My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1356: An Initial Understanding of the Mysteries of the Paradise

At first, the three of them would occasionally exchange their thoughts on how they had completed their tasks.

However, they gradually realized that all of their guesses and speculation were completely meaningless.

The three straw figures were like beings isolated from the world itself.

Only the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning descending from the heavens above could come into contact with them.

Other than that, everything in the mortal world seemed completely unable to perceive their existence.

Birds, beasts, and swarms of insects flew past them without ever lingering.

Even the dust of the world never settled upon their bodies.

Thus, the three of them slowly fell silent.

They lay helplessly on their backs, watching the world change.

It was as if time itself had been accelerated as one day after another slipped away.

The mountain peak where they rested gradually became thinner and sharper under the endless erosion of rain and windblown sand.

The once majestic and towering mountain slowly lost its fullness until only a solitary jagged peak remained.

It stood alone between heaven and earth.

The surrounding landscape also transformed from rolling green mountains into magnificent canyons carved by countless ravines.

While the seas became fields and the fields became seas, only the black stone upon which Sun Erlang and the others lay remained eternally unchanged.

As the wind and rain continued to batter them, even their consciousness was gradually eroded by the power of time, becoming worn and indistinct.

They slowly stopped reacting to the outside world altogether.

If this continued, perhaps one day their consciousness would completely fade away.

Just as they were about to sink into eternal oblivion.

A majestic and sacred figure suddenly bloomed within their minds, radiating countless streams of divine light.

It seemed even greater than heaven and earth themselves, shielding them from the eroding wind and rain.

"The Holy Teacher..."

Although their memories had already become blurred.

These two words seemed engraved into the depths of their souls, emerging instinctively.

"The Holy Teacher. The Holy Teacher. The Holy Teacher."

The three repeated those words like men possessed.

It was as though a spring burst forth from the earth, allowing memories from the past to once again fill their dried and withered minds.

"Ah!"

It felt as though they had awakened from an endless nightmare.

They knew that the Holy Teacher had saved their lives through unseen means.

But if they could not find a way to escape, they would ultimately still sink into oblivion.

Therefore, seizing this rare moment of clarity, the three of them began discussing without pause.

During their conversation, they were surprised to discover that it truly felt as though they had been tempered through tens of millions of years.

Their temperaments had become incomparably steadier.

Even with disaster looming over them, none of them retained the panic they once possessed.

"This dream trial cannot possibly be a dead end. When the mountain beneath us is finally eroded apart by rain and wind, and the black stone falls, that will probably mark our liberation. As long as we endure until then, we will complete the mission."

After much discussion, they reached this conclusion.

Holding onto it as their final conviction, they gritted their teeth and persevered.

Countless more years passed.

The image of the Holy Teacher within their minds had already become nearly imperceptible.

Only the obsession they repeated endlessly remained as the reason they continued to endure.

Then one day.

The mountain, which had already become impossibly thin and was supported by only a slender stone pillar, could no longer bear the weight of the black stone at its summit.

After a gentle breeze swept past.

It collapsed with a thunderous crash.

As the three straw figures fell from the mountaintop into the mortal world below, time itself seemed to freeze before their eyes.

The clear sky suddenly darkened.

It was as though a black membrane had covered the heavens.

A gigantic black bird's beak pierced through the sky, descending from beyond the heavens.

Merely half of its head was already larger than the entire world.

Its two enormous, razor-sharp eyes filled the sky.

As they slowly shifted, they locked onto the three falling straw figures.

Within the eyes of this indescribably gigantic ferocious bird, Sun Erlang and the others saw unmistakable satisfaction.

With one terrifying cry.

The entire world began shattering inch by inch.

From the foreheads, hearts, and lower abdomens of the three straw figures respectively, three orbs of light flew out.

They slowly rose into the sky, drifting toward the monstrous bird.

Although their consciousness still remained within the straw figures, Sun Erlang and the others could vaguely see scenes of time flowing and mountains and rivers changing within those three light orbs.

Boom!

The next instant, the world plunged into endless darkness.

Even the simulated Heavenly Mandate system responsible for monitoring them could not determine how much time had truly passed.

When Sun Erlang and the others regained consciousness.

They had successfully escaped from the dream.

Not only were they completely unharmed, they had even obtained a divine ability called [Contemplation of Mountains Rivers Epochs].

After transforming oneself into the straw figure upon the mountaintop, time around one's own body would seemingly become frozen.

Meanwhile, one could observe the changes of the world as countless years passed in the blink of an eye.

It was somewhat similar to when Li Fan transformed into the Canghai Pearl and witnessed the seas becoming fields and the fields becoming seas.

However, the truly powerful aspect of Contemplation of Mountains Rivers Epochs was that once activated, the user's lifespan was placed into an almost completely frozen state.

Even if tens of millions of years passed in the outside world, the effect upon the user would be almost negligible.

Of course, this was merely what the dream had indicated in theory.

As for whether this divine ability truly possessed such miraculous effects.

Sun Erlang and the others had no intention of testing it.

Having completed all three, and indeed all of the dream boundaries, the environment around them finally changed once again.

They were still within Qiuxi Prefecture of the Five Elders Association.

However, unlike before when the region had been sparsely populated, the present Qiuxi Prefecture was bustling with people.

Not only were cultivators everywhere throughout the cities, but even the previously desolate wilderness had suddenly become filled with countless buildings.

Moreover, each of those buildings appeared to be inhabited by cultivators.

The changes did not occur only in the outside world.

They also occurred within Sun Erlang and the others themselves.

"Sun Erlang. Golden Core Perfection. Number of Deaths: 1."

"Paradise Experience Level: 2."

"Current Unlockable Dream World Level: 3."

"Carefree Coins: 2000."

...

This was the personal information that Sun Erlang and the others could all view.

When the pink progress bar finally filled, their so called Paradise Experience Level was finally promoted to Level 2.

A new option became available, allowing them to unlock Dream Worlds.

Aside from that, many other detailed descriptions also appeared.

Moreover, when they focused their thoughts on those lines of text, detailed explanations would finally appear in their minds.

They no longer had to rely entirely on guesswork.

Sun Erlang carefully read every entry, afraid of overlooking some crucial piece of information.

"So it turns out that native cultivators of the Five Elders Association also have to undergo the trial of three Dream Worlds before entering the Carefree Paradise. However, the difficulty is nothing like what we experienced. According to the Carefree Paradise's classification, the world difficulty we encountered had already reached Level 3."

"The reason our experience was so unusual is because we are not members of the Five Elders Association. We are outsiders who entered without the permission of the Carefree Heavenly Sovereign."

"However, the Heavenly Sovereign is merciful and does not expel intruders outright. Instead, a Dream Trial is bestowed. Those who successfully pass may officially join the Dream Paradise. Those who fail are permanently banished from the Carefree Paradise. As punishment for the power consumed in constructing the trial dream, more than half of their soul strength will also be drained..."

Sun Erlang's expression darkened.

After exchanging glances with Wang Xuanba and Yue Zhenwei, he continued reading.

"So the place where we first arrived was the transit area leading to the trial dream. Every cultivator entering the Carefree Paradise for the first time appears there."

"Within the Dream Paradise, cultivators are forbidden from harming one another. If someone ignores this rule and attacks by force, the victim will immediately be transferred to a safe area. Depending on the severity of the offense, the attacker will have Paradise Coins deducted."

"Carefree Coins, also known as Paradise Coins, are obtained through exploration and activities within the Dream Paradise. They can be exchanged in the Heavenly Sovereign Treasury for all kinds of resources to strengthen oneself."

"The Heavenly Sovereign Treasury contains everything imaginable."

Seeing the two thousand Paradise Coins he possessed, Sun Erlang's heart stirred as he opened the detailed page of the Heavenly Sovereign Treasury.

An instant later, he stood there completely stunned.

Even with only Paradise Experience Level 2 authority, the number of items he could view was limited. Even so, the inventory of the Heavenly Sovereign Treasury was utterly unbelievable.

Not to mention ordinary heavenly treasures, medicinal pills, and magical artifacts.

Even cultivation techniques were considered commonplace within the treasury.

Furthermore, unlike the cultivation techniques commonly circulated in the Xuanhuang Realm, the weakest techniques here could all be cultivated up to the Soul Transformation realm.

According to the Carefree Paradise's description, there was no need to worry about a technique being too profound to comprehend.

The moment an exchange was completed, the cultivator would instantly reach the introductory stage.

By spending Paradise Coins, the cultivation technique itself could continue advancing.

"Once you learn an exchanged technique, it can no longer be shared with others. However, before learning it, it may be gifted."

"In that case, although the Paradise has no restriction against cultivating multiple techniques simultaneously, the difference is not significant. Cultivation still requires paying the exchange cost."

"A cultivator's cultivation and techniques in the real world are synchronized only once upon first entering the Paradise, becoming the starting point of their Paradise self."

"However, under normal circumstances, future progress made inside the Paradise cannot be brought back into reality, that is, into the Xuanhuang Realm."

Sun Erlang frowned upon seeing this.

After thinking it over briefly, however, he quickly accepted it.

After all, everything within the Paradise was simply too heaven defying. If every achievement there could be synchronized back into reality...

Then the scale of the Paradise would unquestionably exist on an entirely different level from the Xuanhuang Realm.

"As its name suggests, the Paradise is constructed under the power of the great Carefree Heavenly Sovereign, composed of countless different Dream Worlds."

"The foundations of these Dream Worlds may originate from historical events that once occurred within the Xuanhuang Realm, from the dreams of living beings, or from even deeper great thoughts. Therefore, they are not permanently safe but instead filled with every imaginable danger."

"To facilitate exploration, Dream Experience Levels and Dream World Levels were established."

Sun Erlang nodded slightly.

With their strength at the peak of the Golden Core realm, exploring a Level 3 Dream World was already their limit.

Going any further would certainly mean death.

Having a rough understanding of danger levels prevented dream explorers from throwing away their lives needlessly.

"Death exists within the Paradise."

"A cultivator's number of deaths is not unlimited."

"The Death Count is one of the most important indicators of a cultivator's status within the dream, second only to the Dream Experience Level."

"Cultivators with similar Death Counts generally exist within the same layer of the Paradise. The broad divisions are one to three deaths, three to five, five to ten, and ten to fifteen."

"The upper limit of deaths should be fifteen. If you die again after that..."

"Then you truly die."

"In reality as well."

Sun Erlang's heart shuddered.

"As Death Count increases, it not only changes the people one encounters but also causes one's Spirituality to decline."

"Spirituality is a hidden attribute that is not displayed, yet it truly exists within the Blessed Land. It directly affects actual combat and cultivation efficiency."

"The more often you die, the lower your Spirituality becomes, making further progress increasingly difficult."

"It seems Spirituality also has other effects."

Sun Erlang pondered silently.

"Death Count can also be reduced through certain methods. Besides spending Paradise Coins in the Heavenly Sovereign Treasury, some special items obtained within dreams can also remove deaths."

"Of course, all of them are extremely valuable."

"From this alone, it is clear that the Carefree Paradise is filled with dangers. Yet the reason every member of the Five Elders Association longs for it is because this dream truly deserves the name 'Carefree.'"

"Every cultivator need only pay a certain number of Paradise Coins to create a Dream World that belongs solely to themselves."

"Whether becoming an unrivaled emperor whose every word is law, or an immortal emperor who controls all existence, everything can be realized within the dream."

"Within the dream, everything is almost indistinguishable from reality. The more Paradise Coins one spends, the richer every detail becomes."

"However, aside from the initial cost of creating the dream, maintaining its existence also requires Paradise Coins."

"This is also the driving force behind cultivators exploring Dream Worlds."

"The higher the Dream World level, the greater the risks, but the greater the rewards as well."

"Dream exploration may be undertaken alone or with companions."

"At regular intervals, free Dream Worlds become available for exploration. Naturally, they may also be unlocked early by spending Paradise Coins."

...

Sun Erlang gradually gained a comprehensive understanding of every aspect of the Carefree Paradise.

What truly caught his attention, however, was the information revealed at the very end.

"Under normal circumstances, nothing obtained within dreams can be brought back into reality."

"However, there are exceptions."

"First, through the protection of the Carefree Heavenly Sovereign's power. This requires almost no cost, but throughout the entire history of the Paradise, it has happened only a handful of times."

"Second, through key items. By surrendering them, one may choose to bring a portion of their dream power back into reality."

"Third, by venturing deep into unexplored Dream Worlds."

"Fourth, by turning in an enormous amount of Paradise Coins."

Sun Erlang and the others exchanged glances once again before discussing among themselves.

"This Paradise has truly exceeded our expectations."

"Even the Holy Teacher may not fully understand it. The strength of that Carefree Heavenly Sovereign, who created such an extraordinary Paradise, is truly beyond imagination."

"Still, dreams are ultimately dreams. They are illusions. We must eventually return to reality."

"But now it seems that will not be easy. Among the countless billions of beings in the Paradise, only a handful manage to return to reality each year," Yue Zhenwei said thoughtfully.

"Actually, I think staying here would not be bad even if we never return. Just look at all the Dream World templates in the Heavenly Sovereign Treasury. Every single one seems fascinating."

Wang Xuanba stared at the countless items within the Heavenly Sovereign Treasury as he spoke.

Sun Erlang remained silent.