Chapter 54: The Lame Girl
Li Changsheng frowned slightly.
Progressing from the mid-stage to the late stage of the third transformation of the Divine Demon Nine Transformations had taken more simulation attempts than he had anticipated—nine in total. Now, he only had thirteen attempts left.
"Never mind. I'll focus on reaching the peak of the third transformation first," Li Changsheng muttered to himself.
With only thirteen attempts remaining, advancing to the fourth transformation was nearly impossible. Moreover, reaching the fourth transformation required "Heaven and Earth Myriad Spirit Water," a substance he had never even heard of despite being a fifth-tier alchemist.
"Begin."
[Starting simulation.]
...
[...You focus on cultivating the Divine Demon Nine Transformations.]
...
[...At 117 years old, you successfully reached the peak of the third transformation of the Divine Demon Nine Transformations.]
...
The peak of the third transformation was achieved, costing him eleven attempts.
As Li Changsheng made his choice, a surge of vital energy flooded his body, increasing his strength by another hundred thousand jin.
Li Changsheng took out a high-grade artifact-level longsword from his storage pouch and gently squeezed it with his hand.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out as the high-grade artifact sword shattered into pieces.
"Over two million spirit stones, just like that," Li Changsheng murmured.
Now, he only had two simulation attempts left. There were many areas he needed to improve—whether it was the four arts of cultivation or the Divine Demon Nine Transformations. It was most cost-effective to enhance these at lower cultivation levels.
However, whether it was improving the four arts or his cultivation, given his current aptitude, he would need a massive amount of spirit stones to make significant progress. Moreover, high-tier inheritances in the four arts were scarce in the Tiannan region.
"Once things here settle down, I'll head to the Starry Sea to retrieve the Bixuan Fruit and the Mystic Pearl Grass," Li Changsheng said calmly, his gaze deep.
Although he had agreed to accompany Su Qingyu to a certain opportunity in ten years, it didn't mean he had to stay at the Su family for the entire duration.
...
In the following days, no one from Su Zhengdao's faction came to cause trouble for him.
On the contrary, many members of the Su family, having learned that he was a fourth-tier alchemist, came to request pills. Li Changsheng accepted all requests, as the Su family members were quite generous with their rewards. Helping them refine pills allowed him to earn a considerable income.
After refining pills for two months in the Su family's ancestral land, Li Changsheng approached Su Zhenghai and informed him that he needed to leave for a while. He then quietly departed for the Starry Sea.
Originally, Li Changsheng had wanted to bid farewell to Su Qingyu, but he was told that she was in seclusion, attempting to break through to the mid-stage of Golden Core cultivation and would not be available for a while.
...
The Starry Sea was divided into the Inner Sea and the Outer Sea. The Outer Sea was one of the four forbidden lands of the Tiannan region, home to numerous powerful sea monsters. There were even sightings of monstrous creatures tens of thousands of meters long swimming in its depths.
Rumors suggested that creatures at the Integration or even the Mahayana stage existed in the Outer Sea, though this had never been confirmed. After all, the most powerful figures in the Starry Sea, such as the Long family, were only at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage in public knowledge.
The Outer Sea was rarely ventured into, while the Inner Sea was where humans resided.
The Inner Sea was dotted with tens of thousands of islands. Some of the larger ones spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, resembling small continents, while the smaller ones were only a few kilometers in size.
Not all islands were suitable for cultivators, as some lacked spiritual veins and thus had no cultivators living on them.
At this moment, Li Changsheng was aboard a massive sea vessel.
The Inner Sea was vast, and while the sea monsters here weren't as terrifying as those in the Outer Sea, one could occasionally encounter Golden Core or even Nascent Soul stage sea beasts. Ordinary cultivators were unable to traverse the Inner Sea on their own.
Thus, there were specialized sailors who ran fixed routes across the Inner Sea, familiar with the locations of various islands. For a fee, one could board their ships safely.
The ship Li Changsheng was on was an ordinary one by Inner Sea standards, with three Foundation Establishment cultivators aboard, including the captain, who was at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
"The scenery here is quite unique," Li Changsheng stood at the bow of the ship, murmuring softly.
In his previous life, he had visited the seaside but never had the chance to sail on the sea, let alone ride such a massive ship in a cultivation world, braving the winds and waves.
The deck of the ship was crowded with people, including cultivators and mortals. Most were teenagers in their teens, but without exception, their eyes were filled with ambition.
"Little sister, don't worry. I'll definitely join the Sea Worship Sect and find a way to cure your legs," a boy in simple clothing stood at the edge of the deck, speaking to a thin, pale-faced girl with lame legs.
"Big brother, the Sea Worship Sect is so powerful. It won't be easy to join," the girl sighed, smiling weakly.
The boy appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen, while the girl looked no older than seven or eight. They were clearly not cultivators but ordinary mortals. Mortals without spirit stones weren't allowed into the cabins and had to stay on the open deck.
It was the time of the Sea Worship Sect's triennial disciple recruitment ceremony, which explained why so many mortal youths were aboard the ship, all dreaming of joining the sect and becoming cultivators.
However, among the mortal youths, very few possessed spiritual roots, making it rare for any to be accepted into the sect.
"At least you cripples have some self-awareness," a group of richly dressed youths happened to pass by the siblings. One of them, looking at the crowd of mortal youths on the deck, couldn't hide his disdain and sneered:
"You lowly mortals actually think you can join a Golden Core-level sect?"
"Let me tell you, every time the Sea Worship Sect recruits, tens of thousands of mortals like you try out, but only four or five are ever chosen."
"I suggest you get off at the next island and take a return ship back home!"
"Don't waste your time here!"
The other richly dressed youths shared the same disdain. The thought of competing with a group of lowly mortals for a few spots in the Sea Worship Sect disgusted them.
Most of their parents were only at the Qi Refining stage, but even that made them vastly superior to mortals.
They considered themselves descendants of cultivators and looked down on ordinary mortals.
Many of the mortal youths lowered their heads, afraid to meet the gazes of these young masters from cultivation families.
In the cultivation world, it was survival of the fittest. If they were fortunate enough to join the Sea Worship Sect, they would be on the same level as these young masters. But before joining, even if they were killed by these young masters, no one would stand up for them.
Li Changsheng had no interest in these trivial matters. With his powerful divine sense, he had already scanned the crowd, assessing their potential.
However, very few among the youths on the ship possessed spiritual roots.
The richly dressed youths who had spoken earlier only had a few individuals with four-spiritual roots, while others had even weaker five-spiritual roots. Among the mortal youths, there was one with three-spiritual roots.
Without a powerful background, even a three-spiritual root youth would find it difficult to afford a Foundation Establishment Pill in their lifetime.
What caught Li Changsheng's attention was the lame girl. When he scanned her with his divine sense, he detected an immense vital energy force in her legs. Even with his physical strength exceeding a million jin, he felt a sense of awe.
It was precisely because this vital energy was too powerful and the girl's body too weak that she could not control her legs.
If this continued, the girl might not survive for more than three months.
"System, simulate!"
Over the past two months, Li Changsheng had exchanged the materials obtained from killing Song Xuan and others for spirit stones. Additionally, he had earned a considerable amount from refining pills for the Su family, accumulating nine simulation attempts.
He didn't rashly approach the girl. He needed to simulate first to see if there would be any danger in making contact.
[Starting simulation!]
[At 21 years old, you set sail to search for materials to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill. Along the way, you encountered a lame girl and chose to take her as your disciple. You discovered that her bloodline was extraordinary and exceptionally suited for cultivating the Divine Demon Nine Transformations!]