Chapter 243: Who Are You Exactly

'As expected, the more times I act, the more traces and clues I leave behind...'

Looking at the reasoning behind the Four Great Chambers of Commerce's rankings, particularly their deduction that you were at least a Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster, you pondered to yourself.

Without investing a massive amount of lifespan, it would be difficult for a Fourth Tier High Grade Divination Grandmaster to divine even brief information about you. However, it was quite normal for them to deduce that you were at least a Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster based on the details of the clash over heavenly secrets during the divination process.

The performance of a non-divination grandmaster during a clash over heavenly secrets was entirely different from that of a Divination Grandmaster.

The same held true between a Rank 4 Lower Grade Divination Grandmaster and a Tier 4 Mid-Grade Divination Grandmaster.

Since a Fourth Tier High Grade Divination Grandmaster represented the pinnacle of divination arts since the near-ancient era, it wasn't strange that they could sense the discrepancy.

But that was the extent of it.

Year 290. You were 307 years old.

Supported by a multitude of body cultivation resources, your Body Refining cultivation progressed rapidly.

You didn't consume these resources directly. Instead, you refined them into numerous great body cultivation pills to maximize their efficacy.

You had a feeling that by the age of four hundred at the latest, your body cultivation realm would reach the Fourth-Tier Late Stage Peak.

By then, you would be at your absolute strongest, with your physical body, Nascent Soul, and divine soul all at their peak.

Year 300. You were 317 years old.

You learned that Li Yan's musical arts had finally broken through to the Fourth Tier High Grade.

Before attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, she had relied on your experiences and insights from the previous two simulations to push her musical arts to the Rank 4 Middle Grade Peak.

Now, having been in the Nascent Soul Stage for a century or two, Li Yan had finally taken that last step, becoming a musical grandmaster of the Human Realm.

The Dao of Music was an obscure skill with far fewer practitioners than alchemy or talisman crafting. Fourth Tier High Grade musical grandmasters in the realm could likely be counted on one hand.

You immediately left the Heavenly Talisman Sect and returned to the Qingxuan Cave Dwelling, intending to experience the taste of Fourth Tier High Grade musical arts right away.

Qingxuan Cave Dwelling.

The lingering notes of the zither faintly wove together massive illusions that completely immersed the listener. Under the influence of such music, even an ordinary Late Stage Great Cultivator would have most of their mental focus siphoned away.

The Blood Roc, having stepped into the Rank 4 Mid Stage, had sunken into it entirely, unable to extricate itself.

"Not bad."

You nodded slightly as the piece came to an end.

You willingly immersed yourself in the zither's melody, experiencing the countless illusionary worlds it forged, and faintly felt your state of mind undergoing a degree of tempering.

At your current level, external forces capable of tempering your state of mind were incredibly rare.

"Master..."

Li Yan's face was somewhat pale. Even with your cooperation, drawing you into that massive musical illusion had taken quite a toll on her, as if a colossal behemoth had squeezed its way inside.

"Going forward, Yan'er, do you have any insights regarding the fifth-tier musical heavenly master rank?" you asked.

Although she had relied on the experience and insights accumulated from your previous two simulations, Li Yan's talent in musical arts was absolutely top-tier.

Without innate talent, no amount of insights would have allowed her to become a musical grandmaster.

Over your multiple simulations, you had also attempted to comprehend musical arts, but to this day, your progress remained negligible.

"A fifth-tier musical heavenly master... Yan'er has no confidence at all. I don't even have a direction..." Li Yan said softly.

"Take your time."

You patted Li Yan's head. In this simulation, Li Yan still had plenty of lifespan remaining; there was plenty of room for improvement.

"From now on, focus your main energy on your cultivation. Try to break through to the Mid Nascent Soul Stage as soon as possible," you instructed.

Since Li Yan wouldn't be able to achieve another breakthrough in her musical arts anytime soon, she naturally needed to prioritize her cultivation.

Once she stepped into the Mid Nascent Soul Stage, the Primordial Yin Qi nourished by her Primordial Yin Treasure Physique would become even purer. When the time came to harvest it later, it would be of even greater help to you.

"Okay,"

Li Yan said obediently.

Following that, you would return to the Qingxuan Cave Dwelling every few years to listen to Li Yan's zither melodies.

Because your body cultivation hadn't yet reached the Fourth-Tier Late Stage Peak, you still needed to rely on the Heavenly Talisman Sect's Fourth Tier High Grade spiritual vein to cultivate.

However, listening to a piece every few years was sufficient for you. Mainly, Li Yan was unable to frequently guide you into her musical illusions, so she could only do it once every few years.

The strength of your mind and will was simply too massive, having shattered the limits of the Nascent Soul Stage.

Your mount, the Blood Roc, possessed extreme speed, so traveling back and forth between the Central Continent and the Eastern Wilderness hardly took any time.

Year 310. You were 327 years old.

"To model after heaven and earth, to learn from nature... so this is the true Fourth Tier High Grade array path..."

You sat cross-legged as magical power continuously intertwined in front of you, forming one great array after another. Finally, all the arrays converged, condensing into a miniature Fourth Tier High Grade formation.

Across your multiple simulations, you had invested quite a bit of time comprehending the array path. As early as your last simulation, your attainments in formations had already broken through to the Rank 4 Middle Grade.

In this simulation, over the course of three hundred years, your realm had elevated, and your divine soul had grown incredibly strong, both of which proved highly beneficial to your comprehension of the array path.

Now, quantitative changes had finally birthed a qualitative transformation, allowing you to step into the ranks of Fourth Tier High Grade array grandmasters.

"Array path... talisman path... puppetry..."

After your array skills reached the Fourth Tier High Grade, you gained new insights into the talisman path and puppetry.

Long ago, you had comprehended the art of talisman arrays—a brand-new method formed by combining your attainments in both the array and talisman paths. Your puppetry also incorporated some concepts from the array path.

"Mastering one law means mastering ten thousand laws?"

"Mastering ten thousand laws? No, mastering one law means mastering ten thousand laws!"

A smile appeared on your face. Even though this epiphany hadn't pushed your talisman path or puppetry a step further into Rank 5, the accumulation of experience would settle and solidify over time.

This would play a crucial role when you eventually stepped into Rank 5 of those arts.

"Come to think of it, I now possess a total of five Fourth Tier High Grade skills: Divination, alchemy, talisman crafting, puppetry, and array formations."

You were in a good mood. Mastering five major Fourth Tier High Grade skills single-handedly while in the Nascent Soul Stage—who else could accomplish such a feat? Even in the ancient era, it was impossible for such a true lord to exist.

You were only able to reach this point by relying on the accumulation from your multiple simulations.

Year 320. You were 337 years old.

Great Cultivator Sanfu broke through to the Late Nascent Soul Stage, becoming the Heavenly Talisman Sect's fourth Great Cultivator of this generation.

The Heavenly Talisman Sect had finally weathered its period of decline.

Even excluding you, the Heavenly Talisman Sect still possessed three home-grown Great Cultivators.

They were the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator, Great Cultivator Luanfu, and Great Cultivator Sanfu.

Great Cultivator Sanfu held a great deal of respect for you; he unfailingly attended every one of your Dao sermons.

This time, after breaking into the Late Nascent Soul Stage and stabilizing his realm, Great Cultivator Sanfu personally came to your cave dwelling to express his gratitude.

"Elder Qingyuan, if you hadn't cleared up my doubts on multiple occasions, there's no way I could have broken through so easily,"

Great Cultivator Sanfu said earnestly.

"It was nothing," you said with a smile. Based on your previous simulation, even without your guidance and help, Great Cultivator Sanfu would have eventually broken through to the Late Nascent Soul Stage.

It just would have taken him over a decade longer.

Year 330. You were 347 years old.

Dachun passed the second phase of his body cultivation trials, walking out of the Ghost Realm Trial Field with the strength of a body cultivation true lord.

Compared to the previous simulations, he received your help and support this time. You had used your own essence blood to cleanse his marrow and reforge his tendons, as well as passed down numerous secret body cultivation legacies to him.

As a result, Dachun cleared the second phase over a hundred years earlier than before.

After listening to Li Yan play the zither in the Qingxuan Cave Dwelling, you took a detour to the Taiyuan Region and met with Dachun.

"Young Master..."

Dachun looked at you, the instincts buried deep within his bloodline making him tremble slightly with apprehension.

If not for the fact that your appearance and the bloodline aura you gave off were entirely identical to the 'Young Master' in his memories, Dachun probably would have turned tail and ran on the spot.

"Refine these body cultivation resources if you can."

You bestowed Dachun with a large amount of body cultivation resources that you had no use for. The body cultivation materials you had reaped from the Lingxu Blessed Land were far in excess of what you needed. Giving them to Dachun to increase his chances of passing the upcoming third phase of the trials—and even the ultimate trial—was simply a spare investment on your part.

In addition, you passed the secret arts written in golden seal script from the massive boulder at the center of the Lingxu Blessed Land down to Dachun.

In the fifth simulation, Dachun died during the third phase of the trials. In this simulation, that shouldn't happen again.

With your support, once Dachun completely digested everything, his strength would likely rival that of a Rank 4 Mid Stage pure body cultivator.

A few years later, you watched as Dachun entered the Ghost Realm Trial Field once again.

Year 340. You were 357 years old.

The Red Talisman Grand Cultivator was on the verge of passing away in meditation. He was the most senior Great Cultivator in the Heavenly Talisman Sect, having lived through both its peak and its decline. His influence was immense.

Right before the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator passed away, you made a special trip to see him.

Inside the spacious grand hall, the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator revealed a hint of old age as he sat cross-legged. Great Cultivator Luanfu and Great Cultivator Sanfu were present as well.

"Fellow Daoist Qingyuan..."

The Red Talisman Grand Cultivator's eyes lit up the moment he saw you. "Whenever I look at you, I think of Cold Talisman, Qingfu, and the others..."

The Red Talisman Grand Cultivator's tone was somewhat desolate. The Cold Talisman Grand Cultivator, Great Cultivator Qingfu, and the others were all Great Cultivators from his generation, and they had been dead for many years.

"I've been thinking about it a lot lately myself. I reckon I don't have much longer to live either," you sighed. Having been with the Heavenly Talisman Sect for three or four hundred years, based on a normal Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivator's lifespan, you only had a century or two left at most.

In reality, even after accounting for the century of lifespan you sacrificed when breaking through to become a Divination Grandmaster, you still had around eight hundred years left to live.

"Sigh. Our generation has ultimately passed on..."

The Red Talisman Grand Cultivator shook his head and said, "Come to think of it, I don't know whether to consider my luck good or bad, living through the era of True Monarch Golden Face..."

The Red Talisman Grand Cultivator paused at that.

Hundreds of years ago, he had disguised himself in a gray robe and fought against True Monarch Golden Face, competing for resources in the Heavenly Pillar Secret Realm.

Almost none of the Great Cultivators who had crossed blows with True Monarch Golden Face met a good end, yet he had surprisingly managed to escape completely unscathed.

Because of that, the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator felt his luck was quite good.

As for his bad luck? Sharing the same era as True Monarch Golden Face was a nightmare for all Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivators.

It was entirely foreseeable that for thousands, even tens of thousands of years to come, all Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivators would live under the shadow of True Monarch Golden Face. Even if True Monarch Golden Face eventually grew old, passed away in meditation, and vanished from the world, the mere thought of him would still strike terror into the hearts of generations of Great Cultivators.

"However..."

The Red Talisman Grand Cultivator suddenly looked at you and asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Qingyuan, you once claimed to hail from the deep sea beyond the Southern Sea. But over all these years, our Heavenly Talisman Sect hasn't been able to find any records of a Great Cultivator matching your description in those regions..."

As a Late Stage Great Cultivator who had joined them halfway, it was inevitable that the Heavenly Talisman Sect would investigate your background.

The same had happened in the fifth simulation, when you joined the sect with a Mid Nascent Soul Stage cultivation base.

"It's probably been too long. Nobody remembers me anymore," you said calmly.

"True enough."

Seeing that you didn't wish to answer, the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator didn't press the issue. Regardless of what region you came from or what grudges you carried, he had witnessed everything you had done for the Heavenly Talisman Sect over the years. You had fully fulfilled your duties as an elder and earned the deep respect of the sect's numerous disciples.

And that was more than enough.

He only asked because he was quite curious about your true identity.

Now that he saw you were unwilling to explain, he naturally wasn't going to get to the bottom of it.

It was precisely because he trusted you that the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator had asked you face-to-face.

"After I pass away in meditation, don't make the funeral overly elaborate."

"Also, just like the other top forces, under no circumstances are you to provoke True Monarch Golden Face," the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator instructed calmly.

"Yes."

Great Cultivator Luanfu and Great Cultivator Sanfu looked on with grief-stricken expressions.

Half a year later, the Red Talisman Grand Cultivator passed away in meditation.

You subsequently became the most senior Great Cultivator in the Heavenly Talisman Sect.

However, as a Great Cultivator who had joined halfway, you never interfered in the sect's internal decisions. Day in and day out, you did nothing but cultivate.

Occasionally, you would take a trip out and return to the Qingxuan Cave Dwelling to listen to music.

Year 350. You were 367 years old.

Inside the cave dwelling, you sat cross-legged. Within your dantian, the chubby little hands of your primary Nascent Soul rapidly formed incantation gestures.

One after another, silver seal characters the size of tadpoles materialized on the surface of your primary Nascent Soul's body before thoroughly fusing into its spiritual form.

As the final silver seal character condensed and fused into its spiritual body, it seemed to trigger a qualitative transformation. Thousands upon thousands of silver seal characters abruptly surfaced on your primary Nascent Soul, all of them weaving together, fusing, and then splitting apart.

The spiritual pressure radiating from your primary Nascent Soul's spiritual body rose slightly, and its overall stability improved.

"The third layer of the Divine Origin Void Crossing Great Art—mastered!"

You opened your eyes, a smile gracing your face.

After three hundred and fifty years of bitter practice, you had finally mastered this layer.

'It did indeed stabilize my Nascent Soul's spiritual body somewhat, though the margin isn't huge. Then again, given the current strength of my Nascent Soul's spiritual body, the fact that it was able to improve at all proves that this secret art is immensely powerful,' you thought to yourself. Because your Nascent Soul's spiritual body was simply too robust to begin with, the boost it received from mastering the third layer wasn't particularly prominent.

It was like a pot of water—if poured into a cup, it would naturally fill it to the brim, but if poured into a pond, it would barely make a difference.