[On the fifth day, you continued trying to condense Cloud Patterns, only to discover helplessly that you really had reached your limit. Just as you were about to try again, your master's Dao attendant came to tell you to go to Flying Stream Peak. You followed the Dao attendant to Flying Stream Peak. Liu Chenyu froze the moment he saw you. After a moment, he placed a hand on your shoulder with a puzzled look, then stood stunned. A moment later, he began casting all sorts of probing Spell Arts at you. Only after a long while did Liu Chenyu ask how you had managed to condense seven Cloud Patterns. You could only play dumb and say that it might have something to do with your talent. Liu Chenyu stared at you for some time and said you were a genius. You took the opportunity to tell him about the bottleneck you had encountered. After pondering for a long while, Liu Chenyu told you to return and wait for news.] [On the fifteenth day, you had been back on your mountain for ten days, but your cultivation had not advanced an inch, and there was still no word from Liu Chenyu. You grew uneasy and hesitated over whether to leave in secret. After wrestling with the decision, you chose to keep waiting.] [On the twenty-seventh day, Liu Chenyu finally appeared. He looked travel-worn, as though he had just returned from a long journey. You approached him with some anticipation, only to receive a disappointing answer. Your wood spiritual root was already third grade. Even as an elder of the Setting Sun Sect, he could not obtain the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures needed to improve it further. After a moment's hesitation, you took out the Spring Renewal Art you had prepared long ago. Liu Chenyu was overjoyed after reading it and hurried away.] [On the twenty-eighth day, Liu Chenyu appeared again, bringing a middle-aged man with him. After the introductions, you learned that this man was Shi Haoyan, a Spirit Transformation Ancestor of the Setting Sun Sect. Shi Haoyan glanced at you, said you were lucky, and soared into the air with you and Liu Chenyu. When the scenery before your eyes settled again, you discovered that you had been brought into a secret realm. This secret realm brimmed with an eerie vitality, with demonic trees growing rampant everywhere. You had a vague suspicion of where you were.] [On the twenty-ninth day, Shi Haoyan slaughtered his way through the secret realm. You were treated as a "key," brought out only when he encountered an obstacle. Your master, Liu Chenyu, obediently stood to the side and served as the record keeper.] [On the thirty-first day, after three days of exploration, Shi Haoyan finally slaughtered his way through the entire secret realm. He tossed you an emerald-green crystal, then drifted away. You wanted to return to your mountain immediately and enter seclusion, but Liu Chenyu said this was a rare opportunity and took you on another round of looting through the now-cleared secret realm.] [On the thirty-sixth day, Liu Chenyu finally brought you back to the sect, laden with spoils. You entered seclusion that very day.] [In the third month, you successfully absorbed the Emerald Crystal, and your wood spiritual root rose to first grade. You now ranked among the most outstanding geniuses in the entire Setting Sun Sect. You began trying to condense Cloud Patterns.]
"It worked! Hahaha!"
Looking at that line of text, Xu Changxing could not help pumping his fist hard.
His purpose in this simulation was to improve his spiritual root.
As long as his spiritual root's grade improved, his goal would be achieved. The outcome of the rest of the simulation no longer mattered much to him.
After all, the simulation system only allowed him to choose one reward.
Even if he condensed nine Cloud Patterns in this simulation, he would still choose the spiritual root.
As for the Cloud Patterns, he could simply choose them in the next simulation.
However, Xu Chengfei did not know how to stop the simulation, and he also wanted to see how far he could cultivate after becoming a genius of the Setting Sun Sect.
[In the tenth month, after more than half a year of effort, you finally condensed your eighth Cloud Pattern.] [In the sixth month of the second year, you vaguely sensed that your ninth Cloud Pattern was about to take shape, yet you could not seize the moment needed to condense it. You therefore sought out your master and explained the situation. After a brief moment of thought, Liu Chenyu spent his own points to exchange for three months of cultivation time in the Cloudglow Secret Realm for you.] [In the eighth month of the second year, after two months of arduous cultivation in the Cloudglow Secret Realm, you finally condensed your ninth Cloud Pattern. With your Cloud Patterns complete, you naturally completed Foundation Establishment.]
Xu Changxing was delighted once again when he read this.
These simulation entries confirmed his suspicions once more. The number of Cloud Patterns he could condense really did depend on the quality of his spiritual root.
In other words, establishing his foundation with a full set of Cloud Patterns was now a sure thing!
After another surge of excitement, Xu Changxing continued reading the simulation.
[In the ninth month of the third year, by the time you left the Cloudglow Secret Realm, you had already become a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. You felt you still had strength to spare and continued your secluded cultivation after returning to your mountain.] [In the sixth month of the fourth year, you broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and had already gained considerable renown among the Setting Sun Sect's inner disciples. Just as you were preparing to travel outside, the Spirit Transformation Ancestor named Shi Haoyan sought you out again and told you to accompany him on a trip. You were puzzled, but you could not refuse a Spirit Transformation Ancestor. He brought you to the Demonwood Secret Realm once again. Under your bewildered gaze, he led you deeper and deeper inside. After an unknown length of time, you finally reached the deepest part of the secret realm. Shi Haoyan pointed at a formation diagram and told you to try refining it with your own true essence. You followed his instructions and slowly channeled your true essence into the formation diagram.] [In the seventh month of the fourth year, after dozens of days of trying, you finally merged with the formation diagram in the secret realm. To your delighted surprise, you discovered that you had gained control of this cave abode, and you thanked Shi Haoyan with a deep bow. Shi Haoyan smiled and said this was your destined opportunity. Still, when he left, he took the two most precious spirit plants in the cave abode with him. Although you felt somewhat helpless, you also thought it was only fair.] [In the sixth month of the fifth year, while cultivating in the cave abode, you suddenly discovered an intruder. You used the cave abode's formations to drive him out and told him that this place already had an owner.] [In the eighth month of the fifth year, the cultivator you had driven out returned, accompanied by a terrifying Corpse Yin. Only then did you realize that the cultivator who had intruded earlier was actually a scout sent by the Yin Corpse Sect. You wanted to flee, but there was no way out. The entire cave abode had been sealed by immense magical power.] [You died!]
"I still died even after all that?!"
Xu Changxing was utterly speechless when he read this.
He had thought he could finally escape the curse of certain death in this simulation and cultivate smoothly to Core Formation, or even Nascent Soul.
Never had he imagined that he would lose his life over a cave abode.
Although his death might alert the Setting Sun Sect ahead of time, that was absolutely not what he had intended.
"The Yin Corpse Sect, huh? Once I've cultivated enough, I'll wipe you out!"
Xu Changxing had already lost count of how many times he had died at the hands of the Yin Corpse Sect in his simulations.
Before, he had only wanted to escape.
But as his talent continued to improve, his confidence kept growing as well.
This time, he finally began to entertain the thought of standing against that colossal force.
Before you continue