My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1085: The Mysterious Trail of the Ancient Immortal Artifact

The proverb states that a bow stretched too far loses its power, unable to penetrate even delicate fabric. Beneath the overwhelming might of the Longevity Immortal realm, Li Fan's blade likely wouldn't scratch a common person, much less wound Mr. Bai.

Yet, despite failing to leave the tiniest scratch, this strike had ultimately connected with Mr. Bai's form.

This happened because Li Fan threw caution to the wind with his own existence. It stemmed from Mr. Bai's regard for promising individuals and his merciful nature. As the old saying warns, an upright person can be misled by false virtue!

This particular strike represented the solution Li Fan had mulled over during those years in the second volume of the Fallen Immortal Realm. The initial volume examined kindness. The second delved into cleverness. Now, this third volume ought to evaluate combat skill!

Mr. Bai dominated the Heavenly Sword Sect through his blade mastery. Overcoming him, or earning his approval in combat, would probably fulfill the third volume's trial. And Li Fan had just managed that feat.

"I concede."

Even after Mr. Bai reversed the life-burning process, executing that [Sword of Life] had still inflicted severe damage on Li Fan. Right now, his complexion was ghostly white, on the verge of collapsing at any second.

He hacked up coughs without stop and clasped his hands in respect toward Mr. Bai.

Mr. Bai gazed at Li Fan, his face showing a mix of emotions. "Why?" he inquired.

The surroundings of the Heavenly Sword Sect began to dissolve away. Mr. Bai's silhouette stayed sharp and vivid alone.

Li Fan went on: "Thus, what you manage, I might not pull off. But what eludes you, I could possibly accomplish."

It sounded like a puzzling riddle, yet Mr. Bai grasped Li Fan's intent right away.

"At times, survival demands a heart of steel."

With those words spoken, Li Fan's form also turned see-through bit by bit. In the end, it vanished entirely.

Just Mr. Bai lingered in this pocket of time and space. His forehead creased deeply, as though wrestling with a grueling decision. After who knows how long, his features eased, and a grin spread across his face.

"Indeed. I carry far too many worries. Maybe, following his path, someone can grasp that slim chance of survival..."

Mr. Bai's presence, together with his words, slowly dissolved into quiet nothingness.

...

Within the void, Li Fan lost track of time as he lingered. A well-known whirl of disorientation hit him, and the view in front of him flared to life once more.

He scanned his surroundings, realizing he hadn't returned to reality. Rather, he'd entered a fresh setting.

"My hunch proved spot on. Though not entirely honorable, I bested Mr. Bai and cleared the martial trial. The method doesn't matter, only the outcome counts."

A spark of elation flickered in Li Fan's chest. "Next, I'll discover what challenge awaits in this fourth volume."

As that idea crossed his mind, a flood of data rushed into Li Fan's thoughts all at once. His face froze in shock.

"This can't be?"

Despite Li Fan's steady mindset, he stood stunned for a beat. He swiftly summoned the Water Mirror Technique and examined his reflection.

A perfect, unmatched visage that evoked a gentle spring warmth, stirring involuntary respect. This appearance rang a bell for Li Fan. He'd only recently clashed swords with its bearer.

It belonged to Mr. Bai!

"For this fourth volume, I've straight-up taken over Mr. Bai's body?"

Li Fan's pulse quickened with intensity. Excitement mingled with caution.

The excitement came from accessing Mr. Bai's form to preview the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable early. Regardless of the cultivation angle, it promised huge gains down the line. The caution arose from the risk that Mr. Bai's body-snatching revival scheme might repeat itself.

After a pause, Li Fan calmed his nerves and started sifting through the details flooding his brain.

Regrettably, since this served as just a trial, Mr. Bai's recollections in his head stayed patchy. Mere snippets existed, plus the "primary mission" tied to this challenge.

"Right now, I've earned the Heavenly Dao's approval and officially stepped into the role of Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable. The goal is... To locate the immortal artifacts strewn across the Xuanhuang Realm and break free from it?"

Li Fan's look twisted into something utterly strange. It clashed totally with Mr. Bai's established history, so he double-checked it repeatedly.

"Ah? No. This isn't the Fallen Immortal Realm's trial. Instead... This marks the burden Mr. Bai carried at this juncture!"

It took a moment, but Li Fan pieced it together.

Upon ascending to Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable, a subtle nudge from the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao awareness stirred in Mr. Bai's soul. Disaster loomed inescapably. Far better to shed the realm's husk and flee ahead of schedule.

"The Xuanhuang Realm has turned unsafe, rife with inner turmoil from fiends and outer threats from the Immortal Ruins. It's wiser to breach the Immortal Wall and forge new skies in the beyond."

...

Li Fan knit his brows while gradually assembling the scattered memory fragments.

"Crossing the Immortal Wall proves nearly impossible. Even the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable lacks the strength. Yet, prior to the full cutoff of the Immortal Passage, the higher realm sporadically granted immortal artifacts. Some remain locked in sect vaults, others hidden deep in the earth, forgotten by all. Still, the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao awareness oversees every one."

"Collecting these immortal artifacts and offering them up, without needing to shatter them completely, should generate enough force to pierce the Immortal Wall."

A look wildly mismatched with the body's usual demeanor flashed across Li Fan's features.

"Immortal artifacts? At minimum ten of them, or even more?"

From the data passed by the Xuantian Heavenly Dao awareness, each artifact wielded might rivaling the Tianxuan Mirror. If he gathered them all and bent them to his will...

Ideas swirled wildly in Li Fan's head.

Remember, through countless rebirths, beyond the Tianxuan Mirror and the Fishing Pond, he'd never encountered signs of other immortal artifacts. Now, hitting what seemed like an enormous treasure trove, revealing spots for over ten at once—how could his blood not boil!

"Hold on, in actual records, didn't every one of these immortal artifacts disappear mysteriously?"

But Li Fan caught on quickly. He recalled a long-forgotten tale he'd collected before.

As the catastrophe struck, clashing cultivation methods had already thrown the sects into disarray. The sudden vanishing of stored immortal artifacts merely hastened the collapse of the Immortal Cultivation Sects.

"Does that mean, back then, Mr. Bai secretly claimed all these puzzlingly lost immortal artifacts?"

Li Fan's face took on an odd cast. He delved back into the mental data about these immortal artifacts.

These relics all descended from the upper realm before the Immortal Passage sealed shut. Back then, the Xuanhuang Realm's major sects weren't the eventual Ten Great Immortal Sects, but ancient ones swallowed by time's flow. Like the Samsara Sect, the Desolate God Sect, and others.

The immortal artifacts in their keeping had later split among the Ten Great Immortal Sects.

That said, immortal artifacts hold their own essences and respond only to true lineage descendants. So, even as the Ten Great Immortal Sects claimed most, they essentially couldn't wield them.