Chapter 340 – A Hundred Years of Immersive Simulation, Target: The Endless Sea
by spirapiraChapter 340 – A Hundred Years of Immersive Simulation, Target: The Endless Sea
In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and nodded slightly.
“Not bad. Since I need to comprehend swordsmanship… naturally, battle is the most suitable setting!”
“And the Celestial Demon City frontline remains the best place to hone my swordsmanship…”
After a brief pause, Su Xing continued:
“I wonder if this simulation will let me cultivate my swordsmanship to the third realm?”
Su Xing was filled with anticipation. All he needed to do next was steadily improve his strength and deepen his comprehension of the spatial Dao.
With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【The grudges between the Azure Cloud Sect and the Celestial Demon Prison are deeply entangled. Out of caution, you did not reveal your true identity.】
【Instead, you continued charging at the forefront of the battlefield. To better temper yourself, you fought using only your Body Tempering cultivation and swordsmanship.】
【But even so, your strength overwhelmingly crushed the alien races as you rebuilt the Heavenly Abyss Army.】
【In the blink of an eye, five years passed…】
【Year Thirty-Five. In just five short years, you rose from a Myriarch to a frontline general of Celestial Demon City, your battle merits second only to the Celestial Demon General.】
【In merely five years, the Heavenly Abyss Army, through your efforts alone, absorbed tens of thousands of cultivators, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of aliens, and became the foremost fighting force on the Celestial Demon City frontline.】
【And you continued to fight and cultivate on the frontline daily, your cultivation rising steadily.】
【In the blink of an eye, forty more years passed…】
【Year Seventy-Five. Your Body Tempering cultivation grew ever more profound, your physical strength surging daily, drawing ever closer to the Great Shaman Body Forging Scripture, Third Layer (Major Accomplishment).】
【The slaughter on the battlefield also refined your swordsmanship to ever greater heights.】
【Perhaps because the earlier surprise attack on Red Moon had taken effect, no red-eyed aliens had appeared on the battlefield. The alien races were suppressed by the human side, and the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm cultivators held a comprehensive lead!】
In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and nodded with satisfaction.
“Not bad. It seems Red Moon’s whereabouts are truly unknown… Even if it didn’t die, it probably can’t revive for several hundred years!”
“Although the surprise attack on Red Moon cost Earth dearly, with heavy casualties and even the loss of a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal, it seems the gains outweigh the losses?”
Red Moon’s delayed appearance might allow the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm to survive intact. At the very least, it could postpone its destruction by several hundred years.
“Then next, it’s time to cultivate my swordsmanship… and the spatial Dao!”
Regardless, every opportunity for immersive simulation must not be wasted…
With that thought, Su Xing silently intoned:
“Activate immersive simulation, duration: one hundred years!”
【Ding. You have successfully activated immersive simulation. Cost: 36,500 origin energy points. Remaining origin energy: 1,726,755 points…】
As the simulation notification faded, Su Xing’s consciousness entered the simulated world.
…
The next second, Su Xing appeared atop the walls of Celestial Demon City.
In the distance, a killing aura pervaded everything. Across the desolate, wild lands, countless corpses lay scattered.
There were the remains of human cultivators—from the lowest Body Integration and Mahayana stage cultivators to Immortal realm cultivators—all strewn across this place.
But far more numerous were the alien remains…
Countless reeking, bloody corpses were scattered across the land, with many aliens frantically devouring the flesh of the dead to replenish themselves.
The aliens could consume their own kind to enhance their combat strength—this was an insurmountable disadvantage for humanity in battle.
This place, thirty thousand li (15,000 km) north of Celestial Demon City, was a critical frontline battlefield.
In the simulation, the Heavenly Abyss Army under Su Xing’s command was stationed right here!
Having just entered the simulated world, Su Xing glanced up at the sky. The azure blue heavens stood in stark contrast to the killing fields below the walls…
“As expected… with Red Moon gone, the sky has returned to normal.”
Su Xing murmured, then his gaze sharpened.
A piercing shriek suddenly erupted from the sky as a massive black raptor, large as a mountain, came swooping toward them.
The sky above the entire city darkened…
This was an alien deity of Greater Divine Power! Comparable to a Celestial Immortal!
Its terrifying pressure instantly blanketed the entire city…
Atop the walls, countless cultivators turned their gazes toward Su Xing, yet their eyes held little panic.
Su Xing rose slightly, and with a thought, the spirit sword Blackice appeared in his hand.
A refreshing coolness traveled from the hilt into Su Xing’s heart, bringing a sense of perfect resonance between wielder and weapon.
Then Su Xing leaped into the air and in an instant unleashed dozens of sword qi strikes that spread like a spider’s web, slashing toward the enormous alien bird.
Sword light filled the sky, and in a flash, the alien comparable to the Celestial Immortal realm was cleaved into hundreds of pieces!
Reeking blood and flesh scattered outside the city walls, staining a vast swath of earth red…
Having struck with a single slash, Su Xing sheathed his sword and calmly issued his orders:
“Today we push eight hundred li (400 km) northward. Drive the aliens from this region!”
Below the walls, the tens of thousands of Heavenly Abyss Army cultivators erupted with fervor upon hearing this, revering Su Xing as though he were a god!
“Yes, General!”
“As you command, General Su!”
Orders echoed one after another down the ranks, while Su Xing calmly rose and returned to his dwelling within the city.
He had issued commands like this countless times during previous immersive simulations—it was second nature by now.
Su Xing’s role was to eliminate the aliens’ high-end fighting power. The rest—driving back the alien forces—could be left to his Heavenly Abyss Army subordinates.
After all, the Heavenly Abyss Army boasted over a hundred Immortals, and they were no pushovers…
In his city residence, Su Xing reviewed the intelligence reports from recent years and nodded approvingly.
“Not bad. Without Red Moon’s interference, the situation in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm is looking excellent!”
“Then next, I can focus on cultivation in peace…”
…
In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.
In the seventy-seventh year of the simulation, Su Xing publicly announced his seclusion to comprehend the Sword Dao.
Within the spirit field grotto-heaven, Su Xing sat alone beneath an ancient tree, the gentle burbling of a spirit liquid stream filling his ears, creating an atmosphere of profound tranquility.
Su Xing sat at a table carved from mystic wood, upon which rested a celadon teapot.
He took out three Dao-Enlightenment Tea leaves, brewed them with Spring Dew Purified Water, and began his first brewing of Dao-Enlightenment Tea.
In the steaming water, the tea leaves slowly unfurled, releasing a delicate fragrance.
“It’s time~”
Su Xing felt the temperature of the Dao-Enlightenment Tea in his hands and carefully took his first sip.
Within just a few breaths, Su Xing felt his comprehension ability dramatically enhanced.
Then, without hesitation, he activated the Great Wisdom talent enhancement…
Under the combined blessings of Dao-Enlightenment Tea, Wisdom in Foolishness, and Late Bloomer—three talents working in concert—one year of Su Xing’s cultivation was equivalent to decades of an ordinary cultivator’s!
The Innate Sword Body talent also revealed its true power at this moment…
As the warm tea slid down his throat, transforming into a current of warmth that flowed through his entire body, Su Xing felt his consciousness merging with his sword intent. The mysteries of the Sword Dao shimmered like light dancing on waves within the sea of his mind.
Su Xing closed his eyes, allowing this enlightenment to slowly settle within his heart.
Time flowed on. Three years later, Su Xing took his second sip of Dao-Enlightenment Tea.
This time, Su Xing felt the sword intent around him grow even clearer, as if it were within arm’s reach. He could almost see invisible sword qi tracing through the air, each breath synchronized with the rhythm of the sword.
Su Xing’s state of mind seemed to elevate as well, his understanding of the Sword Dao deepening further.
Another three years passed, and Su Xing took his third sip of Dao-Enlightenment Tea. At that moment, his body trembled faintly as an unprecedented sensation surged through him.
He could almost hear the sword whispering, feel the sword’s emotions.
With all three sips of Dao-Enlightenment Tea fully absorbed, nine years quietly passed.
…
In the eighty-eighth year of the simulation, Su Xing slowly rose and felt the comprehension of the Sword Dao within him, nodding slightly.
“Not bad. In just nine short years, my understanding of the Sword Dao has made a small breakthrough!”
“Although there’s still quite a distance to the third realm of the Sword Dao, at this pace, I should be able to break through by the next simulation at the latest!”
“However, the fruits of this comprehension still need to be tempered through battle!”
This was precisely why Su Xing had chosen the Celestial Demon City frontline for his immersive simulation.
It wasn’t dangerous, yet there was ample combat to let Su Xing hone his swordsmanship and advance into the third realm of the Sword Dao as quickly as possible!
One must understand that at the second realm of the Sword Dao, each breakthrough might require a thousand years.
Yet Su Xing had managed to advance further in just nine short years—a testament to his astonishing rate of progress.
“Then from here on, all I need to do is fight!”
With a thought, Su Xing left his dwelling and appeared on the frontline battlefield.
His deputy generals swiftly briefed him on the intelligence gathered during his years of absence.
Over these years, the Heavenly Abyss Army had absorbed quite a number of Immortals from other worlds.
These Immortals had all come because they’d heard of Su Xing’s reputation.
Thus, despite Su Xing’s nine-year absence from the Heavenly Abyss Army, the human side still held an absolute advantage on the battlefield, thoroughly dominating the alien forces!
“Give me a report on every alien above the Earthly Immortal realm that has appeared on the battlefield in recent years…”
Su Xing gave the order casually.
At his level of authority, he no longer needed to seek out alien foes himself.
His subordinates would naturally provide Su Xing with complete intelligence.
All Su Xing needed to do was go to wherever the high-ranking aliens were and carry out decapitation strikes.
Before long, Su Xing received several intelligence reports. After memorizing every detail, he set out.
Over the next three short years, the alien deities who fell at Su Xing’s hands numbered in the hundreds!
Nearly every three to five days, an alien deity perished at Su Xing’s hand!
One must understand that without Red Moon’s interference, though the aliens were numerous, they were not inexhaustible.
Su Xing fought on the battlefield for a full three years!
He had even slain several aliens above the Celestial Immortal realm!
With every strike, Su Xing gleaned new insights into the essence of the Sword Dao from his enemies’ reactions. His path of the Sword Dao, baptized in blood and fire, stretched ever further.
In the ninety-first year of the simulation, Su Xing’s fame on the battlefield grew ever louder.
The Su Xing of today was not only the soul of the Heavenly Abyss Army, but a paragon of the Sword Dao in the hearts of all cultivators in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.
And Su Xing himself, through ceaseless battle, had been gradually converting the insights gained from those nine years of Dao-Enlightenment Tea into part of his own Sword Dao.
By now, virtually every cultivator in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm knew that within Celestial Demon City, there was a sword cultivator suspected to be at the True Immortal realm!
His swordsmanship was so sharp that slaying ordinary Celestial Immortals was as easy as butchering chickens and dogs!
Moreover, Su Xing’s reputation extended across dozens of lesser chiliocosms near the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm, and more and more people joined the Heavenly Abyss Army.
And so, another two years passed.
…
On this day, Su Xing sat in his cave dwelling, somewhat puzzled:
“Strange, in this simulation… I don’t seem to have been selected for the Prodigy List?”
“Could it be that the Celestial Secrets Pavilion already knows my cultivation level? With True Immortal realm cultivation, getting onto the Human List is no longer realistic…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. The Prodigy List’s Human List only accepted cultivators at the peak Celestial Immortal realm at most.
True Immortal realm cultivators would be placed on the Earth Ranking!
The Earth Ranking collected the one hundred most dazzling True Immortal and Mystic Immortal realm cultivators across the Three Thousand Worlds…
But to make it onto the Earth Ranking, one needed to demonstrate at least Mystic Immortal realm combat prowess, along with terrifying potential!
Yet with the combat power Su Xing had displayed so far, he was obviously far from reaching the threshold required to enter the Earth Ranking.
“However… as time goes on, the aliens that appear will grow increasingly powerful. There’s no need to worry about my reputation being insufficient…”
Having said this, Su Xing began consuming Dao-Enlightenment Tea for the second time.
In the blink of an eye, another nine years passed.
In the hundredth year of the simulation, Su Xing awakened from his contemplation.
“Not bad. Nine years’ time, and my comprehension of the Sword Dao has deepened further… Next comes continued slaughter on the battlefield!”
With a thought, Su Xing appeared on the battlefield.
From then on, Su Xing continued as before, carrying out decapitation strikes against the aliens.
Through ceaseless slaughter, Su Xing’s Sword Dao cultivation continued to rise!
And rising alongside it was Su Xing’s killing intent!
…
Time flew like a shuttle, and in the blink of an eye, the simulation reached its one hundred and fiftieth year.
By this point, Su Xing had completely digested the insights from three cups of Dao-Enlightenment Tea.
And the Heavenly Abyss Army, under Su Xing’s command, had become an invincible force of powerful cultivators in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm!
On this day, Su Xing sat in his cave dwelling, summarizing the cultivation insights he had gathered over the past several decades.
“Counting the time, this is already my seventy-third year in the immersive simulation…”
“Three cups of Dao-Enlightenment Tea, completely digested… but my Sword Dao still seems to fall slightly short of the third realm…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. He knew that to successfully advance his Sword Dao into the third realm, he needed not only comprehension but also a stroke of fortune — it could not be forced.
“So be it. From now on, there’s no rush to comprehend the Sword Dao… The other Great Daos also need continued study!”
“And more importantly, the refinement of the Dao-Hearing Pill!”
With a thought, Su Xing produced nine crumpled Dao-Enlightenment Tea leaves.
“Previously, I had barely crossed the threshold of Dao-Hearing Pill refinement… Even the substandard Dao-Hearing Pills I produced were already comparable to the effect of two or three Spirit Awakening Pills!”
“This time, I must devote all my efforts to comprehending Dao-Hearing Pill refinement, and strive to successfully refine a supreme-quality Dao-Hearing Pill!”
A flash of excitement passed through Su Xing’s eyes.
He then swallowed a Spirit Awakening Pill, activated the Great Wisdom state, and began refining Dao-Hearing Pills!
In the blink of an eye, one month passed.
During this month, Su Xing had refined a total of four Dao-Hearing Pills.
Of these, one successfully formed as a substandard pill, while the other three were all failed pills…
Su Xing looked at the single Dao-Hearing Pill in his hand, smacking his lips as he said:
“What a pity. Only one pill successfully formed… And another was just a hair’s breadth away from success!”
“But fortunately, there are still five more chances to continue refining Dao-Hearing Pills!”
With that, Su Xing decisively consumed this Dao-Hearing Pill and, with the boost to his comprehension, continued refining.
Under the enhancement of the Dao-Hearing Pill, Su Xing’s understanding of Dao-Hearing Pill refinement — and indeed of the dao of alchemy itself — advanced rapidly!
However, time was limited. In one month, Su Xing could refine at most four batches of Dao-Hearing Pills.
…
One month later, Su Xing looked at the two Dao-Hearing Pills in his hand and sighed:
“Although my comprehension has improved enormously, the number of times I’ve refined pills is still far too few!”
“To reach Perfection in a type of pill with only nine attempts at refinement is truly unrealistic! I’m even still some distance from Minor Mastery…”
Su Xing examined the two Dao-Hearing Pills in his hand — both were of substandard quality.
Although his pill refinement success rate had improved, he still seemed to fall short of Minor Mastery…
Su Xing glanced at the Dao-Enlightenment Tea leaves in his hand and murmured:
“This is the last chance. I need to refine at least one normal-quality Dao-Hearing Pill!”
With that, Su Xing began the final refinement without hesitation!
In the end, Su Xing got his wish and successfully refined one normal-quality Dao-Hearing Pill!
This meant that Su Xing’s Dao-Hearing Pill refinement technique had successfully crossed into Minor Mastery!
Refining one Dao-Hearing Pill had taken only a week. With the remaining twenty-odd days, Su Xing did not waste them, continuing to contemplate sword intent.
…
One month later, Su Xing slowly rose to his feet and nodded:
“Not bad. I still have one normal-quality Dao-Hearing Pill and one substandard Dao-Hearing Pill remaining…”
“The two pills combined could match one hundred and fifty years of contemplation in just two months!”
Su Xing pondered for a moment. Now was not the time for him to consume these two pills.
“Counting the time, it’s now the one hundred and fiftieth year of the immersive simulation… and there’s still no news of Red Moon on the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm front lines!”
“Perhaps Red Moon really has died completely?”
Su Xing stroked his chin in thought.
“In that case, there seems to be no need to remain in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm…”
“This time, with ample time remaining, perhaps I should try heading for the Endless Sea!”
In previous simulations, Su Xing had spent decades departing from the Azure Cloud Realm, trying to reach the Endless Sea, but had fallen far short.
But in this simulation, Su Xing had at least two hundred more years — more than enough to cultivate along the way while attempting to reach the Endless Sea!
“Cross the Endless Sea… and I can reach the Celestial Secrets Realm, and from the Celestial Secrets Realm, travel onward to other great domains!”
“I wonder what the situation is like in the other great domains of the Three Thousand Worlds right now…”
Su Xing thought to himself.
Su Xing informed several trusted subordinates that the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm’s situation had stabilized, and that he would be leaving to travel to other worlds.
Though deeply reluctant to part, Su Xing set out nonetheless.
Over the next twenty-seven years, Su Xing piloted the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel, departing from the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm and traversing over a hundred lesser chiliocosms and hundreds of void nodes.
Along this journey, Su Xing saw many things, and both his experience and his state of mind improved considerably.
During this time, Su Xing consumed the two Dao-Hearing Pills, and his comprehension of the spatial Dao advanced further.
…
The immersive simulation ended, and Su Xing returned to the Real World.
Casting his memory-recovery supernatural art, the memories of reality slowly flooded back, and clarity returned to Su Xing’s eyes.
“Not bad. This immersive simulation yielded considerable gains… Though I didn’t fully achieve my goals, the progress has been remarkable!”
Su Xing nodded slightly. He knew that as his cultivation realm grew ever higher, it would likely become difficult to leap across multiple minor realms in a single simulation as he had done before.
“Now then, the Great Shaman Body Forging Art needs to successfully advance to Third Layer, Major Accomplishment!”
Su Xing’s gaze returned to the simulation panel.
【In the one hundred and eightieth year of the simulation, you arrived at a lesser chiliocosm called the Mysterious Iron Realm.】
【This world was rich in mysterious iron, a material so sturdy that even Mahayana stage cultivators could hardly destroy it…】
【What interested you even more was that this mysterious iron shared remarkable similarities with exotic metal. Though unimpressive in size, a palm-sized piece could weigh dozens of tons!】
【Based on your experience, this mysterious iron might serve as an exceptional source of energy acquisition, much like exotic metal…】
【And so, you purchased some mysterious iron, committed this realm’s location to memory, and continued south toward other lesser realms.】
【In the blink of an eye, another twenty years passed…】
【In the two hundredth year, over the span of mere decades, you had traveled through fifty or sixty different lesser chiliocosms.】
【Along the way, you discovered that many lesser chiliocosms derived their fame from their local specialties or from renowned cultivators.】
【And as your cultivation advanced and your comprehension of the spatial Dao deepened, your speed grew ever faster.】
【At the same time, though you had been moving through different worlds all these years, you had not neglected improving your body tempering cultivation.】
【The hundreds of thousands of Star Stones obtained from the Star Realm were sufficient for you to cultivate to the Perfection of the third layer.】
【In the two hundred and fiftieth year of the simulation, your body tempering cultivation advanced further, and the Major Accomplishment of the third layer was no longer far away.】
【Over these past hundred or so years, you had passed through over a thousand void nodes and traveled through over a hundred lesser chiliocosms.】
【By now, you were already very far from the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm… This was the southern part of the Azure Origin Domain, and many cultivators here had never even heard of a place called the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.】
【Of course, the renown of the Azure Cloud Sect and the Tianyuan Sect still permeated this region.】
【In fact, every few lesser chiliocosms, you could spot branch divisions established by the two sects, occasionally recruiting talented cultivators into their ranks.】
【This only deepened your appreciation for the might of the Three Thousand Worlds’ preeminent powers…】