I Have a Cultivation Simulator

[The healing and life-saving pills you refined were all low-grade and mid-grade.]

[The vast majority of cultivators entering the Cloud Sea Secret Realm were at the early stage of Qi Refining and the Qi Refining Middle Stage.]

[Consequently, the demand for low-grade and mid-grade healing and life-saving pills was also the greatest.]

[As for high-grade pills? You had not prepared many.]

[You knew very well that you should only earn the spirit stones suited for your current tier.]

[You were currently only a Qi Refining Mid-Stage Cultivator and a Mid-Grade Alchemist. If you suddenly sold too many high-grade pills in a short period,]

[it would inevitably draw the attention of those with ulterior motives. While Alchemist Yun would certainly be willing to protect you, you would definitely have to explain yourself to him.]

[Moreover, it would cost you a favor from him. You valued Alchemist Yun's favors highly and hoped to save them for a critical moment.]

[For instance, when attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in the future?]

[Unfortunately, due to his arrogant personality, he had failed.]

[If you were in Ye Feng's place, given your relationship with Alchemist Yun, not only would you likely succeed, but you would also gain far more benefits and convenience.]

[You would rather earn fewer spirit stones than negatively affect your relationship with Alchemist Yun.]

[Year 21. You were thirty-six years old. By continually selling healing and life-saving pills over the past year, you had earned roughly 6,000 spirit stones after deducting costs.]

[You knew very well that for the next three years, massive numbers of cultivators would continue entering the Cloud Sea Secret Realm, ensuring a steady demand for healing and life-saving pills.]

[At the same time, the artifact spirit of the Shanhai Ring awakened once again.]

["Kid, I see that your magic power is unfocused and your physical body is frail. In your current condition, even if you manage to cultivate to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, your attempt at Foundation Establishment will undoubtedly fail."]

[The Shanhai Ring's artifact spirit frowned after observing you closely.]

["Undoubtedly fail?"]

[Taken aback, you paused. You had not expected such an evaluation.]

["There are three trials to pass from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment: the Vitality Trial, the Magic Power Trial, and the Divine Sense Trial. Your divine sense barely passes muster, but the quality of your physical vitality and magic power is far too poor."]

[The artifact spirit hit the nail on the head.]

[Since you refined pills year-round and constantly exercised your divine sense, that aspect was passable.]

["Here is what we will do. I will give you a cultivation manual called the Shanhai Art. The magic power cultivated through this method is exceptionally heavy and dense, giving you a much higher chance of reaching Foundation Establishment compared to other methods of the same tier.]

["I will also pass you a body-tempering technique. Remember to cultivate that as well."]

[The artifact spirit gave a few more instructions before falling back into a deep slumber.]

[A look of emotion crossed your face; this was the benefit of having an elder's guidance.]

[For an ordinary itinerant cultivator, even if they luckily reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, their attempt at Foundation Establishment would end in guaranteed failure.]

[Those itinerant cultivators would likely go to their graves believing their failure was merely bad luck. Little did they know, their failure had been sealed the very moment they stepped onto the path of cultivation.]

[Amid your reflections, you noticed that the faint crimson threads on the Shanhai Ring had grown slightly more prominent.]

[Overall, however, the ring still appeared sky-blue; the crimson was only an insignificant fraction.]

[Year 22. You were thirty-seven years old. You smoothly converted all your magic power into Shanhai magic power.]

[The Shanhai magic power was exceptionally heavy and dense. After the conversion, your magic power, which had previously neared the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, was reduced to the level of having just entered the sixth layer.]

[Of course, cultivating the Shanhai Art consumed a great deal more resources than before, but you did not mind. By continually selling healing and life-saving pills, you currently had no shortage of spirit stones. Your income this year was once again no less than 6,000 spirit stones.]

[That evening, a beautiful female cultivator paid you a visit.]

["Here are the spirit stones from selling that batch of pills."]

[This beautiful female cultivator was You Rou, the deputy alliance leader of the Wushan Alchemy Alliance. The pills Zhou Qing sold were all distributed through Fairy You.]

["Many thanks, Alliance Leader You."]

[You put away the bag of spirit stones, did a quick count, and a smile broke across your face.]

[Selling pills to the cultivators entering the Cloud Sea Secret Realm naturally did not require you to show up in person, nor did you have the time to stake out outside the secret realm.]

[This was the foundation of your cooperation with You Rou. You handed the pills over to her, and she handled the sales, with the lion's share of the profits naturally going to you.]

["You are too polite, Alchemist Wang. The pills you provide are in high demand right now; they often sell out very quickly even with a markup of several tens of percent..."]

[You Rou possessed an elegant temperament, her eyes as clear as spring water. "I wonder if Alchemist Wang might be able to provide a few more?"]

["Probably not."]

[You shook your head. "Refining these pills takes time as well."]

[In reality, you still had a large stockpile of these pills on hand, but you could not possibly bring them all out at once.]

["I see."]

[You Rou nodded gently, not pressing further about the source of your pills.]

[They were merely low-grade and mid-grade pills; they were not worth an investigation from the deputy alliance leader of the Alchemy Alliance.]

[If they had been high-grade pills, it would be a different story. Across the entirety of Wushan Market and its surroundings, there were only so many High-Grade Alchemists, and every single one of them was quite famous.]

[Year 23. You were thirty-eight years old. Alchemist Yun also returned from Biyue Immortal City.]

[He had not stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm; evidently, his breakthrough had failed.]

[At Alchemist Yun's age, a failed breakthrough meant he was permanently cut off from the Foundation Establishment Realm. In a few more years, he would turn seventy, stepping into his twilight years as his physical vitality declined.]

[You did not disturb him, knowing he was definitely in a terrible mood.]

[It had been the same in the first simulation. After returning, Alchemist Yun had not seen anyone for a full six months.]

[You sighed internally. Even though Alchemist Yun had become a High-Grade Alchemist earlier in this simulation, giving him more time and energy to invest in your cultivation, his ultimate fate had not changed at all.]

[In other words, the bottleneck between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment was like a heavenly chasm, exceedingly difficult to cross.]

[Year 24. You were thirty-nine years old. By selling more healing and life-saving pills, you earned another 7,000 spirit stones.]

[In the three years since the Cloud Sea Secret Realm had appeared, you had earned a total of 19,000 spirit stones. The vast majority of cultivators would not see that many spirit stones in their entire lifetimes.]

[With ample spirit stones, you began purchasing higher-quality cultivation resources, and your progress in cultivating the Shanhai Art advanced methodically.]

[Year 25. You were forty years old. You earned another 7,000 spirit stones.]

[You knew that after four years of exploration, the Cloud Sea Secret Realm had basically been hollowed out. From now on, fewer and fewer cultivators would go in to explore, and the demand for healing and life-saving pills would return to normal levels.]

[Year 26. You were forty-one years old. You had finally progressed halfway through your cultivation of the Shanhai Art.]

[The Shanhai Ring's artifact spirit looked at you with a profound headache; your cultivation speed was clearly much slower than it had anticipated.]

[Year 27. You were forty-two years old. The artifact spirit gave you a few more pill recipes, all meant to accelerate cultivation speed during the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.]

[After experimenting for several months, you finally succeeded in refining them, further boosting your cultivation speed.]

[Year 28. You were forty-three years old. You drew close to the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.]

[Year 29. You were forty-four years old. You finally cultivated to the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.]

[At this point, the artifact spirit did not rush you. Instead, it told you to adjust your condition and not attempt a breakthrough lightly.]

[Year 30. You were forty-five years old. While adjusting your condition, you began preparing various resources for the breakthrough.]

[Advancing from the sixth to the seventh layer of Qi Refining was a breakthrough from the Qi Refining Middle Stage to the Qi Refining Late Stage. Without sufficient resource support, it was very easy to fail.]

[Year 31. You were forty-six years old. Through Alchemist Yun's channels, you managed to purchase a Realm-Breaking Pill for the Qi Refining Late Stage.]

[You began preparing for your breakthrough.]

[Half a month later, you stepped into the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.]

[You joined the ranks of the great cultivators of the Qi Refining Realm.]

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