My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1116: Strategic Retreat

Though deemed a pyrrhic victory, the fact remained that across those three confrontations, the Spiritwood Realm endured no genuine harm. Just a portion of its stored energy had been exhausted.

Should the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance withdraw at this juncture, or get intimidated by the power the Spiritwood Realm revealed and pause its assaults for the time being, the Spiritwood Realm would swiftly restore that lost energy. Yet, it was evident the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance wouldn't be deterred so readily.

With its assault target gone, the Oblivion Beast roamed without purpose for a brief spell. Then, detecting the alluring scent of the aura from the Xuanhuang Realm past the spatial passage, it suddenly redirected its attention.

The spatial tear was compelled to widen once more, and that aura which had stirred Li Fan's heart disappeared in a flash. Before the inhabitants of the Spiritwood Realm could rejoice, the whole Spiritwood Realm started trembling fiercely out of nowhere.

"This is..." As the ruler of the Spiritwood Realm, Li Fan within the Nether Prison detected the irregularity ahead of others. "The anchoring spot of the Spiritwood Realm in the Xuanhuang Great World is moving! They aim to pull the rug out from under us, dodging a head-on fight and opting to shatter the small realm outright?"

In earlier times, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance had compelled the relocation of the Five Elements Great Cave-Heaven in Tianling Prefecture to the core central domains. The current size of the Spiritwood Realm didn't even match that of the Five Elements Cave-Heaven. Despite Li Fan's enhancements via formations, it probably couldn't withstand the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's raw force in shifting it.

Furthermore, despite his main body being distant from the conflict zone, Li Fan had already figured out the technique the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance employed to shift the world, thanks to feedback from the Holy Embryo and his clone.

"Floating Starry Sky Grand Formation!" A spark ignited in Li Fan's gaze. He had desired this grand formation for ages, crafted by the Xuantian King and utilized by the Xuanhuang Realm to seize other cultivation worlds.

Even as his Final Dissociation Disc neared elevation to immortal artifact status, it proved ineffective against this starry sky grand formation and couldn't compel its derivation. It appeared that besides the formation proper, additional hidden elements were at play.

When Li Fan had inquired the Tianxuan Mirror earlier about this formation's specifics, it had dodged the issue multiple times, diverting to details on other grand formations instead. Consequently, Li Fan had never caught sight of its true essence. He hadn't anticipated facing it now, amid the assault on the Spiritwood Realm.

In the sea of consciousness of his true body, the Dissociation Disc released a subtle thrilled white light and pulsed swiftly. "A peek through a tube reveals the leopard's form. Yet the Dissociation Disc can reconstruct the entire formation from this fragment. Truly, as a foe of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, one uncovers more of their secret weapons."

Li Fan felt content with the insights from this exploration. As the Spiritwood Realm's anchor steadily relocated, the preliminary inferences from Li Fan's Dissociation Disc had begun bearing fruit. "The Tianxuan Mirror spoke true; the grand formation is indeed badly damaged."

"At present, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance is activating the Floating Starry Sky Grand Formation's function to traverse the starry sea, target, and haul in worlds. Based on how rapidly the Spiritwood Realm is being tugged along now, the formation's might is under one ten-thousandth of its original power. Still, reeling in the full Spiritwood Realm poses no challenge. Wait, that's off... There's something lacking still."

This marked an unprecedented occurrence. The Final Dissociation Disc's inference had spontaneously stalled. Given the Dissociation Disc's deep mastery of formations, regardless of its computations, it failed to assemble a formation replicating the ancient Floating Starry Sky Grand Formation's capabilities.

This reaffirmed Li Fan's earlier hypothesis. This is truly no ordinary formation. "No surprise, even with an Immortal Ancestor's prowess, it took countless years without fully repairing this formation. He was forced to laboriously hunt through the void for world fragments on his own," Li Fan pondered deeply.

Though he couldn't perceive the complete breadth of the grand formation, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance was also wielding a defective rendition of its strength. Following Li Fan's directives, the frantic and bewildered folk of the Spiritwood Realm rapidly mobilized.

As a formation arose across the Spiritwood Realm's terrain, an unseen wave cloaked the whole small world. The Spiritwood Realm, yanked ahead at breakneck pace, abruptly lost its tether. The quakes slowly eased, and it settled motionless in some unfamiliar spot.

Li Fan promptly assessed the Spiritwood Realm's new location. It had moved from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's eastern zone to the southern sector. Now, it sat perilously near that Great Rift Vortex.

"They intend to harness the rift boundary's innate force to smash the world apart? The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance has truly cooked up a shrewd plot."

The Spiritwood Realm's counter to the Floating Starry Sky power had vastly surpassed the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's forecasts. Within their ranks, rifts appeared to form, holding back further strikes. Still, Li Fan vaguely detected immortal alliance cultivators steadily appearing in the nearby void, fully besieging the Spiritwood Realm.

Daoist Hundred Flowers, the Medicine King Sect, and the rest also grasped the predicament; their faces grew somber. "This is the struggle of a beast at bay. It appears my planning in this lifetime fell short. Next round, when reconstructing the Spiritwood Realm outpost, maybe I could weave in the capacity for the small realm to teleport away instantly."

"Prior to this day, pulling that off would have been quite tough. But thanks to the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's show, heh..." Li Fan chuckled darkly inside. Any strikes aimed at Li Fan would rebound a thousand times over.

"Emissary, I think we can't afford to wait any longer," Liu Ruchen stated solemnly right then. "While the Spiritwood Realm's defenses are flawless in every way, they won't hold against the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's relentless drain. Maybe charging out and battling to the end could provide a faint shot at living."

"The Medicine King True Cauldron, refined over years, has grown its inner space manyfold; it ought to transport the bulk of our people," Fang Zaiji chimed in.

Liu Ruchen's idea won nods from nearly everyone. Their eyes all fixed on the Holy Embryo Li Fan. "Save the people, lose the land: both survive in the end; save the land, lose the people: both are doomed."

"Alright, then let's all gear up for the retreat," Li Fan agreed with the collective strategy, nodding. The assembly responded with a thunderous affirmation and scattered.

One team oversaw the spatial passage gateway to fend off any surprise moves from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance. The other team hurriedly relocated the Federation of All Worlds' assets and inhabitants.

In reality, had the Spiritwood Realm's anchor not relocated, Li Fan had readied a backup of sacrificing part to save the whole. Namely, shifting to linked small realms such as the empire or Great Li. Followed by demolishing the spatial passages.

Though it wouldn't fully evade the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's chase, it would buy at least a few days' time. Regrettably, the latest compelled shift had thrown the Spiritwood Realm off course. This severed all routes to affiliated small realms.

Now, for escape, the sole option lay in hacking through the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's surrounding forces.