My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1136: The Mystery of the Heavenly Doctor's Dharma Transmission (Combined Two Chapter)

Should the Immortal Ancestor maintain a clone to oversee the Xuanhuang Realm, vast conflicts between the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance and the Five Elders Association would never erupt.

The Five Elders Association might even be something the Immortal Ancestor allows on purpose, serving as a means to preserve the fragile equilibrium within the Xuanhuang Realm. As for the battles between these factions, the Immortal Ancestor likely pays them no mind and could very well welcome such events.

Yet the Xuanhuang Realm conceals far too many hidden demons, spirits, and beasts, while the Immortal Ruins threatens from afar.

In circumstances where a mere dispute might shatter the Xuanhuang Realm entirely, keeping a clone stationed there proves far wiser.

Still, the Immortal Ancestor, who treasures the Xuanhuang Realm so dearly, has chosen not to do this.

Across Li Fan's two encounters with the world's end, the Immortal Ancestor once arrived tardily from the outer cosmos, unleashing a furious yet powerless cry.

In the other instance, he failed to show up whatsoever, leaving only the Heavenly Doctor to appear.

This pattern raises grave doubts.

Does creating a clone pose a challenge for the Immortal Ancestor?

Clone methods remain scarce within the Xuanhuang Realm, yet Li Fan has frequently leveraged clone techniques to cause disruptions.

Not to speak of this pioneer of the new path?

It stands as a feat he could accomplish with ease, but one he outright refuses.

Indeed, among Xuanhuang Realm cultivators, whispers abound in secret about why the Immortal Ancestor avoids stationing a clone to control it, though none dare voice such thoughts aloud.

Theories typically boil down to the Immortal Ancestor having ascended beyond the physical plane, losing interest in the Xuanhuang Realm's affairs.

Evidently, they grasp neither the Xuanhuang Realm nor the Immortal Ancestor truly.

And from Li Fan's perspective, should the Immortal Ancestor himself merely be a clone...

All pieces fall perfectly into place.

Not a matter of unwillingness, but sheer inability!

During the 119th life, Li Qing's clone had amassed power nearing the original's boundless limits, hitting the pinnacle of Nascent Soul.

Just a single stride from eclipsing the true self.

Back then, Li Fan had pondered inwardly if a clone's might could ever outstrip its originator.

Afterward, drawing on the Tianxuan Mirror's core permissions and delving into ancient texts, Li Fan grasped a hazy insight.

A clone's power exceeding the original, or one clone birthing yet another.

The second option likely demands even greater effort.

For should clones spawn endless offspring, the chain would stretch forever, ultimately leaving the world with but a solitary soul.

Not wholly out of reach, yet beyond the bounds of ordinary principles.

By contrast, a clone surpassing its source proves somewhat simpler.

"Heavenly Doctor, Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor..."

Two visages flashed through Li Fan's thoughts in turn, stirring memories of his initial visit to the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance headquarters, where an illusory statue of the Immortal Ancestor caught his eye.

Then, his frame had instinctively alerted him to a vague sense of recognition.

Prior to that, the sole Dao Integration-level being he'd witnessed in the Xuanhuang Realm was the Heavenly Doctor.

"Their features differ, yet a faint likeness lingers between them."

"Within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance headquarters, echoes of the Immortal Ancestor's presence persist. First-time visitors invariably feel a stir in their souls, birthing visions. My true form beheld the Immortal Ancestor's statue, whereas clone Li Qing perceived..."

The Dao Deviation Stone glowed softly with white radiance, accurately replaying the captured scenes from before.

Amid a hazy glow, multiple silhouettes lingered.

Scattered snippets of conversation drifted out.

“On this journey, how certain are you of success?”

“I will do all that I can and leave the rest to fate.”

“That doesn’t sound like something you would say.”

“The difference in strength is too great. All I can do is fight with my life on the line.”

“Enough. Go then. Whether it is fortune or calamity, none can tell.”

...

Li Fan reflected once more on the vision from Hanhai's muddled mind during his treatment in the 119th life.

"The Venerable Heavenly Doctor has been gone for a long time, and it is unknown whether the matter can succeed."

Hanhai perched straight in the sect's vast chamber, with Taiyi, the Turtle-Snake coiled at his feet no bigger than a typical tortoise, murmuring in a somber voice.

"Before departing, the Venerable Heavenly Doctor said there was at least a ninety percent chance of success. You and I should have some faith in Him," Hanhai responded, contrasting Taiyi's dour mood with his own ease, flashing a reassuring grin.

...

Li Fan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Assuming "the Immortal Ancestor serves as the Heavenly Doctor's clone," every disjointed hint Li Fan had gathered over time linked seamlessly.

Li Fan sifted through his earlier recollections anew.

True enough, additional traces emerged.

...

Yin Yin Island.

Master Yin indicated the pair of treasured human remains, drawing near Li Fan and whispering intensely: "These two are not the same kind of person."

"Not the same kind of person?" Li Fan paused in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Master Yin waved his hands about, mulled it over, and struggled to pinpoint the right terms.

After wrestling with it for ages, he balled his fist tightly, face twisted in frustration: "It is just a feeling; you understand, right? Clearly both are human, but these two humans, the eras they lived in are different, and the regions they lived in are also different. Perhaps they look quite similar, and both were dug up by me from the bottom of the Congyun Sea, but there is an extremely special boundary marking the difference between these two corpses..."

Master Yin spoke in enigmatic tones, rambling on without nailing down a clear explanation.

...

In the second simulation of Tianyang's Eternal Remnant Will.

To flee Tianyang's frail form swiftly and rouse from unconsciousness, Li Fan pored over the Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture and devised a restorative elixir recipe for himself, directing his senior brother to brew it.

It worked wonders, though upon awakening, his second senior brother Ling Xiao shared this with him.

"Little junior brother, speaking of which, you were also lucky. In the pill formula you gave, there were several medicinal ingredients we had never heard of. We asked around all the nearby markets and could not find anyone selling them. Some even said that these kinds of medicines do not exist in the cultivation world at all."

"Heh, I did not believe it. How could it be that in one pill formula, all other ingredients exist, but these few do not?"

"At the time, we argued forcefully and quarreled with the other party."

"Fortunately, at that moment, a disciple of the Medicine King Sect passed by and heard our argument. Out of curiosity, he asked us for the specific pill formula."

"Then, based on pharmacology, he selected several common herbs as substitutes for us."

"Little junior brother, that is how you were able to drink this medicine!"

During his meeting with Immortal Sage Jicheng, where he earned the Derivative Jade Token reward.

Immortal Sage Jicheng gestured toward a [Bluecloud Willow] in his garden and quizzed him, Han Yi, and Ximen Yue on its nature.

Han Yi and Ximen Yue drew blanks, but Li Fan, versed deeply in the Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture, disclosed it instantly.

Consequently, Immortal Sage Jicheng offered Li Fan ample guidance.

Li Fan had been baffled at first, but further questions clarified it.

The Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture lists more than a hundred species like Mogu Bamboo, Qingye Wood, Myosotis Sylvatica Flower, Hundred Spirit Eagle, and Nine-Refined Deer—items that ought to be commonplace, yet now rare in the Xuanhuang Realm.

The Bluecloud Willow thrives in limited spots within Luoyan Prefecture these days. Immortal Sage Jicheng hailed from Luoyan Prefecture too. He had taken Li Fan for a local, hence the special favor.

...

"The Heavenly Doctor hails from the Heavenly Law Realm's cultivators. Variations across realms subtly alter flora and fauna. Thus, the myriad spirit herbs in the Heavenly Doctor Immortal Scripture simply vanish from the ancient Xuanhuang Realm. The Body Transformation into Dao master and disciples naturally quizzed local cultivators, only to hear that no such ingredients exist."

"Yet the Bluecloud Willow, native solely to the Heavenly Law Realm, emerges in select prefectures years on. This marks the Heavenly Law's integration with Xuanhuang."

"The merging of dual realms."

"The two human remains beneath Congyun Sea: one hails from Xuanhuang natives, the other from Heavenly Law Realm folk. Though both human, their realm origins create faint distinctions. Such subtleties elude even Master Yin's scrutiny."

"Not just Congyun Sea stems from the Heavenly Law Realm. Numerous Xuanhuang prefectures trace back to the Heavenly Doctor's origins too."

"Ximen Yu's Study of Ancient and Modern Mountains and Rivers traces shifts in landscapes over epochs. The Xuanhuang Realm's growth appears less like simple absorption of minor worlds or Cave-Heavens through expansion, and more like a carved-up mosaic, patched with shards from elsewhere."

Li Fan's mind raced.

"In the Fallen Immortal Realm, Ningyuan City lay close to the Purple Heaven Sect. But reality places Mr. Bai's subterranean chamber in Ningyuan City far beneath Taixu Mountain. Meanwhile, Purple Heaven Sect's remnants sit distant in central Linlang Prefecture of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Within one prefecture, millennia apart, they form separate realms."

"Blending, reshaping."

"It resembles a meticulous surgical procedure..."

"Heavenly Doctor..."

"Over thousands of years, the Xuanhuang Realm transformed dramatically. Ordinary cultivators remained oblivious. Even a prodigy like Ximen Yu, who pierced veils to reveal facts, saw his findings censored and quashed by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, barred from circulation."

Assembling every lead, Li Fan sketched a tentative outline of the obscured reality.

Post the vanishing of Xuantian King and the Xuantian Sect's fall, the Xuanhuang Realm entered the dominion of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.

Regardless, the Immortal Ruins' peril persisted amid the power shift.

The Ten Great Immortal Sects faced the same doom of plunging into the Immortal Ruins.

The Xuantian Sect's [Floating Starry Sky Formation] clearly stood as the prime countermeasure.

Hence, the Ten Great Immortal Sects upheld the array, seizing voids' other realms.

Eventually, they stumbled upon the Heavenly Law Realm.

From Tian Jue, Tian Yu, and kin's battle skills, the Heavenly Law Realm's collective power then rivaled Xuanhuang's closely.

Particularly after Xuanhuang's internal chaos, with supreme Xuantian King and his twelve Dharma Kings vanished or slain.

The Heavenly Law Realm refused to yield passively.

A colossal clash of blood and fury engulfed both sides.

The Heavenly Law Realm's Cloudwater Heavenly Palace and Xuanhuang's Body Transforming into Dao Sect.

Neither ranked highly among their peers. Still, in this conflict, they nearly wiped out their followers entirely.

"Even the Floating Starry Sky Formation likely suffered harm then."

"As the war dragged into its final phases, both factions faltered, locked in deadlock."

"There, the Heavenly Doctor devised the Dharma Transmission of Immortal Ancestor ploy, slipping into Xuanhuang to undermine via the new cultivation method, crumbling it internally."

"Yet for unknown causes, mishaps arose. By the Immortal Ancestor's emergence in Xuanhuang lands, much time had elapsed."

"And as the Ten Great Immortal Sects crumbled, Xuanhuang's might waned sharply..."

"Upon the Heavenly Doctor's return to Heavenly Law Realm, he beheld widespread desolation and utter ruin among all life."

...

Li Fan strained to rebuild the mist-veiled chronicle.

Shortly, a slight furrow creased his brow.

While much aligned, certain elements still clashed oddly.

"Foremost, the Immortal Ancestor and Heavenly Doctor's entry timing into Xuanhuang Realm. Or put differently, distortions in time befell the Heavenly Doctor's crossings between realms."

Recalling the Medicine King Sect's wondrous voyage, Li Fan cast an involuntary look toward the Immortal Ruins encircling the Xuanhuang Realm.

"Perhaps the Immortal Ruins' immortal essence meddles?"

"Beyond that, another puzzle lingers. Xuanhuang's Heavenly Dao ought to spawn rejection toward intruders and aliens. Much like realm fusions birthing oddities from law clashes."

"Should the Immortal Ancestor truly be foreign, disseminating Dao widely to upend the world's core would surely provoke heavenly wrath. Furthermore, I remember the Ten Great Immortal Sects probed the Immortal Ancestor's origins..."

"His exact true nature might elude them. But discerning if he stems from Xuanhuang cultivators should prove straightforward."

"The Immortal Ancestor's persona harbors peculiarities."

...

Atop Jieli Mountain's summit, Li Fan lingered long, his mind refusing to settle.

Half a month passed before he snapped from his reverie.

He set about devising strategies for the current life.

"Since he lurks in shadows, the primary form stays concealed eternally."

"Deploying a clone as a decoy to draw eyes suits ideally."

"Heh heh, the Faceless Holy Emperor conquering myriad small worlds..."

Li Fan glided down the slopes with poise, employing Sun Erlang and Wang Xuanba's vital blood to forge a clone.

"The Heavenly Emperor Qi Classic demands no special aptitude. Plus, these two boast decent cultivation gifts."

"Erase every recollection tied to [Truth] and myself..."

As a featureless form coalesced gradually before Li Fan, he studied it intently, then nodded approvingly.

"Heavenly Mandate Holy Emperor, leveling the boundless skies, compelling all realms to bow."

"You shall bear the name Li Ping!"

With that thought, Li Fan's silhouette dimmed away.

Upon stirring, clone Li Ping surveyed his environs first.

Then, as though mulling a purpose, he strode directly toward Great Xuan Capital City.

Soon, Li Fan's core form materialized once more.

"Though limited to Nascent Soul True Lord level sans true battle prowess. For Great Xuan's common folk, it suffices amply."

"Great Xuan's path this life mirrors prior ones."

"Yet I'll tweak the finer points."

...

Li Fan peered toward Great Xuan's distant Eastern Ruins Abyss.

Truthfully, at his Soul Transformation True Monarch apex, unchallenged beneath Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign and capable against standard Longevity Immortal tiers.

Even sans full [Truth] infusion, venturing to Xuanhuang Realm poses no lethal risks, barring self-sabotage.

But after deliberation...

Li Fan shook his head, resisting haste.

"No need to rush now."

He wheeled back to the mountaintop's humble cottage, settling into quiet meditation.