"True Monarch Zixu... returned with heavy injuries..."
Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing felt a chill run down his spine.
The Two Regions War had raged for a century. True Monarch Zixu had clashed with the Seven Killings Demon Lord dozens of times without suffering any known injuries.
Yet he returned heavily injured just from venturing deep into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range?
Even if that True Spirit Bloodline Beast King had grown to the peak of the early fourth tier, it shouldn't have been able to inflict such severe injuries on True Monarch Zixu so easily.
Nascent Soul True Monarchs had always been absolute sea-calming divine needles. Whether in the Taiyuan Region or the surrounding great regions, true lords stood high above, looking down upon the masses.
'A massive event! This is a massive event!'
Zhou Qing reined in his thoughts and continued reading.
[You immediately realized the many repercussions True Monarch Zixu's heavy injuries would cause.]
[Although you had sold off most of the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce's properties over the years, your network in the Taiyuan Region remained intact.]
[Even without the Chamber of Commerce, you were still a High-Grade Alchemist. No faction or true person would dare underestimate you.]
[A few months later, you steadily received information regarding his foray into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range.]
[It turned out that True Monarch Zixu had not entered the mountains with his physical body, but rather with his Nascent Soul spirit body.]
[A Nascent Soul spirit body possessed extreme speed, far surpassing the flight speed of a true lord's physical form, giving it incredibly strong life-saving capabilities.]
[Since the end of the ancient era, Nascent Soul true lords had lost the key resources needed to support their spirit bodies, leaving them unable to roam the world freely in that form. As a result, most true lords would never let their Nascent Soul spirit bodies leave their physical shells unless absolutely necessary.]
[However, True Monarch Zixu had acquired an extremely rare Nascent Soul secret treasure—the Purple Bell he held in his soul's embrace, which protected it from external harm.]
[This gave him the confidence to send out his Nascent Soul to fight peers of the same realm.]
[He had done so when fighting True Lord Seven Fiends, and he had done so again when delving into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range.]
[However, an unexpected accident occurred during this expedition.]
[Deep within the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, a blood-red roc appeared. With a mere opening of its beak, it sent tremors through True Monarch Zixu's Nascent Soul.]
[If he hadn't retreated quickly and paid a disastrous price, he likely wouldn't have escaped with just heavy injuries.]
['A blood-red roc...']
[Your expression turned solemn. You immediately realized that this blood-red roc was highly likely the True Spirit Bloodline Beast King.]
[When True Monarch Zixu's Nascent Soul escaped the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, several Core Formation True Persons nearby witnessed the blood-red roc's massive silhouette.]
[The intelligence you gathered included an image of this very roc...]
['Judging by its appearance, it should be a descendant of the Heavenly Roc, a True Spirit Immortal Beast...']
[You pondered the matter and came to a conclusion. 'That blood-red roc must possess some innate divine ability that specifically targets spirit bodies. Otherwise, True Monarch Zixu wouldn't have suffered such a massive loss.']
[Ultimately, True Monarch Zixu was just too confident...]
[But on second thought, you realized he had his reasons for venturing in with only his Nascent Soul.]
[First, fourth-tier Beast Kings were known to roam the depths of the mountain range. Adding the True Spirit Bloodline Beast King into the mix meant there were at least two fourth-tier monsters deep inside.]
[If he entered as a Nascent Soul True Monarch and was ambushed by both Beast Kings, what then?]
[If he brought his physical body, it was highly likely it would be destroyed, leaving only his Nascent Soul to flee.]
[Conversely, by going in as a spirit body without a physical shell weighing him down, he held total initiative. He could stay or leave as he pleased.]
[The only thing he hadn't anticipated was how heavily that True Spirit Bloodline Beast King countered his Nascent Soul...]
['Thank goodness I sold the Chamber of Commerce in advance.']
[This thought surfaced in your mind after reviewing all the intelligence.]
[With True Monarch Zixu heavily injured, countless monsters in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range were growing restless.]
[It was entirely predictable that the various factions and cultivators in the Taiyuan Region would panic, likely sparking a mass exodus.]
[This would in turn cause the value of all properties in the region to plummet.]
[To any great region, a Nascent Soul True Monarch was the sea-calming divine needle. As long as they were unharmed, anything could be salvaged.]
[A century of the Two Regions War had claimed countless cultivators, yet because True Monarch Zixu remained, the Taiyuan Region stayed stable and retained the potential to wage war.]
[But now, he was heavily injured...]
[Year 210. You were 226 years old.]
[Following his retreat, several Third-Tier Great Monsters that had charged out of the Myriad Beast Mountain Range turned back instead of continuing their rampage.]
[Yet the suffocating pressure radiating from the depths of the mountain range still loomed over every true person in the Taiyuan Region.]
[It was obvious that True Monarch Zixu couldn't stop that entity in the depths. If it truly decided to charge out, who in the entire Taiyuan Region could hold it back?]
[For a time, many factions and cultivators began to plot an escape route, planning to migrate to other regions.]
[Of course, they couldn't state these plans openly, or they would face immediate suppression from Taiyuan Palace.]
[Whether he could stop the entity in the mountains or not, True Monarch Zixu still ruled the Taiyuan Region for now.]
[Year 211. You were 227 years old.]
[Dachun's thirty-year rest period had ended. You personally escorted him to Nether Mountain to begin the second phase of his trial.]
[During the three decades you kept him on Profound King Island, you studied his Ancient Saint Bloodline and taught him numerous body cultivation heritage arts.]
[These were techniques you had purchased over the years at the cost of countless spirit stones.]
[You intended to have your main body inherit them in preparation for future simulations.]
[Reproducing these secret heritage arts for Dachun cost you nothing.]
[In every regard, you wanted him to pass the second and even the third phase of his trial.]
[Once his strength surged, he would be of greater help to you.]
[Standing outside Nether Mountain, you watched him enter.]
[At the same time, you cast a distant gaze toward the Myriad Beast Mountain Range.]
[Nether Mountain was incredibly far from the mountain range. Even if that fourth-tier True Spirit Bloodline Beast King charged out right now, you would have plenty of time to evacuate.]
['The future...']
[You attempted to use the Hexagram Casting Art to divine the Taiyuan Region's future.]
[However, you found it entirely obscured, impossible to see through.]
[Because it involved a fourth-tier Beast King and a Nascent Soul True Monarch, your third-tier mid-grade Divination art could not glean a single fragment of information unless you sacrificed a massive amount of your lifespan.]
[Naturally, you refused to throw away your lifespan just to satisfy your curiosity.]
[After all, even without Divination, the future would eventually unfold before your eyes as time passed.]
[Compared to the Hexagram Casting Art, experiencing the future firsthand was far more accurate.]
[Year 214. You were 230 years old.]
[You finally crafted your first third-tier high-grade puppet.]
[Your puppetry had officially reached the third-tier high-grade level.]
[This was the third profession you had mastered at this grade.]
[Prior to this, your alchemy and talisman arts had both reached the third-tier high-grade level.]
['A third-tier high-grade puppet master can grasp the Spirit Attachment Art, allowing them to attach a sliver of divine sense to a puppet to roam over incredibly long distances...']
[A smile spread across your face.]
[And by long distances, it wasn't just a few thousand or even tens of thousands of li.]
[It meant extreme distances of hundreds of thousands, or even millions of li.]
[The Spirit Attachment Art was a secret puppetry technique that could only be executed at the third-tier high-grade level.]
[Legend had it that in the ancient era, there were puppet cultivators who abandoned their physical bodies, scattering their divine souls entirely across thousands of puppets, achieving immortality as long as their puppets remained.]
['From now on, I'll control puppet bodies to traverse the Taiyuan Region and beyond.']
[You thought to yourself.]
[Of course, the Spirit Attachment Art wasn't without its flaws.]
[The further the puppet was from your true body, the lower the strength it could display.]
[With your current soul strength, if the attached puppet traveled more than a million li from your main body, it could likely only exert power at the Early Golden Core Stage.]
[Elated by your breakthrough in puppetry, you sought out Li Yan for an in-depth exchange.]
[Months later.]
[Sitting cross-legged in your cave abode, you examined the thirty talismans radiating a terrifying aura within your dantian.]
[After centuries of nourishment, all thirty had transformed into fourth-tier low-grade talismans.]
[Of these, twenty were defensive.]
[If all twenty defensive fourth-tier low-grade talismans were activated at once, they could likely block a true Nascent Soul True Monarch for several breaths.]
[To a certain extent, this was your first method capable of touching the Nascent Soul level.]
['Next, to nurture these thirty talismans to the fourth-tier mid-grade... I will need 380 years...']
[You marveled inwardly. In 380 years, you would either fail your breakthrough—where your body dies and the Dao perishes—or you would step into the Nascent Soul Stage and take your place as a true lord.]
['The gap between low-grade and mid-grade is this massive. Does that mean the power gap between early-stage and mid-stage Nascent Soul True Monarchs is equally vast?']
[You speculated.]
[You had already gathered fragments of information regarding the early and mid stages of the realm. For instance, there were no mid-stage true lords in any of the nearby regions.]
[Also, if an early-stage true lord met a mid-stage true lord with murderous intent, the best-case scenario for the former was escaping with their spirit body.]
[But this was all hearsay; you had no concrete references for comparison.]
[Now, based on the gap between nurturing low-grade and mid-grade talismans, you glimpsed the true disparity.]
['Mid-stage true lords...']
[You steadied your mind and stopped dwelling on it.]
[Knowing secrets of the Nascent Soul realm held no meaning for you right now.]
[Year 224. You were 240 years old.]
[An old acquaintance from the Taiyuan Region came to visit.]
["True Person Jianlan!"]
[Looking at the heroic sword cultivator before you, you felt a tinge of emotion.]
[True Person Jianlan was a newly advanced true person from the Taiyuan Region's Golden Sword Sect, having broken through within the last fifty years.]
[You had maintained a good relationship with the Golden Sword Sect's True Person Sword Heart.]
[Unfortunately, True Person Sword Heart had passed away from old age over twenty years ago.]
[During the Two Regions War, in order to earn enough merit, True Person Sword Heart had engaged in several brutal battles with demonic true persons, sustaining many hidden injuries.]
[After the war ended, he used his merits to exchange for resources to break through to Late-Stage Great True Person.]
[However, he failed the breakthrough, causing his hidden injuries to erupt, and he died shortly after.]
[Sword cultivators were masters of offense, but they generally didn't live long.]
["I wonder what brings Fellow Daoist Jianlan here..."]
[You asked his purpose for coming.]
["Under the Sect Master's orders, I've migrated a group of our cultivators to take up permanent residence on Profound King Island. I hope Alchemist Wang can look after them..."]
[True Person Jianlan said, "Rest assured, Alchemist Wang. We will certainly compensate you handsomely..."]
['Migrating a group of sect cultivators to Profound King Island...']
[You immediately grasped the underlying meaning.]
[The Golden Sword Sect was pessimistic about the Taiyuan Region's future and was securing an escape route for itself.]
[Profound King Island was Venerable Xuan's territory. Since Venerable Xuan was also a fourth-tier Beast King, and the island was incredibly far from the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, it was undoubtedly safer than the Taiyuan Region.]
[The Golden Sword Sect was trying to preserve its final seeds.]
["Fellow Daoist Jianlan, has the situation deep in the Myriad Beast Mountain Range... truly grown this dire?"]
["Sigh..."]
[True Person Jianlan sighed. "It's all historical baggage."]
["If we had struck early to suppress that Beast King, things would never have reached this point..."]
[His tone was laced with reluctance and a faint trace of resentment toward the older generation of true persons.]
[If the previous generation had noticed the issue in time and intervened, their current generation wouldn't be facing this existential crisis.]
["..."]
[You fell silent, briefly recalling the conversation you had with True Person Sword Heart a century or two ago.]
[Year 215. You were 241 years old.]
[You went to the Jiang Family and, as usual, spent intimate time with Jiang Jixue.]
[After all these years, Jiang Jixue had already stepped down as matriarch to become the Jiang Family's new Grand Elder.]
[The current Jiang Family Patriarch was a male true person at the Mid Golden Core Stage—a distant grandnephew of hers.]
["Alchemist Wang..."]
[Jiang Jixue's eyes were as deep as a vast lake. Despite being together for so many years, she still called you 'Alchemist Wang.']
[You and Jiang Jixue went wild for several days, stopping only when she lay on your chest, too exhausted to move a single muscle.]
[Year 218. You were 244 years old.]
[With your secret assistance, that batch of Golden Sword Sect seed cultivators safely settled down on Profound King Island.]
[You had long since stepped down from your position as Vice Alliance Leader of the Merchant Alliance. Yet even without the title, with Venerable Xuan's tacit approval, your status on Profound King Island remained utterly unique, second to neither the Jiang Family nor the Wan Family.]
[Stepping forward to shelter a few dozen potential seed cultivators from the Golden Sword Sect was incredibly easy for you.]
[And through this matter, you finally obtained from the Golden Sword Sect an item you had been coveting for a very long time.]
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