Chapter 173 – Secrets of Demon-Sealing Pass, the Mysteriously Vanished Top Experts (5k)

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

“Finally, Protective Hardened Qi has reached Major Mastery, and my primordial energy control isn’t far from Projection-level Perfection either…”

“With this, in this simulation, I can make another attempt — I should be able to complete the breakthrough inside the giant beast’s stomach and step into the Void-Shattering Realm!”

Su Xing could feel that the day he stepped into the Void-Shattering Realm was no longer far away.

“After entering the Void-Shattering Realm… I should be able to consider taking out Zong Laogou in reality, right?”

The corners of Su Xing’s mouth curled upward slightly. He had been eyeing Zong Laogou’s inheritance for quite some time now.

If he could obtain Zong Laogou’s storage artifact, whether it was knowledge of the cultivation world, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on — Su Xing would see a qualitative improvement across the board!

“And then there’s this Rebirth Pill…”

Su Xing carefully recalled what he knew.

In the Separation Fire Alchemy Art, there was indeed a record of this type of pill.

Legend had it that the Rebirth Pill originally came from the Wu Clan, refined by their priests primarily to improve the physical constitution of Wu Clan premature infants.

After all, Wu Clan members possessed formidable physical constitutions — even their infants could rival Body Tempering cultivators.

But if unexpected circumstances led to premature birth, the premature infant’s physical constitution would be too weak, potentially preventing them from keeping up with subsequent cultivation.

That was why the priests developed the Rebirth Pill — to enhance the physical constitution of Wu Clan infants and toddlers.

But as the ages passed, the Wu Clan vanished into the vast torrent of time.

Yet the Rebirth Pill itself survived, primarily used by cultivators who had just entered the Body Tempering Realm to strengthen their physical constitution.

The Rebirth Pill’s effects were honestly nothing special, but it specifically required the blood and flesh of spirit beasts brimming with vital qi and life force as its primary ingredient. When Su Xing was at a low level, he naturally couldn’t obtain such materials, so he had never refined it.

By the time his realm and strength had grown, the pill was useless to him.

But now, this demonic beast blood essence seemed like it could serve as the primary ingredient for refining Rebirth Pills.

And the effects would be even better than using ordinary spirit beasts!

“It’s just the side effects…”

Su Xing hesitated slightly.

If the side effects were acceptable, the Rebirth Pill could absolutely serve as a primary pill for boosting humanity’s strength in the future!

After all, spirit medicines were limited, but the demonic beasts at Demon-Sealing Pass were endless…

Using war to fuel war — just the thought was thrilling!

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

【After successfully developing the Rebirth Pill, you conducted multiple experiments to confirm it posed no threat to Class Users’ lives, then selected a batch of Grandmaster and Heavenly King-stage Class Users to take the pill.】

【Because the Rebirth Pill’s medicinal properties were too potent, you could only select strength and constitution-type Class Users, to prevent the excessive effects from causing their bodies to explode.】

【To your surprise, the Rebirth Pill’s effects were remarkably good!】

【After taking it, Grandmaster-stage Class Users could permanently gain thirty to fifty thousand jin of strength! This could boost their combat power by twenty to thirty percent!】

【Moreover, it could be taken multiple times — the effects only began to rapidly diminish after three pills.】

【As for Heavenly King-stage powerhouses, they could only gain twenty to thirty thousand jin of strength after taking it… This level of enhancement only improved a Heavenly King-stage powerhouse’s combat power by roughly one percent.】

【But amid your joy, you also discovered the Rebirth Pill’s side effects.】

【Because Demon King Blood Essence was used as the primary ingredient, its violent energy could make those who consumed the pill become irritable and quick-tempered for a period of time afterward.】

【While not to the point of losing their rationality, it significantly reduced their reason and self-control.】

【This period lasted roughly three months to a year, depending on the individual Class User’s mental willpower.】

【Afterward, you selected another batch of Class Users with higher spiritual attributes, and found that they had stronger resistance to the Rebirth Pill’s side effects.】

【You were delighted — compared to the pill’s powerful effects, the Rebirth Pill’s side effects were practically negligible.】

【Furthermore, its primary ingredient was abundantly available, making it perfectly suitable as the main pill for strengthening Class Users!】

【In the sixteenth year, after your Protective Hardened Qi reached Major Mastery, you still did not slack off in your cultivation of divine abilities and primordial energy.】

【Through grueling daily training, your mastery of primordial energy grew ever more refined. You could now precisely control your primordial energy down to the finest degree, and your primordial energy was not far from Third Rank Perfection.】

【That same year, you began attempting to use Demon Emperor Blood Essence as the primary ingredient for the Rebirth Pill, firmly believing the pill’s effects would be even stronger.】

【Amid daily cultivation and pill refinement, two years passed in the blink of an eye…】

Seeing this, Su Xing felt a surge of joy.

Pills like the Organ Tempering Pill, Essence Nurturing Pill, and Dragon Spirit Pill had excellent effects.

But their drawback was obvious — the ingredients were non-renewable. Each spirit herb required years or even decades to grow.

Spirit medicines were therefore limited, and so were the pills that could be refined from them.

And consequently, the number of human powerhouses that could be produced was also limited.

But if they took the Rebirth Pill, the boost to humanity’s mid-tier Class Users would be enormous.

After all, there was no shortage of demonic beast blood essence!

“If we combine this with Spirit Rice… the number of low-tier human Class Users will also surge dramatically!”

“At this rate, humanity’s overall strength will undergo a qualitative transformation!”

Of course, since the Rebirth Pill enhanced strength and physical constitution, it was only effective for warriors and strength-type Class Users.

And conveniently, compared to the spiritually-focused mage types, non-magical Class Users were the primary composition of humanity’s Class User forces!

“A Rebirth Pill refined from Demon King Blood Essence can add thirty to fifty thousand jin of strength to a Grandmaster-stage Class User — that number is nothing to scoff at!”

One had to understand that a late-stage Grandmaster’s physical strength was only around two to three hundred thousand jin. If they took three Rebirth Pills, their strength could increase by more than half!

For Heavenly King-stage powerhouses, whose physical strength was around two million jin, the Rebirth Pill’s effect would be much smaller…

But if Demon Emperor Blood Essence were used to refine it, the strength boost would surely be much more significant!

“Spirit Rice combined with the Rebirth Pill… if successfully implemented, the number of humanity’s mid-to-high tier powerhouses could multiply several times over, or even more than ten times!”

“When that time comes… perhaps we’ll be able to withstand the invasion of the Legendary-stage demonic beast army more than twenty years from now…”

Su Xing felt a spark of anticipation. Anything that could extend his simulation time was worth trying.

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

【In the eighteenth year, one afternoon, you were training your primordial energy divine ability as usual, squeezing every last drop of primordial energy from your body.】

【Afterward, you prepared to rest briefly before refining pills.】

【However, at that moment, you suddenly felt a subtle change occurring within the primordial energy seed inside your body.】

【The speed at which the primordial energy seed replenished your primordial energy doubled in just a few breaths!】

【Both the intensity and total volume of primordial energy within your body had nearly doubled compared to before!】

【You were overjoyed, knowing this was the result of decades of diligent cultivation.】

【After thousands upon thousands of days and nights of arduous training, your primordial energy had finally reached Third Rank Perfection!】

【Congratulations — your mastery of primordial energy has reached Third Rank Perfection!】

【After reaching Projection-level Perfection for your primordial energy, you began familiarizing yourself with this newfound power.】

【You were astonished by the powerful regenerative capacity of the primordial energy seed within you, marveling at your seemingly inexhaustible primordial energy.】

【When merely maintaining your primordial energy armor, your primordial energy could last for three full days and nights!】

【Even when using the divine ability Protective Hardened Qi, you could sustain it for a full ten double-hours!】

【Such terrifying sustained combat capability filled you with boundless confidence. You were certain you could endure the land of extremes and step into the Void-Shattering Realm!】

【Even though your strength had grown enormously, infinitely approaching the Void-Shattering Realm, you still did not waste time and continued to train your primordial energy divine ability tirelessly.】

【You wanted to see if, in the remaining few years, you could cultivate Protective Hardened Qi to the Perfection level as well!】

Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this.

Just as he had expected — because of the epiphany regarding primordial energy in the last simulation, he had already been close to Third Rank Perfection for his primordial energy.

And after eighteen years of arduous cultivation in this simulation, Su Xing’s primordial energy had finally reached Third Rank Perfection.

“I just wonder… after reaching the Projection level, whether the path of primordial energy has reached its limit… or if there are further realms beyond?”

Doubt flickered through Su Xing’s mind, but he soon shook his head.

That wasn’t something he needed to worry about for now. At present, breaking through to the Void-Shattering Realm was his greatest objective!

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【Year Nineteen. After reaching Perfection in the third stage of primordial energy, the primordial energy within your body truly achieved a state of endless self-renewal.】

【Under normal circumstances, the rate of primordial energy consumption could barely keep up with the rate of replenishment.】

【Under these conditions, you could continuously practice Protective Hardened Qi for up to ten double-hours each day!】

【With more training time, your mastery of Protective Hardened Qi improved even further.】

【In your spare time, you continued to refine the Rebirth Pill, hoping to enhance its medicinal potency.】

【And so, another two years slowly passed.】

【Year Twenty-One. With years of continuous warfare, the number of powerhouses at Demon-Sealing Pass dwindled further and further, and the human race suffered catastrophic casualties.】

【At this point, you chose to join the battlefield as well, strengthening your comprehension of the divine ability Protective Hardened Qi through real combat.】

【On the battlefield, you were practically comparable to a Legendary-stage demonic beast.】

【Although your attacks still could not kill a Legendary, Legendary demonic beasts similarly had no way to break through your Protective Hardened Qi.】

【As for ordinary Demon Emperors, you could dispatch them in just a few rounds.】

【You were hailed as the War God of Demon-Sealing Pass, truly possessing Legendary-stage strength.】

【And after becoming a Legendary of Demon-Sealing Pass, you also gained the qualifications to access more closely guarded secrets of the Pass.】

【Regarding the Legendary powerhouses of Demon-Sealing Pass… and the human Emperor residing within!】

Seeing this, Su Xing couldn’t help but furrow his brows tightly.

In the real world, there was a very strange phenomenon.

Powerhouses above the Legendary stage virtually never interfered in worldly affairs. They simply devoted themselves to staying at Demon-Sealing Pass, standing guard and protecting the safety of the human race.

Based on what the simulator had shown, Great Xia had no more than a dozen or so Legendary powerhouses, and as for Emperor-level powerhouses, as far as Su Xing knew, there was only one.

This circle of elites seemed very strange. Even when Su Xing had held high status in previous simulations, he had rarely interacted with them.

They were like ascetic monks, guarding Demon-Sealing Pass and nothing else. Unless the Pass faced an existential crisis, they would never act lightly.

“In this simulation, the strength I’ve displayed is truly comparable to a Legendary powerhouse… so I can finally make contact with this circle?”

Su Xing’s understanding of humanity’s top powerhouses and the secrets within Demon-Sealing Pass had always been shallow.

But could he finally learn the truth now?

Su Xing looked toward the simulation panel with anticipation.

【Led by a Legendary powerhouse, you walked into a fortress built into the walls of Demon-Sealing Pass.】

【The fortress appeared ordinary, with no heavy guard presence, and you entered without difficulty.】

【Upon entering the room, you froze for a moment, because aside from yourself, there were a full ten Legendary-stage powerhouses present.】

【Even that Emperor-level powerhouse was among them!】

【You understood—this seemed to be the place where humanity’s strongest resided.】

【And so, naturally, no heavy guard was needed…】

【These human powerhouses all seemed quite old. Even the youngest was over two hundred years old, and the Emperor-level powerhouse openly stated that he had been guarding Demon-Sealing Pass for a thousand years.】

【From their mouths, you learned the origins of Demon-Sealing Pass and the City of the Last Days beneath your feet.】

【Demon-Sealing Pass had not always existed. Several thousand years ago, a supreme powerhouse of the human race brought it out from a “Forbidden-tier” dungeon.】

【After thousands of years of construction and reinforcement, it became the magnificent city it was today—and humanity’s greatest bulwark against the demonic beasts.】

【The Emperor-level powerhouse looked at you and said that your current strength was sufficient. You could ask any questions you wished, and as long as they knew the answers, they would do their best to respond.】

【You were shocked. Moving the entirety of Demon-Sealing Pass here by human power alone—even an Emperor-level powerhouse couldn’t accomplish that, could they?】

【So the first question you asked was whether Emperor-level powerhouses were truly the strongest in Great Xia today.】

【To this question, they gave you a definitive answer: Emperor-level was indeed the strongest force the human race currently possessed.】

【You felt something was off, sensing this didn’t add up, and pressed further.】

【Finally, they told you a hidden secret.】

【It turned out that a thousand years ago, in addition to Emperor-level powerhouses, the human race had also produced even higher Saint-stage powerhouses—and even those approaching God-level!】

【But then, for reasons unknown, all Saints and God-level powerhouses vanished overnight.】

【No one knew where they were. No one knew where they had gone.】

【This phenomenon was not limited to Great Xia. In America, the Yellow Island Nation, the Ao Nation, and many other countries, all top-tier powerhouses vanished in a single night!】

【Ever since, whenever a powerhouse broke through to Saint-stage, they would inexplicably disappear, never to be heard from again.】

【And in the last hundred years, it wasn’t just Saints—even Emperor-level powerhouses had been frequently disappearing.】

【And the locations of their disappearances were mostly on Earth itself.】

【Therefore, as a safety precaution, all officially recognized Legendary and Emperor-level powerhouses no longer returned to Earth, instead spending their entire lives at Demon-Sealing Pass, guarding the human race.】

After reading this, Su Xing furrowed his brows tightly.

So that was the hidden reason why Emperor and Saint-stage powerhouses never descended to Earth.

“No wonder the historical records I once read in the library mentioned Saint-stage powerhouses… yet I’d never seen one in the simulations. So that’s why!”

“This also explains why the human race held Demon-Sealing Pass for thousands of years, yet couldn’t hold on just twenty-some years later… because the very strongest batch of human powerhouses had all vanished!”

Su Xing felt puzzled. Why would all those top powerhouses leave without a word?

Powerhouses at that level shouldn’t die easily… and it was all of them, vanishing overnight!

This… was absolutely the intervention of some supernatural force.

“Besides the Demon-Sealing Pass that Great Xia guards… America has that Endless Abyss over on their side…”

“It seems like no country is in a good situation right now!”

Su Xing let out a soft sigh, a thread of worry forming in his heart.

“Emperor-level powerhouses can’t stay in the real world… then after I break through to Body Integration stage, will I also inexplicably vanish?”

Su Xing frowned slightly. He truly hated situations he couldn’t predict.

However, he was still some distance from Body Integration, so there was no need to worry for the time being.

His gaze turned back to the simulation panel.

【You went on to ask these senior top-tier powerhouses several more questions.】

【During this, you learned that this human Emperor had already reached Peak Emperor-level several hundred years ago, and could break through to Saint-stage at any time.】

【But fearing an inexplicable disappearance that would cause the human race to lose its only Emperor, he had been suppressing his breakthrough all along.】

【You then inquired about the situations in other countries—why they didn’t come to help Great Xia defend the Pass.】

【Sure enough, you learned that besides Great Xia, every one of the Seven Kingdoms and Twelve Domains across the entire planet had their own dungeons to guard.】

【In fact, a hundred years ago, America’s Endless Abyss had nearly been breached. As the strongest nation on Earth, Great Xia had dispatched two Emperor-level powerhouses to barely hold the line.】

【Otherwise, if the Endless Abyss dungeon were breached, the real world would be doomed as well.】

【And those two Great Xia Emperor-level powerhouses, for the sake of humanity’s safety, had remained stationed at the Endless Abyss ever since.】

【From the mouths of these top human powerhouses, you learned many secrets.】

【But you knew that what you needed to do now was still to work hard and increase your strength.】

【Through days of relentless cultivation, another two years passed in the blink of an eye.】

【Year Twenty-Three. You successfully developed a Rebirth Pill capable of enhancing the strength of Heavenly King-stage powerhouses.】

【You mass-produced these pills, and in just one year, the strength of the human race’s Heavenly King-stage powerhouses increased by nearly fifty percent.】

【And among their most exceptional, some successfully broke through to Martial Emperor-stage.】

【That same year, your divine ability Protective Hardened Qi was approaching Perfection, yet you could never quite take that final step.】

【And so, another two years passed.】

【Year Twenty-Five. The demonic beast army invaded Demon-Sealing Pass, and the human powerhouses suffered catastrophic losses. Even giving everything you had, you could only fight a Legendary-stage colossal beast to a draw.】

【In the end, Demon-Sealing Pass fell. But you knew you couldn’t die so easily—your mission was not yet complete!】

【And so, you retreated to the real world alongside several Legendary-stage powerhouses, quietly awaiting the day the colossal beast would descend…】

【Several months later, that sky-blotting, planet-sized colossal beast finally arrived.】

【The last few Legendary powerhouses of Great Xia soared into the sky, hoping to stop the beast, but unsurprisingly, they couldn’t even breach its defenses.】

【The colossal beast opened its maw and swallowed all of Great Xia in a single gulp.】