Chapter 237 – A Deal with Grandpa Lu, Target: Primordial Unity Realm for Body Tempering!

In the Real World, Su Xing’s eyes lit up when he saw this.

“As expected, these Song brothers really do have a way out of the valley!”

“Is it through that blood-numbered big shot?”

“Each departure can’t exceed three years, and they have to return before the next blood seedling tournament?”

A look of disdain crossed Su Xing’s face.

Leaving the valley meant entering the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm!

When that time came, Su Xing would contact the Azure Cloud Sect’s people and go straight into the Azure Cloud Realm. Only an idiot would come back to participate in the blood seedling tournament!

“Still, ten million spirit stones… the price really is too steep. It’s probably a protection fee for that big shot behind the scenes, right?”

Su Xing thought to himself.

Since Spirit-Gathering Flowers were so valuable, Su Xing only needed to spend two hundred flowers to successfully smuggle himself into the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm. For him, this cost was entirely bearable.

Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After hearing Old Fifth Song’s words, you said nothing and simply exchanged for some more intelligence before leaving the place, acting as if nothing had happened.】

【You didn’t have that many spirit stones on hand yet. Perhaps in a future simulation, you could give it a try.】

【Over the next three years, you cultivated daily in the valley, improving your strength.】

【But your cultivation remained stuck at the fourth layer of Body Integration stage, unable to achieve a further breakthrough.】

【Year Thirty-Five: A new blood seedling tournament officially began!】

【This was already the third blood seedling tournament you had participated in. Knowing there was no way to avoid it, you stopped concealing your strength and earned a blood seedling slot.】

【After becoming a blood seedling, Blood Twenty-Three appeared and brought you along with the other ten blood seedlings to the main city where the dark cultivators gathered.】

【In the luxurious restaurant, you stared at the lavish feast before you, feeling as wretched as if you were eating a condemned man’s last meal.】

【Soon, your aptitude and age were assessed.】

【As expected, you were taken away by Blood Twenty-Three and placed under house arrest.】

【A few days later, Blood Three and Blood Nine appeared and performed a soul search on you…】

【They didn’t obtain any useful information from your memories, but your soul was annihilated under the soul search…】

【You died!】

【Talent Die With Eyes Open activated!】

【Through lip-reading, you heard the conversation between Blood Three and Blood Nine. Its content was almost the same as before.】

【But Blood Nine added one extra remark: “This kid once produced nearly a hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers! Having that many Spirit-Gathering Flowers, he might truly have inherited Luotian’s hidden legacy!”】

【Ding! This simulation has ended!】

In the Real World, Su Xing looked at the simulation text before him with a slight frown.

“Luotian’s hidden legacy… Spirit-Gathering Flowers?”

Su Xing suddenly recalled the back mountain of the Luotian Sect in the Luotian Assembly dungeon — those Spirit-Gathering Flowers blanketing the entire mountainside.

According to Shennong Youtian’s description, the Luotian Sect’s back mountain contained a total of 129,600 Spirit-Gathering Flowers — a number corresponding to one cosmic cycle!

“So it’s true — ‘Luotian’ refers to the Luotian Sect!”

“But… what exactly is this hidden legacy of the Luotian Sect referring to?”

Su Xing still knew far too little at present.

Or rather, with Su Xing’s current cultivation and strength, he simply couldn’t access matters at that level.

“For now, the most important thing is still improving my cultivation! If my cultivation and strength are sufficient… perhaps I can even compete for this Luotian legacy!”

With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the reward list for this simulation.

【Hua Tuo Reborn】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy points.

【Twenty Years of Alchemy Experience】: After redemption, existing alchemy insights will increase by a small margin. Price: 2,000,000 energy points.

【Integration Stage, Fourth Layer】: A mid-stage Body Integration cultivator who can sense the embryonic form of the Great Dao and comprehend Origin Force… Price: 1,500,000,000 energy points.

【Origin-Nourishing Pills x20,000, Organ Refining Pills x30,000】: Third-grade pills capable of enhancing spiritual energy and cultivation for Golden Core and Organ Tempering cultivators. Refined by alchemy master Su Xing. Price: 500,000,000 energy points.

【Sword Flight Art (Perfection)】: The evasion supernatural art Sword-Controlling Technique. Speed depends on spirit sword quality and sword cultivator’s strength. On offense, it can take an enemy’s head from a thousand li away; in retreat, one can ride the sword at leisure, traversing ten thousand li in an instant. Price: 300,000,000 energy points.

Su Xing glanced at the simulation rewards, then checked his remaining energy — just under 700 million.

“Sigh, looks like I can’t extract the fourth layer of Body Integration cultivation… energy’s tight!”

Su Xing sighed. Even adding this week’s cargo energy, it still wouldn’t reach 1.5 billion.

Moreover, Su Xing currently had another objective: trading the Essence Nurturing Pills with Xia’s military to obtain even more energy!

“Tsk tsk, fifty thousand pills valued at 500 million energy… flip them for a sale, and that’s 10 billion energy!”

“That’s a straight twenty-fold profit! Absolutely insane money!”

Su Xing thought it over. Extracting the pills and the Sword-Controlling Technique from this simulation was clearly the most cost-effective choice. What’s more, the Sword-Controlling Technique had even achieved an epiphany once — no matter how you calculated it, it was a bargain.

“I can redeem the pills first. As for the Sword-Controlling Technique, I’ll save it for after the next delivery — that should be enough energy to redeem it…”

With that thought, Su Xing silently intoned:

“Redeem the Essence Nurturing Pills and Organ Tempering Pills…”

【Ding! You have successfully redeemed Essence Nurturing Pills x20,000 and Organ Tempering Pills x30,000. Remaining energy: 197,390,000 points.】

As the simulator’s notification faded, a massive wooden crate appeared before Su Xing.

Opening the crate, inside were rows upon rows of pill bottles.

A total of two thousand bottles of Essence Nurturing Pills and three thousand bottles of Organ Tempering Pills, ten pills per bottle.

Every single one of these pills had been personally refined by Su Xing during the simulation, with a supreme-grade rate of nearly fifty percent!

“Tsk tsk, with these pills, I have more than enough to trade with Lu Yuanwu…”

After redeeming the pills, Su Xing didn’t hesitate. He immediately began disguising his appearance and concealing his aura, while also shielding his karmic secrets from divination.

Then, as dusk settled, Su Xing’s figure appeared at the Great Xia military district in Capital City.

“Tsk tsk, worthy of the Great Xia military district… truly overflowing with experts!”

Su Xing marveled inwardly. Within the range of his divine sense, the military district had at least a dozen Martial Sovereign-stage powerhouses stationed there, along with quite a few Heavenly King-stage Class Users.

Su Xing’s divine sense swept through the military district but detected no aura belonging to a Legendary-stage powerhouse.

“It seems Legendary-stage powerhouses don’t easily leave Demon-Sealing Pass…”

Su Xing murmured. Soon, in one of the military district’s rooms, he locked onto Lu Yuanwu’s aura.

It was already deep into the night, yet Lu Yuanwu seemed to still be handling some affairs.

Su Xing deployed a Concealment Formation around himself, and his figure slipped into the room like a phantom, appearing behind Lu Yuanwu.

Then, Su Xing unleashed a direct wave of divine sense impact, knocking Lu Yuanwu unconscious.

Without alerting a single person, Su Xing carried the unconscious Lu Yuanwu far from the Great Xia military district, arriving at a mountain eight hundred li outside Capital City.

“Good. No one noticed me at all…”

Su Xing prepared his talking points. After confirming he had no gaps in his cover, he awakened the unconscious Lu Yuanwu before him.

Lu Yuanwu groggily opened his eyes, and then a soldier’s instinct snapped him fully awake. He assumed a combat stance and cautiously sized up Su Xing.

“Who are you? Where is this? Why did you bring me here?”

Cold sweat beaded on Lu Yuanwu’s forehead as he stared at Su Xing with vigilance.

But Su Xing studied Lu Yuanwu with an amused expression and said:

“Who I am isn’t important… what matters is that I have something you need — or rather, something the entire human race needs!”

Hearing this, Lu Yuanwu let out a cold laugh:

“Heh, quite the bold claim… Are you one of those Advent Cult scum?”

With that, Lu Yuanwu drew his weapon, seemingly ready to fight back.

But Su Xing merely cast a simple technique and bound Lu Yuanwu in place, rendering him completely immobile.

Seeing this, Lu Yuanwu was struck with terror, utterly incredulous at Su Xing’s strength.

Lu Yuanwu was a veteran Martial Sovereign-stage powerhouse who had been at Peak Martial Sovereign for many years.

Even a Legendary-stage powerhouse probably couldn’t so easily restrain him and strip him of all ability to resist.

“So then… the person before me is an Emperor-level powerhouse!?”

Lu Yuanwu’s pupils contracted sharply, his heart shaken to its core.

One had to know — in all of Great Xia, the only Emperor-level powerhouse was the one stationed at Demon-Sealing Pass, who had guarded the pass for a thousand years without budging, serving as the true pillar of the nation.

And yet here… he was actually face-to-face with an Emperor-level powerhouse!?

Lu Yuanwu instantly understood: if the person before him wished to harm him, he would have absolutely no power to resist.

So Lu Yuanwu quickly changed his tone and asked:

“May I ask, Senior, what business you have with this humble one? And this thing you mentioned that the human race needs — what exactly is it?”

Seeing how quickly Lu Yuanwu shifted his attitude, Su Xing found it rather amusing.

But he still released Lu Yuanwu’s bindings and placed two bottles of pills into his hands.

“These two bottles of pills can help Master-stage Class Users enhance their strength — enough to let them advance to Grandmaster-stage within a year, or even just a few months!”

After a pause, Su Xing added: “And I have many such pills…”

Lu Yuanwu took the bottles, uncorked them, and sniffed. A trace of doubt still lingered in his eyes.

Dungeon items that could boost a Class User’s strength — Lu Yuanwu had indeed heard of such things.

But every single one of those dungeon items was incomparably precious and exceedingly rare.

Just a few bottles of pills — even if they could produce a few dozen Grandmaster-stage powerhouses — surely wouldn’t warrant an Emperor-level powerhouse personally getting involved, would it?

After a moment of thought, Lu Yuanwu asked:

“May I ask, Senior, how many of these pills do you have?”

Su Xing chuckled at the question. “However many you want, I have. The only question is whether you can handle the volume…”

Hearing this, Lu Yuanwu’s expression immediately turned grave.

If what Su Xing said was true, then this wasn’t merely a matter of producing a few dozen Grandmaster-stage powerhouses.

This was something that could multiply the overall strength of the human race several times over within the next few years!

This truly… qualified as a matter of paramount importance to the human race!

With that realization, Lu Yuanwu asked cautiously:

“Then, Senior… what exactly are you proposing?”

Su Xing wasted no words and got straight to the point:

“I provide you with these pills, and in return, you provide me with exotic metal!”

“One bottle of pills — enough to produce at least one Grandmaster-stage powerhouse — in exchange for one ton of Third Rank exotic metal!”

Hearing Su Xing’s words, Lu Yuanwu grew even more puzzled.

One ton of Third Rank exotic metal in exchange for a Grandmaster-level powerhouse?

Wasn’t that an absurd bargain in his favor? Could such a windfall really exist in this world?

Seeing that Lu Yuanwu was still hesitating, Su Xing said directly:

“You can take this pill back and test its effects yourself, but you must test it in private. No one else in Great Xia’s military can know about this!”

“If you want to trade, come back here alone in seven days, and bring enough exotic metal… at least three thousand tons or more!”

Hearing Su Xing’s words, Lu Yuanwu said with some hesitation:

“Senior, if it’s just me alone, it would be very difficult to gather three thousand tons of Third Rank exotic metal within a week… I estimate being able to gather a thousand tons in a week would already be quite good.”

“But… if I could leverage the entire military’s resources…”

Before Lu Yuanwu could finish, Su Xing said in a low, eerie tone:

“General Lu… there are bad people inside the military district.”

Lu Yuanwu was still processing his confusion when Su Xing handed him a stack of papers and said:

“This is a list of spies the Advent Cult has planted in the military — seven hundred and eighty-three people in total. Do with it what you will.”

Lu Yuanwu’s heart stirred at these words, and he eagerly took the list and began reading it carefully.

As he read, Lu Yuanwu’s expression shifted from relaxed to grave, then to utter disbelief, until finally he cried out:

“Impossible! How could he possibly be a spy?!”

Lu Yuanwu couldn’t believe it. That comrade-in-arms — there was no way he could accept that man was a mole.

Because that Martial Sovereign had even saved his life on the battlefield. They were brothers who had entrusted their lives to each other!

Su Xing naturally knew who Lu Yuanwu was referring to, but merely said in a calm tone:

“I’ve given you the list. You’d best make your own judgments… As for our transaction and my existence, I don’t want a third person to know about it.”

Lu Yuanwu stared at the list, speechless for a long time.

Though he didn’t want to believe it, an Emperor-level powerhouse wouldn’t have dragged him all the way here just to play a joke like this.

Moreover, Great Xia’s military had been actively searching for moles all along.

A small portion of the people on this list were already under constant surveillance, practically confirmed as suspected moles — they just lacked concrete evidence!

This undoubtedly lent even greater credibility to the list.

“Senior, this matter is of great importance… Allow me to return and discuss it with a certain trustworthy lord…”

Su Xing nodded slightly. He knew who Lu Yuanwu was referring to.

In the entire Great Xia military, aside from Lu Yuanwu himself, the only person beyond suspicion of betrayal was that Emperor of the human race.

Using the Emperor’s hand to eliminate these moles would be quite fitting…

So Su Xing nodded and said:

“How you deal with these people is up to you… What you need to remember is to keep all information about our dealings confidential.”

With that, Su Xing extended a finger toward the center of Lu Yuanwu’s brow, then planted an imprint within Lu Yuanwu’s soul.

“I’ve planted an imprint in your soul. If you ever reveal my existence, this imprint will activate, and our trade agreement will be permanently voided.”

Hearing Su Xing’s words, Lu Yuanwu became even more certain that Su Xing must be a powerful master who lived in seclusion, hidden from the world.

Lu Yuanwu wanted to say something more, but Su Xing cut him off directly:

“We can discuss other matters when we next meet to trade…”

With that, Su Xing took a single step forward, and his figure vanished from the spot.

He left Lu Yuanwu alone, staring at the list in his hands, his expression grave.

“Great Xia’s military… is about to be turned upside down…”

…

Meanwhile, after leaving the mountains, Su Xing traveled the entire way by sword flight. Only after confirming his safety did he return to the grotto-heaven blessed land.

“Phew… finally resolved things smoothly. That Lu Yuanwu really wasn’t easy to fool!”

Su Xing let out a light sigh, a faint sense of anticipation stirring in his heart.

“As long as this connection with Lu Yuanwu works out, tens of billions — even hundreds of billions of simulation energy won’t be just a dream! I probably won’t need to worry about energy before my tribulation…”

Su Xing couldn’t contain his excitement.

Lu Yuanwu was merely a Peak Martial Sovereign — a level of strength that was nothing in Su Xing’s eyes.

But what Su Xing valued was his position!

The highest-ranking officer in charge of all logistics and resources for the Great Xia military district! He controlled an incalculable amount of resources!

Even the Legendary-stage powerhouses at Demon-Sealing Pass might not be able to mobilize as many resources as he could.

Looking at the entirety of Great Xia’s military, only a handful of people controlled more resources than him.

Most importantly, through the cooperative simulations Su Xing had run before, he could basically confirm that Lu Yuanwu was trustworthy.

“Safety always comes first!”

“If Lu Yuanwu leaks even the slightest bit of information, my soul imprint will send me a warning… At that point, I simply won’t show myself again, and nobody will be able to find me!”

Su Xing thought to himself.

“Still, while I should chase the big money, I can’t neglect the steady income from the Tarot Society either!”

Su Xing muttered, then began crafting a new batch of puppets for the week.

Over the course of the week, Su Xing crafted three more puppets — Pill Ten, Pill Eleven, and Pill Twelve!

Twelve alchemy puppets, plus the other puppets, could now provide Su Xing with over eight thousand Fasting Pills per week.

Soon it was January 20th, and Su Xing went to the Villa to meet Jin Congxue as planned.

Jin Congxue was wearing a light purple dress today, a faint fragrance drifting from her.

The two sat facing each other, eating and chatting.

“Oh, by the way, a new exotic metal mining site is being excavated. This week’s goods are all stored in the storage ring…”

Jin Congxue handed over a storage ring, and Su Xing accepted it with a slight nod.

After finishing their meal, the two chatted casually for a while longer.

Only then did Su Xing cautiously return to the spirit field grotto-heaven.

This week’s goods provided Su Xing with close to two hundred million simulation energy.

With that, Su Xing’s simulation energy reached 397.39 million points.

This was already enough for Su Xing to bring out the Perfection-level Sword-Controlling Technique.

“Redeem Perfection-level Sword-Controlling Technique…”

Su Xing intoned silently.

【Ding! You have successfully brought out Sword-Controlling Technique (Perfection level). Remaining energy: 97.39 million points…】

As the notification sounded, a massive flood of memories poured into Su Xing’s mind.

These memories were naturally insights and comprehensions related to the Sword-Controlling Technique.

Su Xing closed his eyes slightly, digesting these memories.

A moment later, Su Xing opened his eyes, a faint smile at the corners.

“Not bad… With Perfection-level Sword-Controlling Technique, traveling three hundred and sixty thousand li in a day is no problem at all!”

Su Xing nodded with satisfaction.

“Even a Peak Emperor… or even an early-stage Saint probably couldn’t match my speed, could they?”

With this Sword-Controlling Technique, whether Su Xing needed to chase down enemies or flee to save his life in the future, it would serve him exceptionally well!

On January 20th, New Era 2025, Su Xing initiated a new round of simulation.

“Begin simulation!”

【Ding! This simulation costs 7,100 energy points. Remaining energy: 97.39 million points. Remaining simulation attempts: unlimited.】

【Simulation begins!】

【Drawing a purple talent costs 100,000 energy. Drawing a gold legendary talent costs 1,000,000 energy. Would you like to draw?】

Su Xing didn’t hesitate and intoned silently:

“Draw a gold-quality talent!”

【Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the purple talent Master Painter. Probability of drawing a gold-quality talent next time: 30%…】

【Master Painter】: Your comprehension of the Dao of Painting far exceeds that of ordinary people. If you devote yourself to studying and comprehending the Great Dao of Painting, infusing spiritual energy into your works, you could even summon the creatures in your paintings to fight for you for a short time. (Note: The strength of summoned creatures depends on the amount of spiritual energy infused.)

Su Xing raised an eyebrow upon seeing the newly drawn talent.

“Well, well. After Hua Tuo Reborn, now I’ve got a painting-related talent?!”

The talent wasn’t bad per se. Su Xing had even heard that powerful cultivators who mastered the Great Dao of Painting could contain vast mountains, rivers, cities, and nations within a single painting — this was known as a painted world.

There were also cultivators who specialized in the Dao of Painting and fought exclusively through their painted creatures. The most powerful among them could battle immortals using their painted creatures alone!

But Su Xing shook his head and said:

“This talent is good, but biting off more than I can chew would be counterproductive. What I’ve comprehended so far is already enough for my needs. If I ever need it in the future, I’ll revisit it then…”

Su Xing murmured.

After confirming that this round’s talent wasn’t worth choosing, Su Xing began considering his plan for this simulation.

“For this simulation, there are two possible directions…”

“First, advance my body tempering cultivation to the Primordial Unity realm!”

“After reaching Primordial Unity, while I still won’t be able to kill a Demon Saint by fighting above my level, dealing with late-stage Body Integration or even Great Perfection cultivators will become far more manageable…”

“And most critically, in that space — where does that other passage lead? If I want to physically traverse the void, my body tempering cultivation absolutely cannot fall behind!”

For cultivators, the further along they advanced, the harder it became to fight opponents above their level.

Su Xing had to maintain dual cultivation of both qi and body to keep his advantage of fighting within the same realm — and even fighting across realms.

“As for the second option, it would be to venture into the Three Thousand Worlds again for further exploration…”

“But that’s ultimately not urgent. After reaching Primordial Unity in body tempering, things will go much more smoothly then…”

Su Xing thought, reasoning that compared to his qi cultivation combat power, his body tempering foundation was more solid, offering a greater boost to his actual fighting strength!

Soon, Su Xing reached his decision.

“Since I need to break through to the Primordial Unity realm, I’ll definitely need to go to the Amalgamated Beast’s abdomen… Perhaps after being baptized by the lightning, my Heavenly Thunder Physique can be further strengthened as well!”

With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you realize you are in a simulation.】

【You begin attempting to refine Marrow Cleansing Pills in the spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【The Marrow Cleansing Pill is merely the most basic low-grade pill. Its refinement difficulty is even less than that of the Essence Nurturing Pill. You spent only a single day learning the entire refinement process for the Marrow Cleansing Pill.】

【Being cautious by nature, you want to observe whether there are any risks in trading with Lu Yuanwu…】

【So, as agreed, you go to meet Lu Yuanwu.】