Chapter 296 – Finally Entering the Earthly Immortal Realm, The Strange Star Realm! [Second Update]
by spirapiraSu Xing shook his head slightly.
The third layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art required consuming the qi of the four seasons.
In an entire year, only the four days marking the start of spring, summer, autumn, and winter could guarantee rapid cultivation progress.
On ordinary days, cultivation would still advance, but far less effectively than on those four days.
Therefore, the third layer of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art required patient, grinding effort — an enormous investment of time and energy.
“At this rate, it might take several simulations… or hundreds of years in immersive simulation just to learn the third layer?”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. Since the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art couldn’t advance to the third layer for now, he might as well sprint with everything he had toward the Yin Fire Tribulation!
There were still forty years left in the simulation — more than enough time to pass through the Yin-Yang Fire Tribulation and break into the Earthly Immortal realm!
With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【Year Ninety: After ten years of cultivating the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art with slow progress, you decided to focus all efforts on breaking into the Earthly Immortal realm!】
【Soon, ten years passed…】
【Year One Hundred: With the boost from Late Bloomer, your speed in overcoming the Yin Fire Tribulation doubled.】
【As you continued cultivating and Shedding Impurities and Cleansing Marrow, your aptitude further improved.】
【This Shedding Impurities and Cleansing Marrow did not improve the quality of your spiritual root — you remained a tri-element mutated Heavenly Spirit Root — but you could feel that your spiritual energy absorption and foundational constitution had improved considerably…】
【The improvement in aptitude and constitution filled you with joy, so every day after sunset, you ventured into the forbidden lands to Shed Impurities and Cleanse Marrow.】
【You persisted for a full twenty years.】
【Year One Hundred and Twenty: One day, you felt a stirring in your heart, sensing that your internal organs and foundational constitution were approaching Perfection.】
【Only one final step remained before the Yin-Yang Fire Tribulation would be overcome…】
【So you hesitated no longer, and launched your final sprint toward the Earthly Immortal realm threshold!】
【This seclusion lasted a full three years!】
【Year One Hundred and Twenty-Three: You felt the magical power within your body continuously expanding and swelling.】
【In mere days, the river symbolizing your magical power had widened to a full ten zhang (33.3 m)!】
【Compared to your Human Immortal Realm Peak, the magical power within your body had doubled in density!】
【More crucially, the quality of your immortal power seemed to have improved somewhat as well.】
【Above the site of your seclusion, thunder clouds gathered and refused to disperse — a phenomenon heralding an immortal’s breakthrough to a major realm.】
【Unlike the heavenly thunder during Tribulation Transcendence, the breakthrough from Human Immortal to Earthly Immortal realm only required passing the Yin-Yang Fire Tribulation, with no need to endure a Thunder Tribulation.】
【This phenomenon served to announce that a new Earthly Immortal realm cultivator was about to be born in this realm!】
【At this moment, everyone within ten thousand li (5,000 km) knew that a new Earthly Immortal realm cultivator was emerging here!】
【And you too were surging with emotion, consolidating your cultivation in one decisive push.】
【Congratulations — you have become an early-stage Earthly Immortal realm cultivator!】
【After breaking through to the Earthly Immortal realm, you sensed no small number of probing auras around you. Many immortals were curious about the identity of this new Earthly Immortal realm cultivator.】
【Not wanting to cause too great a disturbance, you swiftly concealed your aura and fled far away on your flying sword…】
【After arriving at an uninhabited area, you attempted to circulate the magical power within your body.】
【Thanks to the advantage of your solid foundation, though you were only at the early-stage Earthly Immortal realm, the magical power within your body already approached mid-stage Earthly Immortal realm levels!】
【With such dense magical power, you held a distinct advantage when executing techniques and supernatural arts… the immortal power within you flowed endlessly.】
In the Real World, Su Xing’s face lit up with joy at the sight of this.
“My Qi Refinement cultivation has successfully entered the Earthly Immortal realm… combined with reaching the introductory level of the second layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, my current strength should be considered unrivaled below the Heavenly Immortal realm, right?”
“In fact… even against a Heavenly Immortal realm powerhouse, I might not be without the strength to fight!”
Su Xing carefully considered the trump cards he currently possessed.
Beyond dual cultivation of both Qi Refinement and Body Tempering, Su Xing’s comprehension of the Great Dao was also exceptionally impressive, with his Spirit Domain already taking embryonic form.
His grasp of the Great Dao of Space, in particular, had reached Initial Glimpse — a capability that only Heavenly Immortals typically possessed.
Unfortunately, Su Xing’s strength had grown too quickly. To those Heavenly Immortal realm cultivators, his Embryonic Spirit Domain wouldn’t be considered remarkable.
Su Xing’s strongest offensive techniques remained the Protective Sword Aura and the Five Elements Spirit Burst!
By Su Xing’s estimation, if he could expend a third of his immortal power, combined with the amplification of the Dao of Fire and Wood, a single detonation would instantly grievously wound even a Peak Earthly Immortal realm cultivator.
The Protective Sword Aura needed no further elaboration — two thousand two hundred layers of Protective Sword Aura were more than enough to reign supreme in the Earthly Immortal realm.
The only regret was that Su Xing didn’t possess a single technique or supernatural art capable of directly threatening or grievously wounding a Heavenly Immortal realm cultivator.
Perhaps once the number of Protective Sword Aura layers increased another wave, reaching three thousand or above, it might become possible?
“Phew… but right now, the simulation has reached year one hundred and twenty-three!”
“Based on previous experience, Qingyunzi will find this realm in about seven years… perhaps I could try traveling to another world and continue fleeing?”
Su Xing closed his eyes in contemplation.
His current cultivation had reached the early-stage Earthly Immortal realm, with magical power as dense as a mid-stage cultivator’s.
Combined with the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel, Su Xing was confident he could reach any minor world within ten void nodes.
“Perhaps… it’s time to take a look at the Star Realm?”
Su Xing murmured.
The Star Realm was a full thirteen void nodes away from the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm, but from the Yellow Sand Realm, it was exactly ten void nodes.
If he pushed himself, it wasn’t impossible to make the crossing!
Staying in the Yellow Sand Realm would only buy him a few more years of survival.
Better to visit the Star Realm — perhaps he could gain further understanding of the situation across the Three Thousand Worlds, and at the very least, buy himself more time.
With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【After breaking through to the Earthly Immortal realm, you hesitated no longer and prepared to head for the Star Realm.】
【But before that, you needed to locate the corresponding void node within the Yellow Sand Realm.】
【After spending three years, relying on your remarkable sensory abilities, you finally located the void node leading to the Star Realm in the central region of the Yellow Sand Realm.】
【You prepared ample supplies — spirit liquid and spirit stones — to ensure a smooth crossing through the void.】
【With that, you piloted the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel and plunged into the void.】
【Drawing on your previous piloting experience, you were in no rush. Compared to travel speed, you prioritized flight stability and conservation of magical power.】
【Twenty days later, you passed through the first void node.】
【Your immortal power was less than half depleted. You continued piloting the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel while sailing toward the Star Realm.】
【And so, three months passed…】
【Over the course of three months, you traversed a total of six void nodes, expending massive amounts of immortal power to maintain the stability of the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel.】
【However, over three months of continuous travel had also caused minor damage to the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel.】
【Fortunately, you were now at the Earthly Immortal realm, with far denser magical power than before. Moreover, having been tempered by the Yin-Yang Fire Tribulation, your ability to mobilize and recover immortal power had also grown considerably.】
【You gritted your teeth and persevered. Another two months passed!】
【After those two months, you finally passed through the ninth void node. At this point, only one final void node separated you from the Star Realm.】
【But by now, the greater part of your magical power had been worn away, and your immortal power had begun to destabilize.】
【Prolonged travel through the void was extremely detrimental to a cultivator’s cultivation — this was precisely why so few cultivators attempted to traverse the void.】
【You gritted your teeth and pressed on. Another twenty days passed…】
【Finally, you safely arrived at the edge of the Star Realm. The Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel, after a bout of shaking, successfully landed in the Star Realm…】
【It was nighttime in the Star Realm. The Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel crash-landed on a stretch of open plains.】
【You stepped out of the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel and immediately began regulating the magical power in your body…】
【Nearly half a year of travel had left your cultivation aura in extreme disarray. The river of immortal power within your body, in particular, had become somewhat impure — as if contaminated by some strange substance in the void…】
【This wasn’t your first time experiencing this, but this journey had been far too long, and the destabilization of your magical power was unprecedented…】
In the Real World, Su Xing frowned slightly at this.
“The void is unsuitable for cultivator survival. Even the most powerful cultivators… if they spend prolonged periods in the void, their cultivation will deteriorate!”
“But the reason… what exactly is it?”
Su Xing had no answer, but he knew that the void contained some kind of strange energy that contaminated one’s magical power and cultivation, seemingly designed specifically to target cultivators!
“Perhaps this energy in the void was brought by the alien races?”
“And that’s precisely why… cross-realm travel is so difficult… even True Immortal realm cultivators don’t dare make long-distance jumps!”
Su Xing rubbed his chin, figuring there were likely hidden secrets behind all this. If he had time in the future, he might investigate further.
But for now, he should first take a look at the Star Realm…
With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【You stowed the Flowing Cloud Golden Light Vessel and hid in a secluded spot, beginning to recover your cultivation and stabilize your magical power.】
【You sat cross-legged with your five centers facing the sky, gazing at the vast, ethereal starscape, and felt you understood why this realm was called the Star Realm!】
【In the night sky above, each and every star shone with unprecedented brilliance, as if they were impossibly close to you.】
【Standing within the Star Realm, the myriad stars in the sky seemed to tug at your consciousness with every passing moment.】
【According to the intelligence you had gathered, Star Realm cultivators could absorb the power of the stars in the sky to enhance their cultivation — an extraordinarily mysterious practice.】
【Furthermore, within the Star Realm existed a lineage of astrologer cultivators whose methods were exceedingly enigmatic. They could even perform divination by reading the celestial configurations…】
【After a day of quiet cultivation, you felt your magical power recover slightly. You then entered the spirit field grotto-heaven, intending to wait until your strength had fully recovered before exploring the Star Realm…】
【This seclusion lasted a full half year!】
【Year One Hundred and Twenty-Four: After half a year of recuperation, your cultivation finally returned to its peak.】
【You prepared to leave the spirit field grotto-heaven and explore the Star Realm.】
【With a thought, you appeared in the Star Realm — but your expression immediately changed.】
【Because within your sensory range, within a hundred li (50 km), there were no fewer than several dozen cultivators at the Immortal realm!】
【They carried the aura of starlight — they were surely natives of the Star Realm!】
【Most critically, judging by their positions, they seemed to have predicted your arrival in advance… this gathering might have been specifically to deal with you!】