Chapter 484 – Red Talent, Innate Sword Body!
by spirapira“Begin simulation!”
【Simulation #230 initiated. Current remaining origin energy: 1,087,697,987 points… Remaining simulation attempts: 4.】
【Simulation begins!】
【Drawing a talent costs 1 point of origin energy. Draw?】
“Yes!”
【Ding! Congratulations, you have drawn the red talent Innate Sword Body. Next draw probability: 80% for gold talent, 20% for red talent…】
【Innate Sword Body】: Red mythical-grade talent. The supreme physique for Sword Dao in the cultivation world. With this talent, your aptitude in the way of the sword has reached the absolute pinnacle, granting you the potential to enter the Dao through the sword and attain the Great Firmament!
“Holy shit, Innate Sword Body! It finally dropped!”
Su Xing couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
Innate Sword Body — a red talent Su Xing had been coveting for ages!
After all, Sword Dao was currently one of Su Xing’s strongest offensive methods.
And Su Xing’s aptitude for comprehending the Great Dao of the Sword had remained at the Innate Sword Physique level.
Innate Sword Physique, a gold-tier talent that had accompanied Su Xing for a long time, had finally reached the moment of retirement.
Its superior red-tier replacement, Innate Sword Body, would surely bring Su Xing enormous surprises.
“Among the White Emperor’s extraordinary physiques… was the Innate Sword Body! Also known as the supreme physique of Sword Dao!”
“Now, I can finally experience that thrill for myself!”
Su Xing’s lips curled upward, his mind already made up.
Once he elevated the Great Dao of Space to the seventh realm, he would comprehend Sword Dao as soon as possible.
(Note: The protagonist previously had the gold talent Innate Sword Physique. There may have been errors in previous chapters — corrections are welcome.)
“Well then, let the new simulation begin!”
Su Xing’s gaze eagerly turned to the simulation panel.
【Please select a Plus One talent…】
“I choose to augment Late Bloomer…”
【In the void, you become aware that you are in a simulation!】
【You traveled to the Azure Cloud Sect and successfully traded with Qingyunzi. Over the next ten years, you collected the Luo Tian legacy and traveled to the Heavenly Secrets Domain.】
【You did not linger long in the Heavenly Secrets Domain. After gathering various precious materials, you headed to the Celestial Demon Domain.】
【Upon meeting the Celestial Demon General, you successfully obtained the Luotian Black Pearl.】
【Bidding farewell to the Celestial Demon General, you traveled to the Nine Heavens Domain and began a long path of solitary cultivation.】
【Year 50: You successfully reached the Eighth Heaven.】
【Leveraging your understanding of the western region’s situation in the Eighth Heaven, you hunted down three first-tier deities, over ten second-tier deities, and countless foreign gods before the foreign races could react…】
【After obtaining large quantities of blood essence and precious materials, you traveled to a secluded retreat you had identified in advance and began closed-door cultivation.】
【Year 80: The Late Bloomer talent triggered…】
In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this.
Reaching the Eighth Heaven around year fifty, then hunting foreign deities — this was the optimal strategy Su Xing had refined over more than twenty simulations.
This way, Su Xing could trigger the Late Bloomer talent right on schedule around year eighty and begin comprehending the Great Dao of Space.
With this in mind, Su Xing silently intoned:
“Activate immersive simulation… duration: 274 years!”
【Ding… Remaining origin energy: 1,087,597,986 points…】
As the Chime faded, Su Xing’s consciousness entered the simulation world.
…
Meanwhile, deep within a hidden cave dwelling in the Eighth Heaven.
Su Xing brought out the Dao-Enlightenment Tea and spatial Dao essence treasures he had prepared in advance, and began comprehending the Great Dao of Space.
The dense aura of the Great Dao permeating the Eighth Heaven made Su Xing’s comprehension twice as efficient.
In particular, the cave dwelling Su Xing had found provided an astonishing twelve-fold enhancement!
With the same aptitude and resources, comprehending the Great Dao in this cave dwelling was more than twice as effective as in the lower realm!
Cultivation knew no passage of time. Under Su Xing’s day-and-night comprehension, over two hundred and seventy years passed in the blink of an eye.
In the final three years before the immersive simulation ended —
That is, simulation year 350 — Su Xing withdrew from that profound state of enlightenment.
“Two hundred and seventy years of comprehension… the Great Dao of Space has progressed one step further toward sixth realm Major Mastery!”
Su Xing murmured, then out of habit performed a divination. The cave dwelling where he had been in seclusion remained undetected by the foreign races.
“By my calculations… it’s about time to make contact with them…” Su Xing thought silently.
Over the past half year, through more than twenty simulations spanning nearly twenty thousand years of exploration, Su Xing had become extremely familiar with the Eighth Heaven — especially the entire western region.
And in the previous few simulations, Su Xing had finally discovered traces of what appeared to be human cultivators in the Eighth Heaven!
“If I remember correctly… around year 350, a small-scale skirmish erupted in the Eighth Heaven between the foreign races and human cultivators!”
“A powerful expert at the Supreme Unity True Master level was injured by the foreign races and fled to the western region’s border…”
“This is a good opportunity — it might allow me to make contact with the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master…”
Su Xing continued his calculations, assessing the feasibility of this plan.
If he could rescue that Supreme Unity True Master, Su Xing would have a natural pretext to approach the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master.
At that point, many of his doubts might be resolved.
He might even be able to make small alterations to the future, thereby extending the time before humanity’s extinction.
At the very least, under the Celestial Secrets Pavilion Master’s protection, Su Xing should be able to simulate for longer, right?
So Su Xing thought.
“If I remember correctly, that Supreme Unity True Master fled to the vicinity of Qilian Mountain… and was ultimately killed by two first-tier deities!”
“The only concern is that with my current strength, I may not be able to defeat those two first-tier deities…”
Su Xing pondered for a moment.
“But I possess two top-tier talents — One More Shot and Time Stop. Even if I can’t win… keeping my life shouldn’t be difficult!”
After a brief hesitation, Su Xing decided to make a tentative attempt at contacting this group of human powerhouses.
If the plan went smoothly, the benefits to Su Xing were self-evident, and the risks were within acceptable bounds.
With that thought, Su Xing stepped forward, and the surrounding space rippled.
In the next instant, Su Xing appeared thirty million li (15,000,000 km) away.
From there, Su Xing raced toward Qilian Mountain at the western region’s border at tremendous speed.
Drawing on his knowledge of the Eighth Heaven’s western region, Su Xing continuously traversed spatial nodes.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed…
Finally, in the last two years of his immersive simulation, Su Xing reached the Qilian Mountain Range.
The Qilian Mountain Range was the boundary line of the Eighth Heaven’s western region, stretching for countless billions of li without end, essentially bisecting the entire western portion of the Eighth Heaven.
This was a mountain range left over from the primordial era, rumored to be where a Saint once attained the Dao.
But today, Su Xing had no time for archaeology. He extended his divine sense and began searching the Qilian Mountain Range for traces of the hunted human powerhouse.
His divine sense spread like a tide, blanketing hundreds of thousands of li in every direction. Su Xing left no corner unchecked.
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
Su Xing had yet to find the gravely injured Supreme Unity True Master, but instead ran into the two first-tier deities pursuing him.
A Shadow Deity, and a Talong deity!
“So I’ve been discovered. Looks like I’ll have to fight it out…”
Su Xing’s brow furrowed tightly. He could feel the terrifying pressure radiating from those two first-tier deities.
Both were near the Peak of first-tier deity.
In other words, their combat power was equivalent to the Supreme Unity True Master level.
And with the two of them working together, even Su Xing could only retreat for the time being.
“However, now that the Great Shaman Body Forging Art has reached seventh layer Minor Mastery… my vitality has multiplied several times over!”
“Killing me… won’t be so easy!”
Su Xing sensed the two first-tier deities closing in rapidly from several thousand li away.
Seeing that escape was impossible, Su Xing began adjusting his condition, preparing for battle.
The first to arrive was, naturally, the Shadow Deity.
A half-human-height dark silhouette lurked within the shadow realm, then emerged without warning behind Su Xing.
A flash of black light — razor-sharp dark claws struck toward Su Xing’s vitals in an instant.
At the same time, Su Xing’s Protective Sword Aura encircled his body, with 8,100 strands of sword aura shielding him tightly.
The single strike shattered nearly half the Protective Sword Aura, but Su Xing remained unharmed.
“Tsk tsk… the physical bodies of these foreign races really can’t be underestimated.”
Su Xing frowned slightly. His sixth realm Sword Dao’s Protective Sword Aura combined with primordial energy had only barely withstood that claw.
The innately powerful physiques of the foreign races gave them bodies comparable to Body Tempering cultivators of the same realm!
“Human…”
The Shadow Deity revealed a look of confusion, clearly sensing that Su Xing’s aura did not match the Supreme Unity True Master he had been pursuing.
However, this did not prevent the Shadow Deity from attacking.
The two quickly became locked in fierce combat. The Shadow Deity, relying on extreme speed and mastery of the spatial Dao, was able to seize the initiative at every turn, even suppressing Su Xing for a time.
But Su Xing’s formidable Wu Clan physique came into play at this moment.
Even when his body was pierced hundreds and thousands of times, he could recover in the span of a single breath.
Like an Unkillable Cockroach, he showed absolutely no signs of falling behind.
“A single Shadow Deity is nothing to fear… The trouble is, there’s still another one…”
Su Xing furrowed his brow slightly. His keen divine sense detected a being of terrifying aura rapidly approaching.
Moments later, the Talong Deity also arrived at the battlefield.
In an instant, the pressure from two Peak deities was at full force. Fighting one against two, Su Xing could only fall to a disadvantage.
That powerful body, vast as mountains and abysses, carried the force to destroy planets with every strike.
Even with Su Xing’s astonishing physique, he could barely hold his ground.
Bones tempered through countless refinements shattered repeatedly, only to swiftly regenerate.
Su Xing felt his qi and blood surging without cease.
“What a headache! Against these two first-tier deities, there’s no hope of killing them…”
Su Xing gritted his teeth, spat out a mouthful of blood, then hurled another Yin-Yang Five Elements Immortal Burst at the Shadow Deity.
But the Shadow Deity was extremely agile. Having sensed the danger in advance, it turned and dove into the shadow realm, making Su Xing’s supernatural art impossible to land.
“Still, in the short term… I won’t be in danger of losing either.”
Su Xing murmured, feeling the qi, blood, and vitality within his body blazing like a great sun.
This was Su Xing’s trump card!
Even fighting one against two, even unable to win—
Holding out for two or three months was no problem!
If it truly came down to life and death, Su Xing would activate his Time Stop talent to preserve his life.
But at this moment, Su Xing still had the strength to fight.
“Then let’s see where my current limits lie!”
Facing two powerful enemies, Su Xing advanced instead of retreating, trading blow for blow, charging at the two deities.
This battle descended into white-hot intensity.
In an instant, the earth crumbled and mountains toppled.
The Qilian Mountain Range spanning thousands of miles around them was leveled to flat ground by the horrifying shockwaves of battle.
Great rivers poured forth like floods across the plains of the western region’s interior, forming a vast lake.
When powerhouses clashed, reshaping heaven and earth and sculpting the terrain was no exaggeration.
This battle lasted a full three months!
Until, three months later, Su Xing casually launched an Immortal Burst to force back the Shadow Deity, then blocked the Talong’s physical attack and seized the momentum to retreat a hundred miles, gaining a brief moment to catch his breath.
“Hoo… Less than thirty percent of my qi and blood remains… At this rate, defeat is only a matter of time!”
Su Xing’s brow furrowed tightly. At most, he could hold out for one more month before being slain.
“So, should I flee? Now seems like a decent opportunity…”
Su Xing narrowed his eyes, studying the two opponents before him.
Clearly, after three continuous months of high-intensity combat, while the Talong Deity could still endure, the Shadow Deity had already sustained considerable injuries.
“Hm? This aura…”
Mid-thought, Su Xing sensed a tremendous shift in the surrounding heaven and earth.
As if… the space all around had been sealed.
“It’s a formation! A human cultivator has laid down a heaven-spanning grand formation here!”
A look of astonishment appeared on Su Xing’s face.
With his Formation Dao Comprehension, he could tell that this formation had been lying dormant for quite some time, likely having been set up long ago.
Only now, as it neared full completion, did Su Xing detect the faintest wisp of its aura leaking through.
“It’s a composite formation with a trapping array as the primary matrix, supplemented by a killing array!”
Su Xing discerned this quickly after a brief analysis.
At the same time, he deduced that this formation master’s skills were no less than his own—and more likely belonged to a Supreme Paragon of the Formation Dao!
And this formation was powerful enough to trap and kill a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal!
“Could it be that Supreme Unity True Master who was being hunted…”
Su Xing quickly formed a hypothesis, realizing that the True Master who had vanished long ago had likely been laying this grand formation all along, seeking an opportunity to counterattack.
“Once the formation is complete, escaping with our lives won’t be a problem!”
Su Xing made a swift judgment, knowing that he now needed to provide cover for the formation’s completion until it was fully deployed.
And so, Su Xing launched an even more ferocious assault against the two deities…
In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.
Until, seven days later, above the cloudless skies of the Qilian Mountain Range, heaven and earth suddenly changed color, and what appeared to be Thunder Tribulation began brewing in the sky.
The two first-tier deities, seeing this anomaly, both displayed expressions of alarm and retreated, not daring to act rashly.
At the same time, Su Xing received a voice transmission.
“Fellow Daoist… This is the Nine Dragon Sundering Thunder Imprisonment-Killing Formation I have laid down… Please exit through the east side of the Tianqian position. I will be there to receive you!”
Upon hearing this, Su Xing hesitated no further and immediately rushed toward the direction indicated by the voice transmission.
Sure enough, upon reaching that location, a temporary life gate appeared.
Su Xing hurriedly fled through the grand formation.
At the same time, the final life gate closed, and the two first-tier deities within the Qilian Mountain Range could not escape.
After escaping the grand formation, Su Xing let out a long breath of relief.
After taking several Healing Pills and some immortal liquid, Su Xing’s condition improved slightly.
Four continuous months of high-intensity battle had left Su Xing with less than twenty percent of his power of qi and blood remaining.
Had the fighting continued, there would have been a real risk of perishing.
At the same time, a True Master wearing Daoist robes and sporting a fine beard appeared before Su Xing.
“This poor Daoist is Zhenqian True Master, an Elder of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion… I must thank you for saving my life. May I ask how to address you?”
This Supreme Unity True Master, with his immortal bearing and distinguished appearance, cupped his fists toward Su Xing.
“I am Spirit Dragon True Master… Originally a rogue cultivator from the Azure Origin Domain. I’ve been in the Eighth Heaven for several hundred years now, and at last I’ve encountered a fellow human!”
Su Xing appropriately displayed a hint of excitement, along with a touch of wariness.
This was exactly the attitude a rogue Supreme Unity cultivator should have.
While introducing himself, Su Xing sized up Zhenqian True Master.
His cultivation aura was deep and robust, having reached Peak Supreme Unity Golden Immortal, yet he appeared to be injured, his spiritual power temporarily unstable.
At the same time, a faint purple qi emanated from between his brows, with no trace of malevolent energy.
This confirmed that Zhenqian True Master was indeed a righteous-path cultivator.
“As for the name Zhenqian True Master… it sounds somewhat familiar?”
After a moment’s thought, Su Xing quickly recalled information about this old Daoist.
One million three hundred thousand years ago, there had indeed been a Supreme Unity Golden Immortal in the Celestial Secrets Pavilion who excelled at the Formation Dao, known as Zhenqian True Master.
At that time, Zhenqian True Master had already been a renowned Formation Dao Grandmaster, having once trapped and killed a first-tier deity, and was ranked forty-ninth on the Heaven Ranking.
It appeared he had since taken that final step, attaining the position of Supreme Paragon, and his strength had likely improved further.
Afterward, Zhenqian True Master also explained the situation to Su Xing and offered an apology.
It turned out that several months ago, after Zhenqian True Master had fled to this area, his spiritual power had collapsed, leaving him temporarily unable to fight.
Yet his half-baked Dao of Divination had revealed that he should have a sliver of hope for survival.
So he gritted his teeth, laid down a Concealment Formation, and began healing his injuries.
Three months ago, after recovering considerably, Zhenqian True Master sensed the aura of a great battle outside.
But with the bulk of his combat power lost, he naturally could not join Su Xing in killing the two first-tier deities.
Fortunately, by laying down this Nine Dragon Sundering Thunder Imprisonment-Killing Formation, they had managed to escape.
However, this had come at Su Xing’s expense.
Fighting two first-tier deities continuously for a hundred days—had it been an ordinary Supreme Unity True Master, they would likely have been on the brink of death or already fallen.
“Fellow Daoist Spirit Dragon, your spiritual power is vast, and your physical strength is even more terrifying! Thank you again for saving my life!”
After his explanation, Zhenqian True Master bowed deeply to Su Xing, expressing his sincere gratitude and apology.
Hearing this, Su Xing felt a slight twinge of displeasure, but knowing this was not the time to quibble, he let it go.
As the two conversed, both focused on recovering from their injuries as much as possible.
Zhenqian True Master then said:
“My Nine Dragon Sundering Thunder Imprisonment-Killing Formation originally possesses the power to trap and kill a Supreme Unity True Sovereign!”
“However, this formation requires three years of preparation to unleash its full power… Having been hastily assembled in just three months, only the trapping array is functional—the killing array is incomplete…”
“Its power can only hold these two deities for half a month at most!”
After a pause, Zhenqian True Master continued:
“Our most urgent priority is to put distance between ourselves and this place as quickly as possible to escape danger!”
“Does fellow Daoist have a destination in mind?”