Eternal Emperor's Path to Ascension

Chapter 382: Simulating a Golden Immortal

Several more moments passed in silence.

Tian Yongheng stared at the name before him.

The Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General, a Golden Immortal. This was an existence standing countless heights above his current self.

Vagrant Immortal Realm, Earth Immortal Realm, Heaven Immortal Realm, Origin Immortal Realm, Profound Immortal Realm, and finally, Golden Immortal Realm.

If the Sword Venerable represented the absolute limit of the Lower Realm, then the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General represented the upper echelons of the current Upper Realm.

The difference between them was like the difference between a mayfly and the sun, perhaps even greater.

However, Tian Yongheng’s eyes remained calm.

In those eyes, there was no fear, only endless anticipation.

After all, the Simulation Battle Trial was specifically created for this purpose.

If he could not challenge impossible opponents here, then where could he?

Without hesitation, he selected the opponent.

The world instantly changed as a boundless heaven and earth appeared.

Immortal mountains stretched endlessly into the horizon while countless stars revolved above the sky.

The pressure alone far exceeded anything the Lower Realm could withstand.

The simulated world had adjusted itself according to the cultivation level of the being inside.

At the center of this vast world stood a single figure.

He was tall and majestic, wearing dark golden armor with an ancient halberd resting in his hand.

His face couldn’t be seen clearly, but the moment Tian Yongheng saw his silhouette, he immediately understood his identity.

This was the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General.

Even standing there motionlessly, he seemed capable of supporting heaven and earth like an eternal pillar.

His existence alone distorted reality.

Just then, the General slowly raised his head.

The next instant, boundless darkness surged into Tian Yongheng’s mind.

The entire world slowly disappeared.

...

Inside the cave abode.

Tian Yongheng abruptly opened his eyes.

His breathing had become slightly heavier, and his hands were trembling slightly.

For several moments, he remained motionless, and then, he slowly looked down at his shaking hands.

"I died?"

His tone sounded somewhat strange.

He had not seen or sensed the attack; in fact, he had not even realized when the battle began.

One moment he was standing inside the simulated world, and the next moment, he was back in reality.

Completely defeated.

No, calling it a defeat was actually inaccurate.

A defeat implied a battle had occurred.

This, however, was closer to being erased from existence.

At this moment, Tian Yongheng suddenly laughed.

Interesting.

Since becoming an Immortal, almost nobody could pressure him anymore, even those Immortals and Gods were too far away for now.

Within the Lower Realm, he was invincible.

Yet now, a single glance from a true Golden Immortal had instantly destroyed him.

No, the other party had only raised his head, and he was completely annihilated in body and soul.

For the first time in many years, Tian Yongheng genuinely felt excitement.

Without hesitation, he entered the simulation once more.

The General appeared and raised his head, followed by endless darkness.

Death.

Again, and again, and again, and again.

Inside the cave abode, Tian Yongheng continuously opened and closed his eyes.

The simulation repeated endlessly.

One time, ten times, fifty times, hundreds of times.

Every single result remained identical.

Insta-killed.

He could not even determine what method the General used.

There was no technique, weapon, or even movement.

The General merely existed, and Tian Yongheng died.

At some point, Tian Yongheng finally stopped his suicidal repetitions.

Silence filled the cave abode.

The excitement within his eyes gradually became even stronger.

"Wonderful."

His voice echoed softly in the cave abode.

For the first time, he truly experienced the feeling ordinary cultivators felt when facing him.

A completely insurmountable existence.

The difference was simply too large.

A Mid Stage Vagrant Immortal challenging a Golden Immortal was no different from a Qi Condensation cultivator challenging him.

In reality, the gap was much, much larger.

Soon afterward, Tian Yongheng shook his head.

Continuing like this was meaningless; the difference was simply too absurd.

At this moment, he adjusted the simulation.

The cultivation of the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General rapidly decreased.

Golden Immortal, Profound Immortal, Origin Immortal, Heaven Immortal, and finally stopped at the Early Stage of Earth Immortal Realm.

Only then did Tian Yongheng enter once more.

...

The simulated world reappeared.

The General stood before Tian Yongheng once more.

This time, however, the pressure had weakened dramatically.

Although still terrifying, it no longer felt completely incomprehensible.

At this moment, the General finally moved.

The battle truly began this time.

*Boom!*

The world exploded and countless stars shattered as the worldly laws and heavenly rules shattered completely, and even the concepts of heaven and earth trembled.

The destructive power far exceeded that of the Sword Venerable.

This time, Tian Yongheng finally reacted.

The Heavenly Void Jade Pendant activated, spatial distortions appearing around him as the attack was redirected.

At the same time, Tian Yongheng retaliated with a palm strike.

Heavenly Rage Palm!

The General blocked with his halberd as the battle erupted in full force.

Ten breaths later, Tian Yongheng beheaded the Suoremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General and exited the simulation, a faint smile appearing on his face.

This was more like it.

A genuine battle, not an execution.

But it was still not enough.

Soon afterward, he entered again, and again, and again.

...

Time quietly passed.

Hours became days, and days became weeks.

Throughout this entire period, Tian Yongheng did not leave the cave abode.

The Primal Dao Sword continuously fused with his being while he spent nearly all remaining time inside the Simulation Battle Trial.

Again and again.

Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands.

The number of battles gradually became impossible to count.

Initially, the Early Stage Earth Immortal General could exchange dozens of moves with him.

Then, the numbers began to drop to twenty, ten, five...

Eventually, it only took one move to decide the outcome.

Every battle ended instantly.

A casual swipe of Tian Yongheng’s finger was enough to obliterate the simulated General.

Insta-kill!

Only then did he finally stop.

Inside the cave abode, Tian Yongheng slowly opened his eyes.

A month had passed.

His aura remained unchanged, but something invisible had transformed completely.

The Tian Yongheng from a month ago and the current Tian Yongheng were practically different people.

Even though their cultivation remained identical, their combat experience had changed drastically.

At this moment, he adjusted the simulation once more.

Mid Stage Earth Immortal Realm

The battle resumed once again.

This time, the difficulty increased drastically.

The General’s attacks became several times more profound, and his control over the concepts of heaven and earth reached a higher level as well

The first battle lasted less than three breaths.

Tian Yongheng lost.

The second battle lasted four breaths, the third battle lasted five, and gradually, the situation reversed.

Weeks passed.

Another month went by, and then another.

Three entire months passed in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, within the simulation.

The Mid Stage Earth Immortal General raised his halberd.

The surrounding heavens instantly shattered.

But Tian Yongheng merely raised a finger.

Everything vanished immediately.

The General exploded in body and soul.

Victory.

...

Back into reality, Tian Yongheng slowly exhaled.

Three months.

It had taken him three entire months.

Finally, he could instantly kill a Mid Stage Earth Immortal.

Not relying purely upon overwhelming power, but through genuine mastery.

At this moment, he selected the next level.

Late Stage Earth Immortal Realm.

The result immediately changed.

The first battle lasted less than a single breath.

Defeat.

The second battle, defeat.

The third battle, defeat.

Countless defeats followed.

At this level, the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General finally demonstrated why he had become a Golden Immortal in reality.

Even weakened to the Late Stage of Earth Immortal Realm, his combat ability and divine abilities remained monstrous.

Every movement contained profound understanding of battle, every attack appeared flawless, and every decision seemed perfectly rational.

This was a being who had fought wars for millions of years, an Immortal General.

Tian Yongheng improved rapidly fighting him, but the General was not someone who could be insta-killed so easily this time.

The process became significantly slower.

Months continued passing.

Eventually, Tian Yongheng could consistently defeat the Late Stage Earth Immortal version, but unlike before, he could not instantly kill him; the difference remained.

At this moment, Tian Yongheng selected the final stage.

Grand Perfection of Earth Immortal Realm.

The battle began, and for the first time, the result became completely balanced.

Neither side could gain an overwhelming advantage.

Sometimes Tian Yongheng won, and sometimes he lost.

Sometimes the battle dragged on endlessly, and sometimes both sides perished together.

The victory rate continuously fluctuated.

Thirty percent, forty percent, fifty percent.

Yet no matter how many battles occurred, he could never achieve complete dominance.

Inside one particular simulation, the battle lasted for several days.

Immortal mountains collapsed as heaven and earth teetered on the brink of destruction.

Eventually, both combatants retreated, and Tian Yongheng ended the simulation.

...

Inside the cave abode.

Tian Yongheng slowly opened his eyes.

This time, however, he did not immediately enter again.

Instead, he remained silent.

The excitement from earlier gradually faded, and replacing it was contemplation.

For a long time, he simply sat there.

Then, he let out a sigh.

The problem wasn’t his cultivation, nor was it his battle experience.

Both had already reached astonishing levels.

The true issue was much simpler; he had neglected something.

Ever since attaining the Half Immortal Realm, his cultivation advanced too quickly, and he had no time to spare for anything.

Divine Powers, celestial arts, Immortal techniques, they continuously accumulated, but many of them had never been fully cultivated.

Many remained at levels appropriate for his old cultivation realms, while some had not been practiced at all.

His foundation remained terrifying, but his techniques had failed to completely catch up.

It seemed he had to devote some time to cultivate his old techniques and Divine Powers to his current limits while also starting to cultivate the new ones he had recently obtained first before restarting cultivation.

Tian Yongheng let out a sigh and felt the Primal Dao Sword within his body continously merge with his being.

It emitted profound Dao rhymes and mysterious Dharma patterns continously, resonating with his body and soul as the connection between the man and the treasure deepened with each passing moment, even if only fractionally.

If he used the Primal Dao Sword, he could probably instantly win against the Supremely Valiant Heaven Reaching General at the Grand Perfection of Earth Immortal Realm.

However, he ultimately did not do it.

The most important thing right now was to push all his mystical arts, combat techniques, and Divine Powers to the realm of Immortals before doing anything else.