Foundation Establishment

Before Xu Changxing's thoughts could wander any further, the system's voice rang out in his consciousness again.

[Simulation ended]

[Evaluation: Your exceptional talent earned you an opportunity far beyond your realm, but your fortune was insufficient to bear its weight, so you died.]

[Based on the simulation results, you may choose one of the following rewards.]

[1. View footage of your simulated life from a first-person perspective.]

[2. Foundation establishment early stage cultivation.]

[3. First-grade wood spiritual root.]

[4. Nine cloud patterns.]

"I choose 3."

Xu Changxing had already decided on his reward halfway through the simulation, so he made his choice without the slightest hesitation.

As his words fell, a faint green glow rippled through his sea of consciousness again.

Once the green light faded, Xu Changxing felt that the world he perceived had changed once more.

Even when his wood spiritual root had only been third-grade, he had already been able to sense the Wood Attribute spiritual energy in the air.

With his spiritual root's grade rising again, his perception of Wood Attribute spiritual energy grew even clearer, and its range expanded considerably.

What excited him even more was that the Wood Attribute spiritual energy was actually gathering around him of its own accord.

Even without actively cultivating, he could passively absorb Wood Attribute spiritual energy.

With such talent, cultivating a Wood Attribute technique would truly yield twice the results for half the effort.

Xu Changxing remained excited for quite a while before sinking his consciousness into his dantian.

There were still seven cloud patterns in his dantian.

The difference was that these seven cloud patterns no longer felt as crowded as before.

He could sense with perfect clarity that he could continue condensing cloud patterns.

Naturally, he would not spend his time on such painstaking cultivation now.

He immediately took out 256 low-grade spirit stones, deposited them into the system, and began another simulation.

[Day one: You continued cultivating.]

[Day five: Liu Chenyu's attendant came to find you again.

You went with him to Liu Chenyu's cave abode.

Liu Chenyu saw through your seven cloud patterns and regarded you as a genius.]

[Month six: You condensed your eighth cloud pattern.]

[Year two, month three: You condensed your Nine Cloud Patterns in the Cloudglow Secret Realm.

The following month, you broke through to the foundation establishment middle stage.]

Reading this, Xu Changxing could not help nodding slightly.

At this point, the simulation had already achieved his intended goal.

This simulation was meant to exchange 256 low-grade spirit stones for two years of cultivation.

Still, he patiently continued reading the rest of the simulation.

[Year three: You broke through to the foundation establishment late stage and began traveling to gain experience in preparation for core formation.]

[Year five: You gained a faint glimmer of understanding and became confident that you could achieve Core Formation.

However, golden cores were divided into nine grades. Although you were confident of forming a core among the top three grades, your sole goal was a first-grade golden core.

You did not rush to achieve Core Formation and chose to continue your travels.]

[Year six: You unexpectedly wandered into the Yin Corpse Sect's territory and destroyed one of their secret hideouts.

From these Yin Corpse Sect cultivators, you learned that they had been secretly plotting something.

You suddenly recalled the crisis that would arrive in a few years and decided to inform your sect of your findings.

Since you were already widely acknowledged as a genius within the sect, the elders took your words seriously.

The sect dispatched several core formation elders to investigate the Yin Corpse Sect's schemes with you.

After more than half a year of investigation, you finally discovered that the Yin Corpse Sect was plotting to revive the Old Devil, who had long lain dormant.

The Setting Sun Sect immediately began contacting the other orthodox sects, preparing to wipe out the Yin Corpse Sect before they could act.

After receiving word of this, the Yin Corpse Sect awakened the sleeping Old Devil ahead of schedule.

Although awakening early greatly diminished the Old Devil's strength, his might still surpassed that of an ordinary spirit transformation patriarch.

The Setting Sun Sect's defenses were breached once again.

The Yin Corpse Sect bitterly hated you for exposing their plot. During the battle, they actually dispatched several Nascent Soul Ancestors to kill you.

You had no power to resist and were killed on the spot.]

[You died!]

As Xu Changxing stared at this outcome, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Didn't we agree to play it safe? Why were you so headstrong this time?

You could at least have waited until after achieving Core Formation to investigate the Yin Corpse Sect's plot.

You probably would have died anyway, but at least you could have put up a little struggle against a nascent soul cultivator.

He had barely finished grumbling when the system's settlement announcement rang out again.

[Simulation ended]

[Evaluation: Although you died this time, you successfully unraveled the Yin Corpse Sect's plot. The entire orthodox path benefited from your actions, and you were regarded as the light of the orthodox path.]

[Based on the simulation results, you may choose one of the following rewards.]

[1. View footage of your simulated life from a first-person perspective.]

[2. Foundation establishment late stage cultivation.]

[3. Nine cloud patterns.]

Xu Changxing hardly knew where to begin criticizing the system's evaluation.

The final phrase, "the light of the orthodox path," in particular felt like the system was mocking him mercilessly.

Still, the second reward this time made his eyes brighten slightly.

This option was actually foundation establishment late stage cultivation, rather than foundation establishment early stage cultivation.

What does this mean? Is it because I was the light of the orthodox path this time?

Or has the system already started treating me as a foundation establishment realm cultivator by default?

Although the second option surprised Xu Changxing somewhat, he did not choose cultivation. Instead, he followed his original plan and selected the nine cloud patterns.

Once he made his choice, his dantian began to change.

Two cloud patterns emerged in succession, filling his entire dantian.

As his dantian filled, he suddenly sensed a feeling of completeness.

This sense arose naturally and rapidly spread through his limbs and every meridian.

When Xu Changxing came back to his senses, he discovered that he had completed foundation establishment without even realizing it.

With a gentle beckoning motion of one hand, he condensed a mass of emerald light at his fingertips.

This was the Wood Attribute true essence he had just formed.

His ability to condense Wood Attribute true essence at his fingertips so effortlessly meant that his control over true essence had already reached its utmost limit.

This was something the vast majority of foundation establishment realm cultivators could not accomplish.

Establishing my foundation with nine cloud patterns really does set me apart from ordinary foundation establishment cultivators!

Delighted, Xu Changxing took out his spirit stones out of habit, preparing to continue simulating.

Yet only after he deposited all his remaining spirit stones into the system did he discover that the points required for a simulation had skyrocketed to one thousand.

What a rip-off! I've only just established my foundation, and a single simulation already costs a thousand points. Won't the cost shoot through the heavens later?

Xu Changxing could only shake his head and abandon the idea of running another simulation, turning instead to consolidating his cultivation.

Although his foundation was exceptionally solid, his cultivation had soared repeatedly, and he still needed some time to adjust.

The days slipped by.

Xu Changxing had only just familiarized himself with his current realm when someone knocked on his courtyard gate.

He counted on his fingers and realized that the visitor should be Liu Chenyu's attendant.