Chapter 258 – Qingyunzi Appears, An Opportunity for Sainthood?

Su Xing saw this and gave a slight nod, murmuring:

“In the fortieth year of the simulation, Qingyunzi still hasn’t emerged from seclusion… but by that point, Earth has probably already been destroyed.”

“This means that relying on Qingyunzi to protect Earth would be extremely difficult…”

“Then what if I asked those senior brothers and sisters at the Golden Immortal realm to intervene? Could they resolve the crisis?”

Su Xing felt a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Although his own strength was insufficient, if he could call in reinforcements to resolve the crisis, there was no shame in that!

Of course, this was merely a small experiment within the simulation.

After all, the mystery of Luo Tian on Earth was at stake. Those senior brothers and sisters didn’t know the full story, and Su Xing might not dare to expose this secret to them.

His gaze returned to the simulation panel.

【Year forty-one: your cultivation advanced to Mahayana Stage, Second Layer.】

【Even though you had focused primarily on body cultivation these years with little time to improve your Qi Refinement cultivation, with abundant spiritual energy and no shortage of spirit liquid, your cultivation progress was not slow.】

【In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.】

【Year forty-three: you conducted your second trade with Fairy Ziling.】

【Since you temporarily had no need for spirit stones or blood essence, you wanted to exchange Spirit-Gathering Flowers for a magical treasure you needed.】

【Fairy Ziling asked what type of treasure you required.】

【Upon hearing her question, you directly stated that you needed a treasure capable of traversing worlds, one imbued with the spatial Dao.】

【After hearing your request, Fairy Ziling politely declined, explaining that such treasures were of extremely high value, far beyond what a mere thousand Spirit-Gathering Flowers could procure.】

【After pondering for a moment, Fairy Ziling handed you a bare, pitch-black stone.】

【You took this unremarkable stone and were surprised to feel your hand sink — this single palm-sized stone actually weighed no less than an entire mountain range!】

【Fairy Ziling informed you that this treasure was called the Void Stone. She had obtained it by chance during a training expedition to the Nine Heavens above. It was a material for forging supreme post-celestial treasures and was worth a fortune.】

【The Void Stone could not only be used to forge spatial treasures but also contained a faint wisp of the spatial Dao. Through regular contemplation, one might achieve an epiphany regarding spatial origin force.】

【You were delighted to hear this, and you also understood that this stone’s value likely far exceeded a thousand Spirit-Gathering Flowers.】

【So you produced an additional eight hundred Spirit-Gathering Flowers as compensation.】

【Seeing this, Fairy Ziling’s impression of you improved. She praised you as a cultivator who was not driven by greed or haste, and said you would surely achieve great things in the future.】

【After this transaction, your relationship with Fairy Ziling grew even closer.】

【Occasionally, when you encountered difficulties in your cultivation, you would consult Fairy Ziling.】

【Fairy Ziling also purchased some Spirit-Gathering Flower seeds from you, attempting to grow them herself, and sought your guidance.】

【You generously shared your experience, though you also knew that your exceptional talent for growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers was entirely due to the Divine Farmer talent — something others simply could not replicate.】

【Year forty-four: after obtaining the Void Stone, your daily routine gained an additional task — comprehending the spatial force within the Void Stone!】

【Previously, within the chaotic currents of that mysterious space, you had vaguely touched upon spatial origin, having half-stepped across the threshold.】

【But you were still unable to practically apply spatial force.】

【If you could properly utilize this Void Stone, even if you couldn’t forge a spatial treasure, merely gaining some comprehension would be immensely beneficial.】

Su Xing nodded slightly at this.

“The spatial Dao — its uniqueness and difficulty far surpass ordinary Great Dao laws… If I can gain some comprehension of it, perhaps I’ll be able to bring enough supplies when traveling to the Three Thousand Worlds!”

A spark of anticipation lit in Su Xing’s heart.

For Su Xing, comprehending spatial force took even higher priority than advancing his cultivation!

His gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【Year forty-six: after two years of study, your comprehension of spatial force improved significantly. You could now perceive some of the patterns in spatial fluctuations.】

【At this level, although you could not create spatial artifacts, perform spatial jumps, or traverse worlds… your speed of mastering spatial supernatural arts increased dramatically.】

【And so, another two years passed.】

【Year forty-eight: your mastery of spatial force finally reached the introductory level.】

【By now, you could predict the movement patterns and future trajectories of chaotic spatial currents, allowing you to partially avoid damage from spatial turbulence.】

【Additionally, you could use ores and materials imbued with spatial force to craft basic, rudimentary spatial tools.】

【Year fifty: your Qi Refinement cultivation advanced further, entering the mid-stage of Mahayana Stage, Second Layer.】

【Year fifty-one: your body cultivation improved, advancing to the late stage of Grand Accomplishment Eighth Layer!】

【And so, another two years passed.】

【Year fifty-three: you traded with Fairy Ziling and obtained a large number of contribution points.】

【That same year, another second-generation direct disciple senior brother emerged from seclusion and gifted you an immortal-grade Bone-Regrowth Flower.】

【This flower contained extremely potent life force. For mortals, bringing the dead back to life would be well within its capabilities.】

【Even for cultivators at the Earthly Immortal realm, consuming it would cause their injuries to heal rapidly.】

Su Xing sighed inwardly at this:

“Ah, the second-generation disciples of Azure Cloud Sect truly enjoy so many benefits!”

“These welcoming gifts alone are worth more than everything I struggled for across dozens of past simulations…”

Several supreme-grade immortal artifacts — these were treasures that Su Xing had never even seen on Earth or in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.

Su Xing lamented inwardly, regretting only that he hadn’t found the sect organization sooner.

His gaze continued toward the simulation panel.

【Year fifty-five: your comprehension of the spatial Dao advanced further.】

【You could now detect spatial rifts and perform brief spatial jumps… commonly known as teleportation!】

【This was not high-speed movement, but genuine spatial teleportation in the truest sense. The only limitation was the short distance — each jump could only span a few li…】

【But as your understanding of spatial origin deepened, this distance was gradually increasing.】

【Another three years passed.】

【Year fifty-eight: your cultivation was gradually approaching the peak of Grand Accomplishment Eighth Layer.】

【That same year, you received momentous news.】

【Qingyunzi had emerged from seclusion and wished to meet with you privately!】

【Upon hearing this news, your heart was filled with both surprise and joy.】

【The joy came from knowing that if you could earn Qingyunzi’s approval, even a casual gift of resources or treasures would be worth a hundred years of effort.】

【But the apprehension came from your fear that Qingyunzi might see through your secrets, or even harbor ill intentions toward you — and in that case, you would have absolutely no power to resist.】

【After much deliberation, you went to pay your respects to Qingyunzi.】

【Qingyunzi’s place of seclusion was a restricted peak behind Azure Cloud Sect’s main mountain. No disciple could enter without being granted an audience.】

【This peak was called Three Immortals Peak, named after the three founding patriarchs of Azure Cloud Sect.】

【Three Immortals Peak was shaped like an upright trident, its summit splitting into three prongs. The peak rose ten thousand zhang high, towering majestically into the clouds.】

【But what you saw now was that only one prong remained on Three Immortals Peak. The other two had fallen into the valley below, their whereabouts unknown.】

【Legend had it that ten thousand years ago, when one of Azure Cloud Sect’s founding patriarchs underwent soul dispersal, one of the prongs had collapsed. The trident was left with only two.】

【Of Azure Cloud Sect’s three immortals, only two remained, yet the name Three Immortals Peak was never changed.】

【Then three thousand years ago, the other smaller peak also collapsed overnight.】

【At that time, the entire Azure Cloud Sect was thrown into panic, fearing that Qingyunzi had perished. The sect’s influence declined significantly as a result…】

【It was not until several decades ago that you brought confirmed news of Qingyunzi’s survival.】

【And now, with Qingyunzi personally granting you an audience, the entire Azure Cloud Sect had found its pillar of strength once more, and its future would be as steady as Mount Tai.】

【Ascending the Stairway to Immortality, you followed Fire Cloud Golden Immortal up to the main peak of Three Immortals Peak — Qingyunzi’s place of seclusion.】

Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly at this.

In the cultivation world, everything was governed by cause and effect, by the mystical and esoteric.

The collapse of Three Immortals Peak — to call it mere coincidence seemed far too convenient.

Yet Qingyunzi had not perished. Of this, Su Xing was absolutely certain…

“Could there be some hidden secret behind all of this?”

A faint sense of foreboding stirred in Su Xing’s heart as his gaze returned once more to the simulation panel.

【After reaching the main peak, a voice as warm and gentle as jade drifted down from the mountaintop — it was Qingyunzi.】

【Qingyunzi instructed you to come to his residence alone and dismissed Fire Cloud Golden Immortal.】

【Upon hearing this, Fire Cloud Golden Immortal cast a slightly envious glance at you before bowing and taking his leave.】

【Your heart was somewhat tense. The formation barrier before you opened wide, and you stepped through…】

【The moment you entered, you felt the dense spiritual energy atop the peak… it had even surpassed the level of a grotto-heaven.】

【The layout atop the peak struck you with an immediate sense of familiarity.】

【A hundred acres of farmland, a spirit spring, and a simple thatched cottage…】

【It was identical to the original layout of your spirit field grotto-heaven.】

【Arriving before the thatched cottage, a warm voice came from within the room: Come in.】

【You stepped inside upon hearing those words, and saw a familiar face.】

【This Qingyunzi’s appearance and bearing were virtually identical to the one you encountered in the dungeon several decades ago.】

【The only difference was that you remembered Qingyunzi favoring azure robes, yet today he wore white.】

【You paid no mind to these details and instead greeted Qingyunzi with a gracious bow, your manner respectful.】

【Qingyunzi regarded you with a faintly meaningful look, exchanging pleasantries with you at length and inquiring about your origins…】

【Suddenly, he shifted the topic and asked whether you had ever heard of Luo Tian…】

【Your heart jolted at his words, but you answered honestly, saying that you had once entered a dungeon called the Luotian Assembly back on Earth.】

【Upon hearing this, Qingyunzi’s face broke into a peculiar smile. He then asked how long you had been cultivating.】

【You were taken aback, but didn’t dare tell the truth, so you lied and claimed you had been cultivating for nearly two hundred years…】

【Yet you knew full well this lie wouldn’t fool Qingyunzi, for he was aware of your cultivation level from over fifty years ago.】

【Strangely, Qingyunzi made no mention of this, as though he had forgotten entirely. He simply produced a stone and said he wished to test your aptitude in order to select a suitable cultivation technique for you.】

【Your heart lurched, but you were powerless to stop him…】

【When the results of your aptitude and age tests were revealed, the smile on Qingyunzi’s face slowly faded, eventually settling into calm.】

【You studied Qingyunzi for a long while but could detect no flaw in his composure.】

【Just as you breathed a sigh of relief, Qingyunzi suddenly broke into an eerie smile…】

【He murmured to himself: Luo Tian, Luo Tian truly still exists! The Great Dao numbers fifty, the Heavens deploy forty-nine, and one escapes! You are that escaped one…】

【With those words, Qingyunzi seized you and performed a soul search…】

【Your divine sense gradually dissipated…】

【Your consciousness was stripped away…】

【You died!】

【Ding, this simulation has ended!】

After the simulation ended, Su Xing stared at the text before him, his face expressionless.

“So it’s true… in the end, even Qingyunzi couldn’t resist the temptation of Luo Tian?”

“That ‘escaped one’… what exactly was Qingyunzi referring to?”

“It seems like all the great cultivators… the Red Moon, the Advent Cult, Qingyunzi — they’re all searching for these things?”

After a pause, a flicker of bewilderment appeared in Su Xing’s eyes.

“It’s just that… the Qingyunzi in this simulation seemed somehow different from before?”

“He’d clearly already tested my aptitude and age before. Why would he test them again?”

Su Xing couldn’t make sense of it.

“Still, one thing is now certain — joining the Azure Cloud Sect won’t be the meteoric rise I imagined!”

“Because of Qingyunzi… I could only survive for less than sixty more years in the simulation!”

Su Xing carefully weighed the gains and losses from this simulation.

Going to the Azure Cloud Sect would indeed open up a far broader horizon. He could obtain more resources and even acquire many treasures…

But the price was that the moment Qingyunzi emerged from seclusion, Su Xing was as good as dead!

“…Then again, it’s not necessarily a dead end. If I leave for another minor thousand world before Qingyunzi comes out of seclusion, perhaps I’d never have to face him?”

“Still, the greatest benefit the Azure Cloud Sect offers me should be access to rare magical treasures, high-grade pills, and the like…”

That was Su Xing’s assessment.

If the goal was advancing his body tempering cultivation, the Hundred Thousand Mountains was the first choice — there was an abundance of Demonic Beast Blood Essence there, and Su Xing could grow rapidly.

If the goal was advancing his qi cultivation, Su Xing had the spirit field grotto-heaven on Earth, tens of millions of drops of spirit liquid, the Spirit Vein Dragon, and more… all for his exclusive use, which was far more beneficial for pure cultivation advancement.

“As for what really happened with Qingyunzi behind the scenes? Perhaps… the Celestial Secrets Pavilion has the answers?”

Su Xing drew a deep breath, thinking of the Class-A intelligence within the Celestial Secrets Pavilion. If he could obtain it, he would surely be one step closer to the truth!

Su Xing’s thoughts were somewhat chaotic at the moment.

He had always regarded Qingyunzi and the Azure Cloud Sect as his backing.

But now, looking at the reality…

All the world bustles for profit; all the world hustles for gain!

Even a Grand Luo Golden Immortal like Qingyunzi was no exception!

“For a Grand Luo Golden Immortal to stoop to attacking a junior… one can only imagine how great the temptation must be.”

“Could it be… that Luo Tian holds the secret to becoming a saint!?”

The only temptation Su Xing could think of that would drive a Grand Luo Golden Immortal to resort to any means necessary was the pursuit of an even higher realm…

Becoming one of the legendary Saints!

This wasn’t comparable to Earth’s so-called sages or mere Demon Saints — this was what lay beyond Grand Luo, the supreme realm!

“Sigh, with my current strength… I can’t involve myself in any of this!”

“The only thing I can do now is develop steadily and keep raising my power!”

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

【Photographic Memory】: Purple talent. Price: 1,000,000 energy.

【Fifty Years of Alchemy Experience】: After redemption, existing alchemy insights increase slightly. Price: 50,000,000 energy.

【Body Refining Grand Accomplishment Realm, Eighth Layer】: The ultimate realm for mortal body refinement cultivators. Grand Accomplishment in body refining allows brief traversal of the void, with physical toughness beyond imagination. Price: 4,000,000,000 energy.

【Spirit-Gathering Flowers x5,000】: Price: 500,000,000 energy.

【Mahayana Stage, Second Layer】: A Mahayana stage cultivator comprehends Origin Force, seeks dao essence, their magical power resonates with heaven and earth, their sea of spiritual energy boundless… Price: 4,000,000,000 energy.

【Void Stone】: A supreme treasure existing in the void above the Nine Heavens, containing a trace of the Great Dao of Space’s power. Can be used to forge magical treasures or studied to deepen one’s comprehension of spatial origin. Price: 15,000,000,000 energy.

【Spatial Force Comprehension (Introductory)】: Comprehension of spatial force reaches the Beginner-level, enabling the creation of spatial artifacts and detection of spatial fluctuations. Price: 700,000,000 energy.

【Blazing Sun Sword】: A supreme immortal weapon forged with a wisp of true solar fire. Can only unleash its maximum power at the Heavenly Immortal realm. Price: 20,000,000,000 energy.

【Supreme Flying Vessel】: A supreme immortal artifact, powered by magical energy. Can travel tens of millions of miles per day, with flight speed rivaling that of a Heavenly Immortal. Price: 18,000,000,000 energy.

【Purple Caltrop Treasure Vestment】: A supreme defensive immortal artifact. When worn, it renders the wearer impervious to heat and cold. Woven by Fairy Ziling, it can block attacks below the Immortal realm, and ordinary Human Immortals would find it difficult to breach its defense. Price: 23,000,000,000 energy.

Su Xing gazed at the rewards laid out before him, longing burning in his eyes.

“Damn, I want all of these rewards!”

“Too bad… I can only pick two…”

Su Xing sighed.

His eyes first went to the most valuable options — the three supreme immortal artifacts and the Void Stone!

“A single supreme immortal artifact… costs nearly twenty billion energy to bring out? That’s way too expensive!”

Su Xing sighed again.

Would these three immortal treasures significantly boost Su Xing’s strength?

Absolutely!

But the problem was, obtaining them wouldn’t solve the fundamental issue!

Setting aside the fact that Su Xing’s realm was insufficient to unleash their full power — even if he could, there were no enemies on Earth that required him to use them…

If it were someone like Old Dog Dragon, Su Xing could handle him without a weapon.

But against Blood Three or the Amalgamated Beast… even armed with these weapons, Su Xing still wouldn’t stand a chance!

He could hardly expect to defeat True Immortal or even Golden Immortal level powerhouses just by wielding a single immortal weapon, could he?

“These immortal weapons… tasteless to keep, yet a shame to discard…”

“The main issue is, they’re not worth me spending this much to obtain…”

Su Xing sighed softly. After a moment of deliberation, he turned his attention to three specific rewards.

Mahayana Stage, Second Layer cultivation!

This was Su Xing’s mandatory pick…

The dilemma, then, was between Body Tempering Grand Accomplishment Eighth Layer and the Beginner-level Spatial Force Comprehension.

“Spatial force is certainly precious… but I can perfectly well comprehend it through immersive simulation. It would only cost 72 million energy, and I should still be able to reach the introductory level… that’s a full tenfold difference!”

After some deliberation, Su Xing decided that extracting cultivation levels was the most cost-effective choice.

“Four full realm layers of cultivation, costing eight billion energy total…”

“But conveniently, the ten thousand tons of Third Rank exotic metal that Lu Yuanwu promised should be arriving soon… Twenty billion energy — more than enough for me to advance to the Tribulation Crossing realm!”

The corners of Su Xing’s mouth curled upward.

Rather than rushing to redeem his rewards, Su Xing began disguising his appearance and concealing his aura, preparing to go find Lu Yuanwu.

At the appointed location, Lu Yuanwu had been waiting for some time.

“Senior, here are the ten thousand tons of Third Rank exotic metal I promised you!”

Lu Yuanwu respectfully presented several storage rings.

Su Xing accepted the storage rings. With a mental nudge, the simulator’s notification chimed in his ear.

【Ding, large quantities of energy-containing materials detected. Total value: 20,000,000,000 simulation energy. Redeem?】