Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing wore a solemn expression.
Demonic beast bloodlines were divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, Earth-grade, Heaven-grade, and the legendary True Spirit grade.
True Spirit bloodlines originated from divine beasts and immortal beasts.
For instance, True Dragons, Heavenly Phoenixes, and the Kunpeng.
Of course, true divine beasts of the True Spirit lineages had long since gone extinct, whether in ancient times or the current near-ancient era.
All that remained in the world were descendants with exceedingly thin traces of their blood.
Even so, if a demonic beast possessed a True Spirit bloodline and managed to awaken it, its ascension to a Tier 4 Beast King was practically guaranteed.
It could even reach staggering heights within the fourth tier.
After all, even a demonic beast with a Heaven-grade bloodline was not guaranteed to become a Tier 4 Beast King.
True Spirit bloodlines were entirely different. The terrifying power originating from a divine beast, even reduced to a single thread, could unleash potential rarely seen in the world.
"A True Spirit bloodline..."
Zhou Qing narrowed his eyes.
Human cultivators respected only raw strength.
Among demonic beasts, however, bloodline suppression existed alongside sheer power.
A True Spirit demonic beast at the Tier Three Initial Stage could hope to retreat unscathed when facing a late Tier Three Heaven-grade beast, or even challenge it directly.
In the presence of a higher-tier bloodline, a Heaven-grade demonic beast would find its strength suppressed.
This was completely impossible among human cultivators. A cultivator at the Golden Core Early Stage challenging a Grand Master at the Core Formation Late Stage? Even a Master with a Flawless Golden Core couldn't pull that off.
Furthermore, a True Spirit demonic beast would inherit innate divine abilities buried deep within its blood. Even without bloodline suppression, its strength would reign supreme among its peers.
"If a True Spirit Beast King was truly born in the depths of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range, it would undoubtedly be able to command the countless demonic beasts across the entire range..."
A chill ran through Zhou Qing's heart.
The female cultivator in the green dress had also mentioned that this True Spirit Beast King leaned toward slaughter and destruction... The Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range bred countless demonic beasts, and there were traces of Beast Kings in its deepest reaches.
It was only because the True Monarchs of the surrounding large regions suppressed them that the demonic beasts in the mountain range hadn't caused any disastrous impact.
But now? If a True Spirit Beast King truly emerged, could the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the surrounding regions still keep them in check?
During the final few years of his third simulation, Zhou Qing had vaguely heard rumors of a demonic beast riot in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.
After all, with countless demonic beasts inhabiting the mountain range, a minor riot was perfectly normal.
But looking at it now, perhaps that was an omen?
"No matter what moves that True Spirit Beast King in the depths of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range makes, I will be able to see them clearly in this simulation..." Zhou Qing thought to himself.
He wasn't afraid of danger; he had countless opportunities to start over.
["I wonder if Fellow Daoist Jiang knows roughly when that True Spirit Beast King will grow to its peak?"]
[You asked.]
[That Xuan Venerable of Xuanwang Island was certainly not simple. Being millions of miles away, he could still know the situation in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range.]
[Naturally, you wanted to take this opportunity to ask for more information.]
["At least several decades, at most two hundred years."]
[The female cultivator in the green dress thought for a moment. "Even with a thin True Spirit bloodline, it still takes time to grow."]
[The female cultivator shifted the conversation. "Fellow Daoist Wang, this Taiyuan Region won't be safe over the next few decades to two hundred years. You might as well join our Xuanwang Island. Rest assured, we can negotiate your compensation. I promise you won't be shortchanged."]
[She was sincerely trying to recruit you.]
[After all, high-level alchemists were extremely sought after in any faction.]
[Through those few Flower Moon Pills just now, the female cultivator clearly understood that your alchemy skills surpassed those of the peak low-grade third-tier alchemist in the Jiang family of Xuanwang Island.]
[Although the Jiang family's word was law on Xuanwang Island, they were still kept in check by the Wan family. If you joined, even if you couldn't completely suppress the Wan family, you could at least provide substantial assistance to the Jiang family.]
[In the long run, there would be hope of overtaking the Wan family.]
["I will think about it."]
[You said with a smile.]
[If you hadn't experienced the third simulation, you might have been tempted right now.]
[After all, for you, the longer you lived in the simulation, the more it would help you in future simulations.]
[You would never let yourself fall into a dangerous situation.]
[During the war between the two regions, you had firmly hidden in the rear of the Taiyuan Region, refusing to go to the front lines.]
[But through the last simulation, you knew very well that even if a major crisis was brewing in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range...]
[...nothing would happen within the next one or two hundred years.]
[You had personally experienced this in the third simulation.]
[So you weren't worried right now.]
[As for one or two hundred years from now? You wouldn't mind joining Xuanwang Island then.]
[According to the intelligence you had gathered about Xuanwang Island so far, this faction was quite good.]
[Although they did not exclude cultivators with unorthodox legacies—such as demonic cultivators, ghost cultivators, and soul cultivators—they emphasized order and rules.]
[You liked places with order and rules.]
["Once Fellow Daoist Wang has thought it through, you must contact me."]
[The female cultivator in the green dress felt a little regretful that she hadn't received any promises from you.]
[But she was already very satisfied; at least she had established a connection with you.]
[If you planned to join Xuanwang Island in the future, you would definitely prioritize the Jiang family over the Wan family.]
[In the forty-first year, you were fifty-seven years old.]
[You received the intelligence passed on by Master Huanglang.]
["After True Person Biyue came out of seclusion yesterday, she asked Master Huanglang about my affairs..."]
[You stroked your chin.]
[As for how Master Huanglang responded, naturally, he reported that everything was normal.]
[At the same time, the intelligence brought back by Master Huanglang mentioned that True Person Biyue was in a good mood and had rewarded him and her other disciples with several treasures.]
["A good mood?"]
[You fell into brief thought.]
[Judging others by yourself, you had a few guesses.]
[Had True Person Biyue broken through to the Core Formation Late Stage?]
[In the third simulation, when you were forty-five, True Person Biyue failed to break through to the late stage. The backlash triggered phenomena that allowed the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the immortal city to notice.]
[But your later experiences told you that True Person Biyue's breakthrough failure was likely intentional; her goal was to conceal her strength as a Grand Master.]
[It was highly likely that True Person Biyue had already stepped into the Core Formation Late Stage and become a Grand Master before that.]
[When cultivators broke through, it would only trigger phenomena in heaven and earth if they were crossing a major realm—such as from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, or from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation.]
[For breakthroughs within the same major realm, even from the mid stage to the late stage, the disturbance could be masked to be very small.]
[Unless the breakthrough failed and they suffered a backlash, losing control of their divine sense and magical power, outsiders wouldn't notice a thing.]
["A late-stage Grand Master..."]
[Your heart settled.]
[Having stepped into the Core Formation Late Stage, it was even more impossible for True Person Biyue to make a move against you.]
[Otherwise, if she revealed her strength as a late-stage Grand Master, she would likely have to head straight to Taiyuan Palace to see True Monarch Zixu.]
[In the third simulation, after True Person Biyue revealed her strength as a Grand Master, she had only managed to delay for a dozen years at most.]
[But now? Qi Sha Demonic Monarch hadn't yet become the new True Monarch. If True Person Biyue revealed her Grand Master strength, she definitely wouldn't be able to hold out for several decades.]
[In the forty-second year, you were fifty-eight years old.]
[Inside the Purple Bamboo Forest Cave Abode, you finished your cultivation.]
[Before you knew it, thirty years had passed since you stepped into the Core Formation Realm, and you had already completed three-fifths of the Golden Core Early Stage.]
[In twenty years at most, you would cultivate to the peak of the Golden Core Early Stage and step into the Golden Core Middle Stage.]
[During Core Formation cultivation, even an Upper-Grade Golden Core cultivator would need sixty to eighty years to go from just entering the early stage to reaching its peak.]
[The cultivation speed of a Flawless Golden Core surpassed that of an Upper-Grade Golden Core by nearly half; it could already be considered a qualitative change.]
[Moreover, the advantage of a Flawless Golden Core wasn't just reflected in cultivation speed, but in its ability to practically bypass all bottlenecks before the Nascent Soul realm.]
[A Lower-Grade Golden Core cultivator would likely need one to two hundred years to cultivate to the peak of the early stage.]
[You walked out of the cave dwelling.]
["Xiao Hei!"]
[You looked up and saw a large black eagle soaring high in the sky.]
[Not long ago, Xiao Hei successfully advanced to a Tier Two demonic beast and entered its maturity phase.]
[This was several years earlier than in the third simulation.]
[You naturally knew the reason: the cultivation environment of the Purple Bamboo Forest was a Tier Three Spiritual Vein dojo, which naturally far surpassed the alchemy tower in the immortal city from back then.]
[Xiao Hei's breakthrough was a normal one; it hadn't damaged its origin, nor would it affect its future advancement to a Tier 3 Great Demon.]
[Swoosh—]
[A handsome black eagle instantly descended, standing obediently by your side.]
[In terms of size, the Tier Two Xiao Hei stood a full three or four meters tall. Compared to it, you were tiny.]
[However, the massive Xiao Hei was incredibly obedient in front of you. As an Earth-grade bloodline demonic beast, its instincts told it that if the terrifying aura nurtured within your body were to erupt, even a thousand versions of itself would be turned to ash.]
[Not to mention, there was a master-servant contract between you and Xiao Hei.]
[You looked at Xiao Hei, feeling satisfied.]
[At this growth rate, Xiao Hei stepping into the late Tier Two stage would likely be advanced by a decade or two.]
[By then, you could directly help Xiao Hei assault Tier Three and ascend to become a Great Demon.]
[In the third simulation, it wasn't until you were a hundred and forty years old that Hundred Flowers Valley cultivated Xiao Hei into a Tier 3 Great Demon.]
[That was because the beast tamers of Hundred Flowers Valley needed to research how to maximize the chances of Xiao Hei reaching Tier Three.]
[They spent a massive amount of time in that regard.]
[But right now, having acquired Hundred Flowers Valley's final research results, you naturally wouldn't need to wait until you were past a hundred and forty to let Xiao Hei attempt Tier Three.]
[As a Golden Core Master, your eye for detail far surpassed what it had been during your Foundation Establishment phase; you knew very well where Xiao Hei's advantages lay.]
[And that was its potential.]
[As long as its potential was sufficient, growing to the late Tier Two stage was no different from waiting for decades at the late Tier Two stage.]
[The final result would be the same: stepping into Tier Three.]
["A flying Tier 3 Great Demon!"]
[You were in a good mood. This kind of spiritual pet could only be encountered by chance, not sought out. Moreover, with such a Great Demon by your side, if there were any dirty deeds to be done, you wouldn't need to call True Person Blood Sea back; letting Xiao Hei step forward would be enough.]
[An Earth-grade Dark Magic Eagle was best at hiding and launching sneak attacks; they were born assassins.]
[In the forty-third year, you were fifty-nine years old.]
[As usual, you received a letter from the Mortal Zhou family.]
["Zhou Hai..."]
[Your father, Zhou Shizhong, mentioned Zhou Hai in the letter.]
[He was your eldest brother Zhou Wen's favorite grandson, and he had been tested and found to possess a Mid-Grade Spirit Root.]
[Naturally, you knew everything about Zhou Hai.]
[In the previous simulation, Zhou Hai had even relied on himself to lead the Zhou family's rise, turning them into a Foundation Establishment family.]
["I'll just foster him a bit this time."]
[You thought to yourself casually.]
[With the knowledge from the previous simulations, you also knew that Zhou Hai was blessed with a bit of karmic luck.]
[Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to survive the later war between the two regions and ultimately reach the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.]
[Reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage with only a Mid-Grade Spirit Root? One could only imagine the opportunities Zhou Hai had found on the front lines.]
[Currently, the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce had many of these cultivators blessed with karmic luck who would rise to prominence in the coming years and decades.]
[Zhou Hai met the requirements to join the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce.]
[Coupled with Zhou Hai's relationship to you...]
[...you didn't mind lending a hand in passing.]
[Of course, even if you were helping in passing, you wouldn't let Zhou Hai know your identity.]
[You weren't sure what method you would choose to "actualize" your gains in your twilight years, so naturally, you would cut off ties with the Zhou family.]
[Half a year later, Zhou Hai, who only possessed a cultivation at the Qi Refining First Layer, looked at the magnificent Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce headquarters in the distance, feeling a wave of trepidation.]
[Any random cultivator entering or leaving was vastly stronger than him, and the auras they exuded were so oppressive that Zhou Hai could barely catch his breath.]
["Grand-uncle wants me to join the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce?"]
[Zhou Hai swallowed hard, completely lacking confidence.]
[Over half a year ago, he had been tested and found to have a Mid-Grade Spirit Root, causing the entire Zhou family to cheer.]
[His grandfather had told him that he needed to contact his third younger brother.]
[Only then did Zhou Hai learn that his grandfather's third younger brother was also an immortal cultivator.]
[It was just that he was busy cultivating and rarely returned.]
[Not long after, Zhou Hai's grandfather received a letter.]
[The contents of the letter told Zhou Hai to try and see if he could join the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce.]
[It said that the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce was currently recruiting and told him to give it a try.]
[Originally, Zhou Hai hadn't thought much of it, assuming the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce was just a small faction.]
[Having just entered the cultivation world, he didn't even know basic common sense, let alone the details of this faction or that faction.]
[But as he continually approached the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce's headquarters, pieces of information about the guild left Zhou Hai utterly shocked.]
[A Core Formation-level merchant guild... Its president, Master Qingyuan, was even a Tier Three alchemist...]
[If the location written in the letter hadn't matched perfectly, Zhou Hai wouldn't have dared to come over.]
["There might be a mistake. Am I even worthy of joining a faction like this...?"]
[Zhou Hai gathered his wits and took one last look at the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce's headquarters in the distance, planning to turn back.]
[Right at that moment.]
[A woman's voice drifted over.]
["Are you looking to join the guild?"]
[You Rou carefully sized up the timid Zhou Hai.]
[Not long ago, the president had told her to wait here today and invite the very first early Qi Refining cultivator she saw to join the guild.]
[You Rou had always just executed the president's orders without asking questions.]
[In the past, You Rou had also received some rather bizarre orders from the president.]
[Looking at the beautiful female cultivator who had suddenly appeared nearby, Zhou Hai didn't know what came over him, but he said as if possessed, "I want to join!"]
["Then come on in."]
[You Rou broke into a smile.]
[Following behind You Rou, Zhou Hai felt like he was in a dream. Had he really just joined the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce that his grand-uncle mentioned?]
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