My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1453: Ten Thousand Stars Grave Devours the Bone

The chief culprit behind the extinction of life in the Star Sea within the High Wall, apart from the Immortal Ruins, was the numerous True Immortal seal script characters.

They were all the work of [He Gan Immortal].

When Li Fan had come into contact with the true meaning of the Star Sea's origin, he had sensed the Star Sea's overwhelming hatred toward this He Gan Immortal.

Although True Immortals regarded all living beings as ants, they would not do something meaningless.

Imitating numerous True Immortal seal script characters and causing them to spread and wreak havoc throughout the starry sky, especially while fleeing from the upper realm in such a sorry state...

Li Fan guessed that this should have been the method by which [He Gan Immortal] sought to comprehend the Dao.

"First, use this method to create countless entangled causes and effects out of thin air. Once I am able to completely escape from these causes and effects, that will be the moment when my Dao comprehension reaches perfection."

"Cutting off all connections with the outside world..."

Recalling that arrogant and uninhibited laughter, Li Fan became even more certain of his judgment.

"The only thing that cannot be confirmed yet is whether this He Gan Immortal is actually the Faceless Immortal who once saved the Xuantian King's life."

Li Fan had once suspected that He Gan Immortal and the Faceless Immortal were actually the same person. This was because when the clone Holy Emperor had seen the faceless statue back then, it had sensed an aura extremely similar to the one he had felt while probing He Gan Immortal. Li Fan himself had experienced the same feeling.

But strangely, he had only thought of this possibility when he first encountered the two. Now, after comparing them again, Li Fan instead felt somewhat uncertain.

...

The burly man surnamed Qian continued explaining the precautions that everyone from Immortal Hunters needed to pay attention to during this hunt.

"Regarding this [Devoid] Immortal, I cannot reveal too much to you."

"His method of infiltrating places is simply inconceivable. He is also extremely sensitive to every connection between his own existence and the outside world. If I told you his detailed information, so many people becoming involved at once would inevitably alert him."

"What you need to do is assist me in weaving a Great Net. Patiently wait for him to walk into it himself."

The [Devoid] Immortal was clearly stronger than the two Xi and Yi Immortals from before. Upon hearing this, the newly recruited members of Immortal Hunters were both excited and somewhat apprehensive. After all, their unsuccessful first mission had left them with varying degrees of psychological trauma.

"Oh, right. My name is Qian Ruochang. You can call me Boss Qian. Hehehe..." Amid his meaningful laughter, the burly man revealed his name.

Then, he led everyone directly into the mission.

They traveled through the Dao Net, and soon arrived at their destination.

"This is..."

"The Ten Thousand Stars Grave?"

Unlike the flourishing vitality of the various factions in the Shuo Star Sea, the starry sky ahead was filled with an aura of decay and death. Even from a great distance, everyone instinctively felt uncomfortable.

Li Fan had been in the Shuo Star Sea for some time, so he was not unfamiliar with this region known as the Ten Thousand Stars Grave.

It was also a place where all life had been extinguished, but the Ten Thousand Stars Grave was somewhat different from the Annihilation Lands. The Annihilation Lands were forbidden regions created by the Dao Annihilation Calamity, where even the very concept of existence had been erased.

The Ten Thousand Stars Grave, on the other hand, was a destroyed star region caused by factors other than the Dao Annihilation Calamity.

The various factions in the Shuo Star Sea were not all native inhabitants of this starry sky. They were refugees who had fled from countless star regions and gathered here together.

The boundless lower realm Star Sea, apart from vast stretches of Annihilation Lands, consisted of the Ten Thousand Stars Graves and regions of vitality intermingled with each other. The Shuo Star Sea was one such region of vitality.

Although the Ten Thousand Stars Grave was devoid of life, the Dao Net could still cover it.

But the Annihilation Lands...

The Great Dao did not exist there, and the Dao Net had to stop as well.

"Boss Qian, could that Devoid Immortal be hiding here?" someone could not help asking.

Qian Ruochang smiled. "In this godforsaken place where not even a bird would come to defecate, how could a True Immortal possibly hide here? I brought you here to find something good."

Dao Yuan's eyes revealed a strange light upon hearing this. "I once heard that the Ten Thousand Stars Grave has been filled with and accumulated death energy for millions of years. As the saying goes, when something reaches its extreme, it must reverse. It is highly possible that tremendous vitality could be born from this boundless death aura..."

"You have some knowledge, kid. But our target this time is not vitality. It is this..."

As he spoke, Qian Ruochang had already led everyone deep into the Ten Thousand Stars Grave.

Although the Dao Net still covered this place, compared with an ordinary star sea filled with vitality, it was obstructed at every turn. Their speed of travel was more than a hundred times slower.

Sometimes, it even seemed as though they had encountered some obstacle ahead, forcing everyone to change their route.

Suddenly, Qian Ruochang stopped and lightly pointed toward the front left.

Then he abruptly smashed the stone pillar he was carrying on his shoulder toward that direction.

At that instant, all the newly recruited members of Immortal Hunters could sense the Dao Net being violently pulled by tremendous force and shaking violently.

The disturbance was even more intense than the tremors caused by Nangong Fusheng's descent earlier.

Everyone looked toward Qian Ruochang with expressions of shock.

They had never expected that this seemingly easygoing Boss Qian would possess such terrifying strength.

Li Fan, however, was thoughtful. The reason for this phenomenon was not that Qian Ruochang's strength surpassed Nangong Fusheng's.

Rather, they had already reached a weak region of the Dao Net.

The power with which the Dao Net was attached to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth had been greatly weakened within this Ten Thousand Stars Grave. Thus, the same amount of force would naturally cause a much greater disturbance.

The stone pillar flew out and continuously stirred through the dark, lifeless void.

Li Fan's senses were sharper than those of the others.

Amid the pitch-black darkness, he seemed to see several floating, dead worlds accidentally collide with the stone pillar. As the tremendous force stirred them, they completely vanished.

Only some tiny black specks, almost impossible to notice, flew out from the shattered remains of those dead worlds. Following the massive stone pillar, they drifted toward Qian Ruochang.

As Li Fan looked at those black specks, a sense of familiarity suddenly arose within him.

They were extremely similar to the black qi produced after True Immortal flesh and blood was decomposed by [Descends into Mortal World].

Li Fan remained expressionless, deliberately pretending not to know of their danger and approaching them with great curiosity.

After observing them at close range, however, Li Fan discovered another difference between these black specks and the black qi.

The black qi was a precursor to the Dao Annihilation Calamity. Anyone who had reached a certain level of cultivation would inevitably experience an inexplicable sense of danger upon observing it.

But these black specks...

After observing them for a long time, Li Fan only felt somewhat disgusted and uncomfortable. There was no ominous warning that made his heart race with fear.

Qian Ruochang's explanation that followed finally gave Li Fan his answer.

"These can be regarded as the corpses of cultivation worlds."

"Just like when a person dies, their flesh and blood return to heaven and earth within a short period, leaving only their bones behind."

"These black specks are the most fundamental and purest part, something akin to the bones of a world. They will not remain in this world for long, so we need to collect them quickly."

As Qian Ruochang spoke, he extended the stone pillar again and continuously stirred it through the void.

In a short time, he collected fifteen black specks.

The seemingly simple action appeared to consume an enormous amount of energy. Qian Ruochang was already panting heavily and drenched in sweat.

He had no choice but to stop and rest.

"You, eat this."

Qian Ruochang sent one of the black specks through the air toward Dao Yuan.

Dao Yuan's expression changed slightly, but he did not hesitate much. Under everyone's stunned gazes, he endured his discomfort, opened his mouth, and swallowed the world's bone into his abdomen.

From the expression on Dao Yuan's face, it was obvious just how excruciating it was to swallow a world's bone alive.

But once it entered the abdomen, its effects were also immediately apparent.

“How come I feel that, Dao Brother, you…”

“Have become somewhat more [faint]?”

“Indeed. I feel somewhat [blurred] too.”

“This... If you had not pointed it out, I might have nearly overlooked Brother Dao entirely! He is clearly standing right here, yet it is as if he does not exist at all!”

Everyone noticed the anomaly and exclaimed in astonishment.

Only then did Qian Ruochang smile and explain, “This world bone is the foundation upon which the cultivation world evolves. It lies at the deepest level of the world's principles, the part closest to the Great Dao itself. After you swallow it, before the world bone completely returns to heaven and earth, you will be affected by its power. It is as though melting ice into water, gradually merging into the world itself.”

“The nature of being a [human] is concealed by the [world]. Naturally, it becomes difficult to distinguish you through ordinary senses.”

Following the previously determined order of the assessment, Qian Ruochang distributed the world bones to everyone.

Li Fan had also received his long ago and swallowed it immediately.

The instant the black speck was absorbed, all sorts of illusions appeared before Li Fan's eyes. They were scenes from the cultivation world that had once existed within this black speck.

There was nothing particularly unusual about its story in the lower realm star sea.

The originally prosperous and flourishing world suddenly developed a crack in the sky one day.

Several figures emerged from within.

Their overwhelming pressure caused eight or nine out of ten living beings throughout the world to die instantly.

Yet those figures showed no intention of restraining their imposing might. Or perhaps they simply had no time to care about such “trivial matters.”

They themselves...

Were also fleeing in panic and disarray.

One after another, a total of seventeen figures burst out through the crack.

Only when the final figure forcibly closed the crack was this calamity brought to an end.

He seemed somewhat bewildered in his panic.

His gaze swept over the cultivation world below, which had already been devastated by the might of the True Immortals, and he shook his head slightly.

With a gentle wave of his hand, he erased all the surviving living beings across the land.

Not even their corpses remained.

The cultivation world itself could not withstand such overwhelming pressure either. It shattered into pieces and collapsed completely.

As if he had merely done something insignificant, that final figure drifted away.

...

Li Fan awoke from the illusion.

So this was one of the origins of the Ten Thousand Stars Grave, and of the corpses of the many worlds scattered throughout it.

“The lower realm star sea was never a place where immortals were meant to live. When they were forced to come here, they naturally caused an incomparably violent impact upon the mortals who were the native inhabitants.”

Li Fan felt neither indignation nor rage.

The strong prey upon the weak. Moreover, when the apocalyptic calamity arrives, fugitives struggling for survival naturally regard staying alive as their first priority.

As for everything else...

None of it mattered.

His mind settled as he sensed the changes naturally occurring within his body after swallowing the world bone.

Just as Qian Ruochang had said, it was like ice melting into water.

Through the connection between the world bone and the Great Dao of heaven and earth, he gradually seemed to “dissolve” into this starry sky.

“If I communicate with the Star Sea right now, I am afraid I would be able to establish an effective connection with the consciousness of the Star Sea's origin without even needing the Taijia Divine Art.”

“Besides that, I can also sense that my connection with the Dao Net has become even closer...”

Within Li Fan's divine sense, the miniature Dao Net shone brilliantly.

What had originally been nothing more than an illusory projection now seemed to have gained genuine substance in certain parts.

Even though it was only a small portion, it had almost brought about a qualitative transformation.

However, there were others beside him at the moment, especially Qian Ruochang, who seemed to be approaching the Nameless Realm. Thus, Li Fan did not investigate it carefully for now.

“The Dao comprehended by the [Devoid] Immortal, the so-called connection of cause and effect, only concerns the living beings of this world. He has yet to transcend, so he cannot sever his connection with heaven and earth. By using the world bone, we can conceal ourselves within the Great Dao, which should greatly reduce the possibility of being discovered by him,” Qian Ruochang said as he swallowed a piece of world bone himself.

After collecting enough for all the newly initiated Immortal Hunters, he did not stop.

Instead, he continued exploring deeper into the Ten Thousand Stars Grave.

“Hiding yourselves is only the first step of hunting.”

“As for the second, you need to prepare traps, as well as weapons capable of severely injuring or even killing your prey.” Qian Ruochang's voice gradually became somewhat somber.

“True Immortals cultivate the Great Dao of heaven and earth and seek to achieve transcendence. The best weapons against them are objects capable of injuring or damaging the Great Dao itself!”

...

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the Immortal Hunters present changed drastically.

Li Fan thought that Qian Ruochang was about to discuss matters related to the Dao Annihilation Calamity.

Unexpectedly, it was something else entirely.

He suddenly changed the subject.

“However, what our Dao Net relies upon is still the power of the Great Dao of heaven and earth. An act where you injure the enemy by a thousand while suffering eight hundred losses yourself must still be treated with the utmost caution. But we can find a similar substitute within this Ten Thousand Stars Grave.”

“I mentioned earlier that within the Ten Thousand Stars Grave, the corpses and flesh of cultivation worlds are completely transformed and return to heaven and earth, leaving behind only their bones.”

“This power that catalyzes and devours the flesh and blood of cultivation worlds is precisely the weapon we need!”

“The Great Dao is one entity from top to bottom. Even mortal cultivation worlds are still manifestations of the Great Dao.”

“A power capable of returning the Great Dao from its manifested form back into nothingness can likewise inflict severe damage upon True Immortals who cultivate the Dao!”

...

Qian Ruochang spoke at length.

Li Fan, however, became thoughtful upon hearing this. Suddenly, he asked, “Boss Qian, according to what you are saying, wouldn't this power that erases the flesh and blood of cultivation worlds also be capable of severely damaging the Dao Net?”

The other Immortal Hunters all looked at Li Fan with strange expressions.

Qian Ruochang suddenly slapped his hands together.

“Exactly! But don't worry. The difference between the Dao Net and True Immortals lies in its comprehensiveness, as well as its ability to repair itself at any time.”

“Since we are confident enough to use it as a weapon, we naturally are not afraid of someone using it against the Dao Net!”

“Moreover, our ability to make use of this strange power within the Ten Thousand Stars Grave is a recent achievement...”

Qian Ruochang suddenly stopped speaking.

His gaze shifted toward the upper left, and his expression changed from playful to solemn.

“Watch carefully. That is the power I was talking about, the power that digests the flesh and blood of worlds...”

Qian Ruochang suddenly hurled the stone pillar from his shoulder.

It appeared to possess tremendous momentum.

Yet as it flew through the void, it moved with such complete silence that it caused not the slightest disturbance.

After making a circuit, it simply returned.

However, Li Fan keenly noticed that the stone pillar seemed to have...

Shrunk by a circle.