159: Foundation Nine Levels

The banquet was a great success with the help of the Black Tortoise Demon General. The reputation of Bright Stream and the Flood Dragon Palace had been established. Most importantly, the two Qi Refinement Stage kings of the two streams neighboring Bright Stream—Little Chuan Stream and Nuanyang Stream—were willing to cede their territories, only hoping that Gu Yuchuan could provide them with some resource replenishment.

Gu Yuchuan was naturally willing. He gave each of them a top-grade magic tool, worth about a thousand Spirit Stones, and they happily handed over their territories. The streams managed by the Flood Dragon Palace went from one to three. However, since the three were connected, Gu Yuchuan unified their name as Bright Stream for convenience.

Now, with only a few days left before the dragon gate Selection Tournament, Gu Yuchuan decided to run another Simulation. He still didn't know what this dragon gate selection actually entailed; the unknown always left him feeling a bit uncertain.

He returned to his room and prepared to start the Simulation, lying down in his comfortable bed.

[Congratulations to the Host for starting the twenty-fifth Simulation. Beginning talent extraction.]

[Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling! The alarm is ringing to remind the Host to remember to wash your hands before drawing cards.]

It had been a long time since his last Simulation, and he had almost forgotten the procedure. Before drawing cards, one had to bathe and burn incense. He got up and took a thorough bath until he was clean all over, then lit the sandalwood incense he was accustomed to. Instantly, the bedroom was filled with a tranquil atmosphere, as if all troubles had vanished. Alright, time to start drawing cards. He hoped for a decent talent, though having just pulled a purple one last time, the probability wasn't very high.

[White Talent: Scale Reinforcement; White Talent: Swiftness; Green Talent: Toxic.]

Two whites and one green—at least it wasn't three whites. It wasn't the worst result. However, none of these three were particularly useful. He picked one at random and began the Simulation.

[Day 1: You consume a Wanhua Pill and begin to Cultivate. Your cultivation takes a step closer to the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, but the gap remains significant.]

[Day 2: You continue to Cultivate. You hope to advance to the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment before the dragon gate Assembly selection, so you spare no expense, using a large amount of Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills. However, today, you remain at the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment.]

[Day 3: You continue to Cultivate. Despite using every means at your disposal, you are still a tiny bit away from advancing to a Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment Cultivator. On this day, the Black Shark Demon King sends word for you to set out directly the following day.]

[Day 4: You arrive at the Cloud Sea Heavenly Palace once again, but this time, the Sky Fox is in charge. You do not see the Demon Venerable. Before the selection begins, the Sky Fox bestows a banquet, allowing you prodigies to get acquainted. The spirit fruits and spiritual wine at the banquet are all Tier 3 spiritual items. After consuming them, you successfully advance to the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, leaving you overjoyed.]

[Day 5: The selection officially begins. It turns out to be a battle within a Secret Realm using consciousness bodies. All methods can be used; dying counts as being eliminated but does not affect the Physical Body. This is truly a grand undertaking.]

[Day 6: You search for resources and kill prodigies within the Secret Realm. Your strength is indeed among the most powerful in the entire Foundation Establishment Stage. Even those at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment with a Purple Mansion Dao Foundation are no match for you. You are like a god of slaughter, unstoppable.]

[Day 7: Three Cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment feel you are too much of a threat and unite to eliminate you first. After a bitter struggle, you emerge victorious, solidifying your status.]

[Day 8: You see the Ink Scale Demon General being hunted by a Cultivator at the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment. You help him kill the opponent, and the two of you begin to work together.]

[Day 9: The Secret Realm gradually shrinks, and all surviving prodigies slowly gather. The grand melee is about to begin. There are only twelve slots for the dragon gate. Eight are chosen based on battle records, and the remaining four are chosen based on comprehensive factors like Bloodline, Heart-Nature, Aptitude, and combat power. Everyone wants to perform better in their battle records.]

[Day 10: The grand melee begins. You and the other most powerful combatants are ganged up on first. They all know that if they don't get rid of you, they won't get good battle records. You transform into your true form and begin to resist. But of the prodigies who can appear here, who isn't a Spirit Beast? You kill many Spirit Beasts but eventually die under the siege.]

[Day 11: The selection ends. Your battle record ranks fifth. In the comprehensive ranking, the Ink Scale Demon General ranks second. The two of you actually obtain the qualification to enter the dragon gate together.]

[Day 12: The Demon Venerable meets the twelve of you prodigies in person and tells you again to work hard to find opportunities within the dragon gate. There have been peerless prodigies who became Exotic Beast Bloodlines within the dragon gate. Such Bloodlines can support the Yao Race in traveling far on the path of cultivation. After all, even the Demon Venerable and the Fox Immortal are merely Exotic Beasts.]

[Day 13: The dragon gate opens. You enter the dragon gate today and feel yourself transform into a Koi, attempting to leap over the dragon gate before you. You work tirelessly and finally leap over. You can feel your Bloodline becoming powerful in the dark. Suddenly, your body explodes and you die; your current cultivation cannot withstand such a massive benefit.]

Gu Yuchuan's mouth hung open in bewilderment. Wasn't this death a bit too casual? He had gone through so many hardships and finally leaped over the dragon gate, only for his Physical Body and strength to be unable to accept so much Bloodline energy, causing him to explode and die. This was far too pathetic.

He was gnashing his teeth in anger, but he also roughly understood how to solve this. He had two methods. The first was to suppress himself slightly when Leaping the Dragon Gate so as not to gain such a massive harvest. But this would definitely make him uncomfortable. He had prepared for so long precisely to gain a huge harvest when Leaping the Dragon Gate; making him hold back would be more painful than killing him.

The second solution was simpler: find a Body Refining Cultivation Technique to practice as soon as possible. He could use a few Simulation attempts to quickly reach Minor Achievement in Body Refining. By then, he would be better able to digest the Bloodline energy. Forget it, let's look at the rewards from this time first.

[Simulation ended. Survival time: 13 days. Cultivation: Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment. Bloodline: Mid-Grade Spirit Beast Hui Snake. Evaluation: A heart as greedy as a snake trying to swallow an elephant—is that Bloodline Power something you can swallow, you gluttonous brat? Reward: 115 divine dragon points (65 points for 13 days of survival, 50 points for advancing one layer in cultivation).]

[Rewards available for exchange: Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment cultivation (100 divine dragon points). Would you like to exchange?]

He clicked exchange immediately. This Simulation finally yielded some results. Becoming a Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be very useful in future battles. Now, he needed to find a Body Refining Cultivation Technique.