Chapter 80 Returning to Familiar Places, Planning the Sunset

【Early February, winter had not yet receded.】

【More than a month had passed since the “Heart-Eroding Cult Incident.”】

【Inside the Teachers Apartment, the heating was ample.】

【You sat cross-legged on your Cultivation mat, looking at the nearly empty bottle of “Water Origin Sand” in your hand, your brows slightly furrowed.】

【“Too slow... it’s simply too slow.”】

【Over the past month, your Cultivation progress had shown a significant cliff-like drop.】

【In the first half of the month, relying on the spiritual gifts left by the Great Grandmaster after the “Heart-Eroding Cult” incident.】

【And the residual energy of the “illusory water lily” within your body.】

【You advanced like a hot knife through butter, opening 5 main orifices in one go.】

【That feeling of rapidly increasing power made you once think that the Origin Opening Realm was nothing more than this.】

【But in the latter half of the month, as the external forces were exhausted, relying only on steadily absorbing Origin Sand and refining your Qi and Blood.】

【Your speed instantly reverted to its original state.】

【For a full fifteen days, you Cultivated day and night without rest, consuming a large amount of resources provided by Liu Xiyue.】

【Yet, you barely managed to open the 6th main orifice.】

【Although the difficulty of opening a main orifice is indeed much greater than that of auxiliary and hidden orifices.】

【And when the number of orifices reaches 36, the speed of opening them will become faster and faster.】

【But all of this consumes resources, and the existing resources are like water without a source, they will only decrease with use.】

【“At this rate, to open all 144 orifices required by the 'Heavenly Sea Vast Waves Body Spirit Seed Origin Art'.”】

【“It would take at least three or four years, or even longer.”】

【You stood up, pacing back and forth in the room, your mind rapidly calculating the gains and losses.】

【“Although for an ordinary Kaiyuan Realm Expert, this is already divine speed.”】

【“Many graduates from top Martial Artist universities may not even reach Origin Opening Perfection before graduation.”】

【“But I don't want to be like this; in the simulator, I must take the fast lane.”】

【“After all, although Liu Xiyue's resources are abundant, they are stagnant water, and there will always be a day when they run out.”】

【“Once I fall into the situation of 'living off past gains', this game will be very difficult to play.”】

【Your gaze turned towards the window, looking at the distant southern sky.】

【That was the direction of Tiannan Province, and also the location of Sunset Canyon.】

【You recalled that scene from the last simulation.】

【A huge purple light pillar shot into the sky, the Inverted Mountain collapsed, and at least six dazzling dimensional secret treasures scattered throughout the canyon.】

【“If I could get a few more secret treasures of the same level as the 'heavenly river water lotus'.”】

【“Even if they were slightly inferior, they could still greatly boost my progress speed again.”】

【Of course, you also clearly remembered that chilling piece of information.】

【All Martial Artists near the central purple light pillar, including that Kaiyuan Realm Expert, the enshrinement.】

【All collectively disappeared and never returned.】

【“There must be a great terror hidden there.”】

【“But...”】

【Your eyes gradually sharpened.】

【“Opportunities always coexist with risks.”】

【“If I don't even dare to take such a risk in the simulator, then all these years I've been Cultivating Martial Arts.”】

【“And bitterly Cultivating the 'Vast Waves' intent, wouldn't it all be for naught?”】

【“The Martial Dao must be contended for!”】

【“If I don't contend for that piece of heavenly fortune, how can I go further on the future path of Martial Arts?”】

【Moreover, in this simulation, you've played the role of a “good student” in Longnan for too long.】

【Although your status was respected and revered, the innate desire for battle was almost impossible to suppress.】

【And the grudge from that punch in the last simulation hadn't been avenged yet.】

【“Extreme stillness breeds movement.”】

【“It's time to make a move.”】

【The next morning.】

【You found Wu Changhe.】

【At this time, due to Principal Liao Xianyu's passing and his “heroic performance” in the anti-cult operation.】

【He had been appointed as the new Principal of Longnan No. 1 High School.】

【“Teacher, I want to apply for 'off-campus Cultivation'.”】

【You placed a pre-written application form on the desk.】

【“My isolated Cultivation within the school has reached a Bottleneck.”】

【“I need to travel to famous mountains and great rivers, comprehend the true meaning of the Martial Dao, and lay a solid foundation for my future Martial Dao path.”】

【Wu Changhe looked at you, though he felt some reluctance and worry.】

【But he understood better than anyone that “true Dragons cannot be raised in a greenhouse.”】

【“Go, young eagles must leave the nest.”】

【With a flourish of his pen, he approved it.】

【Immediately after, you contacted Liu Xiyue.】

【“I'm going to Tiannan Province.”】

【“Advance me all of your Origin Sand quota for the next three months.”】

【Although Liu Xiyue was surprised by your urgency, she didn't ask further.】

【She now had unconditional trust in you.】

【She immediately arranged for the Liu Family's secret channels to send that batch of priceless resources to your designated safe house.】

【After doing all this, you boarded the high-speed rail to Chiyang County.】

【...】

【One day later, Tiannan Province, Chiyang County.】

【This small border county town, located at the junction of two provinces and adjacent to Sunset Canyon, was still as dilapidated and desolate as you remembered.】

【The February cold wind, carrying yellow sand, battered the old buildings, letting out a mournful wail.】

【You pulled your suitcase, skillfully navigating through a few alleys.】

【You arrived in front of an unoccupied old residential house on the outskirts of the county town, closest to the entrance of Sunset Canyon.】

【You took a look, then randomly went to the owner's house.】

【“Thump, thump, thump.”】

【The rusty iron gate made a dull sound.】

【After a while, the door opened.】

【A gaunt old man, wearing an old cotton vest and holding a pipe, poked his head out.】

【He squinted, sizing you up, a trace of vigilance and curiosity flashing in his eyes.】

【In this godforsaken place, you usually couldn't even see a ghost.】

【Why would such a fair-skinned, tender-looking young man come knocking?】

【“Renting?” The old man exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice hoarse.】

【“Yes. I want to rent for half a year.”】

【You put down your suitcase, a characteristic, harmless student smile on your face.】

【You pulled out a forged student ID from your pocket.】

【You borrowed the identity of the four university students you met by Taihu Lake in the last simulation.】

【“Hello, Grandpa, I'm a student from Jinling University's Archaeology Department.”】

【“My mentor said that Sunset Canyon here has some rare ancient geological relics and rock formations.”】

【“I specifically came here to do research for my graduation thesis.”】

【“Archaeology Department? University student?”】

【The old man looked at you suspiciously, then at the ID.】

【Although you wore plain glasses, looked refined, and spoke politely.】

【He still felt that something was off.】

【“Young man, it’s not that Grandpa wants to scare you.”】

【“This place isn't peaceful; there was a beast tide recently, and it hasn't recovered yet.”】

【“You, a scholar, coming here...”】

【Before the old man could finish his sentence, his voice suddenly caught in his throat.】

【Because you adjusted your Aura and glanced at him.】

【What kind of eyes were those?】

【Calm, profound, yet revealing a sharp edge that seemed capable of cutting skin.】

【That was the Aura of a Origin Opening Realm Martial Artist, of a true expert who had seen blood and killed people.】

【Although it was only fleeting, this Aura felt to an ordinary person.】

【Like being stared at by a fierce tiger, sending shivers down their spine.】

【This old man was an old Jianghu hand; what kind of people hadn't he seen? He was too familiar with such eyes.】

【“This is no frail scholar... this is a wolf in sheep's clothing.”】

【The old man's heart trembled, and he immediately changed his tone, extinguishing his pipe without daring to ask more questions.】

【“Ahem... Since you're doing great academic work, then stay here.”】

【He turned and went inside, bringing out a crumpled contract.】

【“Rent is one month's deposit and three months in advance, utilities are extra. Also, don't run into the deep mountains alone when you have nothing to do; no one will bury you if you die.”】

【“Understood, thank you, Grandpa.”】

【You reined in your Aura, your smile gentle, and casually pulled out a stack of brand new federation coin, placing them on the table.】

【The old man immediately led you to the vacant civilian house and tried the key.】

【Then came signing the contract, paying the money, and getting the key.】

【The old man counted the money, not daring to look at you again, and hurriedly left.】

【Just like that, you settled down in Chiyang County.】

【In the following days, you began to Cultivate your persona as an “Archaeology Department university student” here.】

【During the day, you would appear punctually at the Chiyang County library, which was almost empty except for the administrator.】

【You borrowed a large number of books such as “Chiyang County Annals,” “History of Geological Changes in Tiannan,” and “study of sunset canyon vegetation.”】

【You sat by the window in the reading room, flipping through the materials you had already memorized in the last simulation.】

【While sketching and writing in your notebook, you pretended to be diligently engaged in academic research.】

【In this small county town of only tens of thousands of people, news traveled fast.】

【This was a society of acquaintances.】

【Your presence quickly attracted the attention of those around you.】

【“Hey, have you heard? A university student moved into Old Wang's empty house.”】

【“Saw him, wears glasses, goes to the library every day, says he's here for archaeology.”】

【“Tsk tsk, students from famous universities are different, they can really sit still.”】

【As people frequently saw you entering and exiting the library, carrying thick books.】

【Your identity as a “top student in the Archaeology Department of Jinling University” gradually became established among the neighbors.】

【Everyone's curiosity about you slowly faded, and they just regarded you as a slightly eccentric bookworm.】

【This was the cover you wanted.】

【However, whenever night fell and the entire county town became silent.】

【That refined university student would disappear from Old Wang's rented house.】

【Replaced by a ghost dressed in black night clothes, carrying a large bag, moving through the night.】

【You avoided all surveillance and patrol teams, sweeping through the wilderness like a gust of wind.】

【Skillfully infiltrating the mist-shrouded Sunset Canyon.】

【This time, you were no longer the Eighth Stage of Qi and Blood who could only wander the periphery and pick up scraps by luck.】

【You were a Kaiyuan Realm Expert, a second-Awakened water-type Ability Martial Artist.】

【In this silent night, the hunter was patiently weaving his net.】