My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1370: The Star Sea Ascension into the Immortal Domain

Xu Ke rested for a short while. Surprisingly, his vigor quickly recovered once more.

Green light flared from the mask again, and he resumed carving out fissure valleys.

"I inherited Senior Xing's legacy, and my lifespan has increased by a great deal. That is a grace equal to being given a new life. With this worn out body, completing the excavation of the Dark River should be more than enough."

"After all, before Senior Xing died, he had already extended the Dark River across most of the Star Sea. What remains for me is merely to add the finishing touches..."

Xu Ke muttered continuously, as if explaining things to Li Fan and Mo Rubin, or perhaps trying to convince himself.

His hands never stopped moving. The green light continued opening a path ahead.

Completely focused, seemingly incapable of fatigue.

Li Fan did not care whether Xu Ke's determination to continue excavating the Dark River came from his own will or from the influence of Xing Wuque's inheritance. To him, there was no real difference between the two.

What interested Li Fan far more was the method Xu Ke used to carve fissure valleys out of the void with that green light.

With the Ascension Formation in his possession, Li Fan could continuously elevate his own momentum. However, he had no particularly effective method of causing momentum to descend.

Li Fan vaguely sensed that the concepts of high and low momentum were actually two sides of the same coin. To comprehend only one aspect would inevitably be incomplete.

If he could unravel the method of creating fissure valleys, his understanding of Momentum would advance another step.

Xu Ke appeared to be excavating forward, but in reality, he was digging into the Star Sea itself, striking and creating points of lowest momentum that had never previously existed.

In essence, they were the same kind of existence as the natural high platforms within the Remnant World Great Wall. The only difference lay in whether their momentum was high or low.

"The key still lies in that green light emerging from the mask."

"This mask..."

After observing it for a while, Li Fan already understood.

When he deployed the Ascension Formation, he required True Immortal flesh and blood as an auxiliary material.

Xing Wuque's mask served a similar purpose.

"It is not merely an immortal artifact. There is also another extremely special power within it."

Li Fan stared at the green ghostly light covering Xu Ke's face. For some unknown reason, it gave him a strangely familiar feeling.

The feeling flashed by in an instant. When he attempted to trace and identify it, he found himself completely without direction, as though the sensation had been nothing more than his own illusion from beginning to end.

But Li Fan was not someone who would so easily abandon such a flash of inspiration.

Everything he had witnessed throughout his past experiences rapidly replayed before his eyes, constantly surfacing and being compared.

The more reincarnations he had undergone, the richer and more complicated his experiences had become. The pressure involved in searching through those memories likewise grew ever greater.

As time passed, that sense of familiarity rapidly faded away. In order to find its source before it disappeared, Li Fan pushed the Dao Deviation Stone to its absolute limit.

Sweat gradually formed on his forehead. Tiny cracks even appeared across the surface of the Dao Deviation Stone. Boundless divine soul power surged into it under Li Fan's conscious control, repairing the cracks while simultaneously serving as fuel.

Perhaps fortune favored Li Fan.

Or perhaps forcing the Dao Deviation Stone to its utmost efficiency produced the desired effect.

Just before that sudden feeling of familiarity completely vanished.

Li Fan finally found its origin among his countless past experiences.

"With the remains left behind by the First Great Celestial Venerable protecting us, and by detonating those immortal artifacts as our driving force, the two of us have an excellent chance of crossing the High Wall!"

"We have prepared for so long. How can you suddenly change your mind now?!"

Even after so much time had passed, Li Fan could still sense the boundless resentment carried within the speaker's voice.

It was precisely...

The scene that appeared within the illusionary trial of the Fallen Immortal Realm after making the same choice Su Bai had once made while becoming the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable.

The Fallen Immortal Realm was illusion, yet truth.

Everything that occurred within it was both false and real.

When the fragmented consciousness of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao roared its questioning.

Within the illusion, as "Su Bai," Li Fan had also experienced an inexplicable sensation in that instant.

The so called remains left behind by the First Great Celestial Venerable...

Truly existed.

Moreover, at the point in time recorded by the illusion, those remains were actually being carried by Su Bai.

Therefore, after experiencing that scene once more within the illusion, Li Fan had been able to sense their unique aura through Su Bai's body.

When he first sensed it, Li Fan had been unable to properly comprehend it. Thus, throughout all this time, he had never realized its existence. Only the Dao Deviation Stone had silently recorded everything.

Now, returning to the present, after carefully examining the mask left behind by Xing Wuque.

That strangely familiar aura finally awakened Li Fan's perception.

"A relic of the First Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable?"

This thought immediately surfaced in Li Fan's mind.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

"The similarity in aura does not come from belonging to the same individual."

"It comes from sharing the same fundamental nature."

Li Fan felt a trace of disappointment, but soon began contemplating exactly what that shared nature truly was.

Naturally, Li Fan's unusual behavior caught Mo Rubin's attention.

"Have you also encountered Xing Wuque before, Fellow Daoist?"

"I have never met him. I am merely astonished that someone like this could actually exist in the world..."

Li Fan paused briefly before finally choosing a single word to describe him.

"Stubborn."

Mo Rubin smiled bitterly.

"Stubborn? He was far beyond that. He was simply foolish, utterly foolish. Forget you. Even I, who was also one of the Xuantian Sect Dharma Kings, never imagined he could carry things this far."

Mo Rubin's tone suddenly became somewhat despondent.

"Perhaps this was precisely why Brother Xuanyuan entrusted this task to him back then. Had it been me, or any of the other Twelve Dharma Kings, none of us could have done what Xing Wuque did."

"It is not that our loyalty to Brother Xuanyuan was any less. But after Brother Xuanyuan disappeared, instead of searching for him, to remain here by the Dark River of the fissure valleys and carry out his mission day after day, for ten thousand years without wavering..."

Mo Rubin repeatedly shook his head.

"Xu Ke's temperament is rather similar to Xing Wuque's. Now that he has inherited the mission and chosen to continue excavating the unfinished Dark River, I cannot persuade him otherwise. However, Fellow Daoist Mo, do you know whether this fissure valley Dark River holds any deeper significance?"

While still contemplating the shared nature of that mysterious aura, Li Fan fixed Mo Rubin with a burning gaze as he continued questioning him.

"If it were merely meant to accumulate vitality for the revival of the Star Sea, then there would be no need for it to spread across the entire Star Sea. Even if it covered only a small portion, that objective could still be achieved."

"A small portion and the entirety represent completely different scales of work. Who was the Xuantian King? He would never make such a mistake. Just as Xing Wuque said, every instruction given by the Xuantian King must have carried its own meaning. So what exactly was that meaning?"

Mo Rubin narrowed his eyes as his gaze swept across the Dark River within the fissure valleys.

Li Fan's question left him speechless for a long while.

Li Fan chuckled softly.

"Surely you are not suggesting that the Xuantian King simply made a mistake when assigning this task to Xing Wuque?"

"That is naturally impossible."

Mo Rubin immediately shook his head in firm denial.

His brows remained tightly furrowed, yet no answer came to mind.

Xu Ke could only answer that Xuantian King had always instructed Xing Wuque to carry out his orders faithfully. He had never questioned why.

Mo Rubin was momentarily speechless.

"It should be like how a formation only takes shape after it has been completely laid out. Even if ninety percent of it has been completed, as long as the formation has not been fully connected, it is still useless."

"Yes, that must be it. It has to be like that." After a long while, Mo Rubin finally offered what seemed to be a very reasonable explanation.

Li Fan neither agreed nor disagreed.

"A layout that stretches across the entire Darkest Star Sea. What an unimaginably grand undertaking. If something on that scale were to erupt, let alone reviving the Star Sea, it might even be capable of overturning the High Wall itself."

Although he said so outwardly, Li Fan did not actually accept Mo Rubin's explanation.

Li Fan believed that, with his current attainments in formations, he was no longer much inferior to the Xuantian King.

There was not the slightest trace of any formation within this underground river beneath the earth fissure. How could he possibly fail to notice something so obvious?

"However, even if it is not a formation, perhaps the underlying principle is the same."

"Only when it reaches completeness can the conditions be fulfilled and activated."

Li Fan's thoughts paused slightly.

This feeling of failing at the very last step despite having done nearly everything reminded him greatly of when he used the Ascension Formation and climbed toward the highest point of momentum.

Unless one reached the absolute limit of ascending into immortality, no matter how high one had climbed beforehand, it was all meaningless.

Only after completing the final process of ascension would all the previous efforts finally become meaningful.

"Ascension."

"Immortal Ascension."

Although Li Fan stood at the lowest point of the Star Sea, it felt as though his vision had instantly broken free from its restraints.

The entire Darkest Star Sea, enclosed by the High Wall, appeared before him in miniature.

"Could it be that what the Xuantian King ultimately sought is the same plan that I am pursuing in this life?"

"The difference is that I intend to elevate the Xuanhuang Realm and evolve it into an Immortal Realm."

"But the Xuantian King..."

"Intended to elevate the entire Star Sea itself?"

Even Li Fan found the thought that had suddenly emerged utterly absurd.

Only those who had personally experienced it could truly understand the enormous gulf separating mortals from immortals.

Thinking back carefully, just how many preparations had Li Fan made in this life to bring forth the Immortal Realm Xuanhuang?

The abundant vitality contained within hundreds of remnant worlds, the echoing star force accumulated within the basin.

The legacy of the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable and immortal spiritual qi.

The return of countless small worlds, bringing all things into one.

There was even a complete fragment of an Immortal Realm left behind by some unknown True Immortal.

Even after combining all of these together, Li Fan still could not guarantee that creating the Immortal Realm Xuanhuang would succeed.

Compared to the Xuanhuang Realm, the Star Sea existed on an entirely different scale.

If one truly wished to elevate the entire Star Sea into an Immortal Realm...

The amount of energy required was simply beyond imagination.

Even with a supreme treasure like [Truth], allowing him to gather every resource within the Star Sea over and over again...

Before his mental lifespan was completely exhausted, Li Fan still could not see even the slightest hope of success.

"In the end, it is merely my own wild fantasy."

"Unless..."

"The Xuantian King saw something that I still cannot see."

For some reason, this thought suddenly arose within Li Fan's mind.

"Brother Mo, are you planning to stay here with Xu Ke?"

Silence once again filled the basin beneath the earth fissure for a long time. In the end, Li Fan was the one who broke it.

Mo Rubin withdrew his gaze from Xu Ke's resolute back and remained silent for quite some time.

"We have already tried every possible method."

"Although I do not wish to admit it, judging from everything we know now, the Xuantian King most likely disappeared within that strange pool of water."

"He no longer exists within the present Darkest Star Sea."

"Although the Xuantian King has vanished, I will never simply wait for death. It is just that from now on, saving the Xuanhuang Realm will depend entirely on us." Li Fan sighed softly.

Mo Rubin remained optimistic.

"Since Brother Xuanyuan prepared such elaborate contingencies, I do not believe something could have happened to him so easily. I think the key still lies within that strange pool."

"I will return to the Xuanhuang Realm and continue researching it."

Li Fan nodded slightly before looking once again toward Xu Ke.

"You need not worry about Xu Ke. I will regularly send people here to care for him and ensure he remains in the best possible condition to continue this endless excavation," Li Fan said solemnly.

"You also heard earlier that Xu Ke addressed me as 'Holy Teacher.'"

"I merely happened to save a few children during the effort to rescue the Xuanhuang Realm, then casually taught them afterward. In truth, I do not deserve the title of 'Holy Teacher.' Brother Mo must find it rather amusing," Li Fan said casually.

Mo Rubin nodded, paying little attention to the matter.

Under his urging, Li Fan first brought him back to the Xuanhuang Realm.

Standing beside the Fishing Pond, Mo Rubin once again began studying it carefully.

Although Xing Wuque had already died, the traces he left behind had given Mo Rubin tremendous encouragement.

"The Xuantian King truly possessed extraordinary charisma."

"Some people labored for him over ten thousand years without ever stopping, even willing to die for him."

"Others maintained absolute faith in him forever, believing in him without the slightest doubt."

Li Fan snorted inwardly.

He openly set up an immortal formation around the Fishing Pond.

Officially, it was to prevent outsiders from disturbing Mo Rubin's research into the mysteries of the pool.

In reality, the formation's true purpose was to suppress Mo Rubin at a critical moment.

During this life's elevation of the Xuanhuang Realm, absolutely nothing could be allowed to emerge from the Fishing Pond.

Mo Rubin would likely not discover the Fishing Pond's secret anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Li Fan continued contemplating the similarity in their shared nature.

Some vague intuition told him that the resemblance between Xing Wuque's bronze mask and the First Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable concealed an enormous secret.

Li Fan returned to the Great Xuan small world.

Looking upon the countless living beings throughout the world, he fell into deep contemplation.

He even temporarily set aside the work of integrating the Immortal Realm fragment.

The sun rose and the moon set. Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Fan still found nothing.

Just as he shook his head and prepared to give up, his gaze suddenly settled upon the clouds and mist drifting through the small world.

"Clouds, mist, rain, and ice. They are merely different forms of water."

"So this is what is meant by similarity through shared nature."

"And..."

The tightly furrowed brows that Li Fan had maintained for so long suddenly relaxed.

"I should not be searching for what the bronze mask has in common with the First Great Celestial Venerable."

"I should instead search for what the First Great Celestial Venerable has in common with the bronze mask."

"The bronze mask's function is to open the underground river beneath the earth fissure at the lowest point of momentum."

"It is the opposite of Ascension."

"It is the descent of Momentum."

At that instant, Li Fan's thoughts became completely clear.

"The First Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable was the same."

"The descent of momentum..."

"Descending from immortal... into mortal!"