Chapter 78 – Achieving Nascent Soul Patriarch, Stay Steady and Don’t Get Cocky!

Lacking spiritual energy—Su Xing had spent his first few years living exactly like that, which had even turned him into a body-tempering cultivator.

But now that he’d tasted the wonders of spiritual energy, losing it again was absolutely unacceptable.

Yet in the future simulation, he’d once again found himself short on spiritual energy. Though that was still some time away from the present, Su Xing still felt a sense of urgency.

“Fortunately there are Spirit-Gathering Flowers. Looks like in my next simulations, I’ll need to find a way to grow some Spirit-Gathering Flowers to ensure my spiritual energy supply…”

It was foreseeable that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, Su Xing’s demand for spiritual energy would be even greater. While he could use pills to boost his cultivation, spiritual energy was the true foundation.

Su Xing let out a soft sigh and turned his gaze to this simulation’s rewards.

【Plant Affinity】: Blue talent. Price: 100,000 energy points.

【Nascent Soul Stage, First Layer】: Qi Refinement cultivation. A Nascent Soul patriarch—how terrifying! Price: 1,000,000 energy points.

【Seventeen Years of Alchemy Experience】: Alchemy insights. Price: 170,000 energy points.

【Spirit-Gathering Flowers x2 (Growth Stage)】: Not yet fully mature Spirit-Gathering Flowers. Estimated 3 years until maturity. Price: 20,000 energy points.

【Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation (Rudimentary)】: Only the slightest understanding of the Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation. Price: 5,000 energy points. (The Minor Spirit-Gathering Formation is one of the thirteen minor field techniques within the Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique.)

Nothing much to say about the simulation rewards. Only three items caught Su Xing’s interest.

The blue talent Plant Affinity, the Nascent Soul stage cultivation, and the two Spirit-Gathering Flowers in their growth stage.

After a moment of thought, Su Xing decided to redeem the Plant Affinity talent and Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

The Spirit-Gathering Flowers were nice, but nurturing them during their growth stage was too taxing on one’s energy, and they still needed three years to mature. Even with the Plant Affinity talent, it would take at least a year. It would be better to simply bring out fully mature Spirit-Gathering Flowers in a future simulation.

As for the Plant Affinity talent, it was practically a must-pick. Whether Su Xing was growing Spirit-Gathering Flowers or any other spirit plants in the future, he would need it.

And Nascent Soul stage cultivation needed no further explanation. Cultivation had always been crucial, and moreover, after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, Su Xing’s alchemy skills would see further improvement as well.

“I choose the blue talent Plant Affinity and Nascent Soul Stage, First Layer cultivation!”

Su Xing intoned silently in his mind.

Then a notification chimed in his ears.

【Ding! You have chosen to bring out the blue talent Plant Affinity. Cost: 100,000 energy points. Remaining energy: 2,996,666 points.】

【Ding! You have chosen to bring out Nascent Soul Stage, First Layer cultivation. Cost: 1,000,000 energy points. Remaining energy: 1,996,666 points.】

As the simulator’s voice rang in his ears, Su Xing first felt a gentle green light wash over his body, and then he seemed able to perceive the emotions of every blade of grass and every tree around him, feeling a deeper affinity with them.

“So this is what Plant Affinity feels like? Not bad at all.”

Su Xing now understood why Plant Affinity could accelerate plant growth. All things in the world possessed spirit, and now that Su Xing could sense the emotions of spirit plants, he could tend to them far more effectively.

Plant Affinity was merely an internal change within Su Xing.

The very next second, Su Xing felt something within his body on the verge of bursting forth.

The cultivation feedback was coming!

Su Xing hurriedly sat cross-legged, guarding his mind. He turned his spiritual sense inward toward his dantian.

There, the Nine-Revolution Golden Core within his dantian trembled ceaselessly. Golden radiance instantly engulfed the entire dantian as the Nine-Revolution Golden Core’s aura continued to gather and surge.

The entire process lasted roughly a minute.

Su Xing didn’t dare blink, sensing every change within his golden core at every moment.

Finally, a crisp sound rang out. Crack!

A fissure appeared on the Nine-Revolution Golden Core. The crack spread outward like a spider’s web, layer upon layer, until the core shattered completely.

There, within the golden core, appeared a palm-sized infant. This infant could open its eyes from birth, its gaze bright and spirited, its appearance remarkably similar to Su Xing himself. What was even more astonishing was that this infant’s entire body radiated golden light.

After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, the growth of his cultivation hadn’t ended. Su Xing’s aura surged upward once more by a small margin, already approaching the Nascent Soul stage second layer. This was the result of several years of bitter cultivation during the later period of his simulation.

“So this is what a Nascent Soul cultivator is like…”

Su Xing took a deep breath. He noticed that his Nascent Soul was different from the ordinary. A typical Nascent Soul cultivator’s Nascent Soul wouldn’t be golden—a golden Nascent Soul could only be formed from a Nine-Revolution Golden Core.

This golden Nascent Soul also meant Su Xing’s strength far surpassed that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

At the same time, Su Xing felt the vast spiritual power within his body—at least several times stronger than during the Golden Core stage!

If his former Golden Core cultivation was like a mountain stream, then now that stream had merged into a river, incomparably more abundant than before!

“Hiss… Even though I’ve only just broken through to Nascent Soul, with the power of the Nine-Revolution Golden Core, my spiritual power might already rival that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!”

Su Xing marveled inwardly.

“The only regret is that my offensive techniques are still too lacking. I only have Separation Fire and Spirit Burst. Learning offensive spells needs to be put on the agenda…”

Su Xing’s breakthrough to Nascent Soul had been exceptionally smooth, the entire process flowing as naturally as water. But the explosive increase in strength still made him feel a surge of overconfidence.

Su Xing hurriedly scooped two ladles of cool, clear water from the Spirit Well, drinking half and pouring the other half over the crown of his head. Only then did his emotions stabilize again.

Then Su Xing began his routine self-brainwashing.

“Stay steady. I’m merely a Nascent Soul cultivator… I need to at least reach the Spirit Transformation stage before I can go settle scores with Old Dog Zong!”

After a moment, Su Xing’s emotions restabilized, and he returned to his usual steady demeanor.

This was a drawback of the simulator that Su Xing had discovered: every time he brought out cultivation, the explosive surge in power would inflate his ego.

Only through constant self-suggestion could he return to being steady and cautious.

Su Xing opened his Class User panel and reviewed his current information.

【Name: Su Xing】

【Age: 21】

【Class: Immortal Cultivator (Unique Hidden Class)】

【Cultivation: Nascent Soul Stage, First Layer / Organ Refining Realm, Ninth Layer】

【Techniques: Eternal Spring Art, Core Condensation Technique Secret Art】

【Talents: Wood-Fire Dual True Spirit Root, Die With Eyes Open, Innate Divine Strength, Lucky Streak, Flash of Inspiration, unyielding tenacity, Level 10 Beast Tongue, Peerless Adonis, Fortune in Commerce, Plant Affinity…】

【Skills: Separation Fire (Beginner), Alchemy (Beginner), Spirit Burst (Beginner), Shennong Spirit Cultivation Technique (Not Yet Learned)】

After seeing his attribute panel, Su Xing nodded with satisfaction.

Now his Qi Refinement cultivation had reached Nascent Soul Stage, First Layer—a massive leap in power, and his control over spiritual energy had grown immensely as well.

Beyond that, after more than twenty simulations, Su Xing’s talent count had reached a full ten, which gave him some cause for concern.

“Logically speaking, there might be an upper limit on the number of talents. Now that I have ten, how am I supposed to keep obtaining new ones?”