Chapter 227 – Four Years in Seclusion, Finally a Body Integration Stage Cultivator!

Seeing this, Su Xing couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation.

Breaking through to the Body Integration stage demanded extremely high levels of spiritual energy, divine sense, and even comprehension of heaven and earth.

And for this very moment of breakthrough, Su Xing had been preparing for a long time.

“Then let’s do this! This time, I’ll break through to the Body Integration stage in one go!”

Su Xing’s eyes brimmed with deep confidence.

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【Within the spirit field grotto-heaven, you retrieved all the spirit liquid and spirit stones you had accumulated.】

【You steadied your mind and sat cross-legged within the spirit-gathering formation.】

【Drinking down several bottles of spirit liquid, you frantically circulated the Thousand Blazing Flame Art. Your tri-element mutated Heavenly Spirit Root displayed an enormous advantage at this moment.】

【Tens of thousands of drops of spirit liquid were rapidly converted into pure spiritual energy, flowing through your meridians and dantian.】

【The micro spirit-gathering formation on the surface of your dantian also played an enormous role at this moment, operating at full power.】

【Soon, all the spiritual energy contained within the tens of thousands of drops of spirit liquid was successfully converted into your own pure spiritual energy.】

【But you did not stop. One bottle after another, you continued drinking spirit liquid without pause.】

【Hundreds of thousands of drops of spirit liquid were quickly absorbed and converted.】

【At this point, you could feel that your spiritual energy carried a slight sensation of being overfull.】

【You knew in your heart that it was time to begin the next step.】

【You extended your divine sense outward, personally perceiving the flow of your spiritual energy, perceiving every breath you took.】

【Within your awareness, two mysterious forces inside your body began to collide—the Essence of Strength and the Essence of Speed!】

【The two Origin Forces, like mischievous sprites, coursed through your flesh and spiritual sea.】

【You began circulating your spiritual energy, striking again and again at the acupoint barriers of your dantian, hoping to open the final gate standing between you and the Body Integration stage.】

【Throughout the entire process, you could feel faint pain and the rapid depletion of spiritual energy.】

【Like stones sinking into the sea, each strike of spiritual energy against the dantian yielded barely any result.】

【But you did not give up. Instead, you gritted your teeth and persisted.】

【While assaulting the barrier to the Body Integration stage, you recalled the tips Luo Ying had taught you for breaking through.】

【Your mind became fully immersed, losing all sense of self. Before your eyes and within your heart, there was nothing but this barrier.】

【After an unknown amount of time, the spiritual energy within your body was nearly depleted.】

【Without hesitation, you drank another hundred thousand drops of spirit liquid.】

【Under the operation of your Heavenly Spirit Root and the micro spirit-gathering formation, the spirit liquid was rapidly converted into spiritual energy within your body.】

【You avoided running out of power and continued your assault on the barrier.】

【The sun rose and set. The stars shifted in the heavens.】

【Through strike after strike, you could feel time gradually slipping away.】

【This was the longest you had ever been in seclusion. Perhaps months had passed, or perhaps years…】

【As your spiritual energy continued its relentless assault, you could also feel the barrier to the Body Integration stage gradually loosening. The Body Integration stage drew ever closer.】

【Joy flickered in your heart, and you continued your tireless assault on the barrier.】

【As you continued launching wave after wave against the Body Integration stage barrier, you could feel your perception of the forces of heaven and earth and your comprehension of origin growing ever more acute.】

【You knew this was a sign that you were drawing ever closer to the Body Integration stage.】

【And so, another unknown stretch of time passed.】

【More than half of your accumulated spirit liquid had been consumed, and you were merely a single step away from breaking through to the Body Integration stage.】

【Faintly, in the midst of your seclusion, you seemed to hear the cry of a dragon.】

【Then you sensed an incomparably pure stream of spiritual energy surging toward you.】

【This pure spiritual energy was countless times more refined than even spirit liquid.】

【You knew in your heart—this was the spirit vein dragon helping you break through!】

【Riding this surge of pure spiritual energy, you launched your final assault on the last barrier to the Body Integration stage!】

【And so, another month passed…】

【At this moment, the spiritual energy surging ceaselessly within your body finally flowed like a great river entering the sea, transforming into a vast ocean of spiritual power.】

【The quality and quantity of spiritual energy within your body had increased by an immeasurable degree compared to when you were at the Void Return stage.】

【Your perception of heaven and earth’s spiritual energy grew ever more acute. Your application of the forces of heaven and earth had reached an entirely new realm!】

【Congratulations—you have broken through to become a Body Integration stage cultivator!】

【After your breakthrough, faintly, your gaze and divine sense seemed to pierce through endless void, catching sight of a terrifying red moon.】

【The red moon watched over all of Earth, every moment of every day.】

【You couldn’t afford to dwell on it. You hurriedly steadied your mind and stabilized your cultivation.】

【And so, several more hours passed before you slowly opened your eyes.】

【You stood up slowly, sensing the vast and surging spiritual power within your body, yet your heart remained calm and unperturbed.】

【Compared to when you were at Void Return Great Perfection, the spiritual energy within your body had tripled outright. This meant the power of your techniques and divine abilities had more than doubled.】

【But what concerned you even more was your ability to command the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. With the slightest thought, the ambient spiritual energy could be mobilized far more easily than before.】

【With this, the power of your techniques and divine abilities could climb yet another level.】

In the Real World, Su Xing smiled with satisfaction upon seeing this.

“Finally broke through!”

“Damn, how long did this seclusion actually last?”

“Two years… or three? The spirit vein dragon even woke from its slumber… I really owe it to the spirit vein dragon for that surge of pure spiritual energy. Otherwise, it might have taken another year or more…”

Su Xing felt gratified, internally exclaiming that he hadn’t saved the spirit vein dragon for nothing—thank goodness he’d prepared that extra contingency.

“Still, the Body Integration stage is already an extremely profound realm among cultivators. Breaking through at this level could easily take decades in seclusion…”

“It’s fortunate I prepared sufficient spiritual energy in advance. Otherwise, the breakthrough would have been far more difficult!”

After the breakthrough, a massive surge in Su Xing’s strength was inevitable.

But at the same time, Su Xing felt a faint undercurrent of worry.

“After breaking through to the Body Integration stage, I was spotted by the red moon?”

“I’d heard before that all cultivators at Emperor-level and above mysteriously disappear. So it really is connected to that Slaughter red moon!”

Su Xing murmured to himself.

“I wonder if breaking through to Body Integration will attract the attention of powerful beings?”

“I should be more cautious and investigate through the simulation…”

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

【After breaking through to the Body Integration stage, you cast the Technique to Shield from Heavenly Divination, disguised your appearance and concealed your aura, then returned to Demon-Sealing Pass.】

【The moment you entered Demon-Sealing Pass, you faintly sensed unease in your heart.】

【Your expression shifted immediately. You knew this likely meant the mysterious person was still searching for you.】

【As for whether the Technique to Shield from Heavenly Divination could evade the mysterious person’s probing, you had no confidence.】

【After investigating, you were startled to discover that this seclusion had actually lasted a full four years!】

【It was now the twenty-fifth year. Less than three years remained before the Demon Saint’s descent upon Demon-Sealing Pass.】

【A single seclusion lasting four years, advancing from Void Return Great Perfection to Body Integration—this pace wasn’t slow, but it far exceeded any of your previous seclusion sessions.】

【A persistent sense of unease lingered in your heart. You knew the mysterious person was still tracking you.】

【With your current strength, the chances of evading the mysterious person’s pursuit were slim.】

【If you returned to Earth, the mysterious person would certainly find you.】

【And so, you made a bold decision—to venture deep into the Slaughter Battlefield.】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this.

“That mysterious person’s strength is unfathomably deep… They must be at a realm above Immortal!”

“If I return to Earth, I’ll definitely be discovered! Even staying at Demon-Sealing Pass isn’t safe!”

After a pause, Su Xing murmured:

“As things stand, I could either offer the spirit vein dragon to the mysterious person… but even so, there’s no guarantee I’d obtain passage to leave Earth.”

“In that case, I might as well stake everything on one throw—head to the far end of the Slaughter Battlefield and face the Slaughter Apostle once more!”

Su Xing closed his eyes briefly.

“The next goal is naturally to journey to the Three Thousand Worlds and seek broader opportunities…”

“To reach the Three Thousand Worlds, these two methods are the only ones I currently know of… Only by first reaching the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm can I find a way to get to the Azure Cloud Realm and travel to the Azure Cloud Sect!”

Su Xing rubbed the token engraved with azure clouds in his hand, murmuring softly.

“Now that I’ve broken through to the Body Integration stage, if the Slaughter Apostle has no hidden trump cards, perhaps I can defeat him and reach the Three Thousand Worlds!”

“That way, I won’t need to submit to the Advent Cult and surrender the spirit vein dragon…”

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

【You spent three days preparing at Demon-Sealing Pass, refining a considerable number of pills and adjusting your condition to its peak.】

【Afterward, you stepped onto the vast red earth, heading deep into the Slaughter Battlefield.】

【Across the boundless red soil, the occasional red-eyed alien who had lost their mind wandered about.】

【You did not engage them in battle, instead walking straight toward the direction of the red moon.】

【Out of caution, you did not use sword flight, instead relying purely on your physical strength to travel.】

【Several days passed like this…】

【By now, within the range of your divine sense, nearly all the red-eyed aliens were at the Heavenly King or Demon Sovereign level.】

【The red moon overhead grew ever larger…】

【You did not linger and continued forward.】

【Several more days passed. Now, within the range of your divine sense, all the red-eyed aliens were at the Legendary stage.】

【The red moon overhead had grown as large as a millstone.】

【You knew in your heart that the end of the Slaughter Battlefield was not far…】

【You continued pressing forward, and after an unknown amount of time…】

【Forking paths began to appear before you. By flipping a coin, you successfully navigated through each branching road.】

【Whispered ravings occasionally reached your ears, and your negative emotions grew ever stronger.】

【But your resolve in seeking the Dao was firm. By taking a few Tranquility Pills from time to time, you managed to persevere all the way to the end of the Slaughter Battlefield.】

【It seemed as though you need only raise your hand to touch the red moon before your eyes.】

【You suppressed the desire in your heart and swept your divine sense across the end of the Slaughter Battlefield.】

【Soon, you discovered the pure white “World Gate,” and also discovered the terrifying Slaughter Apostle.】

【The Slaughter Apostle sensed your presence and charged at you without hesitation.】

【You hastily activated your Protective Hardened Qi and primordial energy armor, establishing two layers of defense before engaging the enemy head-on.】

【With a thought, the spiritual energy surging like an ocean within your body rapidly converged, forming a vortex of qi in your palm.】

【Steadily infusing wood and fire attribute spiritual energy, a terrifying Spirit Burst howled forth!】

【From the very first encounter, you unleashed your most powerful attack!】

【After breaking through to the Body Integration stage, the spiritual energy within your body erupted in a frenzy. Spirit Burst had now become a true supernatural art, and the wood-fire attribute spiritual energy formed a terrifying explosion.】

【Catching the enemy off guard, your strike successfully hit the Slaughter Apostle.】

【Meanwhile, the shockwave from the Spirit Burst shattered your Protective Hardened Qi, and you were sent flying back several hundred meters.】

【The earth began to tremble. A terrifying crater suddenly appeared in the crimson soil, its diameter stretching several kilometers.】

【A slight smile tugged at the corner of your lips. With a Spirit Burst this devastating, you were confident that even a cultivator at the late Primordial Unity realm would be critically wounded in an instant if caught unprepared!】

【Your divine sense spread out like a tide, penetrating the red dust hanging in the air as you searched for the Slaughter Apostle’s aura.】

【Soon, you detected a faint trace of its presence!】

【Sure enough, under the bombardment of the Spirit Burst, the Slaughter Apostle had been critically wounded, its aura suddenly becoming extremely feeble.】

【Overjoyed, you gripped your spirit sword, preparing to deliver the final blow to the Slaughter Apostle!】

In the Real World, Su Xing’s face lit up with delight at the sight.

“Finally… is it about to succeed?”

“As long as I kill this Slaughter Apostle, I should be able to pass through that World Gate, right?”

Su Xing’s heart surged with excitement.

Could it be that this simulation would reveal the full picture of the Three Thousand Worlds, letting him venture into a far vaster realm?

With anticipation in his heart, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【You channeled your primordial energy. A thousand sword rays crisscrossed through the air, piercing through layers of mist, slashing straight at the Slaughter Apostle.】

【However, at that very moment, your divine sense detected a bizarre movement from the Slaughter Apostle.】

【Facing your onslaught, the critically wounded Slaughter Apostle made no attempt to dodge. Instead, it remained in place and began praying to the red moon in the sky.】

【You sneered inwardly with a trace of disdain. Praying to the red moon at death’s door — could the red moon actually save it?】

【However, something you never expected happened…】

【The red moon actually intervened to save the Slaughter Apostle.】

【High above, the red moon emanated a faint crimson glow.】

【The red light drifted down like fine dust, sinking into the Slaughter Apostle’s body. In just a few breaths, the Slaughter Apostle’s injuries healed rapidly.】

【At the same time, the red moon in the sky flickered once more.】

【Several more beams of red light flashed, and the Slaughter Apostle’s aura surged ever higher…】

【In just a few breaths, the Slaughter Apostle’s aura surpassed the Emperor-level and reached the Saint-stage!】

【Then, before your shocked gaze, the Slaughter Apostle bared a savage grin and lunged at you.】

【With your current strength, you were confident you could fight evenly against even a late-stage Emperor-level powerhouse. But against a Saint-stage being, you were crushed overwhelmingly.】

【You desperately channeled your spiritual energy and activated Essence of Strength and Essence of Speed, but the vast gap in power meant you were utterly outmatched.】

【After just a few exchanges, your physical body began to collapse…】

【Your soul was offered as a sacrifice to the red moon by the Slaughter Apostle…】

【The red moon found your soul deeply repulsive and refused the sacrifice.】

【A look of terror crossed the Slaughter Apostle’s face as it annihilated your divine sense…】

【You died!】

【Your talent Die With Eyes Open activates…】

【You watched the Slaughter Apostle bow in worship toward the red moon. After a quarter hour, the Slaughter Apostle’s aura slowly receded… returning to the Emperor-level.】

【Ding, this simulation has ended!】

After the simulation ended, Su Xing let out a long breath, unable to hide the shock in his eyes.

“How could this be… In just a few breaths, the tables were completely turned?!”

Su Xing couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss.

The Three Thousand Worlds had been right before his eyes, yet he was suddenly and utterly defeated in a last-second reversal…

“The Slaughter Apostle… so it really can draw power from the red moon?”

“Based on the information I obtained before, that red moon should be some powerful deity trying to resurrect… and the Slaughter Apostle should be its emissary?”

“So… when faced with danger, the Slaughter Apostle received a power boost from the red moon, jumping directly from the Emperor-level to Saint-stage form!”

Su Xing murmured, and the thought made his teeth ache.

A Slaughter Apostle capable of reaching the Saint-stage at its peak — even if it could only borrow the Saint-stage form’s power for less than half an hour, that was far beyond what his current strength could contend with.

“What a shame… I originally thought I could slay that Slaughter Apostle. Now it seems the red moon won’t easily let the living beings on Earth leave!”

Su Xing pondered for a while.

If he wanted to defeat the Slaughter Apostle, he would likely need to comprehend the final chapter of the Three Talents Sword Art — the Heaven Sword chapter!

At that point, with the aid of Origin Force, Su Xing might be able to contend with the Slaughter Apostle in its Saint-stage form.

“Alternatively, if I reach the late Body Integration stage at the Perfection level, I should also be able to withstand the Slaughter Apostle in its Saint-stage form…”

Su Xing shook his head slightly. Regardless of which approach he took, both made it clear that his plan to reach the Three Thousand Worlds through the Slaughter Battlefield could not be accomplished anytime soon.

“It seems that if I want to reach the Three Thousand Worlds… I’ll have to take the path of submitting to the Advent Cult after all!”

Su Xing mulled it over.

“Having entered the Body Integration stage, if I combine that with the Dragonslayer talent, perhaps I can put up a fight against Old Dog Dragon… Then, by offering the spirit vein dragon, I should be able to leave this realm!”

Su Xing murmured.

“But for now, let’s focus on breaking through to the Body Integration stage first!”

Su Xing turned his gaze to this simulation’s rewards.

【Chess Grandmaster】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy points.

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

【Integration Stage, First Layer】: An early Body Integration stage cultivator begins to comprehend the power of the Great Dao. Understanding of the laws of heaven and earth becomes clearer, allowing one to more easily command the forces of heaven and earth. Price: 500,000,000 energy points.

【Micro Spirit-Gathering Formation (Minor Accomplishment)】: An astonishing formation created by Perfected One Myriad Wood that can accelerate cultivation, achieving an effect similar to enhancing one’s spirit root aptitude. At the Minor Mastery level of comprehension, one can arrange a fifth-tier excellent-quality micro spirit-gathering formation with effects comparable to a True Spirit Root. Price: 300,000,000 energy points.

【Spirit Vein Dragon (Juvenile)】: Born from the convergence of heaven and earth’s spirit veins, it is the foremost treasure on the ranking of acquired supreme treasures. Possessing spiritual sentience, there is less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance of one being born even from a supreme-grade spirit vein. Price: 5,000,000 origin energy points.