Chapter 254 – Simulation Year Sixty-Seven, Invincible Beneath the Immortal Realm! (10,000 Words, Two-in-One)
by spirapiraChapter 254 – Simulation Year Sixty-Seven, Invincible Beneath the Immortal Realm! (10,000 Words, Two-in-One)
【You arrived at the Slaughter Battlefield and followed the direction of the red moon, pressing ever forward.】
【You eventually reached the end of the Slaughter Battlefield and entered that strange space.】
【You glanced at the black passageway, knowing you were still somewhat short of being able to cross through the chaotic spatial currents.】
【So you turned and entered the Advent Cult’s passageway instead…】
【When you awoke again, you had already appeared in the mountain valley town.】
【Compared to before, the injuries you sustained this time were much lighter — you only needed two days of rest to fully recover.】
【You chose the same Advent node as before, so there were still two years until the next blood seedling tournament.】
【So you resumed your job as a brothel security guard, accumulating starting capital.】
【In your spare time, you practiced the Protective Sword Aura, growing the number of sword auras to nearly four hundred!】
【In the blink of an eye, two years passed…】
【Year Thirteen. You participated in the blood seedling tournament, killing over a hundred Void Return stage cultivators and accumulating a large sum of capital.】
【Immediately after, you began preparing to escape from the valley.】
【You spent two and a half years growing three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers, and sold off the resources you had previously seized, exchanging them for items such as a high-grade pill furnace, various herbs, spirit liquid, talisman paper, and more…】
【These items were nearly impossible to find in Tiger Immortal Fortress, and once you left the valley, they would be extremely difficult to obtain.】
【After completing these preparations, you chose an auspicious day and infiltrated the forbidden zone.】
【Facing the two Mahayana stage guards, you attacked without hesitation, killing them in a single strike. You then seized the transit token and escaped the valley.】
【Terrifying auras soon emanated from within the valley, as Mahayana and Tribulation Crossing realm cultivators came in pursuit.】
【But your sword flight speed was extremely fast, and in just a few days, you had traveled several million li…】
【One day, you cast a divination and determined that you would face a tribulation within the next two days.】
【You knew it was a Human Immortal realm cultivator coming to hunt you down, so you plunged into the Hundred Thousand Mountains and continued fleeing.】
【You followed your Blessed by Fortune instinct the entire way, circumventing the territories of great demons, racing day and night without rest…】
【Half a month later, you finally entered the core region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【At that moment, from ten thousand li behind you, two terrifying waves of magical power surged forth…】
【You knew it was the Tiger Immortal clashing with Blood Ninety-Nine.】
【And the Tiger Immortal would soon emerge victorious — at which point he would come after you.】
【You knew that at your current speed, there was absolutely no way to escape from the Tiger Immortal.】
【So you simply gave up running entirely, found a spot, and took a nap, quietly waiting for the Tiger Immortal to find you.】
【Two days later, the Tiger Immortal arrived at your location, eyeing you with a look of surprise.】
【You calmly bowed to the Tiger Immortal, expressing your gratitude for saving your life.】
【The Tiger Immortal looked bemused upon hearing this — he had merely been preventing humans from entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and saving you was just incidental.】
【Just as the Tiger Immortal was about to speak, you launched into a pledge of loyalty: “This Xing has drifted half his life. If my lord does not disdain me, I am willing to serve as a loyal vassal and help build a great legacy together.”】
【Your actions completely baffled the Tiger Immortal.】
【After all, not only did demon cultivators despise human cultivators, human cultivators also loathed demon cultivators — the two were practically sworn enemies.】
【It was the first time he had ever encountered a human like you, and he was quite curious.】
【So he asked what your specialties were, and why the Advent Cult was hunting you…】
【You explained that you had been captured by the Advent Cult because of your talent for growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers, and that you had barely managed to find an opportunity to escape.】
【The Tiger Immortal asked about your efficiency in growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers.】
【You told him that with enough seeds, you could grow three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers every five years…】
【At the same time, you produced several hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers to bolster your credibility.】
【The Tiger Immortal was first astonished, then burst into laughter.】
【He announced that he was appointing you as the head farmer of Tiger Immortal Fortress, and from now on you would be responsible for growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers for him, for a term of five hundred years.】
【You feigned an expression of being overwhelmed by such favor, and followed the Tiger Immortal back to Tiger Immortal Fortress…】
Su Xing looked at the simulation text before him and nodded slightly.
Everything was going according to Su Xing’s plan. These Spirit-Gathering Flowers were currently of no use to him.
Therefore, Su Xing might as well use the Spirit-Gathering Flowers as a stepping stone to secure a higher position in Tiger Immortal Fortress as soon as possible.
In the future, he could also persuade the Tiger Immortal Demon King and Gold Coin Demon King to reconcile and jointly resist potential future threats.
“The longer the simulation runs, the more my Body Tempering cultivation and Protective Sword Aura can advance…”
Su Xing murmured, his gaze returning to the simulation panel.
【You returned to Tiger Immortal Fortress with the Tiger Immortal. Each day, aside from growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers, you spent your time cultivating.】
【In Tiger Immortal Fortress, while flesh essences from Human Immortal realm demon generals were quite rare, flesh essences from Tribulation Crossing stage demons were not difficult to find.】
【Many demon cultivators consumed high-grade flesh essences to increase their cultivation speed.】
【So you purchased a batch of Tribulation Crossing stage flesh essences and began selling Rebirth Pills as a business.】
【The pricing remained the same as always — for every hundred Rebirth Pills sold, you netted a pure profit of seventy to eighty jin of flesh essence…】
【You sold a hundred Rebirth Pills each month, and the income was more than enough to sustain your daily cultivation.】
【In addition, you set aside four double-hours each day specifically to practice the Protective Sword Aura.】
【Under this stable lifestyle, five years passed in the blink of an eye…】
【Year Eighteen. Your cultivation smoothly advanced to Grand Accomplishment Fourth Layer, late stage.】
【At the same time, the number of sword auras you had comprehended, after five years of accumulation, reached four hundred and twenty!】
【You prepared the three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers due for this five-year period ahead of schedule and presented them to the Tiger Immortal.】
【The Tiger Immortal was in excellent spirits and invited you to plant the Spirit-Gathering Flowers inside his grotto-dwelling.】
【You complied, and after transplanting the Spirit-Gathering Flowers, the spiritual energy concentration in the Tiger Immortal’s grotto-dwelling increased further, approaching the level of a blessed land.】
【That year, warfare erupted frequently throughout the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and the territories of demon generals and Demon Kings began falling one after another…】
【The Tiger Immortal was combative by nature and had poor relations with the other Demon Kings, and some of his subordinate demon generals had been lost in the fighting.】
【After learning about this situation, you seized the opportunity to offer the Tiger Immortal a strategy.】
【You explained the current state of Tiger Immortal Fortress, stating that the situation was far from optimistic. The best course of action would be to make peace with the Gold Coin Demon King, forming a mutual alliance, so as to secure stability in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】
【The Tiger Immortal scoffed dismissively on the surface, rejecting your proposal.】
【But you knew that the Tiger Immortal actually wanted to reconcile with the Gold Coin Demon King — it was simply that the Gold Coin Demon King had refused.】
【So you employed the same old trick, claiming that you possessed an “ancestral art” that could help the Gold Coin Leopard Demon King produce offspring.】
【After your persistent persuasion, the Tiger Immortal agreed to your request.】
【Several months later, you accompanied the Tiger Immortal to Gold Coin Fortress for a banquet.】
【Using your Gift of Roses talent, you bestowed “Blessed with Descendants” upon the Gold Coin Demon King, then departed with a flourish.】
【Now all you needed to do was wait quietly for the Gold Coin Demon King to produce offspring.】
【And so, three years passed…】
【Year Twenty-One. The number of Protective Sword Auras you had comprehended reached four hundred and thirty-six.】
【At the same time, your cultivation was also steadily advancing toward Grand Accomplishment Fourth Layer, Peak…】
【That year brought good news — the Gold Coin Demon King produced offspring: three sons and two daughters!】
【The Gold Coin Demon King was very pleased with you, and sent someone to inquire about your preferences before gifting you several hundred jin of Human Immortal realm flesh essence as a reward.】
【You did not refuse. This flesh essence would be very helpful for your breakthrough to Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer, so you decided to save it for later use.】
【The Gold Coin Demon King and the Tiger Immortal also reconciled, signing a pact promising to never attack each other, to watch over one another, and to assist each other in times of crisis…】
【Having resolved the millennia-old crisis with Gold Coin Fortress, the situation at Tiger Immortal Fortress improved greatly, and the Tiger Immortal could devote more of his energy to dealing with the Bear Demon King.】
【Although you did not wish to see infighting among the Demon Kings, the Tiger Immortal would not let the matter rest, and frequently consulted you on how to eliminate the Bear Demon King.】
【You naturally had nothing to say on the subject, and simply continued farming in peace.】
【And so, another two years passed…】
Su Xing nodded slightly at this and murmured:
“In this simulation, the two great Demon Kings formed their alliance much earlier, and the Tiger Immortal hasn’t been injured either…”
“Presumably, this means the two Demon Kings’ forces will be far more stable, and I’ll be able to reap benefits from it and cultivate for a longer period…”
Su Xing’s goals for this simulation remained unchanged — advance his cultivation realm and comprehend the Protective Sword Aura!
His gaze returned to the simulation panel.
【Year Twenty-Three. This year you transplanted the three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers you had prepared ahead of schedule into the Tiger Immortal’s grotto-dwelling.】
【The Tiger Immortal’s grotto-dwelling, as the most spiritually abundant location in all of Tiger Immortal Fortress, had now barely reached the threshold of a lower-grade blessed land.】
【The Tiger Immortal’s cultivation was already at mid-stage Earthly Immortal. Cultivating in this blessed land gave him a slight boost in speed.】
【That same year, your cultivation officially reached Grand Accomplishment Fourth Layer, Peak, and you began preparing for the breakthrough to Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer.】
【You took out the Human Immortal realm Demonic Beast Blood Essences and refined them into Rebirth Pills — these would be the key to your breakthrough.】
【Then you entered seclusion to assault the bottleneck…】
【Half a year later, you successfully emerged from seclusion, your cultivation having advanced to Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer!】
【Year Twenty-Four. After reaching Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer, you did not relax your training and continued striving to advance your cultivation realm.】
【At the same time, the number of your Protective Sword Auras reached four hundred and fifty that year…】
【Another four years passed…】
【Year Twenty-Eight. You once again presented three hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers, and the Tiger Immortal rewarded you generously.】
【That year, your Protective Sword Aura count reached four hundred and seventy-three — powerful enough to threaten Tribulation Crossing stage great demons!】
【Meanwhile, the Gold Coin Demon King’s eighteenth offspring was born. Over the years, the Gold Coin Demon King had been blessed with many descendants, among whom were several of exceptional talent.】
【The Gold Coin Demon King once again sent you gifts to express his gratitude, and the two great Demon Kings prepared to jointly confront the Bear Demon King.】
【You knew you could not dissuade them.】
【Over the past decade and more, more than a third of the Demon King forces in the mountains had been destroyed, and the Tiger Immortal and Gold Coin Demon King had profited considerably from this.】
【Once the Bear Demon King was eliminated, the two would inevitably expand their territories further and seize more resources.】
【Year Twenty-Nine. The Gold Coin Leopard and Tiger Immortal, two great Demon Kings, assembled dozens of Human Immortal realm demon cultivators and launched a surprise attack on the Bear Demon King’s stronghold.】
【This great battle lasted an entire month…】
【In the end, the Bear Demon King was slain. The Tiger Immortal and Gold Coin Leopard seized the Earthly Immortal realm demon cultivator’s demon core, further advancing their cultivation!】
【Year Thirty. Your cultivation reached Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer, mid-stage.】
【With the two great Demon Kings working in concert, their influence within a radius of tens of thousands of li expanded rapidly. In just over a decade, the territory under the two Demon Kings’ control had nearly doubled!】
【And so, three years passed…】
【Year Thirty-Three. You presented your Spirit-Gathering Flowers and also learned a piece of news.】
【Within the territory of the two great Demon Kings, a high-grade spirit vein had been discovered.】
【The Tiger Immortal decided to join forces with the Gold Coin Demon King and jointly occupy this spirit vein…】
【To this end, the two Demon Kings fought fiercely against the Ground Rat Demon King, ultimately succeeding in seizing the spirit vein.】
【When you went to investigate the spirit vein, you discovered that the land where it was located had an excellent geographical position, suitable for building a demon fortress to resist powerful enemies…】
【So you offered counsel, persuading the Tiger Immortal to relocate Tiger Immortal Fortress, and to move Gold Coin Fortress as well to the vicinity of the spirit vein, forming a flanking position to ward off danger.】
【The Tiger Immortal hesitated after hearing this. After all, Tiger Immortal Fortress had been established for a thousand years, and relocation would require considering far too many factors.】
【But you knew in your heart that the move was unavoidable. The spirit vein was located in a more central region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. If a true crisis arose, Tiger Immortal Fortress would not be the first to be attacked — the several Demon Kings on the outer perimeter would serve as a natural shield.】
【That’s right — this relocation was entirely to guard against the Advent Cult.】
【But you couldn’t say that directly, and could only lure them with benefits.】
【You stated that if Tiger Immortal Fortress relocated, you could harness the spirit vein’s power to arrange formations that would elevate the Tiger Immortal’s dwelling to the level of a superior blessed land!】
【And if given a hundred years, it could even hope to become a grotto-heaven level dwelling!】
【After hearing your words, the Tiger Immortal finally could not resist such temptation and agreed to your relocation plan.】
【Year thirty-four. Tiger Immortal Fortress relocated. Hundreds of thousands of demon cultivators migrated in a grand procession to the vicinity of the new superior spirit vein, beginning to rebuild Tiger Immortal Fortress.】
【Under your guidance, Tiger Immortal Fortress was built far more sturdily, resembling a human city fortress.】
【And at your suggestion, the Gold Coin Demon King also relocated near the superior spirit vein, only a thousand li from Tiger Immortal Fortress — close enough to arrive in moments should a crisis arise.】
【Year thirty-five. The two demon fortresses were completed.】
【You helped transplant Spirit-Gathering Flowers into the Tiger Immortal’s dwelling and arranged spirit formations. The spiritual energy in the dwelling’s core area barely reached the level of a superior blessed land.】
【You also helped the Gold Coin Demon King arrange a spirit-gathering formation, allowing his dwelling’s spiritual energy to barely reach blessed land level.】
【With the protection of two Demon Kings, your heart settled considerably, and you continued to cultivate diligently.】
“Not bad. A superior spirit vein, located in a more central region of the Hundred Thousand Mountains… with other Demon Kings on the outer layer serving as natural shields, things are much more stable this way…”
“But it’s still not truly safe. If I could persuade the two Demon Kings to pledge allegiance to a Heavenly Immortal realm great demon, perhaps that would be much safer…”
Su Xing let out a sigh, knowing full well that the two Demon Kings would never agree to that.
His gaze returned to the simulation panel.
【Year thirty-eight. Your cultivation reached the late phase of Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer…】
【At the same time, the number of sword aura strands you had comprehended reached five hundred and three!】
【You vaguely sensed that there was no upper limit to the number of Protective Sword Aura strands — they would continuously increase as your comprehension of the Sword Dao deepened!】
【If your Sword Dao comprehension was sufficient, you could even summon tens of millions of sword aura strands simultaneously, and the power would be enough to destroy heaven and earth!】
【Year thirty-nine. You presented five hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers to the Tiger Immortal. The Tiger Immortal was overjoyed and praised your unwavering loyalty.】
【As it happened, the Tiger Immortal had half a Human Immortal realm demon cultivator’s flesh essence on hand, and you received several hundred jin of flesh essence.】
【You refined this flesh essence into Rebirth Pills, considerably increasing your cultivation speed.】
【Year forty-two. Your cultivation advanced to Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer, Peak!】
【You began preparing to break through to Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer!】
【Year forty-five. After three years of accumulation and preparation, your cultivation naturally broke through to Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer, as smoothly as water flowing to the sea!】
【After breaking through to the sixth layer, your mood was quite good, so you began studying the Protective Sword Aura.】
【You felt countless sword intents flowing through the sword aura, capturing every subtle change.】
【Congratulations! You have triggered a Spontaneous Epiphany!】
【This Spontaneous Epiphany lasted a full three days!】
【Equivalent to thirty years of your normal bitter cultivation!】
【After emerging from the Spontaneous Epiphany state, you felt a wistful sense of loss.】
【But joy soon filled your heart, for the number of your Protective Sword Aura strands had reached a full six hundred and sixty!】
【With such a tremendous improvement to your Protective Sword Aura, you couldn’t wait to test the changes in your strength.】
【So you sought out the Tribulation Crossing stage great demons within the fortress to spar with them.】
【You discovered that six hundred and sixty sword aura strands were enough to make your defensive and offensive capabilities rival those of Tribulation Crossing demon cultivators!】
【If you released all your sword aura strands at once, you could even grievously wound a Tribulation Crossing demon cultivator!】
【However, there were a few Tribulation Crossing demon cultivators infinitely close to ascension whose strength was terrifying — they beat you into the ground repeatedly…】
【But the enormous increase in power still filled your heart with delight.】
【And so, two more years passed…】
【Year forty-seven. One day, the Tiger Immortal and the Gold Coin Demon King met with grave expressions, seemingly discussing something of great importance.】
【You suddenly recalled that in your last simulation, this was the year two Heavenly Immortal realm great demons perished!】
【Sure enough, just as you expected, the two Demon Kings were discussing how to seize advantages from the fallen Heavenly Immortal demon cultivators’ territories.】
【Thanks to the rise in your status over these decades, the two Demon Kings did not hide anything from you. They even treated you as the third most important figure in their alliance, and asked for your opinion.】
【With your previous experience, you knew this operation would proceed without incident.】
【But you still devised a strategy.】
【You stated that if they wanted to seize advantages, time was of the essence — they had to strike quickly, and should only take easily portable resources such as rare treasures, spirit stones, and spirit liquid.】
【Everything else — spirit veins, territory, and the like — they should leave behind entirely…】
【The two Demon Kings frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked your reasoning, for in a demon cultivator’s mind, the larger one’s territory, the greater one’s strength!】
【You explained your reasoning methodically: chaotic times were approaching, and overly large territories would only spread their forces too thin. With limited strength, it was better to seize tangible benefits to advance their cultivation.】
【Once their cultivation improved, they could conquer territory whenever they wished!】
【The two Demon Kings nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and accepted your advice.】
【And so the two demons took only their elite officers and launched a nighttime raid on the Heavenly Immortal’s territory…】
【Half a month later, the two demons returned safely. Although their subordinates had suffered some casualties, the two Demon Kings bore calm expressions, giving no hint of their haul.】
【After dismissing their subordinates, the two demons summoned you privately. They exchanged a glance, then burst into hearty laughter. Each rewarded you with several hundred jin of Human Immortal realm demon cultivator flesh essence.】
【Joy stirred in your heart. You surmised the two demons had reaped no small fortune, and ventured to ask about it.】
【The Gold Coin Demon King seemed slightly hesitant, but the Tiger Immortal spoke directly — together, the two of them had seized one-third of a Heavenly Immortal realm great demon’s demon core!】
【Even one-third of a demon core was enough for these two Demon Kings, who had been stuck at the peak of mid-stage Earthly Immortal realm for years, to advance to late-stage Earthly Immortal realm!】
【Joy surged in your heart upon hearing this. If the two Demon Kings successfully advanced to late-stage Earthly Immortal, your safety would be far more assured!】
【At your suggestion, the two Demon Kings promptly entered seclusion to prepare for their breakthrough to late-stage Earthly Immortal realm!】
【Year forty-nine. The Tiger Immortal emerged from seclusion, having achieved late-stage Earthly Immortal cultivation! His strength surged…】
【Year fifty. The Gold Coin Demon King emerged from seclusion, also achieving late-stage Earthly Immortal, with an equally explosive increase in power!】
【With two late-stage Earthly Immortal Demon Kings standing guard, your heart settled considerably.】
Seeing this, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.
“Late-stage Earthly Immortal realm cultivation — even among the thirty-six Demon Kings, that would rank among the best.”
“And with two Demon Kings working together, no one below the Heavenly Immortal realm would dare attack lightly…”
After a brief pause, Su Xing couldn’t help but grin.
“The Protective Sword Aura really has given me an enormous surprise! Six hundred and sixty strands of sword aura, enough to grievously wound Tribulation Crossing realm demon cultivators!”
“Then in the future, if the number of sword aura strands is sufficient, could I slay an Immortal while still at the Mahayana stage?!”
Su Xing’s heart pounded. He had a premonition that this goal might actually be achievable.
“But this simulation has already reached year fifty. I wonder if the remaining time will be enough for me to break through to the late phase of Grand Accomplishment realm?”
Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly.
At higher cultivation levels, every three minor sub-realms would present a bottleneck. Breaking through a bottleneck would cause a surge in power.
But the difficulty of breaking through was no trivial matter either. It would not be unusual for an ordinary cultivator to be stuck at a minor bottleneck for a hundred years…
Su Xing looked toward the simulation panel with anticipation.
【Year fifty-two. After consuming large quantities of Rebirth Pills, your cultivation advanced to the mid-phase of Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer!】
【Year fifty-four. The total number of your Protective Sword Aura strands reached six hundred and seventy-two!】
【By this time, the internal situation throughout the Hundred Thousand Mountains was in chaos. The majority of the original thirty-six Demon Kings had been eliminated.】
【Even the Tiger Immortal and the Gold Coin Demon King could sense an undercurrent of conspiracy, so both Demon Kings held fast to their fortresses, ceased venturing out, and quietly waited for the storm to pass.】
【In the blink of an eye, another three years passed…】
【Year fifty-seven. The total number of your Protective Sword Aura strands reached six hundred and eighty-six!】
【At the same time, you remained secretly vigilant, knowing that this might be the year the Tiger Immortal would come under attack.】
【Sure enough, one night you were jolted awake from your cultivation.】
【Your ears were filled with the sounds of demon cultivators clashing and screaming.】
【Alarm shot through your heart — Tiger Immortal Fortress was under attack!】
【You immediately sent a distress call to the Gold Coin Demon King…】
【After leaving your dwelling, you determined that the Ground Rat Demon King had brought a wolf Demon King covered in silver fur to launch an assault on Tiger Immortal Fortress.】
【Both attacking Demon Kings were at late-stage Earthly Immortal realm cultivation!】
【But the Tiger Immortal was in peak condition, and his cultivation had also reached late-stage Earthly Immortal realm. Under the two Demon Kings’ combined assault, he managed to hold on for some time…】
【Soon the Gold Coin Demon King arrived and took on most of the pressure for the Tiger Immortal!】
【Four late-stage Earthly Immortal Demon Kings battled in a fierce stalemate, the terrifying shockwaves of combat nearly destroying both fortresses.】
【But ultimately the Ground Rat and Silver Wolf Demon Kings retreated, and both fortresses were successfully defended.】
【After this battle, both the Gold Coin Demon King and the Tiger Immortal were seriously injured.】
【You also learned that the Ground Rat and Silver Wolf Demon Kings’ surprise attack was aimed at seizing the Heavenly Immortal realm great demon’s demon core, seeking the opportunity to ascend to Heavenly Immortal…】
【You nodded silently to yourself, understanding that beyond the Earthly Immortal realm, ordinary demon cultivators would not easily engage in life-or-death battles unless they were pursuing the path to a higher realm…】
【At the same time, the two Demon Kings were puzzled as to how the Silver Wolf and Ground Rat Demon Kings had learned of this information…】
【You said nothing upon hearing this, but privately suspected the Advent Cult…】
【After this battle, you advised the two Demon Kings to remain within their dwellings to cultivate, avoiding venturing out as much as possible — only then could they protect their domain.】
【The two Demon Kings agreed, and the days continued to pass uneasily…】
【Year sixty. Over these past years, the Ground Rat and Silver Wolf Demon Kings attacked from time to time, but were repelled each time by the Tiger Immortal and Gold Coin Demon King’s combined strength. The two fortresses remained generally stable.】
【This year, your cultivation advanced to the late phase of Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer!】
【But as the wars continued unabated, the internal attrition of power within the Hundred Thousand Mountains grew increasingly severe…】
【Of the original thirty-six Demon Kings, fewer than ten remained. The weaker ones had perished so quietly that no one even knew how they met their end…】
【A foreboding feeling stirred in your heart. You sensed this might be a sign that the Advent Cult was about to make its move.】
【So you warned the two Demon Kings, urging them to abandon the superior spirit vein and relocate their fortresses deeper into the Hundred Thousand Mountains…】
【But this location was too ideal. The two dwellings were perfectly suited to serve as the foundation for ascending to Heavenly Immortal, and the two Demon Kings would not give them up lightly.】
【Moreover, the deeper regions of the Hundred Thousand Mountains were the territory of several Heavenly Immortal great demons. The Gold Coin Demon King and Tiger Immortal were unwilling to live under another’s roof, nor did they dare migrate and seize territory there.】
【This came as no surprise to you, but without concrete evidence that a crisis was imminent, you could only throw yourself into even more desperate cultivation, hoping to advance to Grand Accomplishment Seventh Layer as soon as possible…】
【In the blink of an eye, another five years passed…】
【Year sixty-five. Over these past years, the two demon fortresses had been at peace.】
【Although the Ground Rat and Silver Wolf Demon Kings came to harass them from time to time, they were unable to breach the fortresses.】
【In the end, the two Demon Kings seemed to have given up their assault and vanished without a trace.】
【Everything was peaceful. It truly seemed as though you had been overthinking things…】
【This year, the total number of Protective Sword Auras you had comprehended reached an astonishing seven hundred and twenty!】
【With seven hundred and twenty sword auras unleashed simultaneously, if you caught your enemy off guard, you could even instantly kill a Tribulation Crossing realm demon cultivator!】
【But as the number of your sword auras continued to grow, you also sensed a hint of difficulty…】
【This was because your comprehension of sword intent had become insufficient. If you continued increasing the number of sword auras, the power of each individual aura might diminish slightly…】
Su Xing’s expression grew somewhat complicated as he read this.
“Seven hundred and twenty sword auras. With my current strength, I probably can’t call myself invincible below Tribulation Crossing yet, but against ordinary Tribulation Crossing cultivators, I now have a killing move!”
“As for more Protective Sword Auras, perhaps I’ll need to reach Perfection in the Heaven Sword technique and have a more abundant sword intent before I can comprehend more?”
Su Xing silently lamented that, relying on sword auras alone, he couldn’t match a Human Immortal realm cultivator in the short term.
“Besides that, the Ground Rat Demon King and Silver Wolf Demon King disappeared—perhaps because they were eliminated too?”
“Sigh, it seems Tiger Immortal Fortress isn’t far from destruction. The Advent Cult shouldn’t delay any longer, otherwise complications might arise from the delay…”
Su Xing had a premonition that this simulation probably didn’t have much time left.
His gaze returned to the simulation panel.
【In your sixty-sixth year, your cultivation advanced to the peak of Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer, and you began attempting to break through into the late stage of Grand Accomplishment!】
【Your first attempt at breaking through the bottleneck failed. You accumulated deeper foundations and summarized your experience before attempting the next breakthrough…】
【However, over the following year, events took a dramatic turn!】
【In your sixty-seventh year, the Silver Wolf and Ground Rat Demon Kings had been absent for nearly two years without harassing you.】
【The Gold Coin Demon King and the Tiger Immortal gradually let down their guard, their defenses no longer as cautious as before.】
【You, however, did not dare lower your vigilance. Instead, you could smell the scent of conspiracy in the air…】
【You tried to warn the two Demon Kings, but they would not listen.】
【Left with no choice, you kept yourself ready to flee at a moment’s notice…】
【One day, Tiger Immortal Fortress was suddenly attacked. The attackers were not demon cultivators, but blood-codenamed cultivators of the Advent Cult!】
【Over a dozen Advent Cult officers descended, each one radiating an aura at the Earthly Immortal realm!】
【This terrifying gap in strength demolished Tiger Immortal Fortress with overwhelming force. Even with the Gold Coin Demon King coming to its aid, it was all in vain…】
【In an instant, it was like a tree falling and the monkeys scattering. You had no choice but to flee, racing deeper into the Hundred Thousand Mountains…】
【Yet merely days into your escape, you encountered an old acquaintance—Blood Ninety-Nine!】
【His aura was as terrifying as the Abyss itself. He had broken through and become an Earthly Immortal powerhouse!】
【Against him, you had not the slightest ability to resist…】
【You died!】
【Ding! This simulation has ended!】
After the simulation ended, Su Xing gazed at the text before him and let out a sigh.
“So it seems that in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the path of seeking refuge under the Tiger Immortal has reached its end here…”
“The simulation lasted a total of sixty-seven years. My cultivation was just one step away from the late stage of Grand Accomplishment…”
“And the number of Protective Sword Auras doubled, reaching seven hundred and twenty!”
Su Xing was quite satisfied with this simulation’s harvest. The only regret was that he had failed to escape the Advent Cult’s grasp.
After summarizing his gains and losses, Su Xing turned his attention to this simulation’s rewards.
【Lord of a Hundred Faces】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy.
【Sixty Years of Alchemy Experience】: After redemption, existing alchemy insights will increase by a small margin. Price: 50,000,000 energy.
【Body Refining Grand Accomplishment Realm, Sixth Layer】: The ultimate realm for mortal body-refining cultivators. At Body Refining Grand Accomplishment, one can briefly traverse the void, and physical body strength surpasses imagination. Price: 4,000,000,000 energy.
【Spirit-Gathering Flowers x2,000】: Price: 200,000,000 energy.
【Protective Sword Aura (Major Accomplishment)】: Using Protective Hardened Qi as a reference, with primordial energy and sword intent at its core. Integrates offense and defense, with power increasing alongside Sword Dao comprehension. Currently at the greater divine art level. Learning it allows one to fight above one’s realm. Currently possesses 720 Protective Sword Auras. Price: 2,000,000,000 energy.
【Human Immortal Realm Demon Cultivator Flesh Essence, 100 Jin】: Price: 1,000 origin energy.
“Body Refining Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer plus Protective Sword Aura… that’s a total of 6 billion energy!”
Su Xing took a deep breath. He just needed to go all out this once. After the next simulation, with the energy Lu Yuanwu provided, he wouldn’t be short on energy for a while.
Currently, Su Xing’s biggest energy expenditure was extracting cultivation levels.
Calculating at 2 billion energy per Grand Accomplishment First Layer…
Between Qi Refinement Mahayana and Body Tempering Grand Accomplishment, the total energy Su Xing needed reached 40 billion!
“Sigh, the energy costs after reaching the Immortal realm will probably be even higher, so I need to speed up my energy acquisition!”
Su Xing let out a light sigh.
Fortunately, he now had many energy sources, and the Celestial Secrets Pavilion would provide him with sufficient energy in the future!
“But… 100 jin of demon Immortal realm flesh essence, valued at 1,000 origin energy—converted, that’s roughly 1 billion energy?”
Su Xing drew a deep breath. The energy contained within didn’t seem like all that much!
But on second thought, a single Human Immortal realm demonic beast should yield far more than just 100 jin of flesh essence. Factor in the demon core, leather, and other materials… the total energy contained would be far more than that.
“Calculating the time, Lu Yuanwu should be waiting by now…”
Su Xing then began disguising himself and concealing his aura before setting off to trade with Lu Yuanwu.
The trade went without any incident. Su Xing successfully exchanged the exotic metal for 2 billion simulation energy.
Afterward, Su Xing headed to the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon, ready to mine exotic metal ore.
Over the course of a week, Su Xing mined 3,000 cubic meters of fourth-order exotic metal ore. After refining and purification, that would be another 6 billion energy deposited!
“Sigh, sitting back and enjoying the fruits of others’ labor just isn’t possible… Only by digging the mines myself can I barely keep up with my energy expenditures…”
Su Xing sighed. With his near-Immortal physical constitution, mining wasn’t tiring per se—it was just too tedious, leaving no room to slack off.
“Damn it, once this young master’s puppet techniques are good enough, I absolutely must craft a batch of mining puppets!”
Su Xing muttered to himself, then took to sword flight and left the Age of Immortals and Martial Arts dungeon.
A few hours later, Su Xing appeared inside Jin Congxue’s Villa.
He handed over the Fasting Pills he had accumulated over the past few weeks to Jin Congxue. This would earn him yet another second-order exotic metal mining zone.
An extra 50 million energy every three weeks—not a lot, but every little bit counts!
Jin Congxue looked at the listless Su Xing and giggled behind her hand:
“Su Xing, how is it that after just one week apart, you look completely drained?”
“Here, this is this week’s goods and exotic metals. Check them over!”
Su Xing took them from her and promptly converted everything into simulation energy.
Then Su Xing immediately perked up.
This week’s goods and exotic metals totaled nearly 4 billion energy!
Seeing Su Xing’s astonishment, Jin Congxue chimed in at just the right moment:
“This past week, the Tarot Society recruited several hundred new Class Users, all specialists in refining exotic metals…”
“In the coming week, we’ll be hiring even more! We’ll be able to supply you with even more exotic metal then!”
Su Xing’s eyes lit up at her words. In his heart, he couldn’t help but exclaim that Jin Congxue was truly his lucky star!
Strictly speaking, Jin Congxue had never let Su Xing down!
Thinking this, Su Xing couldn’t resist planting a kiss on Jin Congxue’s cheek, exclaiming excitedly:
“Xue-jie! You’ve been an enormous help!”
“I… I thank you on behalf of the organization!”
Caught completely off guard by Su Xing’s sudden kiss, Jin Congxue’s mind went blank. She stammered shyly:
“It’s… it’s getting late, would you like to…?”
Su Xing heard this and nodded eagerly:
“Sure, I’ll head back right away then! I’ll be careful on the road!”
With that, Su Xing left and returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven.
Opening the simulation panel with practiced ease, Su Xing declared decisively:
“Redeem Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer cultivation… and the Protective Sword Aura comprehension!”
【You have successfully extracted Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer cultivation. Energy spent: 4,000,000,000. Remaining energy: 2,134,530,000.】
【You have successfully extracted Protective Sword Aura comprehension. Energy spent: 2,000,000,000. Remaining energy: 134,530,000.】
As the simulator’s notification faded, two streams of mysterious energy surged into his body.
The first dramatic change was Su Xing’s cultivation!
In merely a few breaths, Su Xing’s power and aura began to skyrocket!
Grand Accomplishment Fourth Layer… Grand Accomplishment Fifth Layer!
Finally arriving at the peak of Grand Accomplishment Sixth Layer!
Just one more step, and he would enter Grand Accomplishment Seventh Layer… becoming a late-stage Grand Accomplishment cultivator!
“Not bad. In the next simulation, I just need to take the Nine Revolutions Pill, and I should be able to break through the bottleneck and enter the late stage of Grand Accomplishment!”
Su Xing nodded slightly. Then, with a thought, he summoned the Protective Sword Aura.
Seven hundred and twenty golden miniature swords appeared, encircling Su Xing in a full 360-degree formation with no blind spots.
With another thought, the sword auras automatically shifted formation—truly the integration of offense and defense!
“Seven hundred and twenty sword auras, and it still hasn’t reached the Perfection level…”
“If I can further enhance my sword intent, perhaps this supernatural art of mine could approach the level of a top-tier greater divine art!”
In the simulation text, Su Xing had been able to hold his ground against Tribulation Crossing stage cultivators with seven hundred and twenty Protective Sword Auras, even with a chance of slaying them!
And Su Xing’s actual realm hadn’t even reached late-stage Grand Accomplishment… This was practically combat power that transcended an entire major realm!
“However, even among Tribulation Crossing stage cultivators, the differences are astronomical… Some have only just entered the Tribulation Crossing stage, while others have passed through multiple tribulations and are infinitely close to the Immortal realm!”
“Based on the simulation’s description, my true combat strength should rank upper-middle among Tribulation Crossing stage cultivators… but it’s not at the very top!”
“But if I can cultivate Body Tempering to Grand Accomplishment Perfection… then I could truly be called invincible beneath the Immortal realm!”
Su Xing murmured to himself. He already understood seven or eight tenths of what lay ahead in the Tribulation Crossing stage process.
There were still some minor details that he would need to prepare for after reaching Mahayana stage Perfection.
Thinking of this, Su Xing glanced at the simulation timer—it was about to come off cooldown—and said to himself:
“Phew, enough about all that…”
“My primary objective for this next simulation is to successfully comprehend the Essence of Fire to the Perfection level!”
“Then ride that momentum and break through to Qi Refinement Mahayana stage!”
Su Xing felt a tinge of anticipation. After breaking through to Mahayana stage, there might be additional rewards waiting in Luo Tian’s dungeon!
“With Mahayana stage right before my eyes, can the Immortal realm be far behind?”
New Era, April 7th, 2025. Su Xing prepared to begin a new round of simulation.
“Begin simulation!”