Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 473 - 244: Demon Race Schemes! Abyssal Tide!_2
"Brother Su, your Xuanji Cave Heaven is also famous for its Puppetry Art. Why don’t you go help this young man?" someone asked, looking toward a white-haired, white-bearded elder beside him.
That was a Saint from Xuanji Cave Heaven, a peerless talent in his youth, once known as the foremost expert in puppetry in Nanzhou. He had once competed against the most famous prodigy of the Sanqing Immortal Sect’s Manipulation Sect for three full years without a conclusive victory.
At this moment, however, the Saint from Xuanji Cave Heaven wore a bitter expression and shook his head. "It’s not that I’m deliberately standing by and watching. The truth is... I simply can’t get involved!"
When he said this, everyone was shocked.
This man can’t get involved? Is that even possible?
The Saint from Xuanji Cave Heaven gave a wry smile, at a loss for words and unsure where to begin. "I am ashamed. I’ve dedicated my entire life to studying the art of puppetry, only to realize today that I have strayed onto the wrong path... This child has already embarked on a brand-new path, one that is neither the way of the Sanqing’s Manipulation Sect nor the path of my Xuanji!" he sighed, his voice full of lament.
In other words, he couldn’t understand Wang Xiu’s path! The scope was too vast, the thinking too ingenious, the skills too exquisite; he couldn’t even keep up with Wang Xiu’s train of thought.
"Look!" a Saint suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone quickly looked over.
Before their eyes, the model in front of Wang Xiu was changing again and again. It unexpectedly multiplied into ten models, then twenty, and finally one hundred! The entire void was filled with Zhenmo City models constructed from grains of sand. Each grain radiated a mystical golden light, emanating a grand and ancient aura as they shifted and transformed in the blink of an eye.
"Has this kid gone mad? He’s simulating one hundred different plans at once?" The Saint from Xuanji Cave Heaven’s eyes were bloodshot with a mixture of shock and fear. If Wang Xiu were to collapse here, they would have no way to explain it.
"Quick, stop him!"
"Wait!"
A cold, clear voice rang out. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
All the Saints froze, stopping their actions to bow toward the empty void. A graceful figure materialized without a sound. Her hair cascaded like a white waterfall, her features were stunningly beautiful, and her skin was like translucent crystal. The temperature of the surrounding void plummeted, as if frozen by her presence.
Snow Ancestor stepped out slowly, her gaze piercing the void to rest upon Wang Xiu. "Don’t disturb him."
The Saints were dumbfounded. They wanted to say something, but upon seeing the look on Snow Ancestor’s face, they ultimately held their tongues. An Earth Immortal from the Sanqing Immortal Sect had spoken. What more could they say?
The scene that followed shocked everyone. Just as they thought simulating one hundred Zhenmo City plans was Wang Xiu’s limit, he flicked his finger, and the one hundred models instantly became one thousand.
Golden grains of sand filled the void like a vast ocean. Then, all one thousand models began to change rapidly, evolving into different plans at an astonishing speed. Meanwhile, Wang Xiu’s right hand never stopped moving as he continuously inscribed runes.
"A thousand tasks with a single mind!"
"Something’s not right. This young man’s Divine Soul is astonishingly strong, and his calculation ability is simply heaven-defying!" The Saints’ pupils shrank as if they had just seen a ghost. A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, no matter how profound their foundation, could not possibly possess such terrifying soul power. Performing one hundred incredibly complex simulations at once... even if he was from the Divination Sect and skilled in calculations, it was absolutely impossible!
...
"I’ve found it!"
Wang Xiu’s movements suddenly paused. His eyes blazed with an intense light, as if a magnificent firework display had just exploded within them, and divine light surged forth.
The sand grains filling the sky fell, orbiting him like a radiant meteor shower. Only a single model of Zhenmo City remained floating, shrouded in a rosy glow and enveloped in mist. It resembled a divine city hidden within chaos. Although it was just a model, it made all the powerful experts in the void tremble, as if they were in the presence of something immortal.
This was his final choice, the one he had selected after simulating tens of thousands of different plans. It was also the absolute limit of what he could achieve under the current circumstances.
WHOOSH!
At Wang Xiu’s command, countless Jade Talismans flew into the air, flickering with light as information was inscribed upon them. These Jade Talismans then flew out, landing outside the Black Tower. They were caught by the disciples waiting there and distributed.
Zhenmo City instantly burst into activity. One construction process after another began, proceeding in full swing.
...
Wang Xiu let out a long breath, his face slightly pale.
Simulations are incredibly draining on the mind. Moreover, this deduction was on such a grand scale. If not for my astonishingly powerful Divine Soul and the fact that my Great Luo Supreme Divine Sense is inherently adept at multitasking, I never would have been able to sustain it. To be honest, I’m in a bit of a hurry. The construction of Zhenmo City is a massive project, and the situation on Demon Sea Island is unclear. I don’t know when war might break out, so it’s impossible to proceed slowly and calmly.
That was why he had taken such seemingly drastic measures.
Now that every detail for the entire Zhenmo City has been planned, there’s nothing left for me to do! After meditating for a moment to recover his energy, Wang Xiu slowly opened his eyes and began to contemplate his next move.
Suddenly, he thought of something. With a flicker of his consciousness, he awakened Guba.
"What is your take on the strange situation on Demon Sea Island?" Wang Xiu briefed Guba, asking for his analysis. The behavior of the demons on Demon Sea Island was truly bizarre. Zhuo Canglang and his team had been studying it for days but still couldn’t come up with a coherent explanation, which was making everyone anxious.
"What is the date today?" Guba’s expression shifted slightly after hearing Wang Xiu’s report. His remnant soul was imprisoned by Wang Xiu, so he couldn’t perceive the outside world without permission.
"The sixth of the ninth month," Wang Xiu replied.
Guba fell silent, seemingly making some mental calculations. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "I know what it is! It’s the Abyssal Tide!"
Wang Xiu’s eyes flickered. "What’s that?"
"The celestial cycles of the Demon Realm are different from those of the Cangyuan Realm. Every thousand years, when the star Greedy Wolf travels north and the star Breaking Army moves east, there is an event known as the Abyssal Tide," Guba explained in detail.
Wang Xiu had already learned a fair amount about the Demon Realm from Guba. For instance, the Demon Realm was divided into eighteen levels of the Abyss. The deeper one went, the denser the Demonic Qi, the stronger the creatures, and the more rigid the food chain hierarchy.
Cultivators practiced to ascend, seeking to climb to the heavens and achieve immortality. In contrast, cultivation in the Demon Realm was about descending. The stronger one became, the deeper one could go.
If a being could reach the fifteenth level of the Abyss, they might find a gateway leading to the Ancestral Demon Realm, a plane on the same level as the Immortal Realm. Entering the Ancestral Demon Realm was the equivalent of a member of the Human Race ascending to become an immortal.
As for the Eighteenth Level Abyss, it was said to have been sealed for countless years and was a forbidden zone. Even a True Demon would not dare approach it. Only a born Demon Emperor could set foot inside. Legend said it contained the very source of the Abyss Demon Realm’s power—mysterious and unfathomable. To control it was to control the entire Demon Realm.
The so-called Abyssal Tide was an enormous blessing for the entire Demon Realm. Every thousand years, an incredibly pure wave of celestial and terrestrial Demonic Qi would surge up from the Eighteenth Level Abyss and permeate the entire Abyss Demon Realm. Any being touched by this pure Demonic Qi would find their bloodline purified. Some might even evolve their bloodline, making an astonishing leap.
The Pureblood Demon Race might have a chance to become True Demons. And True Demons... had a slim chance of awakening the bloodline of a Heavenly Demon within them.
Even if their bloodline didn’t advance, their power would multiply just by refining that wisp of Demonic Qi.
From Guba’s description, it was clear that every appearance of the Abyssal Tide threw the Abyss Demon Realm into a state of massive upheaval. This was because the Demon Race could kill their own kind to plunder that wisp of Demonic Qi.
"Can the Abyssal Tide affect Demon Sea Island?" Wang Xiu’s pupils constricted as a thought suddenly struck him.
"If... If Initial Demon City on Demon Sea Island still exists, then yes, it absolutely can," Guba stated.
When the Demon Race’s army first appeared in the East Sea, they weren’t as terrifying as they were now. Creatures from the Demon Realm struggled to adapt to a world without Demonic Qi; they would be suppressed and their strength limited. But later, they constructed Initial Demon City, which could continuously draw Demonic Qi from the Abyss Demon Realm, allowing them to exert their full combat power. It was the core of Demon Sea Island. The Sanqing Immortal Sect was well aware that Initial Demon City had been severely damaged in the great war back then.
But so many years have passed. Who’s to say the demons haven’t repaired it by now? Wang Xiu came to a conclusion. It’s highly likely they’ve restored it! Otherwise, the demons on Demon Sea Island wouldn’t have recovered so quickly. There are even Demon Emperor-level experts who have reawakened!
"If that’s the case, then it all makes sense," Guba said. "They are waiting for the Abyssal Tide to use its power to shatter the seal in one fell swoop and descend upon this world! And under the influence of the Abyssal Tide, they might be able to achieve what they failed to do in the past—truly conquer Nanzhou!"
