My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1141: The Flowing Gap Left by Time
Previously on My Longevity Simulation...
Upon closer inspection, the star points looked like innumerable small portals.
Various scenes shimmered through these portals in different intensities.
Myriad figures danced within, evidently shaping diverse cultivation methods.
Beneath the dome, no cultivators from the Guardian Hall could be seen; instead, only rivers of radiant light darted endlessly across the expanse.
The Sun Family Patriarch, Sun Luyuan, appeared to be briefing someone. Shortly thereafter, a silhouette dropped down from the dome and touched down in front of Li Fan and the rest.
This was an incarnation composed solely of streaming characters, not a flesh-and-blood individual.
He scrutinized Li Fan and gave a faint nod: "Young fellow, I glimpsed you more than a century back; you were merely at the Golden Core stage then. Time flies, and now you've advanced so far..."
"Come with me."
At those words, the characters formed a pathway leading directly to the dome.
Li Fan trailed Sun Luyuan along this pathway of characters. In no time, his form began to break apart into myriad characters too, ready to disperse along the path like verses in a drifting scroll.A sharp warning surged within his mind.
Li Fan sensed that amid the sway of these encircling characters, the recollections in his soul were unwittingly leaking out, akin to pages from his prior existence unfolding.
"Could this be a technique to scan the visitor's history by detecting soul imprints?"
Li Fan mulled this over and swiftly conjured the memories of Sun Ang's youth in his soul prior to the takeover. He let them flow out, permitting the character pathway around him to absorb them.
The characters into which he morphed carried distinct individual traces, setting them apart from the road underfoot.
Sun Luyuan, on the other hand, showed no signs of being examined at all.
The pathway of characters swiftly approached its conclusion, bringing Li Fan and the companion into a starlit portal crowning the dome.
Their shapes shifted back from characters to solid bodies, while Li Fan's ordeals had coalesced into a slim volume apart.
The leading cultivator now displayed his actual form.
He seemed even more youthful than "Sun Ang," resembling a lad of seventeen or eighteen.
His lengthy hair cascaded over his shoulders, a red mark adorning his forehead. He exuded an air of elegance and tranquility.
"This is Elder Nangong of the Guardian Hall," Sun Luyuan presented to Li Fan.
Nangong eyed the volume in his grasp and inclined his head: "All clear. You've cleared the initial test."
With a light flick, the volume chronicling "Sun Ang's" journey morphed into a beam of light and sped away to parts unknown.
Li Fan, in the meantime, surveyed his environment.
It was like drifting in the emptiness beyond the Xuanhuang Realm, a colossal luminous mass hovering in front.
It mirrored the scaled-down replica of the Xuanhuang Realm that Li Fan had viewed once in the long-range teleportation array.
"Traverse the [Xuanhuang Realm]; should you avoid stirring any ripples in the luminous mass, you'll succeed in the second test," Nangong instructed, spearheading the way by turning into a streak of light.
Li Fan pursued without delay.
The golden aura felt ethereal and hazy, stirring an odd comfort, as if slipping back into a nurturing embrace. Without incident, Li Fan soon exited the luminous mass.
As he departed, a subtle pull of hesitation tugged at his heart.
Li Fan also sharply perceived that the flow of his [Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra] had quickened by several folds beyond its normal pace!
"This checks if one hails from the Xuanhuang Realm as a true native cultivator?"
Insight flashed through Li Fan's thoughts.
The third test confirmed ties to the Five Elders Association.
In the emptiness loomed five statues with blurred features, surrounding the zone.
Li Fan had to remain still among the statues for thirty minutes.
Only if no oddities arose in that span would he succeed.
In this existence, Li Fan bore no stains or links to the Five Elders Association at all.
Hence, he breezed through it.
"These statues possess some deep mystery. They appear to harbor a hint of the Five Heavenly Sovereigns' ability to invert laws..."
While under the gaze of the Five Elders Association statues, Li Fan in turn studied the five Heavenly Sovereigns.
A spark of understanding hit him: "Even if not the Sovereigns themselves, it's remarkably close."
"Had I arrived after encountering Senior Sister Zhao's vision, or even sent a mere clone..."
"It would probably provoke a response from the statues."
As the five statues faded away, Li Fan confronted the ultimate test prior to joining.
The area abruptly sank into total emptiness.
Sun Luyuan and Elder Nangong, who had stood beside him just before, disappeared entirely.
Li Fan creased his brow faintly and glanced around.
He found no irregularities.
This wasn't a snare or any scheme.
It was merely an absolute void domain.
Save for Li Fan, nothing else persisted.
"What exactly does this examine?"
Li Fan grasped it and stayed composed.
Positioned in the void, Li Fan watched to see what ploy the Guardian Hall would unfold.
Within the blankness, time itself seemed to dissolve into irrelevance.
He couldn't tell how much duration had elapsed, but even with Li Fan's endurance, a touch of frustration began to creep in.
It felt like the whole cosmos had overlooked him; beyond his own being, all else had evaporated.
Elder Nangong gave no hint of returning.
"Are they planning to abandon me here indefinitely?"
Owing to his natural wariness toward people, this notion crept unbidden into Li Fan's mind.
He even pondered unveiling his actual cultivation level, shattering the setup here, and departing outright.
Yet in the following moment, Li Fan quelled the impulse.
Steadying his feelings, Li Fan accessed the [Truth] interface.
Verifying it remained fixed at eight years, every trace of anxiety and vexation evaporated instantly.
In the void, he persisted in waiting.
It seemed like yet another century or millennium had slipped by when a sudden idea struck Li Fan.
He started displaying hints of restlessness.
Ceasing to linger motionless, he soared about, probing as though hunting for a way out.
Then, Li Fan steadily heightened the sentiments he portrayed.
Still, he never surrendered to chaos; he simply let some adverse emotions surface.
Thus, another century or millennium appeared to elapse...
At last, illumination pierced the shadowy void.
Elder Nangong and Sun Luyuan reemerged.
Li Fan squinted his eyes a touch, putting on a bewildered look as if awakening from a distant realm. He even inspected the pair closely, seeming to question who they were.
"You've overcome this concluding test too." A subtle grin at last graced Elder Nangong's features.
Gazing at Li Fan, he commended, "Your psyche holds up remarkably. In the Flow of Time Gap, it was over two centuries before faint cracks in control showed. And you kept your reason intact. Such an outcome stands out among past examinations."
Upon hearing this, Li Fan stayed quiet for an extended while.
As though absorbing the revelation.
Elder Nangong went on, "This test gauges a cultivator's psychological fortitude."
"After all, one has to stay with the Derivative Law Jade for more than three centuries without stepping away for any cause. Should one falter under the strain and tumble into insanity, that would spell disaster."
Li Fan abruptly interjected with a query: "So, has any cultivator ever stayed utterly serene throughout, without a single sign of restlessness?"