Chapter 427 – True Realm of the Dao, Alarming the Great Firmament!
by spirapiraChapter 427 – True Realm of the Dao, Alarming the Great Firmament!
When Su Xing regained consciousness once more, he had already left the realm of nothingness.
Su Xing did a quick calculation on his fingers and said with some relief:
“Good thing the immersive simulation only lasted one year… but this time I was actually unconscious for a full six months!”
After determining the time that had passed, Su Xing immediately began contemplating his mastery of the spatial Dao.
“The True Realm of the Dao — what kind of existence is it, exactly?”
Su Xing could clearly feel that his mastery of space was completely different from before.
It was as though Su Xing had thoroughly seen through the very essence of space…
“So this… is the True Realm of the Dao?”
Su Xing took a deep breath. This wondrous experience with the spatial Dao was something he had never felt before!
Su Xing gently extended his hand, and a spatial passage appeared before him.
Stepping into this passage, Su Xing vanished from where he stood.
In the next instant, Su Xing appeared in Ying City!
Ying City in the Celestial Secrets Realm — a city that was a full ten million li (5,000,000 km) from Celestial Secrets City!
And it had taken Su Xing less than half a breath to get here from Celestial Secrets City…
“With a mere flick of the wrist, I can traverse tens of millions of li of space…”
“As for the cost…”
Su Xing briefly assessed his situation. His magical power consumption was less than one percent.
After just a brief moment, with his astonishing rate of magical power recovery, it had already fully replenished.
As for the depletion of spatial Dao essence… that too had only cost roughly one percent.
“This means that using the spatial Dao continuously costs me virtually nothing…”
“Unless I need to use it dozens of times within an extremely short period, only then would it become somewhat taxing.”
“But for everyday travel, there’s practically no strain at all…”
The corners of Su Xing’s mouth curved upward.
He did a rough calculation. Originally, it took Su Xing about half a day to travel from Earth to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.
But now, at most 1 hour, and Su Xing could get from Earth to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm!
A full tenfold increase in travel speed!
This was because Su Xing’s mode of travel had undergone a qualitative transformation.
Originally, while Su Xing’s flight speed was fast enough and he could use the power of space to traverse spatial distances, the cost was considerable, making it impractical as a long-distance travel method.
But now, Su Xing only needed to make several dozen consecutive spatial jumps to get from Earth to the nearest void node.
From the void node, he could reach the vicinity of the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.
Then, using the power of space, arrive at the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm itself.
There was no need to use the Star-Moon Shuttle at all — the improvement to Su Xing’s travel speed was immense!
“In the future, traveling from the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm to the Star Realm probably won’t even take half a month. As long as my magical power and spatial Dao essence are sufficient, I could arrive in less than a single day…”
Thinking of this, Su Xing finally understood just how terrifying those Supreme Unity Golden Immortals who specialized in the spatial Dao truly were!
Spatial Dao, sixth realm — the True Realm of the Dao.
Great cultivators who mastered this power could traverse virtually any location across the Three Thousand Worlds at will.
This supremely powerful method of travel, crossing hundreds of millions of li in a short span of time — whether for hunting down enemies or preserving one’s own life, it was first-rate!
“However, the magical power of the Golden Immortal stage is still worlds apart from that of a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal… I still can’t completely disregard the magical power consumption of such distances the way a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal can.”
For example, with Su Xing’s current cultivation:
Crossing tens of millions of li consumed roughly one percent of his magical power.
If Su Xing gritted his teeth, crossing hundreds of millions of li wasn’t impossible either.
But doing so would mean a massive drain on his magical power.
For a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal who had mastered the True Realm of the spatial Dao, crossing hundreds of millions of li in a single breath would cost virtually nothing.
In fact, traveling from Earth to the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm would probably take them merely a few minutes.
For mighty cultivators, touring the Three Thousand Worlds was nothing more than a passing thought.
“Moreover, with my power of space having entered the sixth realm, spatial restrictions can hardly bind me anymore!”
“Unless a mighty cultivator lays down an overwhelmingly powerful grand formation, it’s essentially impossible to trap a cultivator who has reached the True Realm of Space…”
“If I were to pass through Earth’s Red Moon spatial restriction again, there would probably be no hindrance whatsoever.”
So Su Xing thought.
However, this was merely Su Xing’s progress in the travel aspect of the spatial Dao.
Having stepped into the True Realm of the Dao, the changes to his spatial Dao went far beyond just that.
With a thought, Su Xing came to an uninhabited region within the Celestial Secrets Realm.
Next, Su Xing wanted to test the other changes to the power of space after reaching the True Realm of the Dao.
Su Xing gently extended his right hand, five fingers pointing upward, and in an instant, the entire mountain range before him was ripped from the earth, roots and all.
On the ground, all that remained was a pit stretching thousands of li deep.
Note — this was an entire mountain range, stretching unbroken for a thousand li (500 km)…
Far from the mere dozens of li of space Su Xing could control before.
Then, that thousand-li (500 km) mountain range began shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Finally, it became a palm-sized miniature model of the mountain range, resting in Su Xing’s hand.
Probing the model with his divine sense, all the living creatures within the mountain range continued their lives as usual — they had simply been shrunk countless times over.
“Hoo… the True Realm of the Dao. I can effortlessly manipulate space spanning thousands of li, and with a snap of my fingers, cause spatial collapse…”
Su Xing smacked his lips. He was still only at the early stage of the True Realm of the Dao.
If he cultivated to the Peak of the sixth realm, how terrifying would that be?
Perhaps an entire lesser world could be plucked up as easily as reaching into a bag, held right in Su Xing’s hand.
“Legend has it that in ancient times, a Great Firmament Golden Immortal who specialized in the spatial Dao could use the technique ‘Universe Within the Sleeve’ to store an entire lesser chiliocosm within his sleeve. It seems those tales were no exaggeration…”
Su Xing could scarcely imagine — if one compressed an entire lesser world and then hurled it at an enemy by surprise during battle…
Though the spatial dimensions had changed, the mass had not — and was now concentrated at a single point.
An explosion unleashed with the power of an entire world would probably critically wound even a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal who let their guard down!
“The spatial Dao can also be used in combat… though it isn’t primarily an offensive Dao…”
Su Xing explored his mastery of the spatial Dao a bit more.
Then, with a thought, he returned the space in his hand to its original position.
The palm-sized miniature mountain range began to shift and gradually restored to its original form.
Under Su Xing’s precise control, the entire mountain range was restored to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
Just then, Su Xing sensed a familiar yet powerful aura approaching him.
Su Xing’s heart stirred, and he saw a white-robed figure riding a sword through the air, quickly landing before him.
When the newcomer saw it was Su Xing, he was momentarily stunned. After sensing that the mountain range had been restored to its original state, he exclaimed in surprise:
“Well, well! You little rascal have been hiding your skills!”
“With merely Early Golden Immortal cultivation… the mastery of the spatial Dao you just displayed has probably already reached the level of the True Realm of the Dao, hasn’t it?”
“I never expected your talent in the spatial Dao would actually surpass your Sword Dao…”
“My word, the younger generation truly inspires awe!”
Hearing this, the corners of Su Xing’s mouth curved slightly upward. Being praised naturally felt great, especially coming from such a powerful expert.
But Su Xing still cupped his fists modestly and said:
“You flatter me, Senior White… this junior merely happened to step into the sixth realm of the spatial Dao by chance… I’m far from comparable to you, Senior!”
“In the future, when I have questions about the Sword Dao, I hope Senior will not hesitate to offer guidance…”
Hearing Su Xing’s words, the white-robed figure laughed heartily:
“Of course, of course! Your cultivation has broken through again — a joyous occasion!”
“Haha, you’d better treat me to a few bottles of fine wine…”
As he spoke, the white-robed figure threw an arm around Su Xing’s shoulders and they headed toward the city together.
The visitor was none other than the Sword Immortal, White Emperor.
Only this Great Firmament Golden Immortal could be so unserious.
It turned out that Su Xing’s practice with the power of space earlier had caused too great a commotion.
White Emperor, tens of millions of li away, had sensed that something was amiss and came to investigate.
…
After Su Xing returned to the Real World, he took a moment to readjust.
Then he said with some emotion:
“Entering the sixth realm of the spatial Dao has been an immense boost to my abilities…”
“The only pity is that the spatial Dao isn’t primarily offensive. My current strength probably only barely places me in the top three of the Earth Ranking…”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. This meant there was still a considerable gap between him and a true Supreme Unity Golden Immortal.
He still needed to work hard!
“However, the main objective of this simulation has been essentially achieved… Next up is raising the cultivation of my lesser demon disguise.”
Su Xing estimated that advancing the lesser demon disguise to mid-stage second-tier deity shouldn’t be too difficult this time.
His gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【Year 850: You detected a hint of being spied upon.】
【The Blessed by Fortune talent also occasionally sent warnings.】
【Even within the Celestial Secrets Realm, you felt somewhat uneasy. You suspected the alien races had already cultivated some moles within the Celestial Secrets Realm.】
【Especially when venturing out on missions, this premonition grew even stronger.】
【Year 900: You were finally hunted by a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal.】
【Your pursuer was a senior officer of the Advent Cult, codenamed Blood Four.】
【Unlike in the past, you now had some ability to resist against such a powerful foe…】
【At the very least, you still had the option of fleeing…】
【The advantage of the sixth realm of the spatial Dao manifested itself.】
【You tore open space and used the power of space in rapid succession, crossing countless distances until you reached a lesser chiliocosm that had been invaded by the alien races.】
【Then, you decisively transformed into your lesser demon form.】
【Before long, the aura of your lesser demon deity form was detected by the alien races.】
【You became the vice commander of the alien races’ Third Grand Army.】
【From there, you remained within the alien army, developing the lesser demon race, cultivating believers, and harvesting the power of faith.】
【Year 1,300: You exhausted the first wave of the power of faith entirely. You had cultivated enough Lesser Demon Apostles, increasing the rate of faith collection tenfold…】
【Year 1,900: You used up the power of faith accumulated over six hundred years and began advancing your realm.】
【Under the nourishment of boundless power of faith, your divine power grew continuously.】
【Finally, your divine power reached mid-stage second-tier deity.】
【Year 2,000: You were assassinated by the human race…】
【You fought back with everything you had, but it was futile…】
【You died!】
【Ding! This simulation has ended!】
After the simulation concluded, Su Xing gave a slight nod.
This simulation had once again ended at the two-thousand-year mark.
And to play it safe, Su Xing had advanced his lesser demon disguise a hundred years ahead of schedule — nothing unusual about that.
But what pleasantly surprised Su Xing was this:
His current strength now meant that facing a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal, he was no longer completely powerless to resist.
“The sixth realm of the spatial Dao!”
“It’s given me… the ability to escape from the hands of a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal…”
Su Xing was beaming with joy. This meant his survival capabilities had been massively enhanced!
In this world, the number of powerhouses who could threaten Su Xing’s safety and life was growing ever fewer.
At the very least, those early-stage Supreme Unity Golden Immortals who weren’t proficient in the spatial Dao would find it nearly impossible to kill Su Xing now.
“I can’t beat them head-on… but who says I can’t run?”
Su Xing thought to himself.
“But strength is still the foundation… My current strength isn’t enough to go toe-to-toe with a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal…”
“I should first take a look at this simulation’s rewards!”
Su Xing turned his gaze to the reward list.
【I’m Background Extra A】: Purple talent, priced at 1 origin energy point.
【Spirit Realm Twelve Thousand Li (6,000 km)】: Spirit Domain metamorphosis, reaching the Spirit Realm level. Within the Spirit Realm’s range, the power of supernatural arts and the spatial Dao is massively enhanced. The interior of the Spirit Realm gradually evolves toward a real world. Priced at 200,000 origin energy.
【Golden Immortal Layer Two】: Early Golden Immortal cultivation, condensing the Three Flowers Above the Crown and Five Qis gathered in the chest, enjoying a lifespan of a million years, with an imperishable physical body. Priced at 10,000,000 origin energy points.
【Great Shaman Body Forging Art Cultivation Results】: Great Shaman Body Forging Art, Sixth Layer. A Primordial Energy Tree has been planted within the body, providing an endless flow of primordial energy with greater power than before. Entry level of the sixth layer has been reached, with the internal Primordial Energy Tree at eight chi (2.66 m) and nine cun (29.97 cm). Priced at 13,000,000 origin energy.
In this simulation, because Su Xing had focused entirely on cultivation, he hadn’t come into contact with any new treasures.
As a result, there were fewer reward categories, but their quality was by no means low.
“I want all four of these rewards!”
Su Xing stroked his chin and murmured.
There was nothing much to say about the Background Extra A talent—for the upcoming exploration of the Endless Abyss, Su Xing absolutely had to bring it out.
The Spirit Realm’s range was also something Su Xing needed to accumulate over the long term, so bringing it out would be ideal.
As for the Qi Refinement and Body Tempering cultivation results, Su Xing needed those even more.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll bring them all out!”
Su Xing first chose to temporarily store the Background Extra A talent and the Spirit Realm cultivation results in the Talent Lottery Pool.
Then, Su Xing silently intoned:
“I choose to bring out the Great Shaman Body Forging Art cultivation results and Golden Immortal Layer Two cultivation…”
“As well as the two rewards in the lottery pool…”
As his words fell, the Chime sounded in Su Xing’s ears.
【Ding! You have successfully brought out the Great Shaman Body Forging Art cultivation results. Cost: 13,000,000 origin energy points. Remaining origin energy: 11,831,311 points…】
【You have successfully brought out Golden Immortal Layer Two cultivation. Cost: 10,000,000 origin energy points. Remaining origin energy: 1,831,311 points…】
【You have successfully brought out Spirit Realm cultivation results. Cost: 220,000 origin energy points. Remaining origin energy: 1,611,311 points…】
【You have successfully brought out the talent I’m Background Extra A. Cost: 2 origin energy points. Remaining origin energy: 1,611,309 points…】
Su Xing brought out all four rewards at once.
Naturally, he stored the lower-value ones in the lottery pool, so the extra ten percent origin energy surcharge would be as small as possible.
But even so, Su Xing’s origin energy had plummeted drastically.
In the blink of an eye, he was left with just over a million.
At the same time, the aura around Su Xing began to surge.
The magical power within his body skyrocketed in a short span, breaking through directly from the late phase of Golden Immortal Layer One to Golden Immortal Layer Two.
This increased Su Xing’s total magical power by roughly thirty percent.
Simultaneously, the primordial energy and physical body within Su Xing also grew by approximately fifty percent.
The Primordial Energy Tree, previously five chi (1.67 m) tall, rose to eight chi (2.66 m) and nine cun (29.97 cm).
The range of Su Xing’s spirit field grotto-heaven also expanded to twelve thousand li (6,000 km).
After a long while, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes and said with satisfaction:
“The feeling of growing stronger… it really is wonderful!”
“Compared to my last simulation, my strength has improved significantly again!”
“I can finally break into the top three of the Earth Ranking!”
But Su Xing’s joy was short-lived. When his gaze drifted to the remaining origin energy displayed on the simulation panel, a sudden pang of pain struck his chest.
“Sigh, origin energy—easy come, easy go!”
“Although my strength is growing rapidly… that’s only guaranteed when there’s a sufficient supply of origin energy…”
“But right now, my remaining origin energy probably isn’t enough for another simulation!”
Su Xing did the math. To take his strength one step further, the fastest method would be for the Primordial Energy Tree to reach one zhang (3.33 m) and for the Great Shaman Body Forging Art to reach Minor Mastery of the sixth layer.
But that would require Su Xing to spend another seven million origin energy.
Right now, he simply didn’t have that much…
“Hmm… wait, no!”
“I’m about to enter the Abyss—naturally, I should boost my strength as much as possible!”
“What if I run into danger?!”
“Therefore, reaching Minor Mastery of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s sixth layer is the ideal scenario.”
“I still have two simulation attempts remaining… Although I don’t have enough energy to bring out cultivation results right now… after sweeping through the Abyss, things will be different!”
“I can run one simulation first, then upgrade my cultivation after the Abyss sweep!”
“That’s how I maximize my strength gains!”
Su Xing quickly figured this out.
Before entering the Endless Abyss, Su Xing planned to run one final simulation.
To push his strength even further.
With that thought, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
“Begin simulation!”
【Simulation #156 initiated. Current remaining origin energy: 1,611,309 points… Remaining simulation attempts: 1.】
【Simulation begins!】
【Drawing a talent costs 1 origin energy point. Draw?】
“Yes!”
【Ding! You have drawn the gold talent Golden Peng Divine Physique. Next draw probability: 80% for gold talent, 20% for red talent…】
【Golden Peng Divine Physique】: One of the Hundred Great Divine Physiques. Possesses a partial bloodline of the ancient divine beast, the Golden Peng. Exceptionally gifted in physical body and speed, with a chance to master the Golden Peng’s innate talent “Soaring Ninety Thousand Li (45,000 km).” Also provides a degree of suppression against dragon-type races.
“Hm? Golden Peng Divine Physique?”
Su Xing found the newly drawn talent rather interesting.
The Golden-Winged Great Peng had left behind quite a few legends in the cultivation world.
It was said that in ancient times, the most powerful among the Golden Peng birds approached the level of a Great Firmament Golden Immortal.
Moreover, they were particularly adept at speed…
With a single thought, traversing a million li (500,000 km) in an instant was no mere dream.
As for that “Soaring Ninety Thousand Li (45,000 km)”—the “ninety thousand” was just a figurative number. A true Golden-Winged Great Peng’s escape speed far exceeded that.
“Not bad. This talent seems useful to me… I might bring it out after this simulation.”
Su Xing thought to himself.
“Well then, let’s officially begin the simulation!”
“The goal remains the same—break into Minor Mastery of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s sixth layer…”
【Ding! Please select the target for the Plus One talent enhancement…】
“I choose to enhance the Late Bloomer talent…”
【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you become aware that you are in a simulation.】
【You travel to the Endless Abyss and spend seven days exploring down to the four hundredth floor.】
【Afterward, you sense a trace of danger and deploy the power of space, successfully escaping from Earth.】
【1 hour later, you arrive at the Lesser Azure Cloud Realm.】
【You then find Qingyunzi and successfully trade with him.】
【You spend fifteen years locating the scattered legacies of the Luotian Sect across various regions.】
【Afterward, you head to the Heavenly Secrets Domain.】
【Year 20: You successfully arrive at the Heavenly Secrets Domain.】
【Over the next two hundred-plus years, you cultivate the Celestial Primordial Tree and practice the Zhengyi Breath Absorption Art as always.】
【Year 300: The Celestial Primordial Tree matures.】
【This year, your Spirit Realm range reaches thirteen thousand li (6,500 km).】
【You board the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s Celestial Vessel, preparing to travel to the Celestial Secrets Realm.】
【Year 320: Ambush by foreign races…】
【In this battle, you begin to make a name for yourself, entering the Earth Ranking at twenty-first place.】
【Year 330: You arrive at the Celestial Secrets Realm.】
【Over the next seventy years, you cultivate in the Celestial Secrets Realm, occasionally venturing out to complete missions, quietly awaiting the maturation of the Celestial Primordial Fruits.】
【Year 400: The Celestial Primordial Fruits mature.】
【Over the next hundred years, you consume one Celestial Primordial Fruit every two years, and your Body Tempering cultivation advances by leaps and bounds.】
【Year 500: All forty-nine Celestial Primordial Fruits have been consumed. The second batch of Celestial Primordial Fruits matures.】
【This year, the Primordial Energy Tree within your body grows to nine chi (3 m) and four cun (13.32 cm).】
【You venture out on a mission and slay the crimson-eyed deity.】
【In the blink of an eye, another hundred years pass…】
【Year 600: The Primordial Energy Tree within your body finally reaches a temporary growth bottleneck at nine chi (3 m) and nine cun (29.97 cm).】
【You are only one step away from Minor Mastery of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s sixth layer.】
【Year 650: After several hundred years of cultivation, your Qi Refinement cultivation reaches mid-phase Golden Immortal Layer Two.】
【Year 680: On an unremarkable afternoon, a flash of sudden inspiration strikes you, and you sense a subtle transformation occurring in your physical body.】
【The Primordial Energy Tree within your body shoots up by one cun (3.33 cm) on the spot.】
【Though it is merely a single cun of difference, this signifies that you have officially entered the Minor Mastery stage of the sixth layer!】
【Your primordial energy becomes more refined, and its power grows stronger…】
In the Real World, Su Xing couldn’t help but break into a delighted grin upon seeing this.
“Finally—Minor Mastery of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s sixth layer… That’s equivalent to the physical strength of a mid-stage Golden Immortal!”
“My strength has finally crossed another small threshold.”
“So then, how far am I now from a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal?”
Su Xing carefully recalled the strength that Blood Three and Fairy Ziling had previously displayed.
The answer was… still a considerable gap!
“Minor Mastery of the Great Shaman Body Forging Art’s sixth layer probably still leaves me some distance from the top two on the Earth Ranking.”
“At minimum, I’d need to reach Major Mastery of the sixth layer, plus break through to mid-stage Golden Immortal in cultivation, before I’d have a shot at entering the Earth Ranking’s top two.”
“As for claiming the top spot—I’d probably need at least one offensive Great Dao to reach the sixth realm before that becomes possible…”
Su Xing mused. The spatial Dao was still somewhat lacking when it came to offensive power.
Prodigies like Fairy Ziling, or rather anyone capable of entering the Earth Ranking’s top three…
They were likely all peerless geniuses who had mastered a Great Dao at the sixth realm!
After all, the only gap between them and a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal was their cultivation level.
“In fact, Fairy Ziling has probably mastered more than just one True Realm of the Dao.”
Su Xing decided that during his next simulation, he would find a way to inquire about Fairy Ziling’s true strength.
Only then could he gauge how far he still was from a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal.
“However, I still have the immersive simulation to go through…”
“Now that the Great Dao of Space has entered the sixth realm, it’s time to try mastering the Five Elements Dao…”
Su Xing resolved to make the Five Elements Dao his first offensive Great Dao.
After all, the advantages of the Five Elements Holy Physique were not to be underestimated.
“Begin immersive simulation…”