The simulator's prompt sound came to my ears.
[Ding, you have successfully brought out the perception of the Eight Trigrams Fortune Telling Technique, spending 2 billion energy, and the remaining energy is 19.54179 billion points...]
[Ding, you have successfully brought out the twelfth-level formation perception, spending 8 billion energy points, and the remaining energy is 11.54179 billion points...]
As the simulator prompt sounded, Su Xing's energy dropped sharply, and at the same time, two streams of energy poured into Su Xing's body.
A large amount of memories about fate and cause and effect, along with his insights into the art of fortune-telling, flooded into Su Xing's mind.
Faintly, Su Xing seemed to see countless transparent and invisible lines.
That is the thread of cause and effect entangled with Su Xing!
At the other end of each causal line, there is a person or thing related to awakening.
The causal relationship may be shallow or deep, these people may be Su Xing’s friends and relatives, or Su Xing’s partners...
Su Xing's parents, Su Xiaomei...
Or maybe Lu Yuanwu, Jin Congxue, Luo Shuying, Yu Yan...
Among them, those who have a deep causal relationship with Su Xing, besides his family, are friends such as Jin Congxue and Luo Shuying...
"Hmm? This thread... seems a little strange..."
Su Xing frowned slightly. He saw an imperceptible thread of cause and effect in his body, reaching straight to the sky.
This causal line seemed to have been forcibly cut off... so that Su Xing couldn't sense who was connected to the other end...
"Such a weak causal relationship...it can hardly be considered a causal relationship..."
Su Xing shook his head slightly. He had a lot of cause and effect connections, so he didn't take it too seriously.
At this moment, two new original powers, the Origin of Cause and Effect and the Origin of Destiny, appeared on Su Xing's panel, both of which were entry-level.
Su Xing nodded slightly. It was just as he expected. Looking through phenomena to see the essence, the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique was about comprehending the principles of cause and effect and destiny.
In addition to the Bagua fortune-telling technique, Su Xing's knowledge of formations also improved rapidly.
The status of a twelfth-level formation grandmaster in the world of immortal cultivation is even comparable to that of a cultivator in the celestial realm!
Of course, Su Xing, the twelfth-level formation master, was a little exaggerated! After all, the only formation he knew above the eleventh level was the Xuanyuan Retaining Breath Formation.
"Yes... the materials needed for this formation are quite common... and can be found in the few storage instruments I got before."
Su Xing was quite satisfied with this.
Looking at the time, Lu Yuanwu probably had been waiting for a long time.
Su Xing disguised himself and came to the agreed place.
When Lu Yuanwu saw Su Xing appear, he hurried forward and said, "Senior... this is this week's exotic metal..."
Lu Yuanwu politely handed over a storage ring, which contained two thousand tons of third-level exotic metal.
Su Xing nodded slightly, converted it into 4 billion simulated energies, and then handed over a storage ring filled with 20,000 pills.
Lu Yuanwu smiled ingratiatingly and put the storage ring away without counting it.
Just when Lu Yuanwu thought Su Xing was about to leave, Su Xing suddenly said: "We may have to change our trading method..."
Lu Yuanwu was shocked when he heard this, and said hurriedly: "Senior! Come on... Are you dissatisfied with something?"
"Is the price too low? Damn it! I told them a long time ago to give me more exotic metals, but they were still stingy..."
"Don't worry, senior. I promise to bring more exotic metals when I return this time. Four thousand tons... Oh no, I can bring five thousand tons of third-level exotic metals!"
Lu Yuanwu gritted his teeth and said hurriedly.
Su Xing wanted to laugh after hearing this, but shook his head slightly and said, "No, I think you misunderstood what I meant..."
"I mean, I don't have this kind of elixir for the time being... but there is a more advanced elixir, I wonder if you are interested?"
Lu Yuanwu was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and asked in confusion: "A more advanced elixir... Can you tell me in detail, senior?"
Su Xing nodded slightly and said, "The two kinds of elixirs I gave you before are mainly effective for master-level professionals... Taking them all year round can improve their strength and speed up their journey to becoming master-level professionals..."
"But those two kinds of elixirs are still too low-level...they are less effective against Grandmaster-level professionals."
After hearing this, Lu Yuanwu's expression became complicated.
The elixir that can promote the birth of a master-level professional is still considered low-level? This thing... is a great treasure for the entire human race, right? If this was said by someone else, Lu Yuanwu would have to beat him to death.
But it was Su Xing who said this, so Lu Yuanwu could only smile ingratiatingly and asked according to Su Xing's meaning: "So... what do you mean, senior?"
After hearing this, Su Xing smiled slightly and took out two bottles of pills and gave them to Lu Yuanwu.
"These two kinds of elixirs are called Yuanwu Pill and Longling Pill... They are suitable for strength-type and spirit-type professionals respectively!"
"It can increase their strength... within one year of taking it, it can help Grandmaster-level professionals increase their strength by more than 50%!"
"By then...their chances of breaking through to the Heavenly King level will be greatly increased!"
After hearing Su Xing's words, Lu Yuanwu's expression suddenly became uneasy and his breathing became rapid.
"This... is there really such a magical tool in this world!?"
"Senior! You...you name a price! I want as many as you can get!"
Lu Yuanwu said quickly, fearing that Su Xing would regret it.
Su Xing pondered for a while, and he didn't have many Yuanwu Pills in his hand, only about a thousand or so.
But this doesn't mean that Su Xing can't get the Yuanwu Pill...
In the Three Thousand Worlds, elixirs like Yuanwu Dan... can be said to be truly low-level elixirs.
Its counterpart, the Dragon Spirit Pill, is for Yuanying stage cultivators to take...
Su Xing estimated that the price of a Yuanwu Pill or a Longling Pill would range from a few hundred to thousands of low-grade spirit stones...
If Su Xing was willing, he could buy hundreds of thousands of them in minutes.
But the problem is, Su Xing doesn't know how much energy this thing is worth in the simulator.
But it is estimated that the value of a Yuanwu Pill is probably only about 100,000 or 200,000 energy...
If one Yuanwu Pill could be exchanged for 2 million simulated energies, that would be one ton of third-level exotic metal...it would basically meet Su Xing's expectations.
So Su Xing stretched out a finger and was about to make an offer.
Lu Yuanwu was immediately startled and said hurriedly: “Senior, one pill for one hundred tons of third-level exotic metal… isn’t that a bit expensive?!”
Lu Yuanwu was a little anxious. He was very eager for this elixir that could give birth to a king-level powerful man.
After all, in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, there are only a few hundred Heavenly King-level experts...
After hearing this, Su Xing was silent for a moment, retracted one finger, spread out both palms, and made a ten.
"You misunderstood me. Ten Yuanwu Pills... for one hundred tons of third-level exotic metal..."
"Ten Yuanwu Pills can basically guarantee that a Grandmaster-level warrior's strength will increase by 50%... Do you understand the probability of him being promoted to the Heavenly King level at that time?"
After hearing this, Lu Yuanwu nodded repeatedly.
If a master-level warrior increases his strength by 50% and still cannot break through to the Heavenly King level, then he might as well just find a place to die! "So, senior... the quantity of the transaction? Such a precious elixir... you shouldn't have many, right?"
Su Xing smiled mysteriously and said:
"The transaction amount depends on how much exotic metal you can produce... I'll take as much as you have!"
Su Xing couldn't even imagine that ten Yuanwu Pills could be worth 100 tons of third-level exotic metal in the hands of the Daxia military...
That is 200 million energy for 10 Yuan Wu Dan! On average, Su Xing can get 20 million simulation energy for each Yuan Wu Dan...
The price is a hundred times higher than that of the Fudan Pill! And it’s basically all profit!
However, considering the power gap between the King-level and Grandmaster-level masters, the number is limited.
The Great Xia Kingdom still has 10,000 to 20,000 Grandmaster-level warriors, but only a few hundred Heavenly King-level warriors...
A Heavenly King-level professional can play a greater role on the battlefield than a hundred Grandmaster-level professionals! And a Heavenly King-level professional can live for 500 years! How many people can only dream of this?
As for the Daxia military, the price was to spend one hundred tons of third-level exotic metal in exchange for a Heavenly King-level warrior. Naturally, it was not a loss...
Just as Su Xing was thinking about how much exotic metal Lu Yuanwu could produce, Lu Yuanwu smiled shyly.
"Senior... our Great Xia military has quite a lot of assets..."
"Ahem, how about trading 1,000 Yuanwu Pills a week?"
Su Xing was stunned after hearing this. One thousand Yuanwu Pills equaled 10,000 tons of third-order alien metals and 20 billion simulated energies! How many alien metals did the Daxia military have in stock? How many tons of third-order alien metals could they produce every week? Although the density of third-order alien metals was amazing... but if it were placed in reality, it would also be tens of cubic meters in size...
So Su Xing asked curiously, "The Daxia military is so rich? Do you have a lot of exotic metals?"
Lu Yuanwu quickly shook his head and said:
"How could that be? In fact, it's only a few billion... it's accumulated over thousands of years!"
"Senior, as long as you provide the elixir, I promise to use all the power of the whole country to provide you with the exotic metal!"
What Lu Yuanwu said was a little unclear.
Su Xing didn't know how big the Daxia military was...
However, it seems that 99% of the copies of the exotic metal mining areas around the Great Xia Kingdom are probably in the hands of the military.
The number shouldn’t be small, right?
So Su Xing pointed at the Yuanwu Pill in Lu Yuanwu's hand and said, "Okay, that's settled! You can take this bottle of pill back to experiment..."
After hearing this, Lu Yuanwu nodded repeatedly and put the Yuanwu Pill in his arms like a treasure, fearing that Su Xing would regret it.
Su Xing felt amused and his figure flashed and appeared dozens of miles away, heading towards the Immortal Martial Era copy.
After Su Xing left, Lu Yuanwu was still standing there, grinning foolishly.
"One hundred tons of third-level alien metal... in exchange for a Heavenly King-level warrior?"
"It would be great if the deal could continue!"
"The number of Heavenly King-level experts in my Great Xia Nation... can increase hundreds of times in ten years!"
Lu Yuanwu made up his mind that when he returned this week, he would convince those old stubborn people and take all the mining and supervision rights of the exotic metals into his own hands.
In this way, we can provide more exotic metals for our seniors! ...
On the other side, after Su Xing arrived at the Xianwu world, he began to refine puppets skillfully.
Make three miner puppets in one week.
The number of miner puppets has reached 22, and they can mine 11 billion energy-worth of exotic metal ore for Su Xing every week...
After finishing his work, Su Xing took the raw ore back to Blue Star and headed for the villa.
After finishing his business talk with Jin Congxue, Su Xing "gently" used his wood fairy power to give Jin Congxue a full body massage, which made Jin Congxue feel comfortable...
Ahem, the regular kind!
When the simulation was over, Su Xing returned to Lingtian Cave with satisfaction, carrying nearly 10 billion simulated energies.
On July 7, 2025, in the new era, Su Xing is ready to start a new round of simulation.
[Ding! This simulation consumed 9,400 energy points, the remaining energy is 25,831,790,000 points, and there are no remaining simulation times.]
[Simulation starts! ]
[It costs 100,000 energy points to extract purple talent, and 1 million energy points to extract golden legendary talent. Do you want to extract? ]
"Extract golden talent!"
Su Xing muttered to himself.
[Ding, congratulations on obtaining the purple talent Fire Joy. The probability of drawing a gold talent next time is 60%...]
[Fire Happiness]: Purple talent. You can make the fire spirit feel excited, slightly increase your perception of the fire element, and speed up the absorption of fire spirit...
"Hmm? Increase the purple talent of cultivation?"
Su Xing took a quick look and lost interest.
The effect of this talent is not as good as the golden talent of Fire God Body!
"Huh... Since you don't have the talent, let's just follow the original plan!"
Su Xing whispered.
In this simulation, Su Xing’s purpose is clear.
Practice the Bagua fortune-telling technique to perfection and enhance your understanding of cause and effect, and destiny!
By the way...it's time to practice the Great Wizard's Body Tempering Technique!
"Nine-nine Heavenly Tribulations... Hehe, if I take out the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique, how will you respond?"
Su Xing looked at the simulation panel with a little anticipation.
[In Lingtian Cave, you realize that you are simulating...]
[You took out the only thousand Yuanwu Pills you had and traded with Lu Yuanwu smoothly...]
[Ten days later, you went to the Luotian dungeon...]
[Since you came out of the Luotian dungeon, you have joined the Advent Church. ]
[After joining the Advent Church, you devoted yourself to cultivation. ]
[You spend several hours every day practicing the Great Witch Body Refining Technique, and the rest of the time is used to practice the Eight Trigrams Fortune Telling Technique...]
[In the fifth year, you found that you did not have enough blood and flesh essence to support you, and the Great Witch Body Refining Technique progressed slowly. After five years, you had not even gotten started.]
[But fortunately, your progress in fortune-telling with the Eight Trigrams is relatively rapid. After comprehending it, your understanding of fate and the origin of cause and effect becomes more profound.]
[So you devoted yourself to studying the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique...]
[In the seventh year, you killed the leader of the natural faction...]
[In the eighth year, you killed Long Laogou...]
[In the eleventh year, Blood Three descended, and you offered the Spiritual Vein Dragon and obtained a pass.]
[After Xue San leaves, you continue to practice as usual. ]
[In the blink of an eye, nine years have passed. ]
[In the twentieth year, your understanding of the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique has advanced further, and the chapter on national fortune is not far from completion...]
[This year, you went to the Beast Taming World. ]
In the real world, Su Xing saw this and nodded slightly.
The trajectory in the simulation was just as he had expected.
"Since there is a lack of monster blood and flesh essence on Blue Star... then I will learn more about the Eight Trigrams Fortune Telling Technique on Blue Star!"
"Wait until we reach the Three Thousand Worlds, and then practice the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique!"
This method is undoubtedly the most cost-effective option.
"In the thirty-third year, after defeating the Demon Saint and retreating, we can extend the time again..."
Su Xing thought so and looked at the simulation panel.
[After returning from the Beast Taming Realm, you continued to practice the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique.]
[In the blink of an eye, eight years have passed. ]
[In the twenty-eighth year, the Demon Saint descends...]
[You used the same old trick again and delayed it for five years.]
[In the thirty-third year, the Demon Saint discovered something and prepared to retreat...]
[At this point, your study of the Eight Trigrams Fortune Telling Technique is only one step away from reaching perfection! ]
[So, you no longer hesitate, take the Qiling Pill, stimulate the state of great wisdom, and prepare for the final attack! ]
[After one month...your research on the national destiny chapter has also successfully reached the perfect level! ]
[At this time, both the upper and lower parts of the Eight Trigrams Fortune Telling Technique are complete! ]
[You are also surprised to find that your understanding of fate and the origin of cause and effect has reached a minor level! ]
[You use your understanding of the origin of fate. With just one glance, you can see the fate of a mortal in recent years.]
[But the longer the time, the higher the target's cultivation, and the more vague the fate you observe...]
[And the origin of cause and effect can even make you strong-willed and reverse the cause and effect relationship of things! ]
[For example, the sky is covered with dark clouds and it is about to rain...]
[And you reversed cause and effect, causing the dark clouds to dissipate and the sun to rise...]
[For example, in the scorching heat, it rains heavily... You can reverse the cause and effect and make it snow heavily! ]
[The target of cause and effect can be an objective law, or it can be a person or an object...]
[This will make you even more surprised at the terrifying power of the law of cause and effect! ]
[However, you also discovered that every time you reverse cause and effect, you will cause damage to yourself and pay a certain price...]
[Either consuming lifespan or consuming cultivation...]
[The greater the scope and causality of the reversal, the higher the price you will have to pay! ]
[There are even some forced causes and effects that you cannot reverse... For example, you cannot bring back a person whose life span has ended...]
[In addition, you will gradually discover that cause and effect can also go with the flow! ]
[One thing, once a sign appears, you can magnify the cause infinitely, making the probability of the result appearing higher! ]
[Following cause and effect requires much less effort than reversing cause and effect... and it is also easier. ]
[After constantly using and comprehending the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique, you have gained a deep understanding of cause and effect and the origin of destiny.]
Su Xing was moved when he saw this.
"I see... Reversing cause and effect, the more you reverse it, the greater the price you have to pay!"
"No wonder those powerful monks also need to go with the flow..."
When Su Xing woke up, he also had some understanding of the law of cause and effect and fate...
"Then next, it's time to leave Blue Star and go to the Small Qingyun Realm to practice the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique!"
Su Xing muttered, looking at the simulation panel.
[After completing the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique, you pondered and discovered that the two chapters of human fortune and national fortune do not exist independently... but complement each other and their power is greatly increased! ]
[Even...if you can combine the two articles, you will have a deeper understanding of the law of fate and cause and effect...]
[But you know that it takes time to master this skill, and the perfect level of Bagua fortune telling is enough! ]
[Now, relying solely on the Eight Trigrams fortune-telling technique to block the secrets of fate, you can even block the perception of the Heavenly Fairyland! ]
[If combined with the Xuanyuan Breath-Retaining Formation, even the True Fairyland may be deceived! ]
[So, you no longer hesitated and headed to the killing battlefield, heading towards the direction of the red moon.]
[Along the way, you also noticed Hongyue's gaze... You found that there was even a causal relationship between you and Hongyue that was severed, which made you even more curious...]
[Show your pass, and after passing through the alien space, you arrive at the Xiaoqingyun Realm! ]
[You appeared in the familiar northern part of the Shiwandashan Mountains. The first thing you did was to go to the Tianji Pavilion to sell information...]
[You will sell all the information you have previously obtained about the Advent Church, Hongyue, and Qingyunzi. ]
[After obtaining a large amount of spirit stones, you went to the Demon City. ]
[After several months of riding the airship, you arrived outside the Demon City. ]
[At this time, the Demon City was recruiting independent cultivators. After you showed your strength, you easily obtained the position of a thousand-man leader.]
[From now on, you will participate in the war every month, go to the frontline battlefield, and kill several demigod-level aliens.]
[At the same time, you purchased a large amount of God-level flesh and blood essence. Taking the flesh and blood essence every day will speed up your practice of the Great Witch Body Forging Technique.]
[In this way, seven years passed. ]
[In the fortieth year, after another day of practice and nourishment, your Great Witch Body Tempering Technique has finally entered the initial stage of the first level! ]
[Your physical defense is increased by another 50% based on your immortal body! ]
[At the same time, your strength also surged to the power of four thousand mountains! ]
[At this moment, relying only on pure physical strength, you can defeat a cultivator in the early stage of the human immortal realm! ]
[Each level of the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique is divided into the initial stage, minor stage, major stage, and complete stage... corresponding to the initial, middle, late, and complete stages of the corresponding realms of the immortals! ]
[And the blood and flesh essence you used for cultivation is mostly equivalent to the late stage of human immortal realm. ]
[If you have the essence of flesh and blood from the Earthly Immortal Realm, your cultivation speed will be further improved! ]
[In the blink of an eye, another five years have passed. ]
[In the forty-fifth year, as you gained experience on the battlefield and killed several weak foreign gods, you were promoted to the rank of captain of ten thousand men and were valued by the commander of the Earthly Immortal Realm.]
[After becoming the leader of ten thousand men, your network of contacts has greatly expanded. You have used a large amount of spirit stones to purchase the flesh and blood essence of the peak of the human fairyland and the earth fairyland...]
[After this, you continue to work hard to practice the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique.]
[The pain of body training is far greater than that of Qi training. You need to train your body and strengthen yourself every day.]
[But correspondingly, your strength is also growing rapidly...]
[Five years have passed in the blink of an eye. ]
[In the fiftieth year, red-eyed aliens began to appear on the battlefield.]
[The pressure on the front line has increased greatly. Fortunately, more than ten years ago, forces such as the Heavenly Demon Prison and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion have provided support to the front line...]
[Although the pressure has increased greatly, the Demon City can still hold on. ]
[In the fifty-fifth year, you accidentally got news of the flesh and blood essence of a medium-powered alien god. You spent a large sum of money to purchase dozens of kilograms of flesh and blood essence.]
[Medium divine power, comparable to the power of the flesh and blood essence of the demon beasts in the earthly realm... You take less than half a pound a day, and your cultivation progresses rapidly.]
[In this way, another five years passed. ]
[In the sixtieth year, you informed the higher-ups of the possible attack by alien races.]
[In the same year, thanks to your early warning, two great demons from the Celestial Realm survived.]
[You have been rewarded with the flesh and blood essence of an entire Earthly Immortal, weighing over three hundred kilograms! ]
[After obtaining enough high-level flesh and blood essence, your cultivation progress will be accelerated...]
[In this way, ten years passed. ]
[In the seventieth year, your practice of the first level of the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique has already approached the minor success level, and your strength is also approaching the strength of five thousand mountains...]
[Unfortunately, the essence of the earthly immortal realm has been exhausted, and your progress in cultivation has become slow again.]
[And so, another ten years passed. ]
[In the eightyth year, as you continue to practice, you are only one step away from reaching the first level of the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique.]
[But over the past two decades, the situation on the front lines has become increasingly worse.]
[You know that if you continue to stay on the front line, you may die, so you start thinking about how to escape.]
[In the eighty-second year, you were sent to the front line to guard an important city together with the commander of the Earthly Immortal Realm.]
[At the end of this year, the city was attacked by a foreign race. Two foreign gods with medium divine power, comparable to the earthly immortal realm, came out together to launch a sneak attack on the city.]
[It seems that the commander of the Earthly Immortal Realm will have difficulty holding on. Once the city is destroyed, you will surely die...]
【So, you no longer hold back! 】
[You activate the prototype of the Spirit Realm to increase your own strength... Then, 1,400 sword auras, with the "unfair martial ethics buff", slash at one of the alien gods! ]
[This sword changes the color of the sky and the earth, and blood flows like a river...]
[That alien god who was comparable to the early stage of the Earthly Immortal Realm was injured by your sword! ]
[After a foreign god was injured, the pressure on the commander of the Earthly Immortal Realm was greatly reduced... He managed to hold on until other powerful people from the Earthly Immortal Realm came to support him.]
[From now on, you become famous in one battle! ]
[But you chose to retreat at this time...]
[After you slashed it, you fell to the ground, vomiting blood, and looked like you were at the end of your rope...]
[The commander of the Earthly Immortal Realm was shocked when he saw this, and the monks around him came over to show their concern for you.]
[You explained that this sword had consumed most of your lifespan, and that you were going to die soon, so you wanted to retire from the front lines... and return to your hometown to retire.]
[General of the Heavenly Fairyland, I am deeply moved after hearing about your deeds...]
[Not only did he personally see you off, he even gave you some elixirs and hundreds of kilograms of Earthly Immortal's flesh and blood essence...]
[At this point, you have successfully escaped from the Heavenly Demon City and are ready to find a place to concentrate on practicing the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique...]
In the real world, Su Xing’s mouth twitched when he saw this.
"Damn it, I'm really a nobody!"
"This move... retreating to advance, is really brilliant!"
This is the 82nd year of the simulation. If he retreats from the front line, he may be able to break into the minor success realm in one fell swoop in the remaining time! By then, Su Xing's pure physical strength will be comparable to that of a cultivator in the middle stage of the human immortal realm! Coupled with the protection of the sword energy and the blessing of the unwarlike virtue, in every simulation, Su Xing will at least have the opportunity to strike at the level of a cultivator in the earthly immortal realm!
"Not bad... let's see how long the simulation can last!"
"I don't know how long the small Qingyun Realm can hold on... We must also pay attention to the possible troubles from Qingyunzi and the Jiangling Cult!"
Su Xing thought so and looked at the simulation panel.
[After leaving the front line of Tianmo City, you sneaked into the depths of the Shiwan Mountains and opened up a cave underground. ]
[Afterwards, you set up the Xuanyuan Breath-Retaining Formation and used the Heavenly Secret Shielding Power of the Eight Trigrams Calculation Technique. Even the Immortals in the Xuanxian Realm would probably find it difficult to detect the clues! ]
[At this point, you can rest assured to practice, take out the essence of the flesh and blood of the Earthly Immortal Realm, and practice the Great Witch Body Tempering Technique...]
[Time flies, eight years have passed quickly...]
[In the ninetieth year, one day you felt something in your heart, and the first level of the Great Witch Body Refining Technique officially broke through to the minor success level! ]
[At this point, your pure physical strength can fight against a cultivator in the middle stage of the Immortal Realm! ]
(There will be another update at noon~)
(End of this chapter)