[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten":3,"chapter-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-643":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simulated to Reality: I Once Looked Down Upon Ten Thousand Ages?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2347658,4587,"Chapter 643: Stranger, Bingming, Farewell to the Old Master","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-643",643,"\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian frowned in confusion, murmuring softly: “As if seeing the Supreme One?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three thousand years ago, the three who truly ascended were Lu Yu, the Female Emperor, and the Demon Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were all born in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in later legends, there was another woman, said to be Lu Chen’s betrothed, who also ascended—though her name faded into obscurity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All major sects kept detailed records of these three ascended ones, but this woman’s name was lost; only that she came from Daqing of the Warring States period was known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Legend says that when the Ascension Platform opened, she rose into the heavens in broad daylight; even today, along the Hexi Road, her temple still receives unceasing incense offerings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could she be the Supreme One?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua seemed to sense the Demon Master’s confusion and spoke slowly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In his mortal life, Master Lu Chen had an unwed betrothed named Xie Lingxuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua nodded and continued: “Xie Lingxuan never married; at forty, her appearance remained that of a girl of twenty, her beauty untouched by time—a marvel indeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian frowned. “A Xie? The Xie family of Bianjing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua looked surprised. “The current Dingyuan Marquis’s household are direct descendants of Xie Lingxuan’s clan—how did the Demon Master know this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian smiled faintly, then revealed a secret of the Demon Sect: “After the Demon Master Huang Dao ascended, though he never took a disciple, he had a lifelong friend from his travels—a man named Xie Mu, who came from the Daqing Xie family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Three thousand years ago, during the great chaos in the Demon Sect, a man emerged to unify its nine branches and was crowned Demon Emperor—Master Xie Mu. He not only passed down the ‘Heavenly Demon Scripture,’ but also left behind ‘Dao Heart Seed Demon.’ According to the Demon Sect’s daily records, Master Xie Mu’s elder sister was none other than Xie Lingxuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian’s gaze grew distant, as if seeing through three thousand years of time, and he whispered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This past is likely unknown even to the descendants of the Dingyuan Marquis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Lu Hua found it faintly amusing—Xie Guan, it seemed, was a descendant of the same bloodline as the Immortal Lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Master Lianchi sensed deeper meaning in these words, and said gravely:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If immortals can reincarnate in this world, does that mean the Ascension Gate will open again? When Prince Yan Lu Chen lived, the Ascension Platform appeared precisely because of Xie Lingxuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned his gaze toward Xu Xian, his tone probing: “According to the Grand Master’s theory, this world is the place of ascension—then who should the Supreme One manifest in?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Master stood beside them, staring at the brilliantly lit Yaoxian Tower, and slowly shook his head, his voice heavy:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are mistaken. The Ascension Gate did not open because of Xie Lingxuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It opened because Master Lu Chen once encountered another being.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That being possessed knowledge far beyond this world. In Master Lu Chen’s final instructions, he said his life’s achievements were made possible only with that being’s aid.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua added: “Master Lu Chen referred to it as the ‘Supreme One.’ In Daoist terms, ‘Supreme One’ means the highest and most exalted—a being fused with the mysterious Dao, beyond naming or description.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It also refers to the lord of this world, silently watching over the rise and fall of heaven and earth, observing all changes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As for Xie Lingxuan, she was merely a… stranger who fell into this world!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last three words made Xu Jiangxian and Lianchi pause, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A stranger?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A traveler far from home, never returning, is a stranger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Lingxuan was merely one who returned from this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xian spoke slowly: “These strangers always differ from ordinary people. When the time comes, they simply leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither the Demon Master nor Lianchi was foolish—they were both world-walking masters of ancient sects. As the threads unfolded,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>they finally pieced it all together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The activation of today’s Jingshen Array, the very existence of the Yaoxian Tower built by the Master—all pointed to one single purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wished to meet the ‘Supreme One.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Lu Chen once met the Supreme One.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as for!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strangers like Xie Lingxuan, combined with all past clues,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian softly uttered: “Could it be that these strangers are one of the remaining three Masters of the Academy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xu Xian sighed deeply and shook his head:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know! The Master doesn’t know either!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Master searched the entire world but never found the key to ascension. When he aided Tang Jun in unifying the realm, he saw no sign of ascension; after the Tang split, still none. Even within the Three Truths and One Teaching, he uncovered legends of the Three Truths’ ascension, and forged a great cauldron at Yanglong Pond—yet he never once summoned the Ascension Platform.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boyish Xu Xian spoke with deep sorrow, as if recounting a long-buried regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everything we know about ascension is mere speculation based on faint traces. The Master spent his entire life and still failed to unravel the mystery of ascension.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These words revealed a hidden truth of heaven and earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Master built the Jingshen Array not to protect the Great Qi—but to imprison immortals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Master’s tone was strange: “According to Master Lu Chen, the ‘Supreme One’ appears each time in an extremely weakened state.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps the Master precisely saw this weakness, and built the Jingshen Array to trap the Supreme One when it is vulnerable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian’s eyes flickered with doubt—he wondered why this Grand Master of the Academy knew so much about the Three Truths’ secrets, as if he had memorized them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Master made no secret of it: “Xu Xian has formally become a disciple of the Three Truths.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Xu Jiangxian and Lianchi were startled—but not surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since leaving the Great Qi for the Great Sui, the Grand Master had trained on Mount Zhongnan, so his ties to the Three Truths were hardly unexpected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua now spoke slowly, thoughtfully: “Master Lu Chen once said this ‘Supreme One’… seemed to harbor goodwill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lianchi, hearing this, was astonished. The Dao is heartless—and yet this being, akin to the lord of the entire Samsara, was described by Lu Chen as “harboring goodwill”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian furrowed his brow and whispered: “Are we not gambling too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What if this ‘Supreme One’ holds no such goodwill? What then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lianchi clasped his hands together and said solemnly: “I do not know the Supreme One’s intent—the Dao’s will is unfathomable. But I know this: what the Master has done in this world is evil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have come here to eliminate this earthly calamity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand Master Xu Xi nodded: “All we can do now is destroy everything the Master intends to do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze turned to the roaring waters of the Zhibei River flowing downstream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the Supreme One’s will is with us,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“then today we kill the Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All four fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kill the Master?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian’s heart trembled. His lingering doubts were instantly severed by his will-sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only firm resolve remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In true battles between masters, even the faintest flicker of hesitation or retreat means certain death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Masters of this caliber, once resolved, become as unyielding as bedrock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boyish Grand Master smiled slightly, his tone light:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we face the Master, we need not be so grim—as if marching to the underworld. The Master now has no true physical body—his power is likely less than half of what it once was.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our chances are not small.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifted tone: “But since we confront the Master today, we may face unforeseen consequences.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Therefore, I ask that we be honest with one another, truly understand each other.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke first: “I have reached the ninth rank of martial cultivation—the Xuan Dan realm—and my Primordial Spirit has surpassed the Yangshen realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one was surprised. The Academy’s Four Masters were all among the world’s strongest, second only to the Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The martial path has nine realms; each is the ultimate test of body and spirit. Those who reach them are all beyond mortal limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cultivation of the soul, however, is far more treacherous, with ten realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if a martial cultivator reaches the ninth realm, his lifespan is capped at ninety years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet if one can, before ninety, perfect the soul to the tenth realm—the Yangshen realm—and fuse martial cultivation with the soul perfectly, one may shatter the limit of the ninety-year lifespan and enter a higher realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is why Lu Hua told Xie Guan about the dual cultivation method of martial and soul paths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only when both complement each other can one ascend; otherwise, it is a dead end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But merging the two is extraordinarily difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human energy is limited; balancing both demands extraordinary talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Lu Hua, hailed as a cultivation prodigy, has only reached the ninth realm of soul cultivation—the Ziwei Yuan Realm—and still cannot penetrate Yangshen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the two fuse, they give birth to a strange power—like a divine technique—called a “Bingming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Master said: “My Bingming is called ‘Xiaoyao You.’ It allows me to traverse ten thousand miles in an instant; the heavens and earth are boundless—wherever my feet tread, I appear in the blink of an eye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Master has traveled the world, his footsteps reaching every kingdom—he can appear nearly anywhere instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Master spoke openly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Xu Jiangxian and Lianchi had long heard of the Grand Master’s Bingming, hearing it firsthand still shook them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>White clouds fill the earth, the rivers and lakes stretch wide—I roam free and unbound. The name ‘Xiaoyao You’ fits perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua also spoke: “I have reached the ninth rank of martial cultivation, and my soul has reached the ninth realm’s peak—just one step from Yangshen, yet I have not yet formed my Bingming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But with the aid of the Three Truths’ artifacts, I can briefly unleash one Bingming strike.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lianchi and Xu Jiangxian both showed faint surprise. To unleash a Bingming strike without reaching Yangshen was truly… shocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The time they spent reaching full mastery in martial and soul cultivation paled beside the centuries it took to fuse them and birth a Bingming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lianchi spoke slowly, his voice solemn: “My martial realm is the Buddhist Vajra state; my soul has become Yangshen; my Bingming is the Three-Zhang Golden Body. As long as the golden body remains intact, no attack can harm me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And for brief moments, the golden body can even regenerate damaged limbs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused briefly, then continued: “Moreover, this Golden Body power can be bestowed upon others, covering roughly four individuals. Our numbers are perfectly suited.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Master lifted his eyes slightly at these words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had long known Master Lotus Pond was the supreme Golden Body master in the world, he had never imagined his innate spiritual technique would be such an extreme form of defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as one cannot break through his defense, any attack dissolves into nothingness—and this defensive power can be shared with others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Master spoke slowly: “He has reached the ninth rank of martial cultivation, and his Primordial Spirit has also entered the Yang Shen realm. His innate technique is the Heart Demon’s Guide.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Within a certain range, it forces others to generate a second consciousness, robbing them of their true self.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, if I kill such a person with my own hands, that consciousness will take over their body and come under my control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even the corpses of the dead, I can stir new thoughts within them, briefly reviving them to serve me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Hua listened to the innate techniques of these two masters, his heart stirred with astonishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder they were renowned masters across the land—both their innate techniques were extraordinary beyond compare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One’s innate technique was absolute defense: as long as that barrier held, the opponent could not be harmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To defeat him, one must strike with thunderous force, delivering a single fatal blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More astonishing still, this defensive power could be transferred to others—truly the pinnacle of protective arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Master’s “Heart Demon’s Guide” was even more insidious and unpredictable, impossible to guard against.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once affected, a second version of oneself would spontaneously arise in the mind, conversing, arguing, even fighting against the original.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the most resolute mind would likely be driven to madness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Master listened, then nodded slowly. “Your cultivation has reached the realm of transcendence. Few in the world can match you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In today’s world, aside from the Master, whose supremacy is unquestioned, only the Four Masters and the Six Grand Masters stand above all others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond them, no one else has entered this realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian suddenly spoke, his gaze strange. “First Master, do you know what the Master’s innate technique is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the person who knows the Master better than anyone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xian shook his head, his expression filled with reverence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have followed the Master for many years, yet I have never seen him use his innate technique or reveal his cultivation base. Most of the time, he appears no different from an ordinary mortal… No, perhaps he is more like a man who recognizes his errors and corrects them—he never repeats the same mistake twice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When these words fell, all present fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Master’s realm had long surpassed the scope of innate techniques, entering a state beyond ordinary comprehension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fear others held for him stemmed largely from their ignorance of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignorance—that is what inspires the greatest dread!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four no longer delayed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xian’s spiritual sense had detected an unusual aura somewhere within the Gathering of Flowers Banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Follow me,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Lotus Pond chanted a Buddhist mantra, his demeanor solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jiangxian clasped his hands behind his back, his expression calm once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under her white gauze hat, Lu Hua’s face held a touch of anticipation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youthful Xu Xian lightly pointed into the void, writing characters in midair that drifted like living script; where the seal script hovered, a phantom image of ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Open the Heavenly Gate at the Xun position! Fix the Earth’s Axis in the Li Palace!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A phantom Daoist gate materialized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xian stepped through the gate; the others followed close behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>～\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>～\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage curtain was gently lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Ke’s gaze settled on a familiar figure from his memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He appeared fifty or sixty years old, hunched and wrinkled, his hair gray and white, a short, stiff mustache curled at the corners of his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes were obscured by river mist and shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man was none other than the tutor hired by Lady Yuan of the Xie family for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dong Shao, Master Dong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2480,"2026-06-21T01:33:03.787Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cb36cdeb63e7db66cbd5a62c45553127e898d88f56be9594aef9baf40b6261c2","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-644","simulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-chapter-642",728,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimulated-to-reality-i-once-looked-down-upon-ten-cover.jpg"]