Chapter 18 – Cultivation Feedback, Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer!
by spirapira【Two months later, the giant beast descended upon Great Xia.】
【You raised your middle finger at the giant beast.】
【The giant beast swallowed all of Great Xia in one gulp. You died!】
【You activated the talent Die With Eyes Open…】
【Ding, this simulation has ended!】
【You may select one of the following rewards: Resolute Countenance (Talent), Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer (Cultivation)】
【 Resolute Countenance】: White-tier talent, valued at 1,000 energy points.
【Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer】: Cultivation, valued at 9,800 energy points.
“Only cultivated to Foundation Establishment ninth layer…”
Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly. The old man had said one needed to break through to Golden Core to become his disciple.
But even in this simulation, where Su Xing had transformed into an absolute cultivation maniac, he still couldn’t break through to the Golden Core stage due to insufficient spirit stones.
“No matter. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it…”
Su Xing sighed, then chose cultivation without hesitation.
【Ding, you have chosen to bring out Foundation Establishment ninth layer cultivation from the simulation. Energy cost: 9,800 points. Remaining energy: 3,880 points…】
The moment the notification sounded, the cultivation aura throughout Su Xing’s body began to surge violently.
Qi Refinement fifth layer… Qi Refinement seventh layer… Qi Refinement Great Perfection!
Crack—
The bottleneck between Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment was pierced through effortlessly, and Su Xing became a Foundation Establishment cultivator!
But this was far from over!
Foundation Establishment second layer… Foundation Establishment fourth layer…
Su Xing’s cultivation didn’t slow until it reached Foundation Establishment ninth layer.
“Phew…”
Su Xing gently exhaled a breath of turbid air and carefully felt the changes in his body.
His five senses seemed to have grown far sharper — he could hear the faint breathing of passengers dozens of meters away.
At the same time, Su Xing’s spirit felt much more vigorous. Going three to five days without sleep would have no effect on him whatsoever.
More critically, Su Xing felt that the mana and spiritual energy within his body had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
If his mana at Qi Refinement fifth layer had been like a bucket of water, then after breaking through to Foundation Establishment ninth layer, the mana within Su Xing’s body was comparable to an entire well!
This was a change of dozens, even a hundredfold!
Beyond that, Su Xing’s physical strength also seemed to have increased somewhat.
“It’s a shame that I now have mana in abundance… yet lack any techniques or cultivator methods…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly and murmured.
For cultivators, while mana and cultivation level were the foundation, it was offensive arts, alchemy, artifact refining, talismans, and other such techniques and abilities that truly made a cultivator powerful.
Right now, Su Xing had mana but none of these methods — like a character with high stats but no skills whatsoever. That simply wouldn’t do!
Fortunately, the old man in the Azure Cloud Spirit Fields dungeon surely possessed many immortal techniques.
Su Xing’s desire for the Azure Cloud Spirit Fields dungeon grew even stronger.
After his cultivation skyrocketed, Su Xing checked his system panel.
【Name: Su Xing】
【Class: Cultivator (Unique Hidden Class)】
【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, Body Tempering Great Perfection】
【Technique: Eternal Spring Art】
【Talents: Wood-Fire Dual Spiritual Root, Die With Eyes Open…】
【Skills: None】
【Equipment: Jade Blood Longsword (Green), Longspike Chain Mail (Green), Azure Cloud Boots (Green)】
Foundation Establishment ninth layer, combined with Body Tempering Great Perfection — this was enough to let Su Xing look down on the vast majority of Silver-stage Class Users.
Feeling his surging cultivation, Su Xing felt at ease and closed his eyes to rest.
Several hours later, the plane landed in Jinling City.
Su Xing didn’t waste any time. After leaving the airport, he headed straight for the western outskirts of Jinling City.
By then the sky was growing dark, so Su Xing simply found a large tree and began cultivating beneath it.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Su Xing began searching for traces of Jin Congxue.
“According to the hints from the simulation, I should encounter Jin Congxue this afternoon… And since I don’t know where that small path is, I still need Jin Congxue to lead the way.”
Su Xing began searching outside the city. It wasn’t until evening that he spotted a graceful silhouette approaching from the distance.
Su Xing’s heart stirred — this was likely Jin Congxue.
As the woman drew closer, Su Xing got a clear look at her appearance.
She wore a crimson dress, black hair falling to her shoulders, with fair skin and an exquisite figure. She looked like a woman barely past twenty, brimming with youthful vitality yet possessing an alluring charm.
“Tsk tsk, you really can’t tell that Jin Congxue is already thirty at this point…”
Su Xing blinked, then pretended to pass by Jin Congxue casually.
“Hello, I’m a tourist from out of town. I got lost outside Jinling City — could you point me in the right direction?”
Su Xing tried his best to look as friendly as possible.
Jin Congxue frowned slightly upon hearing this and casually pointed in a direction, but clearly had no intention of guiding Su Xing personally.
Su Xing cursed inwardly — he’d overlooked the fact that in his previous simulation, he’d had the “Resolute Visage” talent that easily boosted people’s favorable impression of him.
But he didn’t have that talent now!
“Looks like I’ll have to go with Plan B…”
Su Xing nodded in thanks, then pretended to accidentally let his backpack slip off his shoulders, causing several antique-looking Buddhist scriptures to tumble to the ground.
These were Buddhist texts Su Xing had purchased at considerable expense.
“Come on, talk to me. Talk to me!”
Su Xing prayed silently.
Sure enough, Jin Congxue’s attention was drawn to the scriptures, and she took the initiative to help Su Xing pick them up.
“These are rare original editions… You seem quite well-versed in Buddhist studies?”
Jin Congxue blinked and asked.
Su Xing took the scriptures back and shook his head.
“I wouldn’t say well-versed — it’s just a hobby of mine.”
Jin Congxue’s beautiful eyes shimmered as she studied Su Xing carefully, then said:
“I happen to be heading back to Jinling City too. Want to walk together?”
Su Xing pretended to hesitate for a moment, then nodded.
“Sure, it’d be nice to have some company!”
And so Su Xing and Jin Congxue set off toward Jinling City together.
Along the way, Jin Congxue discussed Buddhist scripture with Su Xing. Although Su Xing’s knowledge of the subject wasn’t particularly deep, he always managed to share interesting tidbits about Buddhism that drew continuous smiles from Jin Congxue.
As they passed through a stretch of forest, Jin Congxue spoke up:
“Su Xing, I know a shortcut through here that leads to Jinling City. It could save us half an hour… How about we go this way?”
Su Xing gazed at the forest ahead. It was extremely secluded — without Jin Congxue guiding him, he probably couldn’t have found it even if he’d searched for a month.
Was he about to enter the cultivation dungeon?
Su Xing’s heart pounded. He had entered the Azure Cloud Spirit Fields several times in simulations, but never in the flesh. At this moment, Su Xing was beyond excited — it was as if he could see a grand path of cultivation beckoning to him.
“In that case, let’s take the shortcut…”
From the outside, the forest looked quite dim, but the path inside was actually easy enough to walk.
Su Xing followed Jin Congxue for several minutes when he suddenly spotted a door shimmering with iridescent light beneath a tree up ahead.
Jin Congxue’s eyes went wide as she murmured:
“That glow… it must be a temporary dungeon!”
Temporary dungeons were an extremely rare type of dungeon. They appeared randomly in various locations and remained for unpredictable durations.
Jin Congxue approached the iridescent gate and called back to Su Xing:
“I’m going to explore this dungeon, so I can’t walk back to the city with you… Just keep following this path straight ahead…”
Before she could finish, Su Xing interrupted:
“I want to enter this dungeon too.”
Jin Congxue frowned slightly at his words.
“I know temporary dungeons are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities — a great chance for both of us.”
“But the dangers inside are unknown. Are you sure you want to go in? From what I can tell, you’re not even Silver-stage yet. I might not be able to protect you in there…”
Despite her warning, Su Xing firmly stated that he wanted to enter, even if it meant death.
Seeing his resolve, Jin Congxue didn’t try to dissuade him further and simply told Su Xing to stay behind her.
Su Xing took a step forward and passed through the iridescent gate.