Chapter 229 – Comprehending the Heaven Sword Art, Battle Against Old Dog Dragon Again!

Su Xing shook his head slightly.

He didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect toward cultivators who had lived for thousands of years in an era of depleted spiritual energy.

After all, the fact that they could cultivate to such a realm in this Age of Dharma Decline was itself proof of their extraordinary nature!

“But whether I can beat him or not, I won’t know until I actually fight!”

“Even if I can’t win, there’s no real loss… at worst, I’ll just run one or two more simulations to boost my strength!”

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

“After breaking through to the Body Integration stage, beyond the realm advancement itself… cultivating the Heaven Sword chapter is what will boost my combat power the most!”

Su Xing hadn’t forgotten that mastering the Three Talents Sword Art to its ultimate level could make one a Sword Immortal.

It was only because his Great Dao perception had been insufficient that he’d been unable to cultivate the final chapter of the Three Talents Sword Art—the Heaven Sword chapter!

Now that he had broken through to the Body Integration stage, Su Xing’s comprehension of the forces of heaven, earth, and nature had greatly improved, so he could naturally attempt cultivating the Heaven Sword chapter!

【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you realized you were in a simulation.】

【Over the next ten days, you stayed in the spirit field grotto-heaven, accumulating the Great Wisdom state enhancement.】

【After ten days, you set out for the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】

In the Real World, Su Xing nodded at what he saw and murmured:

“Not bad… now that I’m at the Body Integration stage, the Thousand Blazing Flame Art has reached its limit with no further path… only by cultivating the Heaven-tier Myriad Blazing Flame Art can I continue advancing my cultivation!”

“And I’ve already memorized more than half of the Myriad Blazing Flame Art’s contents… I expect that after this simulation, I’ll be able to fully comprehend this Heaven-tier technique!”

Su Xing thought to himself.

As a Heaven-tier technique, the Myriad Blazing Flame Art was sufficient to cultivate all the way to the Immortal realm. Su Xing wouldn’t need to worry about having no realms left to break through for a very long time.

“Activate the immersive simulation function, duration twenty-four hours!”

【You have successfully activated immersive… remaining energy: 1,762,430,000 points…】

As the simulator’s notification faded, the scene before Su Xing’s eyes shifted, and he appeared in the great hall of the Luotian Sect.

…

After completing the familiar quest sequence, Su Xing didn’t waste any time and headed straight to the fifth floor of the Scripture Pavilion to memorize the Heaven-tier technique, the Myriad Blazing Flame Art.

Soon, the immersive simulation ended, and Su Xing returned to the Real World.

“Not bad. I’ve memorized most of the Myriad Blazing Flame Art… I just need one more immersive simulation to commit the entire technique to memory!”

Su Xing nodded with satisfaction and turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After leaving the Luotian Assembly dungeon, you returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven and began attempting to cultivate the Heaven Sword chapter of the Three Talents Sword Art.】

【After cultivating for some time, you went to meet Luo Shuying as arranged, and under Luo Shuying’s guidance, you joined the Advent Cult.】

【After joining the Advent Cult, thanks to the Self-Help Guru talent, you quickly won over a large number of devoted followers.】

【You naturally became a Protector of the Transhuman Faction and began your daily pill refining routines.】

【Each day, aside from refining pills, you also provided some pills to Luo Shuying to help improve her strength.】

【In the second year, you found time to visit the Luotian Assembly dungeon once more.】

“Activate immersive…”

【You have successfully activated immersive simulation, remaining energy: 1,760,030,000 points…】

…

Soon, the immersive simulation time ended—only a few seconds had passed in the Real World.

Su Xing returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven with a satisfied expression.

“Excellent! I’ve now completely memorized the entire Myriad Blazing Flame Art…”

“Next, I just need to switch to cultivating the Heaven-tier technique to advance my cultivation within the Body Integration stage!”

Su Xing rubbed his chin.

According to what Ghost Granny had previously said, the Thousand Blazing Flame Art and the Myriad Blazing Flame Art shared the same lineage.

Switching to the Myriad Blazing Flame Art would be considerably easier for Su Xing, and it shouldn’t waste much time…

He turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After leaving the Luotian Assembly dungeon, you returned to the Advent Cult.】

【Over the following days, you continued busying yourself with pill refining and comprehending the Heaven Sword Art.】

【And so, another year passed.】

【In the third year, the pills you had accumulated numbered over two hundred thousand, but you had no intention of defecting from the Advent Cult. Instead, you planned to continue operating undercover within the organization.】

【You secretly left the Advent Cult, concealed your heavenly secrets, disguised yourself and suppressed your aura, then handed over the two years’ worth of refined pills to Lu Yuanwu.】

【Afterward, you returned to the Advent Cult headquarters without worry, having attracted no attention whatsoever.】

【In the days that followed, you focused on cultivating diligently while also working to expand your influence within the cult.】

【Cultivating the Heaven Sword chapter proved even more difficult than you had imagined.】

【Its opening passage explained that the Heaven Sword chapter was no mortal swordsmanship… even those with outstanding sword aptitude would require no less than a hundred years to achieve entry-level mastery.】

【Of course, for someone like you who possessed the Innate Sword Physique, the word “outstanding” was hardly sufficient to describe your aptitude for the Sword Dao.】

【Through day after day of studying the Heaven Sword Art, your swordsmanship advanced at a remarkable pace.】

【In the fourth year, your reputation within the Advent Cult grew ever higher. Of the tens of thousands of cult members, at least half wished to serve under you.】

【Some members privately discussed their hope that you would become a faction leader within the Advent Cult, or establish an entirely new faction of your own.】

【You neither suppressed nor responded to these discussions.】

【You simply let the talk ferment, waiting for the day when it could be used to your advantage and play a pivotal role.】

【And so, you continued your study of the Heaven Sword chapter as two more years slowly passed…】

【In the sixth year, as you continued studying the Heaven Sword Art, you gradually uncovered the profound mysteries of the Three Talents Sword Art.】

【The Earth Sword chapter represented a preliminary mastery of the forces of heaven and earth, the ability to borrow those forces to empower oneself, and thereby achieve a glimpse of Origin Force.】

【The Heaven Sword chapter built upon that foundation with even deeper cultivation.】

【If one could cultivate the Heaven Sword to Perfection, it would point directly to the fundamental root of the Sword Dao!】

In the Real World, Su Xing gazed at the simulation text before him, deep in thought.

“The Heaven Sword chapter is different from the previous two chapters… it’s divided into four parts.”

“Momentum, Qi, Strength, and Speed!”

“Momentum refers to Sword Momentum… it is the unwavering, death-defying spirit of a sword cultivator! And beyond that, it is the mastery of sword techniques and sword momentum refined to the point of returning to simplicity!”

“Qi means using the sword in hand to ignite the qi within one’s heart and the spiritual energy within one’s body… it is the technique of releasing sword qi to strike enemies from afar, and even more, it is the indomitable spirit within a sword cultivator’s heart!”

“Strength… all swordsmanship under heaven is meant to cut through anything. Even in the pursuit of the sword’s ultimate peak, one cannot abandon the most fundamental element of strength! This seems to be the very Essence of Strength!”

“And speed… naturally refers to the Essence of Speed I previously comprehended. One slash of the sword, not a drop of blood touching the blade—ultimate speed is also ultimate swordsmanship!”

Su Xing slowly recalled the explanations of the Heaven Sword chapter in his mind, a dawning understanding forming in his heart.

“The four parts of the Heaven Sword chapter seem to point directly at the fundamental essence of the Sword Dao… if one could unify all four, could it mean entering the Dao through the sword and achieving the status of Sword Immortal?”

Su Xing’s eyes lit up as the path ahead for sword cultivation became increasingly clear.

Su Xing currently walked three paths: Qi Refinement, Body Tempering, and sword cultivation…

Of these, Qi Refinement was the most versatile in style, with spiritual energy holding boundless mysteries.

Body Tempering meant forging one’s own body, pursuing ultimate power and speed, and possessing a physical form far surpassing cultivators of the same realm.

Sword cultivation was the pursuit of ultimate lethality!

Each of these three paths was formidable in its own right.

Since Su Xing had already invested so much effort cultivating all three paths, he naturally wasn’t willing to easily abandon any one of them.

“Next, let me first achieve entry-level mastery of the Heaven Sword chapter…”

“If I can cultivate the Heaven Sword chapter to Minor Mastery, even a late-stage Body Integration cultivator probably wouldn’t be a match for me!”

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

【Through your cultivation of the Heaven Sword chapter, your progress in swordsmanship was rapid.】

【In the seventh year, with the enhancement of your Innate Sword Physique, you finally achieved entry-level mastery of the Heaven Sword chapter. Such speed could be called unprecedented in the world!】

【After achieving entry-level mastery of the Heaven Sword chapter, you discovered that you could fluidly incorporate the Essence of Strength and the Essence of Speed into your swordsmanship.】

【At merely the entry level, the power of your swordsmanship had already more than doubled compared to before!】

【This strengthened your conviction that if you could cultivate the Heaven Sword chapter to Minor Mastery, an early-stage Body Integration cultivator could fight against a late-stage Body Integration cultivator!】

【And so, in the time that followed, aside from maintaining your position within the Advent Cult, you trained even harder in the Heaven Sword Art, integrating your insights into Origin Force into your swordsmanship.】

【In the eighth year, Luo Shuying successfully broke through to Mid-stage Legendary, firmly establishing herself as the strongest among the Protectors.】

【Moreover, thanks to your deliberate maneuvering, you and Luo Shuying’s standing within the Advent Cult grew ever higher.】

【Many followers even began disregarding the faction leaders’ orders, choosing instead to follow yours and Luo Shuying’s commands.】

【This bred resentment in the Transhuman Faction leader toward you.】

【But you couldn’t have cared less, because in your plans, it was only a matter of time before you replaced the Transhuman Faction leader entirely.】

【Thus, another three years passed.】

【In the eleventh year, your comprehension of the Heaven Sword chapter deepened further, and your swordsmanship’s power increased several-fold compared to when you first began.】

【The Transhuman Faction leader’s hatred toward you grew ever more intense, and he nearly came to blows with you on several occasions.】

【Meanwhile, the Zealot Faction leader, having been secretly promised benefits by you, gradually began siding with you.】

【Thus, another three years passed.】

【In the fourteenth year, as you continued comprehending the Heaven Sword chapter, you gradually hit a minor bottleneck.】

【Though this bottleneck wouldn’t prevent you from continuing to comprehend the sword art, it still required time to work through.】

【Facing this bottleneck, you remained unhurried, starting from the very beginning once more, polishing your swordsmanship over and over as if you were practicing the sword for the very first time.】

【Through day after day of practice, you gained new insights into the Sword Dao.】

【In the fifteenth year, your standing within the Advent Cult was at its zenith.】

【Several Protectors, Luo Shuying included, were on good terms with you and were even willing to follow your orders.】

【The Zealot Faction leader was also secretly willing to cooperate, and even subtly suggested that faction leadership should go to the most capable.】

【You gave no overt response to this, but you knew in your heart that the time was ripe—all that was missing was the right opportunity.】

【In the sixteenth year, the opportunity you had been waiting for finally arrived.】

【A gap in intelligence led to a failed mission, implicating several Heavenly Kings and dozens of Grandmaster-stage followers.】

【The Transhuman Faction leader flew into a rage and moved to execute them all on the spot.】

【Watching the faction leader’s fury, every officer in the Advent Cult seethed in silence, too afraid to speak up.】

【And at that moment, you stepped forward. You declared outright that the mission’s failure was due to inadequate intelligence work, took the blame upon yourself, and offered to accept punishment in place of those subordinates.】

【The Transhuman Faction leader was instantly enraged by your words. In the end, he lashed his whip straight at you.】

【He declared that he was the faction leader, and you were merely a Protector—you had no right to speak to him that way.】

【To successfully carry out the bitter stratagem, you took the lash without flinching. Though the blow inflicted no real damage on you, you forced a mouthful of blood from your throat all the same.】

【At that, even the Zealot Faction leader couldn’t stand by any longer. He hadn’t expected the Transhuman Faction leader to actually strike so viciously, and he joined the surrounding officers in condemning him.】

【The Transhuman Faction leader grew even more furious, gripping his whip and moving to strike you again.】

【At the critical moment, Luo Shuying intervened, blocking the whip.】

【This made the Transhuman Faction leader angrier still. He felt betrayed and moved to kill Luo Shuying on the spot.】

【And that was when you made your move!】

【Before all the senior leaders and officers, you issued a formal challenge to the Transhuman Faction leader.】

【And you laid bare every mistake he had made over the years!】

【The Transhuman Faction leader naturally accepted the challenge. Unaware of your true strength, he wanted nothing more than to kill you where you stood.】

【In the end, you suppressed your power and fought the Transhuman Faction leader for hundreds of rounds, slaying him at the cost of appearing “gravely wounded”—and claimed the position of faction leader!】

【News of the Transhuman Faction leader’s death quickly reached Protector Dragon. He came personally to investigate, a faint anger simmering beneath his composure.】

【Because of your Dragonslayer talent, Protector Dragon had always harbored a subtle hostility and irritation toward you.】

【But the will of the people was clear. Every last follower and officer, including the Zealot Faction leader, spoke in your defense.】

【In the end, the matter was dropped. You received no punishment whatsoever and officially became the Transhuman Faction leader!】

In the Real World, Su Xing looked at the simulation text before him, a strange expression in his eyes.

“Well, well… I never expected that in this simulation, I’d end up playing the role of a double agent.”

“To bring down the Transhuman Faction leader… I not only endured humiliation, I even resorted to a bitter stratagem…”

Su Xing nodded slightly. Though the process had been winding, the outcome was satisfying.

Now that he’d become a faction leader, his status within the cult had risen significantly. Perhaps if he encountered the mysterious figure again, he could actually hold a conversation as an equal?

“Next… I need to find a way to obtain the spirit vein dragon, then offer it to the mysterious figure… Perhaps that will earn me a transit pass to leave Earth!”

Su Xing took a deep breath.

His plan for this simulation, aside from increasing his strength, was to further explore methods of reaching the Three Thousand Worlds.

The plan he’d come up with was to trade the spirit vein dragon to the mysterious figure in exchange for a transit pass.

However, to accomplish this, he would first need to get past Old Dog Dragon…

“Or perhaps… could a branch of the Fusang Divine Tree be traded to the mysterious figure for a transit pass?”

Su Xing shook his head slightly. He wasn’t sure about that.

To be safe, trading the spirit vein dragon was more appropriate.

If he couldn’t defeat Old Dog Dragon, he could always use the Fusang Divine Tree branch as a bargaining chip later.

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

【In the seventeenth year, you had already become the Transhuman Faction leader, and your prestige within the cult was at its absolute peak.】

【Under these circumstances, you devoted yourself to diligent daily cultivation of the Heaven Sword Art.】

【But your cultivation of the Heaven Sword Art had entered deep waters, and every sliver of progress came with difficulty.】

【Thus, another three years passed.】

【In the twentieth year, your comprehension of the Heaven Sword Art advanced further, and reaching Minor Mastery-level was no longer far off.】

【With five years remaining until the world’s destruction, you resolved to seize this final window to train your swordsmanship further.】

【Thus, another three years passed.】

【In the twenty-third year, you were just one step away from reaching Minor Mastery in the Heaven Sword Art.】

【You knew in your heart that to cross this threshold, you couldn’t rely solely on hard training—you needed to battle against the strong!】

【Moreover, with less than two years remaining before the apocalypse, and fearing you might run out of time, you headed for the Myriad Wood Sect ruins.】

【You entered the Myriad Wood Sect ruins and, without much effort, slew Perfected One Myriad Wood.】

【Afterward, you released the spirit dragon, claimed Perfected One Myriad Wood’s treasures, and stored everything within the spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【When the spirit dragon appeared, its unique aura was detected by Protector Dragon.】

【You knew that while the monk might escape, the temple never could. To achieve your goal, you would have to fight Protector Dragon once more!】

【And so you ceased hiding, simply waiting in stillness for Protector Dragon’s arrival, adjusting your condition to its peak.】

In the Real World, Su Xing felt a faint surge of anticipation.

“Body Integration-stage power, combined with the Dragonslayer’s fifty percent damage bonus… can it kill Old Dog Dragon?!”

His gaze fell on the simulation panel.

【Half a day later, Protector Dragon’s aura appeared within the range of your divine sense.】

【Upon seeing you, Protector Dragon visibly froze—clearly, he hadn’t expected you to be here.】

【Protector Dragon was certain that you carried the spirit dragon’s aura, and demanded you hand over the Spirit Vein Dragon.】

【Both of you knew full well that the Spirit Vein Dragon could be exchanged for the sole transit pass to survival. Naturally, you would not hand it over easily.】

【And so, battle erupted!】

【With a thought, the terrifying cultivation of the Body Integration stage surged forth from within you in an instant.】

【With another thought, you hurled a devastating Spirit Burst at Protector Dragon.】

【At first sight of the Spirit Burst, Protector Dragon showed a hint of contempt—but his Dragon Race bloodline instinct quickly triggered a warning.】

【Without further hesitation, Protector Dragon summoned his true dragon form…】

【A terrifying black dragon, its body stretching a thousand zhang and winding like a great river, appeared above the clouds. Its aura was enough to make one’s heart tremble.】

【But you showed not the slightest panic. The Dragonslayer talent allowed you to ignore the Dragon Race bloodline’s suppressive pressure on humans, and could even turn it around, making the opponent feel a faint sense of dread.】

【That mass of Spirit Burst slammed directly into Protector Dragon’s body. The terrifying spiritual energy of the Body Integration stage, combined with the Dragonslayer talent’s fifty percent damage bonus—】

【A single strike was enough to shatter Protector Dragon’s scales, inflicting serious injuries.】

【Protector Dragon was alarmed. After all, he was originally a sixth-layer Primordial Unity realm cultivator, just one step away from the late stage of the Primordial Unity realm.】

【Coupled with the Dragon Race’s terrifying physical defense in true form, his durability was absolutely comparable to a ninth-layer Primordial Unity realm cultivator!】

【And yet, under a single attack from you, he was seriously wounded?】