Even with Third-Order High-Grade Divination, it remained difficult to divine information at the Tier 4 Nascent Soul level.
When such information was involved, however, Zhou Qing could sense that something was amiss ahead of time.
Unless a Tier 4 Divination grandmaster specifically concealed and obscured the heavenly secrets, Zhou Qing could almost always detect the anomaly in advance.
Third-Order High-Grade Divination was only one step away from Tier 4.
He could more or less perceive traces left at the Tier 4 level.
'Divination is simply too perfect for me...'
Zhou Qing sighed to himself.
Divination was not omnipotent. Divining a specific cultivator or object required a medium.
Without a medium, the difficulty of divination rose drastically.
Divining out of thin air without a medium would cause the difficulty to skyrocket. Unless he burned his lifespan for a deep divination, he would gain almost nothing.
Even if he did burn his lifespan, the results would likely still be vague.
In the path of Divination, a medium was crucial. It acted as a thread pointing the divination in the right direction.
And among the many mediums of Divination, "information" was one of them.
The more one knew and understood about the target, the easier the divination became.
Having gone through several simulations, Zhou Qing was perfectly clear on the future developments of the Taiyuan Region and the surrounding large regions. This information advantage allowed his divination to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
'The Dazhou Region... the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty...'
Zhou Qing was quite interested in the incredibly distant Dazhou Region.
However, he forcefully suppressed the urge to divine them with his current skills.
In Divination, divining a major figure or a taboo existence would trigger a backlash, thereby damaging one's lifespan.
The Dazhou Immortal Dynasty possessed a terrifying foundation. They might even have a Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator or a Tier 4 Divination grandmaster watching over them.
A casual divination could easily draw a backlash.
A moment later.
The puppets Zhou Qing had sent out returned.
They brought back the spoils from that group of bandit cultivators.
Zhou Qing glanced over the items. It wasn't much, but it was still a harvest.
As long as he didn't use them in reality, he could use them in every future simulation.
In this way, many drops make a shower, providing a steady boost to his cultivation journey.
'We are almost at the Barren Lands...'
Zhou Qing looked ahead and thought to himself.
The Tier 3 flight magical treasure he had forged had two advantages.
First, its flight speed was extremely fast.
Second, its concealment capabilities were very strong.
Its flaw was its weak defense. A casual strike from a Golden Core true person could shatter it.
However, with Zhou Qing at the helm, this flaw could be almost entirely ignored.
Besides, if its concealment was strong enough, a Golden Core true person wouldn't even detect it, let alone break it.
Over half a day later.
The ark smoothly left the Taiyuan Region and entered the Barren Lands.
The route Zhou Qing chose to leave the Taiyuan Region was extremely desolate.
He wouldn't frequently run into other cultivators.
Had he taken a highly famous, established trade route, the chances of encountering cultivators would greatly increase, and he might even run straight into a Golden Core true person.
Within the Barren Lands, the spiritual energy was violent.
Qi Refining Stage cultivators could hardly cultivate normally here.
This was exactly why Nascent Soul True Monarchs needed to smooth out the spiritual veins and energy when establishing a large region.
No matter the region, Qi Refining Stage cultivators were always the foundation. Foundation Establishment Stage and Core Formation Stage cultivators all emerged from this massive base of Qi Refining Stage cultivators.
However, shielded by the ark's array formations, Li Yan didn't feel the harsh environment of the Barren Lands at all.
Two days later.
Zhou Qing successfully approached the vicinity of that hidden Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein.
Although he had visited this spiritual vein numerous times during the fourth simulation and understood it thoroughly...
...and had confirmed this place was safe enough.
But that was over a hundred years later in the simulation.
As for now?
He couldn't be entirely certain the spiritual vein was safe.
So Zhou Qing stuck to his old habit, sending puppets in to scout ahead.
So far, all the puppets Zhou Qing had crafted were at the Tier 2 level.
But with the Spirit Attachment Art, Zhou Qing could attach his divine sense to them. Regardless of how much combat strength they could display...
...in terms of observation and exploration, they far surpassed ordinary Core Formation Stage true persons.
Over half a day later.
Zhou Qing controlled the puppets to thoroughly investigate the hidden Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein inside and out several times. Only after confirming it was just as safe as it would be a hundred years later did he bring Li Yan inside.
Upon entering the spiritual vein's ashram, Zhou Qing immediately stepped off the ark.
Dense spiritual energy rushed at his face. Although it carried a certain violent quality, in the eyes of a quasi-True Monarch like Zhou Qing, it was no different from the spiritual energy inside a large region.
'The simulation cooldown time in a Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein environment...'
Zhou Qing looked at the illusory panel at the bottom of his vision with anticipation.
'Three months and eighteen days of cooldown...'
A smile appeared on Zhou Qing's face.
The cooldown time in the Tier 3 low-grade spiritual vein environment of the Purple Bamboo Forest had been nearly five months.
Now, this Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein environment had already shortened the cooldown time to three months and eighteen days.
'During the few days of travel, I spent the entire time on the ark, enjoying the Tier 3 low-grade spiritual vein environment. That means the full cooldown time in a Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein environment is roughly three months and twenty days...'
Zhou Qing calculated silently, in an excellent mood.
With a simulation every three months or so, the speed at which he grew stronger would reach a new height.
After all, for Zhou Qing, every simulation meant raising his cultivation by at least one major realm. If he were lucky, he might even advance several major realms.
'I need to set up a Spirit Gathering Array immediately to raise the density of this spiritual vein even further.'
Zhou Qing immediately began preparing.
With his current Third-Order High-Grade array dao skills, setting up a Spirit Gathering Array—even a Third-Order High-Grade one—was effortless.
Compared to grand arrays that combined defense, offense, and suppression, a Spirit Gathering Array was relatively simple. It merely gathered the spiritual vein's energy. Its effect was singular, making it easy to arrange.
One day later.
Zhou Qing successfully finished setting up the Third-Order High-Grade Spirit Gathering Array.
The area covered by the spiritual energy in this spiritual vein ashram shrank by more than half.
However, the density of the spiritual energy surged by an entire tier.
'A Tier 3 peak spiritual vein ashram environment...'
Zhou Qing was very familiar with this kind of spiritual vein environment. During the third simulation, his cave dwelling at the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce stronghold on Profound King Island possessed this very tier of spiritual energy.
At that time, Zhou Qing was the Vice Alliance Leader of the Commerce Alliance and the paramour of the Jiang Family Matriarch, enjoying numerous special privileges.
'The cooldown time in this spiritual vein environment is...'
'Three months and two days...'
Zhou Qing looked at the new countdown formed by illusory text at the bottom of his vision, a smile spreading across his face.
A cooldown of just over three months pushed the start of his next simulation forward by more than half a month again.
'Not bad at all.'
Zhou Qing nodded slightly.
It was well worth explicitly leaving the Taiyuan Region to come to these Barren Lands.
Compared to the nearly five-month full cooldown under a Tier 3 low-grade spiritual vein environment...
The cooldown time Zhou Qing now had to endure was only three months and a few days—shortened by almost two whole months.
'If a Tier 3 peak spiritual vein environment can shorten the simulation cooldown this much, what about a true Tier 4 spiritual vein environment?'
Zhou Qing looked expectant.
During the fourth simulation, when he was attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, Zhou Qing had experienced the sensation of a Tier 4 spiritual vein environment.
The spiritual energy was literally like water. A normal mortal living in such an environment could easily reach their natural lifespan limit without ever falling ill.
However, although the Zhou Qing in the simulation knew about the simulation, he couldn't see the illusory text. Naturally, he had no idea how much a Tier 4 spiritual vein environment shortened the simulation cooldown.
'A Tier 4 spiritual vein environment...'
Zhou Qing glanced in the direction of Profound King Island.
In reality, he definitely wouldn't go near Profound King Island.
After all, dealing with a Tier 4 Beast King carried enormous risks.
In the simulation, Zhou Qing had room for trial and error and was willing to take risks, but reality was different.
'I do know of one Tier 4 spiritual vein, though...'
Zhou Qing suddenly recalled the end of the third simulation. True Person Biyue had broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage, established the Moon Demon Domain in the Barren Lands, smoothed out the spiritual veins and energy, and widely invited demonic cultivators to settle there.
Daring to establish a large region meant there was definitely a Tier 4 spiritual vein there.
During the fourth simulation, the reason Zhou Qing didn't choose that Tier 4 spiritual vein to attempt his Nascent Soul breakthrough was because it was occupied by a pack of Third-Order Perfected Stage archdemons. Zhou Qing hadn't had the confidence to wipe them out at the time.
Furthermore, it was located deep within the Barren Lands, surrounded by danger. Attempting a Nascent Soul breakthrough would inevitably trigger heavenly phenomena that couldn't be hidden. If he were ambushed by archdemons of the same level during that crucial moment, he could easily fail on the verge of success.
However, while the Core Formation Stage Zhou Qing wasn't confident in sweeping through a pack of Third-Order Perfected Stage archdemons on that Tier 4 spiritual vein, once he stepped into the Nascent Soul Stage, it would naturally be effortless.
When the time came and Zhou Qing inherited his Nascent Soul Stage cultivation from the simulation, he could easily head to that Tier 4 spiritual vein and use it as a place to shorten his simulation cooldown.
When Zhou Qing occupied that Tier 4 spiritual vein, he certainly wouldn't do what True Monarch Biyue did and invite demonic cultivators from all over to settle there.
After successfully setting up the Spirit Gathering Array, Zhou Qing brought Li Yan out of the ark.
"This place..."
Li Yan's beautiful eyes gleamed as she faintly sensed the tremendous benefits the surrounding environment held for her.
'As expected of the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique...'
Zhou Qing observed her silently, discovering that the violent spiritual energy of the Barren Lands could still be slowly absorbed by Li Yan's Primordial Yin Treasure Physique.
Of course, this absorption was entirely passive.
But it had to be noted that Li Yan was currently only at the early Qi Refining stage.
'At the beginning of the world's creation, there was no such thing as smoothing out spiritual energy. The human cultivators of that era had no predecessors to look after them, so they had to grit their teeth and cultivate under the violent spiritual energy...'
'Among them, many possessors of treasure bodies and dao bodies were still able to advance by leaps and bounds in that violent spiritual energy environment...'
Various pieces of information and intelligence he had gathered during the past several simulations continuously surfaced in Zhou Qing's mind.
Things like smoothing out spiritual energy, the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Crystal Condensation Pill, the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, and so on...
...were all products that emerged much later to lower the cultivation difficulty for the masses.
But what about before that? Those human pioneers had none of this assistance. They could only rely on their innate talent and their will to seek the Dao, forcefully breaking through and stepping into higher realms on their own.
After moving to the new spiritual vein ashram, Li Yan began to busy herself.
The new spiritual vein ashram was completely bare, so she needed to arrange many things.
Although Li Yan's cultivation was low, she was clever and dexterous. Zhou Qing completely left these matters in her hands.
He even let Li Yan control the several Tier 2 puppets to help set up the cave dwelling.
In Zhou Qing's eyes, he would very likely live in this cave dwelling for a period during the fifth simulation. Having it arranged in advance would save him a lot of effort.
Time flowed on.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
"Grand array! Rise!"
Over this month, Zhou Qing had been busy setting up a Tier 3 grand array to enshroud the spiritual vein cave dwelling.
Although the area around the spiritual vein cave dwelling was veiled by a natural grand array, there was still a risk of it being discovered.
For instance, decades later, that Jiang Family Patriarch from Profound King Island would notice a clue when passing by. After careful exploration, he would finally discover the Tier 3 spiritual vein hidden here.
The Tier 3 grand array Zhou Qing set up perfectly merged with the original natural array, completely concealing this cave dwelling within the Barren Lands.
With Zhou Qing's Tier 3 grand array hiding it, let alone the Jiang Family Patriarch decades from now, even a Third-Order High-Grade array master would be hard-pressed to find anything unless they deliberately inspected and observed the area.
Third-Order High-Grade array masters were already extremely rare, high-end artisans. Even across an entire large region, there probably weren't many array masters of this caliber.
The former true person Sect Master of the Mountain and Sea Sect had extremely high attainments in the array dao, managing to seal a secret realm away for hundreds of years, yet his array dao skills had only been close to Third-Order Mid-Grade.
Third-Order High-Grade array dao skills? If Zhou Qing hadn't expended a massive amount of energy on it during the last hundred years of the fourth simulation, it would have been impossible for him to reach such a level.
Time flowed on.
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
'Smoothing out the spiritual vein...'
Zhou Qing sat deep underground, right beside the Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein.
He was attempting to smooth out this Third-Order High-Grade spiritual vein using his own magical power.
This was something only Nascent Soul True Monarchs would do.
It was just that Nascent Soul True Monarchs smoothed out Tier 4 spiritual veins—and large-scale Tier 4 spiritual veins at that.
Using a Tier 4 spiritual vein as the source, they would simultaneously smooth out the branch veins across a million-mile radius, calming the violent spiritual energy in the area so Qi Refining Stage cultivators could absorb it more easily.
'I am still far inferior to a True Monarch...'
Zhou Qing spent a full month smoothing it out, yet he only managed to make the spiritual energy covering a few dozen miles slightly more docile.
Compared to a Nascent Soul True Monarch smoothing out the spiritual energy over a million miles, the difference was like heaven and earth.
'Nascent Soul True Monarchs must rely on more than just their own power to smooth out spiritual veins...'
Zhou Qing vaguely guessed at the truth. By smoothing out the spiritual vein's energy, he was also attempting to edge closer to the level where true True Monarchs stood.
Before long, another month passed.
As usual, Zhou Qing arrived beside the sleeping Li Yan. Using his own divine sense, he engaged in spiritual communion with her, continuously deepening their connection and affection.
Over the past three months, Zhou Qing had done this once every night. With his current divine soul foundation—which surpassed that of a Core Formation Stage true person—engaging in spiritual communion with Li Yan meant his image in her heart was now practically indistinguishable from a deity.
After finishing the spiritual communion, Zhou Qing returned to his own cave dwelling.
'Finally...'
Zhou Qing gathered his focus and looked at the illusory text at the bottom of his vision.
[Simulation Count: 1]
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