Chapter 270: The Third Golden Talent

Carrying Venerable Xuan, Zhou Qing arrived at a small island in Xuanwang Lake.

To play it safe, Zhou Qing still performed Soul Searching on Venerable Xuan.

During the sixth simulation, Zhou Qing had performed Soul Searching on Venerable Xuan multiple times. He understood this Rank 4 Early Stage beast king inside and out, and knew Profound King Island during this time period like the back of his hand.

But this was reality, and there was nothing wrong with being cautious.

The same applied to launching a sneak attack on an early-stage beast king like Venerable Xuan.

He did it to be absolutely foolproof.

A moment later.

Venerable Xuan slowly woke up, spotting a figure standing not far away with his back turned.

"How bitter..."

Venerable Xuan felt a wave of bitterness.

Before losing consciousness, he had sensed his divine soul defenses being crushed like thin paper. Venerable Xuan knew his attacker was definitely a Fourth-Order Late Stage existence, most likely a Great Cultivator of the human race.

If it had been a Fourth-Order Late Stage beast king, they wouldn't have used such methods. Moreover, as a fellow demonic beast, even if Venerable Xuan couldn't defeat them, he would have sensed it in advance. This was a particular ability he possessed as a beast king.

"Senior..."

Venerable Xuan steadied his mind and quickly bowed respectfully toward Zhou Qing.

Since he wasn't dead, he definitely still had value. Under the circumstances, Venerable Xuan naturally didn't dare to show the slightest disobedience.

"Take me down."

Zhou Qing turned around, glanced at Venerable Xuan, and spoke in a flat tone.

"Down..." Venerable Xuan's heart tightened, instantly understanding the meaning behind those words.

"Understood..." Venerable Xuan sighed inwardly, knowing he could no longer keep the grotto-heaven fragment beneath Xuanwang Lake a secret.

A grotto-heaven was forged by a mighty Heavenly Monarch. Even a mere fragment was an unprecedented fortuitous encounter for an early-stage beast king like Venerable Xuan.

However, this particular grotto-heaven fragment had been opened by a mighty human figure. Even though Venerable Xuan had possessed and studied it for a long time, he still hadn't gained much. Because of this, he had long considered raising a human Nascent Soul True Monarch to explore it with him.

As for why he didn't invite other human true lords... once news of the grotto-heaven fragment leaked, an early-stage beast king like him definitely wouldn't be able to protect it. Only a true lord he had nurtured himself, bound by established ties and an agreement to share the exploration, could keep the fragment's existence hidden.

Now, however, with a human Great Cultivator standing before him, Venerable Xuan knew he was not fated for the grotto-heaven fragment. "Senior, follow me..."

Venerable Xuan immediately set off. He faintly felt a suffocating pressure deep within his divine soul, perfectly aware that if he made the slightest move, this human Great Cultivator could reduce him to ash with a single thought.

Venerable Xuan didn't dare to harbor any schemes. Losing the grotto-heaven fragment certainly pained him, but compared to his life, the fragment was just a worldly possession, no matter how precious.

A short while later.

Under Venerable Xuan's lead, Zhou Qing arrived at the bottom of Xuanwang Lake.

Below was a hazy screen of light that blocked both divine sense and physical sight. This was the entrance to the grotto-heaven fragment.

Zhou Qing was very familiar with this place; he had already explored it during the last simulation.

"Go in."

Taking Venerable Xuan along, Zhou Qing stepped directly into the grotto-heaven fragment.

The instant he entered the grotto-heaven fragment, Zhou Qing looked at the illusory text hovering below his line of sight and directly selected 'Option One'.

Inherit all cultivation, realms, skills, techniques, and memories from the simulation...

Now that he had entered the grotto-heaven fragment, he was completely isolated from the outside world. Even if Zhou Qing stepped into the Deity Transformation Stage, he could conceal his Heavenly Monarch aura. Once the inheritance was fully complete, he could actively retract his aura without needing to rely on this grotto-heaven fragment anymore.

Among the dozens of methods Zhou Qing had come up with during the sixth simulation, this grotto-heaven fragment beneath Profound King Island was the easiest and most reliable way to minimize unexpected variables.

The only entity involved was an early-stage beast king, Venerable Xuan.

As for the other methods? The Ghost Realm Trial Field? Or the critical strongholds of the dominant factions in the Eastern Wilderness Domain? None were as reliable as this grotto-heaven fragment beneath Profound King Island.

Buzz—

The very moment Zhou Qing selected 'Option One'...

His aura surged at a terrifying speed.

Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak... Deity Transformation Stage...

Boom!

In an instant, the Nascent Soul spirit body inside Zhou Qing's dantian completed the phase of transforming the Nascent Soul into an Origin Soul. The resulting Origin Soul was incredibly stable, far surpassing those of Heavenly Monarchs who had just entered the Deity Transformation Stage.

Countless memories also flooded Zhou Qing's mind. Before inheriting them, Zhou Qing could generally understand everything that had happened in the simulation through the illusory text.

The text couldn't convey the finer details. But now, Zhou Qing had absolute clarity on the two thousand years he had lived during the sixth simulation. Naturally, all the emotions from that period were isolated. It was like watching a film—he understood the details perfectly without being dragged into the emotional depths.

Whoosh—

As his dharma cultivation realm reached the Deity Transformation Stage...

Zhou Qing's body cultivation realm also began rapidly rising.

Fourth-Order Late Stage... Fourth-Tier Late Stage Peak... Rank 5...

Zhou Qing's auras intertwined, every strand of his qi and blood writhing like a swimming dragon.

Beside him, Venerable Xuan felt lost, wondering which faction this Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivator belonged to.

Suddenly.

Venerable Xuan's heart violently trembled.

When Zhou Qing restored his Heavenly Monarch cultivation in both dharma cultivation and body cultivation, the aura he leaked—even a single trace of it—made Venerable Xuan feel as if he were plunging into an abyss.

...

"Restored..." Zhou Qing let out a long breath. Having fully inherited his cultivation and strength, a deep sense of bliss swelled in his heart. It was the absolute safety born of absolute power.

With Zhou Qing's current combat prowess, who in the entire Human Realm could be his match?

"The Heavenly Monarch aura hasn't leaked; it's completely isolated by the grotto-heaven fragment..."

The instant he finished the inheritance, Zhou Qing immediately retracted his entire Heavenly Monarch aura. At the same time, he turned and walked to the edge of the grotto-heaven fragment, carefully sensing for the auras of other Heavenly Monarchs to confirm they remained entirely unaware of his existence.

If the five current Heavenly Monarchs of this era sensed the aura of a sixth, the world absolutely wouldn't be this peaceful.

"The Human Realm's heaven and earth..."

Zhou Qing carefully sensed the changes in the Human Realm. As the sixth Heavenly Monarch, a little focus allowed him to faintly feel the pressure bearing down from the realm's heaven and earth.

"Mhm... even when Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passes away in meditation several centuries from now, it will be impossible for a new Heavenly Monarch to be born."

Five Heavenly Monarchs is indeed close to the Human Realm's upper limit, even if I bypassed the world's restrictions through inheritance, Zhou Qing thought silently.

But when Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passes away in meditation, it will simply restore the balance. At that time, the Human Realm will still have five Heavenly Monarchs. Those Late Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivators banking on his passing to break through to the Deity Transformation Stage will probably smash their heads against a wall.

In the eyes of the other Heavenly Monarchs, since they haven't discovered my existence, they'll just assume the Human Realm's status has fallen further and can only support four Heavenly Monarchs.

But that has nothing to do with reality. Heavenly Monarch Shuiyue passing away hundreds of years from now... if this were reality, centuries would have to pass. How many times will I have simulated by then? "Not bad at all."

Zhou Qing gave a slight nod. Right now, everything was proceeding according to plan. He had successfully inherited all his strength and cultivation from the simulation without being discovered by the current Heavenly Monarchs.

...

Buzz—

The illusory text continued to shift.

[Currently evaluating your experiences from this simulation...]

Zhou Qing's expression turned serious as he stared intently at the illusory text, his eyes filled with anticipation.

In the sixth simulation, Zhou Qing had stepped into the Deity Transformation Stage and reached the absolute peak of the Human Realm while facing the invasion from the Demon Abyss Realm. Although he hadn't managed to stop it in the end, he had successfully stalled them for several centuries.

Without Zhou Qing, the Human Realm would likely have been occupied by the Demon Abyss Realm centuries earlier.

Given the impact of such massive feats, the talent calculated at the end couldn't possibly just be purple, right?

Having obtained two golden talents before, Zhou Qing knew very well that golden talents were a massive leap above purple talents—it was a qualitative change.

... The illusory text constantly intertwined, merged, and extended.

[In this simulation, under your desperate stalling, the Human Realm was occupied by the Demon Abyss Realm several centuries later than it otherwise would have been.]

[In the final moments of your lifespan, you saw the Demon Abyss Realm's Purgatory Demon Sovereign descend upon the Human Realm, only to be severed by a streak of sword light.]

[You are extremely curious about the events that followed.]

[Did the Purgatory Demon Sovereign completely perish? And what was the final fate of the Human Realm?]

[That Black-Red Moon representing the will of the Demon Abyss Realm vanished the instant that slender sword light appeared. Will it appear again?]

[Unfortunately, you were already dead. With the simulation ended, you have no way of knowing what truly happened afterward.]

...

Row after row of illusory text rapidly shifted.

Ultimately, they all dissipated, condensing once more into brand-new text.

Strands of golden brilliance surged forth.

A golden talent! Zhou Qing felt a wave of relief, a smile breaking across his face.

A golden talent completely met Zhou Qing's expectations; his absolute baseline had been a purple talent.

Although purple talents were far inferior to golden ones, the several purple talents he had obtained previously had still been of tremendous help to him.

The illusory text began to shift once more.

Those strands of golden light grew increasingly intense, almost taking on physical substance.

[You have obtained a golden talent—]

[Dead But Not Stiff]

[Dead But Not Stiff: Every time your simulation ends, you may possess the body of a certain existence you made contact with during that simulation, lasting for a hundred years.]

[During the possession, you cannot influence the host's decisions, but you can synchronize with all of their perspectives and sensations.]

[The target of possession is strictly limited to those you made contact with during this current simulation. You cannot choose an existence you did not make contact with, nor can you choose existences encountered in other simulations.]

...

The description for this new golden talent was very simple. Zhou Qing swept his gaze over it, taking it all in at a glance. "Dead But Not Stiff?"

Zhou Qing furrowed his brows, pondering the uses of this golden talent.

On the surface, the effect of this talent wasn't very obvious. It merely granted the ability to possess an entity he had come into contact with for a hundred years after dying in the simulation.

In other words, through this golden talent, Zhou Qing could witness the events of the century following his death in the simulation.

The target of possession had to be someone he had made contact with. If there was no contact, possession was impossible.

Roughly speaking, this talent fell into the intelligence-gathering category. It was indeed useful to Zhou Qing. For example, in the sixth simulation, if he had possessed this talent, he could have discovered the Purgatory Demon Sovereign's ultimate fate after that sword light struck, as well as the Human Realm's subsequent developments.

That, in turn, would allow him to prepare for the next simulation.

But no matter how he looked at it, this ability didn't match the standard of a golden talent; it was more akin to a purple one.

"Wait, no..."

Zhou Qing's expression changed slightly as his gaze landed on one particular line of the illusory text.

[During the possession, you cannot influence the host's decisions, but you can synchronize with all of their perspectives and sensations.]

"Synchronize with all of the host's perspectives and sensations?" Zhou Qing's expression turned grave.

What exactly did 'all perspectives and sensations' mean?

If the person he possessed was a Divination heavenly master...

He would obtain all of that master's insights into the path of Divination, their understanding of heavenly secrets and fate, their proficiency with their signature methods, and so forth.

Just how much help would that provide to Zhou Qing's own path of Divination?

And if he possessed the Purgatory Demon Sovereign, he would similarly acquire that Void Return demon sovereign's mastery over his own power, as well as his comprehension of the Great Dao of heaven and earth...

Void Return Stage and Deity Transformation Stage beings had entirely different levels of comprehension regarding the Great Dao of heaven and earth. If he could obtain a Void Return Stage expert's understanding of the world ahead of time, the benefits would be...

The most crucial point was that this talent had no upper limit. Theoretically, as long as the conditions were met, Zhou Qing could possess a Mahayana Stage immortal. He could obtain all of that immortal's perspectives and sensations, and comprehend the numerous secret arts and talents they had mastered...

This was equivalent to providing Zhou Qing with a guiding light, showing him exactly how to walk the path ahead.

As expected of a golden talent...

Zhou Qing marveled inwardly. Obtaining information and intelligence about the century after his death was secondary for this talent; its primary use was to experience everything the host did.

This 'everything' included their perspective, their comprehension of the world's Great Dao, their signature secret methods, and even their flaws and weaknesses... I just don't know what kind of contact qualifies for the possession criteria. Does it count as indirect contact, or must it be direct contact...

If it required direct contact, he would have to be careful.

For instance, in the sixth simulation, he would have made sure to at least brush against the Purgatory Demon Sovereign. He wouldn't have just burned through all his lifespan without leaving himself a single opening.

In the next simulation, I need to make contact with that Purgatory Demon Sovereign as much as possible...

Zhou Qing's thoughts shifted. When the Demon Abyss Realm finally occupied the Human Realm, the Black-Red Moon condensed in the sky. That Black-Red Moon represents the will of the Demon Abyss Realm. If I could make contact with it, wouldn't I be able to possess the Demon Abyss Realm itself and experience the operating laws of that grand world? ...Just how massive of a help would that be to me...

Zhou Qing's heart pounded with excitement. He planned to give it a proper try when the seventh simulation came.

...

Whoosh—

Right at this moment.

Venerable Xuan walked out from the grotto-heaven fragment, his entire body trembling with unease.

He had no idea why Zhou Qing had walked back out right after entering the grotto-heaven fragment.

But just a moment ago, the instant Zhou Qing entered the fragment, the aura he revealed—even a tiny trace of it—was as vast as the heavens and the earth. This caused certain taboo memories to uncontrollably surface in Venerable Xuan's mind. Even though Venerable Xuan only possessed a Rank 4 Early Stage cultivation base, he had lived for millennia and experienced far too much, acquiring a great deal of information that ordinary Rank 4 beast kings would never uncover.

Among them was taboo information related to Heavenly Monarchs of the Deity Transformation Stage.

Because of the grotto-heaven fragment beneath Profound King Island, Venerable Xuan had some understanding of this realm. Specifically, while exploring the fragment, he had felt the faint residual aura left behind by its creator.

Now, that residual aura faintly overlapped with the trace of aura Zhou Qing had just leaked. It was similarly vast and unfathomable; in fact, the aura Zhou Qing revealed was far superior to the faint trace left in the grotto-heaven fragment.

"Heavenly Monarch..."

Venerable Xuan blankly stared at the towering figure standing outside the grotto-heaven fragment's entrance, feeling an overwhelming urge to drop to his knees.