97: Foundation Two

After lying down comfortably, he prepared to start the Simulation. Having arms was much more pleasant; he could use his hands to adjust his blanket, wrapping himself entirely in its warmth. Even as snakes with high cultivation, they still preferred warm environments; dark and damp places simply wouldn't do.

[Congratulations to the Host for starting the eighteenth Simulation. Now beginning the talent draw.]

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

He widened his eyes. He really had woken up too early today; his mind wasn't quite clear, and he had actually forgotten something as important as bathing and changing clothes before a draw. He couldn't let this happen next time.

He crawled out of his warm bed, washed his hands earnestly, and even used some incense. Then, he lit a stick of Agarwood in the room. This Agarwood didn't have any special effects other than smelling wonderful, like an orchid in a lonely valley. it made one feel as if they were in a canyon filled with blooming flowers, walking among them like a flower spirit.

After handling these matters, he settled back into his warm bed and began the Simulation. 'Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, please, let me get a good talent!'

[White talent: Scale Reinforcement; White talent: Swiftness; Blue talent: Spirit Gathering. (Able to absorb Spiritual Qi faster, increasing cultivation speed by thirty percent.)]

He slapped his tail happily, a smile spreading across his face. Good. As expected, he was a lucky little snake. This talent was extremely useful; at the very least, it would allow his cultivation to progress much more rapidly. It was a great talent. He selected it and began the Simulation.

[Day 1: You consume a Jiuhua Pill and begin cultivating. Under the dual effects of the Medicinal Pill and your talent, you feel your cultivation rising rapidly, drawing closer to the Second layer of Foundation Establishment.]

[Day 2: You take Bai Ming to find that Crocodile Great King. The Crocodile Great King does not back down; instead, he is extremely arrogant. You kill him with a casual strike and report the matter to the Black Tortoise Demon General.]

[Day 3: You continue to consume a Jiuhua Pill for cultivation. Finally, you achieve a Breakthrough to the Second layer of Foundation Establishment Realm. You are very happy. However, Bai Li requests an audience, stating that the Luck of the Flood Dragon Palace has been clouded by a layer of gray, and someone is plotting against you. You have no clear ideas and can only wait and see.]

[Day 4: Four demon generals descend upon Bright Stream, claiming someone reported you for the wanton slaughter of a king of the Cloud Sea Marsh. They intend to investigate you. You invoke the name of the Black Tortoise Demon General, and they do not dare to seize you directly.]

[Day 5: A rumor spreads throughout the outer reaches of the Cloud Sea Marsh, claiming that the Azure Scale Demon General of Bright Stream is slaughtering his own kind at will. Your reputation turns sour. You begin to investigate who is sabotaging you from the shadows, but you are unable to find any clarity.]

[Day 6: You continue to investigate the matter, but there are still no results.]

[Day 7: The four demon generals descend upon Bright Stream once more. Public opinion has pressured not only you but them as well. This time, no matter who you invoke, it is of no use. Facing four Late Foundation Establishment Stage demon generals, you know your resistance is futile. You are taken away by them.]

[Day 8: The Black Tortoise Demon General rushes back from the front line to try and save you. However, your deeds have spread throughout the outer Cloud Sea Marsh. With the public will as it is, you must die. Even though he invokes the Black Shark Demon King, he cannot save you.]

[Day 9: A dejected Black Tortoise Demon General comes to see you one last time. He says a Flower Demon King from the inner region of the Cloud Sea Marsh is adamantly demanding your execution. You cannot understand how you offended her. In the end, you die under the penalty.]

[This Simulation has ended. Survival time: nine days. Cultivation: Second layer of Foundation Establishment. Bloodline: Low-grade Spirit Beast Dragon Snake. Achievement Unlocked: Dou E's Grievance. Evaluation: Change your thinking, little snake. You can't even handle a public relations war; how embarrassing. Reward: 145 divine dragon points (45 points for surviving nine days, 50 points for the achievement, 50 points for advancing one layer in cultivation).]

He sat up straight in anger! As a modern person who had undergone Transmigration, he actually lost to a public relations war! Back when he was arguing with people on Weibo, he could take on a whole crowd by himself. To lose a PR war was an absolute disgrace.

And that Flower Demon King from the inner Cloud Sea Marsh—how had he offended her? He didn't know a single flower demon. It was truly frustrating; the opponent had actually spent so much time and effort to set such a massive trap for him. It was terrifying. He took out his little notebook and wrote down 'Flower Demon King.' Although that title might not be entirely accurate, he would record it for now. There would be a time for revenge.

He decided to look at the rewards first; the post-mortem analysis could wait a moment.

[Rewards available for exchange: Blue talent: Spirit Gathering (50 divine dragon points), Second layer of Foundation Establishment cultivation (50 divine dragon points).]

His harvest this time was 145 points; a mere hundred points was naturally spent to take everything. His Aura instantly became more substantial, a sign of his promotion to the Second layer of Foundation Establishment. He could feel his absorption of Spiritual Qi was even faster; it seemed this talent was indeed very powerful, making his progression much smoother.

Now, it was time for the post-mortem. From the moment he killed that Crocodile Great King, he had completely fallen into the trap, and his end was set on a path toward death. Therefore, the Crocodile Great King absolutely could not be killed. However, the opponent had bullied him at his own doorstep—a Qi Refinement Cultivator bullying a Foundation Establishment Cultivator—so he clearly couldn't ignore it. Otherwise, if rumors spread that he was a natural coward, it would also be detrimental to his development. Thus, he needed a long-term plan.

This point was actually easy to solve. After thinking for a short while, he came up with a counter-strategy. But while the Crocodile Great King was easy to deal with, the Demon King behind him was not. What was that Demon King's actual title? Why did she hate him so much? These were things that needed to be clarified. Furthermore, Gu Yuchuan thought that if the opponent wanted to play at PR wars, he should show her how someone from the Celestial Empire understood public opinion warfare.

But the prerequisite for all of this was first finding out who this Demon King was.

He had an idea regarding this: start with the Crocodile Great King. Capture him and see if he could interrogate him for information. Even if he couldn't get anything out of him, he had a series of subsequent methods. He wanted to see exactly what kind of creature this Demon King, who hid her head and showed her tail, really was.

He sat on his prayer mat in a huff and replaced the incense with a stick of Focusing Incense. This was an auxiliary cultivation incense of very high value. He began his cultivation; everything else would wait until he set out tomorrow. This time, he already had a solid plan and would certainly make them pay the price.