My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1087: Immortal Realm's Edict of Ascension
Previously on My Longevity Simulation...
A tear ripped open in the heavens above the Xuanhuang Realm. Innumerable beams of holy golden light burst forth from the tear, bathing the entire realm in a shimmering golden glow. Celestial blossoms fell like rain, and blessed clouds gathered across the skies.
From the earth, a faintly indistinct form lifted into the air, gradually ascending toward the tear. This silhouette radiated a spectrum of seven colors, shining brilliantly and eye-catchingly. As it entered the tear, a misty drizzle poured down from above. Falling softly, it nourished everything below. Bathed in this divine rain from the immortals, the whole Xuanhuang Realm transformed in a blink, the shift plain to see.
Life across the realm grew more lively and brimming with energy. Beings on the ground, refreshed by the divine rain, gained sharper minds and greater gifts. Endless waves of delighted awareness from the populace echoed through the skies and lands. The realm itself shared in this joy!
...
"This is..."
"Ascension?"
A legendary word that no cultivator could ever erase from memory surged through Li Fan's thoughts in an instant. The time when the path to immortality remained unbroken lay so far back. So much so that today, glimpses of the ancient era's thriving cultivation world came only from faded lines in old scrolls.
Yet now, Li Fan was blessed to behold a cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm rising to immortality! His spirit quaked, utterly spellbound.
"So, when a cultivator ascends, the whole realm reaps huge rewards. The greater the number of ascenders from a world, the more solid its base grows. The Xuanhuang Realm boasted many such risers in its past. No wonder..."
The strange event of the cultivator's rise endured for the length of a full tea brew. The sky's tear gradually sealed shut, and the golden beams dimmed away. But right at the end, a parchment floated down from it. Caught by the breeze, it unrolled wide against the sky.
"In the Xuanhuang Realm... after eight hundred sixty-five years of cultivation, unraveling the secrets of creation and grasping the Dao to rise."
"This Immortal Edict is granted to mark the achievement."
"The road to immortality proves harsh, but the flame persists; let successors toil with zeal."
...
The words on the parchment blurred, with the ascender's name completely absent. Overall, though, it outlined the tale of this cultivator's path to immortality, plus a message of motivation from the Immortal Realm to the Xuanhuang Realm's lower cultivators.
"Could this be the [Immortal Scroll Edict] sent down from the Immortal Realm in days of old?"
Li Fan fixed his gaze on the plain-looking parchment, his pulse racing.
"Still, this Immortal Scroll Edict's shape rings a bell. It mirrors almost exactly the visions that show up now when a cultivator perishes. Turns out it wasn't some random act of the Heavenly Dao, but a pattern set from the start. One serves as praise from a higher realm, the other as the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's scorn toward the fallen cultivator."
Li Fan gave a faint shake of his head.
"Yet from the phrasing in this Immortal Scroll Edict, the Immortal Realm warmly embraces, even urges, these ascensions. The divine rain that pours during a rise might count as one reward. But at some unknown moment, chaos struck the Immortal Realm. Not just did the path to immortality break, even True Immortals were forced to disperse and escape..."
Li Fan's eyes tightened slightly. After a stretch of time, he gathered his wandering mind. He turned back to the Immortal Scroll Edict in view.
"Grab it or leave it?"
A tough choice hit Li Fan right away.
"Worst case, if it flops, the next round restarts. Just catching a real look at the Immortal Scroll Edict makes this worth it."
Without much delay, Li Fan extended his hand, unleashing vast godly might to smash the seals on the two prizes in a flash. Still, when he went to take them, a snag cropped up.
Both the Desolate God Seal and Immortal Scroll Edict hailed from the Immortal Realm. They weren't simple trinkets to snatch lightly. With Li Fan's strength as the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable, claiming a single one would go off without a hitch, unnoticed by the Celestial Pivot Sect's members. But going for both together strained things, bound to stir up more noise.
The initial alert came from the secret chamber's third item: that wooden chest. It appeared to feel its two old allies breaking free. The sealed entity inside the chest stirred wildly at once. It let out pressing, soft sounds. A flood of visions rushed out, flickering endlessly in Li Fan's sight.
Li Fan's grab for the two items halted for a beat.
"You daring fool!"
A roar like crashing thunder boomed next. Suddenly, five mighty Longevity Immortal presences flared up, targeting Li Fan from a distance and speeding fast toward the hidden vault.
"What a hassle."
Helplessness tugged at Li Fan's core. Yet soon after, he wrapped up securing the parchment and the Desolate God Seal. Glancing at the five Longevity Immortal experts storming into the Celestial Pivot Courtyard, he shook his head a touch. Then, in plain sight of all, his form winked out.
Through a chain of swift shifts, he escaped the Celestial Pivot Sect, reaching the far southwest edge of the Xuanhuang Realm before dodging the chase from the Celestial Pivot Sect's five Longevity Immortals.
It wasn't that Li Fan couldn't stand against these Longevity Immortal foes, but clashing with them served no purpose. Li Fan checked the two prizes he'd nabbed. Putting the Desolate God Seal on hold, he first unrolled the Immortal Scroll Edict with care.
"Such a shame..."
Once he made out the parchment's words, Li Fan let out a sigh. It matched exactly the version stored in the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao records! Broken and vague!
"It goes beyond what the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable can recall. Thus, this Desolate God Seal stays on the surface, unable to unleash a true Immortal Artifact's might."
Interest drained from Li Fan in a rush.
"Oh well. Picking up all this knowledge on Immortal Artifacts in one go is gain enough. The Celestial Pivot Sect's storehouse got looted; such embarrassment won't get spread around. They'll hunt quietly on their own. It'll be a while before the rest of the Ten Immortal Sects catch wind. Time to move fast."
With a blur of motion, Li Fan reached the subsequent spot hiding an Immortal Artifact. This round, drawing from the prior slip, Li Fan skipped dawdling over the vault's other goods. He struck quick and firm, snatching the Immortal Artifacts in turn.
All told, just three days passed to gather every Immortal Artifact from the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao's records. It proved no challenge; any average cultivator with Mr. Bai's form could pull it off with ease.
"Odd. So, what's the real trial to claim the Great Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable title testing?"
Li Fan eyed the thirteen Immortal Artifacts of diverse forms arrayed before him and sank into thought.
Meanwhile, driven by the Xuanhuang Realm's Heavenly Dao in his head, Li Fan got the following stage of the "main quest."
"Xuanhuang power blasts the Immortal Artifact. Immortal force floods the frame, vaulting past the Immortal Wall, to wander unbound ever after..."
Sensing the thrill and eagerness swelling inside, Li Fan's breath quickened a notch.