Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace

Although Chen Mo and his group had reached the end of the Path of Immortality, according to the rules, they could skip the second round at the Abyss and directly proceed to the third round.

But with just a few of them clearing the stage, the Daoist Alliance would not open the third round just for them to compete.

They would need to wait for the subsequent contestants to finish before the third round would be opened.

Though waiting was required, it also had its advantage, which was that there was enough time to recover the Fighting Qi expended on the Path of Immortality and to make improvements.

It’s worth knowing that the Path of Immortality is not simply a tool for assessing disciples.

It can also be used to temper the body; the bone runes on the Path of Immortality are insights left by the predecessors of Daoism, the further you walk, the more bone runes you see, and the more benefits you gain.

On this point, Zuoqiu Yiren had told Chen Mo before the assessment began.

So during the waiting period, Chen Mo began to recall those bone runes he saw on the Path of Immortality. Although he wasn’t mindful to remember them at the time, at his current cultivation, just a glance was enough to imprint them in his memory.

Therefore, all the bone runes on the Path of Immortality appeared in Chen Mo’s mind. He closed his eyes and began to comprehend them, seeking help from Qiao Yushi to see what these bone runes were.

However, Chen Mo wasn’t the only one aware of this. Xiao Qingtian knew as well, and he knew even more details than Chen Mo.

Shortly after.

Lan Chengting also arrived at the end of the Path of Immortality, noticing the three already sitting meditating to recover or cultivate, his brow slightly furrowed.

But since fighting was prohibited here, he could only follow suit, albeit reluctantly, and sat down to start recovering his True Qi.

Following them came Bai Hua, Xuan Cheng, and Yu Jinwu.

Seeing Bai Hua reach the end.

The disciples and elders of the Blazing Fire Sect outside erupted.

Bai Hua was the fifth to reach the end, meaning among all contestants, he could place in the top five.

It’s worth knowing, the Blazing Fire Sect is not a branch of Daoism, so having a disciple reach this level truly brought prestige to the Blazing Fire Sect.

With this achievement, the next time the Blazing Fire Sect recruits, it will certainly attract more candidates.

Soon, another day passed.

Reaching the end of the Path of Immortality also were Wang Qiuran from the Zhengyi Sect and Li Gezhang from the Shangqing Sect.

Both of whom were in the late stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Disciples from other branches all stopped at various segments like one thousand zhang, one thousand five hundred zhang, or one thousand eight hundred zhang and had to challenge the Abyss.

Another day went by.

The disciples on the Path of Immortality dwindled to a negligible number.

Some disciples, seeing they couldn’t reach the end, opted to save their strength and headed to challenge the Abyss after passing five hundred zhang.

Time ticked away by the minute.

By the third day.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of contestants, only twelve thousand could reach the third round.

And among those twelve thousand, only one thousand could become disciples of the Daoist Alliance.

Less than ten percent could stay, the competition was extraordinarily fierce.

As the subsequent disciples cleared, the third round was about to begin, and Chen Mo and those at the end of the Path of Immortality were transported to the top of a mountain.

A round brilliant sun hung high in the sky above the mountain, casting warm sunshine down upon everyone, a light akin to dawn.

All the disciples who passed were atop this mountain.

But all these people, their gazes converged on Xiao Qingtian, Xiao Jiu, Chen Mo, and others.

These few, after all, had reached the end of the Path of Immortality.

Especially Chen Mo, who gathered the most attention.

It’s worth knowing, he had boasted about stepping over all other branch disciples.

Now, reaching the end of the Path of Immortality, apart from Xiao Qingtian and Xiao Jiu, he indeed fulfilled his boast.

And this made all branch disciples feel disgraced, swearing to regain their pride in the third round.

And how to regain face?

Naturally, by eliminating Chen Mo.

However, Chen Mo was unaware of everyone’s thoughts.

He had just finished his simulation, looking at the three option rewards the system presented in his mind.

[First, ten days of cultivation experience.]

[Second, increased experience in True Dragon Treasure Skill.]

[Third, the comprehension of the bone runes on the Path of Immortality.]

Chen Mo thought for a moment and chose the third option.

Instantly, what appeared in his mind was a Divine Technique named "Thousand Character Dao Technique".

It was a superior Secret Technique created by a high-ranking Daoist named Qianxuan Daoist.

And this Qianxuan Daoist was a Talisman Master.

This Thousand Character Dao Technique he created advocated seeing a person as a piece of talisman paper, then inscribing Daoist Skills on the talisman paper, ultimately refining the body into a super talisman paper impervious to all arts.

On this, Chen Mo sighed.

He wasn’t a Talisman Master, didn’t know how to make talismans, let alone newfangled ways of turning a body into a talisman.

Thus, this "Thousand Character Dao Technique" was somewhat useless to him.

"Let Qianyi, Ruoqing, and the others take a look, maybe they can successfully cultivate it." Chen Mo decided to let his women learn it.

When Chen Mo opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by the crowd, numerous gazes filled with hostility.

Xiao Jiu stood in front of him, hands on her hips, looking fiercely at the crowd.

But Chen Mo didn’t care, he stood up, quietly waiting for the third round to commence.

Soon, a projected image appeared in the void before everyone.

Thirty-six sect leaders were in the image, with Li Xianyuan at the forefront gesturing, and a green rune appeared on everyone’s chest, as if imprinted, unable to be wiped off.

As everyone was puzzled, Li Fengxian beside Li Xianyuan spoke: "The third round is a modified grand melee. All contestants will soon be transported to the Primordial Battlefield. We’ve randomly hidden a thousand Bone Tokens on it. After four days, the contestants who obtained the Bone Tokens will become disciples of the Daoist Alliance."

After Li Fengxian finished, Li Xianyuan continued: "A reminder to everyone, the moment you obtain a Bone Token, your location will be exposed on the Primordial Battlefield. To pass the assessment, you must protect the Bone Token you obtained and not let others snatch it away within four days. Contestants without a Bone Token will all be eliminated after four days."

And the rune on your chest is a life-saving opportunity. Once you suffer a fatal blow, the rune will save you once. Remember, it’s for a fatal blow. After use, the rune will transfer you out of the Eight Extremes Diagram, which means you are eliminated."

The rules were straightforward, essentially, you needed to find a Bone Token and not have it taken, while also avoiding elimination.

"Moreover, we sect leaders have agreed that in this grand melee, any means can be used. This means, you can use your Magical Treasures and Arrays."

Just after Li Xianyuan ended his words, Li Fengxian smiled and added.