บท 16: Cave World

The sun barely began to rise when Ling Tian woke up, feeling the tranquility of the early morning. He immediately sat cross-legged, entering a state of meditation to cultivate. His mind focused on absorbing and storing Spiritual Energy in his Dantian, allowing it to flow smoothly through his meridians. The energy filled his body, rejuvenating him with every breath.

After some time, Ling Tian shifted his attention to his sea of consciousness, where the very tiny Sword Law Seed was located. It hovered near his mist-like white soul, emitting sharp bursts of sword energy that rippled through his mind. The energy felt cold yet invigorating.

Ling Tian opened the book about the sword way that he had purchased earlier. The pages rustled as he flipped through them, absorbing the knowledge within. The book began by explaining the importance of law comprehension in a cultivator's journey. Laws, it stated, are the fundamental principles that govern the world, whether they pertain to nature, elements, space, time, or even weapons like the sword. Mastery of these laws not only enhanced a cultivator's abilities but also served as a key to breaking through to higher realms. Ling Tian learned that the comprehension of laws was a threshold every cultivator had to cross if they wished to advance in their cultivation. The book also mentioned that some Laws are higher than others but did not go into further details

The book only provided details on the first realm of law comprehension, the Law Seed Lotus Realm. This realm represented a fundamental understanding of a law's principles. A cultivator would plant a Law Seed, marking the beginning of their journey in that particular law. Reaching this stage was a prerequisite for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm, indicating the crucial role law comprehension played in advancing a cultivator's path. His next step after planting his law seed in his sea of consciousness is to infuse the Law Seed with Intent Strands generated from his practice allowing it to grow and increase in size till it reaches its limit

Ling Tian closed the book, contemplating its contents. The formation of his Sword Law Seed during the simulation was a testament to the boost the 'Basic Sword Affinity' talent provided to his understanding of the path of the sword, even though it was only a White Talent. The next step in his cultivation involved infusing the Sword Seed with Sword Intent Strands generated through his continuous practice and comprehension of sword techniques until the seed reached its full size and potential.

With this newfound understanding, Ling Tian resumed his daily routine. He spent the next five days refining weapons and practicing his sword techniques. During this time, he managed to generate two Sword Intent Strands, which he allowed to orbit the Sword Law Seed rather than integrating them immediately. His weapon refining efforts were fruitful, earning him 400 low-tier Spiritual Stones.

As the day drew to a close, Ling Tian took a moment to rest, his thoughts wandering to the forces that ruled the Azure Continent. The continent was dominated by five righteous first-rate forces: The Fiery Fire Sect, the Ice Cold Palace, the Hundred Refinement Sect, the Green Medicine Valley, and the Sword Guarding Villa. These sects each had at least one Divine Transformation Realm Expert at their helm, ensuring their supremacy. In contrast, four evil first-rate forces—Blood Demon Sect, Devil Fang Temple, Corpse Yin Sect, and Ghost Valley—wielded power through fear and violence. Of course, due to the vastness of the Azure Continent, there are also second and third-rate forces but they are usually unnoticed because of the extreme gap in strength between them and the first-rate forces.

Ling Tian's city in the Eastern Region, like many others, was under the jurisdiction of the Fiery Fire Sect. The sect offered protection and opportunities for higher levels of cultivation in exchange for taxes. However, the existence of malevolent forces like the Blood Demon Sect served as a reminder of the precarious balance between power and safety on the continent as the disciples of some evil sects sometimes use cities and their inhabitants as cultivation resources, slaughtering and devouring them in order to practice their techniques and increasing their cultivation.

After resting, Ling Tian headed to his younger brother's residence, where he was eagerly awaited. A few days ago, Ling Tian had shared his recent advancements with his brother, who had been in awe of his progress. Since then, his brother had clung to him, hoping to learn from him. Despite his own busy schedule, Ling Tian had promised to guide his brother whenever he could. Till now, only his father and younger brother know about his true strength in the entire clan.

After spending a few hours guiding his brother with his practice, Ling Tian returned to his residence. As the night fell, he decided to perform the daily free simulation.

[Ding, Simulation starting...]

[Year 1: At 16, you are at the Integration Stage of the Innate Realm and an Advanced Refiner. Your clan hails you as a genius; the entire city knows your name. The clan provides you with abundant resources. You start studying the basics of the Sword Way.]

[Year 2: At 17, with your talent "Resilient Body" and ample resources, you are integrating Spiritual Energy into your Dantian. You practice with the sword diligently, dedicating most of your time to it. You hear that the Zhao Clan is searching for the killer of Zhao Yun, but you do not heed them, knowing you erased all your traces.]

[Year 3: At 18, you begin searching for martial arts techniques and buy them. You start practicing the Martial Arts Path and focus on mastering the sword.]

[Year 4: At 19, your talent 'Intermediate Martial Arts Prodigy' activates. You learn to ignite your Blood Qi, enhancing your strength and endurance. You break through to the Kindling Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm, resulting in enhanced physical strength and basic control over Blood Qi.]

[Year 5: At 20, your cultivation increases steadily. You refine weapons regularly for your clan, which becomes more prosperous.]

[Year 6: At 21, your younger brother reaches the Awakening Stage of the Innate Realm. You and your brother are called the Twin Stars of the Ling Clan.]

[Year 7: At 22, your clan opens a store for selling the weapons you refine and accumulates many resources. Your name becomes renowned within the city. With the help of your talent, you remove blockages and enhance your body's ability to channel Blood Qi. You advance to the Blaze Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm, improving the flow of Blood Qi through the meridians.]

[Year 9: At 24, many clan members achieve breakthroughs in their cultivation because of the increased resources provided by your weapon refining. Your father gets promoted to the Integration Stage of the Innate Realm. You steadily increase your cultivation.]

[Year 11: At 26, your Dantian is filled with purified spiritual energy, and you reach the peak of the Innate Realm. You also reach the peak of the Blaze Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm. You focus on solidifying your breakthrough and restraining your aura before coming out of seclusion. While strolling in the marketplace, you search for the black ore you encountered in the previous simulation and successfully buy it, obtaining the little token.]

[Year 14: At 29, you compress and condense half of your Blood Qi into a denser, more potent form and break through to the Inferno Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm.]

[Year 15: At 30, you know that disciples from the Fiery Fire Sect will arrive in the city to recruit new members and that your killing of Zhao Yun will be exposed. So, you decide to leave early to avoid trouble.]

[Year 16: At 31, you are wandering through the continent alone, and at the same selling your weapons time, and generating Sword Intent Stands to feed your law seed.]

[Year 18: At 33, you compress and condense your other half of Blood Qi into a denser, more potent form and break through to the Peak of the Inferno Stage of the Blood Ignition Realm.]

[Year 19: At 34, you managed to buy a cultivation technique with your savings and advance to the Initial Stage of the Spiritual Realm.]

[Year 21: At 36, while traveling around, you see a white beam piercing through the sky near you so you decide to check the place out. After arriving, you see a crowd of people gathering at the place of the beam. You find out that someone accidentally triggered the formation of a cave world and now the entrance of the cave is gradually revealing itself.]

[After a few days, the entrance fully reveals itself. You hesitate for a few breaths, then you steel yourself and enter the cave. You get teleported to a small forest. You observe your surroundings after getting out of the forest. You find that this cave is a huge world filled with many forests and mountain ranges.]

[Year 22: At 37, you are traveling slowly in the cave world because of the many dangers. You find many herbs that help in cultivation and consume them accelerating your cultivation. You also discover that the lightning spiritual energy is dominant in this cave world. Your Law Seed is also increasing slowly in size after infusing the Sword Intent Strands that you are generating.]

[Year 23: At 38, you hear loud sounds coming from in front of you. Upon closure look, you find three cultivators at the Advanced Stage of the Spiritual Realm running frantically in your direction. When they arrive near you, one of them breaks an egg and you get splashed with yellow mucus from the egg. Just as you were about to teach them a lesson, you heard a loud roar. You turn your head and see two huge purple snakes flickering with bursts of lightning at the Purple Mansion Realm glaring at you fiercely while also looking at the broken egg. You were about to escape when you were surrounded by the two snakes.]

[You fight with two snakes on equal footing relying on your talents, special body, and the Sword Law Seed. After a few bouts, you manage to nearly kill one of the snakes. Just as you were about to take its life, it suddenly screams and gathers all of its energy at its only protruding horn on top of its head blowing itself along with you into pieces. You are dead.]

[Simulation Complete.]

[Evaluation: You were able to find a huge cave world rich in resources but were schemed at by escaping cultivators which led to you battling the two snakes and dying in vain.]