Chapter 102: Peak of the Eighth Revolution
"Do you have anything to say?" Li Changsheng looked at the Liu family members present and spoke calmly.
The expressions of the Liu family members changed, especially Liu Lu and Liu Beizheng. They had paid a considerable price to curry favor with the Transcendence Realm cultivators from the General's Mansion. Now, these two monstrous Transcendence cultivators had been effortlessly killed by the mysterious powerhouse before them.
"Enough," Li Changsheng shook his head slightly, stepping onto the jade boat beneath his feet as it rapidly ascended into the sky.
Wait… Could it be?
As the jade boat rose higher and higher, the Liu family members' faces lit up with hope, thinking they might survive.
However, before the expressions of joy could fully form on their faces, thousands of sword lights rained down from the sky, enveloping not only the Liu family members in the courtyard but also those stationed several miles away.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The sword energy surged!
In just a few breaths, there was no living creature left within a radius of dozens of miles.
Meanwhile, at the General's Mansion in Ming Province.
"The two idiots sent to investigate the Abyssal Mountains are dead," a shadowy figure appeared in Xiao Zhengyan's secluded cultivation cave.
"Variables, yet another variable," Xiao Zhengyan's face darkened.
Since his rebirth, variables had been increasing. First, there was the appearance of Baicao Hall, and now something had happened in the Abyssal Mountains.
In his memory, the Abyssal Pavilion's destruction was supposed to happen after the Demon Tide erupted. The Demon Abyss served as a portal from the Demon World to the Cangqing Realm. When the Demon Tide erupted, the area around the Abyssal Mountains would turn into a hellish landscape.
But now, the Demon Tide was still nearly five hundred years away, yet the Abyssal Pavilion had already fallen!
'No, I must obtain the Origin Fruit. Otherwise, when the Demon Tide erupts, I won't be able to keep up with the Holy Demon Prince, and I'll have no chance of survival!'
After gathering the storage pouches of the Liu family members, Li Changsheng raised his hand and annihilated the area within dozens of miles around the courtyard. Even if people from the General's Mansion came to investigate, they would find nothing.
Ten days later, Li Changsheng returned to Pearl City.
After handing over the items he had obtained from this trip to Mo Chengkong, he immediately entered seclusion.
Inside his cave, he focused on crafting array disks. However, he no longer crafted seventh-grade array disks. His strength had already surpassed that of the Demon Shadow, and he only prepared these array disks as a precaution, ensuring that neither the Demon Shadow nor Xiao Zhengyan could escape.
Half a year later, Li Changsheng emerged from seclusion and placed the Dragon Tiger Pills and the pills refined from Phoenix Blood Vines into Baicao Hall for sale.
Then, he went back into seclusion.
During this period, people from the Marquis of Northern Suppression's residence visited several times, hoping to place orders for more supplies from Baicao Hall, but Li Changsheng refused.
Although he didn't mind earning more spirit stones, his main priority was to secure the Origin Fruit. While the Origin Fruit's effect on him had diminished, it was still a valuable resource—whether for his family and friends or for selling it. A single Origin Fruit could easily fetch tens of billions of spirit stones.
For a cultivator with decent talent, consuming an Origin Fruit would almost guarantee reaching the Transcendence Realm at the very least. For a genius, it could even lay the foundation for a future Half-Step Human Immortal, with the potential to reach the Human Immortal Realm.
Another seven months passed.
Li Changsheng stopped crafting array disks in his cave.
Over the past year, besides refining pills, he had also crafted thirteen sets of eighth-grade array disks, which were more than enough for his needs.
"It's about time to head to the entrance of the Demon Abyss and wait," Li Changsheng muttered.
"However, after crafting the array disks, I've been left with more spirit stones than I expected. Let's see if I can make further improvements."
Although the Origin Fruit's effects were diminishing, it still had some use for him now. He wanted to see if he could push the Devine Demon Nine Revolutions further.
"Recharge."
[Recharge successful. Balance: 5.1 billion spirit stones.]
[Would you like to use the Cultivation Simulator now? One use costs 100 million spirit stones.]
"Yes!"
[Simulation begins.]
[Age 34, you quietly left Pearl City with Mo Chengkong and waited at the entrance of the Demon Abyss.]
[Two months later, Xiao Zhengyan led his group into the Demon Abyss.]
[Three days later, Xiao Zhengyan emerged from the Demon Abyss with his group. You activated the array, instantly killing everyone except Xiao Zhengyan and the Demon Shadow.]
[You entered the array, killed Xiao Zhengyan with a single finger strike, and defeated the Demon Shadow in seventeen moves.]
[Returning to Pearl City, you entered seclusion and consumed the Origin Fruit. Your cultivation rose to the early Great Ascension Realm, and your Devine Demon Nine Revolutions improved slightly.]
[…]
[Age 540, the Demon Race invaded, and the Holy Demon Prince killed you!]
[You died!]
"It still helps with body cultivation," Li Changsheng opened his eyes. This was the third time he had used the Origin Fruit in the simulation. Although the effect wasn't as significant as the first time, it still slightly improved his Devine Demon Nine Revolutions.
"Again!"
[… You consumed the Origin Fruit, and your Devine Demon Nine Revolutions improved slightly.]
[…]
[… You consumed the Origin Fruit, and your Devine Demon Nine Revolutions improved slightly.]
[…]
[… You consumed the Origin Fruit, and your Devine Demon Nine Revolutions successfully advanced to the mid-eighth revolution.]
The effects of the Origin Fruit diminished with each use, but after expending twenty-three opportunities, Li Changsheng finally advanced his Devine Demon Nine Revolutions to the mid-eighth revolution.
"Choose option two!"
As Li Changsheng made his choice, a surge of immense vital energy flooded into his body.
After a while, Li Changsheng opened his eyes.
"My strength has increased by fifty percent!" Li Changsheng murmured, disbelief written across his face.
After reaching the eighth revolution, even small improvements were this terrifying? Moreover, he could clearly feel that after this improvement, a pure energy from his body fed back into his dantian. This caused the bottleneck he had been facing at the peak of the Soul Transformation Realm to loosen slightly.
If he wanted to break through, he could enter the Great Ascension Realm at any moment.
"This is troublesome," Li Changsheng whispered.
Compared to his physical body, he didn't want to improve his cultivation level. Once he stepped into the Great Ascension Realm, each simulation would cost 1 billion spirit stones.
What he hadn't expected was that after reaching the eighth revolution of the Devine Demon Nine Revolutions, each improvement would passively feed back into his lackluster cultivation. However, if he wanted to increase his strength, he had no choice but to advance the Devine Demon Nine Revolutions.
Now, he was caught in a vicious cycle: once his physical body broke through, he couldn't maintain his Soul Transformation Realm cultivation!
But if he didn't break through, he would be doomed when the Demon Race invaded.
"Looks like I can't just play it safe anymore," Li Changsheng murmured.
"Again!"
[Simulation begins.]
[You waited outside the Demon Abyss, killed Xiao Zhengyan and his group, and then annihilated the General's Mansion.]
[You consumed the Origin Fruit, but your cultivation improved only slightly, and your physical body didn't advance.]
[You quietly arrived in the capital of the South Li Dynasty, changed your appearance, and opened an array shop in the city.]
[Your proficiency as a peak eighth-grade array master made you highly sought after in the capital.]
[Age 39, you successfully joined the Crown Prince's residence.]
[Age 117, you demonstrated your immense value within the Crown Prince's residence and earned the Holy Demon Prince's favor. After accumulating significant contributions, you requested to enter the Royal Immortal Nurturing Pool for cultivation, but the Holy Demon Prince refused.]
[Age 118, you set up 117 killing arrays outside the Royal Secret Realm and entered it alone. You were attacked by two Half-Step Human Immortals guarding the realm, but your powerful physical body allowed you to suppress them in three moves.]
[You successfully entered the Immortal Nurturing Pool.]
[Seven days later, you absorbed all the energy from the Immortal Nurturing Pool, and your Devine Demon Nine Revolutions advanced to the peak of the eighth revolution!]
[One day later, the killing arrays you set up were broken.]
[A peak Human Immortal from the royal family attacked you. After a battle lasting an hour and a half, you suppressed them.]
[The Holy Demon Prince arrived, cursing you for ruining his opportunity. He and two Human Immortal Demons attacked you fiercely.]
[An hour later, you killed the two Human Immortal Demons and severely injured the Holy Demon Prince. Just as you were about to deliver the killing blow, the Holy Demon Prince burned his demon blood and summoned an unknown entity from the Demon World to attack you.]
[You desperately tried to block, but you were killed in a single strike.]
[You died!]