I Have a Cultivation Simulator

Although a cultivator's spiritual root aptitude was decreed by heaven, it could still be improved through acquired means.

Zhou Qing had already experienced this during his second simulation.

The soul of True Person Blood Sea, sealed within the Shanhai Ring, had expended its own origin essence dozens of times to cleanse Zhou Qing's marrow and expand his meridians, improving his spiritual root aptitude.

That was how Zhou Qing had managed to cultivate the Shanhai Art to Qi Refining Ninth Layer Completion despite merely possessing a Low-Grade Spirit Root.

The Shanhai Art originated from the ancient Shanhai Lineage. The Shanhai Sect from centuries ago had merely inherited a fraction of that legacy.

Therefore, cultivating the Shanhai Art was exceptionally difficult. However, it came with many benefits, and delaying the onset of old age was merely the most basic among them.

Zhou Qing estimated that after each of True Person Blood Sea's marrow cleansings, his aptitude was elevated to a Mid-Grade Spirit Root, or perhaps even approached a High-Grade Spirit Root.

Unfortunately, True Person Blood Sea's marrow cleansings only provided a temporary boost.

During the second simulation, True Person Blood Sea's soul had to cleanse him dozens of times just to maintain that aptitude.

According to the intelligence Zhou Qing had gathered over the past few days, soaking in the Biyue Pool provided only a minor boost to a spiritual root and came with numerous restrictions, but the improvement was permanent.

'The methods of a core formation master are truly unfathomable...'

Zhou Qing sighed inwardly.

Whether it was a massive temporary boost or a minor permanent improvement, such feats were completely impossible at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment level.

'However, soaking in the Biyue Pool provides a permanent, albeit minor, boost to a spiritual root, and it only works the first time. For me...'

Zhou Qing pondered.

The restriction that it only worked the first time was easy to understand.

In the cultivation world, many heavenly materials and earthly treasures had their greatest effect on a cultivator the very first time they were consumed.

With each subsequent use, their efficacy would diminish drastically until they became completely useless.

The same applied to many medicinal pills; taking too many would lead to building up a resistance.

However, every time Zhou Qing finished a simulation, he inherited pure cultivation, realm progress, and skills.

As for the various negative side effects—whether pill toxicity or resistance—none of them carried over.

In other words, Zhou Qing could simply soak in the Biyue Pool once during every simulation.

As long as it wasn't within the same simulation, the Biyue Pool's ability to improve his spiritual root would always take effect.

Once the simulation ended, he could inherit that improved spiritual root aptitude in his true body.

By cycling this process, Zhou Qing's spiritual root aptitude could continue improving indefinitely, all the way up to a High-Grade Spirit Root.

Another restriction of the Biyue Pool was that it only worked on cultivators with an aptitude below an Earth-Grade Spirit Root.

The inheritance options after each simulation allowed him to inherit absolutely everything from his simulated self: cultivation, skills, techniques, physical body, and so on—including his spiritual root aptitude.

'A High-Grade Spirit Root... That's enough, more than enough.'

Zhou Qing steadied his mind. With a High-Grade Spirit Root combined with the Pill Toxin Nemesis talent, his cultivation speed would probably rival that of an Earth-Grade Spirit Root.

The Pill Toxin Nemesis talent allowed Zhou Qing to completely ignore pill toxicity and consume medicinal pills at a high frequency, pushing his cultivation speed far beyond that of other cultivators with the same spiritual root aptitude.

...

In the following days, aside from continuing to comprehend his alchemy inheritance, Zhou Qing also kept gathering intelligence on the Biyue Pool.

With only two years left until the Biyue Pool opened, most of the cultivators in Biyue Immortal City were discussing the event. Zhou Qing didn't even need to actively search for information.

He only had to sit in an inn or tavern occasionally to hear a wealth of details regarding the Biyue Pool.

"Every time the Biyue Pool opens, there are ten spots available. These ten spots are auctioned off."

"During the past three openings, the cultivators who secured spots were mostly at the Foundation Establishment stage. Only a small fraction were at the Qi Refining stage..."

Zhou Qing fell deep in thought.

As for why there were no core formation masters...

Nearly half of the masters capable of breaking through to the Core Formation stage possessed Earth-Grade Spirit Roots.

Cultivators with High-Grade Spirit Roots had a slim hope of core formation, provided their backing was substantial and their fortunate encounters were strong enough.

Neither of these groups needed to soak in the Biyue Pool.

As for core formation masters with Mid-Grade Spirit Roots... their numbers were pitifully small. Even if they existed, upon reaching the Core Formation stage, they would have access to other methods of improving their spiritual roots. There was no need for them to come to Biyue Immortal City to compete with lower-level Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

'The quality of one's spiritual root has the greatest impact on Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators. Once someone reaches the Core Formation stage, the weight of that influence lessens to a certain degree.'

'If a core formation master wants to step into the ranks of the Nascent Soul True Monarchs, they rely more on their own foundation and other aspects. Even a Heaven-Grade Spirit Root cultivator cannot easily cross the Nascent Soul bottleneck.'

Zhou Qing thought silently.

A Heaven-Grade Spirit Root was an aptitude that stood above the Earth-Grade.

Cultivators with this level of talent were stunningly brilliant. Barring any accidents, they were guaranteed to at least reach Core Formation.

Of course, cultivators with Heaven-Grade Spirit Roots were exceedingly rare. Across the million-mile expanse of the Taiyuan Region, not a single one might be born in decades, or even a century.

...

On this day, as Zhou Qing finished comprehending a Tier Two alchemy inheritance, he vaguely sensed that the realm of a Tier Two Alchemist was right before his eyes.

"Just a little bit more..."

Zhou Qing sighed. This feeling had first appeared right after his second simulation ended.

Following the end of the second simulation, Zhou Qing had inherited the skills and memories of that life, reliving nearly a century of existence. It brought his comprehension of alchemy another step closer.

He was only half a step away from the realm of a Tier Two Alchemist.

Zhou Qing realized that it would take him anywhere from a few months to a few years to cross this final half-step and become a true Tier Two Alchemist.

"I should switch to comprehending another skill."

Zhou Qing steadied his mind, planning to study a different skill inheritance to clear his head.

'The Dao of Beast Taming...'

A Tier Two beast taming inheritance surfaced in Zhou Qing's mind.

During the second simulation, beast taming inheritances had been Zhou Qing's primary purchasing targets.

After all, Zhou Qing had been quite tempted by that Dark Magic Eagle. It was a spirit pet with an Earth-Grade bloodline, meaning it could easily be nurtured to the Foundation Establishment stage.

'Among the myriad arts of cultivation, beast taming reigns supreme...'

'Whether it's alchemy or talismans, which of these skills can multiply a cultivator's combat power several times over without any hidden risks? Only beast taming. Commanding a powerful spirit beast is enough to...'

Zhou Qing studied it carefully.

Beast taming seemed simple on the surface—one merely needed to nurture a spirit pet.

But the actual execution was exceedingly complex. First, one had to make the spirit pet submit from the very depths of its heart. This required an incredibly profound beast-controlling secret art.

Every beast taming inheritance contained its own unique secret art for control.

Furthermore, a beast taming grandmaster couldn't possibly control just a single spirit pet. And the more spirit pets one controlled, the higher the demands became in all aspects.

After studying the beast taming inheritance for a few days, Zhou Qing shifted gears and began comprehending a formation inheritance.

'Among the myriad arts of cultivation, formations reign supreme...'

As Zhou Qing tried to comprehend it, a look of pain surfaced on his face.

The difficulty of comprehending formations was a whole tier higher than that of alchemy, as it required leveraging the power of heaven and earth.

The power of heaven and earth was boundless and infinite. Even core formation masters and Nascent Soul True Monarchs could not truly master it.

Time flowed on.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

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