"Heavenly Infant Fruit!"
Outside the simulation, a look of anticipation crossed Zhou Qing's face.
For this simulation, the Heavenly Infant Fruit was his primary goal.
This was a high-tier Nascent Soul-condensing spiritual item, on par with a Nascent Soul Pill... or rather, a Nascent Soul Formation Pill.
After four simulations and hundreds of years, Zhou Qing understood all too well how incredibly difficult it was to obtain a Nascent Soul-condensing spiritual item.
Let alone high-tier ones, even the most ordinary Nascent Soul-condensing spiritual item was exceptionally rare, enough to make a group of Late-Stage Great True Persons fight to the death over it.
During the century-long regional war in his third simulation, the Taiyuan Region had lost several Core Formation True Persons.
Were those Core Formation True Persons fools? Did they actively charge into danger knowing the risks?
The reason was simple: Taiyuan Palace had offered up a few ordinary Nascent Soul-condensing spiritual items.
The Heavenly Infant Fruit was one.
The first wisp of Primordial Yin Qi from a Core Formation Stage Primordial Yin Treasure Physique could also be considered a mid-tier Nascent Soul-condensing spiritual item.
Additionally, during the upcoming century-long regional war, Zhou Qing knew of two decent Nascent Soul-condensing spiritual items that would appear.
Aside from these spiritual items, stepping into the Nascent Soul Stage required surviving a tribulation.
The Nascent Soul tribulation was divided into the standard Heavenly Thunder Tribulation and the Heart Demon Tribulation.
The Heart Demon Tribulation, in particular, was infamous for ignoring all aptitude and talent. Even the most astonishingly brilliant Nascent Soul seed could fall victim to it.
The Nascent Soul Heavenly Thunder Tribulation could be mitigated with tribulation-warding treasures, but the Heart Demon Tribulation?
Cultivators had to rely entirely on themselves. Only with an incomparably resolute heart toward the Dao could one hope to overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation and take their place as a true lord.
At the end of his second simulation, Zhou Qing had been rewarded with the purple-grade talent Indomitable Will, which had a high probability of helping him survive the Heart Demon Tribulation.
So far, the performance of this purple-grade talent had paled in comparison to Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators.
It merely enhanced his spiritual sense a little, making its utility far less obvious.
Of course, this was just Zhou Qing's speculation. Whether Indomitable Will would truly be effective against the Heart Demon Tribulation remained uncertain until he actually experienced it.
"Nascent Soul..." Zhou Qing murmured in a leisurely tone.
Whether in the Taiyuan Region, the Jiuyou Region, or the Zixiao Domain, only a Nascent Soul True Monarch could truly control their own destiny.
Rumor had it that in impossibly distant lands, there were super-regions overseen by multiple Nascent Soul True Monarchs, where true lords reigned supreme, looking down upon the masses.
Even in the ancient era, true lords were able to rule their own domains and roam the world unhindered.
Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, so-called spiritual root aptitudes and Gold Core qualities essentially ceased to matter.
True lords capable of stepping into the Nascent Soul Stage almost exclusively possessed earth spiritual roots, heavenly spiritual roots, or had formed High-Grade Gold Cores or Flawless Gold Cores.
Alternatively, they possessed some top-tier treasure body or dao body.
Without exception, they were the absolute prodigies of their era.
The legendary individuals said to possess immense destiny generally referred to this exact type of person.
Anyone who could step into the Nascent Soul Stage was a person of immense destiny.
Relying solely on innate aptitude and talent without numerous acquired opportunities to reach the Nascent Soul Stage? It was a complete fantasy!
[You gazed at the Taiyuan Region from afar, your mind completely tranquil.]
[Through Xiao Hei's shared vision, you had already seen True Lord Seven Fiends appear and devour a city full of cultivators. Then, True Monarch Zixu's Nascent Soul spirit body arrived. The two true lords fought savagely beneath the sky, their terrifying dharma power halos expanding across a hundred-li radius in a display so blinding that no Golden Core true person could look directly at it.]
[You did not immediately divine True Person Biyue's location.]
[Having just sold out millions of cultivators in the Taiyuan Region, True Person Biyue was likely still running for her life at this moment.]
[You planned to wait another two or three years until True Person Biyue had somewhat settled before performing your divination.]
[In the third simulation, True Person Biyue hadn't reappeared until the regional war was nearing its end, establishing the Moon Demon Domain in a distant, savage wasteland.]
[Her attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage would not happen for at least another ten or twenty years.]
[Only after the regional war officially began and True Monarch Zixu and True Lord Seven Fiends were pinned down would True Person Biyue dare to attempt her Nascent Soul breakthrough.]
[The absolute lifespan limit for the Core Formation Stage was five hundred years, with one's twilight years beginning after the age of four hundred.]
[However, any true person capable of reaching the Core Formation Stage generally possessed unique inheritances. Delaying the arrival of their twilight years and the decay of their blood vitality was not a difficult task.]
[During the Foundation Establishment Stage, the Mountain Sea dharma power cultivated from the Mountain Sea Art allowed you to sweep away anyone in the same realm.]
[But upon reaching the Core Formation Stage, the quality of your Mountain Sea dharma power could only be considered upper-tier. What truly allowed you to look down upon other true persons was your Flawless Gold Core.]
[After gazing toward the Taiyuan Region for a moment, you returned to your cave dwelling at the chamber of commerce outpost.]
[Sitting cross-legged, you began to review the methods at your disposal to deal with True Person Biyue.]
[First were the twenty Tier-3 high-grade dharma talismans in your dantian.]
[A Tier-3 high-grade dharma talisman could unleash an attack equivalent to a Late-Stage Great True Person. Stacking twenty of them together meant that even a peak Core Formation cultivator would have to tread carefully, not daring to face them head-on.]
[Next were the puppets you had spent heavily to purchase during your ten-plus years residing on Profound King Island: one Tier-3 high-grade puppet and two Tier-3 mid-grade puppets.]
[Your own puppet mastery was only at the Tier-3 low-grade level.]
[You purchased these higher-tier puppets firstly to serve as a trump card against True Person Biyue. A Tier-3 high-grade puppet could barely unleash the strength of a Late-Stage Great True Person, and coupled with its utter lack of fear of death...]
[Secondly, they provided material for you to dismantle, study, and comprehend, allowing you to improve your own puppet-crafting skills.]
[If you ever decided you no longer needed them, you could simply resell them. A high-quality puppet was essentially hard currency among cultivators.]
[Even on Profound King Island, where merchants from numerous regions gathered, Tier-3 high-grade puppets were exceedingly rare. You had paid an astronomical price to acquire this one.]
[Beyond talismans and puppets, True Person Blood Sea and Xiao Hei could also be considered helpers.]
[True Person Blood Sea was a Tier-3 mid-stage ghost cultivator. Pushed to the absolute limit, he could unleash a strike bordering on the power of a Late-Stage Great True Person.]
[Although Xiao Hei remained stuck at the Tier-3 early stage, he could still be of use launching sneak attacks from the shadows, at the very least serving to disrupt True Person Biyue.]
[Of course, your greatest trump card was yourself.]
[Your Flawless Gold Core mid-stage cultivation, combined with your Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators talent...]
[...was the true source of your confidence in scheming for the Heavenly Infant Fruit.]
[Over half a month later, a subtle shift occurred in the atmosphere on Profound King Island.]
[True Lord Seven Fiends appearing in the Taiyuan Region and devouring an entire city of cultivators in a single bite was an event Taiyuan Palace would undoubtedly try to suppress.]
[In the third simulation, Shen Lingxiu, despite being a Tier-2 array master, hadn't learned of the incident until months later.]
[However, the numerous chambers of commerce on Profound King Island boasted vast networks of contacts and had naturally caught wind of fragments of the truth ahead of time.]
[Many pieces of intelligence that were considered top-secret among Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators had already circulated widely in the true person circles.]
[True Lord Seven Fiends' actions were tantamount to declaring war on the Taiyuan Region. Moving forward, the scope of the regional war was essentially locked between the Jiuyou Region and the Taiyuan Region.]
[Under these circumstances, Profound King Island—being the largest neutral merchant faction situated directly between these two great regions—was destined to prosper.]
[Profound King Island's advantages lay in its geographical location and its profound foundation.]
[Nestled between the two regions, it attracted chambers of commerce from several neighboring domains. The staggering variety of medicinal pills, talismans, and weapons of war available far surpassed what any single region could offer.]
[As for its foundation... that was Venerable Xuan.]
[With Venerable Xuan present, Profound King Island did not fear regional true lords. Neither True Monarch Zixu nor True Lord Seven Fiends would dare make a move against the island.]
[For commercial trade to truly flourish, absolute safety had to be guaranteed.]
[Half a day later, Jiang Rong'er paid a visit.]
["Fellow Daoist Wang, the matriarch wishes to see you." Jiang Rong'er had a solemn expression, clearly aware of True Lord Seven Fiends devouring the city of cultivators.]
["Alright." You weren't surprised.]
[Once war broke out between the Taiyuan Region and the Jiuyou Region, Profound King Island was bound to become the focal point between the two domains. By then, your authority as vice leader of the merchant alliance would expand exponentially.]
[As one of the two ruling factions of Profound King Island, the Jiang Family naturally needed to ascertain their vice leader's intentions beforehand.]
[On Profound King Island, the Jiang Family and the Wan Family reigned supreme under Venerable Xuan's protection.]
[However, the numerous chambers of commerce were a force that couldn't be underestimated, implicitly striking a balance between the two sides.]
[The Jiang Family and the Wan Family provided the venue and protection, while the merchants from various regions supplied the pills, talismans, and other goods for trade.]
[If the Jiang and Wan families pushed too hard and caused the chambers to collectively boycott, Profound King Island's influence would plummet, resulting in ruin for everyone.]
[The merchants were not servants; they were collaborators.]
[Before long...]
[...you arrived at the Jiang Family estate and met the Jiang Family Matriarch.]
[The Jiang Family Matriarch was named Jiang Jixue, holding the Daoist title of True Person Xue, and possessed Late Golden Core Stage cultivation.]
[Adorned with a phoenix hairpin and dressed in a long white dress, Jiang Jixue cut a tall, elegant figure.]
[Her hair was styled in a towering cloud bun above beautifully arched eyebrows and a slender, graceful neck. Her radiant complexion and gentle poise left no room for any profane thoughts.]
["Greetings, True Person Xue."]
[Your gaze didn't linger as you spoke.]
[Admittedly, whether in terms of appearance or aura, Jiang Jixue ranked among the top three female cultivators you had ever seen.]
[She was the very definition of a dream woman for most male cultivators.]
[However, having lived day and night alongside Li Yan, the possessor of the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique, you had long developed a certain degree of immunity to beautiful women.]
["Alchemist Wang."]
[Jiang Jixue's eyes were like a vast lake. Exuding a unique aura, she observed you closely.]
[Jiang Jixue placed great importance on you. An alchemist capable of refining the Crystal Condensation Pill was a treasure to any faction, even a Nascent Soul-tier one.]
[This was precisely why she had overruled all opposition to cooperate with you using a more equitable spirit contract.]
["I wonder if Alchemist Wang has heard about the recent events in the Taiyuan Region?"]
[After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jiang Jixue got straight to the point.]
["The Taiyuan Region..." You nodded slightly, your expression grave. "I've just heard that True Lord Seven Fiends made an appearance there..."]
[News of this matter had already begun to circulate among Profound King Island's merchants, so it wasn't unusual for you to know.]
["Indeed..."]
[The corners of Jiang Jixue's lips curled up slightly. Your candor put her at ease; at the very least, it meant the rest of their conversation would go smoothly without the need to continuously probe each other.]
["The two sides in the regional war are all but confirmed to be the Taiyuan Region and the Jiuyou Region. Moving forward, our Profound King Island is expected to facilitate trade between these two domains..."]
[Her tone was mild, as though she were discussing something entirely unrelated to herself. "When the time comes, how does Vice Leader Wang intend to distribute the trading profits?"]
[In the eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators, Profound King Island's prosperity during the inter-regional war might seem entirely accidental, completely devoid of any prior warning.]
[But to the true upper-echelon cultivators, the moment the war was confirmed, they knew exactly what lay ahead for Profound King Island.]
["Rest assured, True Person Xue. During the impending regional war, out of the profits earned by all chambers on Profound King Island, three shares will go to the Jiang Family and three to the Wan Family. As for the remaining four... I will personally set aside an additional share for the Jiang Family..."]
[You replied immediately.]
[On paper, the Jiang Family and the Wan Family would each receive three shares of the profits, leaving the merchant alliance to divide the remaining four shares.]
[But in reality, the split would be four for the Jiang Family, three for the Wan Family, and three for the alliance.]
[It was inevitable that the Jiang and Wan families would take the lion's share; as the true masters of Profound King Island, they held all the actual leverage.]
[Without Venerable Xuan's protection, the island would be a ripe fruit for the taking by any true lord, leaving the merchants without any sense of security.]
["It seems Alchemist Wang becoming the vice leader of the merchant alliance is truly what everyone hoped for."]
[Jiang Jixue smiled sweetly, effectively approving your distribution plan.]
["However..." You hesitated slightly.]
["Whatever you wish to say, Alchemist Wang, just say it." Jiang Jixue was in high spirits, her gaze fixed entirely on you.]
["In the future, if I attempt my breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage, I hope to borrow the island's Tier-4 spiritual vein cave dwelling..." you said.]
[Beneath Profound King Island lay a Tier-4 spiritual vein.]
[Although this vein primarily supplied spiritual energy for Venerable Xuan's cultivation...]
[...the remaining spiritual energy was distributed across Profound King Island, forming numerous Tier-3 cave dwellings.]
[However, if the Jiang Family was willing to consolidate the spiritual energy from most of those Tier-3 caves, they could temporarily forge a true Tier-4 spiritual vein cave dwelling.]
["A Tier-4 spiritual vein cave dwelling..."]
[Jiang Jixue's beautiful eyes flickered before she finally gave a slight nod. "Of course."]
[Your having requests was actually the best outcome for the Jiang Family.]
[After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Jiang Jixue, you stood up and took your leave.]
[At the entrance of the Jiang Family estate, you ran into the Jiang Family Patriarch—Jiang Jixue's live-in son-in-law Dao companion.]
[The Jiang Family Patriarch possessed handsome features and carried an aura as vast and profound as the open sea.]
[Though merely a live-in son-in-law, he managed the Jiang Family's daily affairs with perfect order, proving he was a man of considerable capability.]
["Alchemist Wang."]
[The patriarch took the initiative to walk over and greet you. "How did your chat go?"]
["Everything has been settled with True Person Xue."]
[You didn't reveal any details. You could sense an underlying rift between the patriarch and the rest of the Jiang Family. Jiang Rong'er had gossiped about this live-in son-in-law before, mentioning that ever since he married into the Jiang Family, he hadn't even set foot in the matriarch's bedroom.]
[When it came to true matters of importance, Jiang Jixue was the one who had the final say.]
[The current patriarch was nothing more than a puppet she propped up to satisfy the Jiang Family's ancestral rules.]
[Time flowed on.]
[In the blink of an eye, over two years passed.]
[During this period, the tension between the Jiuyou Region and the Taiyuan Region reached a boiling point, with massive armies of cultivators from both sides amassing at the borders.]
[Inside your cave dwelling at the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce outpost on Profound King Island...]
[...you sat cross-legged, your eyes dark and profound as you withdrew the Tier-3 tortoiseshell.]
[Two or three years had passed since True Lord Seven Fiends devoured that city. By now, both True Monarch Zixu and True Lord Seven Fiends were stationed at the front lines of the war.]
[It was finally time to perform your divination, lock onto True Person Biyue's location, and claim your Heavenly Infant Fruit.]
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