[Day three: After a night had passed, the scent of blood had somehow clung to you. Although you were puzzled, you thought you might have picked it up while killing Gao Teng and the others, so you paid it no mind. You simply changed your clothes and continued fleeing south. After fleeing another fifty kilometers without stopping, you discovered that no one was pursuing you. You decided to find somewhere safe and use up the Spirit-Gathering Pills you had with you.] [Day twelve: You used up all your Spirit-Gathering Pills and more than a dozen low-grade spirit stones, breaking through to the eighth level of Qi Refining. Brimming with confidence, you set out once more.] [Day sixteen: You finally arrived at the Setting Sun Sect, found a steward, and asked to join. However, he felt that your background was unclear and rejected your request. Deeply disappointed, you prepared to leave. You wandered aimlessly for an unknown length of time before suddenly spotting an exceptionally beautiful female cultivator ahead. You intended to take a detour around her, but with tears welling in her eyes, she said, "This is already my third time. What exactly do I have to do to join the Setting Sun Sect?" For some reason, your heart suddenly softened. Before you knew it, you had walked up to her. After a brief conversation, you learned that her name was Liu Jiaochan, and that she, too, was a pitiful soul desperately longing to follow the righteous path. You regarded her as a kindred spirit. That evening, you spent a wonderful night together beside a babbling stream.] [Day seventeen: For the first time, you learned that such wonderful things existed in this world, and continued your lovemaking.] [Day eighteen: Your enthusiasm only grew.] [Day nineteen: You felt somewhat weak and wanted to rest for a couple of days. But for some reason, your head suddenly spun, and you continued your lovemaking.] [Day twenty: You continued your lovemaking.] [Day twenty-one: You continued your lovemaking.] [Day twenty-five: You grew increasingly weak, but remained extremely excited.] [Day twenty-eight: After making love, you tried to get up to fetch some water, only to topple headfirst into a pool.] [You died!]
Xu Changxing: "..."
He truly had no idea what to say.
He had indeed planned to try his luck at the Setting Sun Sect, never expecting to fall into the clutches of a temptress.
All Xu Changxing could do was wait speechlessly for the results to be tallied.
Soon, the system's voice rang out again.
[Simulation complete.] [Evaluation: You died, but you had a great time.] [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. Cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining.]
In the previous simulations, Xu Changxing had chosen the second option without hesitation, but this time, he hesitated.
It was not that he wanted to see how he had enjoyed himself. He wanted to know how he had died.
What if watching it allowed him to avoid that fate?
After agonizing over it for a moment, Xu Changxing ultimately decided to choose the first option.
He did so because he still had more than a hundred and thirty spirit stones.
At the seventh level of Qi Refining, he could run two more simulations.
But if he chose cultivation at the eighth level of Qi Refining, the spirit stones required for a simulation would rise to a hundred and twenty-eight.
In other words, if he did not choose the cultivation reward, he would very likely have two chances to simulate.
If he chose the cultivation reward, he could only run one more simulation.
Compared with the seventh level of Qi Refining, the eighth level offered no clear qualitative transformation.
In other words, the benefits of choosing cultivation were not particularly great.
With these considerations in mind, he chose to watch his previous experiences.
Once he made his choice, the earlier text instantly transformed into scenes that appeared in his mind.
As though watching a film, he rapidly viewed the entire sequence at a hundred times normal speed.
As he watched, Xu Changxing discovered that the footage preserved not only images and sound, but even smells and sensations.
It was as though he were watching everything he had experienced from a first-person perspective.
However, while the footage played, buttons for fast-forwarding, pausing, skipping, and other functions floated before his eyes, considerably diminishing his immersion.
An hour later, he let out a long breath and said:
"That felt way too good.
"Right. The next time I meet that temptress, I have to strike first. I can't give her a chance to bewitch me!"
While watching just now, he had discovered that the temptress from the Yin-Yang Sect actually had a fairly low cultivation level. Otherwise, he could not have lasted ten days.
As long as he stayed alert beforehand, he should be able to escape her bewitchment.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Changxing rose from the ground.
Rather than continue simulating, he followed the route from the previous simulation and sprinted south.
Although the Yin Corpse Sect cared little whether its outer disciples lived or died, he had, after all, just killed Gao Teng. Lingering here too long was not a wise choice.
Since the first half of the route in the last simulation had been safe, he naturally needed to leave first.
He concealed his aura as planned and ran for an entire day. Sure enough, he found the ruined temple from the footage.
He was about to approach when he unexpectedly discovered that someone was already inside.
Xu Changxing froze for a moment, then immediately understood what had happened.
The person inside the ruined temple was that hunter.
In the simulation footage, Xu Changxing had arrived first, which was why he had occupied the ruined temple.
This time, however, he had spent an hour viewing the simulation footage, which had delayed his arrival.
The hunter had already taken the ruined temple.
Xu Changxing frowned and decided to find somewhere else to rest.
Just as he was about to leave, a heavy stench of blood suddenly wafted out of the ruined temple.
It was even stronger than the smell at the scene where he had killed Gao Teng.
What is that hunter doing in there? How did he produce such a strong stench of blood? Isn't he afraid of attracting wild beasts?
At that thought, something suddenly stirred in Xu Changxing's mind.
He abruptly remembered that, in the previous simulation, the scent of blood had seemingly clung to him as well.
At the time, however, he had paid it no mind and continued on his way.
Thinking back now, that bloody smell had not seemed fresh. It had carried a trace of old, rotten decay.
Looks like I missed some sort of side quest during the simulation.
Should I go take a look now?
In the past, Xu Changxing would most likely have run as far away as possible, never getting involved in something like this.
But his strength had recently soared, and he was much more confident than before.
Besides, in the previous simulation, he had already spent a night resting here without anything happening.
That meant whatever was inside the ruined temple was clearly wary of him.
After a little thought, he ultimately decided to take a look.
Xu Changxing concealed his aura and slowly approached the ruined temple.
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