Chapter 421 – Bountiful Rewards, Target: Seventeenth-Order Spirit-Gathering Formation

Seeing this, Su Xing hesitated slightly.

Currently, Su Xing’s Qi Refinement cultivation had just entered the Golden Immortal stage, and he hadn’t yet reached the point of breaking through a bottleneck.

His Body Tempering cultivation was also still a considerable distance from reaching Minor Mastery of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art, Sixth Layer.

Looking at it this way, the best choices were either the Great Dao of Space or the Formation Dao…

“The Mirror of The Void might be able to advance my Formation Dao further, reaching a level where I can deploy a sixteenth-order spirit-gathering formation…”

“At that point, I’d only need one more step to be able to construct a Grand Grotto-Heaven…”

After deliberating for a while, Su Xing still chose to refine his Formation Dao.

Whether the Formation Dao or the spatial Dao was the superior choice remained unknown—it was merely a matter of which breakthrough came first.

Having made his decision, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After much deliberation, you decided to prioritize improving your Formation Dao Comprehension.】

【As the Mirror of The Void’s Artifact Spirit activated its ability, you once again entered that mysterious state.】

【In a haze, you seemed to see a shadowy figure resembling yourself—it appeared to be your future self…】

【When the figure merged with you, your comprehension of the Formation Dao continuously deepened…】

【After an unknown amount of time, when you regained awareness, you had already left the Mirror of The Void and returned to Celestial Secrets City.】

【Your comprehension of the Formation Dao improved dramatically, and you were now capable of deploying a sixteenth-order spirit-gathering formation.】

【At this moment, those in the world whose Formation Dao attainment matched yours could be counted on one hand.】

【After leaving the Mirror of The Void, you returned to the Luotian Mirror. You did not choose to continue cultivating Celestial Primordial Fruits.】

【Instead, you continued studying the Formation Dao within the Luotian Realm while occasionally venturing out to carry out missions.】

【And so, another hundred years passed…】

【In the nine hundredth year, you felt a premonition—a sense that danger was approaching.】

【A faint stinging pain between your brows told you that a calamity would soon arrive.】

【So you traveled to a lesser chiliocosm that had been invaded by the alien races, and transformed into a Lesser Demon alien form.】

Seeing this, Su Xing nodded slightly.

“So next comes the phase of strengthening the Lesser Demon’s power…”

“With the potential of a Lesser Demon deity, it might break through to the Supreme Unity realm even before my main body does…”

Su Xing felt some anticipation as he turned his gaze to the simulation panel.

【After assuming the Lesser Demon form, it wasn’t long before alien races found you and invited you to become the vice commander of the First Army.】

【You joined the alien races and began amassing strength and cultivating followers.】

【With the full support of the alien races, you obtained unimaginable flesh and blood resources, all of which were channeled to the Lesser Demon.】

【In a mere hundred years, a hundred billion Lesser Demons were born.】

【Every newly born Lesser Demon received your blessing, gaining more powerful strength.】

【Next, you began cultivating Lesser Demon Apostles, spreading your faith among the Lesser Demons.】

【And so, three hundred years passed…】

【In the one thousand three hundredth year, you successfully cultivated over a hundred Lesser Demon Apostles, and an endless stream of power of faith flowed into your body.】

【You began accumulating the power of faith, preparing to break through your realm in one decisive push.】

【This wait lasted five hundred years…】

【In the one thousand eight hundredth year, you mobilized all the power of faith you had accumulated over five hundred years to enhance your divine power.】

【As the power of faith steadily diminished, your divine power began to surge rapidly…】

【Finally, after expending the vast majority of your power of faith, your divine power at last advanced to mid-stage second-rank Divine Sovereign.】

【…】

【In the one thousand nine hundredth year, you were targeted in an assassination attempt by the human race.】

【But fortunately, you had anticipated this and successfully evaded the calamity.】

【In the two thousandth year, the alien races received intelligence and prepared to invade a Greater World extremely close to the Celestial Secrets Realm, called the Canglang Realm.】

【You knew this was a trap set by the human race, so you did not personally participate in this operation, instead dispatching your Lesser Demon Apostles to go in your place.】

【You quietly remained at the Lesser Demon stronghold, waiting within the Grey Wolf Realm.】

【The alien army set out in grand force. You awaited the outcome of this battle, which could determine the fate of both the alien races and the human race!】

【If the human race won, they could hold the line for several more millennia…】

【But if the alien races won, they would sweep through and invade the greater half of the Heavenly Secrets Domain like a crushing tide.】

【However, you never got to see the outcome of this battle.】

【Because shortly after the alien army departed, a powerful force of human cultivators attacked the Grey Wolf Realm.】

【Three Supreme Unity Golden Immortals joined forces, leading over a dozen Golden Immortals and hundreds of lesser immortals in a direct strike on the alien stronghold.】

【And at this moment, most of the alien races’ powerhouses had already departed, leaving the Grey Wolf Realm’s defenses virtually empty…】

【You became the primary assassination target of the three Supreme Unity Golden Immortals.】

【Even the other alien Divine Sovereigns’ desperate attempts to protect you were to no avail…】

【You died…】

【Ding, this simulation has ended!】

After the simulation ended, Su Xing nodded slightly.

“Not bad. It seems the human race made a two-pronged preparation for that battle… On one hand, they attacked the alien stronghold, and on the other, they set an ambush at the Canglang Realm. Quite a clever strategy.”

What Su Xing found somewhat regrettable was that he hadn’t seen the outcome of that battle.

But it didn’t really matter anymore. What Su Xing was most eager about now was just how bountiful this simulation’s rewards would be!

He turned his gaze to the simulation reward list.

【Ethereal Root】: Red talent. Price: 100 origin energy.

【Dao-Enlightenment Tea (one leaf)】: Tea leaves produced by the innate treasure Dao-Enlightenment Tree. Possesses effects of mental clarity and enlightenment. When brewed and consumed, one can easily enter a state of heightened comprehension. Effectiveness does not diminish with repeated consumption… Price: 200,000 origin energy.

【Celestial Primordial Tree】: One of the ten great divine trees from the primordial era. Ranked in the top ten of the Innate Treasure Rankings. A marvel nurtured by heaven and earth itself, revered as a sacred tree by the Wu Clan. Its fruit has extraordinary effects on Body Tempering and primordial energy cultivation. Price: 1 billion origin energy.

【Great Shaman Body Forging Scripture Cultivation results】: Great Shaman Body Forging Art, Sixth Layer. Planted a Primordial Energy Tree within the body, allowing primordial energy to flow ceaselessly with even greater power than before. Has reached the introductory stage of the sixth layer, with the internal Primordial Energy Tree at five chi (1.67 m) tall. Price: 20 million origin energy.

【Formation Dao Comprehension】: Has reached the Formation Dao Grandmaster level. Capable of deploying a sixteenth-order spirit-gathering formation. Price: 1 million origin energy.

【Six-winged Divine Sovereign’s bone sword】: A six-winged alien race’s natal weapon, forged from the transformation of its own wings. Its hardness approaches that of an innate treasure, and it serves as a material for crafting innate treasures. Price: 3 million origin energy.

【Luotian Mirror (damaged)】: One of the three great primordial chaos treasures. Price: ???

Looking at the simulation rewards before him, Su Xing felt momentarily dazzled.

The reward list contained well over a hundred different rewards, but the truly valuable ones were roughly the seven listed above.

There were talents, cultivation attainments, rare treasures, comprehension insights, and even the six-winged Divine Sovereign’s bone sword among them.

What shocked Su Xing the most was that the damaged Luotian Mirror genuinely seemed like it could be extracted from the simulator.

“It’s just the price… Why is the Luotian Mirror’s price shown as question marks?”

This was the first time Su Xing had encountered such a situation. He could only assume that the Luotian Mirror was so precious that he currently couldn’t afford it at all.

“The Celestial Primordial Tree costs one billion origin energy—that’s absurdly expensive…”

Su Xing shook his head. Rather than spending one billion origin energy, it would be better to spend three hundred years cultivating it within each simulation.

“Looking at everything together, the worthwhile extractions from this simulation are the Ethereal Root, the Great Shaman Body Forging Scripture Cultivation, and the Formation Dao Comprehension…”

“It’s just that the price of the Great Shaman Body Forging Scripture is also… a bit too steep…”

Su Xing shook his head slightly, but fortunately, after the simulator’s new version update, he had gained the right to temporarily store rewards.

This meant that even if he currently lacked sufficient energy, he could save the reward for later redemption.

With this in mind, Su Xing silently declared:

“I choose to extract the Ethereal Root and the Formation Dao Comprehension…”

【Ding, you have successfully extracted Ethereal Root. Cost: 100 origin energy. Remaining origin energy: 2,200,856…】

【You have successfully extracted Formation Dao Comprehension. Cost: 1,000,000 origin energy. Remaining origin energy: 1,200,956…】

As the Chime faded, two streams of mysterious energy surged into Su Xing’s body.

Originally, Su Xing’s spiritual root had been a Five Elements Super Spirit Root. While it was considered a top-tier spiritual root, it still fell far short of an Ethereal Root.

And now, Su Xing’s spiritual root had finally ascended another tier, reaching the Ethereal Root level!

At the same time, a vast flood of Formation Dao memories and insights poured into Su Xing’s mind.

In an instant, Su Xing’s level of Formation Dao comprehension underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

Previously, Su Xing could barely be considered a formation master who had just stepped into the Grandmaster-stage of Formation Dao.

But after this massive boost, Su Xing had become a bona fide Formation Dao Paragon!

“Excellent. I can now deploy a sixteenth-order spirit-gathering formation… My attainment in other formations also hovers around the fourteenth to fifteenth order…”

Su Xing nodded in satisfaction.

“With this breakthrough in Formation Dao cultivation, constructing a Grand Grotto-Heaven isn’t far off…”

“In the next simulation, I might even be able to deploy a seventeenth-order spirit-gathering formation!”

Su Xing glanced at the simulation panel. He still had one simulation attempt remaining.

The only somewhat troubling issue was still the shortage of simulation energy.

“The origin energy from Xia’s military still needs another month before I can collect it all…”

“I might as well use my last simulation attempt all at once!”

Su Xing thought it over. In the next simulation, the priorities should be advancing his Great Dao comprehension and Formation Dao comprehension.

As for Body Tempering cultivation, since he hadn’t yet extracted the breakthrough-to-sixth-layer reward, it couldn’t be brought out.

“In that case, I need to prioritize enhancing the Wisdom in Foolishness bonus…”

With that thought, Su Xing didn’t hesitate and used his last remaining simulation attempt.

“Begin simulation!”

【Simulation #153 initiated. Current remaining origin energy: 1,200,956… Remaining simulation attempts: 0.】

【Simulation begins!】

【Drawing a talent costs 1 origin energy. Do you wish to draw?】

“Yes!”

【Ding, congratulations! You have obtained the gold talent Thousand Buddha Physique… Probability of drawing a gold talent next time: 100%…】

【Thousand Buddha Physique】: One of the Hundred Great Divine Physiques. A one-in-a-billion prodigy of the Buddhist Dao with an extremely powerful affinity for Buddhist Dao comprehension. If one cultivates the Buddhist path, one’s cultivation can advance at breakneck speed.

“Hm? Thousand Buddha Physique…”

Su Xing shook his head slightly. The Buddhist Dao didn’t interest him, and he had already learned quite a number of disciplines—it wasn’t advisable to add yet another one.

“So be it. Let’s just start the simulation!”

Su Xing declared silently.

【Please select the target for the Plus One talent enhancement…】

“I choose to enhance the Wisdom in Foolishness talent…”

Su Xing declared silently.

【In the Luotian Realm, you became aware that you were in a simulation.】

【One month later, you departed from Earth.】

【You traveled to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm…】

Just then, a notification flashed before Su Xing’s eyes.

【Ding, would you like to use the preset function… Upon activation, you will skip directly to the fiftieth year, arriving at the Heavenly Secrets Domain.】

After hearing this, Su Xing thought it over. For the next fifty years, his course of action likely wouldn’t change at all.

So he nodded and said, “Use the preset function…”

【…】

【In the fiftieth year, within the White Cloud Realm, you began cultivating the Formation Dao.】

【You remained within the Luotian Realm, expending vast amounts of spiritual power daily to maintain a thirty-to-one time differential between inside and outside.】

【In the blink of an eye, a hundred and fifty years passed in the outside world, while within the Luotian Realm, you had cultivated for a full four thousand five hundred years…】

【Four thousand five hundred years of cultivation continuously deepened your comprehension of the Formation Dao.】

【However, the seventeenth order of the Formation Dao was simply too difficult to comprehend. A formation master of such caliber had essentially reached the pinnacle of the Formation Dao.】

【Through solitary study alone, it was truly impossible for you to reach this realm.】

【And the heroic remnant souls within the Luotian Realm had all been surpassed by you in Formation Dao attainment, making them unable to provide much further assistance.】

【Under these circumstances, you had no choice but to pin your hopes on the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.】

【So over the next hundred years, you began accumulating the Wisdom in Foolishness talent…】

【In the three hundredth year, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s Celestial Vessel arrived.】

【In the three hundred and twentieth year, you slew an alien Divine Sovereign and helped crush an alien army’s assault. Your fame began spreading throughout the Heavenly Secrets Domain.】

【In the three hundred and thirtieth year, you arrived at the Celestial Secrets Realm.】

【You began searching for whether the Celestial Secrets Pavilion had any powerful Formation Dao Paragons.】

【In the end, you learned that the most powerful Formation Dao Paragon in all the Three Thousand Worlds was none other than the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master himself!】

【The Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master had not only reached the pinnacle in the art of divination, but his Formation Dao attainment was also unmatched for millions of years.】

【Legend had it that the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master could deploy a super-formation capable of trapping a Great Firmament Golden Immortal.】

【But unfortunately, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master was not within the pavilion, and you had absolutely no way to seek her guidance.】

【However, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion retained detailed notes from the Pavilion Master’s early years studying the Formation Dao.】

【It was called: Celestial Secrets Formation Compendium.】

【This book was kept in the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s treasury, and it could be exchanged for with sufficient contribution points.】

【The contributions you had earned from rescuing the Celestial Vessel’s cultivators alone were enough to exchange for this book.】

【So you brought this ancient text into the Luotian Realm to study.】

【During your research, you were astonished to discover that inside the Luotian Mirror, you could also stack the Wisdom in Foolishness talent’s time!】

【After enhancement, the Wisdom in Foolishness talent allowed three days in the “fool” state to be exchanged for one day of transcendent comprehension.】

【And within the Luotian Realm, thirty days equaled only one day in the outside world…】

【This discovery immediately piqued your interest, and you began exploiting this like a bug, frantically accumulating the transcendent state.】

【In the blink of an eye, ten years passed in the outside world…】

【While within the Luotian Realm, a full three hundred years had passed.】

【You had also accumulated a hundred years’ worth of the transcendent state…】

【You were now ready to formally enter seclusion, using Dao-Enlightenment Tea to comprehend the Formation Dao…】