Chapter 412 – Three Flowers Above the Crown, Finally a Golden Immortal!

“Another red mythical talent, Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body… it’s finally been achieved!”

Su Xing was in quite a good mood.

The Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body had shown signs of evolution long ago, but at the time it was only at the half-step sacred body stage.

All this while, Su Xing had been busy raising his cultivation and comprehending the Great Dao, so he had neglected the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body’s evolution.

It wasn’t until now, seizing the opportunity of his tribulation, that the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body finally completed its advancement.

“But this is just the appetizer!”

“The main event… is still to come!”

The Thunder Tribulation had already been overcome… so could the Golden Immortal realm be far behind?

Su Xing looked expectantly at the simulation panel.

【As the heavenly thunder reluctantly retreated, the sky that had been blanketed with dark clouds for a hundred thousand li (50,000 km) gradually cleared…】

【The gloomy weather that had persisted for days gradually faded, and radiant seven-colored light, carrying wisps of warmth, pierced through the gaps in the dark clouds.】

【The dark clouds receded faster and faster, and the heavenly thunder finally dissipated…】

【Dazzling brilliance once again enveloped this stretch of land… like the reassuring calm after a great rain clears.】

【Auspicious clouds gradually gathered in the sky, and seven-colored radiance descended from the Nine Heavens above, falling upon your body.】

【You stood atop the mountain peak, eyes gently closed, feeling the aura of the radiance and auspicious clouds, when suddenly inspiration struck…】

【At some unknown moment, above your head, a phantasmal lead-colored flower gradually bloomed…】

【After the first Lead Flower phantom coalesced, a second silver flower immediately blossomed as well!】

【Finally, a golden flower settled above the lead and silver phantom flowers…】

【In the instant the Three Flowers gathered Above the Crown, within a thousand li (500 km) of you, all flowers bloomed and withered trees sprang back to life!】

【All things revived, and auspicious omens manifested…】

【Countless cultivators simultaneously turned their gazes toward the mountaintop where you stood, witnessing the scene of the Three Flowers Above the Crown.】

【These cultivators all felt it in their hearts, and the same thought arose unbidden: auspicious signs appear in the world, Three Flowers gather Above the Crown — a Golden Immortal is born!】

【From this day forth, the world gained one more Golden Immortal powerhouse!】

【Congratulations, you have successfully broken through to the Golden Immortal realm!】

In the real world, Su Xing took a deep breath upon seeing this, unable to contain the joy in his heart any longer.

“It’s done! I’ve finally ascended to Golden Immortal!”

“From now on, the vast heavens and earth are mine to traverse!”

The birth of a Golden Immortal was an exceedingly rare event even across the Three Thousand Worlds.

After all, this realm already symbolized the pinnacle of combat power between heaven and earth!

“With my foundation, after advancing to Golden Immortal, my overall strength has probably already touched the threshold of Peak Golden Immortal!”

“If I were to encounter an opponent I counter, like the Shadow Divine Sovereign, I could even defeat a true Peak Golden Immortal!”

“Phew, I wonder what level my magical power has reached after advancing to Golden Immortal?”

“In any case, my current strength should be enough to enter the top ten of the Prodigy List’s Earth Ranking, right?”

Su Xing was rather curious, and his gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【After advancing to Golden Immortal, the essence of your life has undergone yet another sublimation.】

【The immortal power that once surged like great rivers and vast lakes gradually calmed… because the ocean is always so tranquil.】

【Yet with merely the slightest ripple, it could unleash a devastating tsunami.】

【Your magical power, after advancing to Golden Immortal, has thickened by a full threefold!】

【That power, now multiplied several times over, gives you the illusion that your magical reserves are inexhaustible…】

【Upon your physical body, a faint layer of golden light appeared briefly before settling into calm.】

【This invisible golden light is unique to Golden Immortals — it bestows the blessing of fortune and auspicious energy, warding off all evil.】

【After slightly adjusting your aura, you adapted to your new identity as a Golden Immortal with relative ease.】

【At the same time, you sensed numerous gazes fixed upon you, and quite a few cultivators had come drawn by the commotion.】

【Some cultivators possessed considerable strength, having already reached the Mystic Immortal or Golden Immortal realm, and wished to make your acquaintance.】

【Others simply wanted to witness the magnificence of a Golden Immortal…】

【Seeing this, you frowned slightly and withdrew the three phantasmal flowers above your head.】

【After all, the Three Flowers Above the Crown were far too conspicuous, and no Golden Immortal would walk around with three flowers hovering over their head for no reason…】

In the real world, Su Xing couldn’t help but smile at this.

“If there really were a Golden Immortal who went around showing off with three flowers on their head all day, how ridiculous would that be?”

Su Xing shook his head slightly. After advancing to Golden Immortal, his biggest short-term goal had been accomplished.

But the Golden Immortal realm alone was not enough!

Su Xing had reached the Golden Immortal realm in order to better enhance his combat power!

So next, he needed to find a way to reach the Seventh Heaven…

“But this simulation has already reached over eight hundred years… heading to the Seventh Heaven probably wouldn’t mean much at this point.”

“For the remaining time, let me push the lesser demon’s realm up a bit more!”

Su Xing remembered well that his lesser demon disguise was only a single step away from second-rank Divine Sovereign!

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

【In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed since you successfully became a Golden Immortal.】

【Over those ten-plus years, you had thoroughly adapted to your identity as a Golden Immortal and gained a clear understanding of your true combat power.】

【You sought guidance and sparred with the White Emperor on multiple occasions. After assessing your approximate strength, the White Emperor confirmed that your power had reached the level of the Earth Ranking’s top ten!】

【However, there was still a considerable gap between you and the top five, top three, or even first place on the Earth Ranking!】

【Upon hearing this, your interest was piqued, and you asked the White Emperor what level of strength the top five, top three, and first place possessed.】

【The White Emperor told you that for the Earth Ranking’s top ten, possessing Peak Golden Immortal combat power was merely the baseline!】

【For the top five, one needed to be invincible below the Supreme Unity level — ordinary Golden Immortals wouldn’t last a single exchange against such cultivators.】

【The top three possessed true combat power approaching the half-step Supreme Unity realm. They were the true prodigies blessed by heaven, capable of briefly contending with a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal through their own abilities!】

【As for first place on the Earth Ranking, their strength had essentially reached the standard of a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal!】

【Upon hearing this, you fell into contemplation. The current first place on the Earth Ranking should be Fairy Ziling. Back then, with her Peak Golden Immortal cultivation, she had indeed fought Blood Three — a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal — for quite some time without falling behind.】

【The White Emperor also told you that all veteran Great Firmament Golden Immortals, himself included, had once held the position of first place on the Earth Ranking…】

【It was a symbol! First place on the Earth Ranking was like a badge of honor — every cultivator who had claimed that position, provided they did not perish, would inevitably become a Great Firmament Golden Immortal in the future.】

Seeing this, Su Xing sighed and said:

“Indeed, even among the strong, there are vast differences!”

“With my current strength, I’ve only just entered the Earth Ranking’s top ten… If I want to reach the top five, I’ll probably need the Great Shaman Body Forging Art to advance to the sixth layer before I have a chance…”

“As for the top three… I might need to push my cultivation even higher, or perhaps advance one of my Great Daos to the sixth realm?”

“But as for first place on the Earth Ranking…”

Su Xing furrowed his brows. He had personally experienced the terrifying gap in power between a Golden Immortal and a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal.

Just as things stood now, before Blood Three, he still had absolutely no ability to resist.

“Fairy Ziling possesses a sacred body, cultivation aptitude unrivaled in the world… She was taken in by the top-tier immortal sect, the Azure Cloud Sect, and became Qingyunzi’s true disciple…”

“Even so, it took her tens of thousands of years, and only after reaching Peak Golden Immortal did she finally possess the confidence to contend with a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal.”

“Although the supernatural arts I’ve learned are no less impressive, and my Great Dao comprehension is also an advantage no weaker than Fairy Ziling’s… if I want to reach first place on the Earth Ranking, I’ll probably need my body tempering to reach the Peak of the sixth realm, or achieve Peak Golden Immortal cultivation, right?”

The logic was simple — the current first place on the Earth Ranking was Fairy Ziling.

And Su Xing needed to possess the strength to defeat Fairy Ziling in order to claim the top spot on the Earth Ranking.

That would require, at the very minimum, Su Xing truly fighting a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal to a standstill…

“Cultivation is a matter of taking things one step at a time — I’ll get there naturally… But right now, the lesser demon disguise must advance to second-rank Divine Sovereign!”

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

【In the eight hundred and thirtieth year, you left the Celestial Secrets Realm and traveled to a lesser chiliocosm that was being invaded by foreign races.】

【You quickly transformed into the appearance of a lesser demon Divine Sovereign, with an aura so flawless that even a Saint could not detect any flaw.】

【Before long, a formidable member of the foreign races made contact with you.】

【You successfully became the vice commander of the foreign races’ Third Grand Army.】

【Leveraging the foreign races’ resources, you easily obtained vast quantities of blood essence and were able to rapidly cultivate followers.】

【In the blink of an eye, six sexagenary cycles passed…】

【In the 1,200th year, the number of lesser demon followers you had amassed was already sufficient, and you had cultivated over fifty Lesser Demon Apostles.】

【So you ceased using the power of faith to cultivate followers, and instead began stockpiling the power of faith in preparation for a breakthrough.】

【During this period, the Six-Winged Chief God came looking for you, but was refused.】

【And so, another three hundred years passed…】

【In the 1,500th year, you had accumulated a full three hundred years’ worth of the power of faith.】

【You began continuously channeling the power of faith to elevate your realm…】

【As boundless power of faith was consumed, your godhood gradually perfected itself, and your divine power grew ceaselessly…】

【Finally, after you poured in the majority of your power of faith, you advanced to the level of second-rank Divine Sovereign as naturally as water flowing downhill!】

【The elevation of your new realm made you sense that your strength had grown even more formidable.】

【With a single thought, you could connect to the faith network of countless Lesser Demon Apostles.】

【The number of Lesser Demon Apostles you could cultivate also increased directly to one hundred!】

【At the same time, you awakened a new ability… accelerating the birth and incubation of lesser demons!】

【As long as you were willing to expend the power of faith, you could even accelerate the cultivation of lesser demon followers, ensuring the birth of more apostles in the future.】

Su Xing let out a long breath of relief upon seeing this.

“The lesser demon disguise’s strength has finally reached the second-rank Divine Sovereign level… Future plans will be much easier now!”

“But as the lesser demon’s strength grows, the drawbacks of the power of faith are becoming apparent…”

“No, rather than calling it a drawback of the power of faith, it’s more that the simulation duration isn’t long enough…”

Su Xing pondered continuously.

As his lesser demon disguise’s realm increased, future advancement to first-rank Divine Sovereign or even the chief god level would undoubtedly require even more power of faith.

Yet in each simulation, Su Xing had to accumulate followers from scratch, and he also needed to spend a portion of his power of faith to cultivate Lesser Demon Apostles.

After all, only when the base of Lesser Demon Apostles was large enough could Su Xing obtain more power of faith.

As a result, the number of times Su Xing could use the power of faith to elevate his realm was limited.

Ideally, Su Xing would devote all of the power of faith from the early stages to cultivating followers.

Only when their numbers were sufficient would Su Xing use all of that accumulated faith in one burst to break through his realm.

But this required Su Xing to find the right balance.

“The longer the simulation lasts, the more power of faith I can collect!”

What Su Xing currently knew was that the lesser demon disguise would be ambushed and killed at the sixteen-hundred-year and eighteen-hundred-year marks.

If Su Xing wanted the simulation to last longer, he needed to pay extra attention at those two time points.

With this in mind, Su Xing turned his gaze toward the simulation panel.

【Year 1500. After ascending to second-rank Divine Sovereign, your strength grew considerably.】

【Yet you became even more cautious, because as your power continued to rise, the Calamity Divine Physique would unleash even more terrifying effects.】

【You decided to begin accumulating faith, saving it for future advancement of your Destiny Laws.】

【And so, a hundred years passed…】

【Year 1600. You received an order to lead your subordinate lesser demons in an invasion of a Medium Chiliocosm.】

【In the past, you would certainly have taken action—after all, with you present, you could sabotage the alien race’s operations.】

【But this time, you refused, because you knew that this operation was actually a trap set by the human race, designed specifically to assassinate you.】

【And so you hid in one of the alien race’s main bases, continuing your secluded cultivation.】

【Over the next two hundred years, you remained careful and cautious, obediently staying at the main base to accumulate power of faith.】

【Soon, time reached year 1800.】

【That year, you poured all of your accumulated power of faith into comprehending the Laws of Destiny.】

【The Laws of Destiny, much like a cultivator’s Dao of Destiny, allowed you to glimpse the fortunes and misfortunes of fate, helping you seek good fortune and avoid calamity.】

【As the power of faith continued to flow in, your comprehension of the Laws of Destiny steadily improved.】

【Finally, your mastery of the Laws reached the fifth realm.】

【After your Destiny Laws advanced, you breathed a sigh of relief. From then on, you occasionally peered into the future’s fate.】

【Before receiving each mission order, you would divine whether fortune or misfortune awaited.】

【Whenever things seemed wrong, you would outright refuse the mission.】

【Though this behavior drew criticism from many alien Divine Sovereigns, who considered you—a lesser demon—to be extremely cowardly and lazy.】

【But given your status, these aliens didn’t dare say much…】

【You continued lying low like this for several hundred years.】

【Time soon reached year 2000…】

【One day, you received orders for an alien operation. This time, the alien race’s target was a Greater World extremely close to the Celestial Secrets Realm—the Canglang Realm!】

【If the Canglang Realm fell to the alien race, the Celestial Secrets Realm would be put on the defensive, and the human race would be in grave danger…】

【Before this operation, you performed a divination and found that your life was not in danger, suggesting the alien operation should go rather smoothly.】

【Thus, you had no choice but to participate, following the First Army to the Canglang Realm.】

【Several months later, an elite force led by the Shadow Chief God arrived at the Canglang Realm first, while the billions of lesser demon cannon fodder under your command followed close behind.】

【The moment you arrived at the Canglang Realm, you discovered it was a trap!】

【The human race had leaked information in advance to lure the alien race into attacking, and had set up layer upon layer of ambushes, all to annihilate the alien race’s main forces!】

【The strongest being of the Canglang Realm, a Great Firmament Golden Immortal known as Canghai Daluo, had invited the White Emperor, bringing over ten Supreme Unity Golden Immortals and over a hundred Golden Immortals to set up the ambush in advance…】

【This battle saw the Heavenly Secrets Domain rally nearly all of its fighting power, all for the sake of dealing a devastating blow to the alien race!】

【You did not see the outcome of this great battle.】

【Because not long after the war broke out, you—as a lesser demon Divine Sovereign—became a priority target for the human race.】

【The first-rank Divine Sovereign who normally protected you was too busy fending for himself…】

【And a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal struck, easily beheading you…】

【You died!】

【Ding! This simulation has ended…】

Looking at the simulation text before him, Su Xing took a deep breath.

“A new event has appeared… Year 2000, the second all-out war between the Heavenly Secrets Domain and the alien race erupts?”

“I wonder what the outcome of that war was?”

“But judging from the simulation, the human race was well-prepared, while the alien race seemed unaware… So the human race should be able to win, right?”

After a brief pause, Su Xing continued:

“Well, who knows what will happen two thousand years from now?”

“The priority right now is to bring out this simulation’s rewards!”

The Golden Immortal realm and the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body were right before his eyes!

With that thought, Su Xing eagerly looked at the reward list.

【Netherworld Body】: Gold talent. Price: 10 origin energy.

【Spirit Domain Cultivation Results】: Nine-thousand-li (4,500 km) Spirit Domain, beginning to gradually transform from Spirit Domain toward Spirit Realm level. The Spirit Domain’s influence on reality grows stronger. Price: 200,000 origin energy.

【Early Golden Immortal】: Five Qis gathered in the chest, Three Flowers gathered Above the Crown, all immortal power fully transformed. Successfully ascended to Golden Immortal realm, with a lifespan of one million years. Price: 10,000,000 origin energy.

【Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body】: One of the ten great sacred bodies. A sacred thunder physique that shatters falsehood and purges all evil. Greatly enhances the Lightning Spiritual Root, vastly improves the efficiency of sensing thunder spiritual energy, and deepens comprehension of the Great Dao of Thunder. Price: 500,000 origin energy.

Looking at the four options before him, Su Xing didn’t hesitate.

The Golden Immortal cultivation and the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body were things Su Xing absolutely had to bring out!

“It’s just… ten million origin energy… Breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm is way too expensive!”

Su Xing’s expression turned somewhat grim.

Just as he had previously guessed.

The Golden Immortal realm—a single minor sub-realm advancement—required ten million origin energy!

That meant going from Golden Immortal first stage to Golden Immortal Great Perfection would require at least a hundred million origin energy!

And that was just for Qi Refinement. If you added the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, the cost would double…

“Two hundred million origin energy to reach Golden Immortal Perfection and Great Shaman Body Forging Art, Sixth Layer Perfection?”

Su Xing frowned slightly. That number was truly not small.

Su Xing’s current stable energy sources were still the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm and Earth.

Even so, in a month’s time, the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm and Earth combined only yielded two to three million origin energy…

This meant it would take three or even five months of accumulated origin energy just for Su Xing to advance a single sub-realm!

“But fortunately, the Star Realm will become my primary source of energy in the future!”

The Star Realm alone had previously brought Su Xing twenty million origin energy…

And that was only from a portion of the Star Realm’s tribes’ Star Stones.

If all the tribes in the Star Realm offered their Star Stones, there might be a hundred million—or even two hundred million!

That origin energy would be enough for Su Xing to push his cultivation all the way to Golden Immortal Perfection.

The only problem was that obtaining those Star Stones would require waiting one or two years.

And Su Xing couldn’t wait that long.

“So, the road is blocked here!”

“If I want to keep advancing, I have to find new sources and get my hands on more origin energy…”

Su Xing didn’t rush to advance his cultivation immediately.

Breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm was no small matter.

The disturbance it would cause, even with the simulator’s concealment, would surely be sensed by surrounding beings.

Therefore, Su Xing had to set up concealment formations in advance and make thorough preparations before he could break through.

“Then, let’s find a cave dwelling and set up the formations!”

Su Xing murmured.

His current Spirit Domain was not yet sufficient to support a Golden Immortal realm breakthrough. If Su Xing forced the breakthrough, the disturbance from the Golden Immortal breakthrough might destabilize his Spirit Domain space, so it had to be done in the Real World.

“The Star Realm, a Medium Chiliocosm—it should be sufficient for my breakthrough, right?”

Su Xing murmured.

Over the next few days, Su Xing busied himself with finding an auspicious location, laying down formations, and excavating a cave dwelling.

The Concealment Formation capable of reducing the disturbance from a Golden Immortal breakthrough was already extremely advanced.

If it had been the old Su Xing, it would probably have taken several months.

But after his Dao of Destiny and Karma reached the fifth realm, setting up formations had become second nature to him.

Only after everything was fully prepared did Su Xing return to the cave dwelling and formally begin his breakthrough to the Golden Immortal realm.

Inside the newly excavated cave dwelling, Su Xing sat cross-legged and silently intoned:

“I choose to bring out the Golden Immortal cultivation and the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body…”

【Ding! You have successfully brought out the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body. Cost: 500,000 origin energy. Remaining origin energy: 15,700,313…】

【You have successfully brought out the Golden Immortal cultivation. Cost: 10,000,000 origin energy. Remaining origin energy: 5,700,313…】

As the two consecutive Chimes fell, the aura around Su Xing’s body began to change.

Su Xing’s body swelled slightly in an instant, then rapidly returned to its original form.

Wisps of purple light coiled across the surface of his skin, appearing for only a few breaths before quickly fading away.

At this moment, the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body had officially completed its advancement!

…

After the Heavenly Thunder Sacred Body’s advancement, you felt your cultivation begin to surge explosively!

This breakthrough was completely different from all previous ones!

In short, the disturbance produced by the breakthrough was far, far greater!

The originally surging mana within your body gradually swelled higher and higher like a rising tide.

The entire process lasted roughly a quarter of an hour.

Then the aura began to converge, gradually returning to calm.

At this moment in the Star Realm, within a thousand li (500 km) of your breakthrough location, dark clouds blanketed the sky.

In the heavens above, a Thunder Tribulation seemed to be forming…

But that Thunder Tribulation gestated for a long time, yet never managed to strike down.

Only after you had fully ascended to Golden Immortal did a refreshing, intoxicating fragrance suddenly fill the air.

Above your head, the Three Flowers had gathered Above the Crown at some unknown point. Within a hundred li (50 km) of the cave dwelling, countless flowers bloomed as if spring had returned.

Su Xing took a deep breath, slowly rose to his feet, and left the cave dwelling.

After leaving the cave dwelling, you raised your head to the sky and happened to see the Thunder Tribulation slowly dissipating at the horizon.

The heavenly thunder seemed to possess a sentient will. Upon sensing your presence, it appeared somewhat indignant.

Like a petulant child, it let out a single clap of thunder that rumbled in your ears.

You smiled faintly at the sight and simply waved your hand at the tribulation, as if to say: see you next time.

“That tribulation really got the short end of the stick… Already had its pants off and had to put them right back on?”