.
【After your elemental force realm broke through to Entwinement Level: Great Perfection, you didn’t slack off in the slightest, continuing to grind your cultivation diligently.】
【Year Eighteen: Mastery of elemental force proved far more difficult than you had imagined. After a full year of bitter training, you still made no progress whatsoever.】
【Year Nineteen: You continued to train diligently every day, shifting your primary focus to Qi Refinement cultivation and elemental force breakthrough.】
【Year Twenty: Your mastery of the earth-grade art Thousand Blazing Flame Art advanced further, having completely caught up with the progress of the Eternal Spring Art.】
【You discovered that the Thousand Blazing Flame Art combined with Separation Fire absorbed spiritual energy slightly faster than the Eternal Spring Art, so you began primarily cultivating the Thousand Blazing Flame Art. Your cultivation speed improved by a small margin.】
【Time flowed by like water, and amid your ceaseless day-and-night cultivation, three years quickly passed.】
【Year Twenty-Three: Your Qi Refinement cultivation advanced further, just one step away from entering late Spirit Transformation stage!】
【Year Twenty-Four: Your Qi Refinement cultivation finally broke through — you successfully entered late Spirit Transformation stage!】
【Congratulations on successfully advancing to Spirit Transformation Stage, Seventh Layer!】
【Year Twenty-Five: You began your final sprint, hoping to break through your elemental force mastery to the third stage before doomsday arrived.】
【But you ultimately failed to achieve your wish. One day, a colossal beast descended and swallowed all of Great Xia in a single gulp.】
【You were swallowed into the beast’s belly, where the terrifying power within its stomach — like chaotic spatial turbulence — tore your body apart.】
【Even though your physical body had reached Divine Power Realm: Great Perfection, you still couldn’t hold out for long.】
【Your primordial spirit drifted through the spatial void of the beast’s stomach, gradually losing consciousness…】
【Your primordial spirit dissipated. You died!】
【Ding — this simulation has ended!】
After the simulation ended, Su Xing fell into deep thought.
After a long while, he murmured:
“Sigh, it seems that elemental force cultivation and advancing Qi Refinement realms are both far more difficult than I imagined…”
Su Xing couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed. Years of effort, and he still hadn’t broken through from Entwinement Level: Great Perfection to Projection Level — the pace was truly slow.
Beyond that, advancing his Qi Refinement cultivation had also proven more difficult than Su Xing expected.
From Spirit Transformation Sixth Layer to Seventh Layer had taken Su Xing a full ten years!
At this rate, breaking through to Spirit Transformation: Great Perfection would require at least two more simulations…
“So then, is there a way for me to save one simulation and break through directly to Spirit Transformation: Great Perfection within twenty-five years?”
Su Xing pondered briefly.
Currently, Su Xing could think of several methods to increase his cultivation speed.
First, plant even more Spirit-Gathering Flowers to further increase the spiritual energy concentration in his spirit field grotto-heaven.
But this had to account for Su Xing’s energy balance — with costs running into the hundreds of millions of simulation energy, he simply couldn’t afford it right now!
Second, draw a purple-quality spiritual root!
A higher-grade spiritual root would undoubtedly boost Su Xing’s cultivation speed, but that was down to luck — something Su Xing couldn’t control.
Third, switch his primary practice to the earth-grade art Thousand Blazing Flame Art. In less than twenty years, Su Xing could cultivate it to the fifth layer, at which point his cultivation speed would be slightly faster than the Eternal Spring Art.
But this would require Su Xing to use up one of his simulation reward selection slots.
Fourth, get his hands on more spirit liquid!
The boost spirit liquid provided to cultivation speed was obvious, but Su Xing’s supply was limited.
Producing roughly a thousand drops per week meant about fifty thousand drops of spirit liquid per year — barely adequate to support a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator’s training.
“Tch tch, a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator relying on spirit stones alone would probably consume tens of thousands of spirit stones per year… but in this Dharma-Ending Era, where would you find that many spirit stones for cultivation?”
After a moment’s thought, Su Xing hit upon a good idea.
“Perhaps during the next simulation, I can stockpile spirit liquid — only collecting, never using. Over twenty-five years, I could accumulate close to 1.2 million drops of spirit liquid. Combined with the spirit liquid harvested from the spirit field blessed land afterward, that should be enough for me to break through to Spirit Transformation: Great Perfection, right?”
Su Xing did some rough mental math.
Without stockpiling spirit liquid, brute-forcing his way to Spirit Transformation: Great Perfection would most likely require two simulations’ worth of time.
But if he brought out spirit liquid from the next simulation, then the one after that he could push through to Spirit Transformation: Great Perfection in one surge. Not only would this waste no extra simulations, it was essentially getting 1.2 million drops of spirit liquid for free!
The price Su Xing would have to pay was merely a little over one hundred million energy.
Trading energy for spirit liquid — honestly, Su Xing didn’t think that was a bad deal.
Because spirit liquid was a tangible resource. It wouldn’t just help him during the Spirit Transformation stage; even after reaching the Void Return stage, spirit liquid could still aid his cultivation!
“This approach… should be feasible.”
Su Xing nodded slightly. With a plan for the next simulation taking shape, his gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【”Small is Cute Too~”】: Purple talent, priced at 1,000,000 energy.
【Ten Years of Alchemy Experience】: Alchemy insights, priced at 500,000 energy.
【Spirit Transformation Stage, Seventh Layer】: Qi Refinement cultivation, priced at 30,000,000 energy.
【Low-Grade Spirit Liquid, 10,000 Drops】: Crystallized from extremely concentrated spiritual energy, capable of nourishing the dantian and promoting cultivation, extremely easy to absorb. Priced at 1,000,000 energy.
【Primordial Energy Cultivation Insights (Entanglement Level: Perfection)】: Elemental force insights at Entwinement Level: Perfection, not far from breaking through to Projection Level. Priced at 20,000,000 energy.
【Earth-Grade Art Thousand Flames Scripture, Cultivation Progress (Fifth Layer)】: Cultivation insights for the Thousand Blazing Flame Art. The fifth layer is equivalent to Spirit Transformation stage cultivator level. Priced at 10,000,000 energy.
Su Xing swept his gaze across the simulation panel and murmured:
“This time’s talent is pretty good, but it won’t help much in the short term. I can store it in the talent pool for now and bring it out when I need it…”
“Looking at it this way, I’ll choose the Spirit Transformation Seventh Layer cultivation and the Primordial Energy Cultivation Insights!”
As Su Xing made his selection, the simulator’s notification chimed in his ears.
【You successfully brought out Spirit Transformation Stage, Seventh Layer cultivation. Cost: 30,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 189,080,000.】
【You successfully brought out Primordial Energy Cultivation Insights (Entanglement Level: Perfection). Cost: 20,000,000 energy. Remaining energy: 169,080,000.】
The moment the simulator’s voice faded, Su Xing’s aura began surging violently.
Spirit Transformation Fourth Layer… Fifth Layer… Sixth Layer!
And then, as naturally as water flowing downhill, he broke through to Spirit Transformation Seventh Layer!
In just a few breaths, Su Xing’s Qi Refinement cultivation had leaped by more than one full tier.
Whether in terms of total spiritual energy capacity or quality, late Spirit Transformation was stronger than mid Spirit Transformation by far more than just a small margin!
And this simulation’s gains were not limited to Qi Refinement cultivation alone.
A wealth of insights regarding elemental force appeared in Su Xing’s mind from thin air.
Simultaneously, the elemental force throughout his body began to vibrate and grow ceaselessly.
After a long while, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling the greatly increased elemental force within his body, the corner of Su Xing’s mouth curved upward.
“So this is… the pinnacle of Elemental Force Entwinement?”
Su Xing could indeed feel that his elemental force had undergone tremendous changes, but the specifics still needed to be tested.
With a mere thought, invisible elemental force coiled around every inch of his skin. From vital areas down to every single fingernail, all were tightly wrapped in elemental force.
An invisible, form-fitting suit of battle armor firmly protected Su Xing from head to toe.
“The question is, how well does this elemental force hold up defensively?”
After a moment’s thought, Su Xing drew the spirit sword Blackice.
As a Legendary-stage weapon, Blackice’s sturdiness and sharpness went without saying.
Su Xing brought Blackice down against his own forearm.
For this strike, he used thirty percent of his full strength.
Duang~
At the point of impact on his arm, the elemental force rippled outward like water, deflecting the vast majority of the blow’s power with the effortlessness of redirecting a thousand pounds with four ounces. Only a tiny fraction remained, distributed evenly across his entire body.
“Barely any pain… and no sensation of injury whatsoever!”
Su Xing’s eyes lit up, thoroughly satisfied with this elemental force armor’s performance.
“Thirty percent of my strength… This means that with full-body Elemental Force Entwinement, even a Martial Emperor-stage fighter would have a hard time leaving so much as a scratch on me!”
“As for half-step Legendary fighters like Old Dog Zong, the majority of their attacks would probably be evenly distributed by this elemental force armor, drastically reducing the damage dealt to me!”
After a pause, Su Xing murmured, “As for Legendary-stage fighters…”
Su Xing shook his head, uncertain about that.
Legendary-stage fighters were equivalent to Void-Shattering Realm cultivators — compared to Martial Emperors, it was a qualitative leap in power!
This layer of elemental force armor alone wouldn’t be enough to withstand a Legendary…
“But if I ran into that Void-Shattering Realm puppet from the ruins again, at least I wouldn’t die quite so pathetically, right?”
“And if I go one step further and comprehend Projection Level elemental force, I might even be able to trade a few blows with that puppet!”
Su Xing’s mood soared.
He was beginning to understand why Body Tempering cultivators, despite not mastering spells and techniques, could still hold their own against Qi Refinement cultivators.
With elemental force alone, one could attack or defend at will — it was absolutely equivalent to a top-tier divine technique!
“Soon… Once I achieve Elemental Force Projection, I’ll learn that Protective Hardened Qi technique and then attempt to enter the zone of extremes to break through the limits of the human body…”
A trace of anticipation flickered in Su Xing’s eyes.
After the simulation ended, Su Xing exited the spirit field grotto-heaven. The moment he pulled out his phone, a call came through.
The caller was Liu Xiaodong, Su Xing’s homeroom teacher.
“Hello, this is Student Su Xing, right?”
Liu Xiaodong’s voice came through the phone, sounding almost… obsequious.
“Yes, it’s me. What’s going on?” Su Xing asked, puzzled. Liu Xiaodong had given him no shortage of cold looks over the years.
Whenever Liu Xiaodong sought him out, it was usually to give him trouble. So why was his attitude so off today?
Liu Xiaodong quickly let out a hearty laugh and said:
“Student Su! You should have told us sooner that you had connections with Vice-Principal Lu! Honestly… if you’d just said so earlier, would the academy really have held you back from graduating? Really now!”
Su Xing frowned in confusion. “Vice-Principal Lu?”
On the other end, Liu Xiaodong nodded vigorously and said, “That’s right, Lu Yuanwu, Martial Emperor Lu! He’s always been our school’s honorary vice-principal!”
“This time he personally called the academy leadership, saying he had a relative who’d been held back a grade and wanted to get him a position as the school library director…”
“So I did some digging, and hey, guess what? Turns out Student Su Xing has been keeping a low profile all these years! Such modesty, Student Su…”
It clicked for Su Xing immediately.
Good grief, Jin Congxue worked fast!
It hadn’t even been an hour, and she’d already secured him a position as Capital Academy’s library director?
Wait… didn’t I ask for a library administrator position?
While Su Xing was mulling this over, Liu Xiaodong hurriedly continued, “Director Su! And about those enrollment financial aid funds from your earlier years… I’ve been holding onto them for you. Several million yuan in total. When would you like to come pick them up?”
“Your single-occupancy dormitory is all set up too… You can move in tonight!”
Hearing Liu Xiaodong’s fawning tone, the old Su Xing might have felt some satisfaction.
But for the Su Xing of today, he couldn’t care less.
So he simply replied in an even tone:
“Alright, noted. Send me the dormitory location… As for that money, donate it to someone who needs it.”
A few million yuan wasn’t even worth a special trip for Su Xing.
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with a sycophantic bully like Liu Xiaodong, and he wasn’t about to waste energy holding grudges.
With that, Su Xing hung up, briefly tidied up his dormitory, and moved to the new one.
The new dormitory was located in a secluded courtyard within the school grounds, home to deans, school administrators, professors, and the like.
But these school officials all had families, so this five-story dormitory building and the small courtyard in front of it were almost always empty.
Su Xing had a single-occupancy room, fully equipped.
Ever since becoming a cultivator, Su Xing had kept his daily life as simple as possible. Those who walked the path of cultivation generally didn’t concern themselves with such material comforts.
Besides, Su Xing spent most of his time in the spirit field blessed land, where he even lived in that small thatched cottage.
And he didn’t mind it one bit.
After a quick tidying up, Su Xing began a new week of pill refinement.
He also started setting up spirit-gathering formations within the spirit field blessed land.
It had been one week since the Spirit-Gathering Flowers were planted.
During this week, the spiritual energy concentration in the blessed land had grown rapidly, nearly reaching grotto-heaven level.
At most another week, and the blessed land would fully advance.
At that point it would begin producing spirit liquid, so Su Xing wanted to prepare in advance by setting up the spirit-gathering formations beforehand.
Over the course of the week, Su Xing refined only three thousand pills.
The remaining time he spent setting up three small spirit-gathering formations and transplanting another batch of Spirit-Gathering Flowers.
Before long, he would have a steady supply of spirit liquid.
The day came for Su Xing and Jin Congxue to meet.
Jin Congxue had been waiting at the villa for quite some time.
Today she wore a black, figure-hugging evening dress that gave her an air of queenly elegance.
Su Xing blinked, walked up, and teased, “Sis Xue, do you really wear something different every time we meet? How big is your closet?”
Jin Congxue shot him a coquettish eye-roll and said nothing.
Even the most fashion-conscious girl didn’t dress up every single day, right?
She had clearly put in special effort for Su Xing — after all, they only met once a week.
Jin Congxue had always treated these meetings as little dates.
“Hmph, just eat your food!”
Jin Congxue picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib with her chopsticks and placed it in Su Xing’s bowl.
Su Xing chuckled but said nothing more.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two turned to business.
Su Xing handed over the new week’s batch of pills to Jin Congxue.
Jin Congxue took them, glanced them over, and put them away with a nod.
“The Tarot Trading Company is truly on the right track now. The remaining payments for the Lingyun Merchant Association acquisition are nearly settled. You can take it a bit easier — no need to exhaust yourself refining pills like before…”
With that, Jin Congxue handed over a storage ring.
“Here, this week’s goods!”
Su Xing nodded slightly, took the storage ring, and glanced inside. His eyes immediately gleamed.
Inside the storage ring, in addition to the white-grade equipment and dungeon materials, there was conspicuously a third type of item — exotic metal!
“Oh? The mining zone dungeon deal went through? That fast?”
Su Xing was pleasantly surprised. If exotic metal was added to his weekly income, his simulation energy would increase substantially!
At his words, Jin Congxue tilted her delicate chin upward with a proud air and said, “Of course. Who do you think you’re dealing with?”
Su Xing gave her a thumbs up. Jin Congxue’s business acumen was truly beyond reproach.
The two chatted a while longer, and when Su Xing saw that the time was right, he returned to his dormitory, entered the spirit field blessed land, and prepared to start a new round of simulation.