My longevity simulation

Looking at the Faceless Holy Emperor sitting silently above, Sun Erlang could not help feeling somewhat nervous.

Yet the Holy Emperor’s next words left him somewhat stunned.

“What mark? It was merely the Stone Mother’s teasing. The Dao Deviation Divine Stone is an unparalleled wonder. Even I could not comprehend that Rainbow Light Sword Message for a time, yet it cracked it in a short period…”

“If it can trace origins and cross the star ocean, how could it possibly lose its way?”

“Master, then what exactly…” Sun Erlang was puzzled. “The profound sensation brought when the blue thread collided with the Dao Deviation Stone in my sea of consciousness was indeed real.”

The Holy Emperor smiled, which was extremely rare.

“It is your good fortune, young one.”

“Strictly speaking, all Dao Deviation Stones in the world are merely fragments separated from the Stone Mother. Although cultivators can claim them as their own through the Dao Transformation Divine Unity Method, fragments are ultimately fragments. Even the finest Dao Deviation Stone cannot compare to the Stone Mother. However, the blue ray the Stone Mother cast upon you is like turning stone into gold…”

The Holy Emperor’s tone was somewhat peculiar: “Although its quality is currently only high grade, it has been enlightened and possesses unlimited potential in the future.”

“In time, it may even become a second Stone Mother.”

“This…” Sun Erlang was stunned. He had not expected that after departing, the other party had left behind such a great fortune for him.

“No need to overthink it. Everyone has their own fortune. Perhaps the Stone Mother simply took a liking to you.” The Holy Emperor said indifferently.

“Yes…” Although Sun Erlang responded this way, from his expression it was clear he had not yet adapted.

“By the way, Master, those tens of thousands of deduction results from the Stone Mother…”

“Once you have calmed down, analyze them and report back.”

“I shall obey Master’s command.”

Somewhat dazed, Sun Erlang left the Holy Emperor’s hall.

Unknowingly, he arrived at the residence of the scholar whom Yi Shu had mentioned earlier, the one who had written “The Romance of the Xuanhuang Tripartition.”

At the doorway of the house, a large crowd still gathered.

Although they had not done anything excessive, they stared fixedly at the exit with hostile glares.

It was as if the scholar inside had an irreconcilable enmity with them.

Upon seeing Sun Erlang, their faces lit up with joy and they eagerly approached, wanting to recount the scholar’s misdeeds.

But Sun Erlang interrupted them with a slight frown.

The crowd sensibly dispersed.

Sun Erlang strode into the house.

The scholar was heavily drunk. Sun Erlang picked up the manuscript on the table and began to read.

The handwriting was extremely sloppy, with large sections crossed out and deleted.

Nevertheless, Sun Erlang could still make out the general content.

The Immortal Dynasty ruled by the Taixuan Immortal Emperor grew stronger day by day, with talented individuals and extraordinary figures emerging in great numbers. It repeatedly achieved victories in its conflicts with the other two nations.

The Teacher of Heaven and Earth and the Supreme Sage of the Mortal Realm had no choice but to join forces to resist the might of Taixuan…

This plot was clearly not what the scholar truly wished to write.

Not only was the literary style and wording much weaker than before, but even the attitude toward writing had become perfunctory. Perhaps he could no longer bear it; the scholar had stopped writing before reaching the ending. He spent his days drunk, living in a daze.

Sun Erlang was not surprised by this outcome.

In the Holy Dynasty of Great Qi, the symbols of the Taixuan Immortal Emperor and the Faceless Holy Emperor were too similar. If the character suffered even the slightest setback in the plot, the scholar would face criticism from countless people. Under such real-world pressure, the Taixuan Immortal Emperor could only enjoy unbroken success in the story. Over time, his strength naturally surpassed the other two sages by a wide margin.

Still, Sun Erlang was somewhat curious about the original plot direction the scholar had in mind.

With a thought, Sun Erlang split off a strand of divine sense and entered the scholar’s sea of consciousness.

Before long, amid the chaotic thoughts, he found the content related to “Romance of the Xuanhuang Tripartition.”

It had to be said that the scholar was, after all, a native of the Holy Dynasty of Great Qi. After years of basking in the Holy Emperor’s grace, the deep reverence for the Holy Emperor in his subconscious led the ending he originally envisioned to still have the Taixuan Immortal Emperor overcoming all difficulties, suppressing the other two sages in succession, and unifying the Xuanhuang Realm.

Yet in that version there were failures, setbacks, and even moments when the situation turned desperate and his life hung by a thread.

Sun Erlang had to admit that, compared with the revised version he had seen in reality, the scholar’s original plot arrangement was far more dramatic and gripping.

“So it is said that literature should be like mountains, never flat. By comparison, the version outside tastes like chewing wax.”

Although Sun Erlang thought this, the book’s content involved his own master after all, so he did not dare decide on his own.

He flashed back into the Holy Emperor’s hall and reported the matter to Li Ping.

It was merely a small matter, yet for some unknown reason it caused the Holy Emperor to remain silent for a long time.

“The Taixuan Immortal Emperor is me, the Supreme Sage of the Mortal Realm is me, and the Teacher of Heaven and Earth is also me.”

In the end, the Holy Emperor slowly spoke these words, which echoed within the cold Holy Emperor’s hall.

Sun Erlang was first stunned, then suddenly enlightened.

He left with a joyful expression.

However, Li Ping’s usually unshakable state of mind was stirred by this incident into ripples that could not be calmed.

He perhaps understood a little why, after founding the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, the Immortal Ancestor had never again involved himself in worldly affairs or appeared before the public eye.

…

Hongze Realm.

Zhang Ming, the Golden Core cultivator stationed in this realm by the Holy Dynasty of Great Qi, suddenly received a report from his subordinates.

It seemed that some uninvited guests from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance had intruded into this small world.

“Three Nascent Soul cultivators and seven Golden Core cultivators.”

Zhang Ming’s brows furrowed tightly.

Although he had immediately sent a request for reinforcements to the Holy Dynasty, the thought of the large Voidbright Flow Crystal vein they had just discovered filled his heart with unrelenting unease.

“This Hongze Realm is not large, and the aura carried by the Voidbright Flow Crystal is quite distinctive. Even with the formation talismans I used for slight concealment, I fear it will be difficult to escape their detection.”

“It seems this battle cannot be avoided.”

Zhang Ming quickly calculated the forces he could currently command.

Including himself, he had at most five Golden Core cultivators.

The disparity in strength was obvious, and defeat was all but certain.

If he chose to retreat, the Holy Dynasty would not impose any severe punishment.

Yet as a proud soldier of Great Qi, Zhang Ming was destined to possess the courage to fight at least once before withdrawing.

He acted decisively and immediately deployed the sole Concealing Heaven Talisman.

As the name implied, the Concealing Heaven Talisman could obscure the secrets of heaven.

It was well known that when a cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm perished, strange phenomena would appear in the sky. The deceased cultivator’s life story and even the exact manner of death would be displayed in vivid detail upon the celestial curtain.

Under normal circumstances this was manageable, but in a life-and-death battle like today, any casualties on either side would instantly spread far and wide, greatly increasing the difficulty of combat.

With the Concealing Heaven Talisman, however, the situation could be reversed and even turned into an advantage for their side.

The talisman could not only conceal the phenomena of a cultivator’s fall but could also precisely identify friend and foe and treat them differently.

When their side killed an enemy cultivator, no phenomenon would appear. Yet if one of their own was killed, the phenomenon would still descend as a warning.

Although the exact principle by which the talisman worked was unknown, there was no doubt that this single Concealing Heaven Talisman could shift the balance of victory by a fraction.

“Relying on this one talisman alone is still not enough.”

Zhang Ming then looked at the small white jade arrow in his bosom.

“Unfortunately, given our team’s qualifications, we can apply for at most one Army-Destroying Arrow each time we go out.”

“If we could obtain a few more, let alone these Nascent Soul cultivators, I would not fear even a Soul Transformation cultivator.”

The Army-Destroying Arrow was a weakened version of the Holy Dynasty’s Sky-Patrolling Arrow.

Though weakened, it could still deliver a devastating blow to Nascent Soul realm cultivators and those below.

It also came with tracking and aura-locking functions; once targeted, there was no escape.

“With only this one, it must be used to maximum effect.”

Zhang Ming soon had a plan in mind.

“Fu Ge!”

“Present!” A Golden Core mid-stage cultivator in earth-yellow robes under Zhang Ming’s command responded at once.

“Use the Rushing Current Talisman to transport these Voidbright Flow Crystals to this location underground.” Zhang Ming marked the exact spot on the map.

Fu Ge showed no hesitation and accepted the storage ring Zhang Ming handed over.

Yellow light flashed across his body, and he vanished into the ground.

The storage ring contained all the Voidbright Flow Crystals they had mined so far, merely a small portion of the giant vein.

Yet if detonated and guided in a special manner, the dispersed aura would be sufficient to draw the attention of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance cultivators on the surface.

“Bing San!”

“Lay down formation barriers along the route. Remember, do not make it too easy for them, but do not activate any of the lethal killing formations either.”

A middle-aged man with a sallow complexion acknowledged and departed.

…

Zhang Ming completed the deployment of his forces in an orderly and rapid manner.

Yet even though each of them possessed unique skills, they were still stretched thin before the absolute disparity in power.

An accident occurred right at the first step of the plan.

The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance cultivators were no ordinary foes. The one responsible for luring them to the ambush site was named Qiu Di.

Within the team, he excelled particularly in escape techniques.

Unexpectedly, the moment they met, before he could even display his escape art, he was trapped by a Cave-Heaven domain cast by a white-robed man among the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance group.

This Cave-Heaven domain was rather peculiar; it did not manifest any specific scene. It simply projected white rings of light that suppressed Qiu Di.

After trying every method and seeing no hope of escape, Qiu Di resolutely chose to self-detonate and end his own life.

Sensing the disappearance of his subordinate’s life aura, Zhang Ming’s heart tightened and his fists clenched.

The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance cultivators clearly had not expected the other side to be so resolute, committing suicide at the slightest disagreement.

The atmosphere instantly turned strange.

“Wait, Brother Lin Bai, something is wrong!”

After a moment, one of them reacted.

“Why is there no phenomenon of death?”

“Is it a faked death?”

“Doesn’t seem so; his soul and spirit have truly been extinguished.”

Lin Bai’s expression turned solemn as he looked up at the sky.

Before long his face grew ugly: “Be careful. Someone has concealed the secrets of heaven.”

Although he issued the warning, the others did not grow afraid; instead they became extremely excited.

“Concealing the secrets of heaven? In such an ordinary small world they are already using such methods. It seems there is a secret here!”

“We have run to several places in vain; finally we are about to reap some gains.”

“Even if it is not Voidbright Flow Crystal, unearthing the secret of this place may still make the trip worthwhile.”

…

While they were still discussing, they suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly.

At the same time, a familiar aura rose from underground.

“This is…”

The group froze for a moment.

Then their faces filled with disbelief: “It really is Voidbright Flow Crystal?”

In their perception, besides the spreading aura of the flow crystals, several figures seemed to be rapidly flying away from the site of the underground tremor.

“They saw they could no longer hide and are trying to flee?”

The thought crossed their minds instinctively.

Although they very much wanted to descend and investigate, they still exercised some caution. Instead of acting rashly, they all turned to look at Lin Bai.

Lin Bai pondered briefly and soon made a decision.

“Split into two groups. Brother Qian, take three people and pursue the fleeing cultivators. The rest will follow me.”

Without wasting words, the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance group quickly divided. Four of them chased toward the horizon.

Lin Bai led the rest toward the source of the Voidbright Flow Crystal aura underground.

Along the way, some formations blocked their path.

Yet they broke through them with ease.

“These formations were set up by at least a Nascent Soul formation master.”

“Moreover, many of the array patterns are ones I have never seen before. Interesting…”

The group grew even more excited.

They soon reached their destination.

A giant cavity left by an explosion still showed many fragments of Voidbright Flow Crystal.

“Damn! So ruthless, they actually destroyed it outright!”

“What a waste! A fist-sized flow crystal now costs fifty thousand contribution points, and even then there is no supply!”

“There are still quite a few fragments; hurry and collect them, do not waste any!”

…

The Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance group had originally maintained some order.

Yet upon seeing the ground covered in Voidbright Flow Crystal fragments, their greed was aroused and they could no longer restrain themselves.

They swarmed chaotically toward the interior of the cavity.

Although Lin Bai felt some envy in his heart, he habitually scanned the surroundings first.

Only after detecting no danger did he fly inside as well.

“Strange. This does not look like the original underground vein of the flow crystals. Could it be a storage warehouse they collected and kept…”

Lin Bai picked up a small piece of Voidbright Flow crystal, this thought rising in his mind.

At that moment his expression changed abruptly.

A small white jade arrow, appearing from nowhere, shot silently and swiftly from the dark underground toward the several people inside the cavity.

“Careful!” Lin Bai shouted instinctively.

He fully unleashed his Cave-Heaven domain and deployed hundreds of command flags to protect himself.

Yet the white jade arrow was even faster than expected.

A dazzling sphere of light erupted underground.

In an instant it engulfed all the cultivators inside the cavity.

Even their Cave-Heavens were completely annihilated.

Not far away, Zhang Ming watched the deaths of the Ten Thousand Immo