Chapter 275 – Comprehending the Embryonic Great Dao of Space, the Terrifying Power of Spirit Domain!

In the Real World, Su Xing’s heart stirred when he saw this.

“In the previous simulation, I’d already sold my intelligence… I couldn’t obtain information about divinity, but this is now the thirty-third year of the simulation—I can absolutely use intelligence trading!”

“It seems… I’ll finally be able to learn the difference between so-called divinity and immortal essence…”

After a brief pause, Su Xing continued:

“And after that, I need to find a way to fully master the embryonic Great Dao of Space, then form a Spirit Domain. If I can do that, this simulation will be perfect!”

With that thought, Su Xing silently chanted:

“Activate immersive simulation, duration: 24 hours!”

【Ding…】

As the simulation notification chimed, Su Xing appeared outside the familiar Celestial Secrets Pavilion shop.

Stepping inside, Su Xing clearly felt a ripple of spatial energy.

“Tsk tsk, the spatial formations of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion really are marvelous…”

Su Xing exclaimed in admiration. With his current level of insight, even he felt unable to see through these spatial formations.

A young woman’s languid voice reached his ears:

“Fellow Daoist, are you here to buy intelligence or sell it?”

Su Xing replied calmly, “Both, actually…”

“I want to sell these pieces of intelligence and exchange them for information about divinity…”

Having said that, Su Xing handed over several jade slips.

A flash of surprise crossed the young woman’s eyes upon hearing this. Intelligence related to divinity was extremely valuable—ordinary people couldn’t afford to buy it…

But after she finished examining the intelligence in Su Xing’s jade slips, her expression turned solemn, and she handed him a jade slip in return.

“What you want is in here…”

Su Xing took the jade slip but wasn’t in a hurry to examine it. Instead, he asked:

“Do you have any spatial-type magical treasures here, or treasures that enhance one’s comprehension of the Great Dao of Space… such as Void Stones?”

The young woman shook her head slightly.

“For treasures of that kind, you’d need to go to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Auction House to purchase them… Besides, Void Stones are virtually unseen in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm…”

Su Xing had expected her refusal, so he produced something she couldn’t possibly refuse.

A pitch-black tree branch appeared in Su Xing’s hand.

“What if I trade this treasure for a Void Stone?”

The young woman, whose gaze had been casual and indifferent, instantly had her pupils contract upon seeing the charcoal-black branch.

“Where did you get this thing? Do you even know what this is?!”

Her tone suddenly turned agitated.

Su Xing put on a puzzled expression, feigning ignorance:

“I obtained it by chance—a peculiar branch containing the Dao of wood and fire… I’d like to trade it for a Void Stone. What do you think?”

The young woman’s eyes darted about as she carefully sized up Su Xing.

She could see that while his foundation was solid and his cultivation impressive, he likely hadn’t reached the Immortal realm, which meant his knowledge was limited.

She therefore guessed that Su Xing had absolutely no idea what the branch in his hand truly represented…

An innate Fusang tree branch—a treasure that could make even a Golden Immortal’s heart race!

So the young woman said:

“Come back here in one month. By then, I’ll have a Void Stone ready to trade with you. How does that sound?”

There was a hint of urgency in her voice.

Su Xing nodded in agreement. “Very well, as you say!”

With that settled, Su Xing began reading the intelligence in the jade slip.

The innate Fusang tree branch was of course far more valuable than a Void Stone!

But Su Xing had no use for it in this simulation, so trading it for a Void Stone was perfectly fitting—the young woman was even making an enormous profit!

Of course, if it were an ordinary faction, Su Xing wouldn’t dare make such a trade, for fear of being killed and robbed.

But the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was a massive, well-established organization with an excellent reputation. He wouldn’t call them a good-aligned faction, but they were at least lawful neutral or above, which was why Su Xing dared to attempt this trade.

…

The immersive simulation soon ended, and Su Xing returned to reality.

At this moment, Su Xing’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

“So that’s what alien gods are all about…”

The intelligence obtained from the Celestial Secrets Pavilion didn’t contain detailed explanations of the alien gods’ origins or the alien world.

However, it provided comprehensive annotations regarding the alien gods’ power and their divinity.

Alien gods, much like immortals, occupied an extremely powerful tier of existence.

If humans or other races wished to become immortals, they had to cultivate from Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, all the way through the Mahayana stage, the Tribulation Crossing stage…

They had to pass the Five Trials of Becoming Immortal and survive the Thunder Tribulation before they could ascend to immortality.

Alien gods, meanwhile, had their own process for achieving godhood.

After reaching Saint-stage, aliens required three things—godhood, divine office, and divinity—before they could become true alien gods!

Among these, divinity was the hardest to obtain. Only certain aliens with noble bloodlines could acquire divinity through their inherited bloodline.

For example, the so-called King Clan, Imperial Clan, Emperor Clan, and so on…

Of the three essential elements—godhood, divine office, and divinity—the first two were relatively easier to obtain.

And with just those two, one could still become a god—what was known as a false god!

This was similar to Loose Immortals among human cultivators…

After obtaining godhood and divine office to become a false god, one could possess strength rivaling the Human Immortal Realm.

This also explained why some of the alien gods Su Xing had previously slain possessed divinity while others did not.

“However, the divine offices of these alien gods are rather interesting!”

Su Xing rubbed his chin and muttered.

The intelligence mentioned that alien divine offices were highly varied, with each god governing different responsibilities.

These divine offices were the source of an alien god’s power!

For instance, weaker alien gods might hold divine offices as lowly as “God of Insects,” “God of Ants,” or “God of Antennae”—utterly bottom-tier positions.

But powerful alien gods might govern death, souls, time… laws that sounded terrifying just hearing about them.

“So divine offices are somewhat similar to the power of Great Dao laws among human cultivators?”

“All things in existence… have their own Great Dao laws. Wind, fire, lightning, and electricity have laws… and so do insects, flowers, and grass!”

Su Xing fell into deep thought.

Many cultivators could comprehend the same type of Great Dao law, but only one person at most could truly walk that path to its very end!

“Though the intelligence did mention one interesting detail…”

“Alien divine offices tend to be elusive and unstable, yet they lie hidden within godhood and divinity…”

“Godhood is difficult to acquire… but divinity can be obtained by slaying alien gods!”

“This means… in battles between immortals and alien gods, one can devour portions of the other’s energy to strengthen oneself!”

At this, a strange gleam flashed through Su Xing’s eyes.

It wasn’t guaranteed that fighting between gods and immortals would yield the other’s divinity or immortal essence upon a kill.

At the very least, for immortals, it depended largely on luck. If the opponent’s “divine office” aligned with the Great Dao laws one had comprehended, then one could devour a portion of that law’s power to strengthen oneself.

For example, if Su Xing, who had mastered the spatial Dao, killed an alien god whose divine office was “God of Displacement,”

then there would be some connection to the spatial Dao, and after killing them, Su Xing could gain partial insights into the Great Dao of Space to bolster his own power.

“This concept of divinity is truly fascinating… Could the aliens’ massive invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds be related to divinity and immortal essence?”

Su Xing rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

“But for this simulation, the priority is still finding a Void Stone and comprehending the Great Dao of Space!”

Su Xing was filled with anticipation as he turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【You remain in White Emperor City for one month.】

【One month later, you visit the Celestial Secrets Pavilion and trade the innate Fusang tree branch for a Void Stone of considerable quality.】

【After completing the trade, you leave the area, preparing to find a suitable location for secluded cultivation.】

【To ensure your seclusion won’t be disturbed, you head to the Hundred Thousand Mountains and carve out a cave dwelling within a mountainside.】

【You then set up a Breath-Concealing Formation and restrictive barriers, preparing to enter secluded cultivation.】

【Year thirty-five: After one year of seclusion, your comprehension of the spatial Dao gradually deepens.】

【The Void Stone contains pure spatial origin energy, which you continuously study and absorb.】

【Time flies, and five years pass in the blink of an eye.】

【Year forty: One day, while studying the spatial Dao with the aid of the Void Stone, you suddenly enter a mysterious and profound state.】

【Space seems to become traceable before your eyes, as clear and tangible as physical substance.】

【Congratulations, you have triggered a Spontaneous Epiphany!】

【Upon entering the epiphany state, your comprehension ability surges dramatically, as if nothing is beyond your grasp…】

【You seize the opportunity, practicing the application of spatial power again and again.】

【Spatial teleportation, opening extradimensional storage spaces, Spatial Severance… your proficiency in multiple techniques rapidly improves.】

【On the third day of your epiphany, you finally break through that layer of shackles and master the embryonic Great Dao of Space!】

【On the fifth day of your epiphany, you successfully integrate the Great Dao of Space into your embryonic Spirit Domain…】

【When your epiphany state fades, you feel a pang of loss.】

【But it is quickly replaced by elation.】

【In just five days of epiphany, you not only mastered the Great Dao of Space, but also added another attribute to your embryonic Spirit Domain—wood, fire, and space, three Great Dao laws coexisting!】

In the Real World, Su Xing gazed at the simulation text before him, his heart surging with joy.

“Finally, the Spontaneous Epiphany has triggered!”

“Five days of epiphany — not only did I comprehend the embryonic Great Dao of Space, but it also advanced the Spirit Domain further!”

“With wood, fire, and space as the three core Daos, a Spirit Domain embryo of this caliber is probably one in ten thousand!”

Su Xing was fairly satisfied with this, but three Dao origins still fell short of his expectations.

“I’ll keep trying over the coming period… let’s see if I can fuse in other Great Daos…”

Su Xing thought to himself, his gaze turning to the simulation panel.

【After comprehending the embryonic Great Dao of Space and advancing your Spirit Domain further, you did not slack off. You continued attempting to fuse in other Origin Forces.】

【The fourth Origin Force you sought to incorporate was the Essence of Lightning.】

【Previously on Earth, you had already spent over a decade attempting this, but with minimal results.】

【However, having now comprehended the Great Dao of Space, you felt your mastery over the Spirit Domain had improved, so you pressed on…】

【Just like that, another ten years passed in the blink of an eye.】

【Year fifty. While in secluded cultivation within your cave dwelling, you were suddenly awakened by a disturbance outside.】

【The formations and restrictive barriers you had originally set up were mostly destroyed.】

【You frowned slightly, left the cave dwelling, and appeared within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.】

【Looking out, you saw two Human Immortal realm demon cultivators locked in battle.】

【These two Demon Kings fought with killing intent in every move. The terrifying shockwaves of their spells toppled mountain ranges and shattered your formations.】

【Being jolted out of secluded cultivation by others, interrupting your comprehension of the Spirit Domain — this displeased you greatly.】

【So you decided to teach them a lesson.】

【With a thought, all four Origin Forces surged forth — wood, fire, lightning, space…】

【You clenched one fist and grasped at the void. One of the Human Immortal realm demon generals was instantly seized through empty space.】

【This was an application of spatial power. Within your Spirit Domain, any living being whose comprehension of the spatial Dao was inferior to yours could not control their own position.】

【Seeing this Human Immortal realm demon cultivator baring its teeth and hurling insults, you frowned slightly.】

【With a wave of your left hand through the void, a spatial blade as sharp as a knife’s edge appeared, cleaving the Human Immortal realm demon cultivator cleanly in two — instant death.】

【The other Human Immortal realm demon cultivator was scared out of its wits and immediately tried to flee.】

【But you clenched your right fist and pulled at the void. A bolt of thunder crashed down from the Nine Heavens above, imbued with terrifying Essence of Lightning, striking straight at the Human Immortal realm demon cultivator!】

【Boom, boom, boom! As the thunder fell, this second Human Immortal realm demon cultivator was reduced to charcoal, its life force completely extinguished…】

【In merely a dozen breaths of time, you had slain two early-stage Human Immortal Realm demon generals in succession.】

【But you were not satisfied with this, because you discovered that the Spirit Domain’s energy consumption was somewhat excessive, and the Spirit Domain embryo had not yet fully formed.】

【After collecting the two demon generals’ corpses, you decided to make a trip to White Emperor City to inquire about the recent frontline situation.】

In the real world, Su Xing smacked his lips at the sight of this.

“Tsk tsk… slaying two early-stage Human Immortal realm demon cultivators with a wave of the hand — that combat power is simply incredible!”

Su Xing’s eyes gleamed with delight. The improvement from the Spirit Domain Trial was even greater than he had imagined!

It could fully bring out the formidable aspects of Dao origins!

Previously, although Su Xing had comprehended Origin Forces, their application was limited, far from unleashing their maximum power.

But now, even in its incomplete form, the Spirit Domain embryo was already extraordinarily powerful — even capable of instantly killing two early-stage Human Immortal realm demon cultivators across a gap in levels.

“So, with the Spirit Domain’s augmentation, against targets who haven’t mastered a Spirit Domain, it’s essentially a dimensional reduction strike!”

Su Xing sighed softly, his gaze turning to the simulation panel.

【After killing the two demon cultivators, you headed to White Emperor City.】

【Inside the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, you purchased a set of frontline intelligence.】

【You learned that Celestial Demon City’s war situation had deteriorated in recent years, mainly because red-eyed aliens had appeared on the battlefield, greatly increasing the pressure.】

【After a rough estimate, you guessed that the Red Moon was nearing its revival, which explained the frequent appearance of red-eyed aliens.】

【Then you suddenly recalled that in year sixty, two Heavenly Immortal realm great demon generals would be ambushed and killed.】

【This would accelerate the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm’s destruction.】

【But if you went to the frontlines to fight, you might put yourself in danger as well, which would be detrimental to your comprehension of the Spirit Domain Trial.】

【So you decided to sell this intelligence to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion — but not yet.】

【And so, another eight years passed.】

【Year fifty-eight. Over these eight years, you continued studying the Spirit Domain embryo.】

【After the four Dao origins of wood, fire, lightning, and space, you attempted to fuse the Essence of Strength into it.】

【But this process did not go as smoothly as you had imagined.】

【The reason was that the more Origin Forces contained within the Spirit Domain, the greater the difficulty of mastering it.】

【Eight years of slow progress.】

【Knowing that the frontline Heavenly Immortal great demons would die in two years, you sold the intelligence to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion ahead of time.】

【Though the Celestial Secrets Pavilion was puzzled as to how you could have known this intelligence in advance, they were still willing to pay a handsome sum of spirit stones for it.】

【With the spirit stones in hand, you felt much more at ease. As long as the intelligence reached the frontlines, the tragedy should be averted this time.】

【At the same time, you also inquired about intelligence on the Advent Cult through the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.】

【Sure enough, just as you had predicted, the Advent Cult had not fared well in recent years.】

【Over twenty years ago, you had sold the locations and intelligence on all the Advent Cult’s major strongholds to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.】

【After verifying the information’s authenticity, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion swiftly organized loose cultivators to launch a purge against the Advent Cult.】

【Purging heretical cultivators — loose cultivators naturally scrambled to sign up. Not only did low-level cultivators participate, but Human Immortals, Earthly Immortals… even Heavenly Immortal realm cultivators had taken action!】

【Over twenty years later, the Advent Cult’s strongholds had been destroyed almost entirely. All ten of the great human traitor merchant families had been eradicated.】

【This left the Advent Cult too busy saving itself to have any time to hunt you down.】

【The Advent Cult paid an enormous price trying to investigate how their intelligence had been leaked, but no matter what, they could never have connected it to you…】

In the real world, the corners of Su Xing’s mouth curled upward at this.

“Tsk tsk, in the eyes of the Advent Cult in this timeline, I’m probably just a minor traitor who crossed over to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm through the world passage…”

“But they could never know that I was the one who leaked all of it…”

The Advent Cult was too busy saving itself, cracking down on traitors within — this was naturally good news for Su Xing. At the very least, he no longer had to worry about being hunted by the Advent Cult.

“It’s just a shame that fusing the Spirit Domain is far more difficult than I imagined… I wonder how many more Dao origins I can fuse in the remaining time?”

Su Xing sighed.

If he were to give up now and directly solidify the Spirit Domain, he would feel rather unwilling.

“Well, spending more time now… means saving even more time in the future!”

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

【With the Advent Cult too busy to bother you and the frontline situation relatively stable, you set your mind at ease and devoted yourself even more diligently to secluded cultivation of the Spirit Domain…】

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

【Year sixty-five. Your mastery of the Spirit Domain had improved slightly, but the Essence of Strength still could not be smoothly fused into it.】

【After emerging from seclusion, you briefly gathered intelligence, confirmed that the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm’s situation was still manageable, and then went back into seclusion.】

【Time flies like a white colt flashing past a gap… this round of seclusion lasted another ten years!】

【Year seventy-five. When you emerged from seclusion again, you had finally and completely incorporated the Essence of Strength into the Spirit Domain embryo.】

【In addition to wood, fire, lightning, and spatial origins, the Spirit Domain now contained one more Dao origin.】

【After absorbing the Essence of Strength, you discovered that your Spirit Domain embryo had gained an additional property.】

【Within the Spirit Domain’s range, your physical strength was enormously amplified. Your original power of two thousand mountains directly doubled, reaching the power of four thousand mountains…】

【You could even control the gravity within the Spirit Domain, making it difficult for targets to move.】

【As the Spirit Domain embryo continued to develop, you gradually came to understand its advantages.】

【The number of Spirit Domain attributes might not necessarily mean greater strength, but more was certainly better!】

【A rare few powerhouses focused on a single Dao, pushing that one Dao to its absolute limit — their Spirit Domains were naturally terrifying.】

【But each additional Great Dao law added another property to the Spirit Domain!】

【The more properties there were, the higher the Spirit Domain’s ceiling, so more was always better!】

“Fusing the fifth Dao origin into the Spirit Domain took twenty-five years…”

“As expected, the later stages become increasingly difficult for Spirit Domain formation?”

Su Xing sighed. At this rate, in the remaining time, he probably couldn’t fully complete the Spirit Domain embryo.

“Well, whatever I can comprehend will have to do…”

Su Xing’s gaze turned to the simulation panel.

【Year seventy-five. You traveled to White Emperor City, intending to purchase intelligence.】

【But by now, White Emperor City was no longer the prosperous place it had been ten years ago… not only were loose cultivators rarely seen on the streets, even the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s shop had closed.】

【You frowned slightly and inquired about the frontline battle reports.】

【Sure enough, just as you had predicted, several Heavenly Immortal realm cultivators had fallen on the frontlines. The major factions, seeing no hope of victory in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm, withdrew one after another.】

【At this point, the only top-tier force still fully defending the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm was Celestial Demon City. Even the loose cultivators in White Emperor City had been disbanded…】

【What left you even more helpless was that the situation in the Hundred Thousand Mountains had also begun to deteriorate in recent years.】

【With several Heavenly Immortal realm great demons dead, the Hundred Thousand Mountains was leaderless. There were even rumors that the True Immortal realm great demon had died during a failed breakthrough in secluded cultivation…】

【And the Advent Cult had shown signs of resurgence in recent years.】

【Everything seemed to be returning to its original course. All your efforts had only delayed the timing of these events…】

【You couldn’t help but feel somewhat disheartened, but you knew this was simply because your strength was insufficient. If you were strong enough, you could surely change this situation entirely!】

【So you continued your secluded cultivation…】

【Cultivation knows no seasons. In the blink of an eye, another ten years passed…】

【Year eighty-five. You were interrupted during secluded cultivation.】

【A seductive figure broke through the formation barrier and appeared before you.】

【You looked closely and saw that this person was none other than the Advent Cult officer, Blood Twenty-Three!】

【Blood Twenty-Three seemed to have come specifically to kill you… with a gentle wave of her hand, your seven souls and six spirits were scattered, reducing you to an imbecile.】

【She then performed a soul search on you…】

【You died!】

【Ding — this simulation has ended!】

(Two updates totaling nearly thirteen thousand characters — mega update, please vote with monthly tickets~)