Chapter 245 – Breaking the Record: A Fifty-Year Simulation Survival! (10,000 Words, Please Vote!)
by spirapiraIn the Real World, Su Xing looked at the simulation text before him and nodded slightly.
“The Heavenly Secrets Concealment Art at Perfection can block the senses of cultivators below the Human Immortal Realm…”
“Based on my previous calculations, Blood Ninety-Nine’s cultivation should be within the Human Immortal Realm. Even if I can’t fully block it, with the help of Aura-Concealing Stones, I should be able to disrupt most of the sensing…”
“As long as I can fight my way out of the valley and then flee toward the Hundred Thousand Mountains, I might actually be able to hold out until I reach the core region!”
And in the core region, demonic immortals existed. Even Blood Ninety-Nine might not dare to venture deep inside.
“With the several seventh and eighth-rank speed-escape talismans in my hands, I have at least a fifty percent chance of escaping the Advent Cult!”
“As for whether I can survive in the Hundred Thousand Mountains… that’s something I’ll only know by trying!”
Su Xing felt a sense of anticipation and turned his gaze toward the simulation panel.
【After preparing your weapons and magical treasures, you quietly awaited the shift change for the valley’s guard cultivators.】
【Finally, one day, two early-stage Mahayana guards were manning the passage. Their expressions were relaxed, completely unaware of your approach.】
【You activated the Heavenly Secrets Concealment Art, shielding your own karmic fortune, then slowly crept toward the two guards.】
【Without any hesitation, you swung your sword. Sword radiance flashed, and one of the caught-off-guard Mahayana-stage guards was slain by your single strike, his Primordial Spirit forced to depart his body.】
【Simultaneously, you threw out three eighth-rank talismans.】
【One offensive, one binding—two talismans blazed with golden light and flew toward the other early-stage Mahayana cultivator, trapping him firmly in place.】
【You instantly activated the final eighth-rank speed-escape talisman and charged toward the passage exit.】
【Deftly snatching up the passage token, you escaped the valley.】
【At the same time, the guards within the valley seemed to react.】
【You didn’t hesitate for a moment. Using sword flight, you transformed into a streak of light and fled deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【With the Sword-Controlling Technique combined with speed-escape talismans, traveling a million li in a single day was no difficulty…】
【The Mahayana-stage cultivators who came in pursuit were left far behind.】
【Flying on your sword, in just three short days you had covered three million li, gradually penetrating deeper from the outer reaches of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【By now, you could already see demonic beasts of Mahayana-stage and above in the mountains.】
【A vague, ominous premonition stirred in your heart. You knew that other immortal-realm cultivators from the Advent Cult were coming to pursue you.】
【So you didn’t hesitate, transforming into a streak of light and diving down into the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains below.】
【From here on, you could only rely on your physical body to traverse mountains and rivers, using the Hundred Thousand Mountains as cover—your only hope of evading capture.】
In the Real World, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.
“As expected, the Advent Cult didn’t send out their blood-numbered elites to pursue me right from the start… They probably only reacted when they saw I was about to flee into the core of the Hundred Thousand Mountains…”
“From here on, it’s a contest of luck and the concealment art!”
Su Xing wasn’t worried about his luck being bad. What concerned him was whether the Heavenly Secrets Concealment Art could withstand Blood Ninety-Nine’s tracking.
With that thought, he turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【After fleeing into the Hundred Thousand Mountains, you clearly felt that the warnings from Blessed by Fortune had weakened considerably. Using the mountain forests as cover, you pressed deeper into the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【Within the mountain forests, tigers, leopards, insects, and serpents were innumerable, and these demonic beasts were all far from weak in cultivation. Even for you, caution was necessary.】
【Fortunately, with the help of the Blessed by Fortune talent and the Dao of Divination, you were able to anticipate dangers each time, avoiding the territories of high-rank demonic beasts.】
【Your speed on land was far inferior to flight, but you still covered over two hundred thousand li per day, steadily approaching the core region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【And so, half a month passed.】
【One day, you were lurking in the mountain forest as usual, living off dew and wind, spending each day either traveling or casting the Eight Trigrams Divination Art to conceal your position.】
【Suddenly, your heart began pounding wildly. You immediately dropped to the ground and hid beneath the trees, taking out an Aura-Concealing Stone to further suppress your aura.】
【Sure enough, Mahayana-stage cultivators seemed to pass by overhead, searching the surrounding area. Fortunately, they did not discover your traces.】
【After these cultivators departed, you let out a sigh of relief and continued pressing deeper into the forest.】
【And so, another half month passed.】
【Gradually, you sensed that the demonic beasts around you were becoming fewer and fewer. Each one possessed an extremely strong sense of territory. Demonic beasts approaching the Tribulation Crossing stage were a common sight, and occasionally, even the aura of a demonic immortal would flash by.】
【You knew in your heart that after over a month of trekking through mountains and rivers, covering tens of millions of li, you had finally entered the core region.】
【Upon entering the core region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, you let out a long breath, but you still didn’t dare relax your guard, because you didn’t know whether the Advent Cult would force their way into the mountains in pursuit.】
【So you pressed on day and night without rest, quickening your pace even further, hoping to cross through the Hundred Thousand Mountains as soon as possible…】
【And so, another half month passed.】
【One day, you suddenly detected the fluctuations of a battle between powerful cultivators several thousand li away.】
【Mountain ranges trembled, and the terrifying aura kept every demonic beast in the mountains hidden away.】
【Your heart immediately tightened. You suspected that an Advent Cult cadre had pursued you here.】
【So you fled forward even more desperately.】
Su Xing frowned slightly at this.
“Battle fluctuations between a powerful cultivator and demonic beasts…”
“Could it be that an Advent Cult cadre got into a fight with one of the demonic beasts in the Hundred Thousand Mountains?”
Su Xing clearly remembered that the Tiger Immortal had once said that human cultivators at the immortal realm and above were forbidden from entering the core region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Was this perhaps an agreement between the human race and the demonic tribes of the Hundred Thousand Mountains?
“I don’t know how the battle ultimately turned out, but for now, all I can do is run as far as possible…”
Su Xing sighed and turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【And so, three days later…】
【While fleeing frantically, you felt a chilling wind blow past from behind.】
【Then, a terrifying aura instantly locked onto you.】
【You immediately stopped, instinctively raising your Protective Hardened Qi, gripping your sword in one hand, and prepared to face the enemy.】
【A middle-aged man with sallow skin, a wiry frame, and sharp teeth gazed at you, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.】
【From just a single glance, you felt your scalp go numb. This man didn’t feel like a human cultivator at all…】
【You noticed the man bore light injuries, and the feeling he gave you didn’t resemble an Advent Cult cadre.】
【Sure enough, he introduced himself as the Tiger Immortal and asked why you had trespassed into the Hundred Thousand Mountains and why you were being hunted by the Advent Cult.】
【It immediately became clear to you—this clash between an Advent Cult cadre and a Demon King of the Hundred Thousand Mountains must have ended in the demonic tribe’s victory.】
【But the Tiger Immortal felt an inexplicable sense of disgust toward you. He stated that if you didn’t answer honestly, he could hand you over to the Advent Cult in exchange for a tidy reward.】
【Seeing that the Tiger Immortal’s expression was dead serious, clearly not joking…】
【You didn’t hesitate any further. You took out the Azure Cloud Token and offered it to him.】
【You explained that you were a direct disciple of Qingyunzi, captured by the Advent Cult, and that if the Tiger Immortal was willing to escort you to the Azure Cloud Sect, there would surely be a generous reward!】
【The Tiger Immortal burst into laughter upon hearing this, as if he had just heard the funniest joke.】
【He casually took the token, then declared that from this moment on, you were his human slave!】
【You had no power to resist and were taken by the Tiger Immortal deep into the Hundred Thousand Mountains…】
“The Azure Cloud Token was taken? Could it be that the demonic tribes of the Hundred Thousand Mountains and the Azure Cloud Sect are also enemies?”
“But why would he find it laughable… Was it because of my desperate, throw-anything-at-the-wall approach?”
Su Xing was completely bewildered, but then shook his head.
“The good news, at least, is that I’ve escaped the Advent Cult…”
“Within the Advent Cult, I wouldn’t have survived to the next blood seedling tournament… But in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, how long can I survive?”
Su Xing murmured, turning his gaze to the simulation panel.
【You were taken by the Tiger Immortal to a demonic fortress deep in the core region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. It was called Tiger Immortal Fortress.】
【Within the fortress, all who came and went were demons—tiger demons, leopard demons, serpent demons, and every variety imaginable.】
【There were no fewer than ten thousand demon cultivators passing through, and even the weakest among them were comparable to Spirit Transformation or Void Return cultivators. Moreover, quite a number of great demons comparable to Tribulation Crossing cultivators were present!】
【It was practically a demon city where demon cultivators gathered!】
【After being captured by the Tiger Immortal, you lost your freedom. The Tiger Immortal placed a seal on you, suppressing eight or nine-tenths of your cultivation, leaving you with barely enough power equivalent to the Nascent Soul stage.】
【And what you did each day was actually… help the Tiger Immortal babysit his children.】
【The Tiger Immortal had one son and one daughter, both several hundred years old and possessing strength comparable to Void Return-stage cultivators, yet their temperaments were like those of young children who loved hearing stories from the human world.】
【So each day, you could only rack your brain for new stories to tell them. Otherwise, if the Tiger Immortal grew displeased, your life would be forfeit.】
【And so, you lived in Tiger Immortal Fortress for a full five years…】
【Year Twenty-Five. Over the past five years, you had largely adapted to life in Tiger Immortal Fortress.】
【Your daily task was to attend to the daily needs of the Tiger Immortal’s son and daughter, essentially becoming a full-time nanny.】
【During these five years, although the Tiger Immortal still remained wary of you, in light of your good behavior, he restored your cultivation to the Spirit Transformation stage.】
【Though your title was ‘human slave,’ you actually possessed a degree of freedom.】
【Moreover, because you interacted daily with the Tiger Immortal’s children, the ordinary demon cultivators treated you with a measure of respect.】
【At the same time, over these five years, you had also come to understand the power structure of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【According to the intelligence you had gathered, the Hundred Thousand Mountains were so vast that they occupied nearly one-third of the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.】
【The Hundred Thousand Mountains stretched from east to west, spanning an area of over a hundred million li, splitting the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm in two.】
【Furthermore, the demonic tribes of the Hundred Thousand Mountains were enemies of the Azure Cloud Sect and indeed all human sects.】
【The reason was that hundreds of thousands of years ago, this realm had originally been inhabited entirely by demon cultivators. Then humans invaded, forcing the realm’s demon cultivators to retreat and surrender the vast majority of their territory, able only to hold the Hundred Thousand Mountains as their last refuge.】
【Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the human side’s primary fighting force had come from none other than the Azure Cloud Sect.】
【Because of this, the Tiger Immortal—and indeed all demonic tribes in the mountains—harbored deep hatred for Azure Cloud Sect cultivators.】
【As for the valley where you had previously been held, it was located in the southern outer reaches of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. To reach Azure Cloud City, one would need to traverse the entire Hundred Thousand Mountains and then travel a great distance beyond.】
【Even at full cultivation, it would take a full year of day-and-night travel to cross the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【Let alone now, with your cultivation sealed, spending each day under the Tiger Immortal’s watchful eye—any thought of escape was naturally out of the question.】
【At the same time, over these five years, you had also identified the notable demon cultivators within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, there were thirty-six renowned Demon Kings, each possessing strength comparable to an Earthly Immortal-realm cultivator!】
【And the Tiger Immortal who had enslaved you was one of those thirty-six Earthly Immortal-realm Demon Kings…】
【Rumor had it that above the Earthly Immortals, there were several Demon Kings in the Hundred Thousand Mountains comparable to Heavenly Immortals… as well as the Lord of the Hundred Thousand Mountains—a fearsome demon cultivator rumored to have once slain a True Immortal!】
【Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, most demon cultivators despised human cultivators and wished they could devour their flesh and drink their blood. But the Tiger Immortal’s son and daughter happened to have a keen interest in human tales, so occasionally the Tiger Immortal would capture human cultivators to serve as ‘playmates’ for the ‘young lord and princess.’】
【Over the past five years, no fewer than ten human playmates had been killed by the two little tigers. Only you, through your exceptionally quick wits and entertaining stories, had not only avoided mortal danger but occasionally even received spirit fruits as rewards. After consuming them, your cultivation in Qi Refinement had actually shown some improvement.】
【Although your life was not in immediate danger within Tiger Immortal Fortress, if things continued this way forever, it would be no different from death.】
【During this time, you had also attempted to escape the fortress, but every time you harbored such thoughts, the Tiger Immortal’s terrifying aura would lock onto you, making escape utterly impossible.】
【Year Twenty-Six. You felt that continuing like this was no different from death.】
【So you sought an audience with the Tiger Immortal.】
【After meeting the Tiger Immortal, you produced the Spirit-Gathering Flower seed from within your body, right before his eyes.】
【You told Tiger Immortal that the most critical reason you were hunted by the Advent Cult was this bag of Spirit-Gathering Flower seeds.】
【After hearing that these were Spirit-Gathering Flower seeds, Tiger Immortal showed an expression of keen interest.】
【But at the same time, he indicated that a mere bag of seeds was not enough to greatly interest him.】
【After all, Spirit-Gathering Flowers were extremely difficult to cultivate — a single flower required decades of nurturing, and the survival rate was less than ten percent.】
【This bag of seeds, in Tiger Immortal’s eyes, would amount to nothing more than a few dozen Spirit-Gathering Flowers at best.】
【Faced with Tiger Immortal’s indifference, you unleashed your trump card.】
【You declared that you were extremely skilled at cultivating spirit plants — in your hands, Spirit-Gathering Flowers would only need ten years to mature, and you could guarantee a survival rate above fifty percent!】
【Furthermore, you could continuously propagate even more Spirit-Gathering Flowers…】
【Upon hearing your words, Tiger Immortal grew serious.】
【If what you said was true, then within a century, you could perhaps cultivate ten thousand Spirit-Gathering Flowers for Tiger Immortal Fortress… a quantity sufficient to make even Earthly Immortal or Heavenly Immortal cultivators green with envy!】
【Thus, Tiger Immortal declared that if you were willing to grow Spirit-Gathering Flowers for him for a hundred years, he would spare your life.】
【As a show of sincerity, he removed the cultivation shackles from your body and returned your storage bag to you.】
【With this, you were no longer a nanny for Tiger Immortal’s underlings, but rather a flower farmer dedicated to cultivating Spirit-Gathering Flowers.】
【Year Twenty-Seven. You selected a prime plot of land within Tiger Immortal Fortress, set up the appropriate barrier formations, erected a thatched cottage, and began planting Spirit-Gathering Flowers.】
【With the Descendant of Shennong talent, you could fully bring these three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers to maturity within three years.】
【But you didn’t do that. Instead, you cultivated them at a leisurely pace.】
【Five years passed in this manner…】
【Year Thirty-Two. Over the past five years, Tiger Immortal observed your good performance and greatly elevated your status within the demon fortress.】
【You became Tiger Immortal’s spirit medicine steward, specializing in growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers and various other resources for him.】
【Since the thirty-six Demon Kings frequently fought over territory and rare treasures, demonic beasts often died in battle.】
【Tiger Immortal had no aversion to consuming demonic beast flesh. He would even occasionally reward you with the blood essence of Tribulation Crossing stage demonic beasts to aid your cultivation.】
【Unfortunately, your cultivation had already reached Primordial Unity realm Perfection, and even consuming Tribulation Crossing stage demonic beast essence could not break through that barrier.】
【On the other hand, the spirit stones he occasionally rewarded you with allowed your cultivation to steadily improve. Though your cultivation still remained at Body Integration fourth layer, it was already much better than before.】
【In the blink of an eye, another five years passed…】
【Year Thirty-Seven. You secretly stashed away one hundred and fifty of the three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers you had finished cultivating, and handed the remaining one hundred and fifty to Tiger Immortal.】
【Tiger Immortal was overjoyed — three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flower seeds with a fifty percent survival rate was nothing short of astounding!】
【One must understand that within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, spiritual energy was scarce. Though Tiger Immortal Fortress had higher spiritual energy than most areas, it still hadn’t reached the level of a blessed land…】
【If you continued planting Spirit-Gathering Flowers and produced ten thousand plants, Tiger Immortal Fortress might be able to fully transform into a blessed land!】
【When that time came, with the abundant spiritual energy, Tiger Immortal and the other demon cultivators in the fortress would see their cultivation speed soar!】
【For precisely this reason, Tiger Immortal’s attitude toward you grew even more amicable.】
【He would occasionally reward you with spirit liquid and spirit fruits, allowing your Qi Refinement cultivation to slowly grow.】
【Though your Body Tempering cultivation hadn’t improved, you weren’t discouraged — you simply wanted to see how long you could survive in this simulation.】
【And so you planted Spirit-Gathering Flowers each day, occasionally gathering intelligence on the demon tribe. Before you knew it, another eight years had passed.】
【Year Forty-Five. Your cultivation still remained at the fourth layer of Body Integration stage.】
【But in recent years, as the conflicts between Demon Kings grew increasingly fierce, you noticed that Tiger Immortal’s temper had become more and more volatile, and he often returned gravely wounded.】
【Consequently, the number of demon cultivators within Tiger Immortal Fortress dwindled — some died in battle, others defected…】
【A sense of shock and foreboding rose in your heart — perhaps Tiger Immortal’s banner would not stand much longer…】
【Five more years passed in this manner…】
【Year Fifty. Finally, after a great battle, Tiger Immortal returned gravely wounded, his cultivation having fallen to the Human Immortal realm…】
【Shortly after, several Demon Kings simultaneously launched an assault on Tiger Immortal Fortress. The once-mighty fortress was destroyed.】
【The two tiger cubs were killed by enemy demon cultivators.】
【Amid the chaos of battle, you tried to escape, but a Human Immortal realm demon cultivator set his sights on you — these demon cultivators clearly held deep hatred for the human race.】
【The Human Immortal realm demon cultivator killed you… and devoured your flesh and divine soul…】
【You died!】
【Ding — this simulation has ended!】
After the simulation ended, Su Xing let out a sigh.
“Who would have thought that hiding in the Hundred Thousand Mountains would actually break my survival record… a full fifty years of simulation!”
“If Tiger Immortal hadn’t died, I probably could have simulated even longer…”
After a brief pause, Su Xing sighed:
“It’s just a pity that my Body Tempering cultivation has already reached Primordial Unity realm Perfection with no room for further advancement. Otherwise, with those high-grade demonic beast blood essences, I could have raised my cultivation by at least one or two minor realms!”
The Hundred Thousand Mountains, located in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm, was not exactly barren in terms of spiritual energy, but it was relatively scarce.
In such a place, with Su Xing’s mid-stage Body Integration cultivation, it would likely take decades to advance even a single layer.
Far slower than consuming spirit liquid and cultivating with spiritual energy back on Earth…
“But this simulation’s objectives have been largely achieved!”
“Not only have I accumulated three hundred thousand pills — enough to exchange for thirty thousand tons of Third Rank exotic metal… a total value of sixty billion energy! For a very long time to come, I won’t have to worry about running out of energy for exchanges!”
“Beyond that, this simulation was also a major step forward in exploration!”
“At the very least, it proves that entering the mountain valley isn’t a dead end… I can still survive there!”
Su Xing nodded with satisfaction.
Fifty years of simulation time was more than enough for Su Xing to accomplish many things!
As his cultivation realm grew ever higher, advancement became increasingly difficult.
If he were still limited to fifteen or twenty-five year simulations, Su Xing might not even be able to advance a single layer afterward.
And the exploration in this simulation greatly alleviated Su Xing’s “insufficient simulation duration anxiety.”
“Let’s take a look at this simulation’s rewards!”
Su Xing’s gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【Gift of Roses】: Gold talent, priced at 10,000,000 energy.
【Twenty Years of Alchemy Experience】: After redemption, existing alchemy insights will increase slightly, priced at 10,000,000 energy.
【Integration Stage, Fourth Layer】: Mid-stage Body Integration cultivator, sensing the embryonic form of the Great Dao, comprehending Origin Force… priced at 1,500,000,000 energy.
【Origin-Nourishing Pills x200,000, Organ Refining Pills x110,000】: Priced at 3,100,000,000 energy.
【High-Grade Spirit Sword Treasure x1】: Priced at 200,000,000 energy.
“A total of 310,000 pills, and with the talent included, the total simulation energy needed actually exceeds 3.1 billion…”
Su Xing glanced at his remaining energy — 934,580,000 points!
Still far short of 3.1 billion.
“However, counting the two billion energy from the trade with Lu Yuanwu, and the Tarot Society should still have at least 250 million more energy… that should be enough…”
Su Xing murmured.
The gold talent Gift of Roses — clearly Su Xing hadn’t yet fully unlocked its potential.
But it was still a gold talent that involved karma, so Su Xing would redeem it no matter what.
With that thought, Su Xing glanced at the time and murmured:
“It’s about time. Lu Yuanwu should already be waiting at the agreed location by now…”
Having said this, Su Xing began disguising his appearance and concealing his aura, then took to sword flight. Moments later, he arrived deep in the mountains.
“Senior!”
Lu Yuanwu appeared to be in good spirits as he addressed Su Xing:
“Senior, a considerable number of moles within the military have been cleaned out… However, some in higher positions still lack conclusive evidence. But I believe it won’t be long before we can uproot this entire network of infiltrators!”
At this point, Lu Yuanwu even seemed a little excited.
After hearing this, Su Xing merely nodded indifferently and said:
“Noted. I have no interest in such matters… By the way, where’s this week’s shipment?”
Lu Yuanwu looked slightly embarrassed for a moment, then handed over a storage ring, saying:
“One thousand tons of Third Rank exotic metal, not a gram less!”
Su Xing didn’t bother to inspect it and directly converted the entire ring along with its exotic metal into simulation energy.
With this, Su Xing’s simulation energy reached close to three billion points.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going…” Su Xing took out ten thousand pills and said flatly.
But Lu Yuanwu spoke up:
“One moment, Senior!”
“A few days ago, I submitted a request to the military to transfer ten thousand tons of exotic metal… The approval is expected within two months. When that time comes, will our deal still stand?”
Su Xing gave a slight nod and replied calmly:
“Of course it stands. The one hundred thousand pills have long been prepared. You just need to have the exotic metal ready…”
With that, Su Xing turned and left, vanishing into the mountains.
On the way back, Su Xing changed his appearance several times as always, then slipped back to Capital Academy without a trace.
Re-entering the spirit field grotto-heaven, Su Xing murmured:
“The fifty thousand pills I previously redeemed have all been used up… But the upcoming three hundred and ten thousand pills will last quite a while for trading…”
Though he was about to become wealthy, Su Xing remained grounded, accumulating bit by bit.
In the new week, Su Xing crafted four more alchemy puppets.
With this, Su Xing’s total number of alchemy puppets reached twenty-nine.
In just one week, they could produce fourteen thousand five hundred Fasting Pills for Su Xing.
By that calculation, in just three weeks, Su Xing would have enough to gain another second-order exotic metal mining zone.
Time quickly arrived at February 24th, 2025 of the New Era.
On this day, Su Xing held his breath and focused his mind, scrutinizing every detail on the talisman paper before him.
Then he channeled his spiritual energy, his brush dancing like a dragon and serpent…
A sixth-rank talisman appeared before Su Xing’s eyes.
It was a sixth-rank Gold Shield Talisman.
After Su Xing’s modifications, it only required divine sense — spiritual power — to activate, forming a golden light shield before the user that could withstand a full-force blow from a Void Return stage or Legendary-stage cultivator.
“Phew… A single sixth-rank talisman takes half a shichen to craft. The efficiency is still too low!”
“But fortunately, Fifth Rank talismans only take a quarter of an hour to make, and Fourth Rank talismans need just five minutes…”
Over the past few days, Su Xing had found time to create over thirty talismans.
Among them were twenty Fourth Rank talismans, ten Fifth Rank talismans, and four sixth-rank talismans.
The talismans included defensive Gold Shield Talismans, offensive Gold Blade Talismans, and speed-boosting Escape Velocity Talismans.
With attack, defense, and escape all covered, Su Xing planned to gift these talismans to his close friends and family members to help protect their lives.
“What a pity. I still can’t craft Small Displacement Talismans at the moment… They involve the Dao of Space, and my current grasp of space is practically nonexistent…”
Su Xing sighed. The Small Displacement Talisman was an eighth-rank talisman involving the Dao of Space.
It could instantly teleport a person to any location within a thousand-li radius — a true life-saving divine talisman.
But setting aside Su Xing’s insufficient attainment in the Dao of Talismans, his comprehension of space alone already disqualified him.
Time quickly approached noon, and Su Xing tidied up.
“It’s time to go see Jin Congxue…”
He skillfully applied his disguise and concealed his aura, taking no more than a quarter of an hour. Then Su Xing headed to the Villa to meet Jin Congxue.
Jin Congxue had been in good spirits lately, seemingly preparing for her breakthrough to Heavenly King-stage.
The two ate while chatting casually about this and that.
After some thought, Su Xing took out five talismans and handed them to Jin Congxue.
“Sis Xue, are you about to start your promotion mission?”
“I have a few little things here that might help your advancement go more smoothly…”
Su Xing passed over one each of a fourth-rank Gold Shield Talisman, Gold Blade Talisman, and Escape Velocity Talisman… then handed over an additional fifth-rank Gold Blade Talisman and a sixth-rank Gold Shield Talisman.
“This talisman is called a Gold Blade Talisman. Its function is…”
Su Xing explained the functions of each talisman one by one. He didn’t reveal their specific effects, only telling Jin Congxue that she could use them in critical moments.
And unless absolutely necessary, she should not use the fifth and sixth-rank talismans.
After hearing this, Jin Congxue accepted them with a beaming smile, tucking them into her innermost clothing.
In her eyes, Su Xing was merely a student skilled in alchemy. Though he had a knack for making money, his actual strength was probably still inferior to hers.
The Essence Nurturing Pills and Organ Tempering Pills that Su Xing had previously produced didn’t involve high-level Class Users either.
So she regarded Su Xing’s gift as nothing more than a kind gesture and didn’t pay it much mind.
“Hehe, then thank you, Xing! Once your big sis successfully advances to Heavenly King, I’ll have your back from now on!”
Jin Congxue inadvertently gave a little bounce of her impressive chest.
Little did she know just how precious these few talismans Su Xing had given her were — and that in the future, they would save her from a life-or-death crisis, allowing her to successfully advance to Heavenly King-stage!
Su Xing smiled gently at her words and offered no further explanation.
He merely performed a quick divination, and upon determining that the outcome of Jin Congxue’s advancement was highly auspicious, he breathed a sigh of relief.
…
The date soon ended, and Su Xing returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven.
Converting the new week’s goods into simulation energy, Su Xing’s total now exceeded 3.2 billion.
“I choose to bring out the pills… and the gold talent Gift of Roses!”
Su Xing silently intoned.
【Ding! Detected that your talent slots are full. Please select a talent to replace…】
The simulator’s notification chimed in his ears, and Su Xing immediately felt a headache coming on.
Expanding the talent slots would cost a full 10 billion simulation energy — something Su Xing absolutely couldn’t afford and wasn’t willing to pay.
But if he were to swap out a talent…
Su Xing glanced over his current talents and found that each one served a significant purpose.
After some hesitation, Su Xing’s gaze settled on his one and only white-quality talent.
“Die With Eyes Open… This is probably the talent that’s been with me the longest…”
“Though it’s mostly useless, it occasionally delivers crucial information… But right now, the gold talent takes priority!”
Su Xing sighed and said:
“Replace the Die With Eyes Open talent with Gift of Roses…”
【Ding! Talent replacement in progress…】
【You have successfully brought out the gold talent Gift of Roses. Energy cost: 10,000,000 points. Remaining energy: 3,193,880,000 points.】
【You have successfully brought out Essence Nurturing Pills and Organ Tempering Pills… Energy cost: 3,100,000,000. Remaining energy: 93,880,000 points.】
As the simulator’s notification faded, a mysterious energy flowed into Su Xing’s body.
Su Xing carefully examined himself and found no significant changes to his body — only a new talent called “Gift of Roses” appearing on his panel.
Su Xing walked over to the chicken pen and turned his gaze to the strongest spirit chicken inside.
With a thought, he attempted to gift the Five-element mixed spiritual root talent to this Brother Chicken.
A premonition arose in Su Xing’s mind: once gifted, he would permanently lose this talent, but the chicken before him would gain the Five-element mixed spiritual root.
“Tsk tsk… This talent is way too broken. Even a chicken can possess a spiritual root?”
Su Xing marveled, then chose not to give the talent to the chicken.
Even though the Five-element mixed spiritual root was the most garbage white-quality talent, a chicken — to put it simply — didn’t deserve it!
“This talent is definitely not as simple as I initially thought… I should explore its potential more when the opportunity arises!”
Su Xing murmured, then turned his gaze to the large crate that had appeared in the open space.
A full thirty-one thousand bottles of pills, all contained within.
Su Xing nodded with satisfaction and stowed them away. His simulation energy for the foreseeable future would depend on these pills.
That afternoon, the simulation cooldown finished, and Su Xing prepared to begin a new round of simulation.
“Begin simulation!”
【Ding! This simulation consumes 7,600 energy points. Remaining energy: 93,880,000 points. Remaining simulation attempts: unlimited.】
【Simulation begins!】
【Drawing a purple talent costs 100,000 energy points. Drawing a gold legendary talent costs 1,000,000 energy points. Would you like to draw?】
“Draw a gold-quality talent!”
Su Xing said decisively. Although the simulator’s typical nature meant that anything below sixty percent probability rarely yielded gold, the guaranteed pity rate was something Su Xing absolutely had to pursue.
【Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the purple talent Culinary Master. Probability of drawing a gold talent next time: 20%…】
【Culinary Master】: Purple talent. The cuisine you prepare can effortlessly capture the hearts of diners. If prepared using precious ingredients, you can even cook exquisite dishes that enhance cultivation and strength.
Seeing the new talent, Su Xing raised an eyebrow.
“As expected, no gold… But this talent doesn’t seem bad either. Being able to create food that boosts cultivation — isn’t this essentially the methods of the Dao of Cuisine?”
The three thousand great Daos encompassed all aspects of existence.
Su Xing had once read in ancient texts that during the primordial era, there were mighty cultivators with extraordinary culinary skills who, after slaying powerful demon-race beings and cooking them into dishes, could seal an entire demonic beast’s cultivation within the prepared food.
When lower-level cultivators consumed such dishes, they could even absorb the cultivation within the food, advancing by one or even several major realms!
“This talent isn’t bad at all… When I have extra talent slots in the future, I can consider it…”
Su Xing murmured, then began planning for this simulation.
“My Body Tempering cultivation has temporarily hit a bottleneck… If I want to break through to Major Mastery, I need to comprehend Protective Hardened Qi as much as possible, fuse it with sword aura, and create a new supernatural art!”
“Of course, besides that, my Qi Refinement cultivation should be improved too! I’m still stuck at the first layer of Body Integration stage…”
After clarifying his simulation objectives, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you became aware that you were in a simulation.】
【You traded with Lu Yuanwu as usual, encountering no issues.】
【Over the next ten days, you accumulated a round of Great Wisdom state enhancement.】
【You entered the Luotian Assembly dungeon and attempted to study the Dao of Puppetry…】
…
【After emerging from the Luotian Assembly dungeon, you gained much.】
【You met with Luo Shuying as planned and successfully joined the Advent Cult.】
【The Advent Cult followers were so thoroughly bamboozled by you that they became your devoted fanboys. You spent your days immersed in refining pills.】
【Two years quickly passed, during which you made one trip to the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】
【In the third year, you refined over 200,000 pills and handed them to Lu Yuanwu, hoping to strengthen Great Xia’s military.】
【Afterward, you continued staying within the Advent Cult, beginning to raise your cultivation and study sword aura and Protective Hardened Qi.】
【You took out the 900,000 drops of mid-grade spirit liquid you had previously accumulated!】
【The spiritual energy content of a single drop of mid-grade spirit liquid is a full ten times that of low-grade spirit liquid!】
【You circulated the Myriad Blazing Flame Art while the sixth-order micro spirit-gathering formation operated. Combined with the abundant spiritual energy from the spirit liquid… your cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds!】
【Thus, three years passed…】
【In the sixth year, you fully absorbed all 900,000 drops of mid-grade spirit liquid…】
【At the same time, your Qi Refinement cultivation successfully advanced to mid-stage of the Body Integration stage second layer!】
【Through your deliberate scheming, your position within the Advent Cult grew increasingly secure. You began plotting to eliminate the current Transhuman Faction leader.】
【In the seventh year, you successfully eliminated the Transhuman Faction leader and took their place.】
【In the eighth year, your cultivation advanced to the Peak of Body Integration stage second layer!】
【You prepared to scheme against Old Dog Dragon.】
【You traveled to the Myriad Wood Sect ruins, slew Perfected One Myriad Wood, and retrieved that innate Fusang tree branch.】
【Using it as bait, you successfully killed Old Dog Dragon.】
【In the ninth year, you attempted to improve Protective Hardened Qi, but saw little progress.】
【However, through your unrelenting efforts, the number of sword auras you could summon at once increased from nine to twelve.】
【You had a vague premonition that the intensity of your sword aura was crucial to improving Protective Hardened Qi, so you devoted yourself to cultivating sword aura.】
【In the tenth year, your cultivation successfully advanced to the third layer of Body Integration stage!】
【That same year, your sword aura count reached fourteen!】
【In the eleventh year, a sudden inspiration struck. You tried reshaping the Protective Hardened Qi into the form of small swords, then merged the sword aura with the small swords formed from primordial energy.】
【You discovered that the effects of sword aura and primordial energy small swords could stack — not only providing unified offense and defense, but also considerable defensive power.】
【Your research into the new supernatural art now had a clear direction. You planned to name this supernatural art: Protective Sword Aura!】
【In your vision, Protective Sword Aura would combine offense and defense as one. Beyond the layer of Protective Hardened Qi, there would be tens of thousands of sword auras and primordial energy small swords — capable of killing enemies on the advance and shielding the body on the retreat.】
【But experimenting with Protective Sword Aura was no easy task. You repeatedly tempered the summoned sword auras and strove to increase their number.】
【Beyond that, it also required an extremely strong control over primordial energy.】
【That same year, Blood Three arrived on Earth.】
【You offered up the innate Fusang tree branch, obtained a pass, and through your silver tongue and acting skills, became the Advent Cult’s new leader on Earth.】
【After Blood Three departed from Earth, you breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to formally execute your plan.】
【You traveled to the Myriad Wood Sect ruins and released the spirit vein dragon.】
【You guided the Spirit Vein Dragon into the spirit field grotto-heaven. With the Spirit Vein Dragon’s enhancement, the spiritual energy content within the spirit field grotto-heaven steadily increased.】
【At the same time, you could now harvest mid-grade and low-grade spirit liquid each year, gaining more abundant cultivation resources…】
【Every day, you raised your Qi Refinement cultivation and comprehended the supernatural art Protective Sword Aura. Your days were fulfilling and pleasant.】