My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1089: Now Leaping Over the High Wall

"This can't be real. The immense immortal spiritual power surging inside me is obviously not some fake dream."

Li Fan's mind spun wildly. In no time, he activated the Water Mirror Technique to check his own form. What he found matched his prediction precisely: his features had changed from Mr. Bai's to his true self!

"What in the world..." Terror suddenly seized Li Fan's soul. "How is this possible? The immortal spiritual power I obtained by shattering Immortal Artifacts inside the Fallen Immortal Mirror has truly come to life..."

While confusion clouded his thoughts, an image of Mr. Bai's face flashed in Li Fan's consciousness, cutting through the haze like thunder. He froze right there on the spot.

"Now I see it clearly."

The truth was, all of Li Fan's adventures in the Fallen Immortal Realm had been illusions. Yet in actual history, Mr. Bai really had gathered and demolished countless Immortal Artifacts, earning the strength to pass over the High Wall.

"In the end, Mr. Bai decided against departing the Xuanhuang Realm. Therefore..." A fierce spark ignited in Li Fan's gaze.

His pulse thundered wildly: "That enormous immortal spiritual power from those days remained untouched! It's hidden away in the Fallen Immortal Realm! Right here in this ultimate challenge where someone rises as the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable!"

"..." Li Fan felt the grand energy wrapping around him. In that instant, clarity dawned on him.

He faced the identical decision Mr. Bai once confronted. To claim this immortal spiritual power, breach the High Wall, and roam unbound forever after. Or to relinquish it, stay within the Xuanhuang Realm, and take up the mantle of Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable.

Even without knowing Mr. Bai's motives for remaining, Li Fan lacked that level of selflessness. With an opportunity to break free, why would he chain himself to the Xuanhuang Realm?

Without a second's hesitation, Li Fan nearly chose to seize the immortal spiritual power. Yet right at the crucial juncture, he halted abruptly.

"Past the High Wall, past the High Wall... Is it truly secure out there beyond the High Wall?"

A massive doubt swelled in Li Fan's chest. Right now, his real body's might only equaled a standard Dao Integration Nascent Soul level. Inside the Xuanhuang Realm, drawing on the Spiritwood Realm's forces along with Tianyang and the rest, he could just manage to safeguard himself.

However, venturing out of the Xuanhuang Realm and reaching beyond the High Wall... The perils would probably dwarf those of entering the Xuanhuang Realm as a powerless newcomer long ago. Remember, on the other side of the High Wall lurked True Immortals.

The surges of energy from breaching the High Wall could easily catch their eye. And particularly in this reincarnation, Li Fan remained ensnared by the Faceless True Immortal's schemes.

A Nascent Soul cultivator, no matter how it fought, might escape a True Immortal's notice. But should a tiny Nascent Soul suddenly ascend to immortality in a flash... At that point, Li Fan likely wouldn't even trigger [Truth] before the Faceless True Immortal seized him for dissection.

Li Fan mulled it over deeply before releasing a heavy sigh. He firmly quelled the surging urge.

The path to true freedom, chased relentlessly across more than a hundred cycles of rebirth, now dangled tantalizingly close to Li Fan. Yet when the genuine shot at fleeing presented itself, Li Fan recoiled.

Deep down, it stemmed from Li Fan's present power being far too feeble. Plus, he knew nothing about what awaited beyond the High Wall. Leaving wasn't impossible at this stage, but the hazards involved were overwhelmingly high. So extreme that even Li Fan, armed with [Truth], hesitated to risk it.

"Hold on just a bit more, hold on a tad longer. The moment hasn't arrived."

"For anyone else, skipping this shot to exit the Darkest Star Sea means it's gone forever. But not for me. After all, I've learned about this massive immortal spiritual power. Whenever I want, I can pull it back."

Following this clear-headed breakdown, Li Fan's spirit settled into serene stillness.

Having set aside the idea of crossing the High Wall for now, Li Fan confronted another dilemma. Should he step into the shoes of the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable?

With scarcely a thought, Li Fan settled on his answer.

In the ancient times, the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable commanded the Dao unchallenged. But circumstances had shifted dramatically. The gains might prove meager, while the duties and burdens loomed enormously.

To mend the chaos, confront the Immortal Ancestor, and bring back stability to the Xuanhuang Realm. To rescue the Xuanhuang Realm from devouring by the Immortal Ruins...

Li Fan felt zero pull toward acting as a messiah. He held no deep loyalty to the Xuanhuang Realm.

Having uncovered a way past the High Wall, his focus now turned to rapidly boosting his personal might, or scheming to verify if this path truly offered safe escape. As for this vaunted Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable position, let others scramble for it. Li Fan had no intention of diving in.

Given that Mr. Bai designed this trial, Li Fan trusted it wouldn't compel a forced selection. As expected, once Li Fan inwardly rejected both paths, after a prolonged hush, the world around him trembled fiercely.

It burst apart like frothing water with a thunderous crash. Amid a brief vertigo, Li Fan at last snapped back to the real world.

"Looks like it's got some attitude," Li Fan remarked silently to himself.

Thinking back on his exploits in the Fallen Immortal Realm this round, Li Fan felt a twinge of disappointment, much like prior times, where only fuzzy, broad recollections lingered. Details on exact divine abilities or hidden arts stayed utterly blank.

"Should he claim the role of Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable, he might gain the full chronicle from the Fallen Immortal Realm. Yet... The price would be too steep. All the more so in this life, already tangled in a True Immortal's web."

Li Fan steadied his mind. Moments later, he glanced at the clock.

To his shock, this trip into the Fallen Immortal Realm had stretched over a full year. Apparently, the time scale in this trial illusion diverged from typical Fallen Immortal visions. Rather, it aligned much nearer to actual passage.

A faint insight stirred in Li Fan's core. "This trial illusion demands real effort to conjure. It probably consumes considerable energy. Though Mo Rubin stepped into the trial illusion more than a year before me, I'd previewed it earlier and knew the storyline. His pace might lag behind mine. He could still be trapped inside."

Considering that, Li Fan started scanning through the year's happenings.

As Dharma-Transmitter Zhou failed to reach Li Fan for an extended period, she assumed he'd made it into the illusion trial. She dispatched a few spotty transmissions, mainly urging him to share glimpses of his encounters once he emerged. The other updates covered assorted issues tied to the Xuantian Sect's survivors.

Even though Dharma-Transmitter Chen and his group had cleared the Oath of the Dharma-Transmitter, all parties recognized they no longer fit for top leadership in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. Following a fresh vote among the Dharma-Transmitters, they yielded and stepped down willingly.