My Simulated Road to Immortality Chapter 2 - 2: Aspiring for Longevity

2 Chapter 2: Aspiring for Longevity

Translator: 549690339

Within the pitch-black void, shimmering lines of words emerged one by one, paired with vivid visions.

[Returning to Anchor Year 1, your lively antics almost led your aunt to make you swallow exorcism water fetched from the local shaman.]

[Half a year remained until the county-level test, so you devoted day and night to rigorous study in your home. Your assurance remained rock-solid since you already knew the test questions ahead. Even though your aunt often complained about you, she steadfastly backed your learning efforts.]

[The village leader's sibling lusted after your family's inherited rich farmlands and schemed against you all covertly. Your aunt fought back as best she could, but as a lone woman, she couldn't match his influence. Yet, you astutely settled the issue. From then on, your aunt viewed you with renewed respect.]

[After those six months, you sat for the county exam. Securing the thirtieth rank, you passed triumphantly and brought honor to your kin.]

[During Anchor Year 2, you journeyed to the imperial capital, Xuanjing City, to attempt the provincial exam. Your thorough prior study allowed you to shine brightly, earning a spot in the 'double-second' ranks at the court exam and the prestigious 'jinshi' status.]

[Navigating the intricate networks of Xuanjing City, you eventually secured the coveted role of county administrator in Wen County, located in Jiangnan.]

[In Anchor Year 3, once you relocated your aunt to join you, you took up your duties in Wen County. You quietly began assembling your own loyal followers. That year, drawing on recollections from your former existence, you guided an expedition into the hills and uncovered multiple ore veins.]

[By Anchor Year 4, your group had crafted a set of explosives along with flintlock rifles. Employing this fresh firearm unit, you eradicated local bandit bands and absorbed them into your ranks.]

[Anchor Year 5 brought a severe drought to Jiangnan, sparking mass migrations. Owing to your advance work on irrigation channels and water mills, Wen County under your governance suffered minimal impact. In that same period, refugees rose up and assaulted King Langya's residence. You commanded your forces to arrive just in time, saving the trapped King Langya and his household, who expressed profound thanks to you.]

[Promoted to District Governor of the Jianghuai Administration in Anchor Year 6, you also married the offspring of the reigning Minister of Personnel that year.]

[In Anchor Year 7, a devastating locust infestation ravaged Jiangnan Circuit, yielding scant crops. Your domain alone escaped the worst of it. Moreover, your spouse delivered a son that year.]

[Your squad accomplished the creation of flintlock rifles in Anchor Year 8.]

[Anchor Year 10 saw Queen Langya delivering a boy. You made a personal trip to offer congratulations, bearing thoughtfully selected presents.]

[The sovereign grew critically ill in Anchor Year 15. In his final moments, he called King Langya to the capital and passed the imperial seat to him. Upon ascending as ruler, King Langya renamed the era Xuanjing.]

[Emperor Xuanjing called you to the capital in Anchor Year 16, elevating you to Minister of War. At that juncture, uprisings erupted nationwide, and he commanded you to suppress them.]

[By Anchor Year 18, your prolonged military efforts had eradicated every rebel faction. Back in the capital, Emperor Xuanjing stripped you of command over the troops, advanced you to Secretary of War, and added the honor of Grand Master to the Crown Prince.]

[In Anchor Year 20, the Empress abruptly faced charges in a sorcery plot. Enraged, Emperor Xuanjing confined her to the cold palace. The crown prince approached you in secret for aid, and you consented readily. Through a covert probe, you unearthed proof that Venerated Consort Xi had framed the Empress, vindicating her. Emperor Xuanjing decreed the annihilation of Venerated Consort Xi's clan, yet he kept the Empress sequestered.]

[Accusations of disloyalty struck you in Anchor Year 21, with claims of hidden ore extraction and a personal militia backed by proof. Panic seized you, and you hastily penned a plea for mercy to the emperor. Emperor Xuanjing ousted you from the Secretary role, retaining only your post as the crown prince's instructor.]

[During a spring hunt in Anchor Year 23, Emperor Xuanjing abruptly yearned to revisit the King Langya estate in Jiangnan Circuit.]

[Upon reaching Jiangnan in Anchor Year 24, Emperor Xuanjing insisted you join him. As he admired the scenic wonders of the region, he inspected the clandestine mines you had run long before.]

[Emperor Xuanjing's second excursion to Jiangnan occurred in Anchor Year 25. On this visit, he excluded you from the entourage. Months later, whispers reached you of allegations claiming you had sneaked into the cold palace to see the Empress. That year, assassins struck Emperor Xuanjing en route to the capital, plunging the city into chaos. Officials retrieved the empress from seclusion, and the crown prince claimed the throne, renaming the era Kangning.]

[In Anchor Year 26, they appointed you Grand Master while entrusting you with overseeing the Council of State, a role of utmost prestige. With the youthful emperor leaning heavily on your guidance, you capitalized to weave your network throughout the bureaucracy.]

[Your aunt's death in Anchor Year 27 stirred your longing for eternal life, prompting you to dispatch agents in pursuit of immortal clues.]

[Though the emperor reached maturity in Anchor Year 28, your sway expanded relentlessly, placing nearly the entire court in your grasp.]

[By Anchor Year 30, folks acknowledged the Grand Master far more than the Emperor.]

[The Empress Dowager's pregnancy in Anchor Year 31 led her to urgently consult you on defenses. Elated, you discreetly relocated her to the Grand Master Mansion for safer tending. She gave birth to your son that same year.]

[Entering the court unaccompanied in Anchor Year 33, the Palace Guard—drilled by Emperor Kangning—encircled you. A mystical relic aided your desperate flight from demise. Furious, you plotted to dethrone the emperor and crown yourself, but the Empress Dowager's pleas and officials' appeals deterred you. You opted to eliminate the emperor's inner circle instead. Thereafter, Emperor Kangning retained the imperial name without real power.]

[Emperor Kangning perished from melancholy in Anchor Year 38. You enthroned his rightful firstborn son as sovereign, ushering in the Longchang era.]

[Illness claimed the Empress Dowager in Anchor Year 40. Your quest for immortality burned fiercer than ever.]

[Your wife departed this world in Anchor Year 45.]

[Sickness took your firstborn son in Anchor Year 46.]

[After decades of futile hunts for the immortal path in Anchor Year 48, you abandoned the pursuit.]

[In Anchor Year 50, a pair of Immortals emerged from the Eastern Ruin Abyss and razed Xuanjing City, yet you evaded death by a hair's breadth.]

…

[Simulation concluded]

[Select one retention from these possibilities:

1. An object owned by your simulated identity in the course of the simulation.

2. The cultivation realm attained by your simulated identity in the simulation.

3. The recollection of the simulation belonging to one intimate to your simulated identity. This recollection may pass to that individual.

4. Forsake the prior selections to hasten the energy accumulation rate.]

Li Fan snapped back to awareness, situated once more in his humble chamber.

Surveying the odd yet recognizable space, a torrent of decades' worth of events surged through his mind, leading him to ponder, “Has the tangible world become a dream, or did the simulation prove so lifelike that it birthed delusions? Maybe at some profound stage, the line between truth and falsehood dissolves entirely.”

Yet Li Fan possessed no penchant for brooding. He swiftly reined in his musings and directed his focus toward the quartet of selections.

The initial two choices merited no deliberation. Should Li Fan have pursued cultivation, they would undoubtedly prove advantageous. Sadly, in his prior existence, he remained a mere mortal devoid of any realm.

Regarding the prime artifact in his holdings, it was undoubtedly the royal jade seal.

Equally pointless, it would merely draw peril.

Concerning the third selection, bestowing the simulation's recollection upon another...

This prospect sent a thrill racing through Li Fan's heart.

Briefly, visions of various figures danced across his consciousness.

Ultimately, though, he dismissed them with a shake of his head.

After all, the human psyche proves the most fickle element. None can foresee how one might evolve upon absorbing decades of recollections.

At present, [Real] remained in recharge, and he lingered as a frail literati, powerless as a bound fowl, lacking the means for a fresh beginning.

Thus, caution dictated his actions.

Leaving the final selection as the sole viable path.

Hasten the recharge rate.

Shifting [Real] from the tangible to the ethereal demanded accumulation.

From Li Fan's prior life's explorations, this accumulation advanced solely through time's flow, filling after roughly two decades.

Upon hitting the 200% cap, it ceased growing.

Furthermore, severe blows triggered [Real] to expend the accumulation for self-preservation. This mechanism had spared Li Fan from doom multiple times before.

Hence, the fourth choice stood as the securest option.

Resolved, Li Fan wasted no time and murmured the decision inwardly.

Abruptly, lines of radiant tiny script shattered into luminous fragments, reforming swiftly into fresh arrays of text.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Biological age: 20/86

Psychological age: 166/1056↑

Void transformation charging progress: 30%

“Three human incarnations, spanning one hundred sixty-six years. So this is my accumulated span. Note the elevated ceiling for psychological age; my final life showed over nine hundred, yet now it climbs past a thousand. Evidently, it grows alongside my experiences. This eases a portion of my unease.”

Much like the flesh endures a finite span, the mind's endurance harbors its own bounds.

Overloading with recollections breeds a psychic strain. Should that strain overwhelm, it shatters the spirit utterly.

This phenomenon embodies the “erosion of ages.”

Nevertheless, the psychological age's limit expands as mental resilience strengthens.

For now, Li Fan faced no such threat.

“Once I tread the cultivation road, all fades to insignificance. Reborn anew, riches, opulent rides, and alluring companions hold no allure.”

“Longevity alone calls to me!” The anguish of witnessing cherished ones fade away successively in his past life, coupled with the helplessness and dread of his body's decline, forged Li Fan's resolve into unyielding steel this time.

“This existence's aim: unravel the mysteries of cultivation from those dual practitioners. In fifty years, they descend on Xuanjing City. Striking with foreknowledge against their oversight, even as so-called Foundation Establishment experts, they may not overpower me.”

“Beyond firearms and explosives for reliance, the Immortal-Ordinary Miasma they referenced could play a role…”

“Moreover, over fifty years, passive waiting won't suffice. Hailing from the Eastern Ruin Abyss, perhaps dispatching scouts to probe its depths beforehand.”

…

Life's direst plight lies in aimlessness. In his last life, countless nights jolted awake by the Empress Dowager's passing, Li Fan felt profound vacancy and disorientation.

This rebirth propelled him to the zenith attainable by mortals.

As the emperor's mentor, he wielded dominion over secular arms. The court's ministers mostly aligned as his allies.

Emperors rose and fell at his decree, and even the Empress Dowager yielded to his whims.

Ascendancy knew no further heights.

Another incarnation would mirror this pattern.

Replicate the simulation hereafter?

Thus, what purpose endures in endless rebirths?

Authority, indulgences—endless repetition yields bland monotony.

Absent novelty, cycles of rebirth might compel Li Fan to surrender and embrace oblivion.

But!

Those twin cultivators unveiled a fresh vista for Li Fan!

They unveiled an enigmatic, captivating realm summoning him from the horizon.

They ignited boundless drive and purpose within Li Fan.

He would cultivate!

He would attain immortality!

None shall bar his way!

Li Fan flung wide the door and strode forth, chin lifted proudly.

His footfalls rang with certainty!