My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1527: The Hidden Emperor Creates an Immortal Boat

In an instant, he had been brought under another's control. Although Li Fan was startled inwardly, he showed no weakness in his words.

He asked in return, "The Reverse Flowing Boat?"

His eyes remained fixed on the wooden boat resting on the disheveled man's shoulder. Its appearance had already undergone a complete transformation.

The disheveled man gave a wry smile and released Li Fan.

"Truly worthy of being a disciple of Lord Hill Guardian. Your knowledge is indeed extraordinary."

He made no attempt to conceal its identity, openly acknowledging the treasure in his possession.

"Lord Hill Guardian..."

Li Fan silently repeated this familiar yet unfamiliar name in his mind. One image after another flashed through his thoughts.

At the same time, Li Fan also noticed something unusual about his own body.

After entering this painting, recalling his past no longer caused the familiar stabbing pain inside his head. For some unknown reason, it seemed that he could freely browse through his memories.

Yet an inexplicable instinct deep within him warned that if he actually did so, the consequences would certainly be unpleasant.

This intense contradiction instinctively made Li Fan realize that something about this place was strange.

Seeing that Li Fan remained silent, the disheveled man did not become annoyed. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Since you are a disciple of Lord Hill Guardian, you should have little interest in my Reverse Flowing Boat. So, little brother, what brings you here?"

"I thought I would never see another person again in this lifetime." The disheveled man spoke with a somewhat wistful expression.

Li Fan noticed that although he had transferred a tremendous amount of vitality into the painting, all of it seemed to have been completely absorbed by the Reverse Flowing Boat. Meanwhile, the disheveled man, despite being the boat's owner, had not received even the slightest portion. He remained exactly as he had been before.

Although he possessed the appearance of a middle-aged man, his face exuded an indescribable aura of death.

Having an enormous amount of vitality within his own body, Li Fan was naturally extremely sensitive to its presence.

During the period of silence, he had finally confirmed that the disheveled man before him was not a genuinely living being. Rather, he was something resembling a projection.

Nevertheless, Li Fan did not lower his guard because of this.

After all, the strength the disheveled man had just demonstrated was truly frightening. Even as nothing more than an illusory projection, his oppressive presence was already this formidable. It was difficult to imagine what realm the disheveled man had reached at the height of his power.

"The Great Dao of Longevity, disciples of Lord Hill Guardian..."

"Could this be the source of the seemingly endless vitality within my body?"

Li Fan vaguely recalled even more things.

Since the other party had not displayed any particularly obvious hostility, Li Fan decided to push his luck and probe for more information.

He spoke in a deep voice. "Sir, you are being somewhat presumptuous. Why should disciples of Lord Hill Guardian be incapable of coveting a treasure like the Reverse Flowing Boat? Reversing the flow of time, what an extraordinary opportunity and blessing! It may not even be inferior to the Great Dao of Longevity!"

Hearing this, the disheveled man looked at Li Fan with some surprise.

Then, as though he had thought of something, he smiled in understanding. Without another word, he directly tossed the wooden boat in his arms toward Li Fan.

"Lord Hill Guardian must have fallen into the [Eternal Silence Void Realm]. That is why he only passed down his Dao lineage and no longer has the leisure to teach his disciples. Here, take a look at the Reverse Flowing Boat. See whether it is as miraculous as you imagine."

Since the other party dared to throw it, Li Fan naturally dared to catch it.

With the supreme treasure Reverse Flowing Boat in his hands, he began examining it carefully.

Perhaps sensing the inexhaustible vitality within Li Fan's body, the treasure boat became increasingly greedy. Like a black hole, it attempted to devour as much vitality as possible.

Li Fan did not completely sever the transfer of vitality. Instead, he deliberately continued releasing thin streams of it. At the same time, he used these streams to sense the internal condition of the Reverse Flowing Boat.

He had always been extremely curious about why a treasure supposedly capable of reversing the flow of time needed vitality, just like living beings in this world, to maintain its own existence.

The wooden boat was only the size of his palm, yet it felt as heavy as a mountain. Li Fan had to exert all his strength merely to hold it firmly.

Following the flowing vitality, his consciousness entered the interior of the treasure boat.

He discovered that its internal condition was even worse than its outward appearance suggested.

Shocking cracks covered every corner of the boat, resembling countless terrifying scars. Through these fissures, Li Fan vaguely glimpsed countless scenes that did not belong to this particular spacetime.

Li Fan gradually realized that this was not an illusion. These scenes were certainly not mere phantoms. If someone accidentally fell into one of these fissures, they might genuinely become lost within the chaotic currents of spacetime.

Avoiding these extremely dangerous fissures, Li Fan directed his consciousness toward determining where the vitality within the entire Reverse Flowing Boat was flowing.

The pervasive spacetime fissures had disrupted his perception of vitality, making it extremely chaotic. He spent quite some time before finally figuring it out.

"Reverse Flowing, Reverse Flowing..."

Li Fan crouched down and gently stroked the deck of the treasure boat with his hand, pondering.

"Although it appears to be an ordinary object, it is actually a living being. Going against the current requires consuming its own lifespan. Under the erosion of the power of time, the consumption is probably hundreds or even thousands of times greater. Moreover, aside from vitality, it seems to consume something else as well..."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes.

From his perspective, this Reverse Flowing Boat resembled an elderly man approaching the end of his life.

Although it was desperately trying to absorb vitality from its surroundings to sustain its miserable existence, at most it could only manage to keep itself barely alive. Moreover, it was difficult to say how much longer this method of prolonging its life could last.

If Li Fan had not come here today and contributed such an enormous amount of vitality, perhaps one day this astonishing immortal treasure would have quietly vanished without a trace, along with the painting itself.

"How could this be?"

Li Fan could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

He had originally thought that he had discovered information about a supreme treasure capable of reversing the flow of time. He had never expected that this treasure would actually be in an almost completely ruined state after having been severely overdrawn.

After examining it several more times and confirming this fact, Li Fan withdrew his consciousness from the Reverse Flowing Boat.

"Well? Even if I gave you this treasure boat, would you really want it? I'm afraid you would drown in the river of time before you could even return to your intended point in time..." The disheveled man spoke with a faintly amused expression.

However, he had not expected Li Fan to completely disregard his insinuation and answer straightforwardly.

"I want it. Of course I want it."

"Even a Reverse Flowing Boat on the verge of destruction represents an opportunity to survive a desperate situation. No matter how slim the chances of success may be, when one is truly driven into a corner with nowhere left to turn, it may still be the only remaining chance of survival."

Li Fan spoke with a solemn expression.

The disheveled man was momentarily stunned. The smile at the corners of his mouth slowly disappeared.

After remaining silent for a long time, he finally spoke in a faint, somewhat melancholic voice.

"What you say is not wrong."

"If Xuanyuan Hong had possessed such an understanding back then, he would not have left the Reverse Flowing Boat here."

Hearing a familiar name, Li Fan immediately followed up on the other party's words.

"Xuanyuan Hong... Was he the Xuantian King of the Xuanhuang Realm? Was his extraordinary achievement back then partly due to this Reverse Flowing Boat?"

A nostalgic expression appeared in the disheveled man's eyes. He gently shook his head.

"In my opinion, Xuanyuan Hong's achievements were thirty percent due to luck and thirty percent due to his own character and hard work. Of the remaining forty percent, the Reverse Flowing Boat accounted for only half. As for the other half..."

"The Mountains and Seas Fishing Grounds. It deserves no small amount of credit."

The disheveled man's gaze drifted beyond the painting.

"The Mountains and Seas Fishing Grounds?"

Li Fan was initially taken aback. Only afterward did he realize that the other party was most likely referring to the Fishing Pond.

"But what exactly do you mean by calling it the Mountains and Seas Fishing Grounds?"

For a fleeting moment, scenes of an endless ocean and seemingly unbroken mountain ranges once again surged into Li Fan's mind. Accompanying these visions of Mountains and Seas was an endless expanse of light and heat. Countless possibilities were being melted away within that searing radiance.

It seemed he had taken another step closer to fully recovering his memories.

Yet at this critical moment, the disheveled man pressed his palm against Li Fan's shoulder once more.

He pulled Li Fan out of the illusory world of his memories and back into reality.

Only then did Li Fan become aware of the perilous state he was actually in.

Whether it was his clone in the Xuanhuang Realm or his true body in the Great Xuan Small World, both of their heads had already exploded.

Even more than half of their bodies were gradually evaporating from top to bottom under the overwhelming pressure brought about by the visions of mountains and seas. Not even the Longevity Great Dao within his body could halt this process of gradual disappearance.

Had the disheveled man not awakened him in time, it probably would not have been long before Li Fan himself became nothing more than an illusory phantom.

"Your condition... seems somewhat unusual?" The disheveled man examined Li Fan with an uncertain expression.

Li Fan cupped his hands respectfully. "Senior truly has an exceptionally discerning eye. To be honest, something seems to have gone wrong during my cultivation. Most of my memories from the past have disappeared. Whenever I manage to recall even a little of them, my body suffers an extremely powerful backlash. I have struggled my way up from the status of an ordinary mortal and cultivated all over again to reach my current level. Even this much has only been possible thanks to my instincts and the assistance of the Longevity Great Dao within my body."

"As for the person you mentioned earlier, Lord Hill Guardian..."

"I do have some impression of him, along with a few vague images." As Li Fan spoke, he manifested the solitary, lonely figure of Hill Guardian gazing at the sea before the disheveled man.

Upon seeing Lord Hill Guardian, the disheveled man's expression immediately turned solemn, showing the utmost respect.

He then carefully examined Li Fan once more before slowly speaking.

"The Longevity Great Dao within your body is indeed under the dominion of Lord Hill Guardian. Since Lord Hill Guardian is involved, there can be no mistake."

"However, I only had the good fortune of hearing Lord Hill Guardian explain a little about the Great Dao of Mountains and Seas back then. I do not know its specifics, so I cannot offer you much help."

"Still, you need not worry too much. With the protection of the Longevity Great Dao, even if this world is annihilated, you will remain completely unharmed." There was a hint of envy in the disheveled man's voice.

Li Fan nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. By the way, I still do not know your name."

The disheveled man waved his hand dismissively. "I am already a dead man. A name is nothing more than a passing cloud from the past. What is the point of mentioning it again?"

Li Fan replied, "When the day comes that I recover my memories and return to my Master's side, I will certainly report everything that happened today to him. Although Senior has perished, a phantom of you still remains in this world. With my Master's divine abilities, it may not be impossible for him to reverse death and bring you back to life."

The disheveled man had apparently never placed much hope in such a possibility.

However, after a brief moment, as though something had occurred to him, he changed his mind.

"I am Emperor Taitian of the Immortal Realm."

"I governed the Immortal Realm for a thousand years without allowing worldly affairs to disturb me, after which I withdrew from public life. When the Dao Annihilation Calamity descended and grew increasingly severe, I began secretly searching for a way to avert it. This Lanke Dao Field was established under my direction."

The disheveled man spoke in an even tone.

The Hidden Emperor of the Immortal Realm. The Lanke Dao Field. The Dao Annihilation Calamity...

Each key phrase he mentioned triggered enormous fragments of memories in Li Fan's mind.

It took him quite some time to barely recover from the resulting backlash.

When Li Fan looked at the disheveled man again, his expression had changed.

"Senior once served as an Immortal Emperor governing the Immortal Realm. Your cultivation must have reached extraordinary heights. How did you end up in your present condition?" Although his question might have sounded somewhat blunt, Li Fan asked it without hesitation, unable to conceal his curiosity.

He raised the Reverse Flowing Boat in his hand.

"Was it because of this object?"

Emperor Taitian nodded. "That was one reason. However, the main reason was that my cultivation was insufficient, and I ultimately fell short of success."

He let out a sigh, seemingly sinking into memories of the past.

Only after a long while did he continue.

"Your divine sense entered this treasure boat earlier. Did you notice the signs of life within it?"

"I did. This treasure appears to be an object, yet it possesses the characteristics of a living being."

"That is because this Reverse Flowing Boat was forged using my own body as its material." Emperor Taitian smiled.

Li Fan could not help but reveal an expression of astonishment.

He stared at the disheveled man before him, making sure that the other party was not joking.

"But according to the legends circulating throughout the world, the Reverse Flowing Boat was supposedly created by the so-called Reverse Immortal..."

"Oh? The Reverse Immortal? I have never heard of such a person. However, there may not be only one Reverse Flowing Boat in existence. As long as someone comprehends the Dao of Reversal, forging another one would not be impossible." Emperor Taitian remained completely composed.

"Comprehending the Dao of Reversal?" Li Fan seemed to recall something.

"The Xuantian King?"

Emperor Taitian neither confirmed nor denied it.

"I am nothing more than a wandering soul. How could I possibly know everything happening in the outside world? However, if there is anyone in this world capable of forging another Reverse Flowing Boat, I believe Xuanyuan Hong is the most likely candidate. After all, when we parted ways back then, his comprehension of the Dao of Reversal had already reached a considerable level."

Li Fan fell silent.

"Some things can only be understood after experiencing them personally. Take this, for example. Perhaps the vast majority of things in this world can be changed by reversing the flow of time. Yet it is precisely that tiny fraction which cannot be altered that ultimately determines the final destination of the river of time."

"No matter how one changes the course of the river of time, its surging waters will ultimately flow into that same tranquil and boundless ocean."

"Without the power to change the entire ocean, even reversing the flow of time amounts to nothing more than a futile struggle." Emperor Taitian spoke in an unhurried tone.

As Li Fan listened, he felt a faint sense of familiarity with the man's words.

It seemed that he himself had once entertained similar thoughts.

'Unrelated to the Final Outcome.'

Four characters involuntarily surfaced in his mind, corresponding to the scene Emperor Taitian had just described.

"Although I once held the exalted position of Immortal Emperor, how many Immortal Emperors have ruled the Immortal Realm throughout its history?"

"And how many among them have managed to transcend, like Lord Hill Guardian?"

"You are a disciple of Lord Hill Guardian and have obtained the Longevity Great Dao. You already possess the foundation for Transcendence. Compared with ordinary Immortal Emperors, your advantages are immeasurable."

Although Emperor Taitian continued to praise him in this manner, Li Fan felt no sense of pride. Instead, an increasingly uncomfortable feeling arose within him.

It was as though he did not particularly identify with the status of being Lord Hill Guardian's disciple.

'Strange.'

'Could it be...'

Li Fan suppressed this peculiar thought and continued following Emperor Taitian's line of reasoning.

"Someone like my Master should possess the power you mentioned, the power to change the entire ocean, should he not?"

"He merely possesses a sliver of such a possibility. Within the Eternal Silence Void Realm, even Lord Hill Guardian would probably find it difficult to take a single step forward."