72: Chapter 72, the magical artifact Crimson Nightmare Bell, simulation ends.

[The Middle-aged Man responded with a grunt.]

["Zheng—"]

[A clear, resonant sword chime rang through the skies. A Flying Sword, its entire body shimmering with a cold cyan light, shot up from behind him and hovered in mid-air.]

[The Middle-aged Man tapped his toes lightly, landing steadily upon the Flying Sword. He looked down at you from on high, as well as the terrified guards and servants behind you, a cruel arc curling at the corners of his mouth.]

[The flying shuttle carried the old man, transforming into a streak of light, and sped straight toward Daliang Mountain.]

[The Middle-aged Man flipped one hand, and a palm-sized, blood-red bronze bell appeared in his palm.]

[The little bell was only the size of a fist, its body engraved with dense, intricate runes, with what looked like flames flowing across its surface.]

["To be able to die under an Immortal Magical Artifact is the honor of you Mortals."]

[The Middle-aged Man tossed the bronze bell into the air. The blood-red bronze bell grew with the wind, instantly becoming three zhang in size, hovering above Linyuan City. Dense, eerie runes lit up on the surface of the bell body.]

["Dong—!"]

[The Middle-aged Man pressed his fingers together like a sword and tapped the body of the bell from a distance.]

[There was no deafening roar, only a visible, dark red sound wave that spread wildly outward in a ring.]

[The moment the sound wave swept past, you felt as if a red-hot steel needle had been thrust into your mind. A searing, intense pain instantly tore through your nerves, and your vision was blinded by blood-red in an instant.]

["Urgh..." You groaned, your knees suddenly buckling, nearly collapsing to the ground as two streams of crimson blood gushed wildly from the corners of your eyes, your nostrils, and your ear canals.]

[The Taixu Visualization Method operated frantically, and the Great Grandmaster's True Qi roared within your body, desperately protecting your heart pulse, but that eerie sound wave ignored the defense of your Physical Body and pierced directly into your spirit.]

[You covered your ears tightly, but it was useless.]

[You turned your head with difficulty and looked around.]

[In the courtyard, those guards who were usually full of vitality did not even have time to let out a scream before they collapsed to the ground limply, as if their bones had been extracted. From their seven orifices, black blood sprayed like a fountain, their eyeballs bulging—a truly miserable state of death.]

[The front courtyard, the streets, the entire Linyuan City...]

[Dead silence.]

[With just a single chime of the bell, tens of thousands of Mortals in the city died suddenly.]

[Slaughtering the city.]

[No reason, no grudge, simply because they did not want a single whisper of information to leak out.]

[You gritted your teeth tightly, your mouth filled with the taste of blood. Grief, indignation, and killing intent surged wildly in your chest. You forced your strong Physical Body, trained to Perfection by the Green Vessel Hundred Forging Record, to stand straight.]

["Oh?" The Middle-aged Man in mid-air raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise in his eyes. "You can still stand after taking a hit from my 'Crimson Nightmare Bell'? Mortal martial arts, actually somewhat interesting."]

[You did not speak. The Great Grandmaster's True Qi was compressed to the limit in your palms. You suddenly stomped, shattering the bluestone on the ground, and your entire body shot into the sky like a cannonball, lunging straight at the Middle-aged Man in mid-air.]

["I want your life!"]

[You roared, your palms crossed, bringing with them a terrifying sonic boom that tore through the air, slapping fiercely toward his face.]

[This strike gathered all your cultivation as a Great Grandmaster in the Early Stage, sufficient to split mountains and crack rocks.]

[However, the Middle-aged Man merely looked at you with pity, as if looking at a mayfly attempting to shake an elephant.]

["Overestimating your own capabilities."]

[He did not even form a seal, merely moving his thoughts slightly.]

["Chi—"]

[A flash of cyan light streaked by.]

[It was too fast—too fast for your nerves to react, too fast for your Great Grandmaster intuition to be of any use.]

[You only felt a chill in your chest.]

[Looking down, that cyan Flying Sword had already pierced through your heart, not a single drop of blood staining the blade.]

[The strength in your body receded like a receding tide, your True Qi dissipated, and your body plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the pool of blood in the courtyard.]

[Your vision began to blur, and your life force faded rapidly.]

[In your final moment before death, you looked at the corpses filling the courtyard, a flash of relief crossing your heart: Fortunately... most of Stone and the others are now responsible for the operation of the Chamber of Commerce throughout Great Qing, and only a few remained in the city.]

[Immortal Cultivators...]

[These are the true Immortal Cultivators.]

[Simulation ended.]

The simulation space dissipated instantly, and your consciousness was pulled back violently after falling into an abyss.

The cramped, cold, and musty county jail once again occupied your senses.

"Phew..."

She let out a long breath, forcibly suppressing the lingering tremors deep within her Soul.

Too strong.

That was simply not a power that martial arts could contend with.

"Just because they saw them, heard two sentences, they would slaughter an entire city..." Lin Shuangwan's gaze gradually turned cold.

For the first time, she truly felt that the Cultivation World of this world was far more cruel and cold-blooded than she had imagined.

In the eyes of those high and mighty Immortal Cultivator Families, Mortals were not even as good as ants, merely dust that could be wiped away at will.

"However..." Lin Shuangwan narrowed her eyes, rapidly reviewing the earth-shattering intelligence she had obtained in the simulation.

Judging by the conversation and caution of the Li Family uncle and nephew, combined with the inscriptions she had seen in that cave earlier, that so-called "xiaoyang source fruit" was definitely not just a rare resource necessary for Foundation Establishment; it even directly determined the grade and combat power of a Cultivator after Foundation Establishment!

"Fourth-grade Foundation Establishment Immortal Master... this shows that there are grades to Foundation Establishment."

Lin Shuangwan's train of thought became completely clear.

She had to find Master Qingling's Immortal Cave before the two members of the Li Family arrived and intercept that "xiaoyang source fruit"!

Furthermore, as a Foundation Establishment stage Cultivator, Master Qingling's Immortal Cave, which he had set up before his death, must surely still contain many remnants of Immortal Cultivation items. Among them, there might be many Cultivation resources she could use, Cultivation Techniques, and intelligence regarding the Cultivation World.

Once she had the specific location of the Cultivation World, she would be able to travel to the Cultivation World herself, rather than remaining in the city like in her previous life, gambling on a miracle happening one day.

Just as Lin Shuangwan was deep in thought, the light screen before her flickered slightly, and the simulator panel began its settlement.

[Simulation duration: 37 years, 4 months, 12 days.]

[Cause of death: Killed by an Immortal Cultivator's Flying Sword.]

[Settlement evaluation: The host demonstrated extremely strong management skills and martial arts perseverance, establishing a force in the chaotic times and successfully breaking through to the Great Grandmaster stage. Facing a dimensionality-reduction strike from an irresistible Immortal Cultivator, you resisted, but the disparity in strength was too great.]

[Settlement rewards are as follows—]

[Reward 1: Complete retention of simulated memories—all memories of 37 years and 4 months.]

[Reward 2: Green Vessel Hundred Forging Record (Perfection), insights into the Great Grandmaster Early Stage True Qi, and related martial arts knowledge.]

[Reward 3: Great Grandmaster Early Stage martial arts cultivation.]

[Reward 4: Random high-quality trait draw chance × 1 (guaranteed blue quality or above).]

[Note: You may forgo all rewards except Reward 4 to exchange them for a random trait draw chance × 1.]

Lin Shuangwan's gaze swept across the panel. When she saw the change in Reward 4, her heart skipped a beat.

"Blue quality or above?"

A surge of wild joy welled up in her heart.

This meant that the minimum guarantee was a blue trait, and it was even possible to draw purple or gold!

Moreover, her simulator seemed to have no negative traits; every trait was a tangible benefit.

Blue quality traits had already benefited her immensely; if she could draw even higher-level traits...

Lin Shuangwan took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She scanned her panel once more, her gaze finally fixing on the very bottom.

[Remaining simulation attempts: 2]

Lin Shuangwan frowned slightly.

Of the initial five simulation opportunities provided, she had already used three, leaving only two.