My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1369: The Eternal Obsession Rises

Li Fan quietly surveyed his surroundings.

After the Azure Firmament Pearl shattered and dissipated, it was as if an invisible boulder had fallen into the rift basin.

The underground rivers winding endlessly through the maze-like Star Sea fissure basin rippled with gentle waves.

An indescribable aura surged within them, adding yet another trace of mysterious vitality to this place.

It seemed that the complete dissipation of the Azure Firmament Pearl had activated something.

Li Fan faintly sensed that the entire fissure basin had become somewhat different.

"It seems that over the past ten thousand years, the Azure Firmament Pearl has continuously released its energy into the outside world. It had already nearly reached its limit and was on the verge of being completely drained."

"Our arrival merely gave it the final push." Li Fan sighed softly.

Mo Rubin also realized this. The excitement that had caused him to briefly lose his composure gradually subsided.

"Such an exquisite undertaking could never have formed naturally within the Star Sea. Not to mention that the Azure Firmament Pearl was used as the catalyst supplying all this vitality..."

Mo Rubin's thoughts raced.

"Could this have been arranged by Brother Xuanyuan? But when could he possibly have done it?"

"The Azure Firmament Pearl was Brother Xuanyuan's most precious treasure. He never allowed it to leave his side. Yet it remained here all this time... while Brother Xuanyuan himself disappeared into that mysterious pond."

Mo Rubin's expression became uncertain.

"This matter is indeed rather strange," Li Fan nodded. "Either the Xuantian King did not disappear immediately after being ambushed all those years ago, but instead fell into a deep slumber because of his severe injuries. After awakening much later, he arranged this entire fissure basin. Perhaps the pool within the Xuanhuang Realm is connected to one of the fissures here."

"Or, before the ambush ever occurred, the Xuantian King had already entrusted the Azure Firmament Pearl to someone else. Throughout all these years, that person has continued carrying out every plan related to reviving the Star Sea in his place..."

"Impossible!"

Before Li Fan could finish speaking, Mo Rubin instinctively interrupted him.

Li Fan looked at Mo Rubin with a meaningful gaze.

"Brother Mo, could you tell me which of the Twelve Dharma Kings the Xuantian King trusted the most?"

"There is no need to claim that he treated everyone equally. Relationships naturally differ in closeness. Even saints cannot escape such principles."

Mo Rubin's face darkened. He opened his mouth as if to speak, only to stop himself.

He then simply closed his eyes, attempting to conceal the turmoil within his heart.

In the end, however, he did not avoid the question.

"I think... if Brother Xuanyuan truly trusted anyone the most, then it would certainly have been Xing Wuque."

"Xing Wuque..."

Information regarding this Dharma King immediately surfaced within Li Fan's mind.

His arms and legs had all been severed. His facial features had been destroyed. He constantly wore a bronze fanged mask and almost never communicated with anyone.

"Within the Xuantian Sect, besides Brother Xuanyuan himself, no one knew Xing Wuque's true identity. Just as you said before, relationships differ in closeness. The twelve Dharma Kings naturally divided into several small circles according to our friendships."

"Sun Xingwang and Sikong Lin were always together, discussing things no one else could understand. Gongye Tianzong and Tian Xingke would always converse merrily while drinking together. Luo Yichen, Auntie Nie, Ji Yuzhen—The Three Ladies always had an endless stream of private secrets to share..."

"But Xing Wuque alone always kept his distance from every other Dharma King. He never took the initiative to speak with anyone in the sect. Whenever he appeared, he was always alone. Yet every task assigned to him was completed flawlessly and with astonishing efficiency."

Mo Rubin's face was filled with nostalgia.

"It was as though he had abandoned all seven emotions and six desires, becoming nothing more than a machine. He no longer lived for himself."

"Perhaps that is why Brother Xuanyuan trusted him the most."

"And when the incident occurred that day, Xing Wuque indeed seemed to have been away from the sect."

Li Fan nodded slightly.

"If Xing Wuque truly took the Azure Firmament Pearl back then, then throughout all these years he should have been tirelessly carrying out the Xuantian King's mission. Brother Mo, do you have any means of contacting Dharma King Xing?"

Mo Rubin shook his head.

"Xing Wuque only maintained direct contact with Brother Xuanyuan. However..."

As if suddenly recalling something, Mo Rubin looked once more toward the place where the Azure Firmament Pearl had dissipated.

"I wonder whether the 'Reavel' True Immortal seal script can still be used on the Azure Firmament Pearl. Perhaps we can continue following the trail."

"The Azure Firmament Pearl is an immortal artifact. Even a True Immortal seal script may not affect it. Besides, it has already dissipated." Li Fan pointed toward the ripples that still continued spreading through the surrounding waters.

"Dissipation does not mean disappearance. Among all the treasures Brother Xuanyuan obtained from the Immortal Realm, the Azure Firmament Pearl ranked among the most precious. How could it possibly vanish so easily?"

"It has not disappeared. Rather, it has transformed into another unique form, becoming vitality itself and existing throughout these underground rivers."

Mo Rubin spoke with complete certainty, once again displaying the bearing of one of the Twelve Dharma Kings of the Xuantian Sect.

"You only need to cast the [Reveal] True Immortal seal script upon these endless rivers of vitality."

Li Fan once again immersed his senses into the boundless underground rivers flowing through the rift.

He vaguely understood.

Gathering his focus, he solemnly wrote the [Reveal] True Immortal seal script once again in midair.

The instant the profound character took shape, it dissolved like ink into the underground river.

The rhythm of the rippling waves was quickly disrupted.

It was as though another completely unrelated and independent fluctuation had suddenly appeared.

Li Fan and Mo Rubin immediately followed the direction in which that fluctuation spread.

This time they ventured even deeper into the rift.

After countless twists and turns and more than thirty days of travel, they finally reached the end.

"Be careful. There seems to be the aura of a living person ahead."

Mo Rubin suddenly transmitted a warning.

Li Fan had already summoned the phantom Wooden Sword to guard his side as he slowly approached.

At the end of the underground river sat a solitary figure.

Its aura fluctuated unpredictably.

Upon its face rested a fanged mask.

"Xing Wuque?"

Seeing the familiar appearance, Mo Rubin could not help but call out loudly.

However, after a brief moment of surprise, Li Fan felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Xing Wuque had long ago lost both his arms and legs.

Yet this figure clearly possessed all four limbs intact.

More importantly...

The clothing he wore was extremely familiar to Li Fan.

It was exactly the same as that of Xu Ke, who had previously disappeared into the depths of the underground river.

"Is it Xu Ke?"

"Or is it Xing Wuque?"

"No wonder his aura felt so unstable earlier..."

Li Fan pondered silently, refraining from making any rash move.

After recovering from his initial shock, Mo Rubin also noticed the differences between the figure before him and his old companion.

After observing carefully for a while, he reached a conclusion.

"It resembles him, yet it is not truly him. It seems to exist in some extraordinary state of fusion. Could it be that after all these years, Xing Wuque also reached the end of his lifespan and was forced to use some special method to continue existing?"

Li Fan could tell that in this fusion, Xu Ke was clearly the dominant personality. Rather than Xing Wuque continuing to exist, it was more accurate to call it an inheritance.

'As expected of a child of fortune. After being struck into this place of death by the echoing star power, he still managed to encounter such a great opportunity.'

'If Mo Rubin's previous speculation was correct, and Xing Wuque has been carrying out the Xuantian King's mission for the past ten thousand years...'

'Then Xu Ke also took upon himself the responsibility of suppressing the Xuanhuang world's evil thoughts alone for all eternity because of Mr. Bai's dying request.'

'These two are remarkably alike in this regard. Perhaps that is precisely why Xu Ke was able to inherit Xing Wuque's legacy.' Li Fan silently pondered.

Mo Rubin, however, merely shook his head slightly.

"This new body is far too weak. It simply cannot withstand Xing Wuque's full strength. But we can give him a hand."

As he spoke, Mo Rubin released a single Demonic Heart.

As it flew toward its target, the originally ferocious expression upon the Demonic Heart gradually melted away.

It became a featureless face before completely dissolving into a thick grey liquid.

In an instant, it seeped into Xu Ke's body.

Moments later, Xu Ke's unstable aura gradually became much steadier.

"The countless Demonic Hearts can not only injure others and seize their bodies, but can also suppress calamities and save lives. Truly worthy of being an immortal art of the Divine Shaman Clan." Li Fan could not help but sigh in admiration. Not wanting to fall behind, he shot out dozens of golden needles.

Just as he had previously helped Mo Rubin, golden threads infused pure spiritual energy and soul power into Xu Ke.

With the combined assistance of these two great experts, Xu Ke's fusion with the bronze mask accelerated by more than a thousandfold.

Originally, it would have taken at least several decades to completely absorb the inheritance.

But now, before long, Xu Ke's aura had already gradually stabilized.

Li Fan and Mo Rubin waited quietly.

Finally, two rays of light lit up within the eye sockets of the mask.

When Xu Ke saw the two people before him, his body trembled slightly.

"Holy Teacher?!" he blurted out instinctively, his voice filled with astonishment.

His tone and voice had become completely different from the Xu Ke of the past. Yet the words he spoke unmistakably revealed the true identity of the figure before them.

"Hm?" Hearing a familiar voice speak unfamiliar words, Mo Rubin was momentarily stunned. Then he finally reacted and turned to look at Li Fan.

Li Fan also wore an expression of complete shock.

"Xu Ke? How could it be you?!" he asked in disbelief.

It was as if he had not noticed anything beforehand.

Mo Rubin, meanwhile, asked coldly, "You're not Xing Wuque? What have you done to him?"

A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. It was only because Xu Ke knew Li Fan that he had not attacked immediately.

"Senior Xing... had already reached his limit and passed away."

"By pure chance, I found this mask and passed his trial. I merely inherited his legacy." Xu Ke spoke in a somewhat sorrowful tone.

Xu Ke then recounted the entire story in detail.

It matched Li Fan's earlier speculation exactly. Perhaps Xing Wuque had indeed intended to possess Xu Ke's body and be reborn. But after sensing how astonishingly similar Xu Ke's life had been to his own, Xing Wuque ultimately chose to give up.

The attempted possession thus became an inheritance.

"Senior's inheritance was simply too vast. Even though he completely opened it for me to absorb, I could not assimilate it all at once. Instead, my consciousness became unstable..."

"Fortunately, the two seniors came to my aid." Xu Ke bowed respectfully.

Hearing the voice of a former companion address him in such a manner left Mo Rubin feeling rather uncomfortable.

Li Fan directly asked about Xing Wuque's connection to the darkness beneath the Star Sea fissure.

"It seems Senior Xing deliberately erased those memories from the inheritance."

"But from some fragmented memories, I can still infer the general truth."

"The underground dark river stretching throughout the entire Star Sea was personally excavated by Senior Xing over countless years through the power of the immortal treasure Azure Firmament Pearl."

Xu Ke's words instantly left both Li Fan and Mo Rubin stunned.

"The underground dark river winds throughout the entire Star Sea. It is difficult to imagine that such a monumental undertaking could have been accomplished by a single person. Yet even after Senior deliberately erased those memories, countless fragments of him excavating the river still remain. That alone is enough to prove his achievement."

Xu Ke's voice was filled with sorrow.

"Ever since Senior Xing received the Xuantian King's orders all those years ago, he carried the Azure Firmament Pearl and devoted himself entirely to this task."

"For ten thousand years, he never stopped for even a single moment."

"Even with Senior's extraordinary cultivation, wielding the immortal treasure Azure Firmament Pearl placed an enormous burden upon him. After ten thousand years without rest, the endless accumulation of that strain finally pushed him beyond his limits."

"Filled with regret, he ultimately fell at the very end of this underground dark river."

Xu Ke slowly narrated everything.

Li Fan remained silent.

It all sounded utterly inconceivable.

But if Xing Wuque truly possessed the personality Mo Rubin had previously described...

Then perhaps it was entirely possible.

Mo Rubin was shaken even more deeply. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, only to stop himself.

Looking toward the end of the underground dark river, he finally asked, "Xing Wuque... even at the moment of his death, still failed to complete the task Brother Xuanyuan entrusted to him?"

Xu Ke nodded.

"And that is the mission I will continue for the rest of my life. Since I have inherited Senior Xing's legacy, it is only natural that I complete what he left unfinished."

His tone was calm, yet absolutely resolute.

Hearing this, Mo Rubin's expression changed slightly. He looked at Xu Ke with undisguised surprise.

"Ridiculous."

"Leaving aside whether any of this even has meaning, the immortal treasure Azure Firmament Pearl has already shattered. With your current cultivation, how could you possibly continue excavating new underground rivers?"

Xu Ke remained completely unmoved.

"Simply carrying out Senior Xing's final wish is meaning enough."

"As for the shattered immortal treasure..."

A brilliant azure radiance suddenly burst forth from the mask upon Xu Ke's face.

It was exactly the same azure glow Li Fan had previously seen emanating from the true Azure Firmament Pearl.

"During Senior's ten thousand years of excavation, the act of opening these underground rivers had already become an instinct engraved into his very being. Now that he has passed that inheritance to me, I can accomplish the same thing even without the immortal treasure."

"It is merely another repetition, ten thousand years later."

Specks of azure light shot forth from the mask.

They illuminated the darkness ahead, at the end of the underground river.

Under the joint witness of Mo Rubin and Li Fan, Xu Ke truly opened yet another new section of underground rift.

However, after advancing less than three zhang, the azure light suddenly broke apart.

Xu Ke collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"At your current pace, when exactly do you expect to finish?" Li Fan could not help but snort coldly.

"So long as I make progress every single time, one day it will be completed." Xu Ke smiled with difficulty.

"Just as Senior Xing said, the Xuantian King's orders must have carried their own purpose."