Chapter 428 – Arriving at the Seventh Heaven, A New Enemy!
by spirapiraChapter 428: Arriving at the Seventh Heaven, A New Enemy!
“Begin immersive simulation… duration one hundred years!”
Su Xing silently intoned.
【Ding, you have successfully… remaining origin energy: 1,574,808 points…】
As the Chime faded, Su Xing’s consciousness entered the simulated world.
……
Nine Heavens Domain, the Fifth Heaven.
Su Xing began contemplating the Five Elements Dao.
Over a hundred treasures imbued with Five Elements Dao essence were laid out before him.
Taking a sip of Dao-Enlightenment Tea and activating his Wisdom in Foolishness state, Su Xing’s comprehension multiplied dozens of times over.
In the blink of an eye, seventy-two years passed.
Su Xing gave his all to advance the Five Elements Dao.
Finally, he elevated his Five Elements Dao from fifth realm entry-level to fifth realm Minor Mastery.
With a stir of his heart, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth began surging violently.
The immortal power within Su Xing’s body flowed ceaselessly into his palms.
The Five Elements Immortal Burst appeared in his hands.
Looking at the swirling Five Elements vortex in his palm, Su Xing nodded with satisfaction:
“Not bad. After reaching fifth realm Minor Mastery, the power of the Five Elements Immortal Burst has increased by over fifty percent!”
At present, Su Xing still had one Inevitable Epiphany remaining, along with over a dozen Dao-Hearing Pills he hadn’t yet consumed.
Su Xing didn’t hesitate. He spent eight years using all the pills and the Inevitable Epiphany opportunity.
With that, Su Xing’s Five Elements Dao advanced further.
But now, Su Xing still had twenty years of immersive simulation time remaining.
Raising his head to glance at the sky, Su Xing murmured:
“It’s time to visit that place…”
“The Seventh Heaven!”
Originally, in Su Xing’s plans, he should have gone to the Seventh Heaven after reaching Golden Immortal.
The purpose was to search for traces of the Celestial Primordial Tree.
But the simulator’s time reversal function had unexpectedly helped Su Xing obtain a Celestial Primordial Fruit.
So his journey to the Seventh Heaven had been delayed for a while.
But now, Su Xing’s strength was considerably greater than before, so he naturally planned to go explore.
“The Seventh Heaven, the upper three of the Nine Heavens Domain… tied to the mystery of attaining sainthood, ancient secrets!”
“I must go explore…”
Su Xing murmured, deploying the spatial Dao. His figure flickered through the air continuously, hurtling toward the Sixth Heaven at an astonishing speed.
A day later, Su Xing touched an invisible barrier.
Passing through this barrier would take him to the Sixth Heaven. Su Xing had been here before, so there were naturally no surprises.
Soon, Su Xing arrived at the Sixth Heaven.
Once again, he beheld that desolate landscape.
Ruins and rubble everywhere, yellow sand, barren wastelands, toppled mountains—clear traces of a great battle’s aftermath.
Even though this wasn’t the first time Su Xing had seen this scene.
Each time, he was still shaken by that war from countless ages ago.
What was different was that this time, Su Xing didn’t linger long in the Sixth Heaven.
Instead, he pressed onward toward the higher heavenly domains.
With a single step, he crossed hundreds of thousands of miles.
Su Xing needed no rest, moving toward the Seventh Heaven at an astounding pace.
Roughly three days passed.
Su Xing had lost count of how far he had traveled.
He only knew that the distance from the Sixth Heaven to the barrier of the Seventh Heaven was vaster than the largest Greater World in the Three Thousand Worlds.
“So this… is the barrier leading to the Seventh Heaven…”
Su Xing gently extended his hand and sensed a layer of black luminous film.
The moment his hand touched this film, Su Xing felt an extraordinary aura.
It was as if he had been stripped bare and examined with complete clarity.
Then, something wondrous occurred.
Su Xing didn’t feel the resistance he had imagined.
The luminous film merely “inspected” Su Xing’s cultivation level before allowing him passage into the Seventh Heaven.
“So this… is the Seventh Heaven?”
Soon, Su Xing felt himself stepping into an entirely new world.
His first impression was the abundant spiritual energy!
The area where Su Xing stood was merely an unremarkable corner of the Seventh Heaven.
Yet the surrounding spiritual energy had clearly reached the level of a blessed land!
In the Three Thousand Worlds, this was exceptionally rare!
One must understand that even in Greater Worlds, whether the Azure Cloud Realm or the Celestial Secrets Realm—
Though their spiritual energy was considerably more abundant than in lesser chiliocosms, it still fell far short of blessed land levels!
Only certain treasured locations could reach blessed land levels.
Every blessed land in the Three Thousand Worlds was claimed by cultivators above the immortal level.
In some fiercely competitive regions, even Celestial Immortals weren’t deemed worthy of possessing a blessed land.
And yet, upon entering the Seventh Heaven, the abundant spiritual energy made it abundantly clear to Su Xing.
In the entire Seventh Heaven, even the areas with the thinnest spiritual energy were at blessed land levels!
“Good heavens…” Su Xing couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly.
How vast the Seventh Heaven truly was—
Su Xing didn’t know, but it was certainly far, far more expansive than any Greater World.
Su Xing was inclined to believe that the Seventh Heaven’s territory was perhaps as vast as an entire major domain of the lower realm!
“An entire major domain, all at blessed land levels—what kind of concept is that!?”
Su Xing quickly made the connection.
Legend had it that in remote antiquity, heaven and earth were divided into an upper realm and a lower realm. The upper realm was rich in spiritual energy, the birthplace of cultivators.
In that world, ten thousand races flourished, and the human race was merely the most insignificant force among them.
Now, having personally set foot in this world—
Su Xing had only one thought: the legends were true!
After the initial shock subsided, Su Xing finally had time to properly survey this realm.
First, the Seventh Heaven was different from the first through fifth heavens. There were no vast banks of mist here, nor world fragments that had become Secret Realms.
Rather, like the Sixth Heaven, this was a complete world just like the outside.
There were still traces of battle, with the occasional severed great river or collapsed mountain.
But the difference was that signs of warfare here were far fewer.
“Truly a wondrous world for cultivators to practice in!”
Su Xing exclaimed once more.
He had no doubt that even someone with mediocre aptitude and a mixed spiritual root could cultivate to the Nascent Soul level and beyond in this place.
No wonder the ancient era was the true golden age of cultivation.
The bountiful spiritual energy and environment could easily compensate for deficiencies in aptitude.
Likewise, cultivators with high aptitude and premium spiritual roots could achieve even greater heights in this world.
Su Xing didn’t employ the power of space. Instead, he extended his divine sense across a hundred-mile radius, then traversed the Seventh Heaven at extreme speed.
After roughly one hour, Su Xing may have covered tens of millions of miles.
Only then did he gradually slow his pace, having formed a deeper understanding of the Seventh Heaven’s environment.
“In the Seventh Heaven, blessed land levels of spiritual energy are merely the baseline…”
“Just like the lower realm, the distribution of spiritual energy in the Seventh Heaven is uneven.”
“There are even quite a few treasured lands at the superior blessed land and supreme blessed land level. And all of these lands… are unclaimed…”
“Most astonishing of all, I actually spotted naturally formed grotto-heavens… also unclaimed!”
Su Xing could scarcely imagine it.
If such treasured lands existed in the Three Thousand Worlds, cultivators would have fought over them until blood ran like rivers!
Every grotto-heaven level treasured land was the foundation upon which an entire cultivation sect could rise!
Yet in the Seventh Heaven, whether blessed lands or grotto-heavens, nobody contested them…
“Tsk tsk, so these are the cultivation resources that ancient-era cultivators once enjoyed?”
Su Xing now understood why the cultivators of antiquity were so much more powerful than those of the present.
It wasn’t that the newer generations of cultivators were inferior.
On the contrary, as the Long River of time flowed ever forward, cultivators’ overall cultivation civilization, practice methods, and even aptitude should have been trending upward.
But the cultivation resources available in this world compared to the lower realm were simply too vastly different.
“Besides the abundant spiritual energy… there are undoubtedly far more spirit plants in this realm!”
“Spirit plants that are rare in the lower realm seem to grow here like common weeds and wildflowers… I’ve even discovered quite a few immortal-grade medicines…”
Su Xing formed a preliminary judgment about the Seventh Heaven.
An absolute paradise for cultivators!
The stuff of every cultivator’s dreams!
“So then, why has no cultivation civilization emerged in such a treasured land?”
“Why don’t cultivators from the lower realm come to the upper three heavens to practice?”
Su Xing couldn’t help but wonder.
The upper three heavens did have cultivation requirements—one needed at least Golden Immortal level to be qualified for entry!
But Su Xing was certain that while he couldn’t manage it, those Great Firmament Golden Immortals—
Like the White Emperor and the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master—likely had ways to bring cultivators from the Heavenly Secrets Domain up to the Seventh Heaven.
And if they did, in merely ten thousand years, countless prodigies would surely emerge!
“So why haven’t those mighty powerhouses done this?”
Su Xing soon learned the reason…
……
Just as Su Xing was savoring the wonders of the Seventh Heaven, a sudden sharp pain shot through the center of his brow.
The Blessed by Fortune talent frantically sent warnings.
“There’s an enemy! And one that can threaten my life… A sneak attack!”
Su Xing reacted swiftly, instantly activating all 6,400 layers of Protective Sword Aura. The Three Flowers Above the Crown emerged in unison, wrapping him in a tight cocoon of protection.
The next instant, an attack came crashing in.
A black claw brimming with terrifying power pierced through the void and tore into Su Xing’s Protective Sword Aura.
The moment he saw that black claw, Su Xing’s brow furrowed tightly.
That familiar, nauseating sensation…
“It’s actually the Shadow Tribe!”
“Why… would a foreign race appear in the Seventh Heaven!”
A thought flashed through Su Xing’s mind, but there was no time to dwell on it.
He had to survive this immediate danger first!
Su Xing was all too familiar with the Shadow Tribe’s attack methods.
After all, Su Xing himself had once “played” the role of a Shadow Tribe member, and had fought against the Shadow Deity multiple times in simulations.
The Shadow Tribe’s greatest advantage was the shadow realm, which only they could freely traverse.
By leveraging the power of space, they could constantly shift between the shadow realm and the Real World. Whether it was assassination, concealment, speed, or survival, they were first-rate in all aspects.
Powerful Shadow Tribe members, with their mastery of assassination techniques and supernatural arts, were entirely capable of assassinating targets above their own level.
And now, in the instant the ambush struck, Su Xing had already gauged this Shadow Deity’s strength.
“Half-step Supreme Unity Golden Immortal!”
“Or rather… just one step away from becoming a first-tier deity!”
This Shadow Deity that had ambushed him was absolutely stronger than the one Su Xing had killed during the Heavenly Secrets Domain war!
After all, Su Xing’s spatial Dao had already reached the sixth realm!
Yet before this Shadow Deity officially struck, there had been almost no detectable presence whatsoever.
Only at the very instant it emerged from the shadow realm did Su Xing sense the spatial fluctuation.
That was when he swiftly reacted, deploying Protective Sword Aura around his body.
This meant that this Shadow Deity’s comprehension of spatial laws had reached at least the sixth realm as well!
…
Bang!
Simultaneously, violent fluctuations rippled through the surrounding space.
The Shadow Deity’s terrifying black claw slammed into Su Xing’s Protective Sword Aura.
The residual shockwaves from the clash caused the earth around them to begin caving in.
The air shuddered continuously, producing wave after wave of low hums.
Crack—crack—
Before Su Xing’s very eyes, his Protective Sword Aura shattered layer by layer like a spiderweb.
All 6,400 layers of Protective Sword Aura were actually insufficient to fully block this single sneak attack from the Shadow Deity!
But it was enough!
The sword aura had dissipated the vast majority of the blow’s force.
Su Xing reacted instantly, his figure rocketing backward through the air as he adjusted his breathing and skillfully channeled the remaining force through his physical body to neutralize it.
Just like that, Su Xing weathered the sneak attack without serious harm.
After putting some distance between himself and the Shadow Deity, Su Xing let out a breath of relief.
Only now did Su Xing have time to get a clear look at his attacker.
This Shadow Deity stood merely one meter tall, like a dwarf.
Yet its entire body was covered in sharp, dark-red spines. Its pitch-black skin blended into the shadows like a living silhouette, perfectly concealed beneath the canopy of trees.
Its three-inch-long claws were so hard that they were not the slightest bit inferior to innate treasures!
Its lean, compact muscles were packed with a shocking amount of power.
“The Shadow Tribe… the stronger they become, the closer to human form they get?”
“They even shrink in height… Looks somewhat like the legendary water monkey?”
Su Xing frowned slightly.
This Shadow Deity’s degree of “evolution” was clearly far more terrifying than the one Su Xing had killed on the battlefield before.
Based on that single assassination strike alone, Su Xing had no doubt that even a Peak Golden Immortal cultivator would have died on the spot!
Even someone ranked in the top five of the Earth Ranking could be severely wounded if caught off guard!
“What a troublesome enemy! Fortunately… my spatial Dao has reached the sixth realm!”
Su Xing silently counted his blessings. Rather than rushing to attack, he locked his gaze and aura firmly onto the Shadow Deity.
Because the moment he revealed an opening, the Shadow Deity could launch its next assassination strike at any time!
At this moment, the Shadow Deity before Su Xing also had a flicker of surprise in its eyes.
“Human, how did you detect my presence?”
Several dozen meters ahead of Su Xing, this half-height Shadow Deity was in no hurry to attack. Instead, it studied Su Xing with great interest.
“That look in its eyes… I’ve seen it plenty of times…”
Su Xing murmured in his heart.
Every powerful existence from past simulations had looked at Su Xing with that same mocking gaze.
But now, each and every one of them had been… trampled beneath Su Xing’s feet!
“You won’t be an exception either!”
Su Xing didn’t bother answering. He struck directly.
The Spirit Realm unfurled in an instant, immediately enveloping everything within a ten-thousand-li (5,000 km) radius.
Then it contracted at an astonishing speed, ultimately shrinking to cover a hundred-li (50 km) radius.
With the same level of Spirit Realm cultivation, compressing it into a smaller area produced a stronger effect!
And a hundred-li (50 km) radius was more than enough!
The next second, Su Xing wielded the power of space to seal off every inch of space within a hundred-li (50 km) radius!
Sensing the spatial fluctuations around it, the Shadow Deity’s expression shifted slightly.
It could feel that its ability to enter the shadow realm had been restricted.
At the very least, it could no longer enter the shadow realm as freely as before!
“I see… So your grasp of space is not weak either…”
“Heh, but an inferior race will ultimately die at my hands… I’ve killed no fewer than ten like you!”
The Shadow Deity narrowed its eyes as it regarded Su Xing, as if gazing upon the most delectable prey.
What answered it was Su Xing’s Five Elements Immortal Burst!
Immortal power compressed to the extreme bloomed in Su Xing’s hands, like a radiant flower, silently appearing behind the Shadow Deity!
This was the Five Elements Immortal Burst combined with the spatial Dao!
The newest technique Su Xing had mastered after his spatial Dao broke through to the sixth realm!
With his astonishing command of space, the Five Elements Immortal Burst could appear at will anywhere within the Spirit Realm.
In actual combat, the results were nothing short of extraordinary!
The next second, the Five Elements Immortal Burst detonated behind the Shadow Deity.
The enormous destructive force blasted the entire surrounding space apart.
Within a thousand-li (500 km) radius, mountains toppled and crumbled as though the world itself was ending.
“Tsk tsk, the upper realm really lives up to its reputation… The space here is far more stable than in the Three Thousand Worlds…”
Su Xing was somewhat astonished.
This Five Elements Immortal Burst was powerful enough to annihilate an entire lesser chiliocosm.
Yet here in the Seventh Heaven, its destructive reach only extended about a thousand li (500 km).
This spoke to just how much more stable the space was here compared to the lower realm.
An enormous cloud of dust rose, scattering across the sky tens of thousands of zhang high.
Su Xing was confident that even a Peak Golden Immortal would have been severely wounded by such an unexpected blast!
However, before the smoke even cleared, Su Xing’s expression turned grim.
In his perception, the Shadow Deity’s life force showed absolutely no sign of diminishing!
“I see… Even though it can’t access the shadow realm… it can ‘phase’ its body, half-submerging itself in the shadow realm to avoid damage?”
Su Xing narrowed his eyes, spotting the half-translucent silhouette within the smoke.
“As expected, being ranked among the Ten Emperor Clans, the Shadow Tribe doesn’t rely solely on Shadow Traversal alone…”
“But can you block this move?”
A thought stirred in Su Xing’s mind, and sword intent erupted from his body in an instant.
Then a flash of silver light cut through space and slashed across the Shadow Deity’s neck!
Void Slash!
Su Xing’s sword supernatural art imbued with the power of space!
This strike didn’t care whether you had phased your body or not.
Even if you were hiding in the shadow realm, Su Xing could still cut you down!
However, Su Xing had still underestimated this Shadow Deity’s strength.
It swiftly raised both black claws to shield its vital points.
The sound of metal clashing against metal rang through the air.
The next second, a faint white mark appeared on its black claws.
And Su Xing’s Void Slash had already been neutralized.
“A sword cultivator, is it?”
“What a pity—your swordsmanship seems somewhat lacking! That strike… the precision was there, but the power was not.”
The Shadow Deity spoke with cold indifference, the mockery in its eyes barely concealed.
Seeing this, Su Xing also furrowed his brow slightly.
“What a shame… The Great Dao of the Sword hasn’t reached the sixth realm yet… Otherwise, that single strike would have been enough to kill it!”
Su Xing was genuinely disappointed.
Thanks to his spatial Dao, Su Xing’s Void Slash had indeed landed on the Shadow Deity.
But unfortunately, the power of his fifth-realm Sword Dao was insufficient, and the blow was blocked by the Shadow Deity’s black claws—claws that rivaled innate treasures.
With that, the initial probing between the two came to an end.
In terms of spatial Dao, Su Xing might not match this Shadow Deity.
But Su Xing’s advantage lay in the diversity of his methods. With multiple supernatural arts at his disposal, he could hold his own against the Shadow Deity in the short term.
The Shadow Deity, for its part, relied on its pair of black claws and physical prowess rivaling a Peak Golden Immortal body cultivator to engage Su Xing in close combat.
The two quickly exchanged several hundred rounds.
When the Shadow Deity found itself unable to finish off Su Xing after all this time, the smile faded from its face.
Then, the Shadow Deity said something that completely caught Su Xing off guard:
“Human, your strength is impressive… Would you be interested in becoming my vassal?”