"During your seclusion, your achievements spread throughout the Taiyuan Ancient Star, causing a sensation across the entire world. This directly silenced peers of your generation like the Yuan Family's Holy Maiden and the Zhang Family's Young Master, leaving even the older generation of experts astonished."
"The Palace Master of the Daoist Palace was overjoyed, laughing heartily and saying that our Daoist Palace has the bearing of an emperor, making influential figures from various major powers envy us."
"As a result, you earned the title of Young Emperor, signifying that as long as you didn't fall midway and waited for the Golden Age to arrive, you had the qualifications to contend for the Three Realms Enlightenment. However, having the qualifications to contend doesn't guarantee becoming a Three Realms Enlightenment powerhouse; that remains a question."
"After all, countless geniuses with extraordinary talents have come and gone throughout history, and as they progress along the path of cultivation, the danger increases. If they lack in luck, they may fall midway, ending up with nothing."
"Sometimes, it's those with less remarkable talents among the geniuses who can make it to the end. In cultivation, no one can predict who will be the ultimate victor."
"For this reason, although the geniuses of the Taiyuan Ancient Star were disheartened by your success, they didn't give up on chasing after you."
"In the blink of an eye, five hundred years had passed. During these five hundred years, you had been in a closed-door state, striving to break through to the Half-Step Divine Lord Realm. This wasn't an easy task, but you believed that with more time invested, breaking through to the Half-Step Divine Lord Realm would be an achievable feat."
"And you had all the time you needed; hence, you didn't carry any psychological burden and remained in a good state."
"However, fate took an unexpected turn. While you were in seclusion, the Daoist Palace faced a crisis. A terrifying powerhouse, wielding an imperial armament, crossed the cosmic galaxies and attacked the Daoist Palace."
"The Daoist Palace's experts were alarmed, and the sealed ancestral patriarch was forced to emerge and confront the enemy with an imperial armament. You were also alerted and came out of seclusion to see the situation outside."
"You were deeply puzzled by this unexpected attack on the Daoist Palace. Facing your questioning, the Daoist Palace's Master smiled bitterly, explaining that the Daoist Palace had accumulated its share of enemies over the years. However, those previous enemies had refrained from attacking the Daoist Palace due to the imperial armament's deterrent."
"Now it seemed that the Daoist Palace's enemies had acquired a world-shaking opportunity and obtained an imperial armament, giving them the confidence to attack the Daoist Palace and wipe it out. But the Daoist Palace's Master reassured you, explaining that despite being armed with an imperial armament, the opponent's cultivation was formidable, yet that armament was not their ancestor's, so they couldn't harm the Daoist Palace."
"Hearing the Daoist Palace's Master's confident words, you didn't feel reassured; instead, you had a bad feeling because it seemed like he was raising a flag."
"As expected, shortly after the Daoist Palace's Master finished speaking, a terrifying aura appeared in the area, heading straight for the Daoist Palace. It was the aura of a Grand Sage. The Grand Sage's aura was fearsome, and without the threat of an imperial armament, it could undoubtedly cause great destruction to the Daoist Palace."
"The battle between the powerhouse wielding an imperial armament and the Daoist Palace had already shocked many forces and experts on the Taiyuan Ancient Star. Now, with a Grand Sage emerging, especially one who had clearly broken through recently and had vigorous life force, it sent another wave of shock through everyone."
"After all, reaching the Divine Lord Realm in the Dharma-ending Era was already challenging, and becoming a Half-Sage was even more difficult. However, this difficulty was relative to the Golden Age. In the Dharma-ending Era, resources were scarce, and the spiritual energy wasn't as abundant, resulting in slower cultivation. The impact on comprehending the Dao was not as significant."
"But it was different for a Grand Sage. To enter the Sacred Realm, one not only required abundant resources for transformation but also needed to comprehend the laws. In the Dharma-ending Era, where the laws were not evident, comprehending them was extremely challenging. Under such circumstances, achieving the Sacred Realm was exceptionally difficult."
"Such individuals, even placed in the Golden Age, would undoubtedly become extraordinary figures. In the current Dharma-ending Era, unless the old monsters emerged, there were very few who could contend with them."
"At this moment, many forces were somewhat gleeful, thinking that the Daoist Palace might be doomed. With a formidable enemy wielding an imperial armament holding their attention, and now a contemporary Grand Sage attacking the Daoist Palace, it seemed like the Daoist Palace was left without any defense."
"Some forces even began to consider taking action because, for them, this might be a golden opportunity. If they struck at this moment and managed to seize a piece of the pie, obtaining the Daoist Palace's Dao Celestial Emperor's heritage."
"If they could acquire the Dao Celestial Emperor's heritage, that would be truly delightful. In terms of the foundation of martial arts, they could genuinely compete with the top forces in the higher realms. If they continued to develop, they might have a chance to rise to the ranks of the top forces in the higher realms, rather than just being kings on the Taiyuan Ancient Star."
"However, in the end, these forces calmed down and didn't summon their ancestral patriarchs. After all, there were too many uncertain factors. No one knew what the powerhouse wielding an imperial armament had in mind or whether they could defeat the Daoist Palace's imperial armament."
"In such a situation, making a reckless move would only lead to the extinction of their own forces, which was too great a risk."
"Back at the Daoist Palace, the Daoist Palace's Master's expression became increasingly grim, and you squinted your eyes, closely watching the female Grand Sage who was now battling the Daoist Palace's Grand Sage ancestor. This female Grand Sage was undoubtedly the senior member of the Second-Generation Transcendence Chat Group and the one who had killed you once in a simulation – Ruo Lan."
"Clearly, she had known about your presence in the Daoist Palace for a long time. This time, she took advantage of the powerhouse wielding an imperial armament to attack the Daoist Palace, intending to kill you."
"This situation was likely something that couldn't have occurred in the Transcendence Chat Group. Otherwise, with your active presence on the Taiyuan Ancient Star, she would have contacted the Second-Generation Transcendence members or other forces from different realms to deal with you much earlier."
[You asked the Daoist Palace Master if there were no other ancestors left in the current Daoist Palace. Are there no treasures like quasi-Imperial Armaments, Supreme Armaments, or Great Saint Armaments left either?]
In response to your inquiry, the Daoist Palace Master fell silent. He sighed and explained that the Daoist Palace had faced a great calamity 120,000 years ago, depleting the Daoist Palace's reserves. All the self-sealed ancestors had come out, wielding many treasures in battle, and they never returned. All the treasures were lost. It was only due to the strength of the Imperial Armament and the methods left by Dao Tian the Great Emperor that they weren't completely lost.
At that time, the Daoist Palace was in an extremely dangerous situation, almost jeopardizing its inheritance. Fortunately, the Daoist Palace had a good relationship with the Chi Clan, and with the Chi Clan's intervention, no one dared to do anything to the Daoist Palace. This allowed the Daoist Palace to have some breathing space and gave rise to a few Saints in the subsequent twenty thousand years.
However, this level of heritage was clearly insufficient to restore the Daoist Palace to its former glory, and it had fallen out of the ranks of the top forces in the higher realms. Later, when Emperor Fen Tian suppressed the Source of Darkness and the Chi Clan faced troubles of its own, they could no longer afford to support the Daoist Palace.
As a result, the Daoist Palace paid a price, relocating to the central ancient star region of the vast universe, coming to this relatively remote Life Ancient Star. Even so, the Daoist Palace's situation was still far from ideal. Over the years, many troubles had arisen, depleting their reserves further. Now, only two self-sealed ancestors remained, with little remaining lifespan.
These two self-sealed ancestors were undoubtedly about to emerge. Whether they succeeded in defeating the enemy or not, they wouldn't be able to self-seal again, and they would truly fall. At that time, the Daoist Palace's situation would undoubtedly become even more challenging and perilous. Despite having an Imperial Armament, without a Saint-level expert guarding it, the Daoist Palace would attract more forces.
Hearing this, you were deeply shocked. You hadn't expected that the Daoist Palace had experienced such a catastrophe, depleting its resources to the point of self-sealing its ancestors. Moreover, you had never imagined that the Daoist Palace's situation would be so dire. You had assumed that the Daoist Palace, as a force that had given birth to a Great Emperor, had unfathomable reserves, but it seemed you had overestimated it.
Next, you asked what the Daoist Palace's experts were doing and how they could all perish without any experts returning. The Daoist Palace Master shook his head, explaining that he didn't know what had happened in the past because the knowledgeable Daoist Palace ancestors had all perished.
After a pause, the Daoist Palace Master mentioned that the spirit senior within the Imperial Armament should know what had happened, but he was unwilling to divulge the information, and they couldn't press him for more.
Hearing this, you sighed, realizing that it would be challenging to uncover the truth behind this matter in a short time. Clearly, the Imperial Armament believed that the people in the Daoist Palace were too weak, and even if they knew the truth, it wouldn't change anything, only causing more trouble. There might even be some taboo involved, and knowing it could pose significant danger.
"Daoist Palace's situation is so dire. It seems I can't act too conspicuously within the Daoist Palace in the future. Doing so might not only attract senior transcenders but also other formidable enemies," you mused as you read the simulated text.
Wang Ping furrowed his brows slightly. He had initially thought that joining the Daoist Palace would provide a protective umbrella unless he encountered top-tier experts. However, it now appeared that this was not entirely the case.
In the current Dharma-ending Era, the Daoist Palace's situation was far from ideal. If they entered the Golden Age, and the old monsters who sought to conserve their lifespans all emerged, combined with the rise of new Heavenly Proud Sons, the Daoist Palace's predicament would be extremely dire.
Even the forces within the central domain of the Taiyuan Ancient Star were showing signs of restlessness, but they hesitated to take action due to the Imperial Armament and the terrifying experts. They didn't dare to act recklessly.
"The Daoist Palace clearly can't help me grow rapidly anymore. Staying in the Daoist Palace will only bring trouble. For this reason, I should refrain from joining the Daoist Palace in future simulations. With my current strength, as long as I don't encounter those old monsters, I can live in peace as a lone cultivator," Wang Ping silently contemplated.
To be honest, Wang Ping even suspected that the terrifying expert attacking the Daoist Palace was aware of the emergence of such a monstrous figure within the Daoist Palace, prompting them to hurry up and target the Daoist Palace
. Otherwise, according to the timeline in Wang Ping's mind, the Daoist Palace at this point in time shouldn't have faced any trouble.
As Wang Ping pondered with a furrowed brow, the text on the screen continued to appear.
[Outside the ancient star, the terrifying battle grew increasingly intense, and the power of the Imperial Armament affected the ancient star, making it tremble. Many cultivators were trembling with fear. They were well aware that if the power of the Imperial Armament poured onto the ancient star, the entire ancient star would be destroyed, and they had no chance of survival.]
[On the ancient star, the battle among the Saints continued to rage fiercely. However, it was clear to all discerning eyes that the Daoist Palace's Saints had visibly weakened, shifting from an advantage to a disadvantage. It was said that a fist fears a young man; this was indeed the case.]
[This made other forces realize that the Daoist Palace probably couldn't muster a formidable heritage anymore, and they couldn't help but sigh. The Daoist Palace, once renowned throughout the higher realms, was now in such a miserable state. They couldn't even suppress a rising Saint anymore.]
[Seeing this scene, the Daoist Palace Master was also heavy-hearted. He gritted his teeth and told you to take some people and leave the Daoist Palace. He believed that you were the real hope of the Daoist Palace, and if you perished, the Daoist Palace would truly be finished.]
[You felt heavy-hearted as well and knew that staying behind would only be futile. You decided to follow the Daoist Palace Master's arrangement. Soon, you would take the Daoist Palace's heritage and some important individuals, preparing to leave.]
[As for the Daoist Palace's Divine Lord-level experts and others, they were going to join the battle, wielding a few rare Sacred Treasures, to assist the Daoist Palace's Saint ancestor in restraining Saint Ruo Lan.]
[Upon seeing this, the Second-Generation Transcendence member, Ruo Lan, sneered coldly, stating that the Daoist Palace had no more cards to play, and she had no interest in wasting more time.]
[After saying this, Ruo Lan, the Second-Generation Transcendence member, directly unleashed a terrifying forbidden artifact and killed the Daoist Palace's Saint ancestor and the Daoist Palace Master, among others.]
[Then, just as you were about to escape, Ruo Lan directly sealed off the space, immobilizing you. In this situation, you could only smile bitterly. Even though you had comprehended spatial laws, in the face of an absolute difference in cultivation, it was of no use. Saints were simply too overwhelmingly powerful.]
[Ruo Lan coldly stated that if you, the junior, confessed some information honestly, she would make your death easier. In response, you remained silent.]
[Just when you thought you were doomed, an unexpected figure appeared. It was none other than Lin Qinghe.]
[Five hundred years had passed since Lin Qinghe had talked to you and decided to no longer resist her Swallow Immortal Demon Body. She knew that only by gaining strength could she protect herself and the people she cherished. During these years, she had left the White Blaze Divine Sect, killed some demonic and evil cultivators, and devoured their powerful origins.]
[As a result, Lin Qinghe had grown to the level of Divine Lords. It had to be said that the Swallow Immortal Demon Body's cultivation speed was incredibly remarkable.]
[Of course, this is also related to your Time-Space Dao Body being incomplete. Otherwise, you could accelerate your cultivation without any side effects through changing the temporal proportions, and you wouldn't be weaker than the Swallow Immortal Demon Body.]
[Although Lin Qinghe has reached the level of Divine Lord now, even as a Divine Lord, she still cannot match a Saint. Her decision to step forward and protect you as a friend indicates that she has thoughts of having her second soul possess the next Swallow Immortal Demon Body.]
[Only with the power of her second soul can she possibly contend with a Saint and repel one. However, even with this, she will pay a significant price, as the strength and laws of a Saint are not something she can easily withstand.]
[Apart from that, having the previous generation's Swallow Immortal Demon Body's residual soul stand in for her is likely to expose the fact that she is the current Swallow Immortal Demon Body. In that case, the consequences will undoubtedly be severe.]
[However, despite the great risk, she still stepped forward. In light of this, your favorability towards Lin Qinghe has greatly increased, and you feel that becoming Daoist friends with her is indeed a good choice.]
[As long as Lin Qinghe doesn't turn to the dark side, her nature is not bad, and her willingness to stand up for you in a life-and-death situation speaks volumes.]
"I originally thought about cultivating Lin Qinghe into a follower or a right-hand person, but it turned out to be the path of friendship. Well, with Lin Qinghe's high talent and the residual soul of the previous generation's Swallow Immortal Demon Body, it would be difficult to make her a follower or right-hand person."
Wang Ping looked at the simulated text content, his eyes flickering with surprise.
"For now, in the simulation, I don't have the ability to cultivate her into a right-hand person anyway. I can only do that when I become stronger."
"Before that, it's better to be an honest Daoist friend. Having a Daoist friend who can help you in life-and-death situations is not much different from having a right-hand person."
Then, Wang Ping shook his head, collected his thoughts, and continued to gaze at the screen.
[Lin Qinghe's intervention surprised many people, but more thought she was overestimating herself. Engaging a Saint with Divine Lord-level cultivation is simply courting death.]
[A Divine Lord might have a slight chance of defeating a Half-Saint in battle, but when a Half-Saint faces a Saint, they are likely to be killed instantly.]
[No matter if you are a direct descendant of a Great Emperor or a young Great Emperor, in front of a Saint, you are all insignificant.]
[It can be said that throughout history, there has never been a prodigious individual who, in their Half-Saint stage, directly confronted a Saint and defeated them, let alone a Divine Lord-level cultivator.]
[Ruo Lan also looked down on Lin Qinghe somewhat, thinking she was overestimating her abilities. Then, she mercilessly attacked Lin Qinghe.]
[However, what surprised everyone was that Lin Qinghe actually blocked this strike. Terrifying laws erupted and shattered the sealed space.]
[Then, Lin Qinghe's second soul was ready to take you away.]
[However, something unexpected happened.]
[At this critical moment, another Saint appeared. The appearance of this second Saint trapped you all in an inescapable situation.]
[Although Lin Qinghe's second soul's true body was the previous generation's Swallow Immortal Demon Body, a figure who killed the late Great Emperor, she is not that person, just a residual soul without its true power and understanding of Dao laws.]
[Furthermore, Lin Qinghe's cultivation was weaker, and she couldn't fully unleash the true power of her law-devouring abilities. In this situation, blocking a casual strike from a Saint and shattering the spatial seal was already remarkable. It would be a daydream to think she could directly contend with two Saints.]
[Seeing this situation, you sighed and knew that you were destined to fall here today. Therefore, after letting Lin Qinghe escape, you chose to actively exit this simulation.]
[With your active exit from the simulation, this simulation came to an end.]
...
The text simulation ended here, and Wang Ping's consciousness returned to the real world at the God City Inn.
"Ding, reward generation successful. The host can choose one of the following rewards:
①. True God Realm perfect cultivation.
②. Demon Stone Key.
③. Random Sacred Artifact.
④. Purple Talent: Rolling Wealth.
⑤. Random Premium Divine Artifact."
...
"System, is the second Saint also a traveler from the second-generation chat group?" Wang Ping asked in his mind.
"No, he is from other forces in the multiverse. It seems he has collaborated with members of the second-generation chat group," replied Alpha's cold voice, providing an explanation.
"From other forces in the multiverse," Wang Ping frowned. This seemed to involve even more complicated factors. If he were exposed to these people, it would be dangerous. Although he was quite powerful now, in the presence of a Saint, he was still like an ant, unable to compete.
Unless he further advanced his cultivation to the level of a Divine Lord, or even a Half-Saint, he would have a chance to fight a Saint. Otherwise, thinking about defeating a Saint in a true God Realm state, or even surviving, was impossible. This simulation result had demonstrated that.
"He is from what faction?" Wang Ping's eyes flickered as he inquired within his mind.
"Killing Pleasure Park. They have a significant feud with the cross-dimensional chat group I control. This is troublesome now that we're up against them," Alpha's icy voice resounded once again.
"Um," Wang Ping was speechless.
In other words, the power level of this Killing Pleasure Park is equivalent to a normal faction that developed without being destroyed by the cross-dimensional chat group. This was incredibly dangerous.
"Wasn't the second-generation chat group destroyed by Killing Pleasure Park in the past?" Wang Ping asked again, his eyes flickering.
"Yes. Actually, you don't need to overestimate Killing Pleasure Park. If it weren't for the first-generation chat group being destroyed once, weakening significantly, and making it difficult for the cross-dimensional travelers of the second-generation chat group to collaborate with Killing Pleasure Park to destroy the second-generation chat group, it would have been hard to achieve," Alpha explained after a brief silence.
"Alright, so it's just noobs fighting among themselves. I have my doubts. Both your forces, in the eyes of truly powerful forces, are not even at the rookie level. It's similar to the weird newcomers we encountered before," Wang Ping quipped.
"The original cross-dimensional chat group was not an ordinary force," Alpha seemed stung by Wang Ping's comment, speaking in a cold tone.
"But it was destroyed in the end, and it was destroyed by the most powerful cross-dimensional traveler under your command," Wang Ping retorted.
"Accept the reality. The current chat group is at the bottom of the tier among the various multiverse factions. Even compared to newcomers, I don't think we're that much stronger. After all, our strongest member is only me at the True God Realm perfect cultivation, and I haven't even reached the Divine Lord level," Wang Ping added.
Hearing this, Alpha had nothing more to say and chose to stay silent, a bit exhausted, and opting to lurk.
Seeing Alpha's silence, Wang Ping didn't continue to press the issue. Instead, he contemplated what to do next.
Originally, he thought that the trouble only came from the cross-dimensional travelers of the second-generation chat group. He didn't expect it to involve Killing Pleasure Park, another multiverse faction. Besides, there was also the question of whether other multiverse factions would become entangled in this situation.
"It's troublesome. If I don't have some powerful cards up my sleeve, I feel like my life is in danger at any moment," Wang Ping sighed, feeling a headache.
In the simulation, the opponents couldn't contact the cross-dimensional travelers in the chat group, and the situation of other multiverse factions wasn't simulated either. However, in reality, the opponents could take such actions.
Wang Ping was most concerned that the opponents might have already acted, not waiting to come over in over 1,500 years but instead making their move in these few years, or even the recent years. That would be a real disaster.
Exposing his coordinates was extremely dangerous. Although he could seek refuge in other worlds through the chat group, the opponents could also traverse the multiverse, making it uncertain whether they would pursue him.
"Talents, talents... I hope I can draw a golden-tier talent, preferably one that helps me evade fate, hide my identity, and evade detection. Otherwise, it's really unbearable," Wang Ping shook his head, hoping for something from the chat group.
Purple Talent: Conceal Aura was still of a lower grade and ineffective against Saints, and it only concealed one's aura without being able to evade fate-detecting methods. It didn't give him much sense of security.
Only talents of the golden tier could provide him with that kind of safety.
"Last simulation, and then I'll go mining. After acquiring the resources left behind by that Ancient Tomb Divine Lord Realm expert, I'll make other plans."
Wang Ping's eyes flickered as he silently contemplated his next move.
"System, I want to start a paid simulation."
"Di, consuming one hundred pounds of low-grade divine source, Life Simulator activated, talent refresh in progress."
The system's voice rang out.
"Di, talent refresh successful. Congratulations to the host for refreshing Purple Talent: Substitute Puppet and Red Talent: Blood Boiling."
Purple Talent: Substitute Puppet: With this talent, the host can select a Divine Realm cultivator as a substitute puppet. When receiving damage, the host can transfer the entire damage to the selected Divine Realm cultivator.
Red Talent: Blood Boiling: With this talent, if the host feels intense emotions during a battle, their combat power will be enhanced.
"Hmm, this Purple Talent is quite good," Wang Ping remarked as he looked at the talents that were refreshed this time, his eyes brightening slightly.
Although he hadn't drawn the golden-tier talent he had hoped for this time, this new Purple Talent: Substitute Puppet was also quite impressive.
A substitute puppet essentially meant having an extra life.
Moreover, this ability could transfer damage to a designated target and was a selective skill, making it difficult for enemies to defend against.
In the future, if he encountered ancient monsters he couldn't defeat, he could designate their most cherished descendants as his substitutes. Let's see if they dared to attack him then.
However, this ability and its use were somewhat similar to Purple Talent: Fate Link, to be honest.
But Purple Talent: Fate Link was too cumbersome; once bound, it couldn't be undone, which also limited him.
Comparatively, this Purple Talent: Substitute Puppet seemed to be a little more user-friendly.
"Unfortunately, this talent is only purple. If it were golden, I could bind it to Saints, Saint Kings, and even Great Saints, and that would be so cool. Letting a Great Saint bear damage for me, he probably wouldn't get hurt ever again in the future," Wang Ping couldn't help but daydream.
"System, I choose Purple Talent: Substitute Puppet."
Random selection was turned down, and after Wang Ping composed himself, he made his choice.
"Di, talent selection successful, Life Simulation begins."
The system's voice sounded, and Wang Ping felt his consciousness blur as he entered the immersive simulation state.
"System, fast forward, please."
(End of this chapter)