Chapter 455: The Hidden Black Hand? Awakening's Probe!
Awakening took a long time to shake off the chilling sense of crisis that lingered in his mind.
"Whether or not such an entity exists... increasing my strength is a necessity!"
"Only with sufficient power will I have a greater chance of dealing with it..."
"Let's see the rewards from this simulation first!"
Awakening took a deep breath, his gaze falling upon the reward list.
[Thousand Illusions]: Red Talent, costs 100 units of Primal Energy.
[Spirit Realm, Fifty Thousand Miles]: Spiritual Domain transformation, reaching the Spirit Realm level. Within the Spirit Realm, the power of divine abilities and spatial principles are greatly enhanced. The Spirit Realm gradually evolves towards a real world. Costs 500,000 units of Primal Energy.
[Late-Stage Golden Immortal Realm, Eighth Stage]: Costs 10 million units of Primal Energy.
[Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture Cultivation Results]: The Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture reaches the sixth stage, perfection. The Primal Energy Tree grows to 6.6 zhang (22 feet), Primal Energy is inexhaustible. Costs 5 million units of Primal Energy!
[Alchemy Insights]: One hundred years of alchemy experience, costs 100,000 units of Primal Energy.
Awakening glanced at the rewards of this simulation. Except for the Alchemy Insights, he wanted them all.
But currently, Awakening only had 15,060,975 units of Primal Energy... Even if he took out both his body tempering and cultivation bases, he would be left with almost nothing.
"But cultivation is a must!"
Awakening didn't hesitate, choosing to first take out his cultivation and body tempering bases, along with the new red talent.
As for the Spirit Realm insights... he would have to consider that later.
He heard the simulation's prompt.
[Ding, congratulations on taking out the Golden Immortal cultivation base... Remaining Primal Energy: 5,060,975 units...]
[Congratulations on taking out the Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture cultivation results... Remaining Primal Energy: 60,975 units...]
[Congratulations on taking out the red talent, Thousand Illusions... Remaining Primal Energy: 6,865 units...]
With the three consecutive prompts, Awakening's aura surged once more!
His cultivation realm smoothly broke through from peak Golden Immortal, Seventh Stage, to the Golden Immortal, Eighth Stage, and then continued to grow to the late-stage of the Eighth Stage.
His spiritual energy reserves increased by nearly 20%.
The 5.6 zhang Primal Energy Tree grew to 6.6 zhang, further boosting his spiritual energy and physical body.
A new red talent appeared on the simulation panel: Thousand Illusions!
After taking a moment to adapt to the increase in strength, Awakening began to consider his next plan.
"Only a little over 60,000 units of Primal Energy remaining... definitely not enough!"
"But I still have two simulation chances left, which should be enough to push me to the peak of the Golden Immortal realm!"
"I must obtain all the Star Stones at the Star Gathering Conference... but before that, I need to deal with some trouble!"
Awakening's mind stirred. The locations of several hidden Descent Sect operatives and several alien deities within the Starry Realm were crystal clear.
"Once I appear at the Star Gathering Conference, these Descent Sect operatives will certainly report the information to Blood Four..."
"Therefore, let's deal with the trouble first... According to the simulation, Blood Four will move out towards the Starry Realm to investigate in about half a year to a year."
"But by then, I will have already left..."
"From the previous simulations, it seems that high-ranking Descent Sect operatives possess something akin to soul tokens. Whether I kill them or not, they will be alerted..."
Awakening pondered carefully.
Whether he dealt with these Descent Sect operatives or not, as long as he took the Star Stones, it would attract the attention of the Descent Sect and the aliens.
Therefore, the best course of action was to strike first!
This way, the Descent Sect operatives lurking in the Starry Realm would report the information later, giving him more time.
With his decision made, Awakening didn't hesitate.
He extended his hands, tearing a rift in space. A spatial passage appeared before him.
In the next instant, Awakening appeared beside a Descent Sect operative.
Without any hesitation, he instantly killed him...
In just a short time, Awakening eliminated three Descent Sect operatives and several alien beings.
After finishing this, Awakening returned to the Ziwei Tribe to assess his gains.
"Whew... these Descent Sect operatives are surprisingly valuable, huh?"
Awakening's eyes lit up.
One of the operatives was nearing the Golden Immortal realm, while the other two were at the Xuan Immortal level.
After exchanging the resources in their storage rings for simulation energy, Awakening gained nearly 5 million more units of Primal Energy!
There were also the alien beings lurking in the Starry Realm. The corpse of an alien True God provided him with about 100,000 units of Primal Energy.
Two Level 3 Divine corpses yielded nearly 2 million units of Primal Energy!
As a result, Awakening's Primal Energy reserves reached 7 million units!
Without rushing to the Star Gathering Conference, Awakening first chose to take out the Spirit Realm insights.
[Ding, congratulations on taking out the Spirit Realm, Fifty Thousand Miles, costing 550,000 units of Primal Energy... Remaining Primal Energy: 6,653,567 units...]
As the prompt sounded, Awakening's Spirit Realm expanded slightly.
"Whew... the hidden dangers in the Starry Realm are mostly dealt with..."
"Next, it's time to go to the Star Gathering Conference and collect the Star Stones!"
Awakening murmured.
Next, Awakening, in his capacity as the Starry Lord, traveled to the Star Gathering Conference and retrieved all the Star Stones contributed by the various tribes.
It had been about half a year since Awakening last collected the Star Stones.
In the past six months, hundreds more tribes from the Starry Realm had come to attend, providing him with a total of over 30 million units of Primal Energy!
Thus, Awakening's Primal Energy temporarily reached the 40 million mark.
"Forty million units of Primal Energy... two simulation opportunities..."
"After collecting this batch of Primal Energy, the Starry Realm won't be able to provide a large amount for a while..."
Awakening muttered.
"Then, when my strength reaches the bottleneck of the peak Golden Immortal realm... it will also be time for the Lesser Demon Deities to make their move!"
A subtle light flickered in Awakening's eyes.
"And the potential hidden danger in the real world... the ever-changing future, what is the cause of it all?"
"Hopefully, it's not the worst-case scenario I'm imagining..."
Awakening took a deep breath, looked at the simulation panel, and silently said:
"Begin simulation!"
[165th Simulation Started, currently remaining Primal Energy: 40,327,892 units... Remaining simulation opportunities: 1.]
[Simulation Starting!]
[Talent extraction costs 1 unit of Primal Energy, would you like to extract?]
"Yes!"
[Ding, congratulations on extracting the golden talent 'Passerby', the next golden talent extraction probability is 80%, red talent extraction probability is 20%...]
[Passerby]: Golden Talent, an enhanced version of the 'I am a Passerby' talent, can greatly reduce the target's awareness of the talent's possessor. It's a conceptual Passerby, who will not be noticed. (This talent only works on targets below the Demi-Saint level. Against targets exceeding conceptual strength, the talent has no effect.)
"Golden Passerby talent!?"
Awakening's eyes lit up when he saw the newly drawn talent.
The previous "I am a Passerby" talent already had a terrifying effect.
Now, Awakening had drawn a golden-level Passerby talent, and the effect was imaginable!
Seeing the newly drawn talent, the corner of Awakening's mouth curled into a smile as he murmured:
"Just what I needed... it seems my plan can be implemented even more perfectly this time!"
Awakening narrowed his eyes.
The past few simulations had been unusual. The future changes in the simulations were becoming increasingly drastic, and the speed of the alien invasion was accelerating!
Awakening wasn't even sure whether it was his actions in reality or his actions in the simulation that were causing this change.
To this end, Awakening's plan was to simply lie low in the next simulation, not revealing himself and not interfering with any wars between the aliens and humans, only seeking to protect his own life.
Under these circumstances, Awakening wanted to see if the time when Qingyuan Domain and Nanman Domain would be destroyed still advanced!
If it did, it would mean that in reality, the aliens had accelerated their invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds for some reason!
The most likely reason was that a powerful entity among the aliens had deduced the existence of "Awakening" among the humans!
Or, perhaps this entity didn't directly observe Awakening but sensed a "variable" within humanity!
And, out of necessity, they had accelerated the invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds!
"Then... let me see if you exist..."
Awakening narrowed his eyes and looked at the simulation panel.
[Please choose the target for the 'Great Accomplishment' talent blessing...]
"I choose to bless the 'Great Accomplishment' talent..."
[Within the Spiritual Field Cave Heaven, you realize that you are in a simulation!]
[You leave the Starry Realm, erase your traces, and shield your celestial secrets. After changing your appearance and concealing your aura, you head to the Xiaoqingyun Realm.]
[You rent a cave dwelling in Baidi City within the Xiaoqingyun Realm for a period of thirty years.]
[For the next thirty years, you cultivate peacefully in the Xiaoqingyun Realm, not interfering with any future events.]
[Every ten years, you visit the Tianji Pavilion branch in Baidi City to gather intelligence and understand the situation of the Three Thousand Worlds.]
[To your surprise, the destruction time of Blue Star is once again advanced!]
[Only two and a half years later... the entire Blue Star is destroyed and vanishes into the void.]
[Hongyue, leading the alien forces, unleashes terrifying power and begins a frantic invasion of the Qingyuan Domain.]
[By the 30th year of the simulation, the situation in the Xiaoqingyun Realm is already heating up.]
[Fortunately, with the Tianmo General's avatar stationed there, the Xiaoqingyun Realm is not yet in danger of destruction.]
[However, the smaller thousand worlds surrounding the Xiaoqingyun Realm are not so lucky...]
[In just thirty years, three smaller thousand worlds have been completely invaded, and dozens more have been utterly destroyed by the aliens.]
[In the 50th year of the simulation, you leave the Xiaoqingyun Realm.]
[Based on your judgment, in this simulation, the Xiaoqingyun Realm will not last more than a hundred years...]
[After leaving the Xiaoqingyun Realm, you travel to the second-largest world in the Qingyuan Domain, the Tianyuan Realm!]
[As a Greater Thousand World guarded by two peak Taiyi experts, the Tianyuan Realm is temporarily peaceful.]
In the real world, Awakening frowned when he saw this.
"The thing I was most worried about... has happened!"
"In the previous simulations, I didn't pay much attention to the situation in the Qingyuan Domain... but now, looking at it, the premature destruction of the smaller worlds in the Qingyuan Domain has already shown signs!"
"And in this simulation, I didn't interfere at all... which means that there might indeed be such an entity in reality, accelerating the alien invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds!"
Awakening took a deep breath, but based on just fifty years, he couldn't be entirely certain.
"No need to rush... let's see."
"At least this simulation gives me a clearer picture of the future situation of the Three Thousand Worlds!"
Awakening muttered, his gaze falling on the simulation panel.
[In the 50th year, after arriving at the Tianyuan Realm, you hide your identity and diligently cultivate in Tianyuan City.]
[Besides daily cultivation, you also start experimenting with the creation of high-level pills.]
[Currently, your alchemy skills barely reach the Grandmaster level, allowing you to refine most 11th and 12th-grade immortal pills.]
[But this is still a long way from refining the Heavenly Yang Soul Forging Pill...]
[Fortunately, the inheritance within the Luotian Mirror is sufficient for you to delve into it until you reach the level of a Great Alchemy Grandmaster.]
[Over the next fifty years, the situation in the Qingyuan Domain changes unpredictably.]
[Within just fifty years, over a dozen smaller thousand worlds have been invaded, and countless smaller worlds have been destroyed.]
[Until the 105th year, you receive intelligence from the Tianji Pavilion that the Xiaoqingyun Realm has been destroyed!]
[The Tianmo General's avatar unleashed a final, desperate attack before dying, but was personally killed by Hongyue...]
[The aliens' momentum gradually grows, like a giant net, accelerating their invasion of the entire Qingyuan Domain.]
[For the next hundred years, you observe the situation within the Tianyuan Realm.]
[By the 200th year, nearly a quarter of the worlds within the Qingyuan Domain have been completely invaded.]
[The top forces within the Qingyuan Domain, seemingly 'realizing' the situation, establish a cultivator alliance and begin to fight back against the aliens on all fronts.]
[But you know that it's too late...]
[In this simulation, because you didn't trade with Qingyunzi, Qingyunzi will completely fall into demonic possession 300 years from now.]
[And within the entire Qingyuan Domain, apart from an aged Da Luo Immortal – the Sea Emperor Da Luo – there is no Da Luo Immortal to protect it.]
[The Sea Emperor Da Luo is a Da Luo Immortal who has been in seclusion for millions of years. His true body has been slumbering within the Qingyun Sect.]
[Now that the Qingyuan Domain is in a state of decline, the Sea Emperor Da Luo is forced to emerge from seclusion to stabilize the situation.]
[But you know that all of this is futile...]
[In the 210th year, you no longer stay in the Qingyuan Domain but travel from the Endless Sea to the Tianji Domain.]
In the real world, Awakening's brow furrowed slightly when he saw this.
"It's truly a rout... the entire Qingyuan Domain is being gradually eroded by the aliens."
"Even the slumbering Da Luo Immortal has come out of seclusion, huh?"
Awakening recalled the information about the Sea Emperor Da Luo.
This Sea Emperor Da Luo was also a famous Da Luo Immortal from ancient times.
His talent was incredibly high, achieving the Da Luo realm as a lone cultivator.
He later became the Supreme Elder of the Qingyun Sect, not needing to take action in his daily life, always maintaining a low profile and in seclusion.
But under the current circumstances in the Qingyuan Domain, Qingyunzi was about to fall into demonic possession, unable to utilize his full strength.
Currently, a Da Luo Immortal was needed to stabilize the situation, and he could only reluctantly emerge from seclusion.
"The Sea Emperor Da Luo doesn't seem to be good at fighting... but he is, after all, an old Da Luo expert who has lived for hundreds of millions of years."
"His understanding of the Dao realm should be extraordinary... he probably has more than one Dao that has reached the Seventh Realm!"
Thinking of this, Awakening stroked his chin and shook his head slightly:
"But the Qingyuan Domain's situation is so dire... even one Da Luo Immortal won't be enough to turn the tide..."
Awakening knew that, according to this trend, the Qingyuan Domain's defeat was only a matter of time.
"The simulation has lasted over 200 years, and Qingyunzi's fall into demonic possession is not far off..."
"Under these circumstances, I'm still safer in the Tianji Domain..."
"However, in this simulation, I don't want to reveal my identity... infiltrating the Tianji Domain seems a bit difficult..."
Awakening pondered for a moment. To obtain more accurate information, he wouldn't become an elder of the Tianji Pavilion to gain contributions in this simulation, as that would inevitably change the future.
"If I remember correctly... the Canglan Realm is a good place!"
"In previous simulations, it was only 1,800 years later that the Canglan Realm was invaded..."
"As one of the top Greater Thousand Worlds in the Tianji Domain, the Canglan Realm is relatively safe, and it's close to the Tianji Domain, making intelligence gathering easier..."
Thinking of this, Awakening didn't hesitate.
He planned to spend the rest of this simulation cultivating peacefully in the Canglan Realm.
"With my current strength... even if Blood Three personally attacked me, I could find a way to escape..."
"As long as Da Luo Immortal Blood Two doesn't personally hunt me down, I should be able to survive."
"Furthermore, with the Passerby talent... even Blood Two might not be able to find me... just focus on cultivating and observing the changes in the wind and clouds of the Three Thousand Worlds!"
Awakening thought to himself.
"But I can't waste the immersive simulation opportunity..."
"Use immersive simulation, lasting 100 years!"
[Ding... Remaining Primal Energy: 40,291,392 units...]
...
Soon, the hundred-year immersive simulation ended, and Awakening's consciousness returned to reality.
"Unfortunately... in this simulation, because I didn't trade with Qingyunzi, the number of Enlightenment Tea and Comprehension Pills was much lower..."
"The Speed Dao, although it reached the peak of the Fifth Realm, is still some distance from the Sixth Realm..."
Awakening wasn't annoyed. At most, in the next simulation, the Speed Dao would enter the Sixth Realm.
Currently, improving his Dao comprehension was very inexpensive for Awakening.
A hundred years of immersive simulation only cost tens of thousands of Primal Energy units, plus a week of waiting.
What Awakening lacked was Primal Energy, not simulation opportunities.
Thinking this, Awakening looked at the simulation panel.
[In the 250th year, you arrive at the Greater Thousand World of the Tianji Domain – the Canglan Realm.]
[You hide your identity and cultivate in 'Canglan City', the largest cultivator city in the Canglan Realm, visiting the Tianji Pavilion every ten years to gather intelligence.]
[In this way, 150 years pass in a blink of an eye!]
[In the 400th year, the first batch of Tianyuan Divine Fruits ripen, and you start devoting more energy to improving your body tempering cultivation.]
[In the 500th year, your Primal Energy Tree reaches 6.7 zhang.]
[In the 600th year, you receive intelligence that Qingyunzi, who has fallen into demonic possession, appears in the Qingyuan Domain and begins indiscriminate slaughter of both alien and human cultivators.]
[In the 700th year, your cultivation finally reaches the peak of the Golden Immortal, Eighth Stage, and you start preparing for a breakthrough.]
[In the 800th year, the first major battle between the Tianji Domain and the aliens officially begins. The Tianji Pavilion and the Baidi Tower join forces and call upon knowledgeable individuals from all over to participate in the war.]
[You choose not to join the battle... but continue to cultivate in the Canglan Realm, watching the external world change.]
[Perhaps because of the Passerby talent, in the past 800 years, you haven't encountered any attacks from aliens or the Descent Sect...]
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 456: A Precarious Future, the So-Called Five Decays of Heaven and Man
In the real world, Awakening's heart swelled with joy upon seeing this.
"The golden-level Passerby talent truly has an excellent effect!"
"In previous simulations, by the 800-year mark, I would have likely experienced hundreds of assassination attempts..."
"While it's related to my low-profile and hidden identity in this simulation, the effect of the Passerby talent is undeniable..."
Awakening was quite satisfied with the results of this simulation.
He simply wanted to see how the situation of the Three Thousand Worlds would unfold if he didn't interfere at all.
Judging by the 800-year mark of this simulation, the future situation was not optimistic...
"I wonder if the outcome of the Tianji Domain battle will change?"
The 800-year battle was a rare victory for humanity against the aliens, with the Tianji Pavilion and the Baidi Tower making extensive preparations.
It should have been a sure win... but now, the future was constantly changing, and Awakening couldn't be sure of the outcome.
"Hopefully, humanity can hold out a little longer..."
"The only good news right now is that, thanks to the Passerby talent, I haven't been hunted by the aliens or the Descent Sect..."
"But, how can an egg survive under a broken nest? Following this trend, once the Three Thousand Worlds are completely invaded, I won't be able to escape death either..."
Awakening murmured, his gaze falling on the simulation panel.
[The war between the Tianji Domain and the aliens is imminent, countless cultivators rush to the front lines.]
[And the aliens also reveal their terrifying fangs in the battle...]
[In the blink of an eye, twenty years pass.]
[In the 820th year, the war doesn't end as you imagined, but enters a white-hot stage.]
[Based on the information you gather, in just twenty years... the number of immortal cultivators who have died on the human side is no less than tens of thousands.]
[The scale of this war exceeds your expectations.]
[In the 30th year of the battle, Golden Immortals begin to fall.]
[In the 850th year, nearly a dozen Golden Immortals have fallen in the Tianji Domain.]
[The aliens' determination to severely damage humanity is unprecedentedly strong.]
[But all of this war is irrelevant to you.]
[You don't join the battlefield, and you continue to cultivate peacefully in the Canglan Realm.]
[Until the 900th year... this century-long war finally ends!]
[According to your information, in this battle, the number of immortal cultivators who perished on the human side exceeds 100,000!]
[Cultivators at the Golden Immortal level and above have lost over 30 lives... including two Taiyi Golden Immortals.]
[Of course, the alien side suffered even more severe casualties, with hundreds of thousands of deities falling...]
[But human cultivators require a long time to improve their cultivation realm, far less efficient than the aliens.]
[In this battle, while humanity in the Tianji Domain won, it was a pyrrhic victory...]
In the real world, Awakening's expression became serious upon seeing this.
"Sure enough, the situation of the Tianji Domain's 800-year battle... has undergone a major change!"
"Originally, it was a surprise attack by humanity, lasting only ten years, but the gains were considerable."
"But now, it has turned into a century-long war..."
"Although humanity, due to its thorough preparations, still won, it paid a heavy price..."
After a pause, Awakening asked in confusion:
"So, what is the cause of all this?"
Awakening furrowed his brow. Based on the information he currently had, he was unable to deduce the black hand behind the aliens.
However, it was basically certain that the alien side had indeed undergone changes.
At the very least, they were paying more attention to the invasion of the Five Great Domains.
"The situation in the Tianji Domain is still unclear, so let's observe it for a while longer..."
Awakening looked at the simulation panel.
[In the 900th year, the century-long war in the Tianji Domain ends... due to heavy losses, humanity has no choice but to enter a long period of defense.]
[And the alien side continuously sends out red-eyed aliens to invade various worlds within the Tianji Domain.]
[Fortunately, the Canglan Realm where you are located is not invaded.]
[After observing the changes in the wind and clouds for a hundred years, you have occasional insights.]
[With a sudden flash of inspiration, your cultivation seamlessly breaks through to the Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage...]
[Thus, another hundred years pass...]
[In the 1000th year, your alchemy skills make a breakthrough, and you can attempt to refine 13th-grade pills, but you are still a considerable distance from becoming a Great Alchemy Grandmaster.]
[In the 1100th year, the Primal Energy Tree within your body grows to 7.3 zhang... a step closer to the perfection of the Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture's Sixth Stage.]
[In the 1200th year, you receive news that the aliens have launched a full-scale attack on the Nanman Domain.]
[The Nanman Domain finds it difficult to defend and sends out pleas for help to the other four domains.]
[However, even the most powerful Tianji Domain, struggling to defend itself, is unable to send reinforcements.]
[In the 1300th year, the Nanman Domain is destroyed, and the Da Luo Immortal, Nanman Emperor, dies in battle...]
[In the 1400th year, your cultivation makes a slight improvement, taking a solid step towards the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage.]
[You begin to think about preparing for the Taiyi Golden Immortal tribulation...]
[In the same year, the Qingyuan Domain falls into crisis, no longer able to protect itself...]
[And the Canglan Realm where you are located also begins to suffer attacks from alien forces.]
[In the 1500th year, the Canglan Realm is subjected to a full-scale alien attack. The entire Greater Thousand World is sealed off and eventually falls.]
[Fortunately, you sense the danger in advance and flee to a smaller thousand world near the Canglan Realm.]
[You receive news that Baidi is suspected to have been seriously injured in this battle...]
[A few years later, the smaller thousand world where you are hiding is attacked by alien forces, and you begin to flee to the next world.]
[For the next hundred years, you spend your time in flight, witnessing the fall of countless smaller thousand worlds.]
[And the Qingyuan Domain is completely conquered in the 1500th year... including Zi Ling Fairy and other direct descendants of the Qingyun Sect's second generation, who die in battle.]
[The Sea Emperor Da Luo is suspected to have betrayed humanity and joined the Descent Sect...]
[In the 1700th year, after hundreds of years of fleeing, although the alien invasion is not primarily targeting you.]
[But the constant escapes have made it impossible for you to cultivate wholeheartedly.]
[Moreover, your recent escapes have made you sense that the danger is getting closer.]
[The Passerby talent, after all, is only golden, not invincible... Da Luo Immortals can vaguely sense you, and if you encounter a Demi-Saint among the aliens, you still won't be able to save your life.]
[After your cultivation breaks through to the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage, you finally temporarily abandon your true identity.]
[You decide to transform into a Lesser Demon Deity and continue gathering intelligence.]
In the real world, Awakening's brow furrowed when he saw this.
"If things continue to develop this way... humanity will be completely annihilated before the three-thousand-year deadline!"
"My main identity's cultivation is clearly no longer feasible, so it's time to transform into a Lesser Demon Deity!"
Currently, Awakening's Lesser Demon Deity was nearing the Level 1 Deity realm.
His divine power had already reached the threshold of a Level 1 Deity, and what he lacked was merely divine nature and divine authority.
His gaze returned to the simulation panel.
[This year, you transform into a Lesser Demon Deity and are quickly accepted by the aliens.]
[And at this moment, the aliens have gained a decisive advantage in their war against humanity.]
[Therefore, although you still receive considerable resource supply, it's far less than the resources you obtained in previous simulations.]
[You begin to cultivate Lesser Demon Apostles and start to cultivate Lesser Demon believers on a large scale.]
[In this way, three hundred years pass...]
[In the 2000th year of the simulation, the Eastern Domain falls...]
[This year, three of the Five Great Domains of humanity have been destroyed, with only the Tianji Domain and Tianmo Domain still holding on.]
[Surprisingly, after conquering three domains, the aliens seem to have slowed their invasion pace, as if they are planning something.]
[Thus, another three hundred years pass...]
[In the 2300th year, the Calamity Divine Body's effect becomes increasingly obvious, and you start to face assassination attempts from human cultivators.]
[Although the Tianji Domain has lost most of its territory, it still retains most of its powerful individuals.]
[In particular, the team of powerful individuals led by Baidi frequently hunts alien deities within the Tianji Domain.]
[In the 2500th year, to prevent assassination, you use most of the faith power you have accumulated over hundreds of years to enhance your divine nature.]
[Your understanding of spatial, speed, and fate/cause-and-effect principles rapidly improves...]
[But it's clear that merely hundreds of years of faith power, both in terms of the market and the number of believers, is far less than before, making it difficult for your divine nature to reach the Level 1 Deity level.]
[In the 2600th year... a sudden assassination takes your life.]
[Baidi makes his move!]
[Faced with the attack of a Da Luo Immortal, you have no power to resist.]
[But in the few years before your death, you obtain intelligence that the Tianmo Domain is also about to be completely invaded...]
[You die!]
[Ding, this simulation is over!]
After the simulation ended, Awakening remained silent for a long time.
"In just two thousand years... three of the Five Great Domains of humanity have already fallen?"
"And following this trend... before the three-thousand-year deadline is reached, it's likely that all five of humanity's domains will be completely lost!"
"Where will humanity's dwelling place be then?"
"Perhaps only some powerful individuals will escape to the Nine Heavens Domain..."
Awakening frowned slightly.
Even with humanity's Five Great Domains mostly invaded, the Tianji Pavilion Master still hasn't made a move!
"It seems... the Tianji Pavilion Master hasn't found a way to break through to the Saint realm yet!"
"Baidi and other top experts seem to be buying time for the Tianji Pavilion Master... as if they've placed all their hopes on him..."
Awakening sighed, not surprised by this.
In the face of an absolute disparity in strength and numbers, the only way to win... was for a transcendent expert to appear.
The Tianji Pavilion Master becoming a Saint... that might be humanity's only hope.
"I wonder if the Tianji Pavilion Master will eventually be able to step into the Saint realm..."
Awakening felt a pang of curiosity.
"However, this simulation has essentially confirmed it!"
"In reality... there is an entity among the aliens who has 'discovered my traces' and thus accelerated the pace of the invasion of the Three Thousand Worlds!"
"Moreover, it seems like they only discovered it recently... the pace of invasion is still accelerating!"
"Perhaps it won't be long... the Nanman Domain won't even last a thousand years..."
Awakening's eyes were grave.
Simply put, he was exposed, but not completely...
Among humanity, there were still individuals like the Tianji Pavilion Master, skilled in divination, who could capture a trace in the river of time.
And among the aliens, that suspected "Saint" was probably even more capable!
"As long as I'm careful... they shouldn't be able to directly capture my existence."
"But to be cautious, I need to quickly break through to the Sixth Realm of the Cause and Effect Dao!"
Awakening murmured.
"Right now, let's see the rewards from this simulation first!"
[Passerby]: Golden Talent, costs 10 units of Primal Energy.
[Spirit Realm, Fifty-Five Thousand Miles]: Spiritual Domain transformation, reaching the Spirit Realm level. Within the Spirit Realm, the power of divine abilities and spatial principles are greatly enhanced. The Spirit Realm gradually evolves towards a real world. Costs 500,000 units of Primal Energy.
[Mid-Stage Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage]: Costs 10 million units of Primal Energy.
[Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture Cultivation Results]: The Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture reaches the sixth stage, perfection. The Primal Energy Tree grows to 7.7 zhang (25.6 feet), Primal Energy is inexhaustible. Costs 5,500,000 units of Primal Energy!
[Alchemy Insights]: One thousand years of alchemy experience. The highest level of pill that can be refined is 14th-grade. It is not far from becoming a Great Alchemy Grandmaster. Costs 500,000 units of Primal Energy.
In this simulation, although Awakening didn't directly participate in changing the future of the Three Thousand Worlds.
But due to the existence of the Passerby talent, Awakening had enough time to cultivate.
A total of 1,700 years of cultivation... allowed Awakening's cultivation and body tempering realms to both break through!
"And the alchemy experience... 500,000 units of Primal Energy is a bit expensive, but it's worth taking out..."
"As for the Passerby talent... I can keep it in the talent pool for now. After all, this talent is truly a double-edged sword..."
Although lying low and improving his cultivation realm was appealing.
But for Awakening at this stage, whether it was using the Void Mirror, trading with Qingyunzi, or the reward for being ranked first on the Earth Ranking, they were all very valuable.
"I choose to take out..." Awakening silently said, and he heard the simulation's prompt.
[Ding, congratulations on taking out the mid-stage Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage cultivation... Remaining Primal Energy: 30,291,392 units...]
[Congratulations on taking out the Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture cultivation results... Remaining Primal Energy: 25,791,392 units...]
[Congratulations on taking out the Spirit Realm, Fifty-Five Thousand Miles... Remaining Primal Energy: 25,241,392 units...]
[Congratulations on taking out the Alchemy Insights... Remaining Primal Energy: 24,791,392 units...]
With the four consecutive prompts, the aura around Awakening began to change.
His cultivation realm directly broke through from late-stage Golden Immortal, Eighth Stage to mid-stage Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage!
The Primal Energy Tree within his body grew by 1.1 zhang... the Spirit Realm range further expanded...
A massive amount of alchemy memories and experience flooded into Awakening's mind.
After a full quarter of an hour, with the help of the simulator, Awakening gradually grasped the newly obtained power.
Frowning slightly, Awakening murmured:
"As my cultivation improves... the time it takes to adapt to each cultivation feedback is getting longer and longer..."
"After the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, cultivation breakthroughs probably won't be instantaneous feedback anymore..."
At lower realms, Awakening hadn't sensed any bottlenecks in cultivation breakthroughs.
Every cultivation feedback was almost instantaneous.
But as Awakening's realm became higher, after breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm, he clearly felt that he had touched a ceiling.
Both mastering his strength and receiving cultivation feedback required a certain amount of time.
"But this is reasonable... if it really remained unchanged, if the cultivation feedback was always instantaneous, even directly reaching the Da Luo realm..."
"Then I'd really have to think about what level of existence the simulator is..."
"Even a Saint wouldn't be able to do that, right?"
Awakening thought to himself.
Looking at the simulation panel, Awakening muttered:
"I have one more simulation opportunity left... and I have over 20 million units of Primal Energy remaining, so it's time to start the next simulation!"
"In this simulation, I won't need to rely on the Passerby talent anymore... based on the principle of maximizing benefits, it's time to continue trading with Qingyunzi and joining the Tianji Pavilion..."
Awakening quickly formulated a plan in his mind.
"And... I should also consider the matter of advancing to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm!"
Awakening looked at the cultivation realm section on the panel.
[Cultivation Realm]: Golden Immortal, Ninth Stage (Mid-Stage), Great Shaman Body Tempering Scripture Sixth Stage, Perfection (7.7 zhang)
After over ten simulations, Awakening's cultivation had finally approached the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.
"But... breaking through from Golden Immortal to Taiyi Golden Immortal isn't that easy..."
Awakening closed his eyes slightly, recalling the advancement method Baidi had told him.
At the Xuan Immortal realm, one gathers the Five Qi within their chest.
At the Golden Immortal realm, one gathers the Three Flowers atop their head...
And at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, one must overcome the most terrifying disaster for cultivators... even more terrifying than thunder tribulations or wind disasters, by dozens of times.
That is... the Five Decays of Heaven and Man!
After reaching the Golden Immortal realm, every 3,600 years, one will experience a Five Decay of Heaven and Man.
As far as Awakening knew, the Five Decays of Heaven and Man were:
1. Decay of Filth: Immortals are immune to all poisons and are untainted by dust.
Even the lowest Human Immortals don't need to worry about dust staining their skin or dirt soiling their clothes.
Only when a cultivator is nearing the end of their lifespan will they develop filth.
At this time, the cultivator has reached the end of their life, and no medicine or even a Da Luo can save them...
But after the Golden Immortal realm, once the Decay of Filth appears, it will last for 3,600 years, weakening their spiritual energy and making their divine abilities difficult to use.
At this time, the cultivator's strength will be greatly reduced.
2. Decay of Withered Flowers:
A Golden Immortal's 3,000 strands of black hair will turn white, lasting for 3,600 years.
During this time, the cultivator's cultivation and combat strength will continue to decline significantly.
3. Decay of Armpit Fur:
When experiencing this decay, immortals will sweat under their armpits, their physical strength will be exhausted, and their overall strength will be reduced to a tenth.
The body is delicate and pure. Only when an immortal's blessings are exhausted and their lifespan is coming to an end will their armpits naturally sweat.
4. Decay of Foul Odor:
Immortal bodies carry a refreshing fragrance, without any foul smell.
But when experiencing this decay, even a Golden Immortal will emit a "old person's odor," a sign of nearing the end of their lifespan. If they want to overcome it, it still takes 3,600 years.
5. Decay of Self-Loathing:
This is the most dangerous of the Five Decays.
When experiencing this decay, a Golden Immortal will feel extreme disgust towards themselves, unable to control their aversion to their own existence, leading to extreme laziness, neglecting cultivation and mental refinement...
The Decay of Self-Loathing also lasts for 3,600 years!
"The Five Decays of Heaven and Man, even Golden Immortals face the risk of death... only by overcoming the Five Decays can one attain the Taiyi Dao fruit!"
Awakening murmured softly.
(End of Chapter)