Chapter 74: Giant hand that covered the sky
[In the forty-second year, the formation left by Senior Lu Wuya collapsed, causing heavy casualties at Spine Mountain.]
[Seeing this situation, you were helpless.]
[After all, a year ago, you had already warned everyone, but unfortunately, your words carried little weight, and most people didn't believe you!]
[In the forty-third year, Old Li led the remaining cultivators of Spine Mountain to find your father, Jiang Fushan, to discuss breaking out of the sealed land together.]
[Because you had given your father a lot of spirit stone resources more than twenty years ago, accelerating his cultivation progress, his cultivation level had now reached the ninth level of Tribulation Crossing.]
[Your father volunteered to lead the charge and stated that he could set off at any time.]
[Upon hearing this, Old Li and the others were naturally delighted. Having a master like your father, at the ninth level of Tribulation Crossing, leading the way undoubtedly increased their chances of breaking through the sealing formation.]
[So they decided to set off immediately to brave the Desert of Death!]
[You, who had been listening all along, quickly spoke up to stop them.]
[In this simulation, you had decided from the beginning to change the timing of venturing into the Desert of Death!]
[After all, you knew that the Heavenly Thunder would descend in ten years, so there was no rush to enter the Desert of Death.]
[You thought that since your father could cultivate from a mortal to the ninth level of Tribulation Crossing in just over thirty years, what could he achieve with another ten years?]
[You believed that it was not impossible for your father to reach the realm of a celestial being by then!]
[Once your father had the cultivation level of a celestial being, breaking through the sealing formation would be much easier.]
[With a celestial father by your side, would there still be much danger from the Dragon Souls behind the formation's rift?]
[It was precisely because you knew there was still time that you jumped out to oppose.]
[Hearing your objection, everyone turned to look at you.]
[Their gazes were no longer friendly.]
[After all, if they couldn't leave here, most of them would likely be struck down by the Heavenly Thunder!]
[Only your father, Jiang Fushan, looked at you with a smile and told you not to worry about his safety.]
[You didn't care about the others' gazes, as you understood their feelings, but you had your reasons.]
[However, facing your father's words, you felt a bit guilty for a moment.]
[You knew this was a simulation, not reality, so you hadn't worried about your father's safety at all!]
[But you quickly adjusted and explained to everyone.]
[You said that the guardian beasts were too powerful and suggested that everyone cultivate for a while longer before making the attempt.]
[Everyone understood your point, but since they didn't know when the Heavenly Thunder would descend, there weren't many voices of agreement.]
[Although you knew the timing of the Heavenly Thunder, you didn't know how to explain it.]
[For a moment, you were in a dilemma.]
[In the end, the timing for venturing into the Desert of Death was postponed.]
[The reason was actually quite simple: since you had spoken, how could your father, who doted on you, not listen!]
[And with your father, the strongest among them, not moving, the others naturally didn't dare to venture into the Desert of Death on their own.]
[Seven years passed in the blink of an eye.]
[In the fiftieth year, your Immortal Dao cultivation had also advanced to the third level of Spirit Transformation.]
[Advancing two minor realms in seven years didn't seem fast.]
[But you knew otherwise; in these eight years, you hadn't used any resources, relying solely on absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.]
[This speed was something you couldn't have imagined with your previous talent.]
[As for why you didn't use resources?]
[Because you had given all the resources to your father, Jiang Fushan, hoping he could advance quickly.]
[After all, your father's talent was simply too extraordinary. You felt that investing in him might be more worthwhile.]
[As long as your father was strong, he could safely break through the Desert of Death. Once in the land of Dragon Souls, you wouldn't face much danger, and the simulation duration would surely increase.]
[You thought you were incredibly clever!]
[In the fifty-first year, your father emerged from seclusion.]
[Several years ago, your father had already reached the peak of Tribulation Crossing and had been in seclusion preparing to break through to the celestial realm.]
[This time, upon emerging, he immediately began his breakthrough.]
[You saw him standing in the void, his aura continuously rising, causing the void to tremble.]
[At this moment, thunder flashed in the sky, striking down towards your father.]
[For a moment, you couldn't tell whether this was Heavenly Thunder or the tribulation lightning for becoming a celestial.]
[Your father, however, remained calm, facing the descending lightning head-on.]
[Half an hour later, the tribulation lightning ceased, and your father, Jiang Fushan, successfully broke through to the celestial realm.]
[You breathed a sigh of relief, realizing it was the tribulation lightning and not Heavenly Thunder controlled by celestial beings.]
[But just then, thunder rumbled in the sky once more.]
[Purple-red Heavenly Thunder rapidly struck down towards your father.]
["Oh no..." you were momentarily stunned.]
[You thought you should have anticipated this; if even breaking through to a Ten-Grade Golden Core would attract Heavenly Thunder controlled by celestial beings, how much more so for breaking through to the celestial realm.]
[Unlike your worries, your father, Jiang Fushan, laughed heartily and shouted, "Bring it on!"]
[Then you saw him directly attack the purple-red Heavenly Thunder.]
[A few minutes later, your father, Jiang Fushan, was unharmed, but the purple-red Heavenly Thunder had completely dissipated.]
["WTF, awesome, Dad." Seeing this, you were already jumping with joy in your heart!]
[You thought that with such a strong father, the simulation duration would be stable from now on.]
[But would it really be so?]
[Just as the purple-red Heavenly Thunder dissipated, the void suddenly tore open.]
[A giant hand that covered the sky descended from above.]
[As this hand fell, the entire Southern Regions began to collapse.]
[No one in the Southern Regions survived.]
[You died at the age of 71!]
[This simulation has ended.]
[You can choose two rewards from this simulation: Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Root (Talent), Divine Dao Cultivation.]
[Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Root (Talent)]: Price 10 million energy value.
[Divine Dao Cultivation]: Price 300 million energy value; Note: Includes Immortal Dao Cultivation (Spirit Transformation Level 3) and Martial Dao Cultivation (Unity Realm Level 1).
The abrupt end of this simulation caught Jiang Yifeng off guard.
Earlier, he had watched as his father, Jiang Fushan, broke through to become a celestial and thought everything was secure.
He planned to leverage his father's powerful strength to extend the simulation duration and improve his cultivation.
But in the end, something unexpected happened.
Jiang Yifeng was now somewhat puzzled.
That giant hand covering the sky must have been the work of a powerful celestial being.
But based on the information he had gathered from the Mystic Turtle, this shouldn't have happened.
The previous assumption was that powerful celestial beings were playing a game in the sealed land of the Southern Regions and wouldn't easily make a move.
So why did things suddenly change now?
Chapter 75: Talent: Absolute Rationality
Finally, Jiang Yifeng sighed and muttered to himself, "Forget it, I still don't understand enough now. I'll figure it out eventually!"
Then he turned his attention to the rewards from this simulation.
The rewards this time were quite good, just two items, so there was no need to agonize over the selection.
In fact, this was part of his pre-simulation plan, intentionally designed to achieve this outcome.
He believed that focusing on one thing during the simulation would be more cost-effective.
If he practiced too many things during the simulation, the reward options would increase, but they wouldn't be useful if he couldn't bring them out. It's better to specialize in one area.
This way, he could make better use of the time in the simulation.
Of course, Jiang Yifeng also understood that upgrading the simulator brought additional benefits.
Otherwise, separating Immortal Dao and Martial Dao each time would take up two options.
Moreover, his Divine Dao cultivation required simultaneous breakthroughs in both Immortal and Martial Dao, and he had to exchange them at the same time for a major realm upgrade.
So, this time, he either couldn't choose a talent, or his cultivation would be stuck at the Nascent Soul Realm and True Core Realm!
Jiang Yifeng felt fortunate to have discovered the issue with upgrading the simulator in time.
Otherwise, he wouldn't know how much slower his progress would be.
Without further thought, Jiang Yifeng silently chanted, "Exchange all!"
[Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Root (Talent), deducting 10 million energy points, remaining energy points: 1.9 billion...]
[Ding, Divine Dao cultivation extracted successfully, deducting 300 million energy points, remaining energy points: 1.6 billion...]
As the electronic voice fell silent, Jiang Yifeng could feel his strength continuously rising.
A few seconds later, the enhancement was complete.
The instant boost gave Jiang Yifeng a momentary illusion of being terrifyingly powerful.
Fortunately, the text from the simulation was still deeply imprinted in his mind, quickly reminding him that he was still just a novice.
With everything settled, Jiang Yifeng opened his personal panel.
[Host: Jiang Yifeng]
[Talents: Eye of Insight, Random Enlightenment, Formation Dao Genius, Yimu Divine Body, Child of Fortune, Heaven Rewards Diligence, Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Root]
[Divine Dao Cultivation: Spirit Transformation Realm Level 3 (Immortal Dao), Unity Realm Level 1 (Martial Dao)]
[Secondary Profession: Seventh-grade Formation Master (Eighth-grade Theory)]
[Cultivation Techniques: Heavenly Profound Art (Immortal Dao), War God Art (Martial Dao)]
[Practiced Techniques: Wind Chasing Art (Mastered), Silent Destruction Fist (Minor Achievement)]
[Laws and Mysteries: True Meaning of the Killing Dao (Beginner)]
[Possessions: Spirit Stones (pieces), War God Art, Heavenly Profound Art, Wind Chasing Art, Breath Concealing Talisman, Teleportation Jade Plate]
Looking at the talents in his personal attribute panel, Jiang Yifeng softly called out, "Simulator, place Child of Fortune into the talent pool!"
[Ding, successfully extracted the host's talent Child of Fortune, stored in the talent pool.]
Hearing the simulator's prompt, Jiang Yifeng breathed a sigh of relief.
He had impulsively chosen the Child of Fortune talent back then.
It had caused him a lot of trouble in reality, constantly encountering dropped spirit stones!
It wasn't that he disliked it, but with his simulation experience, he knew that once he picked up a spirit stone, the person who dropped it would definitely appear, leading to a fight.
This would expose his identity as a cultivator, making it hard to stay hidden in Green Hills City.
The talent was good, but it didn't suit his real-life situation.
It was better to use it during simulations.
With everything done, Jiang Yifeng called his butler, Jiang Dafu, to continue collecting various ores, gold, and silver.
Now, he only had over 1.6 billion energy points left, which didn't seem like enough.
After giving his instructions, Jiang Yifeng leisurely headed towards the Spring Blossom Pavilion.
This time, he finally didn't find any silver notes or spirit stones on the road.
This greatly boosted Jiang Yifeng's sense of security.
Days spent listening to music in the pleasure house always passed quickly.
Seven days flew by, and it was time for the simulation count to refresh.
Jiang Yifeng waited in his room early.
In the past few days, butler Jiang Dafu hadn't collected many ores.
So Jiang Yifeng wasn't in a hurry to exchange them.
At this moment, he still had over 1.6 billion energy points.
While waiting for the simulation count to refresh, Jiang Yifeng made a rough plan for this simulation.
"Start simulation!"
As soon as the simulation count refreshed, Jiang Yifeng silently chanted.
[Simulation count consumed: 1, remaining count: 0]
[Drawing Purple Talent consumes 1 million energy points, drawing Orange Talent with a chance consumes 10 million energy points, please choose!]
"Choose the chance to draw Orange Talent."
[Ding, 10 million energy points deducted, talent being randomly drawn, remaining energy points: 1.5 billion...]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining Purple Talent: Heart of Rationality.]
[Heart of Rationality]: You can maintain absolute rationality in any situation.
(Note: Absolute rationality will make you only weigh pros and cons, appearing unfeeling and even annoying!)
Jiang Yifeng's first impression of this talent was not good.
This talent sounded like it would turn him into a cold, emotionless machine.
But on second thought, if he only used it in simulations, it might have a different effect.
After all, absolute rationality was something he didn't possess.
But no matter what, even if he got this talent, it could only be stored in the talent pool and definitely couldn't be used in reality.
While Jiang Yifeng was still lost in thought, the simulator's voice sounded.
[Ding: Does the host want to choose a talent from the talent pool?]
[Talents in the pool: Child of Fortune, Thunder-Fire True Spiritual Root.]
"Choose Child of Fortune!"
Without hesitation, Jiang Yifeng made his choice.
[Ding, talent Child of Fortune obtained.]
[22nd simulation begins.]
[With the Heart of Rationality, you quickly realize you are in a simulation.]
[You try to open the simulator within the simulation to create a nested simulation, but you are destined to fail. In the simulation, you do not have this simulator!]
[Day 1, you go to the Spring Blossom Pavilion to listen to music and take the opportunity to connect with the Immortal Slave, Qiu Zhixuan.]
[Day 2, you date Qiu Zhixuan again, subtly expressing your fondness for her.]
...
[Day 10, you feel that Qiu Zhixuan doesn't dislike you, so you seize the moment to confess your feelings.]
[Unsurprisingly, you are rejected.]
[But you are not discouraged.]
[In the following days, you use various modern flirting techniques on Qiu Zhixuan.]
[Three years pass in the blink of an eye.]
[You finally succeed in breaking down Qiu Zhixuan's defenses.]
[In the fourth year, you and Qiu Zhixuan start living a shameless life together.]
[In the fifth year, you work hard, hoping to have a child with Qiu Zhixuan.]
[You suddenly feel that your past self was so foolish. If you had chosen the Perfect Aim talent back then, you wouldn't have to work so hard every day now.]
[In the seventh year, Qiu Zhixuan shyly tells you that she is pregnant with your baby.]
[You show a joyful smile.]
[Qiu Zhixuan looks at you, thinking that this smile is more beautiful than any smile you've ever given her before.]
[She doesn't know that your previous smiles were all fake, just to get her and use her.]
[But this time, you genuinely smiled.]
[You feel that you are one step closer to your plan.]