[The nine Spirit Transformation Venerables and eight Demon Venerables promptly reconciled; even the two Venerables of the demonic sects sensed the threat.] [They took the initiative to join forces.] [The Qixia Cultivator Alliance was established.] [The first thing they did was gather a vast number of cultivators and prepare for war with Fenghua Island.] [As one faction, the Lan Clan Immortal Family was conscripted as well.] [You entered the allied army of the Qixia Island Cultivator Alliance.] [You discovered that True Persons and True Lords were everywhere, while Foundation Establishment great cultivators were worth less than dogs.] [There was simply no place for Qi Refinement cultivators to stand. The lowest realm among the conscripted cultivators was Foundation Establishment.] [As one of Qixia Island's few Spirit Transformation combatants, True Monarch Mingyang became the commander of an army. Using his authority, he transferred you under his command.] [The moment you met, he told you that your senior brother, Gu Changfeng, had been slain by Venerable Black Wing, a Spirit Transformation Venerable of Fenghua Island, because he had been staying at the Wuliang Sect headquarters some time ago.] [You were overcome with grief and wished to avenge Gu Changfeng.] [But your strength was insufficient. You no longer dared to slack off, resolved to cultivate diligently.] [You asked True Monarch Mingyang whether he knew the cause of the war's outbreak.] [He told you that everything was related to the Pillar Reaching Heaven that had destroyed the Tianjian Sect.] [It turned out that the Pillar Reaching Heaven that had descended more than a hundred years ago had not only destroyed the Tianjian Sect of Qixia Island, but also ruined the island core of Fenghua Island.] [From then on, Fenghua Island's spiritual qi began to dissipate, the grade of its spirit veins fell, and the cultivation resources it produced became increasingly scarce. It was already transforming into a land of dwindling Dharma.] [For survival, for cultivation, they had to find a new place to cultivate.] [Before this, they had already wiped out many small islands that possessed only Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators.] [And Qixia Island, which had lost nearly half of its high-end combat power, was their ultimate target.] [Even the war launched by the eight Demon Venerables had been caused by their instigation.]
"So that was it!"
Su Yang understood.
No wonder Qixia Island, which had enjoyed peace for tens of thousands of years, had suddenly suffered an invasion from islands beyond the seas.
So it was still because of that Pillar Reaching Heaven.
"What exactly is the Pillar Reaching Heaven? The last simulation said it was caused by some terrifying being passing by.
Why was it not only Qixia Island that was affected, but Fenghua Island as well? Could it be that something had passed through there too?
Were there even more islands caught in its wake?"
Su Yang wanted to get to the bottom of it.
But the range of his current simulations was still limited to Qixia Island.
The sea was far too dangerous. Only after Simulated Su Yang reached the Nascent Soul realm would leaving the island become possible.
[At age 185, the first official great war between Qixia Island and Fengming Island erupted.]
A scroll of imagery unfolded before Su Yang's eyes.
Upon a vast, boundless plain, two dark masses of cultivators stood facing one another.
Below were countless Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators. Above were tens of thousands of Nascent Soul True Lords and dozens of Spirit Transformation Venerables.
Suddenly, battle erupted.
The Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators formed great formations and, under the command of Nascent Soul cultivators, charged at the enemy.
The formations of both sides collided and ground against each other without end.
Every moment, formations were torn apart. Every second, cultivators fell.
All of a sudden, the Spirit Transformation Venerables struck as well.
Overwhelming, terrifying auras erupted. With a single move, they tore apart several formations.
Tens of thousands of cultivators died at their hands.
Su Yang's eyelids twitched wildly as he watched.
The weakest among those dying were Foundation Establishment great cultivators just like him.
Quite a few higher-realm Golden Core True Persons and Nascent Soul True Lords died as well.
Fortunately, Simulated Su Yang had been arranged by True Monarch Mingyang at the core of a formation commanded by a Nascent Soul Overlord.
Even Spirit Transformation Venerables could not easily attack that place.
True Monarch Mingyang's figure appeared within the scene.
Sharp Sword Qi erupted from his entire body. Like a fifth-order sword-type spirit treasure, he stood firmly before a Spirit Transformation Venerable.
Although the Spirit Transformation Venerable could suppress him, he could not kill him.
That was the terror of a top-tier body-refining divine ability.
If it were a Great Divine Ability, even one who had only just entered Nascent Soul cultivation could defeat an ordinary Spirit Transformation Venerable.
The simulation continued.
[The first great battle ended with both sides suffering grievous losses. On Fenghua Island's side, several Spirit Transformation Venerables were even heavily wounded by the Heavenly Sword Record repaired by Purple Star Demon Lord.] [Both sides tacitly slowed the intensity of the war, engaging only in small-scale battles below the Spirit Transformation realm.] [At age 196, you comprehended a trace of the true meaning of wind during a great battle.] [At age 203, you comprehended Wind Intent.] [At age 208, you broke through to the third layer of Golden Core.] [At age 211, using the battle merits you had accumulated over decades, you exchanged them for a third-order Spirit Breaking Pill and broke through to the fourth layer of Golden Core.] [At age 218, the second large-scale war erupted. This battle was even more brutal than the first. Two Demon Venerables fell on Qixia Island's side, while three Spirit Transformation Venerables likewise fell on Fenghua Island's side.] [You comprehended Fire Intent during this great battle.] [At age 220, you exchanged spirit stones for many treasures and cultivated the first layer of the simplified divine ability, Wind Fire Wings.] [Your speed increased dramatically.] [At age 223, your eldest son came to the front lines to visit you. He had already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.] [He told you that the Lan Clan Immortal Family had more than two hundred disciples with spirit roots, and you felt gratified.] [You gave him a batch of resources and had him take them back to the clan to develop it properly.] [At age 250, you broke through to the fifth layer of Golden Core.] [At age 268, the third great battle erupted. It was also the most brutal one. Nearly half of the Spirit Transformation Venerables on both sides fell, while fewer than one in ten cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm survived. During this battle, True Monarch Mingyang finally broke through and became a new Spirit Transformation Venerable.] [After the war, both sides discovered that Qixia Island's current total amount of spiritual qi was enough to support the coexistence of both sides.] [Both sides ceased fighting.] [Tianjian Lake and the Western Regions Plateau were allocated to Fenghua Island's cultivators.] [Though the war had ended, the hatred created by it between both sides still remained.] [For now, it was merely a compromise forced upon them both.] [You were finally able to return to the Lan Clan Immortal Family.] [You discovered that the Lan Clan Immortal Family now had more than a thousand cultivators, and several Foundation Establishment cultivators had been born as well.] [At age 270, Venerable Mingyang invited you to attend a ceremony. He had found a fine location in the Chixiao Mountain Range and was preparing to rebuild the Tianjian Sect.] [You gladly went.] [The Tianjian Sect was reestablished.] [At age 298, you broke through to the sixth layer of Golden Core.] [Anxiety began to grow in your heart. At this rate, you might not be able to cultivate to the peak of Golden Core before the age of five hundred.] [You sought out Venerable Mingyang and asked whether there was any way to accelerate cultivation.] [He told you that unless you encountered Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, there was no proper path. There were crooked paths, but they would damage your foundation and reduce the possibility of breaking through to Nascent Soul.] [You could only leave helplessly.] [For the time that followed, you cultivated desperately.] [But haste makes waste.] [Your cultivation backfired, leaving you severely injured. Your foundation was damaged.] [You readjusted your mindset.] [At age 302, with spirit stones paving the way, your injuries healed.] [At age 357, you broke through to the seventh layer of Golden Core.] [At age 389, several Golden Core True Persons ambushed you during an outing.] [After a battle, you successfully killed them in return, but were severely injured once more.] [You discovered their identities from their belongings.] [They were actually disciples of the Wang Clan Immortal Clan who had been relocated back then.] [Having achieved success in cultivation, they had come to seek revenge against you.] [You found the hiding place of the Wang Clan Immortal Clan's remaining disciples and slaughtered them all despite your severe injuries.] [You eliminated the hidden danger, but your injuries became even more serious.] [Venerable Mingyang used a fourth-order spirit pill to nurse your injuries back to health.] [Your injuries recovered, but the damage to your foundation could not be healed.] [At age 413, you broke through to the eighth layer of Golden Core.] [At age 487, you broke through to the ninth layer of Golden Core.] [At age 522, you finally reached the peak of Golden Core and could attempt to break through to Nascent Soul.] [At this time, more than half your lifespan had passed. Your bodily origin had begun to weaken, greatly reducing your chances of success, but you still had a chance to break through to Nascent Soul.] [Please choose.] [1. Break through on your own. (Extremely high chance of failure; failure will certainly result in death.)] [2. Use a Nascent Soul Pill to assist the breakthrough, with Venerable Mingyang protecting you. (High chance of failure; after failure, an extremely high chance of survival.)] [3. Abandon the breakthrough. (No risk)]
"Choose two."
Without any hesitation, Su Yang made his decision.
He wanted Simulated Su Yang to take a gamble.
What if he succeeded?
[You arrived at the Tianjian Sect and asked Venerable Mingyang to protect you.] [You swallowed the Nascent Soul Pill and began your breakthrough.] [One year later, your breakthrough failed and your Golden Core shattered. But under the dual protection of the Nascent Soul Pill and Venerable Mingyang, you barely retained the strength of the Golden Core realm.]
"It failed after all."
Outside the simulation, Su Yang shook his head, but he did not lose heart.
After all, this had been within his expectations long ago.
[You began repairing your Golden Core.] [You used a great many spirit stones to purchase a large quantity of related treasures and medicinal pills.] [At age 598, your Golden Core was finally fully repaired. But unless you encountered a heaven-defying opportunity, you would no longer have any chance of breaking through to Nascent Soul.] [You began to focus on nurturing the younger generation of your clan and cultivating your own skills.] [At age 630, though you lacked relevant talent, your profound cultivation still allowed you to become a First-Order Alchemist, First-Order Artifact Refiner, and First-Order Talisman Master.] [At age 660, aside from you, your clan finally produced a new Golden Core True Person. He was your seventh-generation descendant.] [At this point, the clan's inheritance was secured.] [At age 678, you refined a second-order formation and became a second-order formation master.] [At age 702, your divine ability, Wind Fire Wings, broke through to the second layer.] [Your speed increased greatly, rivaling that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.] [At age 752, you became a second-order intermediate formation master.] [At age 800, you were already old and frail. The several severe injuries you had suffered in your youth had depleted your Life Origin, and you felt that you might not live to the Golden Core lifespan limit of one thousand years.] [At age 848, you became a Second-Order Advanced Formation Master. But you also sensed that this was the limit of your talent. Unless your cultivation underwent a major breakthrough, your formations would find it difficult to advance further.] [At age 900, you compiled everything you had learned in your life into books and left them to the clan.] [At age 952, you sensed that your life was about to reach its end.] [True Monarch Mingyang came to see you. He told you that the spiritual qi of the entire world had begun to fluctuate violently, and perhaps a great era was about to descend.] [You smiled. What did that have to do with an old man like you, on the verge of dying?] [He said that was true as well.] [In the end, you called him Big Brother Mingyang and hoped that he could help look after your descendants a little.] [He agreed.] [You departed with a smile.] [You died.] [Simulation ended.] [Generating evaluation.] [Calculating Simulation Points.]
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