Chapter 347 – Great Shaman Body Forging Art Fourth Layer, and the First Meeting with the Girl
by spirapira【As early as over a hundred years ago, you had already implemented your Sky-Mending Flower cultivation plan, having dozens of Luotian Sect disciples including Shennong Youtian cultivate Sky-Mending Flowers on your behalf.】
【Now, a hundred years have passed, and the time has come to reap the fruits of that labor!】
【And so, you entered the Luotian Realm and inquired with Shennong Youtian and the others about the progress of the Sky-Mending Flower cultivation plan.】
【As the only remaining immortal in the Three Thousand Worlds to have reached the supreme level in the art of spirit cultivation, Shennong Youtian did not disappoint you.】
【In a mere hundred years, he had successfully cultivated over fifty stalks of Sky-Mending Flowers—more than enough for your future cultivation needs…】
【Overjoyed, you collected the Sky-Mending Flowers and began preparing to break through to the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art!】
In the Real World, Su Xing’s lips curled upward at the sight of this.
“Shennong Youtian really didn’t let me down!”
“In just a hundred years… he managed to successfully cultivate the Sky-Mending Flowers?”
Su Xing couldn’t help but exclaim at his own good fortune.
One had to understand that the Sky-Mending Flower was a celestial herb from the primordial era, long since vanished from existence.
If Su Xing wanted to find this flower in the current Three Thousand Worlds, it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens!
But the Luotian Realm perfectly replicated the Luotian Realm from several cosmic cycles ago, containing many long-lost magical treasures and spirit herbs…
This was what allowed Su Xing to obtain the Sky-Mending Flowers!
Otherwise, who knew how long it would take Su Xing to find them on his own…
Even in the most generous estimate, if Su Xing managed to find them, he would still need to spend a hundred years cultivating them himself.
Shennong Youtian had undoubtedly saved Su Xing a tremendous amount of time.
“Tsk tsk… looking at it this way, the Luotian Mirror truly is a supreme treasure!”
Su Xing sighed in admiration, while also feeling a surge of anticipation—could this simulation finally push him into the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art?
His gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【After obtaining over fifty stalks of Sky-Mending Flowers, you were overjoyed and began attempting to break through to the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art!】
【You traveled to the Azure Cloud Sect and settled into your cave dwelling for a focused breakthrough.】
【After three months of recuperation, you adjusted yourself to peak condition and consumed the first Sky-Mending Flower.】
【The Sky-Mending Flower was entirely white, only half a palm in size. Its petals were ordinary in shape, yet it contained an extraordinarily remarkable aura—and a life force that was nothing short of staggering.】
【Without hesitation, you swallowed half a stalk of Sky-Mending Flower.】
【Instantly, a rich, warm current surged from your abdomen, rapidly spreading to every limb and bone in your body.】
【You could clearly feel every inch of skin, every bone, and every drop of blood in your physical body trembling, emitting low rumbles.】
【In a mere instant, the qi and blood within your body surged like a raging river, ceaselessly scouring and tempering you. The massive transformation it brought was no less than the growth from advancing an entire realm.】
【However, what the Sky-Mending Flower brought you was not merely a change in qi and blood—more importantly, it was a growth in life force!】
【The sensation was like a withered tree meeting spring—a revival that allowed your life force to rapidly undergo metamorphosis.】
【You could even feel your cells growing tougher under this power, as if each and every cell now contained boundless vitality.】
【But this transformation did not come without a price!】
【Accompanying the violent changes, you also clearly felt the agony in your internal organs and every bone in your body…】
【This pain came with incomparable clarity and intensity, making you involuntarily groan aloud as veins bulged across your skin!】
【But in the end, you gritted your teeth and endured…】
【After an indeterminate amount of time, when you finally regained your senses and felt the pain receding from your body, you felt incomparably light and refreshed.】
【Counting on your fingers, you discovered that this minor seclusion had actually lasted an entire year!】
【And during this one year, your physical body had improved by at least thirty percent! And this was merely from half a stalk of Sky-Mending Flower…】
In the Real World, Su Xing drew a sharp breath at the sight of this.
“Half a stalk of Sky-Mending Flower increased my physical body by a full thirty percent?”
“No… the Sky-Mending Flower itself shouldn’t be that monstrous!”
“More importantly, it should be because the Sky-Mending Flower is perfectly compatible with the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, pushing me ever closer to the Fourth Layer!”
Su Xing couldn’t contain his excitement.
His Body Tempering cultivation had previously always surpassed his Qi Refinement cultivation.
But at this stage, it had fallen slightly behind…
Yet Su Xing’s greatest trump card, the Protective Sword Aura, still relied on his Body Tempering cultivation to unleash its full power.
Therefore, advancing his Body Tempering cultivation was absolutely critical!
“Then let’s ride this momentum and push the Great Shaman Body Forging Art into the Fourth Layer!”
Su Xing’s heart raced with excitement as his gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【After experiencing the astonishing benefits brought by the Sky-Mending Flower, you were both surprised and delighted. Without any hesitation, you consumed the remaining half stalk of Sky-Mending Flower.】
【As before, the medicinal effects of the Sky-Mending Flower wildly baptized your physical body, further enhancing your flesh…】
【At the same time, you vaguely sensed the Great Shaman Body Forging Art steadily advancing toward the Fourth Layer.】
【The Body Tempering bottleneck that had plagued you for a hundred years was resolved in this very moment…】
【In the blink of an eye, ten years passed!】
【During these ten years, you consumed four stalks of Sky-Mending Flowers in succession, and your physical body grew continuously stronger, until you stood only a single step away from the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art…】
【Finally, in the one hundred and sixty-sixth year of the simulation.】
【One day, you felt the invisible shackles upon your physical body shatter in an instant…】
【Immediately after, you felt yourself break through the bottleneck that had restrained you for so long, and your physical strength surged wildly.】
【It was as though the heavens themselves had been pushed higher… and your Body Tempering cultivation could continue to advance.】
【Congratulations, you have successfully broken through to the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art!】
In the Real World, Su Xing’s fists clenched involuntarily at the sight of this.
“Finally, the Great Shaman Body Forging Art has entered the Fourth Layer!”
“A physical body comparable to the True Immortal realm… combined with the benefits from surviving the Wind Calamity, my pure physical strength alone should be unmatched below the Mystic Immortal realm, right?”
The growth in power undeniably brought Su Xing an immense sense of security.
Especially the tremendous rush that came from a breakthrough in Body Tempering cultivation—it made Su Xing tremble with excitement.
It was a long while before Su Xing calmed down.
“Body Tempering cultivation has successfully entered the Fourth Layer… my overall strength has improved further!”
“Now then, it’s time to focus entirely on advancing my Qi Refinement cultivation…”
Su Xing’s current cultivation was merely at the first level of the True Immortal realm, and it was not yet fully stabilized.
The main reason was that the Luotian Mirror’s demand on Su Xing’s immortal power had actually caused his Qi Refinement cultivation in the Real World to regress rather than progress.
Therefore, Su Xing had to boost his Qi Refinement cultivation to prevent his realm from falling.
Otherwise, in just over two months, when the Luotian Mirror absorbed immortal power for the second time, it might even cause Su Xing to fall back to the Celestial Immortal realm…
“Hmm, advancing to the third level of the True Immortal realm should be about right, shouldn’t it?”
After a moment of deliberation, Su Xing quickly set his goal and turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【After successfully breaking through to the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, your sense of security grew even stronger.】
【With your current cultivation, very few in the Mystic Immortal realm could pose a threat to you…】
【But you knew all too well that Mystic Immortal cultivation was far from sufficient! You needed to become even stronger!】
【Strong enough to change your own fate, and to change the fate of this world!】
【And so, you began cultivating the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art to advance your Qi Refinement cultivation.】
【But for a True Immortal, every minor realm breakthrough required thousands of years of accumulation.】
【It was not just about building up cultivation—you also needed to amass sufficient resources…】
【Fortunately, you now held the locations of numerous hidden caches in your mind, allowing you to easily claim those treasures.】
【Your first destination was naturally the Yellow Sand Realm!】
【In the Yellow Sand Realm, Yellow Sand Daoist’s legacy—those hundreds of millions of drops of spirit liquid—would be enough to sustain your cultivation for a considerable period.】
【And so, you claimed Yellow Sand Daoist’s legacy, remained in the Yellow Sand Realm, entered the spirit field grotto-heaven, and began your cultivation.】
【Circulating the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art, boundless spiritual energy poured into your body, transforming into pure cultivation. Your realm advanced toward the second level of the True Immortal realm, drop by drop.】
【In the blink of an eye, ten years passed. During those ten years, you consumed no fewer than ten thousand drops of high-grade spirit liquid per day. But fortunately, this enormous expenditure resulted in rapid cultivation growth.】
【In the one hundred and eightieth year, your Qi Refinement cultivation advanced to the late stage of the first level of the True Immortal realm.】
【You continued to cultivate diligently, pushing toward the second level of the True Immortal realm.】
【And besides your daily cultivation of the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art, you also began training in the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, your qi and blood growing more robust by the day.】
【In the blink of an eye, another fifty years passed.】
【In the two hundred and thirtieth year, your cultivation advanced to the peak of the first level of the True Immortal realm, and you began your push toward the second level.】
【This seclusion lasted a full ten years.】
【In the two hundred and fortieth year, your cultivation advanced to the second level of the True Immortal realm!】
【Within the True Immortal realm, even a single level of advancement brought about tremendous change—the immortal power that had previously surged through you like a river grew even more dense and profound.】
【But you were not satisfied with this, and so you continued your rigorous cultivation.】
【Cultivation knows no passage of time. You cultivated diligently within the Luotian Sect, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred years passed…】
【In the three hundred and fortieth year, your cultivation successfully advanced to the late stage of the second level of the True Immortal realm.】
【A hundred years of arduous cultivation had brought tremendous growth to your cultivation, but the resources consumed were equally staggering…】
【The spirit liquid left behind by Yellow Sand Daoist had already been depleted by nearly half… To avoid a shortage of spirit liquid in the future, you decided to cultivate while simultaneously searching other worlds for Luotian legacies.】
【That year, you left the Azure Cloud Sect and began traveling through the Azure Origin Domain…】
In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly at this.
“Although the legacy left by Yellow Sand Daoist is substantial, it’s only enough to sustain an ordinary immortal’s cultivation to the peak of the True Immortal realm… For me, it’s still too little.”
“If I don’t find new sources, once the spirit liquid runs out, my cultivation will stagnate…”
After a pause, Su Xing continued:
“But the main objective of this simulation is already complete. What comes next is just cultivation time.”
“Besides advancing to the third level of the True Immortal realm, I can’t neglect my Body Tempering cultivation either…”
Su Xing thought this to himself, then turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【During these years, besides your Qi Refinement cultivation, you did not neglect the advancement of your Body Tempering cultivation either.】
【Each day you tempered your body and consumed Sky-Mending Flowers for cultivation. Though you were still far from reaching Minor Accomplishment of the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, your physical body continued to grow stronger gradually.】
【And so, another sixty years passed.】
【In the four hundredth year, you arrived at a lesser chiliocosm near the Endless Sea and cultivated there in peace.】
【This place was extremely far from the Azure Cloud Sect. Even if Qingyunzi wanted to find you, it would take him some time…】
【This year, your cultivation reached the peak of the second level of the True Immortal realm.】
【You began preparing to break through to the third level of the True Immortal realm!】
【In the blink of an eye, ten years passed.】
【In the four hundred and tenth year, this breakthrough took you a full ten years, but you finally succeeded.】
【Congratulations, you have broken through to the third level of the True Immortal realm!】
【After advancing to the third level of the True Immortal realm, the magical power within your body grew ever more profound…】
【But you knew in your heart that within a few decades, Qingyunzi would certainly find you. So you resolved to cultivate with all your might in the remaining decades.】
【In the blink of an eye, sixty years passed…】
【In the four hundred and seventieth year, your Qi Refinement cultivation reached the mid-stage of the third level of the True Immortal realm…】
【That same year, your Body Tempering cultivation also improved considerably. Reaching Minor Accomplishment in the Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art was no longer out of reach…】
【One day, your divination revealed that a fated calamity was approaching, and your Blessed by Fortune talent frantically sent warnings.】
【The next day, Qingyunzi came knocking…】
【You died!】
【Ding, this simulation has ended…】
“Whew… four hundred and seventy years of simulation, just as expected!”
Su Xing murmured.
“Still, the objectives for this simulation were more or less achieved… Besides the growth in cultivation and comprehension, at least the trade with the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion posed no significant risks!”
Su Xing thought this to himself as his gaze fell upon the reward list from this simulation.
【Wood Physique】: Purple talent. Price: 1 origin energy.
【Great Shaman Body Forging Scripture, Fourth Layer (Introductory)】: An ancient Wu Clan body tempering method. Cultivating it to the fourth layer grants limb regeneration, an inexhaustible supply of blood qi, and greatly enhanced endurance. Price: 200,000 origin energy.
【True Immortal Realm, Third Layer】: Having survived the Three Calamities of Immortals and achieved True Immortal status, the Great Dao is within reach, with a lifespan of one cosmic cycle! Price: 600,000 origin energy!
【Mount Buzhou Stone】: Stone from the ancient divine Mount Buzhou. A single stone weighs as much as mountains and rivers, making it an excellent material for refining the Heaven-Overturning Seal. It is also a supreme Dao essence treasure for comprehending the Great Dao of Strength and the Great Dao of Earth. Price: 200,000 origin energy.
【Azure Luan Tail Feather】: Legend has it that the Azure Luan bird was the messenger of a certain great power from ancient times, possessing extreme speed. Its feathers contain insights into the Dao of Speed. Price: 100,000 origin energy.
Su Xing looked at the reward list before him and raised an eyebrow.
“Well now, Mount Buzhou Stone and Azure Luan Tail Feather — these two items are no ordinary treasures!”
Su Xing hadn’t expected that what he obtained in the Nine Heavens would turn out to be treasures of this caliber.
Su Xing was familiar with Mount Buzhou Stone, but the Azure Luan Tail Feather… that was something he’d never heard of.
“It seems the Nine Heavens truly hold great secrets! The possibility that it was an ancient battlefield is extremely high!”
Su Xing thought to himself.
However, compared to the Azure Luan bird, the Mount Buzhou Stone attracted Su Xing’s interest even more!
“A palm-sized piece of Mount Buzhou Stone is worth two hundred thousand origin energy?”
“Doesn’t that mean Mount Buzhou Stone is exactly the ideal energy-rich substance I’ve been searching for?!”
Bringing out a single palm-sized Mount Buzhou Stone required two hundred thousand origin energy…
This meant that if Su Xing sold one Mount Buzhou Stone, he could obtain roughly twenty thousand origin energy.
That price was nothing short of extraordinary!
Most crucially, Mount Buzhou stood a hundred million zhang (333,000 km) tall!
The amount of Mount Buzhou Stone contained within it… would be staggering!
But then, Su Xing let out a sigh.
“What a pity that Mount Buzhou has completely vanished from the Three Thousand Worlds… If only I could find Mount Buzhou!”
A yearning stirred in Su Xing’s heart. If he could find Mount Buzhou, then from that point on, he would probably never have to worry about origin energy again!
An inexhaustible supply of energy… was waiting for Su Xing!
“Sigh, I should stop thinking about such far-fetched things for now…”
“For this simulation, I definitely need to bring out both Body Tempering and Qi Refinement cultivation!”
“The two rewards combined require eight hundred thousand origin energy… and I have barely four hundred thousand on hand!”
“It seems my only hope lies with the Ten Thousand Gold Pavilion!”
After a pause, Su Xing continued:
“However… the energy needed to advance the Great Shaman Body Forging Art seems to be quite a bit less than I imagined!”
“The Fourth Layer of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art corresponds to the True Immortal realm… Its four sub-stages of Introductory, Minor Mastery, Major Mastery, and Perfection correspond respectively to the early, mid, late, and Perfection stages of the True Immortal realm…”
“Logically, each minor realm advancement should require nine hundred thousand origin energy… but from the current evidence, it seems to only need six hundred thousand?”
Su Xing fell into thought.
Going from peak Celestial Immortal realm to the first level of the True Immortal realm required three hundred thousand origin energy.
But advancing the Great Shaman Body Forging Art from the Third Layer Perfection to the Fourth Layer Introductory required only two hundred thousand origin energy.
Clearly, prioritizing Body Tempering cultivation offered better cost-efficiency!
Especially given Su Xing’s current shortage of energy…
“Advancing Body Tempering cultivation can also rapidly increase my combat strength, and it costs less origin energy. It looks like I need to focus on the Great Shaman Body Forging Art going forward!”
After pondering for a while, Su Xing added:
“But I still don’t have enough origin energy for now… I need to find a way to sell some techniques and supernatural arts!”
A thought stirred in Su Xing’s mind, and he retrieved several Heaven-tier techniques from his storage artifact.
These Heaven-tier techniques had all been obtained from the Spirit Clan ancestral grounds. They weren’t core techniques of the Luotian Sect, but neither were they common techniques that could be found just anywhere.
“Seven top-tier Heaven-tier techniques at one million high-grade spirit stones each — I wonder if they’ll sell?”
Those who truly needed techniques for cultivation were mostly at the Tribulation Crossing stage, the Human Immortal Realm, and some at the Earthly Immortal realm.
Cultivators at these three levels were in a transitional phase where they lacked suitable techniques. If they encountered the right one, paying a premium for it was entirely possible!
Moreover, the techniques Su Xing was offering were absolutely exceptional among their class!
“As for Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, they’ve already found their own paths. Unless it’s a top-tier technique or supernatural art, they wouldn’t purchase one lightly…”
Su Xing’s expectation was that selling seven techniques for seven million high-grade spirit stones would mean he hadn’t lost out.
After all, Su Xing had if not ten thousand then at least eight thousand such techniques on hand…
And what Su Xing was selling were transcribed copies, so it was no loss to him at all.
“But before selling the techniques, I need to visit the Celestial Secrets Pavilion first!”
Thinking of the young woman inside the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, a flicker of wariness passed through Su Xing’s eyes.
Even now, possessing True Immortal realm cultivation, he still couldn’t see through that young woman’s true nature.
“However, judging from the simulation… that young woman seems to harbor no ill will toward me. It should be fine to meet her!”
After some thought, Su Xing added several more layers of techniques for Shielding Heavenly Secrets and concealing his aura before setting out for the Celestial Secrets Pavilion with peace of mind.
Passing through the bustling streets of White Emperor City, Su Xing made his way toward the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.
Before long, Su Xing stopped in front of an unassuming, antique-styled shop.
As he surveyed this branch of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, Su Xing could clearly sense that this place was extraordinary.
The layers upon layers of formations, and the spatial transference arrays set in place — Su Xing estimated that without Mystic Immortal realm cultivation, one couldn’t even begin to set these up!
“The depth of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s heritage… is truly terrifying…”
Su Xing said in a low voice, then pushed open the door and entered the Celestial Secrets Pavilion shop.
The moment he stepped inside, Su Xing spotted a young woman dozing off with her head on the desk.
The interior of this Celestial Secrets Pavilion branch was only about thirty to forty square meters, with little in the way of decoration. It looked more like some roadside inn on the verge of closing down.
Paired with this languid “shopkeeper girl,” the resemblance was even more striking!
Seeing Su Xing walk in, the young woman offered only a perfunctory greeting:
“Fellow Daoist, are you here to buy intelligence or sell intelligence?”
Su Xing was long accustomed to this and replied without batting an eye:
“I’m here to sell intelligence… I have a piece of information regarding the Advent Cult. Please appraise it.”
With that, Su Xing handed over a jade slip.
The jade slip naturally contained the locations of all the Advent Cult’s branches in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm, as well as intelligence on the ten great traitor families.
When the young woman heard Su Xing mention “Advent Cult” intelligence, a spark of interest appeared on her face.
She then probed the jade slip with her divine sense and read through it carefully. Afterward, her expression grew somewhat grave.
“Can you guarantee the authenticity of this intelligence?” The young woman’s gaze toward Su Xing had already taken on a measure of seriousness.
Su Xing nodded without hesitation and said:
“The authenticity of this intelligence can absolutely be guaranteed! As for the source… that I cannot disclose for now!”
The young woman gave a slight nod upon hearing Su Xing’s response, then fell into deep thought.
After a long while, she said to Su Xing:
“Normally, we would not readily purchase unverified intelligence of this nature…”
“But your intelligence is far too important — it could potentially shift the balance of power in the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm!”
“Moreover, the intelligence you’ve provided is highly detailed… It can be verified in a short period of time…”
The young woman thought for a moment, then said:
“Based on our Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s assessment, your intelligence is valued at approximately eight million high-grade spirit stones!”
“Of that, I can give you three million right now… but for the remainder, you’ll need to wait half a month until the intelligence has been confirmed before coming back to collect.”
Su Xing nodded upon hearing this and said:
“Agreed!”
The young woman tossed over a storage bag and said:
“In that case, go ahead and verify the amount…”
Su Xing swept through it with his divine sense, confirmed the amount was correct, and then put it away.
Having completed the first transaction, Su Xing didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he continued to ask the young woman:
“Does your Celestial Secrets Pavilion also purchase treasures?”
Upon hearing Su Xing’s words, the young woman instinctively wanted to refuse, but found herself inexplicably changing her answer:
“The Celestial Secrets Pavilion is, of course, a place for buying and selling intelligence… However!”
“If you truly have a treasure that catches my interest… I wouldn’t mind purchasing it!”