My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1162: The New Xuanhuang Realm

The chances of reeling in items of treasure quality from the Fishing Pond bear no relation to a cultivator's level of cultivation.

Rather, they hinge largely on the earnestness of one's fishing efforts and the grasp of the Dao of Fishing.

Indeed, the stronger the fixation on a particular item, the slimmer the odds of hooking exactly what one seeks.

To put it simply, it's deep and enigmatic, akin to everyday fishing.

Those who triumph in the Holy Dynasty Fishing Competition get assigned spots to fish in the Fishing Pond.

The majority of them linger merely at the Qi Condensation stage, and the top ones barely touch the Nascent Soul realm.

With their shallow insights and scant experiences, these folks could never suspect that this modest pond hides an immortal treasure, one powerful enough to draw in even treasures spanning entire worlds.

Whatever they pull from it, they'll naturally chalk up as gifts bestowed by the Great Holy Emperor.

Furthermore, there's no fear that any among them might mimic the Senior Stone Tablet from the 119th cycle and idiotically attempt to fathom the Dao of Fishing via the Fishing Pond, thus stirring the ire of the unidentified True Immortal lurking behind it and ending up fished out themselves.

"In this cycle, let me see if the treasures within this Fishing Pond are truly inexhaustible. And..."

"Whether the Myriad Heavens' Fortune can overpower the Xuanhuang!"

As his eyes swept over the over ten thousand fishers gathered in the Holy Capital, each clutching diverse fishing rods and itching to cast their lines, Li Ping appeared to picture a horde of cosmic stellar treasures hurtling directly toward the Holy Dynasty.

While the Holy Dynasty Fishing Competition unfolded with rigorous timelines and meticulous setups,

in the northwestern edge of Yongyun Prefecture, upon a barren small hill.

Within the rundown temple crowning the summit, Zhong Shentong, having cast his line only to haul up nothing, abruptly sensed a surge of sleepiness.

He meant to summon the Daoist child Liuli but discovered her already lost in slumber, snoring deeply.

Zhong Shentong smiled lightly and checked the temple's protective array to confirm all was secure.

Only after that did he sprawl lazily in the recliner for a short rest.

He lost track of the time that elapsed...

Upon stirring in confusion, he realized he lay in a shadowy, unfamiliar void!

On reflex, he reached for his prime escape artifact from his storage ring, only to learn that somehow, every stitch of clothing had been removed, leaving him stark naked!

Zhong Shentong's features spasmed. He grasped that he'd been utterly ensnared this round. The foe was merciless, denying him any escape.

"Yet here I remain alive, signifying the adversary spares my life. Outwardly, I'm merely a Qi Condensation cultivator teetering on the brink of death, broke and broken. Subduing me demands no such grand scheme. Thus, it's about the Fishing Pond?"

Zhong Shentong's thoughts whirled swiftly, and enlightenment struck him at once. Yet despite straining his wits, he couldn't unravel how the mystery of this peerless treasure had slipped out.

There hadn't been the slightest hint!

"Wait, how fares Liuli?"

For this young one, who had assumed human shape after Zhong Shentong himself fished her from the Fishing Pond, he cherished her nearly as his sole kin. With him captured, she must be in grave peril too...

As Zhong Shentong's mind churned in chaos, a voice cold as frost abruptly echoed through the utter darkness.

"Achieve breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage in seven days."

"Fail, and face death!"

Offering no desire to chat with Zhong Shentong, it uttered just those words before plunging into total quiet.

Still, the frozen murderous aura coiling around him, as real as iron chains, convinced Zhong Shentong this wasn't some idle threat.

Should he botch the breakthrough, execution would follow without fail.

"I've lingered at Qi Condensation's late stage for more than fifty years. Superficially, I look withered and beyond any hope of advancing. No sane soul would impose this on me. Unless..."

"He suspects I practice the [Mysterious Art of Life and Death]!"

The deeper he pondered, the more Zhong Shentong sensed this hidden orchestrator's depths were immeasurable. Though they'd yet to cross paths, the foe grasped his secrets as plainly as an open scroll.

...

As Zhong Shentong plunged into boundless dread,

in a separate lightless realm, the Daoist child Liuli remained blissfully ignorant of the looming doom. She continued her peaceful snores.

Li Ping materialized before her, watching in silence.

After an extended pause, Li Ping spoke coolly: "Fellow Daoist Hundred Flowers, reveal yourself."

Quiet prevailed, with no reply.

Li Ping's eyes sharpened: "Shall I utter it thrice, Sect Master of the Heavenly Lotus Sect in the Wansheng Realm?"

His words flowed casually, but to attuned listeners, they boomed like thunder from clear skies.

At last abandoning her concealment, rays of golden brilliance erupted, and a form separated from the Daoist child Liuli's frame.

Daoist Hundred Flowers fixed her gaze on Li Ping: "Who exactly are you?"

She was positive she'd never encountered this individual. Yet he'd pinpointed her true self...

In a flash, a torrent of faces raced through Daoist Hundred Flowers' thoughts. None aligned.

"I am but a drifter lost in the starry expanse, much like yourself, fellow daoist, exiled from our origins. Bygones are bygones; why cling so tightly?"

That one phrase hurled Daoist Hundred Flowers' mind into a tempest. It evoked those nightmarish eras when dooms cascaded endlessly in years gone by.

"Of greater weight is the future." The man's subsequent statement seized her focus entirely.

"The future?"

"At present, mired in the Star Sea, this spot stands as the only refuge. Yet the Xuanhuang Realm of now differs vastly from the one of antiquity. Through countless ages, forged from shards of countless realms, this reborn Xuanhuang Realm has soared far beyond a mere cultivation domain." Li Ping's tone carried a trace of sorrow.

"If you probe deeply, fellow daoist, traces of the ancient Wansheng Realm might yet linger."

Daoist Hundred Flowers' face shifted: "What precisely do you mean, fellow daoist?"

"With the Xuanhuang Realm incorporating pieces of our lost domains... in this renewed Xuanhuang Realm, we deserve our due share. Should they withhold it, we take it by force." Li Ping proclaimed with bold assurance.

"The indigenous powers of the Xuanhuang Realm overwhelm in scale. Unity alone offers a shot at reclaiming our due."

"Beyond the Wansheng Realm, I've located comrades from the Heavenly Mechanism Realm as well..."

Li Ping expounded at length.

Daoist Hundred Flowers, in turn, showed evident stirrings of emotion.

"If the Xuanhuang Realm indeed drew in fragments of our realms to defy the Immortal Ruins, then this land truly serves as my fresh homeland."

A sharp ache gripped Daoist Hundred Flowers' core: the raw yearning of a wanderer, long without roots, now glimpsing a true shelter.

"Yet... the cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm prove formidable foes." Upon reflection, Daoist Hundred Flowers wavered still. She dimly remembered how, in those days, a solitary native Half-Immortal had blocked all us survivors from foreign realms at the gates.

Though eras had shifted and that Half-Immortal's fate lay obscure, the Xuanhuang Realm boasted a fresh Immortal Ancestor Heavenly Sovereign...

Could interlopers like them truly edge out an upper hand against Him?