Chapter 249 – Body Integration Perfection, Heavenly Thunder Physique Advancement! (10,000 Words, Two-in-One)

In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and did some quick calculations.

“Second and Third Rank exotic metals, total value of 16 billion energy, plus dungeon items and various low-rank equipment… the final total value should be somewhere between 25 and 30 billion energy!”

At this thought, Su Xing’s eyes lit up.

This proved that establishing the puppet organization was truly viable!

Just by trading with the major trading companies, he could earn 20 to 30 billion energy within three months!

By comparison, the energy the Tarot Society brought Su Xing was only a tenth of what this organization could produce!

“Tsk tsk, and this is only from the organization’s early days… once its reputation spreads, the energy gains will probably be even greater!”

Su Xing’s heart pounded with excitement.

He was satisfied with the returns from this plan.

“But the question is, how much risk does this plan carry?”

“If the risk is unbearable… no matter how high the returns, it can’t be executed!”

Su Xing murmured, his gaze turning back to the simulation panel.

【After recalling the ten scattered puppets, you discovered that several of the Heavenly King-stage puppets had sustained varying degrees of damage.】

【You repaired them one by one and placed them in the spirit field grotto-heaven to recharge.】

【In the blink of an eye, one year passed.】

【In the second year, you stayed within the Advent Cult, continuing to refine pills, and made time to visit the Luo Tian dungeon in between.】

【You began dispatching the ten puppets for a second time, providing them with double the trade goods compared to before.】

【Three months later, nine puppets returned, but one puppet had gone missing, its whereabouts unknown.】

【You learned that the missing puppet’s trading partner was the Pearl Trading Company in Magic Capital.】

【So you dispatched Perfected One Myriad Wood to investigate in secret.】

【You learned that the Pearl Trading Company had sent one Martial Sovereign and three Heavenly King-stage powerhouses to capture the Nascent Soul puppet, subjecting it to interrogation in hopes of uncovering the secrets of the so-called “Celestial Secrets Pavilion.”】

【You were furious at this, and spared no expense in consuming ten thousand drops of spirit liquid to have Perfected One Myriad Wood take action, killing the Martial Sovereign and all three Heavenly Kings, and rescuing the Nascent Soul puppet.】

【After this battle, the name of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion thoroughly intimidated all the trading companies.】

【In all subsequent trades, no puppet of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was ever harmed again.】

Su Xing nodded slightly at this.

Those trading companies put profit first and naturally bullied the weak while fearing the strong. As long as you demonstrated real power, they could be deterred.

But what Su Xing cared about wasn’t this—it was whether Old Dog Dragon would find out, which might put Blood Three on alert.

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

【In the third year, your status within the Advent Cult continued to rise.】

【You handed over the pills you had refined over the past two years to Xia’s military, adding numerous powerful fighters to the human race.】

【At the same time, you also had more time to focus on improving your Qi Refinement cultivation.】

【In the fourth year, you learned that Old Dog Dragon had issued an order to investigate a secret organization called the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.】

【Hearing this news, your heart tightened. Sure enough, the existence of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion had drawn Old Dog Dragon’s attention.】

【But you weren’t clear whether Blood Three, far away in the Three Thousand Worlds, had learned of this news, or what his thoughts might be.】

【To be safe, you temporarily suspended the trading operations of eight puppets, leaving only Perfected One Myriad Wood and Little White to trade with the major companies.】

【Just like that, another two years passed.】

【In the sixth year, you consumed several million drops of low-grade spirit liquid, raising your cultivation to the mid-phase of the eighth layer of Body Integration.】

【As your cultivation grew ever higher, your cultivation speed also slowed down.】

【In the seventh year, Little White returned gravely wounded. You learned he had been ambushed by the leader of the Zealot Faction, but had ultimately managed to escape.】

【You recalled Little White to the spirit field grotto-heaven. That same year, you orchestrated the elimination of the Transhuman Faction’s leader and took his place.】

【At the same time, through years of studying the mysterious branch, you had gained a preliminary understanding of the Essence of Wood and the Essence of Fire.】

【In the eighth year, you orchestrated the elimination of Old Dog Dragon, successfully removing the last obstacle within Earth’s Advent Cult.】

【Over the next two years, you devoted yourself to cultivation and contemplation of the Essence of Wood and the Essence of Fire.】

【In the tenth year, your comprehension of the Essence of Fire finally reached the Beginner level.】

【Knowing that Blood Three would arrive the following year, you hid the puppets in the Myriad Wood Sect ruins in advance.】

【In the eleventh year, Blood Three arrived. You presented the treasure tree branch and successfully gained Blood Three’s trust.】

【At the same time, Blood Three inquired about intelligence regarding the Celestial Secrets Pavilion…】

【Your heart tightened, but outwardly you remained composed.】

【You stated that the Thousand Mysteries Pavilion was very mysterious—they only conducted trades with various major companies, providing some low-rank items for cultivators in exchange for large quantities of exotic metals, equipment, and so on.】

【After hearing this, a strange light flashed in Blood Three’s eyes, and he muttered words like “Celestial Secrets,” “Thousand Mysteries”…】

【Blood Three told you not to confront the Celestial Secrets Pavilion directly, but to observe them in secret. If the Celestial Secrets Pavilion made any major moves, you were to inform him immediately.】

【You realized that Blood Three had perhaps misunderstood something, but you were happy to let it be.】

【After Blood Three departed, you recalled the puppets and the Spirit Vein Dragon to the spirit field grotto-heaven and continued your studies as planned.】

【At this point, you were the Chief of the Advent Cult on Earth, and had no worries whatsoever that the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s secret would be leaked to Blood Three…】

Su Xing looked at the simulation text before him and raised an eyebrow.

“Thousand Mysteries Pavilion… Celestial Secrets Pavilion?”

“Could it be that Blood Three mistakenly believes the Celestial Secrets Pavilion is a subordinate organization secretly dispatched to Earth by the Thousand Mysteries Pavilion?”

Su Xing pondered thoughtfully.

“Who would have thought that a casually chosen name would actually serve to intimidate the mountain by shaking the tiger… making the Advent Cult afraid to act rashly!”

“From the looks of it, as long as the Celestial Secrets Pavilion operates carefully and doesn’t reveal any major flaws, it could bring me enormous returns!”

Su Xing was quite satisfied with this outcome.

But as for the specific risks going forward, Su Xing would need to probe further in future simulations.

“So next, I need to focus all my efforts on raising my strength, and advance to Body Integration Great Perfection as quickly as possible…”

Su Xing murmured, looking at the simulation panel.

【After Blood Three left, the greatest threat to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was temporarily averted. You continued to have the Celestial Secrets Pavilion trade with the major companies, watching for any hidden risks.】

【In the twelfth year, your cultivation reached the Peak of the eighth layer of Body Integration, and you began preparing to break through to the ninth layer of Body Integration.】

【You prepared five hundred thousand drops of mid-grade spirit liquid and began your breakthrough attempt.】

【Half a year later, you successfully emerged from seclusion, advancing to the ninth layer of Body Integration!】

【In the thirteenth year, you traveled to the Beast Taming World ruins and eliminated all the Legendary demon beasts, as well as those three Demon Emperors.】

【In the fourteenth year, you suddenly received a message from Blood Three. He inquired why the foreign races in the Beast Taming World had died so quickly.】

【He also asked whether the Celestial Secrets Pavilion had made any unusual moves during this period.】

【You stated that the Celestial Secrets Pavilion had shown no unusual activity, and that you were unaware of the specific situation in the Beast Taming World.】

【Blood Three was very displeased with your answer. He stated that he would find time to make another trip to Earth.】

【Hearing this, you were inwardly alarmed, and hid several puppets back inside the Myriad Wood Sect ruins.】

【In the fifteenth year, you took out a Supreme Spirit Awakening Pill and accumulated one month’s worth of Great Wisdom state enhancement, preparing to push the Protective Sword Aura to Major Mastery.】

In the Real World, Su Xing saw this and silently recited:

“Use immersive simulation, duration thirty days…”

【Ding, you have successfully used immersive… remaining energy: 265,530,000 points.】

As the notification fell, the view before Su Xing’s eyes shifted and transformed.

“Huu… currently, the number of sword auras is three hundred and twenty-four. In one month’s time, I need to reach three hundred and sixty sword auras to achieve Major Mastery!”

Su Xing murmured, then took out the Spirit Awakening Pill and swallowed it, immediately beginning to comprehend the Protective Sword Aura.

Under the dual enhancement of the Spirit Awakening Pill and the Great Wisdom state, one month of comprehension surpassed ten ordinary years!

In the first ten days, Su Xing comprehended a total of sixteen sword auras, bringing the total number of Protective Sword Auras to three hundred and forty.

By the twentieth day, the number of sword auras Su Xing had comprehended reached three hundred and fifty-two!

But as the number of sword auras continued to increase, Su Xing also began to feel the strain.

On the twenty-eighth day, Su Xing successfully mastered three hundred and sixty sword auras.

Su Xing’s mastery of the Protective Sword Aura had finally stepped into the Major Mastery level!

“There are still two days left—can’t let them go to waste…”

Su Xing murmured, then took out several jade slips containing records of commonly used cultivator techniques, and began studying them.

…

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

“Three hundred and sixty Protective Sword Auras, successfully mastered!”

“So next, it’s time to wait for the chance to enter the Amalgamated Beast’s belly and seek out the Major Mastery opportunity!”

The corner of Su Xing’s mouth curled slightly upward, his mood somewhat excited.

“I just don’t know when Blood Three will return to Earth… before then, I shouldn’t raise my strength too quickly, otherwise drawing Blood Three’s attention would be bad!”

Su Xing’s gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【In the sixteenth year, you relied only on ambient spiritual energy and spirit stones for cultivation, and began stockpiling spirit liquid.】

【Just like that, five years passed quickly…】

【In the twenty-first year, one day you performed a divination and calculated that a calamity would befall you within seven days.】

【Your heart immediately tightened, knowing that Blood Three was perhaps about to descend upon Earth.】

【So you hid the Spirit Vein Dragon, the Spirit-Gathering Flowers, and everything else inside the Myriad Wood Sect ruins.】

【Sure enough, seven days later, Blood Three arrived and inquired about intelligence on the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.】

【You stated that the Celestial Secrets Pavilion had not made any major moves in recent years.】

【Blood Three nodded slightly and personally made a trip to the Beast Taming World to investigate the situation.】

【Fortunately, over a decade had passed, and the traces from that time had nearly vanished. Blood Three did not suspect you.】

【After emerging from the Beast Taming World dungeon, Blood Three departed from Earth.】

【Once Blood Three left, you retrieved the Spirit-Gathering Flowers and the Spirit Vein Dragon back to the spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【And so, the next three years passed without incident.】

【In the twenty-fourth year, your cultivation successfully reached the mid-phase of the ninth layer of Body Integration.】

【You had accumulated hundreds of thousands of drops of mid-grade spirit liquid and millions of drops of low-grade spirit liquid, preparing to rapidly advance your cultivation.】

【Through tedious closed-door cultivation, another two years passed…】

【In the twenty-sixth year, your cultivation reached the late-phase of the ninth layer of Body Integration.】

【You continued daily cultivation, tempering your spiritual energy, steadily advancing toward Body Integration Perfection.】

【And so, two years passed.】

【In the twenty-eighth year, a Demon Saint descended upon Demon-Sealing Pass.】

【You repeated your old strategy, suppressing your strength, and after each battle with the Demon Saint, both sides would be severely wounded.】

【Five years slowly passed—these were the most peaceful five years for Demon-Sealing Pass.】

【In the thirty-third year, your cultivation finally reached the Peak of the ninth layer of Body Integration.】

【That year, the Demon Saint sensed something was amiss and departed from Demon-Sealing Pass.】

【That same year, you began preparing to break through to Body Integration Perfection.】

【You prepared three hundred thousand drops of mid-grade spirit liquid and one million drops of low-grade spirit liquid, and officially entered closed-door cultivation for the breakthrough.】

【Half a year later, your breakthrough failed, and you remained stuck at the Peak of the ninth layer of Body Integration.】

【But you neither grew impatient nor discouraged. You continued to temper your realm and spiritual energy, stockpiling spirit liquid, and awaited the next breakthrough attempt.】

【Six years slowly passed…】

【In the thirty-ninth year, you once again prepared sufficient spirit liquid and attempted the final push toward Body Integration Perfection.】

【This time, you succeeded!】

【Congratulations, you have successfully broken through to Body Integration Great Perfection!】

【Year Forty. You know that this year, Demon-Sealing Pass will inevitably be destroyed.】

【So you hesitate no longer, leaving Demon-Sealing Pass and returning to Earth.】

【Sure enough, several months later, intelligence arrives confirming that Demon-Sealing Pass has been destroyed.】

【That same year, the Amalgamated Beast invades, swallowing the entirety of Great Xia in a single gulp.】

【You raise your Protective Hardened Qi and enter the Amalgamated Beast’s dungeon space.】

【Mountains, rivers, vegetation — all life before your eyes gradually dissolves into nothingness.】

【But thanks to your own cultivation and the protection of your Protective Hardened Qi, you remain unharmed.】

【You search for traces of a large-scale thunder zone.】

【Several hours later, you discover a vast thunder zone.】

【Without any hesitation, you enter this zone.】

【Six-chi-wide bolts of lightning, terrifying as coiling dragons, surge toward you.】

【You raise your Protective Sword Aura and firmly block this bolt of lightning.】

【Threads of electricity, laced with the Essence of Lightning, continuously temper your physical body. Amid the refinement of this thunder, you feel waves of searing pain.】

【But this Essence of Lightning can only wound you, and under the effect of your Cockroach talent, your injuries recover rapidly…】

【Under the body-tempering of the Essence of Lightning, you inch closer and closer to your limit.】

【At the same time, your Heavenly Thunder Physique gradually approaches Stage 2.】

【Your comprehension of the Essence of Lightning deepens steadily…】

In the real world, Su Xing saw this and let out a breath of relief.

“Just as I thought — the Protective Sword Aura can completely block most of the lightning… and what’s left is just enough for me to temper my body and break through my limit!”

According to Su Xing’s estimation, three hundred and sixty layers of Protective Sword Aura should provide defensive power roughly equivalent to a cultivator who had just entered the Tribulation Crossing realm.

The lightning within the large thunder zones still fell short of a true Thunder Tribulation in terms of power.

So Su Xing should be able to block it with ease.

“Then what comes next is steady body-tempering, achieving Heavenly Thunder Physique Stage 2, and breaking through my limit…”

Su Xing felt a surge of anticipation as his gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【One bolt… three bolts… five bolts…】

【Terrifying bolts of lightning, ferocious as coiling dragons, continuously temper your physical body.】

【And you inch ever closer to your limit… you can feel your Heavenly Thunder Physique undergoing some kind of metamorphosis.】

【After a long time, this thunder zone dissipates, and you feel your strength has advanced by a great leap.】

【You don’t hesitate, and begin searching for the next large thunder zone…】

【And so, three days and three nights pass.】

【You pass through six large thunder zones in succession. You can feel that during this process, your comprehension of the Essence of Lightning has reached the introductory level.】

【What delights you even more is that your Essence of Lightning has broken into Stage 2, and you are only one final step away from breaking through your limit and achieving Body Refining Grand Accomplishment!】

【At this moment, the space within this void grows increasingly unstable, with chaotic spatial currents appearing everywhere.】

【You carefully avoid these currents while searching for the final large thunder zone.】

【At last, several hours later, you step into the final thunder zone.】

【Terrifying lightning surges toward you once more, continuously tempering your physical body…】

【One bolt… two bolts… five bolts!】

【You withstand a full eight bolts of lightning!】

【Finally, on the ninth bolt, you feel the barrier of your physical body shatter.】

【Your power surges explosively in that instant!】

【Your Heavenly Thunder Physique also completes its breakthrough in that very moment, successfully advancing to Stage 2!】

【The thunder zone slowly dissipates… and you discover with astonishment that you have become a Body Refining Grand Accomplishment cultivator!】

【And so, you attempt to traverse the chaotic spatial currents of the void…】

【You raise your Protective Sword Aura and cross the void with the power of your physical body.】

【Your Protective Sword Aura holds through three waves of spatial chaos…】

【You are torn to shreds by the fourth wave of spatial chaos…】

【You have died!】

【This simulation has ended!】

Su Xing gazed at the simulation text before him, a gleam of sharp light flashing through his eyes.

“Body Refining Grand Accomplishment — just like that!?”

Su Xing took a deep breath, feeling as though it had all come too suddenly.

“It seems the Protective Sword Aura is even more powerful than I imagined!”

“To have achieved Body Refining Grand Accomplishment so smoothly!”

Su Xing’s heart swelled with joy.

Yet he also knew that what he saw were merely cold lines of simulation text. The hardship within the simulation was something Su Xing could scarcely fathom.

“Well then — let’s see what rewards this simulation has to offer!”

With a thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the reward list.

【Immortal Brew Spirit Wine】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy points.

【Twenty Years of Alchemy Experience】: Upon redemption, existing alchemy insights increase by a small margin. Price: 10,000,000 energy points.

【Body Integration Perfection Cultivation】: A late-stage Body Integration cultivator, sensing the embryonic form of the Great Dao, comprehending the Origin Force… Price: 1,000,000,000 energy points.

【Essence of Wood Comprehension (Introductory)】: The foundational component of the Great Dao of Wood. Contains potent life force — gentle and nourishing, silent in its workings. Possesses the power to raise the dead and mend shattered bones, and can extend one’s lifespan. Price: 500,000,000 energy points.

【Essence of Fire Comprehension (Introductory)】: The foundational component of the Great Dao of Fire. Contains terrifying power, capable of amplifying the might of fire-element techniques. Price: 500,000,000 energy points.

【Essence of Thunder Comprehension (Introductory)】: The foundational component of the Great Dao of Thunder. Possesses terrifying destructive power. Deals bonus damage against evil spirits and demonic entities. Price: 500,000,000 energy points.

【Heavenly Thunder Physique (Stage 2)】: The second stage of the Heavenly Thunder Physique. Having been tempered by heavenly thunder and absorbing the Essence of Lightning to strengthen the body, this grants a massive increase in comprehension speed for the Essence of Lightning, enhances lightning spirit root purity, improves affinity with lightning spiritual energy, and slightly raises the upper limit of physical potential. Price: 1,000,000,000 energy points.

【Body Refining Grand Accomplishment Realm, First Layer】: The ultimate realm of mortal body refining cultivators. At Body Refining Grand Accomplishment, one can briefly traverse the void. Physical body strength surpasses imagination, possessing the power of twenty-five mountains. Price: 2,000,000,000 energy points.

In this simulation, Su Xing had made many attempts, and so the reward options were considerably more numerous.

“Body Refining Grand Accomplishment… the First Layer actually costs two billion energy!?”

Su Xing let out a sigh. As his cultivation advanced, the rate at which energy costs escalated far exceeded his imagination.

“It seems… establishing the Celestial Secrets Pavilion puppet organization is absolutely imperative! Otherwise, my future energy supply will be critically short… I might not even be able to advance my realm!”

Su Xing shook his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across the rewards one by one.

Normally, Su Xing would have chosen the Body Refining Grand Accomplishment cultivation without hesitation — after all, it would directly more than double his strength, approaching the power of twenty-five mountains!

But when Su Xing read the description of Heavenly Thunder Physique Stage 2, he found himself hesitating.

“The Heavenly Thunder Physique enhances spiritual energy sensitivity, improves Essence of Lightning comprehension… and can even raise the upper limit of physical potential!”

A thought stirred in Su Xing’s mind.

If he obtained the physique upgrade first and then broke through to Grand Accomplishment in the next round, wouldn’t he end up with even greater power!

“Hss… if that’s really the case, it might actually be worth waiting one more simulation cycle!”

Su Xing murmured to himself.

“In that case, Body Integration Perfection cultivation… paired with Heavenly Thunder Physique Stage 2 — that’s the most fitting choice!”

Su Xing decided.

“These two rewards cost a total of two billion energy. Once I complete the trade with Lu Yuanwu, I’ll have more than enough!”

At this thought, Su Xing could hardly wait. He began applying his disguise and concealing his aura, then set out to trade with Lu Yuanwu.

…

Half an hour later, Su Xing returned smoothly to the spirit field grotto-heaven.

“I choose Body Integration Great Perfection cultivation and Heavenly Thunder Physique Stage 2!”

Su Xing declared eagerly.

【Ding. You have successfully extracted Body Integration Perfection cultivation. Energy spent: 1,000,000,000 points. Remaining energy: 1,265,530,000 points.】

【You have successfully extracted Heavenly Thunder Physique (Stage 2). Energy spent: 1,000,000,000 points. Remaining energy: 265,530,000 points.】

As the simulator’s notification faded, two streams of profound and mysterious power surged into Su Xing’s body.

The first dramatic change was to Su Xing’s cultivation.

In merely a few breaths of time, Su Xing’s cultivation leaped across two levels.

From the eighth layer of the Body Integration stage, he broke straight through to Body Integration Great Perfection!

Throughout this process, Su Xing kept his mind focused and still, carefully adjusting to the massive fluctuations in his spiritual energy…

Moments later, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of golden light passed through them.

“Body Integration Great Perfection — the total amount of spiritual power within me has doubled again!”

“Right now, even without relying on any other means, the Lifespan-Burning Art alone would be enough for me to fight opponents above my level!”

No matter what, the advancement of Qi Refinement cultivation had always been the core priority.

After his cultivation breakthrough, Su Xing’s physical body also began to change rapidly.

A flash of lightning gleamed in Su Xing’s eyes, and then, faintly, surging thunder coiled around his physical form.

Su Xing felt his strength increase by another measure, but the most dramatic change was in his sensitivity to the lightning spiritual energy around him…

“Hss — Heavenly Thunder Physique Stage 2 has increased my spirit root sensitivity by at least twenty percent!”

Su Xing was overjoyed. Indeed, the advancement of the Heavenly Thunder Physique also brought an improvement to Su Xing’s innate aptitude!

This was actually no secret.

In the Three Thousand Worlds, beyond the commonly known spirit root types — mixed spirit root, True Spirit Root, Heavenly Spirit Root, Super Spirit Root, Ethereal Root, and others —

The other major factor affecting aptitude was the various rare physique constitutions.

Things like the Profound Yin Treasure Body, the Desolate Antiquity Sacred Body, the Great Dao Divine Body, and the like…

The importance of one’s physique constitution to aptitude was in no way inferior to spirit roots — it even surpassed them slightly!

Because these rare physique constitutions not only affected cultivation speed but could even enhance combat power!

“Excellent… it seems choosing the Heavenly Thunder Physique was the right call…”

“In future simulations, when I break through to Grand Accomplishment, the power boost it brings will be even more terrifying!”

Su Xing nodded with satisfaction.

After taking some time to appreciate the changes in his strength, Su Xing began the next week’s work.

“This week’s goal is to fully restore the Perfected One Myriad Wood puppet…”

“Then run a few more experiments in the simulation to assess the risks of establishing the Celestial Secrets Pavilion… and then I can start earning large amounts of energy!”

Su Xing murmured.

Though his rising strength meant there was almost nothing on Earth that could threaten him anymore, Su Xing still had to remain cautious about dangers from other worlds.

…

Soon, a week passed, and the date arrived at March 17th.

Su Xing was busy with the final stages of crafting the Perfected One Myriad Wood puppet.

He carefully injected the puppet core, then retrieved several dozen supreme-grade spirit stones and placed them inside.

Finally, Su Xing branded the puppet with his own soul imprint.

“Whew~ At last, it’s done!”

Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.

“Little Woody, do a somersault for your master!”

Su Xing tried issuing a command, and the Perfected One Myriad Wood puppet obediently did a somersault — looking rather comical in the process.

“Mm, not bad… Although it’s a puppet, because it was a living corpse before death and the body was well-preserved, its movements are no different from an ordinary person’s!”

Su Xing gave a slight nod.

This Perfected One Myriad Wood puppet represented an enormous investment of Su Xing’s effort and dedication.

Besides preserving Void Return Peak combat power within the puppet, Su Xing had also embedded a micro spirit-gathering formation inside it.

This way, Perfected One Myriad Wood could automatically absorb spiritual energy to recharge within the spirit field grotto-heaven, minimizing the consumption of spirit liquid and Spirit stones.

Moreover, Su Xing had two methods of controlling the puppet.

The first was through a soul imprint, seizing control of the puppet so that Su Xing could directly manipulate its actions.

However, this required Perfected One Myriad Wood to be within the range of Su Xing’s divine sense to work.

The second control method was issuing commands.

This kind of advanced puppet, while lacking true personality or consciousness, was capable of executing fairly complex commands.

For instance, Su Xing could send Perfected One Myriad Wood to conduct transactions on his behalf — not only could it complete trades smoothly, it could even haggle and negotiate prices, indistinguishable from a normal person…

“Sigh, the only pity is that once converted into a puppet, its cultivation is fixed…”

“To further increase a puppet’s combat power, unless my Dao of Puppetry advances enough to add higher-grade materials and metals… or I equip it with higher-grade magical treasures.”

Su Xing shook his head slightly. In this regard, ordinary puppets couldn’t compare with puppet cultivators.

After all, the upper limit for puppet cultivators was extremely high, while ordinary puppets had their ceiling essentially locked in place.

“Still, the strength is basically sufficient… Currently on Earth, the only one who can decisively overpower Myriad Wood is Old Dog Dragon…”

“As long as Old Dog Dragon doesn’t personally make a move, the Myriad Wood puppet is enough to deter any petty troublemakers!”

Now that Perfected One Myriad Wood was fully refined, the number of combat puppets at Su Xing’s disposal had reached ten.

Su Xing could now begin sending these puppets out to trade with various trading companies.

But before that, Su Xing planned to run one more simulation to probe for risks.

“Counting the time, it’s about time to meet up with Jin Congxue…”

Su Xing muttered, then began his routine disguise and aura concealment.

This time, Su Xing planned to go in person. After all, every date with Jin Congxue was one of his rare moments of relaxation.

Fifteen minutes later, Su Xing arrived at the Villa.

He saw Jin Congxue looking somewhat nervous and uneasy.

“Su Xing! Is that you?”

A flash of delighted surprise appeared in Jin Congxue’s eyes.

Su Xing smiled at the sight and said, “Of course it’s me… Why are you so nervous?”

Jin Congxue let out a long sigh of relief, patting her ample chest:

“Phew, you scared me… When that senior came to make the trade last time, I thought something had happened to you!”

Seeing that Jin Congxue was genuinely worried about him, Su Xing felt a touch of warmth in his heart.

“Don’t worry. With senior experts from the organization protecting me, what could possibly happen to me?”

Su Xing reassured her, then changed the subject.

“By the way, you met Senior White last time, right? What did you think of him?”

At this, Jin Congxue’s eyes turned solemn as she said:

“His strength was unfathomably deep… No wonder you can refine so many pills — so there’s been a mysterious expert behind you all along!”

“That Senior White must be at least a Martial Sovereign-stage powerhouse!”

As Jin Congxue said this, a hint of reverence appeared in her eyes.

A Martial Sovereign-level force was among the very top powerhouses in all of Great Xia and even on all of Earth!

Su Xing smiled without saying a word.

He couldn’t help but think: if Jin Congxue ever found out that the Su Xing she spent every day with was actually an existence surpassing the Emperor Peak — the true strongest human alive — what kind of scene would that be?

It would surely be quite amusing.

Just as Su Xing was lost in thought, a trace of worry appeared in Jin Congxue’s eyes, and she asked somewhat hesitantly:

“Su Xing… this mysterious organization you belong to — could it be something bad? Harboring some kind of unspeakable secret?”

Su Xing was momentarily stunned by Jin Congxue’s words, then quickly realized she was asking whether his organization was a heretical group that had “betrayed humanity.”

So Su Xing immediately replied in a serious tone:

“Don’t worry, Xue-jie. I promise you — the organization I belong to absolutely exists to protect humanity and revitalize the human race!”

“It’s just that due to certain special reasons, we can’t be known to the public… We can only fight against the foreign races from the shadows!”

“So please, you must keep this secret for me. Don’t tell anyone about me or the organization… not even your closest family!”

Seeing Su Xing’s solemn tone, Jin Congxue obediently nodded and said:

“Don’t worry, I won’t betray your trust!”

After Su Xing explained things to Jin Congxue, the two of them ate and chatted together, their feelings growing ever warmer.

When it was nearly time to leave, Jin Congxue handed over this week’s goods to Su Xing, and Su Xing in turn passed her fifty thousand Fasting Pills, saying:

“Here are fifty thousand pills. I’ll have to trouble you to apply for one more second-order exotic metal mining zone dungeon…”

Jin Congxue nodded and said, “Don’t worry, that’s what I should be doing!”

After Su Xing left, Jin Congxue looked at the ring in her hand and said with some self-reproach:

“Su Xing’s organization provides such important pills as Fasting Pills to Great Xia’s military — how could they possibly be traitors? Sigh, I really am a fool!”

…

Su Xing returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven and converted the new week’s goods into energy, gaining over 250 million more simulation energy.

And the following week, Su Xing’s incoming simulation energy would reach 300 million!

The Fasting Pills were flowing to Xia’s military, with Jin Congxue handling the transactions on his behalf.

Meanwhile, Su Xing himself was using Essence Nurturing Pills and Organ Tempering Pills to trade with Lu Yuanwu.

This might seem to carry some risk of being discovered, but in reality it didn’t.

Because on Earth, there were countless thousands of dungeons.

Among them, the items produced in dungeons included all manner of pills in endless variety, so it wasn’t easy for anyone to connect the dots.

As long as Su Xing didn’t sell Essence Nurturing Pills through the Tarot Society, Lu Yuanwu wouldn’t make the connection.

This was also the strategy Su Xing had established.

Items sold through other channels would never also be traded through the Tarot Society.

For example, the Longevity Pills from before… as well as future Talismans, high-grade pills, and weapons — Su Xing had no plans to sell these through the Tarot Society either.

Nowadays, the Tarot Society served more as a protective shield for Su Xing, as well as a channel for staying in contact with Jin Congxue and keeping informed about the outside world.

…

Time quickly reached the afternoon. With the cooldown period over, Su Xing prepared to start a new round of simulation.

“Begin simulation!”

【Ding! This simulation consumes 7,900 energy points. Remaining energy: 265,530,000 points. Remaining simulations: unlimited.】

【Simulation begins!】

【Drawing a purple talent costs 100,000 energy points. Drawing a gold legendary talent costs 1,000,000 energy points. Do you wish to draw?】

“Draw a gold-quality talent!”

Su Xing silently commanded.

【Ding, congratulations on obtaining the purple talent Geological Expert. Probability of drawing a gold talent next time: 50%…】

【Geological Expert】: Purple talent. You possess a special sensitivity to spirit veins and special mineral ores, allowing you to discover hidden spirit veins and special mineral ores with relative ease.

In the real world, Su Xing’s eyes lit up when he saw this talent.

“Oh… finally a useful talent drops!”

Though it was only a purple talent, it was perfectly suited for Su Xing.

Finding spirit veins would provide Su Xing with cultivation resources… and finding special mineral ores — wouldn’t that include exotic metals? That would bring Su Xing energy!

“I just don’t know how effective this talent actually is!”

“If I can really use this talent to find Spirit stones and exotic metals, that would be a massive gain!”

Su Xing could hardly wait to try it out. He turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you realize you are in a simulation.】

【You trade with Lu Yuanwu. Nothing unexpected occurs.】

【You hand Longevity Pills, high-grade talismans, and other items to several puppets, sending them to trade with various trading companies.】

【Ten days later, you make a trip to the Luo Tian dungeon.】

【Your puppet arts continue to improve, but remain at the Minor Mastery level.】

【Based on your estimation, Major Mastery-level puppet arts would already be terrifying — capable of refining puppets rivaling the Immortal realm.】

【But you still have a long way to go before reaching that goal.】

【With Luo Shuying’s introduction, you join the Advent Cult.】

【Over the next two years, you refine pills daily, consolidating your position within the cult.】

【In the third year, you hand over the 200,000-plus pills you’ve refined to Xia’s military.】

【Meanwhile, over these two years, the puppet organization you established — the Celestial Secrets Pavilion — has brought you mountains of exotic metals, various equipment, dungeon items…】

【Drawing from previous experience, you equip each puppet with several sixth-rank talismans for self-defense.】

【Simply by activating the talismans, each puppet can possess combat power rivaling a Martial Sovereign!】

【This way, the puppets themselves don’t need to fight — by relying on talismans, you greatly reduce Spirit stone and spiritual energy consumption…】

In the real world, Su Xing’s eyes lit up at this. He slapped his forehead and exclaimed:

“That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“When a puppet fights using its own power, it consumes massive amounts of spiritual energy, requiring long recharge periods…”

“But if the puppet fights only by activating talismans, it completely eliminates unnecessary energy drain, and each puppet can stay active for much longer!”

After a pause, Su Xing continued:

“Moreover, equipped with sixth-rank talismans, they can hold their own against a Martial Sovereign… and if I had seventh-rank talismans, couldn’t they even kill a Martial Sovereign!?”

“At that point, I wouldn’t need to worry about any of those trading companies’ little schemes at all…”

Su Xing nodded with satisfaction. Without even trying, the simulation had revealed a whole new strategic direction.

Spiritual energy and Spirit stones were precious resources for Su Xing.

As for talismans, Su Xing could inscribe dozens of fifth-rank and several sixth-rank talismans in a single day — more than enough to meet demand!

As for the materials needed to inscribe talismans — demon beast hides, spirit ink, spirit paper, and so on — there were still plenty in Perfected One Myriad Wood’s and Five Elements Master’s storage rings.

Su Xing wouldn’t need to worry about material shortages for quite some time.

“Not bad!”

Su Xing praised, then turned his gaze back to the simulation panel.

【In the fourth year, besides consolidating your position within the Advent Cult, you begin searching for spirit veins that might exist.】

【The first place that comes to mind is the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon, so you enter it.】

【You attempt to activate the “Geological Expert” talent, only to discover its range is smaller than you imagined.】

【You can only sense the presence of a spirit vein when extremely close to one, and you need to remain in the area for a certain duration before detection is possible.】

【This range is roughly a hundred zhang radius for detecting spirit veins…】

【Left with no choice, you can only traverse every inch of the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts land on foot, hoping to find the location of spirit veins.】

【You spend one year in the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon, averaging roughly a hundred-li radius of geological surveying per day, searching for spirit veins and special mineral ores.】

【The bad news is: after surveying nearly one-tenth of the Immortal Martial Continent’s area, you still haven’t found a single spirit vein.】

【The good news is: you’ve discovered quite a few exotic metal deposits. Though they’re mostly Second Rank and Third Rank exotic metals, if fully mined, the energy yield would still be considerable.】

In the real world, Su Xing sighed at this:

“As expected, in an era of depleted spiritual energy, spirit veins aren’t so easy to find… The spirit veins on the Immortal Martial Continent were probably all ravaged by Myriad Wood…”

“But at least there are exotic metal ores, so it’s not a loss! Of course… if I could go to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm, would I be able to find hidden spirit veins there!”

Su Xing felt a surge of anticipation. He turned his gaze back to the simulation panel.

【In the fifth year, to avoid raising suspicion, you cannot spend the entire year in the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon.】

【So each year you set aside several months specifically to explore the Immortal Martial dungeon, recording the location of every exotic metal deposit for future use.】

【Two more years pass like this…】