My Longevity Simulation

Chapter 1310: Demon Beasts Secretly Devour Spirits

"Before I died, I took that bastard down with me. These 100 Carefree Coins should be the reward for the kill." Sun Erlang was by no means foolish. After thinking back for a moment, he guessed where the Carefree Coins on his person had come from.

"Speaking of which, what exactly did we just experience?" Wang Xuanba shivered and subconsciously touched his chest, as if the wound that had pierced through him still remained.

"Was it a dream? But the feeling of dying was far too real." Wang Xuanba muttered.

Sun Erlang stared at the few lines of text before him, trying to find more useful information.

Unfortunately, aside from the words themselves, there were no additional explanations.

"It seems we will have to figure things out ourselves." Sun Erlang's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

At this moment, Yue Zhenwei suggested, "How about we return to the border where we encountered the dog-headed demon beasts and investigate?"

"The strength of those two demon beasts was actually about the same as ours. As long as we stay alert and avoid being ambushed, we should be fine."

"Good! I want revenge on them too! Dying like that just now was too frustrating!" Wang Xuanba's eyes gleamed fiercely.

The three once again set off toward the border of Qiuxi Prefecture.

Along the way, Sun Erlang noticed that there seemed to be more cultivators than before. Moreover, they no longer appeared dispirited. Instead, they gathered in groups of three or five, seemingly discussing something.

When Sun Erlang's group tried to approach and eavesdrop, they discovered that these people were not communicating through speech or divine sense, but through some method they could not perceive.

"Maybe we can ask them for information." Wang Xuanba's gaze flickered as he looked at a group of five cultivators in the distance who appeared to be only at the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

Yue Zhenwei immediately stopped him.

"Xuanba, do not act recklessly. If our guess is correct, these people can revive just like us. It is difficult to extract information through force from people who are not afraid of death."

"Let's first investigate the target location," Sun Erlang also said in a low voice.

Wang Xuanba nodded and finally looked away.

In this life, both Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba had learned exceptional skills from the Dao Lecture Platform at a young age. Naturally arrogant and confident, they had encountered formations that could be broken with ease ever since leaving Great Xuan. Their pride had only grown. It was only after being ambushed and killed by the demon beasts that they had become somewhat more cautious.

When they arrived at the location where they had previously fallen, the scene before them left them stunned.

"Why is the world on the other side different from what we saw last time?"

The giant stone coast of Shilin Prefecture had disappeared.

In its place stood a murderous forest of swords.

Millions upon millions of rusted swords were embedded in the earth. As the breeze passed through them, they swayed gently.

Buzz...

Perhaps because he had approached too closely, when all the decayed swords in the forest vibrated together, Sun Erlang seemed to hear a unified sword cry beside his ears. 𝘳Άℕ𝐎ᛒΕS̈

His heart trembled.

Acting on instinct, he tilted his head.

An invisible sword qi brushed past his face, slicing away a patch of flesh.

Ignoring the pain on his cheek, Sun Erlang immediately retreated at high speed. Only after the sense of danger faded did he stop.

There was no doubt that had he failed to dodge in time, far more than a little flesh would have been cut away.

"This world seems even more dangerous than the three we encountered before," Yue Zhenwei speculated with a frown.

Next, the three roughly investigated all the worlds bordering Qiuxi Prefecture.

The sword forest.

A deep valley.

And another world that appeared to be home to a demonic sect.

Within it gathered no fewer than a thousand vicious cultivators.

Even from afar, they could see these demonic cultivators eating human flesh, taking pleasure in torture, and refining artifacts from human bones.

The hellish scene made Wang Xuanba's blood boil. He nearly charged over on the spot to wipe out the entire demonic sect.

Fortunately, Wang Xuanba was impulsive rather than stupid.

In the end, he merely spat viciously toward the other side.

The three gathered once more to discuss.

"Should we first learn some basic information from the local cultivators, or explore more worlds?"

"The cultivators of the Carefree Paradise clearly know rules that we do not. If we ask carelessly, we might reveal our identities immediately."

"Our lives may not be in danger, but we could end up trapped here forever."

"What about soul searching? The Holy Master taught us about it. Although I have never used it on an actual cultivator, I think we can give it a try." Wang Xuanba looked eager.

"Do not forget. We are probably inside a dream. Soul searching may not work at all."

After a period of silence, the three ultimately decided to test it.

"Find someone alone and relatively weak."

"Knock him unconscious first."

After searching Qiuxi Province for most of the day, they finally found a suitable target.

The man appeared to be only at the early Foundation Establishment stage. For some reason, he seemed to have become separated from his companions and was anxiously searching for them.

"Attack!"

With a shout, the three unleashed their killing moves simultaneously.

A black whirlwind.

A giant gray axe.

And Yue Zhenwei's purple qi sword.

Yet to their astonishment, the combined attack they unleashed with full strength, enough to severely injure a Nascent Soul cultivator, failed to harm the Foundation Establishment cultivator at all.

His figure flickered like light and shadow.

Every attack missed completely.

He stared at Sun Erlang's group with disbelief and involuntarily took a step backward.

At the same time, Sun Erlang noticed the lines of text constantly displayed before his eyes suddenly flicker.

Nothing else changed.

Except that his number of Carefree Coins had become zero.

Sun Erlang's face twitched.

Wang Xuanba immediately cried out through voice transmission.

"How can Carefree Coins even go negative? I lost 100!"

Yue Zhenwei's expression was equally gloomy.

"Same here."

During the brief time they were communicating, a white light suddenly emerged from the attacked Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The white light engulfed him completely.

Before disappearing, he looked at the three with the eyes of someone staring at fools.

Then he vanished from the spot.

"..."

The Great Xuan trio looked at one another in silence.

"It seems this is another natural restriction of the paradise. We and these cultivators belong to the same category. The monsters we encountered before, including those in the border worlds, belong to another."

"Cultivators cannot attack each other. There is even punishment for attempting it."

"But killing monsters in the border worlds earns rewards, including Carefree Coins."

After a brief moment of frustration, Sun Erlang quickly regained his spirit and summarized their findings.

"We do not know what happens if our Carefree Coins drop too low. It is best not to find out."

"Let's head into the border worlds and earn back the negative balance first."

At this point, the three completely abandoned the idea of soul searching.

They could not even hit the target, let alone search his soul.

Filled with frustration, they discussed their options and ultimately chose the seemingly most dangerous of the three border worlds, the demonic sect world.

"That place looks like it has a lot of enemies, but anyone refining dharma artifacts from ordinary human bones cannot be that strong."

"Their spells are crude and flashy. They may scare ordinary people, but one swing of my axe will split them apart." Wang Xuanba declared confidently.

"Still, be careful. We have already died once."

"I have a feeling that the number of deaths may be even more important than Carefree Coins." Yue Zhenwei looked at the constantly flashing characters before him and spoke gravely.

After finalizing their plan, the three entered the demonic sect world shoulder to shoulder.

The countless demonic cultivators were stunned by the sudden arrival of the trio from the sky.

After a brief pause, they shouted in a language Sun Erlang could not understand and charged forward.

Boundless blood qi surged.

Countless vengeful spirits howled.

The scene was terrifying.

"Die!"

A giant gray axe suddenly swept through the battlefield.

The blood-colored vengeful spirits jointly released by hundreds of demonic cultivators were instantly torn apart.

The axe continued forward without slowing.

Each swing claimed dozens of lives.

Wang Xuanba slaughtered wildly, his eyes bloodshot with excitement.

"Erlang, these beasts are even weaker than we expected!"

Sun Erlang, who was also harvesting demonic cultivators at great speed, did not agree.

Instead, an uneasy feeling gradually rose within him. It was exactly the same feeling he had experienced when facing the headless dog-headed demon beast.

Sun Erlang immediately looked around while continuing to eliminate enemies.

He searched for the true target.

"Look over there!" Yue Zhenwei suddenly pointed toward a gigantic statue standing within the demonic sect.

This statue had not been visible when they observed the world from outside. Even after they entered the world, it had remained hidden.

Only now, as the battle intensified, did it quietly reveal itself. The statue appeared to be stitched together from countless human corpses.

A monstrous aura of evil surged from it.

Its face possessed no actual features.

Only countless pale arms extended outward, constantly waving.

Every time Sun Erlang's group killed a demonic cultivator, another arm would emerge from the statue's face.

It was as if the dead demonic cultivators were actually being devoured by the giant statue.

Sun Erlang's slaughter slowed slightly.

But the frenzied demonic cultivators had no intention of sparing them.

They showed no fear of death.

Some even stuffed scattered flesh and broken corpses into their mouths before charging forward with crazed screams.

"What do we do? Kill them or not?"

It was obvious that killing the demonic cultivators was somehow empowering the giant statue.

Looking at the countless pale arms sprouting like bamboo shoots after rain, Sun Erlang could not help but feel uneasy.

Yet he answered decisively.

"Kill them."

Purple qi roared through the air.

A massive dragon lowered its head.

One strike annihilated over a thousand demonic cultivators, instantly clearing a huge gap in the encirclement.

Yet before long, fearless demonic cultivators filled the opening once more.

Fortunately, they were not endless.

As the Great Xuan trio fought together, the tide of monstrous, half-human cultivators gradually began to thin.

No one knew how much time had passed.

The nauseating smell of blood had become almost tangible. Even after sealing their sense of smell, they could still feel the stench seeping into their souls.

The entire demonic sect had become a sea of blood. Fragments of exploded cultivator corpses covered the ground.

The land itself seemed to breathe as it slowly absorbed the blood and remains.

Sun Erlang panted heavily.

His hand trembled slightly.

These demonic cultivators were indeed pitifully weak.

None could withstand even a single exchange with the Great Xuan trio.

But there were simply too many of them.

Even standing still and killing without resistance would have exhausted Sun Erlang.

"If I were already in the Nascent Soul Realm, I would not be in such a miserable state."

"With a Cave Heaven providing endless spiritual energy, I would not fear these human wave tactics at all."

The thought suddenly arose in his mind.

Then he seemed to realize something.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"A perfectly balanced difficulty?"

At this moment, aside from the Great Xuan trio, only the giant statue remained. It was not that they had not wanted to eliminate the hidden danger in advance.

An invisible barrier blocked their path.

They could not attack the statue beforehand.

They could only wait for it to complete its final transformation.

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.

The entire demonic sect headquarters began to shake violently.

The giant statue, which had remained motionless until now, suddenly came alive.

Lowering its head, it gazed down at the Great Xuan trio below.

A pair of arms fell from the statue's face.

Then a second pair, a third pair...

Swish, swish, swish.

More and more arms dropped, like a torrential downpour.

Sun Erlang and the other two kept those falling arms at bay while staring solemnly at the statue as its true appearance was gradually revealed.

It was, astonishingly, the face of a pig.

The pig-headed figure wore a compassionate expression, its eyes filled with sorrow. Looking down at Sun Erlang and the others, it seemed deeply regretful.

As though they had committed some unforgivable sin. Being stared at by the enormous pig-headed statue, a nameless fury suddenly rose within Wang Xuanba's heart.

The moment he sensed that the invisible barrier blocking his way had vanished, he was the first to charge forward.

"Today, your grandfather is going to turn that pig head of yours into a drinking snack!" Wang Xuanba roared.

His gray giant axe had already expanded to the same size as the statue.

He swung it fiercely at the pig head.

The pig-headed statue neither dodged nor evaded. The sorrowful compassion in its eyes remained unchanged. However, it opened its mouth, revealing rows of terrifying fangs.

It bit directly onto the giant axe.

Then it chewed.

Bang!

The gray giant axe instantly exploded into countless fragments. Even the gray qi itself was chewed up and swallowed by the pig-headed statue.

Wang Xuanba spat out a mouthful of blood, yet a trace of madness flashed across his eyes.

"Explode!"

The countless strands of gray qi inside the statue's mouth immediately erupted like a swarm of raging dragons. The pig head's cheeks bulged slightly, as though they were about to burst apart.

Yet to Wang Xuanba's astonishment, the pig-headed statue took a deep breath and forcibly swallowed all of the gray qi into its stomach.

One had to know that this gray giant axe was not an ordinary treasure. It was Wang Xuanba's own Foundation Establishment Wonder, the [Mottled Axe of Time]

It had been awarded personally by the Holy Master as a reward for placing among the top three of the Dao Discussion Platform.

The method by which Wang Xuanba achieved Golden Core was likewise based on comprehending the laws hidden within this wonder.

The gray qi of the stone axe contained the principles of the passage of time itself. It wounded others through the power of passing years.

Yet after swallowing all of the endless gray qi contained within the axe, the pig-headed statue suffered no side effects whatsoever.

On the contrary, its body seemed to become even more solid and condensed.

With his Foundation Establishment Wonder devoured, Wang Xuanba's aura visibly declined.

Gravely wounded, he survived only by clinging to a final breath. He no longer possessed the strength to continue fighting.

The entire turn of events occurred in the blink of an eye. Before Sun Erlang and Yue Zhenwei could move to assist him, Wang Xuanba was already at death's door.

Taking advantage of the moment while the pig-headed statue was absorbing the gray qi, Sun Erlang transmitted his voice:

"Something is definitely wrong!"

"The worlds within the Land of Carefree Paradise should be some sort of trial. Judging from the strength this pig-headed statue has displayed, even Nascent Soul cultivators would be unable to contend against it. For us Golden Core cultivators, this is simply a dead end."

"There is no possibility of passing it. If it cannot be passed, then it is no longer a trial..."

"So there must be some detail within this demonic sect stronghold that we have overlooked."

Yue Zhenwei also came to his senses and began observing the surroundings once more.

After devouring the gray qi of the Axe of Time, the pig-headed statue's aura became unstable and fluctuating.

It seemed to be comprehending something and could break through to an even higher level at any moment.

"Damn it. We don't have much time left."

They had already searched this demonic sect stronghold more than once.

Aside from the scattered bones of demonic sect cultivators covering the ground, there seemed to be no hidden clues.

"Where exactly is the key to breaking this deadlock?"

At the moment of greatest danger, Sun Erlang found himself becoming calmer instead.

From the scenes he had witnessed before entering the demonic sect to everything that had happened during the battle.

Countless images slowed down and flashed through his mind one after another.

"The Holy Master once said: when cornered, change creates a path."

"For the demonic sect, outsiders like us are variables. But our existence as variables is only enough to slaughter the cultivators. We are still incapable of dealing with this giant statue."

"In that case..."

A flash of understanding appeared in Sun Erlang's eyes.

"We must seek out even greater variables!"

"This variable cannot lie with outsiders like ourselves."

"It must be..."

A sudden realization surged through his heart.

He quickly transmitted his voice to Yue Zhenwei.

"Go around the pig-headed statue! Attack the sky!"

A black whirlwind shot upward into the heavens.

Sun Erlang merged with it and soared upward.

This black baleful wind was naturally Sun Erlang's Foundation Establishment wonder, the [Annihilating Wind of Absolute Extinction]

It had likewise been bestowed personally by the Holy Master.

The pig head, which was in the midst of absorbing and evolving, sensed Sun Erlang's actions.

Within its eternally compassionate eyes suddenly appeared unmistakable anger and fear.

It let out its first roar since the battle had begun.

Just as it moved to intercept Sun Erlang, a sword of purple qi flew directly toward it.

Purple qi spread across the sky like the rising sun.

It was Yue Zhenwei's Foundation Establishment wonder, personally transmitted by the Holy Master, the [Vast Underworld Purple Firmament Sword].

Within the purple qi, the faint roar of a dragon could be heard.

The overwhelming purple radiance intimidated the pig-headed statue, causing its movements to pause for a brief instant.

That brief hesitation was enough.

Sun Erlang, transformed into black wind, had already broken through its defenses.

He struck the heavenly canopy with full force.

Cracks spread across the sky.

Even the great sun hanging high above began to fracture inch by inch.

The false sky shattered with a thunderous crash.

Countless fragments rained downward, revealing what lay beyond.

It was nothing more than a dark and enormous cavern.

As the false heavens collapsed, the pig-headed statue released a nearly insane roar.

But it no longer had any intention of dealing with Yue Zhenwei and Sun Erlang.

It seemed that something extremely terrifying was about to descend. A streak of light suddenly flew out from the pig-headed statue, attempting to escape.

"Vile beast!"

A voice like a thunderclap suddenly rang out from beyond the heavens.

Then a bolt of purple lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck the fleeing streak of light directly.

Amid a miserable scream, the creature within was reduced to ashes.

Sun Erlang vaguely made out that it was a pig demon that seemed to have been born only recently.

After descending without warning and effortlessly killing the pig demon, the purple lightning never appeared again.

Within this demonic sect, aside from the Great Xuan trio, not a single other living creature remained alive.

Sun Erlang only felt an indescribable weariness deep within his soul.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuanba and Yue Zhenwei felt both relieved and baffled.

"We won just like that?"

"There was no need to fight that terrifying pig-headed statue to the death at all. We only had to shatter this false sky above us, and heavenly lightning would descend and kill the pig demon?"

"What kind of nonsense is this? Did I risk my life for nothing?" Wang Xuanba complained while coughing lightly.

The surrounding scene suddenly froze the moment he spoke those words.

Then it shattered like countless panes of glass exploding simultaneously.

Images of innumerable identical worlds rushed into the minds of the three men. Their brains were overwhelmed by the torrent of fragments. After a wave of dizziness...

They found themselves back at the original starting point.

The Five Elders Association, Qingxi Prefecture.

"Huh? I'm fine again?" During the battle against the demonic sect, Wang Xuanba's cultivation had fallen all the way to the Qi Condensation stage and he had been on the verge of death. Yet now he had fully recovered to the peak of the Golden Core realm.

Not only that, there was not the slightest trace of injury on his body. It was as though the life-and-death battle they had just experienced had been nothing more than a dream.

Yet it was obvious that what they had gone through was far more than an ordinary dream.

"The sky has returned to its normal bright color," Yue Zhenwei observed as he looked around.

"And my Carefree Coins are finally no longer negative. I have two hundred now!" After checking his status, Wang Xuanba said happily.

Although they still had no idea what these Carefree Coins were actually used for.

Sun Erlang stared at the lines of small text before him.

"Sun Erlang. Peak Golden Core. Deaths: 1."

"Paradise Experience Level: 1."

"Carefree Coins: 500."

A small progress bar had appeared behind the Paradise Experience Level.

A pink color filled nearly thirty percent of its length.

Aside from these numerical changes, something else had appeared in Sun Erlang's mind.

"Humans are the foremost of all living beings."

"The human brain, when consumed, increases wisdom."

"The human liver, when consumed, sharpens sight."

"The human kidneys..."

One voice after another echoed continuously within Sun Erlang's mind.

There was no sinister or evil aura whatsoever, only pure explanation and exposition.

Yet when the taste and sensation of devouring those corresponding organs surged into his memories, that incomparably vivid feeling, as though he had personally experienced it all, finally became too much for Sun Erlang to endure.

He immediately began vomiting on the spot.

Seeing Sun Erlang suddenly retching uncontrollably, Wang Xuanba and Yue Zhenwei were completely confused.

Only after Sun Erlang struggled to his feet and explained what had happened did their faces also turn pale.

"This... Erlang, you're not going to become addicted to eating human flesh in the future, are you?" Wang Xuanba shrank his neck.

"This Spirit Devouring Art should be the cultivation method used by that pig demon. By passing the trial of a boundary world, it seems possible to bring items from it back into reality?" Yue Zhenwei said thoughtfully.

"Erlang, try circulating this Spirit Devouring Art," he suggested.

Wang Xuanba was startled, while Sun Erlang, having recovered somewhat, nodded slightly.

Suppressing his nausea, he closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.

A moment later, he looked at Yue Zhenwei.

"I cannot sense the existence of anyone else cultivating this technique."

Yue Zhenwei stroked his chin.

"The Carefree Paradise has existed for so many years, yet no second cultivator of the Spirit Devouring Art has appeared..."

Wang Xuanba's expression grew serious.

"I understand. There is something wrong with this cultivation method."

Sun Erlang shook his head slightly.

"That is not the important point. Although the Spirit Devouring Art was the technique that pig demon used to devour humans, humans are by no means its only targets. Any spiritual creature can be consumed."

"So although it cannot compare to the Holy Master's direct transmission, the Spirit Devouring Art is definitely an extraordinary cultivation method. Cultivating it all the way to the Nascent Soul realm would pose no problem. Even beyond the Nascent Soul realm, one can continue cultivating it, constantly strengthening oneself through the devouring of spiritual objects."

Only then did Wang Xuanba understand.

"A cultivation method like this appeared in a world experienced by newcomers like us. Yet there are no signs that anyone else cultivates it..."

"There are two possibilities. First, the dream worlds within the Carefree Paradise are not restricted by the rule that cultivation techniques cannot be cultivated simultaneously."

"Second, the dreams transform endlessly. New dream worlds are being generated at every moment. The one we encountered just happened to be a newly born dream world."