Chapter 231: Late Stage Peak

"True Monarch Golden Face?"

Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing found it somewhat amusing.

He also knew the origin of the moniker True Monarch Golden Face.

True Monarchs who struck while hiding their identities would never expose their real daoist titles, and they rarely announced their aliases publicly.

Therefore, the monikers circulating in the outside world were generally derived from their actual circumstances.

During the simulation, the most striking feature of the black-robed expert Zhou Qing disguised himself as was his Black Gold Mask. Hence the moniker True Monarch Golden Face.

Grand Cultivator Powang of the Great Snow Mountain earned his moniker, Purple-Eyed True Monarch, because a phantom image of a giant purple eye would coalesce behind him whenever he struck with his full strength.

Almost every bandit cultivator True Monarch on the list got their name the exact same way.

'This simulation is going smoothly so far.'

Zhou Qing composed himself, thinking inwardly.

According to the current situation, in several hundred years, when Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passed away in meditation, his simulated self would reach the most perfect state.

Then, he would push for the Deity Transformation Stage.

This perfect state did not refer to the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak.

Rather, it meant reaching his absolute limit and perfection in all aspects.

'Even if I can't break through to the Deity Transformation Stage this time, this simulation isn't without other opportunities...'

Zhou Qing pondered.

Before reaching his lifespan limit in the fifth simulation, Zhou Qing, acting as a Great Cultivator elder of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, had vaguely caught wind of inside information: another Heavenly Monarch was approaching the end of their lifespan and was estimated to pass away in meditation in four to five hundred years.

In other words, right around the time Zhou Qing turned fifteen hundred years old, another Heavenly Monarch would pass away.

Fifteen hundred years old... Given the lifespan of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it was virtually impossible to live to fifteen hundred. Most True Monarchs could not even make it past twelve hundred.

But Zhou Qing was different. By maximizing his use of various life-extending treasures and utilizing a slumber secret art he had acquired, he had a real hope of surviving to fifteen hundred.

However, he would rather not use this fallback route if he could help it.

Even if he barely scraped by to fifteen hundred, he would no longer be in his peak state, meaning a forced breakthrough would be highly unlikely to succeed.

Naturally, Zhou Qing placed all his hopes on the aftermath of Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue's passing.

[ 'True Monarch Golden Face... currently ranks second on the Central Continent Top Ten Bandit Cultivators list...' ]

[ With a slight shift in your thoughts, the void in front of you rippled, forming a list. It was precisely the Central Continent Top Ten Bandit Cultivators list. ]

[ In this current time period, the Purple-Eyed True Monarch has yet to mature. The one ranked first is True Monarch Instant. ]

[ The True Monarch Golden Face you are disguised as is ranked second. ]

[ 'True Monarch Instant...' ]

[ Your expression turned slightly solemn. ]

[ The moniker True Monarch Instant was also derived from the scenes of this top-tier Great Cultivator taking action. ]

[ It was said that when this True Monarch struck, an instant became eternal, and the time perception of other Great Cultivators would be distorted. ]

[ This was also the most terrifying aspect of True Monarch Instant. Other Great Cultivators could only struggle to block his attacks, unable to fight back. ]

[ 'His divine soul is incredibly powerful. This True Monarch Instant... most likely hails from a Three-Arts level faction.' ]

[ You thought to yourself that the so-called distortion of time perception was fundamentally the result of being influenced by massive divine soul power. ]

[ Only with a divine soul power that significantly exceeded that of an ordinary Great Cultivator, combined with the relevant secret arts, would there be any hope of achieving such a feat. ]

[ 'With my current strength, I probably can't do anything to him.' ]

[ You thought to yourself that with your divine soul strength, you would not be affected by True Monarch Instant's divine soul power. Even if there was a gap between your divine souls, it would not be very large. ]

[ But for True Monarch Instant to possess such divine soul power, could his other aspects be weak? ]

[ 'I just wonder if this True Monarch Instant lived past Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue's passing?' ]

[ In the fifth simulation, roughly three hundred years later, True Monarch Instant never took action again. It was suspected that he had already passed away in meditation. ]

[ 'The waters of the Central Continent are still too deep. Even with the foundation of my numerous simulations, it is still very difficult to sweep away all opposition...' ]

[ You sighed inwardly, gathered your thoughts, and continued your secluded cultivation. ]

[ One year later. Eastern Wilderness Domain, Qingxuan Cave Dwelling. ]

[ The Blood Roc, carrying the Brocade Bag you had given it, charged directly into the cave dwelling. ]

[ Because it carried the Token you bestowed, the cave dwelling's grand array did not stop it. ]

[ After successfully handing the Brocade Bag to Li Yan, the Blood Roc lightly spread its wings and vanished once more. ]

[ After leaving Qingxuan Cave Dwelling, the Blood Roc did not immediately return to the Central Continent. Returning this time, it was also carrying other tasks from you. ]

[ A short while later. ]

[ The Blood Roc arrived at the former Jiuyou Region. ]

[ Outside Nine Nethers Mountain, the Blood Roc's figure appeared silently. ]

[ A beautiful silhouette immediately hurried over and bowed slightly toward the Blood Roc. "Greetings, Exalted Envoy. I wonder what orders the Lord has?" ]

[ This silhouette was none other than True Person Biyue. ]

[ Before heading to the Central Continent, you had similarly subjugated this demonic path enchantress. ]

[ True Person Biyue possessed the potential to advance to a True Monarch, which was why you wasted a little time bringing her to Nine Nethers Mountain. ]

[ Your subjugation of True Person Biyue did not rely on the Demon Planting Art, so it would not affect her breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Stage. ]

[ "The Master says you can break through now." ]

[ The Blood Roc spoke in the human tongue and tossed out a jade box. ]

[ True Person Biyue hurriedly opened the jade box and found a Nascent Soul Formation Pill lying inside. ]

[ The Nascent Soul Formation Pill, a superior Nascent Soul condensation spiritual item, was incomparably precious in the Taiyuan Region. ]

[ However, with your current strength and status, coupled with being in the resource-rich Central Continent Territory, the Nascent Soul Formation Pill could not be considered a rare item. ]

[ "Good, I will break through immediately..." ]

[ Seeing the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, True Person Biyue's spirit was invigorated. ]

[ "It's just..." ]

[ True Person Biyue hesitated slightly. Looking at the Blood Roc, she probed, "Isn't the Lord afraid that I might run away after becoming a True Monarch?" ]

[ In True Person Biyue's eyes, the strength you displayed when you captured her and brought her back to Nine Nethers Mountain was absolutely above that of the Jiuyou Cult's leader, True Monarch Antian. ]

[ There was a high probability that you were a legendary Mid Nascent Soul Stage True Monarch. ]

[ Over these years, True Person Biyue had also learned about the incident in the Jiuyou Cult, where the demonic monarch vanished overnight. ]

[ It was highly likely that this was your doing. ]

[ A True Monarch at the Mid Nascent Soul Stage possessed the strength to kill an Early Nascent Soul Stage True Monarch. ]

[ But as long as True Person Biyue ran away immediately after stepping into the Nascent Soul Stage, fleeing to the ends of the earth, even a Mid Stage True Monarch would be helpless to do anything, right? ]

[ "Run?" ]

[ The Blood Roc wore a strange expression, as if it had just heard a joke. ]

[ "You are only at the Core Formation Stage right now. You look at the Lord like a frog at the bottom of a well looking at the bright moon, which is why you have the thought of running away." ]

[ The Blood Roc looked at True Person Biyue, its tone carrying an inexplicable meaning. ]

[ "Wait until you step into the Nascent Soul Stage. When you look at the Lord then, it will be like a mayfly gazing at the azure heaven." ]

[ "Where could you run?" ]

[ "Where would you dare run?" ]

[ Having spent decades with you, the Blood Roc had some understanding of your strength. A mere Early Nascent Soul Stage wanting to run? It was simply a joke. ]

[ "I was overthinking things..." ]

[ True Person Biyue's mind trembled. She could feel the Blood Roc's heartfelt terror toward you. ]

[ The Blood Roc was a Tier 4 beast king, yet it acted like this. True Person Biyue realized that perhaps she had still underestimated your strength. ]

[ Several days later, True Person Biyue began her breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage. ]

[ With the help of the Nascent Soul Formation Pill, True Person Biyue successfully stepped into the Nascent Soul Stage and became a new True Monarch. ]

[ Only after confirming this did the Blood Roc spread its wings and depart, returning to the Central Continent. ]

[ Far away in the Heavenly Talisman Sect, you also saw this scene through the Blood Roc's field of vision. ]

[ 'Mm, not bad.' ]

[ Knowing that True Person Biyue had stepped into the Nascent Soul Stage, you nodded slightly. ]

[ Compared to the normal course of events, True Person Biyue attempted her breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage decades early. ]

[ This was also an adjustment you had made. ]

[ You were now a Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator. Your insight and judgment were entirely different from before. Coupled with your Rank 4 Middle Grade Divination skills, you knew exactly when the optimal time for True Person Biyue to attempt the breakthrough was. ]

[ 'Want to run?' ]

[ You thought of True Person Biyue's words to the Blood Roc before her breakthrough. ]

[ Not to mention the methods you had left on True Person Biyue's body, the mere fact that she stepped into the Nascent Soul Stage was entirely due to taking on your karma. ]

[ It was impossible for her to run away. ]

[ Karmic destiny? Placed on an ordinary Nascent Soul True Monarch, it might be difficult to perceive or utilize. ]

[ But you were a Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster; the method you excelled at most was manipulating destiny and heavenly secrets. ]

[ By leveraging the karmic destiny between you and True Person Biyue, you could control her even if she became a True Monarch. ]

[ Of course, this was predicated on massive karma. True Person Biyue stepping into the Nascent Soul Stage was entirely because of you. Such immense karma was the strongest weapon for a Divination Grandmaster. ]

[ Nurturing True Person Biyue to the Nascent Soul Stage was naturally to make it easier to manage the Jiuyou Region and nurture the Tier 4 spirit vein beneath Nine Nethers Mountain, providing you with sufficient spirit vein origin. ]

[ You secretly controlled the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Taiyuan Region and several nearby major domains to collect spirit vein origin. When necessary, you would forcefully upgrade the spirit vein grade of your Qingxuan Cave Dwelling to Fourth Tier High Grade, serving as your transitional cultivation grounds. ]

[ Year 50. You were 67 years old. ]

[ Inside the cave dwelling, you were cultivating the third level of the Divine Origin Void Crossing Great Art. ]

[ 'It's not that it's difficult to cultivate, but to successfully master it will take at least four or five hundred years, and there's still the fourth level...' ]

[ You felt quite helpless. ]

[ According to the Armored Guardian's meaning, there was hope of mastering the third and fourth levels of the Divine Origin Void Crossing Great Art during the Nascent Soul Stage. ]

[ 'My talent in the divine soul aspect truly is lacking...' ]

[ You sighed inwardly. ]

[ In the third phase of the Ghost Realm Trial Field, those Core Formation Stage trial-takers you faced had all mastered the first and second levels of the Divine Origin Void Crossing Great Art. ]

[ As for those two levels of the secret art, it had cost you several simulations and one to two thousand years, which even included your entire Nascent Soul Stage life from the fifth simulation. ]

[ 'Take it slow. I'm not in a hurry.' ]

[ You gathered your thoughts. Originally, you hadn't planned on mastering the third and fourth levels within a century in this simulation to unlock the fourth phase of the trial. ]

[ According to your speculation, the fourth phase of the Ghost Realm Trial Field was prepared for those attempting to break through to the Deity Transformation Stage, and it was extremely dangerous. ]

[ This was why the Armored Guardian had reminded you to be cautious. ]

[ In a trial of this danger level, no matter how strong a Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was, they could still die. ]

[ Unless you reached the Deity Transformation Stage, you would not participate. ]

[ You cultivated the Divine Origin Void Crossing Great Art for a while, then took out a perfectly round medicinal pill and swallowed it in one gulp. ]

[ This pill was a Fourth Tier High Grade ancient pill specifically meant to accelerate the cultivation of Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivators. Even in the Central Continent, it was priceless and unavailable on the market. The moment it appeared, it would be heavily contested by all the Great Cultivators. ]

[ Yet here, you ate this kind of pill casually. Having plundered eight hundred years of accumulation from the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven, you were exceedingly wealthy in terms of spirit herbs, grand medicines, and precious pills. ]

[ Year 60. You were 77 years old. ]

[ In terms of dharma cultivation, with the help of one ancient pill after another, you advanced by leaps and bounds, closing in on the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak. ]

[ However, in body cultivation, your progress was slow. To this day, you hadn't even reached the peak of the Rank 4 Mid Stage. ]

[ 'The path of body cultivation... is too difficult...' ]

[ You lamented inwardly. In the near-ancient era, the difficulty of body cultivation had already skyrocketed. Today, the two great body cultivation sects of the Central Continent Territory also relied on the legacies left by their predecessors. ]

[ Placed in any other domain, out of ten dharma cultivation True Monarchs, there might not even be a single body cultivation True Monarch. ]

[ Year 70. You were 87 years old. ]

[ This year, the Taibai Grotto-Heaven, one of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens, opened. ]

[ Having the experience of the fifth simulation, you knew that the opening of the Taibai Grotto-Heaven would draw two top-tier Great Cultivators into a fight. ]

[ You had no intention of making a move on the Taibai Grotto-Heaven. ]

[ First, since it involved top-tier Great Cultivators, you wouldn't be able to sweep everything away like you did at the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven, meaning there were hidden risks. ]

[ Second, the resources produced by the Taibai Grotto-Heaven weren't of much use to you. ]

[ The resources of the Taibai Grotto-Heaven were similar to those of the Tianzhu Grotto-Heaven, growing large quantities of spirit herbs and ancient medicines. Since you didn't lack these, there was no need to take the risk to snatch them. ]

[ Every single one of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands in the Central Continent Territory represented a different category of resources; some favored dharma cultivation, some favored body cultivation, and others favored different paths. ]

[ There were too many investigative methods in the Central Continent Territory. Only by reducing your number of actions as much as possible to avoid leaving traces could you guarantee your identity wouldn't be exposed. ]

[ 'Lingxu Blessed Land...' ]

[ A thoughtful expression surfaced on your face. ]

[ Your next target was the Lingxu Blessed Land that would open fifty years from now. ]

[ The Lingxu Blessed Land was a body cultivation blessed land controlled by the "Two Body" factions, producing an abundance of precious Body Refining resources. ]

[ Currently, your Body Refining cultivation had hit a bottleneck. If you snatched the numerous Body Refining resources within the Lingxu Blessed Land, you were confident in successfully cultivating to the Fourth-Order Late Stage. ]

[ The only problem was that in the fifth simulation, the opening of the Lingxu Blessed Land had attracted many Great Cultivators, among which were several top-tier Great Cultivators. ]

[ But since it involved the cultivation resources you needed, you still intended to fight for them. ]

[ Year 80. You were 97 years old. ]

[ You sat cross-legged, continuously refining a fist-sized drop of blood essence inside your body. It was precisely the True Dragon Blood. ]

[ After nearly a century of refinement using the Divine Ability Transformation art, this drop of True Dragon Blood had already been nearly half-refined. ]

[ 'True Dragon Transformation!' ]

[ You looked forward to it with anticipation, wondering what kind of methods this top-tier true spirit immortal beast's blood essence would provide, and what sort of innate divine ability you could simulate. ]

[ Year 90. You were 107 years old. ]

[ You swallowed a pill, refining it continuously while pairing it with the Fourth Tier High Grade spirit vein environment to maintain the fastest possible cultivation speed. ]

[ An unknown amount of time passed. Inside your dantian, the slowly rising aura of your main Nascent Soul suddenly paused. At the same time, your magic power, boundlessly thick as mountains and seas, faintly reached its limit. ]

[ You had finally cultivated to the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak. ]