I Have a Cultivation Simulator

Only a few days had passed. With his deliberate searching, Zhou Qing wiped out more than a dozen bandit cultivator hideouts.

This relied on the second simulation, where Zhou Qing had intentionally sought out "expired information" regarding these bandit cultivators.

Some cultivators who had been ambushed on the road and luckily escaped with their lives would later share their experiences.

Of course, these accounts usually held little value. After all, anyone who managed to survive as a bandit cultivator was highly vigilant. The moment they realized they were exposed, they would immediately relocate their hideouts.

But now?

The "expired information" from the simulation served as early foresight in the present.

...

Out of the dozen-plus bandit cultivator hideouts and the dozens of Qi Refining Realm bandit cultivators, Zhou Qing did not slaughter them all.

Instead, he spared the nine strongest among them—all Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators.

Facing a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, these nine didn't dare harbor the slightest thought of resistance.

Given such a massive gap in cultivation boundaries, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator possessed absolute, crushing dominance over anyone in the Qi Refining Realm.

Zhou Qing swept his gaze over the trembling bandit cultivators.

He had planted a strand of Mountain and Sea magic power into each of their heart meridians.

Within a certain range, a single thought from Zhou Qing would cause that strand of magic power to detonate.

In other words, the lives of these nine Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators rested entirely on his whim.

"Next, you will..."

Zhou Qing spoke slowly.

His purpose in keeping these nine Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators alive was to use them against the Gan Kingdom Royal Family.

In the simulation decades later, Zhou Qing had commanded over a dozen Qi Refining Middle Stage and Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators to purge the imperial palace.

He had thoroughly grasped the depths of the Gan Kingdom imperial palace; their strongest cultivator was merely at the Qi Refining Middle Stage.

However, just because the strongest in the palace decades later was at the Qi Refining Middle Stage didn't guarantee the same was true decades earlier.

As a dignified Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, Zhou Qing naturally wouldn't risk his own life, even if the danger was microscopic.

This was reality, after all, not a simulation.

In a simulation, Zhou Qing could afford to take some risks.

But in reality, the safer the better.

"Senior, we understand."

Having learned their task, the nine Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators immediately nodded in respect.

...

One day later.

Zhou Qing arrived at the Gan Kingdom capital. Following his orders, the nine Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators infiltrated the imperial palace at the very first opportunity.

As for Dachun? Zhou Qing had long since sent him back to the Zhou Estate ahead of time to inform his parents and two older brothers, having them wait safely at home.

Zhou Qing stood atop the capital's city wall, gazing into the distance toward the palace.

In terms of strength, these nine Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators were far superior to the dozen-plus Qi Refining Middle Stage and Qi Refining Late Stage ones he had commanded in his second simulation.

Soon enough.

Several pulses of spiritual energy echoed from the depths of the palace.

Then, everything settled back into stillness.

"Everything went smoothly."

Zhou Qing had planted a strand of Mountain and Sea magic power deep in the nine Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators' heart meridians. He could tell whether they were still alive based on whether these strands continued to exist.

Half an hour later, one of the Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivators appeared before Zhou Qing to report what had transpired within the palace.

"Senior, we followed your instructions and merely captured the emperor along with the cultivators in the palace... We didn't slaughter indiscriminately..."

The Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivator said in a low voice.

"Mm."

Zhou Qing gave a slight nod.

"There is one other thing..."

The Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivator hesitated for a moment before speaking. "We discovered a cultivator in the palace who appears to be a demonic cult cultivator..."

"A demonic cult cultivator?"

Zhou Qing's interest was instantly piqued.

Over the course of his two simulations and more than a hundred years of lived experience, Zhou Qing had also heard information about demonic cult cultivators.

Such cultivators were a rare sight in this region.

However, starting from the Mortal Gan Kingdom and heading several hundred thousand li to the west lay the territory of a faction known as the Jiuyou Demonic Cult.

The cultivators of the Jiuyou Demonic Cult possessed cruel methods and took pleasure in slaughter. Their conduct and practices were vastly different from those of normal cultivators.

"This demonic cult cultivator is named Lu Mu. He is only at the Qi Refining Middle Stage," the Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivator explained quickly. "By a stroke of luck, he acquired a demonic cult inheritance. He was later hunted by enemies and fled all the way to the Mortal realm, eventually hiding out in the imperial palace..."

The bandit cultivator continued rapidly, "Under our interrogation, he confessed that he needed Mortal blood essence to heal his wounds, which is why he sought refuge with the Gan Emperor. In exchange, he offered to use a demonic secret art to extend the emperor's lifespan..."

"I see..."

A thoughtful look crossed Zhou Qing's face.

He faintly understood why the Gan Emperor had been willing to risk the collapse of his empire to move against the First Prince and his affiliated officials.

It wasn't simply because the First Prince's prestige had eclipsed his own.

It was also because the Gan Emperor saw hope—the hope of returning to his prime and continuing to live.

"But then, why did the Gan Emperor die just a few years later?"

Zhou Qing rubbed his chin. In both simulations, the Gan Emperor had died of old age merely a few years after moving against the Zhou Family.

Following that, the Fourth Prince had smoothly inherited the throne as a puppet.

"Could that demonic cult cultivator have deceived the Gan Emperor?"

"Or did the so-called life-extending demonic secret art fail?"

Zhou Qing speculated inwardly.

In truth, with his standing as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, extending a Mortal's lifespan was not difficult.

Of course, there were limits to this lifespan extension.

Keeping someone alive up to a hundred years of age was doable, but pushing past a century would cause the required price to skyrocket.

"Bring that demonic cult cultivator to me."

Zhou Qing's tone was flat.

In the second simulation, decades later, there hadn't been any demonic cult cultivators in the Gan Kingdom imperial palace.

"Yes."

The Qi Refining Late Stage bandit cultivator immediately withdrew.

...

As an infamous demonic cult cultivator, Lu Mu felt that his luck was incredibly rotten.

He had painstakingly cultivated to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, only to be hunted down by enemies and left with no other options.

Lu Mu could only flee into the Mortal realm.

The spiritual energy in the Mortal realm was so thin that no cultivator would willingly stay for long.

Sure enough, after a brief search, the enemies hunting Lu Mu had given up and returned one after another.

Lu Mu originally thought he was temporarily safe, so he found the emperor of a certain Mortal dynasty.

Using a life-extending demonic secret art as bait, he tempted the emperor into harvesting blood essence to fuel his recovery.

But he hadn't even been recovering for a few years.

While hiding in the depths of the palace, he was suddenly besieged by nine Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators.

Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators!

And nine of them working together, no less!

It had to be known that the enemy who had hunted him all the way here and forced him into the Mortal realm was just a single Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, and merely at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, having just entered the late stage.

Yet the nine Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators surrounding him now were all at least at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.

So...

There was no suspense whatsoever; Lu Mu was instantly suppressed.

Under the interrogation of one of those Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators, Lu Mu didn't hesitate to spill everything he knew.

"These great late-stage cultivators..."

Lu Mu trembled inwardly, having no idea what exactly about him had attracted so many great late-stage cultivators.

Just as Lu Mu was filled with deep apprehension...

The Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator who had interrogated him appeared and said coldly, "Come with me. Senior wants to see you."

"Senior?"

Lu Mu's legs nearly gave out.

Someone that a great Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator would address as Senior... Lu Mu didn't even dare to think any further.

Led by this Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, Lu Mu finally laid eyes on this "Senior."

It was a man dressed in white, his aura entirely unreadable.

"Greetings, Senior! Greetings, Senior!"

Lu Mu dropped heavily to his knees, kowtowing frantically against the floor.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!