My Longevity Simulation Chapter 1129: The Meaning of the Anchor Point

A deep black robe draped long and flowing, adorned with nine golden dragons twisting intricately together.

Beads from the imperial headdress cascaded downward, shrouding the face and concealing its contours.

"Truly deserving of the title Heavenly Mandate Holy Emperor; ordinary folks can hardly catch a glimpse of the dragon's visage."

Sensing Li Fan's stare fixed on him, Sun Erlang's frame quivered faintly, prompting him to bow his head without thought.

At that moment, his voice came out rough: "To answer Teacher, this disciple has failed you. I merely advanced to the first layer of Qi Condensation just yesterday."

"Gathering only the thin spiritual qi present in the palace, yet managing to draw qi into your body so swiftly—that's an impressive achievement." Rather than scold, Li Fan offered a nod of approval.

Sun Erlang's expression filled with deeper shame upon hearing this: "Without the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra passed down by Teacher, I'd likely still be tormented by the poison in my body, cut off forever from the path of immortals."

With those words, Sun Erlang prostrated himself repeatedly, thumping his forehead in deep thanks.

Li Fan made no move to halt him.

Once Sun Erlang stood back up, Li Fan inquired coolly: "What is the general advancement for the Imperial Guard in mastering the Immortal Heart Mantra?"

"By yesterday, a full one hundred sixty troops have crossed the threshold and cast off their mortal shells. Those who couldn't pass the test have been completely eliminated." A shadow of hesitation flashed in Sun Erlang's gaze, swiftly hidden away.

"From now on, you will form the core strength in my campaign across countless realms; train relentlessly around the clock, never letting up."

"Regarding spiritual qi, put your concerns aside. In three days' time, you'll climb aboard this immortal vessel yourself and journey to the Eastern Ruins Abyss."

With a light flick of his finger, Li Fan conjured a wooden boat spanning ten zhang right before Sun Erlang.

Silver inscriptions covered the vessel entirely, radiating an aura of deep mystery.

"What an immortal artifact indeed. For Master to hand over such a marvel to me without hesitation." Sun Erlang's chest tightened; he nodded vigorously in agreement.

The immortal boat then drifted into his hold.

A feeling of seamless command, as if it were part of his limb, surged instantly through Sun Erlang's awareness.

"Depart." As he lingered on the boat's secrets, Li Fan's command rang out right on cue.

Sun Erlang offered a respectful bow before withdrawing.

Now, the back garden of the imperial palace held only Li Fan in solitude.

Hidden under the headdress's beads, amid the dimness, the featureless face loomed both odd and unsettling.

"Heh, were it not for this world's impending doom, making my offhand teaching of the dao a mere whim, it would've taken me far longer to uncover that the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra escapes the bind of the 'law of incompatible cultivation.'"

"Does the Immortal Heart Mantra evade classification as a cultivation technique, or is it a unique boon from the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao meant for the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable?"

"Whichever the case, plotting to find a fitting heir for the Xuanhuang Great Celestial Venerable down the line will turn out much simpler than expected."

Li Fan's mind wandered deliberately. In a flash, he materialized atop the towering Holy Emperor Base in Xuan Capital City.

Traces of subtle spiritual qi seeped into Li Fan's form.

This preserved his late Foundation Establishment stage from declining in the absence of spiritual qi.

After more than a hundred cycles of rebirth, peaking at Soul Transformation strength akin to Dao Integration experts, Li Fan—now reverted to Foundation Establishment—viewed the world with a perspective shaped by his prior existences.

For example: a minor mortal realm like Great Xuan wasn't entirely barren of spiritual qi, given its link to the Xuanhuang Realm.

The realm's distinct makeup, paired with the Immortal Severing Great Formation's barrier, simply rendered the spiritual qi so faint it might as well not exist.

Standard cultivation practices couldn't harness it at all. Only creatures with extended lives, gathering it gradually over time, managed meager gains in spiritual qi.

Take, for instance, that massive serpent spanning hundreds of feet on Jieli Mountain.

"Draining every bit of spiritual qi from a whole world would barely keep a Foundation Establishment cultivator alive..."

"Yet tapping a portion from the Xuanhuang Realm poses no problem."

The Taiyan Boat handed to Sun Erlang came equipped with fresh arrays. Their role was to steer the craft into the Xuanhuang Realm on its own, draw in spiritual qi for reserves, and fly back.

Sun Erlang, sealed within the Taiyan Boat, wouldn't perceive the outer events. His sole task was guiding it to the Ruins Abyss's brink.

Though Li Fan's formation dao prowess at present allowed siphoning spiritual qi from the Xuanhuang Realm undetected beneath the arrays' veil.

Still, it wasn't viable forever.

To conjure spiritual qi from void and produce it anew, dependence on the Dao One Insect remained essential.

The Dao One Insect stood as an odd otherworldly creature Li Fan couldn't simply will into being.

Yet...

Gliding past the reminder to hold onto prior life's choices for , Li Fan examined his personal interface.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Late Foundation Establishment

Physical Age: 20/399

Mental Age: 1399/9999

Virtual Transformation Charging Progress: 3%

Anchor Charging Progress: 0%

Current Anchor Points: 3

Current Available Anchor Slots: 1

Bound Items: Xuantian Mirror Origin (Damaged), Taiyan Boat, Ten Thousand Beasts Condensation Crystal, Ten Thousand People's Essence Blood, Dao Deviation Stone, Final Dissociation Disc

...

"Physical age reset to the 399 years typical for Foundation Establishment, but no cause for concern. Long before the limit hits, I'll have triggered ."

"The mental age cap failed to expand even after pushing to Soul Transformation once; it appears capped at a certain point..."

Li Fan gave these a quick scan before moving on.

His main focus settled on the count of anchor points and the attached possessions.

Initially, open anchor slots numbered two, but incorporating the nascent Five Elements Cave-Heaven bumped it to three.

Now, just one slot lingered.

That stemmed from Li Fan expending an empty anchor point to swap bound items.

The "Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Golden Sutra" yielded place to Xuantian Mirror Origin.

The Halted-Step Remnant Stele (Damaged) transformed into the Myriad Beasts Condensation Crystal.

Anchor points proved tough to acquire usually, yet while devouring the nascent Five Elements Cave-Heaven and spawning anchor points, Li Fan grasped fresh understanding of their core nature.

Heaven And Earth Wonders, Golden Core laws, and Nascent Soul Cave-Heavens.

The drive behind to ingest these as anchor points likely tied to building its grasp of "outer entities."

Much like the Tianxuan Mirror advanced via gauging the cosmos, advanced bluntly via consumption and assimilation of knowledge.

"It's the polar reverse of my earlier assumption."

"Items nearer to the world's fundamental truth yield greater recharging advancement. Foundation Establishment marvels and Golden Core laws lack depth; they fail to quench 's hunger."

"Hence, the anchor points yielded from such absorptions stay constrained."

"On the flip side, Nascent Soul Cave-Heavens, rebirth evolutions, and even heaven-earth spirits deliver vast surges in recharging progress."

"Nurtured by the immense Xuanhuang Realm, anchor point numbers won't demand immediate fretting for now."

So, Li Fan promptly engaged the anchor point swap feature without delay.

The Xuantian Mirror Origin came from a lucky find in his last life.

As for the Ten Thousand Beasts Condensation Crystal...

In that prior existence, just prior to launching the realm-ending scheme, Li Fan toured assorted small worlds for one last check.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Wheel derived from the Empire's stores as well as Xu Ke's holdings.

Li Fan's recollections drifted leisurely to those moments.

"The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance's abrupt strike; the Federation of All Worlds base wiped out?" Xiao Qing's complexion drained to ashen at Li Fan's revelation.

"Had I not cut the Spiritwood Realm's tie to you promptly, the Empire might already lie in utter devastation." Li Fan let out a soft sigh.

The Imperial Daughter and Xiao Hong traded looks, their minds gripped by residual dread.

"Still, no need for undue alarm. Though the Spiritwood Realm fell, nearly all key members of headquarters slipped away unharmed and lurk in seclusion for now. When the crisis ebbs, the Federation of All Worlds will rebound in a flash." Li Fan spun the falsehood with a steady face.

Faced with the obvious fib, the Empire and companions found solace instead.

As he tuned into the Empire and others detailing late developments, Li Fan reached the Empire's vault.