Chapter 206 – The Sorrow of the Spirit-Depleted Age, a Fallen Genius! (5k)

Su Xing thought this to himself, his gaze turning to the simulation panel.

【After achieving Major Mastery in Spirit Burst and the Ruyi Golden Cauldron, you began planning your expedition to the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon.】

【You didn’t rush into the dungeon, but instead decided to cultivate steadily one final time to boost your strength.】

【In the twenty-fifth year, you knew that Demon-Sealing Pass would soon be destroyed, and that humanity wouldn’t last much longer either.】

【So you chose to enter the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon, leaving behind some useful information before the end.】

【You entered the Five Elements Mountain ruins.】

【You passed through the long underground tomb passageways, and your divine sense soon detected a powerful aura ahead.】

【You immediately grew wary, knowing this was that living corpse—the Five Elements Master!】

【Though the Five Elements Master was not as powerful as Perfected One Myriad Wood, as a cultivator who had once achieved Perfection in both Void Return and Void Shattering, you still lacked full confidence that you could defeat him.】

【You cautiously raised your Protective Hardened Qi and summoned your primordial energy armor.】

【Under this dual defense, your heart settled somewhat.】

【You secretly activated Spirit Burst and charged toward the Five Elements Master’s location.】

【Scorching fire-attribute spiritual energy continuously compressed in your hands, trembling slightly and radiating a terrifying aura.】

【You soon discovered the Five Elements Master, and he discovered you as well!】

【He attacked you without hesitation, and you decisively injected the last wisp of wood-attribute spiritual energy into the Spirit Burst.】

【Seeing the Five Elements Master rapidly closing in, you hurled the fully condensed Spirit Burst without a moment’s hesitation.】

【The next second, you decisively turned and retreated into the spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【You remained in the spirit field grotto-heaven for a quarter of an hour, consumed about half a bottle of spirit liquid, and after fully restoring your spiritual energy, you left again and returned to the Five Elements Sect ruins.】

【Sure enough, just as you had predicted, more than half of the tomb’s passageways had collapsed. The protective formation arrays within the ruins had been damaged under the Spirit Burst bombardment, and the entire tomb was at risk of total collapse at any moment.】

【Massive boulders filled the tunnel, and tremors still rumbled through the ground from time to time. But you couldn’t afford to worry about that—you swiftly extended your divine sense across the entire ruins.】

【Within the range of your divine sense, you quickly detected the Five Elements Master, pinned beneath the rubble.】

【Judging by the aura your divine sense picked up, the Five Elements Master appeared to be severely wounded, yet showed no signs of being on the verge of death…】

【Boom!】

【The next second, the Five Elements Master sent all the boulders crushing him flying and charged at you once more as a terrifying blur.】

【The massive impact struck your Protective Hardened Qi, causing fine cracks to appear on its surface, but you still managed to block the Five Elements Master’s ambush without true danger.】

【You circulated your spiritual energy, swiftly dodging the Five Elements Master’s follow-up attacks.】

【At the same time, you got a clear look at the Five Elements Master’s wretched state.】

【His entire body was shrouded in a mist of dark red and black blood. Nearly half his chest had caved in from the Spirit Burst’s impact, and burn marks covered him everywhere.】

【Yet even so, despite such grievous injuries, the Five Elements Master still showed no signs of critical danger. Only the spiritual energy within his body was abnormally chaotic, and his combat strength had presumably decreased slightly…】

【Black blood eerily seeped from the Five Elements Master’s body, slowly repairing his damaged form.】

【You were inwardly astonished at the Five Elements Master’s terrifying strength—even after being ambushed by your Spirit Burst, he could still possess such fighting power.】

【But you also knew that what awaited you next would be a brutal battle. So you channeled your primordial energy and engaged the Five Elements Master in close combat.】

【The great battle erupted instantly, and the terrifying shockwaves from the fighting made the ruins’ protective formation arrays even more unstable…】

Watching this, Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly and said:

“As expected, one should never underestimate the geniuses of this world!”

“With my Void Return Great Perfection cultivation, plus Void Shattering Realm Fifth Layer… and now having mastered the divine ability Spirit Burst at Major Mastery, I should be nearly invincible below the Emperor level…”

“But this Five Elements Master, though he was a dual cultivator of both qi and body, his strength should have declined somewhat after becoming a living corpse… Yet even so, after taking a direct Spirit Burst from me, he still has the power to fight!”

Beyond his astonishment, Su Xing fell into contemplation.

In Su Xing’s judgment, after the Five Elements Master had become a living corpse, he should have lost the ability to feel pain, making him fundamentally different from ordinary living beings.

On top of that, that eerie black blood allowed the Five Elements Master to rapidly recover from injuries and replenish his stamina…

“Unexpectedly tough to deal with. But in a head-on battle, I should still have enough strength to fight him!”

Su Xing didn’t hesitate, turning his gaze back to the simulation panel.

【You and the Five Elements Master began physical combat, each exchange of blows producing terrifying waves of force.】

【But what alarmed you was that the Five Elements Master’s physical strength was also exceptionally formidable—faintly surpassing even yours.】

【You knew this was because you were currently only at Void Shattering Realm, Fifth Layer, while the Five Elements Master had reached Void Shattering Grand Perfection. Even though your strength had peaked during the Divine Power realm, it was still difficult to bridge such a vast gap in cultivation.】

【Fortunately, your mastery of primordial energy surpassed the Five Elements Master’s by a notch, so you weren’t at too great a disadvantage in close-quarters combat.】

【But you knew that continuing like this, you still wouldn’t be able to take down the Five Elements Master. So you opened up distance, preparing to win through qi refinement techniques instead.】

【A thought stirred in your mind, and a wisp of Separation Fire leapt from your palm. Its terrifying temperature instantly dealt considerable damage to the Five Elements Master.】

【But then, to your surprise, the Five Elements Master revealed yet another trump card.】

【He executed a mysterious technique, and the five elemental spiritual energies—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—were absorbed into his body from the surrounding air. Dazzling five-colored radiance surged toward you at tremendous speed.】

【Seeing this, you hastily activated a lightning-attribute Spirit Burst, rapidly forming seals and launching it at the Five Elements Master’s five-element technique!】

【Boom! The terrifying blast completely devastated the ancient tomb ruins. The defensive formation arrays within the tomb were blasted open by the shockwaves from the colliding techniques, leaving massive breaches, and the entire underground space began to tremble incessantly.】

【You knew that if this continued, the tomb ruins would ultimately be unable to escape the fate of total collapse.】

【So you took out a bottle of spirit liquid, replenished your depleted spiritual energy, and then launched an even fiercer assault against the Five Elements Master.】

【But the Five Elements Master truly lived up to his reputation as one of the top three peerless geniuses of the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts from thousands of years ago.】

【His mastery of five-element techniques had reached the level of perfected transformation.】

【His earth-element techniques had extremely strong defensive power, blocking the majority of your attacks.】

【His metal-element techniques were incomparably sharp—a sword of spiritual energy formed from metal-attribute spiritual power was actually able to fight your Blackice sword to a standstill in the short term.】

【His wood-element techniques healed injuries, and his fire-element techniques possessed devastating power, enough to force even you to retreat.】

【What you found even more troublesome was that the Five Elements Master’s water-element techniques had a significant suppressive effect on your Separation Fire—clearly, he too had mastered a formidable water-based divine ability.】

【You and the Five Elements Master battled for hundreds more exchanges. During this time, you came to deeply appreciate the terrifying nature of the Five Elements Sect’s Five Elements Cycle Art.】

【The five types of spiritual energy fed into and sustained one another in an endless cycle, not only greatly amplifying the power of his techniques, but also allowing them to be flexibly deployed to counter his opponent.】

【And so, you fought bitterly for several more hours.】

【Finally, you prevailed by continuously using spirit liquid to replenish your spiritual energy, while the seed of primordial energy within your body also steadily replenished your primordial energy expenditure.】

【The Five Elements Master, on the other hand, had been severely wounded by your Spirit Burst ambush from the very beginning. Combined with the sustained combat, his injuries gradually worsened.】

【After hours of grueling battle, you finally began to gain the upper hand.】

Watching the simulation text before him, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.

“The Five Elements Mutual Generation technique… is it truly this profound?”

“With this divine secret art, the Five Elements Master must have been virtually unrivaled below the Body Integration stage…”

“It’s only because he became a living corpse, on top of my ambush that severely wounded him beforehand… otherwise, I might not have been his match!”

Su Xing felt a wave of emotion.

Indeed, every peerless genius who had fought their way to prominence during the spirit-depleted age was extraordinary without exception—each one a dazzling talent capable of dominating an entire era!

“But the five-element techniques… theoretically, one would need the ability to absorb all five elemental spiritual energies to cast them…”

“Could it be that the Five Elements Master had a five-element mixed spiritual root?”

Su Xing shook his head slightly as soon as he said it, dismissing this possibility.

A five-element mixed spiritual root—how could someone with that possibly cultivate to Void Return Grand Perfection in less than a thousand years?

“Surely the Five Elements Master must have also had a mutated spiritual root… at minimum a Five Elements True Spirit Root! Perhaps even a Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root…”

Su Xing thought to himself.

He was increasingly struck by how extraordinary the Five Elements Mutual Generation technique was. Such a secret art would have been a sect-defining treasure even in the ancient era.

And for the Five Elements Master to have developed this Five Elements Mutual Generation technique, his comprehension must have been absolutely exceptional!

“The Five Elements Mutual Generation technique—I must obtain it!”

Su Xing steeled his resolve and looked toward the simulation panel.

【As Five Elements Master’s injuries gradually worsened and the spiritual power within his body was steadily consumed without replenishment…】

【The advantage you held in battle grew ever greater!】

【After another thousand exchanges, this advantage gradually transformed into a winning position, and you prepared to finish off Five Elements Master in one decisive push!】

【You forced Five Elements Master back with a single sword strike, then extended your palm as spiritual power surged out wildly, compressing… ultimately forming a fire-attribute spiritual energy vortex!】

【After the fire vortex took shape, you then infused wood-attribute spiritual power into it!】

【Thus, representing your strongest strike at this moment, the Wood-Fire Mutual Generation Spirit Detonation Art was finally born!】

【After the Spirit Detonation Art finished condensing, you gasped for several breaths.】

【This single blast of Spirit Detonation Art alone consumed nearly half the spiritual power in your body. You were confident that with this trump card, you could thoroughly kill the gravely wounded Five Elements Master!】

【Five Elements Master seemed to sense the terrifying threat as well, and once again unleashed the Five Elements Mutual Generation technique…】

【Metal, wood, water, fire, earth — five elemental spells cast in succession.】

【Five brilliant rays of spell-light surged toward you!】

【And at that very moment, you hurled the Spirit Detonation Art from your hand!】

【BOOM!】

【The two divine arts collided, and the terrifying shockwave and battle aftermath finally shattered the already crumbling ruins’ protective formation completely.】

【With the protective formation destroyed, the entire ancient tomb ruins trembled violently as if struck by an earthquake.】

【In an instant, the earth collapsed and massive boulders tumbled.】

【You knew this was no place to linger. You had to find Five Elements Master’s legacy as quickly as possible, or these treasures might be buried underground forever along with the Five Elements Sect ruins.】

【Fortunately, with your final Wood-Fire Mutual Generation Spirit Detonation Art, you had thoroughly killed the already gravely wounded Five Elements Master.】

【You glanced at Five Elements Master lying dozens of meters away. In the final moment of his life, he seemed to have regained a brief flicker of consciousness.】

【Dark crimson blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and he managed to utter only a single word…】

【Hate…】

【You fell silent upon hearing that word. In Five Elements Master’s final moments, you truly felt his towering hatred…】

【You knew — it was not you he hated.】

【He hated that despite his brilliant talent and extraordinary comprehension, he had been born in the tragic age of spiritual energy depletion…】

【He hated the betrayal by his closest friend, Perfected One Myriad Wood, and the wretched fate that ultimately reduced him to a living corpse…】

【Five Elements Master’s aura slowly dissipated. A peerless prodigy who had dazzled an entire era thousands of years ago had finally, completely perished…】

【You bore no particular ill will toward Five Elements Master. He was merely another tragic figure who had perished beneath the tides of his era.】

【So you gathered Five Elements Master’s remains, intending to find a place with auspicious feng shui to lay him to rest.】

【Afterward, while the ruins had not yet completely collapsed, you made your way to the core area of the ancient tomb.】

【You pushed open the bronze sarcophagus and found a storage ring within…】

【After sweeping the core area with your divine sense and confirming nothing had been overlooked, you swiftly departed the Five Elements Sect ruins.】

【After you left the Five Elements Sect ruins, the entire site collapsed and was utterly destroyed.】

【Once the ruins’ formation was damaged, the Five Elements Sect ruins vanished into the chaotic spatial currents, their whereabouts unknown…】

【You quickly exited the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts instance. After the fierce battle with Five Elements Master, your body had sustained significant injuries and needed time to recuperate.】

【So for the next three months, you rested peacefully within the spirit field grotto-heaven, recovering from your wounds.】

【While recuperating, you also examined the storage ring obtained from Five Elements Master.】

【The storage ring did not contain the massive quantity of spirit stones you had imagined. Instead, it held a considerable amount of formation-crafting materials and treasures.】

【In addition to these treasures, you found two extremely important jade slips.】

【They were, respectively, the formation method passed down through the Five Elements Sect for ten thousand years — the Five Elements Formation Dao…】

【And Five Elements Master’s improved divine art — the Five Elements Mutual Generation Art!】

【The contents recorded in these two jade slips were of tremendous benefit to you!】

【The Five Elements Mutual Generation Art allowed mutually generating spiritual energies to synergize with one another, achieving an effect where one plus one was greater than two.】

【Cultivators possessing mutually generating spiritual roots would not only see a great increase in the power of their spells, but even their cultivation speed would see a modest improvement.】

【Beyond that, having already learned basic Formation Dao, the Five Elements Formation Dao left behind by the Five Elements Sect was an enormous treasure trove for you. This formation compendium was endlessly profound, enough to keep you studying for a very long time…】

Su Xing’s expression grew complicated when he saw this, tinged with a sense of relief.

“Living under the Age of Dharma Decline, with spiritual energy depleted… cultivators can never reclaim the glory days of the past…”

“Beneath such overwhelming tides of the era, the most tragic of all are these brilliant geniuses born into such times.”

“Had they been born during a golden age of cultivation, perhaps ascension to immortality would have been within reach…”

“But now, they can only turn to a handful of dust…”

Su Xing sighed, feeling a pang of sorrow — the grief of one who sees his own potential fate in another’s demise.

But Su Xing quickly rallied his spirits and murmured:

“However, I possess a heaven-defying cheat like the simulator. From here on, I will surely catch a glimpse of the immortal Dao…”

“Once the terrifying Amalgamated Beast is slain, the Three Thousand Worlds will be mine to roam freely!”

A glimmer of anticipation shone in Su Xing’s eyes.

“As for the immediate matter… the Five Elements Mutual Generation Art and the Five Elements Formation Dao would be quite useful to me. I’ll check the prices once the simulation ends…”

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

【You buried Five Elements Master in a mountain of beautiful scenery. Feeling the passing of a senior master and the cruelty of the cultivation path…】

【Your state of mind elevated, and your resolve to seek the Dao grew ever firmer…】

【One day, Demon-Sealing Pass was breached, and the human race stood on the brink of annihilation.】

【Several months later, the Amalgamated Beast descended and swallowed the entirety of Great Xia in a single gulp…】

【You were swallowed into the beast’s belly…】

【You did not die immediately.】

【You held on for a long time…】

【You were killed by the chaotic spatial currents…】

【Your divine soul was completely annihilated.】

【You died!】

【Ding — this simulation has ended!】

After the simulation concluded, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.

“The harvest from this simulation was nothing short of bountiful!”

“With my current strength, once I master Spirit Detonation Art at Major Accomplishment, I’ll be virtually unrivaled beneath the Emperor level…”

“But I must also be wary of the former geniuses from the cultivation world. Five Elements Master was already that troublesome… Perfected One Myriad Wood is likely to be even more terrifying!”

After a pause, Su Xing continued pondering.

“As for the Five Elements ruins, exploring them now still carries some risk…”

“Once I reach the Body Integration stage, I’ll go explore the Five Elements ruins. It should be quite easy to obtain the Five Elements Mutual Generation Art and the Five Elements Formation Dao then…”

Su Xing nodded slightly, then pulled out his little notebook and recorded this goal.

Afterward, Su Xing turned his gaze to this simulation’s reward list.

【Three Days, Nine Missed Meals】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy points.

【Twenty Years of Alchemy Experience】: Upon redemption, existing alchemy insights will increase by a small margin. Price: 2,000,000 energy points.

【Spirit Detonation Art (Major Accomplishment)】: A divine art developed through Su Xing’s research. By utilizing extremely compressed spiritual power, it produces astonishing destructive force upon detonation. It can be combined with different elemental attributes to produce varying effects. Its power is staggering, comparable to a lesser divine art, but its spiritual power consumption is enormous and requires further refinement. Price: 150,000,000 energy points.

【Ruyi Golden Cauldron Method (Major Accomplishment)】: A divine sense combat technique. The Ruyi Golden Cauldron can make one’s divine sense as solid as a cauldron — offense and defense in one. Among divine sense combat techniques, it can barely be considered top-tier. Though inferior to the ancient divine sense combat techniques passed down from antiquity, its advantage lies in serving as a transitional method that does not conflict with other divine sense combat techniques. Price: 150,000,000 energy points.

【Five Elements Mutual Generation Art】: A peak lesser divine art approaching the level of a greater divine art. Comprehended by Five Elements Master himself, endlessly profound. Price: 300,000,000 energy points.

【Five Elements Formation Dao】: An ancient Formation Dao tome passed down through the Five Elements Sect for ten thousand years. Refined by countless cultivators over the ages, its contents point directly toward the grand Dao of formations. Price: 200,000,000 energy points.