Chapter 287 – An Unexpected Talent, the Astonishing Effect of Late Bloomer! [8k]
by spirapiraSu Xing felt relieved at first when he saw this, but then grew somewhat puzzled.
The relief came from the fact that Blood Three ultimately didn’t dare set foot in Celestial Demon City.
That Celestial Demon General’s external avatar possessed at least Golden Immortal-level strength and was fighting on home turf — more than enough to serve as a deterrent.
What puzzled Su Xing was that the alien race clearly had the strength to breach Celestial Demon City in one assault, yet they were waiting for an opportunity…
“What… are they waiting for?”
Su Xing closed his eyes in contemplation.
On a battlefield, there were only two reasons the dominant side would bide its time.
First, reinforcements were on the way that would expand their advantage, allowing them to take the city without bloodshed…
Second, the enemy’s strength was weakening, and by waiting for the right moment, they could take the city with greater certainty and fewer losses…
“So which reason is it? Or could it be both?”
Su Xing didn’t know for now and could only turn his attention to the simulation panel.
【You observed the alien race’s movements day after day from within Celestial Demon City…】
【You discovered that the red-eyed aliens’ strength had increased by over thirty percent in just a few short months, and pressure on the front lines was mounting…】
【What alarmed you even more was that the skies above countless cities stretching a million li (500,000 km) north of Celestial Demon City… were gradually turning red!】
【This shade of red… was all too familiar to you!】
【It was the Blood Moon!】
【Red Moon’s power was gradually recovering!】
【This caused the red-eyed aliens’ strength to surge dramatically, and the alien race’s overall power grew rapidly…】
【You feared that the day Red Moon fully revived… the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm might irreversibly fall into the Abyss!】
【After much hesitation, you decided to report this matter to Celestial Demon City’s leadership!】
【But strangely, the upper echelons of Celestial Demon City made no response…】
【Given your status as a commander… after your repeated reports, a True Immortal within the city granted you an audience.】
【This True Immortal hailed from Celestial Demon Prison and was, aside from that external avatar, the actual highest-ranking figure in Celestial Demon City.】
【He didn’t hide anything from you, simply informing you that they had long known about Red Moon’s impending revival.】
【But this… was an unavoidable open stratagem!】
【The alien race’s overall strength surpassed that of the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm — how could Celestial Demon City’s cultivators possibly counterattack?】
【All they could do was stall for time, watching helplessly as Red Moon revived… waiting for the day of total annihilation!】
【You asked why the Celestial Demon General’s external avatar didn’t intervene.】
【Perhaps if it acted… it could prevent Red Moon’s revival?】
【The True Immortal shook his head slightly upon hearing this, as though harboring difficulties he was unwilling to voice.】
【Left with no choice, you could only continue cultivating within Celestial Demon City, keeping constant watch on the alien race’s movements…】
【But good times didn’t last. As the front-line battles grew increasingly brutal, alien gods of Medium Divine Power… even Greater Divine Power occasionally approached, and each time they were nearly impossible to withstand.】
【Even you walked on thin ice at the front lines, narrowly escaping danger multiple times thanks to your fortune talent…】
【And so, five years passed…】
【Year one hundred and five. On the front-line battlefield, you didn’t dare venture deep… but when a frontline fortress came under siege, you had no choice but to risk going to its aid.】
【What you didn’t expect was that this was a trap specifically set for you!】
【Three Medium Divine Power alien gods encircled you. You fought with everything you had, managing to kill one alien god… but ultimately collapsed from exhaustion…】
【When you regained consciousness, you found yourself in a familiar formation, with those blood-red eyes above staring fixedly down at you…】
【Whispered ravings filled your ears… your consciousness gradually dissipated…】
【You died!】
【Ding, this simulation has ended!】
After the simulation ended, Su Xing was speechless.
“Red Moon was actually still keeping tabs on me… So it really is because of the Luotian legacy I carry?”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. He hadn’t expected Red Moon and the alien race to set a trap specifically to capture him.
“Well, a hundred and five years of simulation… the simulation objectives were more or less achieved!”
Su Xing closed his eyes in thought, summarizing the gains and losses of this simulation.
“If I’d just holed up in Celestial Demon City defending without ever leaving, could I have simulated for even longer?”
“Hmm… that’s worth considering!”
“That Void Strange Beast ruin — once I’m stronger, I can explore it!”
“The Origin-channeling Flowers of the Black Water Realm… I’ll need to make a trip there when the opportunity arises!”
“And the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art… I need to cultivate it to the second layer as soon as possible to enjoy even greater cultivation speed bonuses and advance faster!”
After a brief summary and review of what needed attention, Su Xing turned his gaze to this simulation’s rewards.
【Stronger with Age】: Purple talent, priced at 1 origin energy.
【Great Shaman Body Forging Scripture, First Layer (Perfection)】: Great Shaman Body Forging Art first layer at Perfection. With physical strength alone, can battle Perfection-level Human Immortal realm cultivators. Priced at 30,000 origin energy.
【Orthodox Unity Qi Absorption Scripture Comprehension (First Layer)】: Luotian Sect’s supreme secret art. Can absorb the qi of 24 hours. 2 hours of daily cultivation equals a full day of bitter training. Priced at 10,000 origin energy.
【Void Spirit Stones x4】: Rare mineral born in the void, possessing the wondrous ability to stabilize space. Can be used in treasure refinement. Priced at 20,000 origin energy.
Looking at the simulation rewards before him, Su Xing hesitated slightly.
“The Void Spirit Stones… were produced in the secret realm during year sixty-seven. By the time I obtained those stones, Qingyunzi had already emerged from seclusion…”
“This means I can’t go to Azure Cloud!”
“It also means I must bring the Void Spirit Stones out… and then find an Azure Cloud Sect Qi Refinement Grandmaster to refine them…”
Su Xing frowned slightly. This meant he would lose twenty thousand origin energy and waste one of his simulation selection slots.
“Unfortunately, there’s no better option… To obtain a half-step supreme post-celestial treasure, this is the only way!”
“But for now, I should focus on improving my cultivation… This spatial treasure isn’t urgently needed right this moment…”
Su Xing estimated that even a damaged top-grade spatial immortal treasure would cost twenty thousand origin energy.
Then a spatial half-step supreme post-celestial treasure might require a hundred thousand origin energy?
With Su Xing’s current origin energy reserves, he couldn’t afford it.
Only after trading with Xia’s military and selling spirit rice would he perhaps have enough origin energy.
Having thought this through, Su Xing hesitated no longer and silently declared:
“I choose Great Shaman Body Forging Art first layer at Perfection… and Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art comprehension!”
【You have successfully extracted Great Shaman Body Forging Art Layer 1 cultivation (Perfection), spending 30,000 origin energy. Remaining origin energy: 13,180 points…】
【You have successfully extracted Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art Layer 1 (Comprehension), spending 10,000 origin energy. Remaining origin energy: 3,180 points…】
As the simulation notification faded, two streams of energy surged into Su Xing’s body.
A wealth of insights flooded Su Xing’s mind — comprehension of both the Great Shaman Body Forging Art and the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art.
At the same time, Su Xing’s physical body was rapidly growing stronger.
In mere breaths, Su Xing’s physical power climbed to the power of ten thousand mountains…
Also known as the power of mountains and rivers!
Moments later, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes, stretched his body, and adjusted to the explosive increase in strength.
“Not bad… Compared to when I first achieved the immortal body, my strength has multiplied several times over, and my physical resilience has more than doubled as well…”
The power of one mountain… was twenty million tons!
The power of ten thousand mountains! Strength to uphold mountains and rivers!
Su Xing himself didn’t know how terrifying his current strength was. After all, on Earth, he had long since run out of worthy opponents.
“The Great Shaman Body Forging Art — every layer breakthrough is a qualitative leap!”
“After breaking through from the first layer to the second, not only does strength surge each time, but new properties can be comprehended as well!”
Su Xing took a deep breath. The second layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art focused on primordial energy!
Primordial energy was no stranger to Su Xing — it was the most important power for Body Tempering cultivators!
Long before achieving immortality, Su Xing had already planted a seed of primordial energy within his body, allowing primordial energy to flow ceaselessly.
And Su Xing’s mastery of primordial energy had reached the third stage — projecting primordial energy externally!
But primordial energy was originally a special type of power that later-generation Body Tempering cultivators had developed by studying and improving upon the Wu Clan’s methods.
One could say the Wu Clan were the true originators of primordial energy!
The second layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art could cause the seed of primordial energy within the body to bloom, while further enhancing primordial energy’s destructive power and sustainability!
“And there’s the nurturing of the natal artifact… After reaching the second layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, the speed of nurturing the natal artifact will increase dramatically!”
“Who knows — my Blackice sword might even reach top-grade treasure level… or even supreme post-celestial treasure tier!”
Su Xing took a deep breath, a hint of anticipation in his heart.
He drew his spirit sword Blackice. The cold, clear blade hummed softly in his hand.
This Blackice sword had accompanied Su Xing for years, and he’d grown very comfortable wielding it. Unless absolutely necessary, he truly couldn’t bear to replace it.
“And then there’s the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art…”
Su Xing closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath, seemingly sensing the rhythmic patterns of qi.
“Absorbing the qi of 24 hours… From now on, cultivation will save me quite a lot of time!”
Su Xing murmured.
Glancing at the time, Lu Yuanwu should already be waiting at their agreed meeting point.
So Su Xing disguised his appearance and concealed his aura before heading out to meet Lu Yuanwu.
After completing the trade, Su Xing gained an additional twenty thousand origin energy.
Looking at his origin energy on the simulation panel restored to five digits, Su Xing sighed.
“Ah, this origin energy — it comes fast… and goes just as fast!”
“With my current cultivation level, a single simulation extraction costs at minimum thirty to forty thousand origin energy…”
“And this is only the Human Immortal realm… Once I reach the Earthly Immortal realm, the consumption will likely be even more staggering…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. He couldn’t afford to slack off in acquiring origin energy.
With that thought, Su Xing rode his sword toward the Immortal Martial World.
After entering the Immortal Martial World, Su Xing didn’t refine puppets. Instead, he entered the spirit field grotto-heaven and began force-ripening spirit rice.
His previously accumulated spirit rice had been completely used up in the trade with Xia’s military.
And the daily refinement of Fasting Pills also required large quantities of spirit rice, so Su Xing had to build up reserves.
“I’ll force-ripen spirit rice for another week then… Stockpiling tens of millions of jin should be enough, right?”
Su Xing muttered to himself.
Over the next week, Su Xing force-ripened spirit rice in the grotto-heaven.
…
Soon, the date reached August 12th.
Su Xing returned to Earth and met with Jin Congxue at the Villa.
Jin Congxue wore a white short skirt today, sitting before Su Xing with a radiant smile.
“Oh? Did something good happen today? Why are you so happy?”
Su Xing teased.
Jin Congxue gave a coy huff and said:
“It’s all because of you, obviously!”
“The trade with Xia’s military has made more progress… The transaction could happen as early as a week from now!”
Su Xing nodded slightly upon hearing this. That was quite fast.
Thinking about the hundred thousand origin energy about to come in, Su Xing felt a surge of excitement.
After saying goodbye to Jin Congxue, Su Xing returned to the spirit field grotto-heaven.
August 12th, 2025 — Su Xing initiated his 99th simulation right on schedule.
“Begin simulation!”
【The 99th simulation has begun. Current remaining origin energy: 39,180 points… Remaining simulation attempts: none.】
【Simulation start!】
【Drawing a gold legendary talent costs 1 origin energy. Draw?】
Su Xing thought for a moment but chose not to draw a gold talent. Instead, he wanted to bring out the talent Late Bloomer!
“The previous simulation lasted a hundred and five years… I was 128 at the time, which means twenty-eight years of doubled cultivation speed bonus. That’s already quite significant!”
“It’s time to put the Late Bloomer talent to use!”
Su Xing realized that some of the purple talents he’d drawn previously could, under certain special circumstances, be no less effective than gold talents!
And now was precisely the time Su Xing needed to deploy these talents!
“Open the talent pool lottery…”
Over the next few minutes, Su Xing spent a full 23 origin energy before finally drawing the “Late Bloomer” talent from the lottery pool, which made him wince a little.
But at least the talent was in hand, and his origin energy hadn’t been spent in vain.
【Detected: Host has selected the talent Late Bloomer. Simulation officially begins!】
【In the spirit field grotto-heaven… you became aware that you were in a simulation!】
【You received a message from Jin Congxue informing you that the trade had gone smoothly, yielding ten million Abyss Stones.】
【You disguised your appearance and concealed your aura before heading to the Villa. Using divine sense to scan the surroundings and confirm no one was watching, you collected the Abyss Stones.】
【Ten days later, you entered the Luotian dungeon…】
In the real world, Su Xing silently declared:
“Activate immersive simulation…”
【Ding…】
Soon, the immersive simulation concluded. After regaining consciousness, Su Xing habitually glanced at his attribute panel.
To his surprise, his Dao of Puppetry had formally advanced to Major Mastery level!
“Hiss… Ghost Granny is absolutely a Grandmaster-level figure in the Dao of Puppetry!”
“In just these dozens of immersive simulations… she brought my Dao of Puppetry to Major Mastery, equivalent to a tenth-order puppet Grandmaster!”
“That saved me at least a thousand years of studying the Dao of Puppetry!”
Su Xing marveled briefly. Without realizing it, his Dao of Puppetry had also entered the Major Mastery level.
Among the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation — alchemy, talismans, Formation Dao, puppetry, spirit cultivation — Su Xing had dabbled in them all.
Unlike ordinary cultivators, Su Xing pursued these arts for the purpose of acquiring more energy.
“Major Mastery in the Dao of Puppetry… I can also re-refine those puppets afterward. The efficiency should improve even further!”
Su Xing murmured, his gaze turning to the simulation panel.
【After leaving the Luotian dungeon, your Dao of Puppetry reached Major Mastery level!】
【A few days later, you contacted Luo Shuying and traveled to the Spirit Clan ancestral grounds to retrieve a portion of the Luotian Sect’s legacy treasures.】
【You were in no rush to leave Earth, instead choosing to remain and continue studying the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art.】
【Each day you cultivated for 2 hours, consuming a thousand drops of high-grade spirit liquid — equivalent to ten days of arduous cultivation for an ordinary Human Immortal realm cultivator.】
【The rest of your time was entirely devoted to studying the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art.】
【Your comprehension of the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art was fastest on the days of the twenty-four solar terms…】
【Thus, ten years passed.】
【Year ten. During these ten years, the Advent Cult made multiple assassination attempts on Jin Congxue. Before Old Dog Dragon could personally make his move, you had already sent her to Demon-Sealing Pass for refuge, allowing her to escape disaster.】
【Although with your strength you could easily dispatch Old Dog Dragon, you had no intention of doing so.】
【Because once Old Dog Dragon was killed, Blood Three might descend upon Earth within a few years.】
【Even if you concealed your own karmic secrets, it would be difficult to withstand Blood Three’s probing.】
【At that point, you would have no choice but to leave Earth…】
【And so, you obediently remained on Earth to cultivate.】
【Thus, another ten years passed.】
【Year twenty. Your progress on the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art accelerated. On the six solar term days of Awakening of Insects, Grain in Ear, White Dew, and others, your cultivation speed increased more than tenfold.】
【Joy filled your heart, and you redoubled your efforts in cultivation…】
【Year twenty-three. You made a trip to the Beast Taming World and dealt with some hidden dangers.】
【Year twenty-eight. A Demon Saint descended upon Demon-Sealing Pass.】
【You chose this moment to reveal yourself, guarding Demon-Sealing Pass for five years.】
【Year thirty-three. The Demon Saint withdrew, and you resumed cultivating the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art.】
【Another nine years passed. You successively comprehended the solar terms of Cold Dew, Frost’s Descent, and Autumn Equinox… your cultivation speed surged dramatically!】
【Year forty-two. You were now able to guarantee a cultivation speed fifteen times faster than normal on twelve different solar term days.】
【And in this very year, an alien god of Lesser Divine Power descended upon Demon-Sealing Pass!】
【Just as this alien god was about to destroy Demon-Sealing Pass, you stepped forward and hammered it to death with a single punch of your physical body…】
【Beyond Demon-Sealing Pass, a great canyon a thousand zhang (3.33 km) deep appeared out of thin air. The blood of the Amalgamated Beast dripped into the canyon, forming a river of blood.】
【After slaying the god-level alien, you decided not to remain on Earth any longer, and prepared to head to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm to cultivate!】
【Year forty-three. After making arrangements with several close friends and relatives, you departed for the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm…】
In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly at this.
“According to previous simulations, repelling this wave of aliens in year forty-two can delay the Red Moon’s resurrection by ten years…”
“That means the red-eyed aliens won’t appear on the battlefield until year sixty.”
“This should slow down the deterioration of the frontline situation. Maybe I can squeeze a few more years out of the simulation too…”
The corner of Su Xing’s mouth curved upward slightly.
With the Late Bloomer buff, every additional year of simulation earned Su Xing double the returns.
It was precisely for this reason that, as long as he didn’t need cultivation resources unavailable on Earth, staying on Earth and delaying the aliens as long as possible was the optimal strategy.
So Su Xing thought, his gaze turning to the simulation panel.
【You descended in the northern part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains and immediately headed for the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.】
【You sold intelligence to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, informing them that in approximately seventeen years, the aliens would accelerate their invasion of the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.】
【After selling the intelligence, you received a considerable sum of Spirit stones.】
【By your estimation, the red-eyed aliens would appear around year sixty.】
【And for the next twenty to thirty years, you wouldn’t need to worry about the Advent Cult causing you trouble, so you settled comfortably in White Emperor City to study the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art.】
【Thus, another seven years passed.】
【Year fifty. This year, your cultivation broke through to the second stage of the Human Immortal period.】
【Your comprehension of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art also made some progress.】
【Time flew like a shuttle, and another ten years passed…】
【Year sixty. Your comprehension of the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art improved somewhat.】
【You had mastered the qi-absorption methods for sixteen different solar term days, and your cultivation speed on those days was twenty times your normal rate…】
【This year, you visited the Celestial Secrets Pavilion in White Emperor City and purchased intelligence on the frontline situation.】
【Sure enough, just as you had predicted, the red-eyed aliens had recently arrived at the front lines, and the current situation was far from optimistic.】
【You stayed in the inner city of White Emperor City for one day, sold intelligence about a possible ambush awaiting the Heavenly Immortal realm great demons, then returned to your cave dwelling to cultivate…】
In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly at this.
“Not bad… if things continue developing this way, this simulation can last at least several more years!”
“As for the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art… I wonder if I can complete the second layer in this simulation?”
Su Xing felt somewhat worried.
The Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art had three layers, each one more difficult than the last.
The first layer could be cultivated every day and the speed wasn’t slow, yet Su Xing had still spent a hundred and twenty years to complete it.
The second layer, while it could also be cultivated on ordinary days, progressed extremely slowly. Only on the solar term days that came once every fifteen days would cultivation speed increase.
Moreover, the second layer was the most complex — twenty-four solar term days required twenty-four different qi-absorption methods!
For instance, the Great Heat solar term required finding an extremely hot location to absorb qi in order to achieve twice the results with half the effort.
Fortunately, Su Xing could set up different formations to simulate the environments of different solar term days, so it wasn’t quite that troublesome.
“At this rate… completing the second layer will take at least two to three hundred years!”
“For now… I can only pin my hopes on achieving an epiphany!”
Su Xing sighed and turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【After selling the intelligence, you returned to your cave dwelling to cultivate. Thus, another ten years passed.】
【Year seventy. Your cultivation reached the mid-stage of the second level of the Human Immortal realm, and your Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art made modest progress.】
【This year, you decided to head to Celestial Demon City and enlist in the army — solely for safer cultivation conditions.】
【Traveling by airship, after arriving at Celestial Demon City, you demonstrated your abilities as an eleventh-order Formation Dao Grandmaster.】
【You were assigned to the Celestial Demon City logistics corps. Your safety was somewhat more assured, and aside from setting up formations each day, you had considerable free time for cultivation.】
【Thus, another seven years passed.】
【Year seventy-seven. This year, you were promoted to Myriarch.】
【In April of the same year, you turned one hundred years old, officially triggering the Late Bloomer talent buff!】
【After triggering this talent, you were surprised to discover that the cultivation speed boost didn’t only apply to your cultivation base — your speed of comprehending supernatural arts and techniques also doubled!】
【Joy filled your heart, and you seized the opportunity to cultivate with even greater urgency.】
【Thus, another thirteen years passed…】
【Year ninety. Your cultivation reached the late stage of the second level of the Human Immortal realm!】
【That same year, your mastery of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art improved further — you could now achieve twenty times your normal cultivation speed on twenty different solar term days.】
In the Real World, Su Xing’s face lit up with delight at this.
“Late Bloomer… it can even boost the cultivation of supernatural arts and techniques?”
Su Xing opened the simulation panel and carefully examined the description of Late Bloomer.
Late Bloomer: Automatically takes effect when your age exceeds one hundred years. Cultivation speed doubles based on your current foundation!
“Of course! It says cultivation speed… it doesn’t necessarily mean just Qi Refinement!”
“To be precise, Body Tempering, Qi Refinement… the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation, supernatural arts and techniques — they all count as cultivation!”
With this realization, the importance of this talent rose even further in Su Xing’s estimation!
“Damn, this talent is every bit as important as a gold-quality talent!”
Su Xing’s eyes blazed with excitement. Looking at it this way, the duration of the simulation became all the more crucial!
His gaze returned to the simulation panel.
【You cultivated in Celestial Demon City for decades, yet you also kept abreast of the frontline situation.】
【Sure enough, just as you expected, while the human race was currently at a disadvantage on the front lines, it had not yet reached a dire state.】
【But at this rate of development, the situation would rapidly deteriorate within the next one or two decades.】
【And so you seized every moment, cultivating with even greater effort…】
【Thus, ten years passed.】
【Year one hundred. One day, while cultivating the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art, you fell into a mysterious and wondrous state.】
【You gained new insights into the twenty-four solar terms. Within the transitions between the solar terms, you perceived a trace of the Dao of reincarnation and time…】
【Congratulations, you have triggered a Spontaneous Epiphany!】
【This epiphany lasted a full seven days…】
【Seven days of epiphany was equivalent to seventy years of arduous cultivation!】
【When you emerged from the state of epiphany, you felt a sense of profound loss.】
【But you immediately discovered with delight that you had already mastered the qi-absorption methods for twenty-three solar terms with proficiency, achieving an efficiency of twenty-nine times!】
【You were just one solar term short — the day of the Spring Equinox — from fully comprehending the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art!】
【Your heart swelled with joy, and you cultivated with even greater urgency.】
【But this year, the frontline situation had become extremely dire, with Earthly Immortal realm cultivators dying in battle one after another.】
【Fortunately, you remained hidden within Celestial Demon City and did not participate in frontline combat.】
【But even so, you dared not let your guard down.】
【You knew that the Red Moon had likely already learned your whereabouts. Once you entered frontline combat, you might be forcibly captured.】
【And Blood Three of the Advent Cult might be hunting you in the outside world at this very moment…】
【And so you remained in Celestial Demon City, seizing every last moment to cultivate.】
【Thus, eight years passed…】
【Year one hundred and eight. This year, your cultivation reached the late stage of the second level of the Human Immortal realm.】
【And the final one — the qi-absorption method for the Spring Equinox — was also successfully mastered.】
【The only thing that left you somewhat regretful was that your qi-absorption efficiency remained at twenty-nine times, failing to reach the perfect level where one day of cultivation could equal one month of arduous practice.】
【And so you consumed a Spirit Awakening Pill and activated the Great Wisdom state buff, preparing for one final push!】
【One month later, when you emerged from seclusion, you had finally achieved perfect comprehension of the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art!】
【Congratulations! You can now absorb qi during all twenty-four solar terms, and your cultivation speed has been greatly enhanced!】
Su Xing let out a long breath of relief at this.
“Good thing… the epiphany was successfully triggered! Otherwise, who knows how much longer the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art would have taken…”
Su Xing did some quick calculations.
For the second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art, he had cultivated for about twenty years in his previous simulation.
Adding the first eighty years of cultivation in this simulation, that made a total of one hundred years.
Nearly twenty years of the Late Bloomer buff amounted to another forty years…
One month of the Spirit Awakening Pill was equivalent to ten years of arduous cultivation; seven days of epiphany equaled another seventy years…
“So the second layer took approximately two hundred and forty years of total cultivation?”
Su Xing took a deep breath and exclaimed:
“Tsk tsk… the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art really isn’t something an ordinary person can cultivate!”
“And this is only the second layer… the third layer is even harder, at least several times or even dozens of times more difficult… it’ll be impossible to master anytime soon…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly.
He planned to start pushing his Qi Refinement cultivation with full force after this simulation ended!
The second layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art provided roughly a threefold cultivation speed boost, which was sufficient for now!
With that thought, Su Xing turned to the simulation panel.
【After advancing the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art to the second layer, you were quite satisfied.】
【So you devoted more of your time to monitoring the frontline situation.】
【Drawing on your previous experience, you stayed exclusively within Celestial Demon City’s main citadel and never ventured outside.】
【You declined multiple assignments to set up formations at the front lines, claiming your strength was insufficient, and only set up formations within the city.】
【This also meant that despite having spent decades in Celestial Demon City, your accumulated military merit remained at the Myriarch level, with any prospect of becoming a commanding general far out of reach…】
【Thus, another twelve years passed!】
【Year one hundred and twenty. The frontline situation was deadlocked, with signs that the aliens could breach the city at any moment.】
【You had expected to die at the hands of the aliens.】
【But unexpectedly, an uninvited guest arrived in Celestial Demon City that day…】
【Clad in black robes and appearing half-mad — Qingyunzi!】
【Qingyunzi had come to this city with only one purpose: to find you!】
【You had no idea how he learned your location, but when he appeared behind you, your heart pounded wildly and the Blessed by Fortune talent sent frantic warnings.】
【At the same time, a majestic figure ten zhang (33.3 m) tall, clad in black armor, materialized beside you.】
【The Celestial Demon General’s external incarnation — the highest combat power guarding Celestial Demon City!】
【He had sensed Qingyunzi’s aura and came to this location!】
【The Celestial Demon General wore a mask over his face, and you could not make out his features.】
【But from his tone of voice, you still detected a hint of displeasure…】
【He frowned and addressed Qingyunzi: This is not a place you should be!】
【But the somewhat manic Qingyunzi pointed at you and said he only wanted you!】
【As long as you left with him, he would withdraw from Celestial Demon City!】
【The Celestial Demon General was unyielding by nature — even as a mere external incarnation, he refused to be threatened.】
【But Qingyunzi waved his hand dismissively: If you choose to protect him, then today shall be the day Celestial Demon City falls!】
【The ever-resolute Celestial Demon General fell silent upon hearing these words.】
【Before departing, he cast one long, deep look at the black-robed Qingyunzi, then vanished from the spot.】
【After the Celestial Demon General left, Qingyunzi waved his hand, and you were taken away from Celestial Demon City…】
【When you regained your senses, you found yourself deep within a remote mountain range.】
【Qingyunzi casually set up restrictive barriers, then reached his hand toward you. Without a word of explanation, he was about to perform a soul search on you.】
【In a Flash of Inspiration, you shouted: Master!】
【At the same time, you declared that you had obtained a partial inheritance of the Luotian Sect, and that you were willing to offer up this inheritance to help Qingyunzi achieve sainthood!】
【Upon hearing your words, Qingyunzi withdrew his outstretched hand and regarded you with interest.】
【Bracing yourself, you handed over the inheritance obtained from the Spirit Realm, completely and without alteration.】
【But Qingyunzi merely swept it with his divine sense before declaring that those were not what he was looking for…】
【Your heart clenched with dread. You hastily declared that you also knew the Luotian Immortal Transformation Art, the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, and the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art!】
【As you spoke, you began reciting the cultivation mnemonics right before Qingyunzi’s eyes…】
【Qingyunzi cut you off halfway through. You hurriedly asked what it was he was truly seeking.】
【At this point, Qingyunzi seemed to have already lost part of his reason. With a manic air, he declared: The Clear Heart Art! I need the Clear Heart Art to counteract the flaws of One Qi Transforms into Three Purities!】