I Have a Cultivation Simulator

Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing's spirits soared.

Before the second simulation, he had drawn up a comprehensive plan based on the intelligence gathered from his first run.

This secret realm was a crucial link in that plan.

The realm wouldn't just yield a profit for him in the current simulation.

If everything went smoothly...

...he could come back to harvest it during every future simulation.

It was the equivalent of a goose that laid golden eggs.

"The Cloud Sea Secret Realm..."

Detailed intelligence about the realm surfaced in Zhou Qing's mind.

During the initial years of its discovery, details regarding the Cloud Sea Secret Realm were considered highly classified and incredibly valuable. No cultivator was willing to share what they knew.

After all, holding the right intelligence meant securing massive gains inside the realm.

But as time passed, the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was gradually hollowed out. Fewer and fewer cultivators ventured inside to explore, and only then did its top-secret details spread to the public.

Such was the magic of time.

Given a few decades or centuries, even the most precious secrets could become common knowledge.

...

Secret realms were isolated spaces independent of the natural world. Once discovered, cultivators or factions would modify and utilize them, operating them as their own strongholds.

The Cloud Sea Secret Realm was one such stronghold, managed by a faction known as the Sea of Clouds Sect.

According to the information Zhou Qing had gathered in his first simulation, the Sea of Clouds Sect was a Core Formation-tier faction with profound foundations.

However, for unknown reasons, it had suddenly perished two to three hundred years ago. The vast majority of its disciples vanished, and the few survivors had essentially all died off over the passing centuries.

Even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators only had a maximum lifespan of two hundred years.

Most never even reached that limit, often passing away in their one hundred and nineties.

Two hundred years was the absolute ideal, requiring a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator to have suffered no hidden injuries or physical trauma.

Yet the cultivation world was fraught with peril. What Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could guarantee they would never be wounded? Even without battling peers of the same realm, hidden injuries were easily acquired during cultivation breakthroughs.

'Putting it like that, the cultivators who entered this secret realm in the first simulation definitely weren't just in the Qi Refining Realm...'

'After all, it's a realm left behind by a Core Formation-tier faction. Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would certainly be interested.'

Zhou Qing mused.

During the first simulation, his cultivation had been far too low. When the realm appeared, he had only been at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

Even though the realm's secrets became public knowledge decades later, it was still difficult to acquire intelligence that far exceeded his own cultivation realm.

'Never mind that. I'm not planning to monopolize all the resources in the Cloud Sea Secret Realm during this simulation anyway. I just need to keep my eyes on Ye Feng.'

Zhou Qing decided.

He might not be able to deal with those Qi Refining Late Stage experts and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

But couldn't he handle someone like Ye Feng, who was only in the early stages of Qi Refining?

He also intended to gather more intelligence regarding the Cloud Sea Secret Realm during this run.

In his previous simulation, his highest achievements had only been reaching the Qi Refining Fifth Layer and becoming a Mid-Grade Alchemist.

But this time, his baseline was the Qi Refining Late Stage and High-Grade Alchemist—a level far beyond his past self.

If he made a point to ask around, he was bound to uncover far more detailed information.

[News of the secret realm's appearance soon reached Wushan Market, sending the countless cultivators within into an uproar.]

[Cultivators trapped at bottlenecks, in particular, viewed the realm as their ultimate hope for a breakthrough.]

[For a time, masses of cultivators rushed toward the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.]

[You quietly monitored the developing situation. Everything played out exactly as it had in the first simulation.]

[At the Yun Family Alchemy Shop, Ye Feng knelt on the floor and pleaded in a low voice, "Alchemist Yun, with my spiritual root aptitude, I might not even reach the Qi Refining Late Stage in my entire life. Now that a secret realm has appeared, I beg you to grant me this chance..."]

[Cultivators with a Mid-Grade Spirit Root actually had a chance to reach the Qi Refining Late Stage and attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.]

[But that was only if they devoted all their time to cultivation.]

[As Alchemist Yun's apprentice, Ye Feng had to spend most of his time working for him, leaving hardly any time for his own training.]

["You're only at the Qi Refining Third Layer, yet you want to explore a secret realm? Do you have any idea how many cultivators far stronger than you have died on these expeditions?"]

[Alchemist Yun sat in the master seat, frowning down at Ye Feng.]

[He was genuinely considering Ye Feng's well-being. He had seen too many people like this apprentice—brimming with towering ambition, only to die silently in the dark.]

["If I really die exploring this realm, then that is simply my fate."]

[Ye Feng continued to plead.]

[Alchemist Yun fell silent, clearly turning the matter over in his mind.]

[You sat to the side, quietly watching Ye Feng grovel on the floor.]

["Brother Yun, every man has his own ambitions."]

[You spoke up.]

["Very well."]

[Alchemist Yun nodded.]

[He had already been half-inclined to let Ye Feng go anyway.]

[After all, if he refused and the boy harbored resentment, it would only cause Alchemist Yun headaches down the line.]

["Thank you, Alchemist Yun! Thank you, Alchemist Wang!"]

[Ye Feng kowtowed in gratitude.]

["Don't be so quick to thank me."]

[Alchemist Yun's face remained expressionless. "If you want me to dissolve the Spirit Contract, you need to compensate me with a hundred spirit stones."]

["Agreed."]

[Ye Feng agreed without hesitation.]

[With a wave of Alchemist Yun's hand, Ye Feng hurried off to scrape together the spirit stones.]

[You took the opportunity to take your leave as well.]

[On your way out of the shop, you deliberately walked past Ye Feng.]

["Greetings, Alchemist Wang."]

[Ye Feng immediately bowed. After all, you had just spoken up on his behalf.]

["Mm."]

[You patted his shoulder. "Make sure you come out of that secret realm alive."]

[Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, Ye Feng instantly replied, "Thank you, Alchemist Wang."]

[Little did he know, the moment you patted his shoulder, you planted three tracking spells on him.]

[Over the course of twenty years, you had cultivated three tracking spells, bringing all of them to the stage of great mastery several years ago.]

[Over the next few days, you continued to observe Ye Feng.]

[You were worried that without your intervention, Ye Feng might not be able to gather the full hundred spirit stones.]

[To your surprise, through sheer pestering and desperation, Ye Feng actually convinced a few other apprentices to lend him the spirit stones.]

[Seeing this, you began your own preparations.]

[First, you publicly announced that you would be going into closed-door cultivation.]

[Then, you concealed your aura, slipped out of your cave dwelling, and disguised yourself as a burly man in a bamboo hat.]

[You hid in a corner near the market exit.]

[Half a day later, you spotted Ye Feng leaving the market.]

[Ye Feng had also disguised himself, though naturally, he couldn't hide from you.]

[After exiting the market, Ye Feng headed straight toward the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.]

[You followed right behind him, laying in wait.]

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