Chapter 48: Feeling Invincible
"Begin simulation."
Without hesitation, Li Changsheng initiated the process.
[Simulation commencing.]
[At the age of 21, you followed Su Qingyu to the Su family's ancestral land. Under Su Zhenghai's guidance, you mastered the first five layers of the Great Five Elements Sword Art and secluded yourself to cultivate it diligently.]
[Three days later, you successfully refined three high-quality Emerald Water Pills for Su Qingyu. She gave you one, and after consuming it, your cultivation aptitude improved slightly.]
[At 22, you continued your secluded cultivation of the Great Five Elements Sword Art.]
[By 30, you successfully converted your internal spiritual energy into the essence of the Great Five Elements.]
[At 31, you and Su Qingyu ventured to the legendary greatest opportunity in the Southern Domain. Despite defeating numerous competitors, you returned empty-handed.]
[At 35, you remained in seclusion within the Su family, but your cultivation progress slowed.]
[At 70, Su Qingyu successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. Feeling your cultivation progress was too slow, you left seclusion to search for materials to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill.]
[At 71, Su Qingyu learned of your search and gifted you two of the four main ingredients for the Marrow Cleansing Pill: a Dragon Blood Ginseng and a thousand-year-old Fiery Ganoderma.]
[At 73, through the Su family's connections, you discovered the remaining two ingredients were located in the Starry Sea. You personally traveled to the Starry Sea to find them.]
[By 79, after six years of searching, you confirmed that the remaining two ingredients, the Azure Yuan Fruit and the Mystic Pearl Grass, were held by the Zhang and Liu families, respectively.]
[You traded a Breakthrough Pill for the Azure Yuan Fruit from the Zhang family. However, the Liu family refused to part with the Mystic Pearl Grass. You forcibly seized it.]
[Three days later, you were pursued by a Nascent Soul expert from the Long family in the Starry Sea. Unwilling to reveal your Nascent Soul cultivation, you chose to flee.]
[At 80, you successfully refined five Marrow Cleansing Pills. After consuming one, your aptitude improved significantly.]
[You secluded yourself in the Starry Sea to cultivate.]
[At 140, a massive spatial rift appeared above the Southern Domain, and powerful beings from the outside world descended. In the Starry Sea, you inadvertently offended a descendant of these outsiders and was slain by a single sword strike.]
[You have died!]
Li Changsheng's expression remained calm.
He hadn't expected to gather all the materials for the Marrow Cleansing Pill in a single simulation. He had assumed it would take multiple attempts.
"However, the Starry Sea seems to be the Long family's territory."
Li Changsheng frowned slightly. Even now, he couldn't fully grasp the true strength of the three major powers in the Southern Domain. In the simulations, the experts he encountered from these factions were only Nascent Soul cultivators, but he wasn't certain if they had Soul Transformation stage cultivators guarding them. After all, these factions had been established for so long, and it was reasonable for them to have hidden aces.
"Choose option one."
As Li Changsheng made his choice, his internal spiritual energy experienced a slight increase—roughly one-tenth—and the Nascent Soul within his dantian became more solidified.
"After consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill, my aptitude has indeed improved significantly!"
Delight flashed in Li Changsheng's eyes.
…
"Let's go again."
[Simulation commencing.]
[At 21, you successfully refined the Emerald Water Pill for Su Qingyu and obtained one for yourself.]
[Three months later, you bid farewell to Su Qingyu and quietly traveled to the Starry Sea. You first obtained the Azure Yuan Fruit from the Zhang family, then disguised yourself and stormed the Liu family to seize the Mystic Pearl Grass.]
[A month later, you returned to the Su family, gathered all the materials for the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and successfully refined it.]
[After consuming the pill, your aptitude improved.]
[You secluded yourself within the Su family to cultivate.]
…
[At 140, you were slain!]
"Choose option one."
As Li Changsheng made his choice, his internal spiritual energy increased by one-fifth.
…
"Again!"
[…At 107, you successfully advanced to the mid-stage Nascent Soul. At 140, you were slain!]
After four simulations, Li Changsheng finally reached the mid-stage Nascent Soul!
A smile spread across his face. After consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill, his cultivation speed had indeed accelerated significantly. With his previous four-spiritual-root aptitude, advancing a single minor realm at the Nascent Soul stage would have required dozens of simulations. Now, it only took about five simulations per minor realm.
"First, I'll push my cultivation to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, then improve my skills in the Four Arts of Cultivation."
Li Changsheng murmured to himself.
"However, relying solely on the spirit stones provided by the Su family isn't enough. I need to find my own ways to earn more spirit stones."
A sense of urgency lingered in Li Changsheng's heart. Outsider cultivators were set to descend upon the Southern Domain in 120 years, but the two individuals from the Vajra Sect were like a sword hanging over his head. If they discovered that he had uncovered their schemes, they might not hesitate to eliminate him!
…
"Again!"
[…After consuming the Marrow Cleansing Pill, you secluded yourself within the Su family to cultivate.]
…
[…At 130, you successfully reached the late-stage Nascent Soul.]
It took five more simulations, but Li Changsheng finally achieved the late-stage Nascent Soul!
…
Only two simulation opportunities remained!
"Even with these two chances, there won't be much improvement. I'll save one for emergencies. This time, let's see if I can uncover the true purpose of the Vajra Sect's secret realm and determine the cultivation levels of that young man and Elder Su."
Li Changsheng murmured, "If only I could obtain the subsequent levels of the Divine Demon Nine Transformations technique from Elder Su!"
Although he knew the Vajra Sect was deeply problematic, he couldn't help but covet the Divine Demon Nine Transformations technique. If he could push it to the ninth transformation, he believed he could stand his ground against Elder Su, the mysterious young man, and even the outsiders who would descend in over a century!
[Simulation commencing!]
[…At 31, after returning empty-handed from the opportunity site, you began gathering spiritual herbs to aid in your physical breakthrough.]
[At 41, you purchased a bottle of Dragon Essence Liquid at an auction. After consuming it and the stored spiritual liquid, your Divine Demon Nine Transformations technique broke through to the peak of the second transformation!]
[At 43, after stabilizing the Divine Demon Nine Transformations, you bid farewell to Su Qingyu and headed to the Vajra Sect's secret realm.]
[You successfully entered the secret realm and met Elder Su. Upon your request, he reluctantly gave you the Divine Demon Nine Transformations technique from the fourth to the sixth transformation.]
[Within the secret realm, you cultivated the Divine Demon Nine Transformations while keeping a close watch on Elder Su's activities. Your progress was slow.]
[At 87, you gained a basic understanding of the spiritual herb distribution within the secret realm but found no opportunity to act.]
[At 130, you noticed that many of the secret realm's precious herbs were being relocated, and Elder Su was frequently absent. Seizing the opportunity, you quietly harvested several ten-thousand-year-old herbs beneficial for cultivating the Divine Demon Nine Transformations.]
[Half a month later, your Divine Demon Nine Transformations technique reached the early stage of the third transformation.]
[A month later, Elder Su returned to the secret realm and discovered the missing herbs. Enraged, he did not take action against you.]
[You continued to cultivate within the secret realm.]
[At 142, experts from the Medicine King Sect broke the formation outside the secret realm and engaged in a fierce battle with Elder Su. You fled as far as possible from the fight and avoided injury, but you were discovered by five Soul Transformation stage experts from the Medicine King Sect stationed at the Black Wind Mountain Range's periphery.]
[You revealed the existence of the mysterious young man in full detail. The young man, furious, emerged and struck down all five Soul Transformation stage experts—and you—with a single sword strike.]
[You have died!]
"Struck gold!"
Li Changsheng's eyes gleamed with ecstasy.
"Choose option two!"
Without hesitation, Li Changsheng made his choice. A surge of immense physical energy flooded his body, causing it to rapidly expand into a towering golden figure over ten meters tall.
Fortunately, the cave residence prepared by Su Qingyu was spacious enough to accommodate his transformed state.
A day later, Li Changsheng returned to his normal size, his body brimming with terrifying explosive power, resembling an ancient humanoid tyrannosaur, exuding an aura of indestructibility.
Li Changsheng opened his eyes sharply and clenched his right fist!
Boom!
The void trembled!
"This is truly formidable!"
Li Changsheng felt as though he could now stand against a true deity or demon. He knew this was an illusion born from his sudden surge in power, but he couldn't help but revel in it.
"However, just what level has that scoundrel who wanted to use me as a scapegoat reached?" Li Changsheng muttered with a frown.
His current strength allowed him to contend with Soul Transformation stage experts. Yet, in the simulation, even the five Soul Transformation stage experts from the Medicine King Sect and his enhanced self couldn't withstand that scoundrel's single strike?
"However, I've now obtained the Divine Demon Nine Transformations technique up to the sixth transformation. I refuse to believe that reaching the sixth transformation won't allow me to crush these schemers!"
Li Changsheng sneered. Cultivating the sixth transformation would grant him strength comparable to a Mahayana stage expert. He refused to believe that he couldn't crush those who had plotted against him!