Chapter 174: Beyond Immortal Sense!
【Ding! Simulation ended: You died】
【This simulation lasted: 1491 years】
【Simulation settlement in progress, please wait…】
【Settlement complete】
【Items that can be brought back this time: Strange Stick*1, Supreme Relic Molt*1, a mysterious Skull*1, Immortal Thought*1】
【Simulation Points obtained this time: 236】
【Panel loading, please wait…】
【Loading complete】
【Name: Lu Qingyang】
【Constitution: Tier 17+】
【Comprehension: Tier 10+】
【Fortune: Tier 18+】
【Family Background: Tier 20+】
【Remaining Simulation Points: 236】
【Simulation Save: No Save】
【Simulation Return to True: Not cooled down】
【Simulation cooling down: 29 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds】
【Return to True cooling down: 0 days 0 hours 7 minutes 30 seconds】
“This simulation… was a little different.”
Lu Qingyang, having finished the simulation, thought back on how it had proceeded. Something felt off.
He had never experienced such a complicated simulation.
“Immortal Thought… and what is that?”
Lu Qingyang looked at the bring-back rewards column on the System Panel, his gaze flickering.
He more or less understood the first few items. Though he didn’t know their specific powers, at least he knew roughly what they were.
Only this Immortal Thought, he did not understand at all.
“Based on the simulation, that Golden Dragon, that Blacksmith, that Doctor and Old Village Chief, as well as my parents in the simulation, were all my Immortal Thoughts.”
“Could it be that what I brought back is one of them?”
Lu Qingyang could not figure it out. But since it carried the word immortal, it had to be stronger than the other items no matter how he looked at it.
So after raising his Family Background by another tier, he spoke softly.
“Bring back, Immortal Thought!”
【Ding! Congratulations, Host, on a successful retrieval】
【Item name: Immortal Thought】
【Item origin: Left behind by the reincarnated body of a past-life True Immortal in the simulation】
【Item analysis: Immortal Thought, a thing left behind by a Supreme True Immortal of the Upper Realm. An ordinary True Immortal’s thought is like a firefly; a Supreme True Immortal’s thought is like the sun. Hence, Immortal Thought】
【Item hint: Immortal Thought is the greatest obsession a True Immortal holds before their death. This item possesses the boundless power of a True Immortal. If one can obtain a single wisp of it, the soul will undergo a qualitative transformation】
“Swoosh!”
As the System’s notification fell, a faint, flickering line of light appeared before Lu Qingyang.
The line of light flickered ceaselessly, constantly changing shape, as if it might dissipate at any moment.
“This… is the Immortal Thought?”
Lu Qingyang studied the line of light before him carefully, his eyes flashing with brilliance.
“A qualitative transformation of the soul… That should be a good thing, right?”
Lu Qingyang’s thoughts stirred.
He tried shifting his attention onto the flickering line of light.
“Hum!”
Suddenly, the line of light trembled. It actually flew toward him along his attention, then swiftly merged into the depths of his soul.
“This is…”
Lu Qingyang sensed the sudden new change deep within his mind, his expression filled with shock.
He seemed to see a few familiar voices, and seemed to see a sky full of immortal palaces and divine temples.
Then, in the next instant, only darkness remained before his eyes.
His thoughts fell completely silent.
But if anyone had been beside him at this moment, they would have noticed a white mist suddenly rising from Lu Qingyang’s body.
……
……
Who knew how much time passed — perhaps a single instant, perhaps several days.
But thinking carefully, it seemed truly only a single breath had passed.
Lu Qingyang shook his head and slowly awoke from the silence.
“Hm? Peak Void Return?”
Before he could even examine his own soul, he was first stunned by his own cultivation.
He had actually broken through two minor realms in an instant.
“Could it be an effect brought by that Immortal Thought?”
Lu Qingyang guessed, but did not dwell on it, because what he cared about now was not that.
What he cared about more now was…
“My soul…”
Lu Qingyang looked inward. Within his sea of consciousness, a faint, ethereal white mist coiled there, looking rather peculiar. And his soul was unlike its previous blurry state.
Now, his soul was much more solid, and no longer as chaotic as before.
He could even feel that his own soul was emitting a faint immortal might!
“It doesn’t look like there’s anything special about it. It’s just that my immortal qi seems to be getting thicker and thicker.”
Lu Qingyang muttered.
He felt he greatly resembled the aura from one of his previous simulations — that of a peak Pseudo-Immortal.
That kind of momentum, clearly distinct from an ordinary Great Vehicle Supreme.
“No…”
“If I can smoothly advance to Great Vehicle, wouldn’t I also count as a Pseudo-Immortal in a certain sense?”
A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Lu Qingyang’s mind.
After all, a Pseudo-Immortal was a Great Vehicle cultivator who had successfully ascended, then fallen back to the mortal world for various reasons.
Their body carried immortal might, and their body was tainted with Immortal Spirit qi.
Their combat power was also stronger than an ordinary Supreme Great Vehicle, hence the name Pseudo-Immortal.
And now Lu Qingyang’s soul carried immortal might, while his Immortal Thought was even more authentic than Immortal Spirit qi!
Did that not mean that once he advanced to Great Vehicle—
Even if he could not yet ascend, he could directly skip over Supreme Great Vehicle and rival the might of a Pseudo-Immortal!
“What a treasure!”
“I thought the rewards from this simulation were ordinary, but now it seems this is a tremendous treasure!”
“As long as I step into Great Vehicle, I can rival a Pseudo-Immortal!”
Lu Qingyang’s eyes shone brilliantly.
He was now somewhat looking forward to the next Return to True.
And at this moment, the System’s notification sounded right on cue.
【Ding! Return to True has cooled down】
【Yes/No to begin Return to True】
“Here it comes!”
Lu Qingyang’s eyes lit up.
He spoke directly.
“Yes!”
Hum!
As he spoke, the scene before his eyes changed instantly.
Darkness as always, then light.
And then, just like the process in the simulation.
Lu Qingyang discovered that the place he was born was an extremely small mountain village.
There were four households in the village, and a single water well.
And the strange behavior of those few people from the simulation was no different here.
Lu Qingyang even tried cultivating here. Though he could absorb some spiritual qi.
There was no obvious effect, as if in this world, for a time, cultivation no longer existed.
And he stayed here for over ten years.
Until the day he turned sixteen.
“It seems this place is formed from the Immortal Thought left behind before my past life’s death.”
“But what lies beyond this Immortal Thought?”
“In the simulation, I was never able to leave this village, yet my various Immortal Thoughts all left in the end.”
“That means there actually is a way out.”
Lu Qingyang sat before his own home in the small courtyard.
He looked up at the sky.
He knew this village — or rather, this world — was illusory.
But beyond the Immortal Thought was real.
“If I can walk out of here, perhaps I can continue my past life’s cultivation?”
“Inherit a True Immortal’s cultivation? Even if it’s a True Immortal on the verge of death!”