[It took you twenty years to improve the quality of one pill. How long will it take to improve it again?]
[However, recalling what Bai Ruoxue said—that the higher the quality of the golden pill, the higher the upper limit—you shook your head and began polishing the quality of the golden pill diligently.]
[In the forty-first year, you left the Death Desert. This time, you decided not to attack the dragon egg.]
[Every time you approached the dragon egg in the past, you attracted the demon dragon. You knew that once you attacked the dragon egg, the simulation would undoubtedly end.]
[This time, you planned to survive a while longer to have more time to improve the quality of the golden pill.]
[One day in the forty-third year, you reached the edge of the Death Desert.]
[Suddenly, you felt a tremor from the Death Desert behind you.]
[You realized your father, Jiang Fushan, was attempting to break into the guarded area once again.]
[You shook your head, thinking he likely wouldn't succeed.]
[After all, in previous simulations, you had seen the demon dragon return unscathed.]
[Reflecting further, you deduced that your father either escaped or perished in the battle.]
[Without dwelling on it, you continued your journey out of the desert.]
[But soon, you noticed something unusual. You saw people flying through the air.]
[Their destination appeared to be the direction of the demon dragon.]
[At this moment, you were shocked. How could there be so many immortal cultivators?]
[Were they all immortal slaves, here to assist the demon dragon in fighting your father, Jiang Fushan?]
[Soon, you witnessed another strange occurrence in the desert. As these immortal cultivators appeared, countless demon pythons, each dozens of meters long, emerged and began battling them.]
[This sight terrified you. During your decades in the desert, you had only encountered ordinary beasts.]
[Except for one simulation, you had never encountered demon pythons of such size before.]
[And now, they were appearing in groups.]
[What shocked you further was that these demon pythons could fly—a hallmark ability of the Jindan stage.]
[You silently thanked your luck for never encountering them before. Otherwise, given that you were still polishing the quality of your golden pill and had yet to truly reach the perfected state of the Foundation Establishment stage, you would have undoubtedly perished.]
[Just the fact that these demon pythons could fly meant that, in a fight, you would only be able to attack them by jumping, leaving you almost no chance of winning.]
[You watched as the demon pythons and cultivators engaged in fierce combat.]
[The sight before you erased any doubts you had about the cultivators being immortal slaves.]
[From previous simulations, you had learned that immortal slaves belonged to the same faction as the demon dragon guarding the desert.]
[These demon pythons, living near the demon dragon's territory, were now attacking the cultivators. You concluded that they must be under the demon dragon's command.]
[Based on this inference, you surmised these cultivators must be local and had been hiding all this time.]
[But you couldn't understand why they would suddenly attack the Death Desert on such a large scale.]
[Suddenly, your thoughts turned to your father, Jiang Fushan.]
[In previous simulations, he had fought the demon dragon alone. These immortal cultivators were likely aligned with him.]
[This scenario made sense. These cultivators must have learned that someone could stand up to the demon dragon, prompting their current actions.]
[Alternatively, someone might have heard about the demon dragon's vulnerability and decided to take the opportunity to escape, hoping to avoid the desert altogether.]
[You concluded that this must be the case.]
[You glanced at these cultivators and shook your head.]
[They didn't know what you already did—your father, Jiang Fushan, was likely no match for the demon dragon.]
[In previous simulations, the demon dragon had always returned to its nest unharmed.]
[You reasoned that while the demon dragon's return could have been due to your meddling with the dragon eggs, if your father hadn't been defeated, the demon dragon wouldn't have easily left the fight.]
[But based on what Bai Ruoxue had said, the purpose of these beasts was to guard the rift in the formation encircling the southern region.]
[Therefore, it wouldn't allow anyone to pass.]
[You ignored the others and continued toward the desert's edge.]
[By now, you were so close to leaving the Death Desert that it took less than a day to completely exit.]
[As you walked, the sight of verdant mountains and clear waters greeted you. You took a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief.]
[Decades of solitary cultivation in the desert had weighed heavily on you. Even though you had stayed in an oasis, the endless yellow sands left you feeling oppressed.]
[While you were lost in thought, you heard footsteps behind you.]
[Turning around, you saw a stranger dressed in black walking toward you.]
[He fixed you with a cold gaze, slowly drew his sword, and murmured, "Don't blame me. You weren't meant to know about the affairs of the immortal cultivators."]
[Your heart clenched, and you instantly realized that this person must be an immortal slave.]
[His words also made sense—you could still vaguely see the fierce battles of the cultivators in the Death Desert.]
[Instinctively, you grabbed the teleportation jade plate hanging at your waist, ready to flee.]
[But as you watched the man in black charge at you, you hesitated and dismissed the idea of escaping.]
[You suddenly realized you had overestimated the strength of the immortal slaves.]
[The man in black didn't fly but ran to attack you, clearly indicating that he hadn't reached the Jindan stage.]
[This revelation calmed you. It also explained why, despite seeing so many cultivators flying by, he had chosen to target you—a "mortal" disguised with a breath-concealing talisman.]
[You decided that since this man wasn't a Jindan stage master, your perfected Foundation Establishment strength might be enough to fight him.]
[It was a good chance to test your abilities.]
[Even if you lost, you figured you could still activate the teleportation jade plate and escape.]
[The man in black didn't realize your intentions. Assuming you were just a scared mortal, he approached confidently.]
[As he neared, you gathered all the spiritual energy in your sea of qi and unleashed a powerful punch.]
[This was your first actual battle. Unskilled, you poured all the spiritual energy in your sea of qi into this single strike.]
[As you threw the punch, you felt your entire body drained, leaving you momentarily weak.]
[You watched your punch, imbued with immense spiritual energy, sweep directly toward the man in black.]