Chapter 444 – The Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s Answer, The Method to Save Qingyunzi!
by spirapiraAfter asking the question that had puzzled him for so long, Su Xing quietly waited in place for the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master to provide an answer.
Yet, contrary to Su Xing’s eager expectations, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s phantom shook his head and said:
“I’m sorry… I cannot give you that answer!”
“Qingyunzi was once a Peak Great Firmament Golden Immortal… but he recklessly attempted to sever the Three Corpses to achieve sainthood, not knowing the holy path had already been severed… Combined with the problems in Qingyunzi’s own Daoheart, even I cannot help him recover…”
“After all, his current realm is already at the half-saint level…”
“Therefore… you should ask a different question!”
Hearing the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s words, Su Xing’s expression shifted.
“How can this be… even the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master can’t solve this problem… Could it be that Qingyunzi truly can’t be saved?”
Su Xing’s face turned somewhat ashen.
Although Qingyunzi had killed him many times in the simulations, that was after his demonic corruption. Strictly speaking, Qingyunzi could be considered an orthodox cultivator.
If Qingyunzi could lend his aid, Su Xing would definitely be able to survive longer in the simulations…
“There’s really no way…”
“No, wait!”
Su Xing suddenly realized something.
The current point in time was the nine hundredth year of the simulation.
In other words, nine hundred years in the future… at this point, Qingyunzi had indeed already failed to sever the Three Corpses and been consumed by the evil corpse… completely succumbing to demonic corruption.
But… what about nine hundred years ago?
Su Xing clearly remembered that Qingyunzi was only completely consumed by the evil corpse around the five hundredth year of the simulation!
And in subsequent simulations, Su Xing could absolutely find a way to help Qingyunzi before he was completely consumed!
Thinking of this, Su Xing looked at the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master before him and asked:
“Senior… if it were before Qingyunzi’s complete demonic corruption, would there be a way to prevent him from falling?”
After hearing Su Xing’s question, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master pondered for a moment and asked:
“Are you certain this is the answer you wish to know?”
“Something that has already happened… even if you knew, you wouldn’t be able to change anything…”
After hearing this, Su Xing affirmed, “I’m certain I want to know!”
Seeing Su Xing’s resolve, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master asked no further questions. He fell silent for a long time, as if contemplating something.
After a moment, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master answered:
“The path to sainthood that Qingyunzi walked… was Severing the Three Corpses to achieve sainthood. This was the most common method of attaining sainthood during the primordial era!”
“The advantage is that the path to sainthood is relatively stable… Even if one ultimately fails to achieve sainthood, one can still attain the half-saint realm, far surpassing a Great Firmament Golden Immortal!”
“But the drawback is that the time required… is far too long!”
“Severing the Three Corpses easily takes millions of years to sever just one… And if one hits a bottleneck, hundreds of cosmic cycles without any progress is entirely possible…”
After a brief pause, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master continued:
“Therefore, Qingyunzi chose… to reverse the Three Corpses!”
“Though the risk was greater… as long as one’s Daoheart was firm, it could save countless years!”
“In merely millions of years, Qingyunzi severed two of the Three Corpses…”
“However, the supernatural art Qingyunzi cultivated, One Qi Transforms into Three Purities… had a hidden flaw… which had planted the seeds of trouble long ago.”
“It only manifested when he attempted to sever the Three Corpses, but by the time Qingyunzi discovered it, it was already too late. In the end, he could only be trapped by his inner demons… and lose himself!”
Listening to the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s words, Su Xing nodded slightly.
What the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master said was largely consistent with what he already knew, only more detailed. Now Su Xing understood the full cause and effect.
But the question remained — how could Qingyunzi be saved before his complete demonic corruption?
The Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master soon answered:
“If it were before Qingyunzi’s complete demonic corruption… there are three methods to help him escape the grip of his inner demons…”
“First, dispersing his cultivation and starting over… By simply dispersing the One Qi Transforms into Three Purities technique, the evil corpse would dissolve on its own… However, the One Qi Transforms into Three Purities technique has been cultivated by Qingyunzi for so long, accompanying him for tens of millions of years, that it has long become inseparable from him.”
“If forcibly dispersed, Qingyunzi’s entire cultivation would likely be lost… and he might need to start over from Qi Refinement.”
“Even as a Great Firmament Golden Immortal, recultivating back to Peak Great Firmament would likely take millions of years…”
Hearing the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s first answer, Su Xing nodded slightly.
Dispersing his cultivation and starting over was indeed impractical.
Setting aside the fact that Qingyunzi would certainly be unwilling to let his lifetime of cultivation dissipate… even if he were willing to restart, millions of years was far too long. The foreign races would likely have already destroyed the world by then.
Therefore, this method wouldn’t work.
“Then what are the other two methods you mentioned, Senior?” Su Xing pressed.
The Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master answered:
“The second method… One Qi Transforms into Three Purities is a secret supernatural art from the primordial era. Accompanying it was a soul-cultivating technique called the Ruyi Visualization Diagram.”
“Dual-cultivating these two techniques would strengthen one’s soul, preventing accidents during the severing of the Three Corpses…”
“Although Qingyunzi has already cultivated One Qi Transforms into Three Purities to its limit… if he could find and practice the Ruyi Visualization Diagram, it could delay the eruption of his inner demons.”
Hearing this, Su Xing nodded slightly. This method was precisely what Su Xing had previously used to help Qingyunzi delay the eruption of his inner demons!
But clearly, this couldn’t fundamentally solve the problem!
So Su Xing asked:
“Then what is the third method you mentioned, Senior?”
The Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master said:
“As for the third method… it involves a type of pill recorded from the ancient era, called the Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill!”
“This pill can allow a cultivator to re-experience their inner demon tribulation… breaking through the self within the inner demons to ultimately overcome them!”
“If this pill can be found and administered to Qingyunzi from several hundred years ago, it may help him re-enter his inner demon tribulation, completely sever the evil corpse… and thus find a sliver of hope.”
Hearing the third method, Su Xing’s eyes lit up.
If one could re-experience the inner demon tribulation and completely sever the inner demons!
Then this would be much more manageable!
Su Xing thus said:
“Senior… if experiencing the inner demon tribulation is all it takes to sever the evil corpse, then there should be many methods to achieve that… Why must it specifically be this Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill?”
In Su Xing’s view, inner demons were essentially a type of illusion, and other similar pills might also be able to help Qingyunzi survive this tribulation.
But the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master shook his head upon hearing this:
“Not so… only the Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill will work.”
“Qingyunzi is a Great Firmament Golden Immortal… ordinary inner demon tribulations and illusions, he can see through at a single glance…”
“Among all the methods in the world, only the Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill can actively allow Qingyunzi to re-enter his demon tribulation while retaining a degree of lucidity… It also has the highest success rate!”
Hearing this, Su Xing nodded slightly, understanding now.
Put simply, Qingyunzi’s strength and realm were too great — ordinary methods simply wouldn’t work on him.
Then the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master performed another divination and said:
“This Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill has long been lost to history… Apart from me, no one else in the world could likely find its recipe…”
“Now, I shall impart the recipe to you…”
As he spoke, the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master extended a finger toward Su Xing’s brow, and a segment of memory flashed through Su Xing’s mind.
The Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s voice echoed in his ears:
“The Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill has three primary ingredients… The first is Celestial Sun Grass, the most supremely yang substance in existence, yet it grows in the most yin-cold and demonic places in the world… It has not appeared for millions of years, and only within the Celestial Demon Domain might there be a place to find it.”
“The second is Soulsever Grass… a spiritual herb that severs the yin-yang balance of the soul. Even a Great Firmament Golden Immortal who ingests it may suffer irreversible soul fragmentation… This herb once appeared in the Eighth Heaven of the Nine Heavens Domain.”
“The third is called the Bewilderment Branch — a branch from the Saint-Bewildering Tree. Legend says the fragrance emitted by this tree could cause even a Saint to briefly lose their mind.”
“However… this tree went extinct millions of years ago… Whether any scattered branches have survived to this day, even I do not know…”
Su Xing committed everything the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master said to memory, one detail at a time.
…
When the immersive simulation ended, Su Xing’s consciousness returned.
Rubbing his brow, Su Xing thought about the three pill-refining ingredients in his mind, and a headache immediately set in.
“This Celestial Sun Soul-Forging Pill is of extremely high quality… Its refining difficulty is no less than the Nine-Revolution Golden Core. Even an alchemy Paragon might not be able to guarantee success.”
“Setting aside how hard the ingredients are to find, even attempting to refine it is beyond my current ability!”
Su Xing shook his head slightly. He still needed to continue improving his alchemy skills.
“Tsk tsk… this Pill Saint talent — I didn’t expect it to come in handy so soon!”
Su Xing murmured. Improving alchemy skills wasn’t difficult for him.
With the red talent combined with the Luotian Mirror in each simulation, two or three simulations at most would be enough for Su Xing to reach the level of an alchemy Paragon!
The real difficulty lay in finding the pill ingredients!
Su Xing carefully pondered methods for locating the three ingredients.
“Soulsever Grass… is in the Eighth Heaven. That’s confirmed!”
“To obtain it, I either need to advance my own strength further… and enter the Eighth Heaven to search for it.”
“Or I use my identity as a lesser demon deity to find a way to acquire it… So there’s at least a lead!”
“As for the Bewilderment Branch…”
Su Xing thought it over. For an item that had already gone extinct, Su Xing indeed had a method to obtain it!
That was the simulator’s function — time reversal!
Previously, Su Xing had used this very function to find the Celestial Primordial Tree!
If he used it again, finding the Bewilderment Branch shouldn’t be too difficult either.
“As for the last ingredient… Celestial Sun Grass!”
Su Xing narrowed his eyes. The Celestial Demon Domain!
“It seems it’s time to make a trip to the Celestial Demon Domain!”
Su Xing’s current strength was already sufficient. He had a reasonable degree of confidence in his ability to pass through the barriers between domains and travel to the distant Celestial Demon Domain!
Moreover, going there wasn’t just for the Celestial Sun Grass.
“Whether it’s… the items left behind by the Luotian Ancestor… the Celestial Demon General’s allegiance, or this Celestial Sun Grass… everything ultimately points to the Celestial Demon Domain!”
Su Xing took a deep breath. He absolutely had to make a trip to the Celestial Demon Domain.
Su Xing closed his eyes slightly, his thoughts now fully organized.
“My Sword Dao has also successfully entered the sixth realm!”
“My current strength has now truly entered the Supreme Unity Golden Immortal tier!”
“Compared to Fairy Ziling before she became a Supreme Unity… I’m no less formidable…”
After a brief pause, Su Xing continued:
“The greatest puzzle of this simulation has been resolved… Next, I’ll continue advancing my cultivation!”
“I wonder if this simulation will allow me to break through to Late Golden Immortal!”
Thinking this, Su Xing turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【Year 910: You obtained the answer you sought from the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master.】
【But the remaining time was clearly insufficient for a trip to the Celestial Demon Domain.】
【Thus, you decided to head to the Nine Heavens Domain and continue advancing your cultivation.】
【Year 1,000: Your Qi Refinement cultivation finally advanced to the sixth-stage Golden Immortal Peak!】
【You were only one step away from reaching Late Golden Immortal!】
【Thus, you devoted even more focus to advancing your Qi Refinement cultivation!】
【And so, over two hundred years passed…】
【Year 1,260: After over two hundred years of arduous cultivation, both your magical power and the timing for a breakthrough had fully matured!】
【Without hesitation, you launched your final assault toward the seventh-stage Golden Immortal!】
【The hundreds of thousands of drops of immortal liquid you had accumulated surged madly into your body, nourishing your spiritual root… The Three Flowers Above the Crown had unknowingly manifested once again.】
【At the final critical moment of the breakthrough, it was once again the Spirit Vein Dragon that lent you its strength!】
【Nourished by the immortal liquid, the Spirit Vein Dragon had undergone an even greater evolution… The pure immortal power it breathed from its mouth finally helped you break through to the next realm!】
【After exhaling one last breath of pure immortal qi, the Spirit Vein Dragon fell into a deep slumber…】
【Congratulations, you have advanced to the seventh-stage Golden Immortal!】
In the real world, Su Xing felt a surge of joy upon seeing this.
“Finally, I’ve entered the seventh-stage Golden Immortal!”
“After entering Late Golden Immortal… my magical power will be vastly more abundant! At least a fifty percent increase!”
Su Xing couldn’t help but feel elated. An advancement in cultivation realm didn’t just mean an increase in Su Xing’s combat strength.
More critically, Su Xing could leverage his higher realm to attempt repairing the Luotian Mirror, or unlocking an even greater time differential!
When that time came, Su Xing’s cultivation speed would become even more terrifying!
At the same time, Su Xing also noticed the changes in the Spirit Vein Dragon.
“Tsk tsk… as expected of the number one supreme post-celestial treasure nurtured by heaven and earth… It can even assist with a Golden Immortal’s breakthrough?”
“As the Spirit Vein Dragon continues absorbing immortal liquid and growing… it will likely become an even greater asset to me in the future!”
Su Xing murmured.
Ever since the immortal liquid had begun flowing, the Spirit Vein Dragon’s growth rate was incomparably faster than before!
Thinking of this, Su Xing glanced at the Spirit Vein Dragon swimming in the spirit liquid stream not far away.
Several months ago, the dark baleful aura that had clung to the Spirit Vein Dragon had already been purged by Su Xing.
Now the Spirit Vein Dragon’s growth rate was astonishingly fast, and it was already on the verge of entering its adolescent stage.
“Phew… then next comes the final push to enhance my lesser demon deity power!”
“This time, I’m going to advance my divine power to the first-tier deity level in one fell swoop!”
Su Xing thought to himself, turning his gaze to the simulation panel.
【Year 1,300: The foreign deity of the Eighth Heaven descended…】
【You activated the Xenomorph talent, transforming into the guise of a lesser demon deity.】
【Afterward, you returned to the Heavenly Secrets Domain and began cultivating followers and accumulating faith.】
【Year 1,800: You traveled to the Azure Origin Domain to take refuge…】
【Over the next thousand years, you continuously accumulated the power of faith.】
【And so, time quickly arrived at Year 2,780…】
【Nearly a thousand years of accumulated power of faith gave you ample confidence to make your charge toward first-tier deity!】
【As the power of faith flowed and was consumed like water… your divine power also grew rapidly.】
【Finally… at a certain moment, you felt your divine power break through its shackles…】
【Congratulations, your divine power has reached the first-tier deity level!】