I Have a Cultivation Simulator

"It's finally done..." A smile graced Zhou Qing's face.

To him, successfully refining his first batch of Tier Two pills was just a few lines of illusory text in the simulation.

But within that simulation, over three months had passed. He had suffered through more than twenty cauldron explosions and ruined over a dozen batches of pills.

And that was only possible thanks to a foundation of over a century of alchemy experience accumulated across his previous two simulations.

For many alchemists, the leap from a High-Grade Alchemist to a Tier Two Alchemist was an insurmountable chasm.

"A Tier Two Alchemist!"

Zhou Qing nodded slightly.

This was his first craft to reach Tier Two, and it just happened to be alchemy—the path with the highest demand.

True, the myriad crafts of the cultivation world had no strict hierarchy, and the inheritors of each discipline always boasted of their own superiority.

"I finally have the confidence to stand in the Foundation Establishment Realm..."

Zhou Qing felt a wave of relief wash over him.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, the resources required for his cultivation far exceeded what he had needed during Qi Refining.

For the past three months, he had been scraping by solely on the loot he had taken from wiping out bandit cultivators, refining their herbs into pills and selling them for spirit stones.

If he hadn't become a Tier Two Alchemist soon, he would have had to seriously rethink his methods for earning spirit stones.

Refining mid-grade and high-grade pills simply couldn't sustain a Foundation Establishment cultivator's expenses.

His Pill Toxin Nemesis talent allowed him to ignore the vast majority of pill toxicity buildup, meaning he could consume pills at an incredibly high frequency. But that also meant his expenses were correspondingly massive.

Now that he was a Tier Two Alchemist, none of that mattered.

No matter the cultivator settlement, a Tier Two Alchemist held immense status.

In places like Wushan Market or Tingyu Market? A Tier Two Alchemist had the right to negotiate terms directly with the market masters.

If a Foundation Establishment cultivation family had a Tier Two Alchemist presiding over them, they would almost never suffer a gap in their Foundation Establishment combat power.

Even in Biyue Immortal City, Tier Two Alchemists held a transcendent position.

During the second simulation, when Zhou Qing visited Alchemist Zhao Kan, a massive line of cultivators had been waiting for him, including quite a few in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

[After becoming a Tier Two Alchemist, you consolidated your skills for a few days. Once you successfully refined a few more batches of Tier Two pills, you left your cave dwelling and headed for the Alchemy Hall.]

[The Alchemy Hall was the largest alchemist organization in Biyue Immortal City, much like the Alchemy Alliance in Wushan Market.]

[The Hall Master was a Tier Three Alchemist and the designated grand alchemist of Biyue Immortal City. His influence radiated across the entire Taiyuan Region.]

[Your trip to the Alchemy Hall was, naturally, to join them.]

[It was always good to rest under a great tree. In the cultivation world, a cultivator with a background and a cultivator without one were two entirely different breeds.]

[By joining, you wouldn't just gain the backing of the Alchemy Hall; you could also leverage their influence to build your own network of connections.]

[In the second simulation, the Alchemy Alliance in Wushan Market had been a tremendous help to you.]

[Furthermore, joining the Alchemy Hall was preparation for the opening of the Biyue Pool slots in a little over a year.]

[At the very least, with the Alchemy Hall's backing, you could compete for a Biyue Pool slot on relatively equal footing.]

[Soon, you arrived at the core district of Biyue Immortal City.]

[This area spanned only a few dozen li in radius, yet its spiritual energy concentration far surpassed that of both the inner and outer cities.]

[This was where the Alchemy Hall was located.]

[You entered the hall, and a female Foundation Establishment cultivator came to greet you.]

["I am here to..."]

[You gave her a brief overview of your intentions.]

[In this simulation, you once again went by the alias Wang Lin. Your disguised appearance and aura were completely unremarkable, taking the form of a middle-aged man with a round face and a yellowish beard.]

["Alchemist Wang, you must be aware that to join our Alchemy Hall..."]

[The female cultivator gave you an extra glance. From your introduction, she knew you possessed the skills of a Tier Two Alchemist.]

[Joining the Alchemy Hall naturally required a test of one's alchemy skills to weed out the frauds.]

[Led by the female cultivator, you entered a secret chamber. Under the watchful eye of another Tier Two Alchemist, you successfully refined a batch of Tier Two pills.]

["Alchemist Wang, our Elder Wu wishes to see you..."]

[The gaze of the female cultivator who had first greeted you was noticeably friendlier.]

[Passing the alchemy test proved your skill level as a Tier Two Alchemist, a highly sought-after status no matter where you went.]

["Elder Wu..."]

[You naturally knew who Elder Wu was.]

[The Hall Master spent most of the year in secluded cultivation, comprehending the Dao of Alchemy.]

[The two Vice Hall Masters generally ignored mundane affairs, only showing their faces during crucial moments.]

[Thus, the entire Alchemy Hall was essentially managed by its four elders.]

[Elder Wu was one of those four.]

[It wasn't long before you met him.]

[Elder Wu was over a hundred and fifty years old. The hair at his temples was white, and a faint sense of worldly vicissitudes lingered in his eyes.]

["Alchemist Wang, as an itinerant cultivator, things must not have been easy for you."]

[Elder Wu spoke in a calm tone, his eyes studying you with a scrutinizing gaze.]

[You knew very well that joining the Alchemy Hall didn't just require passing a skill test; they also cared about your origins.]

[Simply put, they needed to see if your background was clean.]

[If you were on the Taiyuan Region's wanted list as a 'fugitive cultivator,' even Tier Two alchemy attainments wouldn't get you into the hall.]

[Such cultivators had generally committed major crimes, and no faction would ever feel safe employing them.]

["Indeed..."]

[You nodded slightly.]

["Several decades ago, I happened upon the legacy of a nameless alchemist. That was the only way I luckily managed to scrape my way into the ranks of Tier Two Alchemists..."]

[You elaborated on your identity.]

[This was a cover story you had prepared well in advance.]

["I see."]

[Elder Wu nodded. "I wonder if Alchemist Wang could pour a sliver of magic power into this jade stone..."]

[Elder Wu flipped his right hand, and a palm-sized stone appeared before him.]

[The reason for this was to check if you were on the Taiyuan Region's wanted list.]

[The mana signature of every fugitive cultivator on that list had been recorded.]

[A cultivator could change their appearance, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a strong enough divine sense could even seize another's body.]

[But a mana signature was incredibly difficult to alter.]

[The vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't have the ability to re-cultivate from scratch.]

[Therefore, a mana signature was an important standard for judging a cultivator's true identity.]

[You glanced at the jade stone and, without hesitating, channeled a wisp of Mountain-Sea mana into it.]

[Elder Wu checked it and essentially laid his worries about your identity to rest.]

[Your mana signature didn't match any currently wanted fugitive.]

[Furthermore, Elder Wu could feel that your Mountain-Sea mana was heavy and pure. It was obvious you walked an orthodox path, making you even more trustworthy.]

["If Alchemist Wang doesn't mind, you can become a Guest Elder of our Alchemy Hall right now..."]

[Elder Wu immediately said. When a Tier Two Alchemist joined the Alchemy Hall and passed the various background checks and tests, they were instantly eligible to become a Guest Elder.]

[Guest Elders of the Alchemy Hall enjoyed numerous benefits. First was a cultivation environment: they could independently own an alchemy tower, complete with several Qi Refining maidservants.]

[Moreover, Guest Elders could purchase many restricted resources through the Alchemy Hall's channels.]

[For instance, spiritual herbs like Xuanyin Grass and Xuanyang Fruit. As the main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills, they were monopolized by the major factions; ordinary cultivators couldn't buy them even if they wanted to.]

[Finally, Guest Elders were considered middle-to-high-ranking members, representing the face of the Alchemy Hall.]

[With the identity of a Guest Elder, as long as you didn't openly antagonize a core formation master, your life was basically secure.]

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