Chapter 283: Forced to Act

'Finally, a fifth-tier Divination art!'

Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing was in an excellent mood.

Compared to other arts, elevating the Divination art was immensely difficult. In this simulation, if he had not comprehended that original stone of the Heavenly Cycle Book of Changes, stepping into the fifth tier so easily would have been impossible.

That original stone of the Heavenly Cycle Book of Changes had a profound impact on Zhou Qing, allowing him to clearly see the path forward for his Divination art.

Of course, this was built on the premise that Zhou Qing's Divination art had already reached the limit of the Fourth Tier High Grade, with no room left to advance.

If Zhou Qing had merely been an ordinary fourth-tier Divination Grandmaster, let alone one original stone of the Heavenly Cycle Book of Changes, even five or ten would not have been of much use.

'With a fifth-tier Divination art, if everything follows the progression of the last simulation, I should have a hope of concealing the truth when the Purgatory Demon Sovereign invites that celestial divination master to divine my true intentions...'

Zhou Qing thought to himself. In the sixth simulation, when the Purgatory Demon Sovereign descended upon the Human Realm, he still had three to four hundred years of lifespan.

Although he had ultimately invested all of it into his Divination art, it was still somewhat of a loss. Three or four hundred years of lifespan was not short even for a Heavenly Monarch. If Zhou Qing had used it all on cultivation and comprehending arts, his progress would undoubtedly have been significant.

The golden talent calculated at the end of the sixth simulation, Dead But Not Stiff, surfaced in Zhou Qing's mind.

The Purgatory Demon Sovereign was absolutely the strongest entity Zhou Qing had encountered across all seven of his simulations.

A demon sovereign of the Return to Void Realm.

If he could possess such an existence and experience its comprehension of the Great Dao of heaven and earth, the help it would provide Zhou Qing was self-evident.

'I just do not know if the Purgatory Demon Sovereign will actually survive that sword strike left behind by the Sword Lord. If he completely perishes, will this talent still be of any use...'

Zhou Qing pondered inwardly. There were many things he needed to consider in this simulation.

['The fate of heaven and earth...']

[You carefully observed the heaven and earth of the Human Realm. The omnipresent web of heavenly secrets appeared before your eyes in minute detail, and a certain sense of control surged in your heart.]

[This sense of control was not a mastery of absolute power, but a mastery over the future and over fate.]

['Breaking through to the fifth-tier Divination art this time only took a little over thirty years of lifespan, far less than what I invested in the previous simulation.']

[You pondered inwardly.]

[This meant that in this simulation, the time you could live would be several centuries longer than in the last.]

['Take it slow.']

[You closed your eyes and continued cultivating.]

[The Divination art stepping into the fifth tier was merely one of your gains in this simulation. What you valued more was the harvest from the more than two thousand years of arduous cultivation that lay ahead.]

[Year 450, you were 467 years old.]

[Dachun successfully passed the ultimate trial of the Ghost Realm Trial Field and arrived by your side.]

[By this time, Dachun was already a fourth-tier late stage body cultivator. The Ancient Saint Bloodline surged within his body, and his combat strength had nearly reached the level of a top-tier Great Cultivator.]

["Young Master."]

[Dachun looked at you and spoke in an honest and simple tone.]

[As a "reincarnator," Dachun had avoided many detours with the help of his past life's experiences, reaching the fourth-tier late stage several centuries earlier.]

["Cultivate here from now on."]

[You arranged Dachun's cultivation cave dwelling in the adjacent dao arena.]

[Dachun was only at the fourth-tier late stage, so his demand for spirit veins was not high; a Fourth Tier High Grade spirit vein was sufficient.]

[At the same time, you also opened Heavenly Sword Peak's Book Mountain World to Dachun, allowing him to accumulate his foundational reserves.]

[Whether from the fourth tier to the fifth, or from Nascent Soul to Deity Transformation, it primarily relied on the cultivator themselves. Even with the aid of that Origin Cave Dwelling in Heavenly Sword Peak, it would at most make things slightly easier. If one's foundational reserves were insufficient, they would still fail the breakthrough.]

[The reason the successive peak masters of Heavenly Sword Peak had a great chance of becoming Heavenly Monarchs was, first, that every peak master was an exceptionally brilliant talent, and second, the blessing of the Sword Seed.]

['After Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passes away in meditation, because of my existence, the Human Realm will be unable to produce a new Heavenly Monarch. The opportunity for Yan'er, Xiu'er, and Dachun to attempt the breakthrough to Deity Transformation will have to wait until Heavenly Monarch Qingcang passes away...']

[You pondered inwardly. You actually had a solution for this.]

[With your methods, you could entirely create a slumbering secret art for the three of them. By means of deep sleep, they could forcibly delay their lifespan limits by several centuries, surviving until Heavenly Monarch Qingcang passed away.]

[Of course, you could also make a trade with Heavenly Monarch Qingcang, getting him to voluntarily pass away in meditation ahead of time.]

[Additionally, it also depended on the movements from the Deep Sea.]

[If the Demon Abyss Realm at the end of the Deep Sea sensed that the Human Realm could not give birth to a new Heavenly Monarch and subsequently planned an early invasion...]

[Then you could naturally act immediately, sealing the spatial rift, and then kill the Void Whale Master to free up another Heavenly Monarch slot.]

['The Demon Abyss Realm...']

[Your gaze turned profound, looking toward the end of the Deep Sea.]

[With the experience from the last simulation, you planned to bide your time in this one. As long as the Demon Abyss Realm had no thought of invading, you would maintain the status quo as much as possible.]

[Year 480, you were 497 years old.]

[You entered the grotto-heaven fragment, looking at Li Yan with a smile.]

["Master, Yan'er has cultivated to the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak."]

[Li Yan threw herself at you, speaking with joyful delight.]

["Master."]

[Another woman of peerless appearance and temperament spoke softly, "Xiu'er is useless. I am currently only at the Late Core Formation Stage."]

[This woman was Li Xiu. Brought back by you only a century or two ago, even with your support, she had only cultivated to the Late Core Formation Stage.]

["Just take your time with your cultivation, Xiu'er."]

[You smiled faintly, then looked at Li Yan. "How is your comprehension of the sound art, Yan'er? Have you encountered any bottlenecks?"]

[Hearing this, Li Yan said softly, "Yan'er feels like something is missing. The fifth-tier sound art... it seems right before my eyes, yet as far away as the horizon..."]

["No matter, you do not need to care too much about this, Yan'er."]

[You did not give her any pressure. Proficient in numerous arts, you knew exactly how difficult going from a Fourth Tier High Grade art to the fifth tier truly was.]

[You yourself only sequentially elevated your alchemy, talisman crafting, array formations, and Divination arts to the fifth tier after stepping into the Deity Transformation Stage and receiving a sufficient boost to your divine soul.]

[If you were still in the Nascent Soul Stage? You would not only need to face the heavenly chasm of the art's realm, but also overcome inadequacies in aspects like the divine soul, just to have a slim hope of stepping into a fifth-tier art.]

[Theoretically, fifth-tier arts were mostly mastered by Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarchs. For a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator to master a fifth-tier art? It was as difficult as ascending to heaven.]

["Understood, Master."]

[Li Yan said obediently.]

[Having lived two lives, Li Yan's understanding of the sound art was deeper. Especially now, having reached the peak of her "previous life" in all aspects, she faintly had the confidence to touch upon a fifth-tier art.]

["Master, Yan'er will play a piece for you. This is one Yan'er just learned."]

[After speaking, Li Yan brought out her guqin and began to play softly.]

[You narrowed your eyes, listening casually.]

[With the strength of your divine soul, a Fourth Tier High Grade sound art offered you no help, but it counted as taking a rest.]

[Year 500, you were 517 years old.]

[Inside the cave dwelling, you sat cross-legged, the Dark Chessboard floating in front of you.]

['The 199th layer of the illusion world...']

[Your divine sense immersed within, feeling the minute details of this illusion layer, and in the moment the great sun set, you grasped its flaw.]

['The revolution of the great sun must also follow the laws of heaven and earth...' you sighed softly, and the illusion world before you began to collapse and shatter.]

['Almost two hundred layers...']

[You did not continue to attempt the 200th layer. Instead, you stared at the Dark Chessboard before you, sinking into deep thought.]

[With the experience of breaching the previous nearly two hundred illusion layers, you vaguely sensed that each layer was like a piece of a puzzle; every time you broke through a layer, you were piecing together a puzzle.]

['Using the operational essence of a near-real heaven and earth as puzzle pieces...' you marveled inwardly, faintly realizing that this Dark Chessboard was far from simple. It was absolutely not as simple as merely connecting to the path of the Return to Void Realm.]

[Year 536, you were 553 years old.]

[On this day, you ended your seclusion and walked out of the cave dwelling.]

['Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue is about to pass away in meditation...' you thought, looking toward the Three Laws faction. In this simulation, from the beginning until now, you had never exposed any traces of your existence. Even on Heavenly Sword Peak, currently only Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword knew of your presence; the other sword cultivators, even the current peak master, knew absolutely nothing about you.]

[The only trace you left behind was in the Taiyuan Region of the Eastern Wilderness Domain, but suppressing that trace was far too easy.]

[Your gaze shifted, finally looking toward the end of the Deep Sea.]

[In the last simulation, after Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passed away in meditation, the Demon Abyss Realm at the end of the Deep Sea made no unusual movements.]

[They only wanted to nurture another Heavenly Monarch to prepare for the impending invasion.]

[However, in this simulation, because of your existence, it was simply impossible for a new Heavenly Monarch to be born after Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passed away in meditation. This was the difference from the last simulation.]

[You worried that the Demon Abyss Realm might make other moves because of this, invading the Human Realm ahead of time.]

[Therefore, you planned to make a secret trip to the end of the Deep Sea.]

[This way, even if the Demon Abyss Realm planned to invade the Human Realm early, you could instantly stop them and seal the spatial rift.]

[Time passed.]

[Three months later.]

[An inexplicable aura suddenly permeated between heaven and earth. At this moment, every Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator in the Human Realm could feel the fluctuations of this aura.]

["A Heavenly Monarch... a Heavenly Monarch has passed away in meditation..."]

["Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue has passed away in meditation! Our chance has come!"]

[Every Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator was brimming with ambition. Not every late-stage Great Cultivator had the chance to attempt the breakthrough to Deity Transformation.]

[Some Great Cultivators had experienced a Heavenly Monarch passing away in meditation while still in the Core Formation Stage, or during the Early or Mid Nascent Soul Stage, and could only watch helplessly.]

[Only by experiencing a Heavenly Monarch passing away in meditation during the Late Nascent Soul Stage, ideally at the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak, was there a slim hope of stepping into the Deity Transformation Stage.]

[However, even with lifespan-extending items maxed out, the lifespan of a Nascent Soul true lord was only over a thousand years, rarely exceeding one thousand three hundred years. Just how much time could truly be spent in the Late Nascent Soul Stage?]

[The time experienced progressing from Qi Refining to Core Formation, and then to the Mid Nascent Soul Stage, already occupied the majority of a Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator's life.]

[In contrast to the excitement of the various Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivators across the Human Realm...]

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang, Heavenly Monarch Miduo, and even Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword faintly sensed that something was wrong.]

['The heaven and earth of the Human Realm still cannot bear a new Heavenly Monarch?']

[Heavenly Monarch Qingcang's expression was grave. Unaware of your existence, his first thought was that the status of the Human Realm's heaven and earth had slipped again, unable to bear even five Heavenly Monarchs. In the ancient era, before the Human Realm's status had slipped, the number of Heavenly Monarchs it could bear far exceeded that of recent times.]

['The status of heaven and earth has slipped again. In another hundred thousand or several hundred thousand years, will the Human Realm even be able to produce the Deity Transformation Stage?']

[In Mituo Hall of the Western Desert, Heavenly Monarch Miduo sighed softly. Among the countless memories in his mind were memories related to the ancient era. That was the most glorious period of the Human Realm, where Heavenly Monarchs crossed the skies—not limited to the early stage, but including Deity Transformation Middle Stage and even late-stage Heavenly Monarchs.]

[As well as that Sword Lord from the late ancient era, who was unprecedented across all ages.]

['Fellow Daoist Qingyuan... so that is how it is...']

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword was deep in thought. He knew of your existence and understood that the Human Realm still currently had five Heavenly Monarchs in reality.]

[He just did not know how you had bypassed the restrictions of heaven and earth to step into the Deity Transformation Stage.]

[At the end of the Deep Sea.]

[Above a massive island spanning ten thousand li, a spatial rift stretched across, threads of demonic energy continuously seeping in.]

[Below the rift stood a figure with a green face and fangs.]

["A Heavenly Monarch of this realm has fallen... As long as another Heavenly Monarch is nurtured, it will be time for the Demon Sovereign to invade this realm."]

[A trace of excitement colored the green-faced, fanged figure's tone. Once the Demon Sovereign invaded this realm, he would no longer have to suffer the frustration of being trapped here.]

["Huh."]

[Just then, a voice of confusion came from the deep sea nearby. It was the Void Whale Master.]

[Hearing this, the green-faced, fanged figure looked toward the deep sea and asked, "Has the Whale Master discovered something?"]

[His true realm was also that of a Rank 5 demon race, but without the Demon Abyss Banner converting the heaven and earth of the Human Realm, he faced suppression and was unable to sense the specific minute details of heaven and earth.]

["Heaven and earth... a new Heavenly Monarch cannot be born..."]

[The Void Whale Master stated directly.]

[As a demonic beast Heavenly Monarch of the Human Realm, it could naturally sense whether a new Heavenly Monarch could be born.]

["Cannot be born... does the Whale Master mean that the status of this realm's heaven and earth has slipped?"]

[The green-faced, fanged figure immediately asked.]

[Despite an old Heavenly Monarch passing away in meditation, a new Heavenly Monarch could not be born. This could be the only reason.]

["That should be the case."]

[The Void Whale Master responded in agreement.]

["I must ask the Demon Sovereign..."]

[The green-faced, fanged figure immediately looked toward the spatial rift behind him. Fluctuations of divine sense surged, clearly contacting the Purgatory Demon Sovereign.]

[The Purgatory Demon Sovereign had constantly been observing the Human Realm.]

[A moment later.]

[The green-faced, fanged figure opened his eyes, a hint of joy revealing itself in his expression.]

["The Demon Sovereign has decreed that with this realm's status slipping, it is precisely at its weakest period. There is no need to nurture a new Heavenly Monarch; we can invade right now."]

[The green-faced, fanged figure looked toward the Void Whale Master in the deep sea nearby. "Whale Master, act now! Completely breach the passage and welcome the grand army of our realm."]

["Yes."]

[The Void Whale Master did not hesitate, beginning to draw upon the power of space to surge into the spatial rift.]

[Right at this moment.]

[Beside the green-faced, fanged figure, another silhouette had appeared at some unknown point.]

["What a pity..."]

[You sighed softly. The green-faced, fanged figure's eyes filled with terror as his consciousness plunged into absolute darkness.]

[You looked toward the Void Whale Master in the nearby deep sea.]

["Who are you?"]

[The Void Whale Master was greatly alarmed, staring at you in disbelief.]