56: Chapter 56 A Deadly Situation

By the time Su Jiuchuan returned to the inn, it was already late.

He pulled out the parchment scroll, which was indeed half of the Shouyang Scripture. This Shouyang Scripture was divided into three layers. According to the introduction, each layer corresponded to a Realm of the Innate. However, there was only the first layer here, which meant that it could at most allow one to reach the first Realm of the Xiantian Realm, the Pulse Condensation Realm.

The beginning of the scroll gave a brief overview of the Xiantian Realm. It turned out that the Ninth Grade to the First Grade was a process where a Martial Artist cultivated True Qi to clear the cosmic circulation. During this process, they tempered their body and expelled bodily Impurities.

Once they reached the First Grade Realm and their cosmic circulation was fully cleared, they needed to temper their True Qi—a process of purifying the True Qi. When the purification of the True Qi in the body was complete, it was the so-called First Grade Great Perfection, also known as Half-Step Innate.

Then, by compressing the True Qi in the body to the absolute limit, the True Qi would begin to liquefy, which was the Pulse Condensation Realm. Only upon reaching this point could one be considered to have truly entered the Xiantian Realm.

As for what lay beyond that Realm, it wasn't mentioned here, likely being in the destroyed portion.

Should he Cultivate it or not? Su Jiuchuan hesitated, fearing that he wouldn't be able to find the subsequent Cultivation Techniques.

There was a huge difference between the Xiantian Realm and the graded Realms. If one changed Cultivation Techniques in the graded Realms, they would at most have to spend some effort starting over. However, in the Xiantian Realm, because the True Qi had already liquefied, switching to another Cultivation Technique at this point was equivalent to crippling all of one's cultivation, and the Meridians would also be easily damaged. If that happened, he feared there would be no chance of ever entering the Innate in this lifetime.

But if he didn't Cultivate it, he would remain stuck at the First Grade forever. Cultivation Techniques for the Xiantian Realm were simply too difficult to obtain. And now that even a Gold Mine could harbor a monster of the Xiantian Realm, staying at the First Grade Realm really didn't give him much peace of mind.

Su Jiuchuan read the parchment scroll carefully once more, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Since the First Grade Great Perfection was only about purifying True Qi, he could use this part of the technique to reach Half-Step Innate first, and then use the simulator to try and find other Cultivation Techniques.

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. He immediately sat cross-legged and began to Cultivate according to the parchment scroll.

After a night had passed, Su Jiuchuan opened his eyes and let out a bitter smile. His body's Aptitude was truly terrible. After all this time, he hadn't felt even a single spark of progress.

It seemed that without the simulator, he really couldn't take a single step forward.

[Do you wish to use the Life Simulator? Each use consumes 10,000 money.]

Yes.

[At eighteen, you are already a First-grade Martial Artist.]

[You leave Tianshui City and find a place to Cultivate diligently.]

[Three months later, Young Master Lin Yanyi finds you and fights you again. By this time, he is already a Half-Step Innate. You are no match for him and are killed on the spot.]

Looking at this simulation result, Su Jiuchuan was stunned. How was this possible? His Sword Intent had been destroyed, yet he could still Breakthrough to Half-Step Innate in just three months?

[The simulation has ended. You may retain one of the following options.]

[1. Your martial arts Realm at eighteen.]

[2. Your martial arts experience at eighteen.]

[3. Your life wisdom at eighteen.]

Even mosquito legs are meat. He still chose option one.

Su Jiuchuan waited for a long time, but there was still no reaction in his body. Three months was still too short for him; he hadn't made any progress at all.

Again.

[At eighteen, you become a First-grade Martial Artist, and you obtain the Shouyang Scripture.]

[You leave Tianshui City and head to Mobei, where you find a place to Cultivate painstakingly.]

[Three months later, Young Master Lin Yanyi appears. You are killed by a single sword strike, dying at the age of eighteen.]

No way, I escaped all the way to the desert, and you still managed to find me.

This time, Su Jiuchuan chose his martial arts Realm again.

Instantly, the True Qi in his body surged and accelerated. He could clearly feel that the True Qi seemed a bit 'lighter'. Was this the feeling of True Qi purification?

In any case, there was finally some progress.

Let's continue.

[At eighteen, you have already become a First-grade Martial Artist, and you obtain the Shouyang Scripture.]

[You leave Tianshui City, arrive at the seaside, buy a boat, and head overseas.]

[Three months later, your boat is still sailing in the vast ocean when Young Master Lin Yanyi suddenly descends from the sky and appears on your boat. You duel him and ultimately die under his sword, dying at the age of eighteen.]

Even that works?

Su Jiuchuan was on the verge of a breakdown. Wasn't this cheating? Even after escaping to the sea, he could still descend from the sky.

How am I supposed to play this?

He stood up, pacing back and forth in the room in anger.

Who exactly is cheating here? Me or Young Master Lin Yanyi?

Calm down, calm down!

Su Jiuchuan took deep breaths repeatedly, and only after a long while did he calm his anger.

Based on his experience from previous simulations, it was impossible for a person to suddenly fly down from the sky. After all, the rules of this world still had to be followed.

Thus, there was only one possibility: the Lin family had a way to track his location. Once the time was ripe, they would have a Xiantian Martial Artist bring Young Master Lin Yanyi directly to find him.

This time, Su Jiuchuan continued to choose his martial arts Realm.

What should he do next?

Su Jiuchuan opened the System and checked his balance. There were still 330,008 points left.

Each simulation costs ten thousand taels. If he only lives for three months in each simulation, then his current money is only enough for ninety-nine months of simulation, which is less than nine years.

With his Aptitude, there was absolutely no way he could reach Half-Step Innate within nine years.

Wasn't that a dead end?

Su Jiuchuan was incredibly frustrated. These noble families were too powerful. He couldn't beat them, and he couldn't escape them.

It seemed he still had to get the silver from Squire Wang as soon as possible. Though that three hundred thousand taels would only buy him a few more years of simulation.

Thinking of this, he was no longer in the mood to continue simulating. He walked out of his room and came to the inn's lobby. It happened to be breakfast time, and there were quite a lot of people.

Su Jiuchuan had the waiter prepare some flatbread and soy milk, and began to eat.

“Have you heard? Squire Wang's family is actually going to auction off the Gold Mine, and the auction is happening today.”

“Is that true? If it were me, I wouldn't sell it even if it killed me. That's a family heirloom of wealth!”

“Who knows? Maybe they have too much money and don't want to make any more.”

...

As the people around him gossiped in hushed tones, Su Jiuchuan thought to himself that Squire Wang had moved quite fast. He had only found out about Wang Chenghu's death yesterday, and today he was already arranging the auction.

As for the common folk, how could they understand the inner workings of such matters? Whether a Gold Mine was wealth or poison depended entirely on whose hands it was in. If one lacked the ability to protect it, it was better to give it up.

Su Jiuchuan was almost certain that this auction would go for a low price. The reason Squire Wang was auctioning it off wasn't to make more money, but rather because if the Gold Mine was to be transferred, who would he transfer it to?

If he transferred it to one family, he would offend another. By the time the Gold Mine was handed over, he might not even be able to save his own life.

Squire Wang holding this auction was actually a smart move. It was equivalent to letting those powerful families negotiate in private; the auction process itself was a game of balancing interests.