Simulation

Phew! Looks like there's no problem with the first step! Yi Xuan thought to himself.

Whether this first step succeeded was crucial to Yi Xuan's idea! If it succeeded, nothing that followed would pose much of a problem. If it failed, everything would vanish like bubbles in a dream.

It was like creating a brand-new piece of software. The hardest part was neither writing the software nor working out its logic or algorithms, but setting up the software environment.

Just as even the best software engineer couldn't write a single program without a computer, Yi Xuan was now building an enormous virtual computer for his work ahead.

"No. 01, enter the information we gathered earlier about cultivators' seas of consciousness and begin simulating one!"

"Okay!"

As soon as No. 01 finished speaking, the screen began to change. The originally hazy white interface grew clear, finally becoming an independent space enclosed by a hazy white sphere.

A point of light then appeared at the very center of the space. It slowly grew larger until it looked like a miniature sun, bathing the entire space in golden light.

This miniature sun was the source of a cultivator's Divine Sense. All Divine Sense came from it, and the light it radiated was the cultivator's Divine Sense.

The Divine Sense was currently uncontrolled, which was why it scattered throughout the sea of consciousness. As long as its owner controlled it, the Divine Sense would take whatever form its owner wanted, just as Yi Xuan used his Divine Sense to construct visualization objects.

"No. 01, see if you can control the simulated Divine Sense. Take it slowly. First, use the Divine Sense to construct a simple cube, about the size of a fingernail."

"Okay."

Yi Xuan was witnessing a collision between technology and cultivation, yet no one in the cultivation world realized what kind of changes it would bring to this world. Even Yi Xuan himself hadn't realized it.

Under No. 01's control, the virtual sea of consciousness began to change. The golden light radiating from the source of Divine Sense actually began to twist, bending at a speed visible to the naked eye when it should have traveled straight through the space.

This wasn't happening to just one ray of golden light. Every ray in the sea of consciousness was undergoing the same change.

Then, as if controlled by something, all the golden light gathered in one particular direction.

As more and more golden light gathered, a golden mass of light formed there.

Once the mass of light grew to about the size of a fingernail, no more golden light gathered. Instead, the mass itself began to squirm, changing little by little in the way Yi Xuan wanted.

Although the process was slow, it was extremely meticulous. Yi Xuan hadn't noticed this during his own cultivation, or perhaps No. 01 had deliberately slowed down the construction process to observe it.

After an unknown amount of time, the changes in the sea of consciousness finally ended, and a fingernail-sized cube appeared within it.

"Boss, it seems your idea is feasible. Shall I begin simulating the Spirit Refining Instruction?"

Hearing No. 01's words, Yi Xuan nodded in agreement.

At the same time, Yi Xuan's thoughts raced. Constructing a brain model with No. 01 had succeeded, and it had also been proven that a cultivator's sea of consciousness could be simulated in this environment to cultivate the Spirit Refining Instruction.

Did that mean Yi Xuan could likewise simulate cultivation methods practiced by cultivators by constructing a human body?

As soon as the idea surfaced, Yi Xuan could barely hold himself back. In the end, though, he kept a level head and refrained from doing it. After all, the Spirit Refining Instruction was the most important thing right now. There would be time for everything else once he was finished with it.

"Begin simulating the Spirit Refining Instruction!"

As Yi Xuan gave the order, No. 01's screen changed.

This time, the visualization objects were constructed countless times faster than on the first attempt.

They were still the same sledgehammer and block of iron he had constructed when he first cultivated, without the slightest change. Yi Xuan wanted to understand exactly why he was driven out of his cultivation state every time!

The sledgehammer on the screen struck the block of iron, but nothing changed. In a small window beside it, countless numbers flickered rapidly as No. 01 calculated the effects of the strike.

"Ding, calculation complete. Preliminary calculations show that the force of this strike far exceeds what your current sea of consciousness can withstand, boss. Cultivation is therefore impossible!"

Just as I thought! Yi Xuan said inwardly.

Yi Xuan had long suspected that the Spirit Refining Decision's cultivation method was too reckless. Now No. 01's simulation had confirmed it.

"Boss, the detailed calculations are in. That strike exceeded the strength of your sea of consciousness by 120,000 times!"

"120,000?"

"That's right. Although I have no data to support it, I estimate that it should be equivalent to the strength of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator's sea of consciousness! Fortunately, this method won't cause irreversible harm to the cultivator, so you don't need to worry!"

Yi Xuan wasn't worried. He had cultivated so many times already. If there were a problem, something would have happened long ago. How could it have waited until now?

But now that he knew how intense this cultivation was, Yi Xuan truly couldn't imagine how the senior who created the Spirit Refining Decision had cultivated it.

Sadly, time had passed and could not be called back. Whatever that senior's circumstances had been, Yi Xuan would never know.

The most important thing now was to use the situation No. 01 had just simulated as a sample and run repeated simulations. Only then could he find the limit of what his sea of consciousness could withstand.

He could leave the rest of the work entirely to No. 01. And because No. 01 had a new task, Yi Xuan had no choice but to put Liang Shi's studies on hold.

This was a good opportunity to have Liang Shi focus on cultivation. Liang Shi's aptitude really wasn't very good. It had been a month since Yi Xuan gave him a cultivation method, yet he still hadn't even entered the Qi Refining First Layer.

But Yi Xuan wasn't anxious about his disciple's cultivation speed. So what if his aptitude was abysmal?

Now that the problem with the Spirit Refining Decision had been solved, it showed that Yi Xuan's idea was feasible. Other cultivation methods could likewise be simulated by No. 01, and the results could be used to optimize them.

When the time came, even if Liang Shi's aptitude was lacking, his cultivation speed could be increased by optimizing a cultivation method that suited him well.

Another month passed, and under Yi Xuan's guidance, Liang Shi finally entered the Qi Refining First Layer. This strengthened Yi Xuan's resolve to optimize a cultivation method for his disciple. His disciple's aptitude could no longer be described as poor; he had no aptitude at all.

Yi Xuan estimated that even among those with fourth-grade Spirit Roots, Liang Shi would rank at the very bottom.

Meanwhile, after a month of simulation and optimization, a plan for cultivating the Spirit Refining Decision that met Yi Xuan's needs was finally ready. Looking at the plan before him, Yi Xuan couldn't wait to begin cultivating.