Chapter 45 – The Core Condensation Secret Art and the Mysterious Grand Protector

Su Xing walked on for several dozen more steps.

In the depths of the treasury, he saw several dozen shelves standing several zhang tall.

The shelves were covered with all manner of labels. Beyond what Protector Shadow had mentioned earlier, there were also categories like skill scrolls, recovery potions, rare materials, and more.

The vast majority of items here were usable by Class Users, and the variety was even more comprehensive than what Su Xing had seen at the Jin Commerce Group.

Su Xing didn’t linger in these areas for long. Instead, he headed straight for the ancient texts section.

The ancient texts section wasn’t filled with the legendary supreme techniques Su Xing had imagined. The vast majority were cultivation insights left behind by Class Users, along with partial dungeon strategies, and even secret histories of humanity spanning the past millennium.

For example, there was a book titled 《The Story That Must Be Told: Elder Fengyue and Her One Hundred and Eight Boyfriends》. On the surface, it appeared to chronicle the uninhibited life of an elder named Fengyue, but in reality, it was written in travelogue form and documented quite a few secrets of Earth’s major powers.

Then there was another called 《Changyang Hermit’s Infiltration of the Abyss: One Hundred Days with His Succubus Girlfriend》, which actually described information about certain demonic creatures within a dungeon called the Abyss.

Su Xing speed-read through them, scanning ten lines at a glance, and began searching for the true purpose of his visit—cultivation techniques.

Setting aside the travelogues and secret histories piled on top, he wiped away the thick layers of dust. After more than twenty minutes, Su Xing actually managed to find two cultivation manuals.

One was called the Body Nourishing Art, and the other was called the Core Condensation Method.

Su Xing only gave the Body Nourishing Art a brief glance and didn’t pay it much mind, because it was nothing more than the most basic cultivation technique.

It couldn’t even break through to Foundation Establishment. It would be fine for ordinary people looking to maintain their health and extend their lifespan.

But for Su Xing, who already possessed the Eternal Spring Art, it was completely useless.

What truly surprised Su Xing was the Core Condensation Method, because according to this ancient text’s description, it was a secret art that could help cultivators better condense their Golden Core!

The manual detailed the quality grades of Golden Cores: low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and the even higher Nine-Revolution Golden Core. This matched exactly what the simulator had told Su Xing about Golden Core ranks.

And the method described in this manual for improving Golden Core quality was to compress spiritual energy and infuse it into the Golden Core!

Su Xing couldn’t determine whether this technique was genuine or fake, but for him at present, there was no better method for condensing a Golden Core.

If he relied purely on accumulated time to condense a Golden Core, Su Xing would probably need to spend dozens of simulations’ worth of time to achieve a Nine-Revolution Golden Core. That would be far too wasteful of his simulation attempts.

But asking Su Xing to settle for anything less than a Nine-Revolution Golden Core—that would be a disservice to someone blessed with such a massive cheat like the simulator.

Therefore, this Core Condensation Method was essential for Su Xing. The only regret was that he hadn’t found the second half of the Eternal Spring Art.

At that moment, Protector Shadow appeared behind Su Xing. Looking at the manual in Su Xing’s hands with some curiosity, she asked:

“Could it be that Elder Medicine wishes to cultivate? Oh right, I forgot—your class is Cultivator! But our world has no spiritual energy. How would you cultivate?”

Su Xing explained:

“Protector Shadow, cultivation and alchemy are two sides of the same coin. Alchemy is the External Core Method, while cultivation is the Internal Core Method… Although the path of immortality is beyond my reach, I still wish to refine more and better pills for the cult. Naturally, I must study this Core Condensation Method!”

Protector Shadow was left blinking repeatedly by Su Xing’s righteous and impassioned words. After a long pause, she nodded and said with some emotion:

“Ah, Elder Medicine truly lives up to his reputation as the cult’s rising star! This level of dedication—even I feel ashamed in comparison! If Elder Medicine had joined the cult ten years earlier, you might very well be at the Protector level by now!”

Su Xing felt a bit embarrassed by Protector Shadow’s shower of praise. He wasn’t doing any of this for the Advent Cult—it was clearly all for himself!

Finding the Core Condensation Method was indeed an unexpected bonus, but Su Xing’s primary objective for this visit was still the second half of the Eternal Spring Art, which he had yet to find.

So Su Xing asked with some curiosity:

“Protector Shadow, to be honest, I’m quite fascinated by the art of cultivation. I’d love to peruse some cultivation-related ancient texts, but I haven’t been able to find any here. Does our cult have any cultivation texts? I’d simply like to feast my eyes on them!”

Protector Shadow’s tone carried considerable pride as she replied:

“Elder Medicine, you’ve asked the right person! When it comes to mastery of cultivation dungeons, our Advent Cult is absolutely the number one power on Earth! Even the Great Xia government can’t hold a candle to us!”

“However, the advanced cultivation techniques are all held by those people in the Zealot Faction. To exchange for those techniques, you’d probably need to pay quite a few contribution points…”

Su Xing’s heart stirred at this, and he asked:

“Oh? Protector Shadow… how many contribution points would it take? Over the past year, I’ve completed dozens of pill-refining missions and saved up ten thousand contribution points. Would that be enough?”

Protector Shadow shook her head and said:

“Ten thousand contribution points would be more than enough to exchange for the first half of a technique called the Eternal Spring Art… But the second half requires one hundred thousand contribution points. You’re still far, far short…”

Su Xing was stunned. The first half was worth just a few thousand contribution points, but the second half cost one hundred thousand? Were they running some kind of bait-and-switch scheme?

Su Xing asked helplessly:

“Protector Shadow, why is exchanging for this technique so expensive?”

Protector Shadow explained:

“Because the Zealot Faction’s Grand Protector Zong is just like you—particularly obsessed with matters of cultivation. Moreover, he joined the cult very early on, several hundred years ago by now. He’s one of the most powerful Protectors. He used his contribution points long ago to buy up the vast majority of cultivation-related items within the cult. If you want to purchase them, you can only do so from him, so naturally the prices are steep…”

Powerful Class Users who reached the Heavenly King-stage would undergo a life transformation. After this transformation, a person’s lifespan would be greatly extended, making them a Longevity Seed.

A Heavenly King-stage Class User who didn’t die in battle could easily live three to five hundred years. As for Protector-level Class Users, who were at minimum at the Martial Emperor-stage, living five to six hundred years was no difficulty at all.

After hearing Protector Shadow’s words, Su Xing’s expression shifted between light and dark. Obsessed with cultivation items, one of the most powerful Protectors…

Su Xing suddenly recalled the old man he had encountered in one of his previous simulations. That old man had taken an interest in his Spirit rice, and in order to extract information about it, had tried to torture him to death.

Now that Protector Shadow had described this person, Su Xing guessed that the old man was most likely Grand Protector Zong.

“But… why is that Grand Protector Zong also so obsessed with cultivation? Could his class also be Cultivator?”

Su Xing pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

“Impossible. The class panel clearly states that I’m the only Cultivator… So Grand Protector Zong definitely isn’t a Cultivator. Then why is he so obsessed with cultivation matters? There must be a great secret behind all of this!”