My longevity simulation

The formation lived up to its name.

The Inch Apart, Worlds Away Grand Formation could compress the distance of the ends of the world into arm's reach. Once completed, it would connect the Xuanhuang Realm with the edge of the star sea. Even without using the Wooden Sword Traversing the Void technique, one could travel instantly between the two locations through the formation.

At first glance, it appeared to be an ultra long distance teleportation formation, but that was not the case.

Within the Darkest Star Sea, residual True Immortal power permeated everything. The Xuanhuang Realm itself lay at the edge of the Immortal Ruins and was influenced by an endless pulling force, causing even spacetime to warp subtly. The distance was simply too great, and there were far too many uncontrollable variables. Conventional teleportation methods could not possibly bridge it.

The Inch Apart, Worlds Away Grand Formation employed the most primitive method of travel.

It merely compressed the distance between the point of departure and the destination infinitely, allowing one to arrive with a single step.

Even the entire Great Xuan Small World could not contain such an enormous Immortal-grade formation. Therefore, on the Xuanhuang Realm side, Li Fan established the formation within the void outside the Great Xuan Small World, then concealed it with additional formations.

As for the Star Sea frontier, as Li Fan gradually completed the formation, an incomparably mysterious fluctuation suddenly descended, preparing to sweep outward in all directions.

Li Fan formed a hand seal and used the surrounding concealment formations to block it as well.

The golden radiance of the formation dimmed, and a two way passage connecting the Xuanhuang Realm and the edge of the Star Sea silently came into being.

Li Fan stood in the void and adjusted his breathing to recover.

"As expected of an Immortal-grade formation. Even with the assistance of the Final Dissociation Disc, constructing it was quite taxing."

His accumulated source power essence had been completely exhausted, leaving Li Fan temporarily weakened.

"Compared to true immortal spiritual qi, source power essence is still qualitatively inferior."

Li Fan thought to himself. Within a few breaths, the power within his body became abundant once more.

He separated a strand of divine sense and sent it into the Inch Apart, Worlds Away Grand Formation before activating it.

His vision blurred momentarily, and in the next instant he had already returned to the void outside the Great Xuan Small World within the Xuanhuang Realm.

Only then did Li Fan leisurely withdraw the phantom projection of the Wooden Sword.

"I have established a transmission formation here. In the future, traveling back and forth will no longer be so troublesome."

Li Fan spoke casually.

Upon hearing this, Yin Shangren and the others were all shaken to their core. With their experience, they naturally understood how extraordinary a transmission formation spanning the entire Star Sea truly was.

Even the ultra long distance teleportation formations connecting the various provinces of the Xuanhuang Realm often required more than a dozen formation masters working together for over half a year to complete.

How much more astonishing, then, was this grand formation connecting the edge of the star sea with the Xuanhuang Realm?

Yet such a formation had been completed by the Holy Teacher with effortless ease.

At first, the four of them were somewhat skeptical.

However, when Li Fan invited them to test it personally, and they stepped through the formation to once again sense the familiar aura of the Great Xuan Small World, all doubts vanished.

What remained was nothing but overwhelming shock and deep reverence toward Li Fan.

"With a single formation, the endless Star Sea becomes an open road. Holy Teacher, your methods are comparable to those of a True Immortal."

Qiao Gong sighed in admiration.

"This formation, this formation..."

Yin Shangren muttered repeatedly, still unable to recover from the shock.

Li Fan's voice pulled them back to reality.

"From now on, this place will serve as our exploration outpost and supply station."

"Whether it is the Sea of Relics or the Remnant World Great Wall, both are vastly larger than the Xuanhuang Realm itself. Finding suitable remnant worlds will not be easy."

Qiao Gong asked, "Please enlighten us, Holy Teacher. Is it not enough to simply locate a remnant world to serve as a catalyst for the Xuanhuang Realm's consumption?"

Li Fan smiled faintly and extended his hand toward the distant Sea of Relics.

Whoosh!

A relic artifact was drawn toward them at tremendous speed.

The object appeared to be a blue and white robe. After countless years of erosion, it had long since become tattered beyond recognition. The bloodstains upon it had turned black.

"Hmm?"

Before the relic robe had even fully approached, Qiao Gong and the others all changed expressions.

Within their perception, the distances between themselves and their companions were rapidly increasing as the relic robe drew nearer.

It was as though the world had suddenly expanded while their bodies had shrunk countless times over.

Even their attempts to communicate became faint and barely audible.

"True Immortal power!"

Only then did they realize that this phenomenon was caused by the True Immortal power lingering within the relic robe.

As the robe moved ever closer, the distances between them continued to grow.

Though they stood beside one another, they could neither see nor reach each other.

It felt as though they had been isolated by the entire world itself.

Within the endless emptiness, Li Fan's voice descended from above like peals of thunder.

"Within the Darkest Star Sea, all worlds have already perished. Yet the power of the True Immortal seal script that caused their destruction still remains."

"The various calamities we encounter on our journey toward the center of the Star Sea are all manifestations of this residual True Immortal power."

"The relic artifacts and remnant worlds before us likewise contain these lingering forces."

"This robe contains the power of the character, [Separation]."

Boom!

Their vision instantly returned to normal, and the relic robe changed direction, flying back into the Sea of Relics.

Above their heads, a mysterious and incomparably profound character flickered into view.

"True Immortal seal script?"

The group stared blankly at the character overhead, vaguely sensing the terrifying power contained within it.

"Separation..."

Recalling the sensation of being severed from everything around them, they raised their hands as brushes and attempted to imitate it.

Unexpectedly, the character suddenly dimmed and vanished into the air.

Even the memory of it within their minds became blurred.

No matter how hard they tried to recall it, they could not reproduce it.

"There is too much residual True Immortal power within the Star Sea. Reckless action may trigger resonance among these remnants. Studying True Immortal seal script requires special methods."

Li Fan tapped his finger lightly, and a technique instantly flew into their minds.

It was the method Li Fan had learned in his previous life from the Xuan Immortal Ark, universally used by the Dao Attainment Academy, the Celestial Pivot Institute, and the Severed Immortal Tower for researching, teaching, and passing down True Immortal seal script.

The Various Forms Method.

Every True Immortal seal script character was a projection of the power of a Dao.

Even approximate forms, though not genuine True Immortal seal script, still possessed incomparably destructive power.

If such power erupted within the Immortal Ark, it would certainly inflict irreparable damage upon it.

In order to study True Immortal seal script safely without triggering its power, generations of people aboard the Xuan Immortal Ark devoted immense effort to creating this method.

Every stroke of every character, even the motion of each brush movement, had been deliberately modified.

A dot was not truly a dot. A horizontal stroke was not truly horizontal. A sweeping stroke was not truly a sweeping stroke.

Combined together, they appeared to form characters, yet they were not truly characters.

Like the clumsiest possible imitation.

True Immortal seal script reproduced through this method retained only the outward appearance while reducing the original power by millions of times.

As a result, the influence of the True Immortal seal script during research could be safely ignored.

At the same time, when the genuine and complete True Immortal seal script was successfully reconstructed, the sudden surge of power many times greater than before could serve as an excellent indicator of success.

To truly unleash the power of the True Immortal seal script, one only needed to erase all the deliberate modifications at the moment of activation.

It was precisely because of this ingenious method that generations aboard the Immortal Ark had been able to study and pass down True Immortal seal script.

Within the Immortal Ark, only those accepted as disciples by the ruling elders were qualified to learn this technique.

Yet at this moment, Li Fan imparted this marvelous method to Yin Shangren and the others without any conditions, completely free of charge.

Whether it was the Various Forms Method, or the character [Seperation], both left these few utterly shaken.

If everything Li Fan had taught before had still remained within the realm of the mortal, then the character [Seperation] was undoubtedly genuine True Immortal power.

In the current cultivation world, to possess such power yet not hoard it for oneself, instead teaching it to others freely...

No matter what speculations Yin Shangren and the others had regarding Li Fan's motives, at this moment they were all moved by his selfless bearing.

"He truly deserves the title of Holy Teacher," they all sighed inwardly.

Li Fan's lecture continued.

Using the Various Forms Method, Li Fan once again wrote out the character [Seperation] and said frankly, "I have never seen the character [Seperation] itself. I merely worked backward from the residual power contained within relic artifacts bearing the character [Seperation], tracing it back to the origin of the True Immortal seal script."

"It is like blind men feeling an elephant. Errors are inevitable. The smaller the error, the more faithfully one can reproduce the original might of the True Immortal seal script. As for this character [Seperation], I have already achieved a similarity of ninety-eight percent. However, I have been unable to make any further progress for a long time."

Everyone stared hungrily at the character Li Fan had written.

They felt no contempt merely because it was only an imitation.

While they were studying it, faint and unusual fluctuations arrived from afar.

Yin Shangren and the others failed to notice them, but a sharp gleam flashed through Li Fan's eyes.

"They have finally arrived."

With a wave of his hand, he concealed the phantom Wooden Sword and the Inch Apart, Worlds Away Grand Formation. He himself shot toward the source of the fluctuations.

Not long afterward, two figures met head-on.

Li Fan looked at the person before him. It was none other than the Grand Elder of the Severed Immortal Tower, Zhong Daogong.

Zhong Daogong wore a solemn expression as he looked at Li Fan, confusion flashing through his eyes.

Earlier, aboard the Immortal Ark, he had sensed a familiar fluctuation of power erupt and then vanish nearby, so he had come to investigate.

He had originally assumed it was residual True Immortal power from a relic artifact. Unexpectedly, the source of that power turned out to be a cultivator.

How many years had it been since he had last seen a cultivator outside the Immortal Ark?

Zhong Daogong did not dare act carelessly.

"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, why you led me here..."

Li Fan merely chuckled.

"I think Fellow Daoist has misunderstood something. I was simply teaching my disciples about True Immortal seal script and did not expect it to attract your attention."

"I never imagined there would still be surviving cultivators at the edge of the Star Sea."

His tone was filled with delight and curiosity.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Daogong narrowed his eyes and examined Li Fan thoughtfully.

He keenly noticed the phrase "edge of the Star Sea." At the same time, Li Fan's claim of teaching True Immortal seal script caused his heart to tremble.

Without confirming Li Fan's intentions, Zhong Daogong refrained from making a move and continued probing.

"From your words, Fellow Daoist, it seems you come from the depths of the Star Sea? Could it be that civilization still survives within the Darkest Star Sea?"

Li Fan sighed.

"Along the way, I encountered nothing but emptiness. I had originally believed there were no other survivors within the Star Sea. I never expected to meet fellow cultivators again at the end of my journey."

The two exchanged words back and forth, probing each other.

After this round of verbal sparring, Zhong Daogong learned only that the other party had come from deep within the Star Sea. He remained completely ignorant regarding the nature, scale, and strength of the world from which Li Fan originated.

Clearly, a cultivator capable of crossing the Star Sea was no naive or kindhearted individual.

Zhong Daogong carefully examined Li Fan once more.

Unable to discern his background, Zhong Daogong suppressed the urge to capture him directly.

"Earlier, Fellow Daoist mentioned teaching disciples True Immortal seal script. I wonder..." Zhong Daogong changed the topic and continued probing.

Unexpectedly, Li Fan did not conceal anything this time and replied generously.

"The civilizations of the Star Sea have perished, while residual True Immortal power runs rampant. To survive, one naturally has to make use of these forces."

"After several thousand years of research, we have achieved modest results. Survival is no longer as difficult as it was in the beginning."

Li Fan's explanation happened to align perfectly with the philosophy of the Xuan Immortal Ark. Zhong Daogong nodded without objection.

"It seems your homeland's research into True Immortal seal script has reached an extraordinary level. To be honest, we have also studied True Immortal power for thousands of years. Yet we do not dare cross the Star Sea as freely as you do. We can only remain confined to one corner."

Li Fan smiled faintly.

"There is no need for Fellow Daoist to be modest. I can sense it from you."

"The scent of True Immortal seal script."

His tone carried a strange meaning.

Zhong Daogong's expression changed slightly.

Before Zhong Daogong could speak, Li Fan used his hand as a brush and casually wrote out the character [Seperation].

"Please take a look, Fellow Daoist. What do you think of this character?"

The faintly visible character floated in the void.

This time, Zhong Daogong could no longer conceal the shock in his heart. His figure retreated rapidly as he looked at Li Fan with extreme vigilance.

"Who exactly are you, Fellow Daoist? Why do you know our Xuan Immortal Ark's Various Forms Method?"

"Various Forms Method?" Li Fan looked puzzled before suddenly understanding.

"You mean the Similar Yet Different Method?"

"Naturally, this is a technique painstakingly developed by generations of our predecessors to analyze True Immortal seal script."

Li Fan looked at Zhong Daogong with great interest.

"Could it be that Fellow Daoist also knows this technique?"

Know it?

Zhong Daogong's expression flickered unpredictably.

His thoughts raced as he tried to recall everyone aboard the Immortal Ark who had inherited this method.

Not a single one showed any signs of having left the Ark.

"Could it really be a coincidence?"

For the first time, Zhong Daogong found himself uncertain.

He stared at the character [Seperation] that Li Fan had written.

"It has actually surpassed the Immortal Ark's research?"

Upon realizing this, Zhong Daogong was once again overwhelmed with shock.

Not only because the other party's research into the True Immortal seal script character [Seperation] exceeded that of the Immortal Ark.

More importantly, the other party had displayed such an incomparably precious True Immortal seal script to someone he had only just met.

Within the Immortal Ark, every single True Immortal seal script character was an absolute secret.

Even as Grand Elder of the Severed Immortal Tower, he had no authority to reveal them freely.

"This can only mean that, in his homeland, research into True Immortal seal script has already reached a certain height. The character [Seperation] no longer needs to be kept secret."

Zhong Daogong could not help but think this.

A thought gradually arose in his heart.

"Fellow Daoist, would you be interested in visiting as my guest?" Zhong Daogong asked.

Upon hearing this, hesitation immediately appeared on Li Fan's face.

Zhong Daogong fully understood Li Fan's caution and spoke frankly.

"If you are not at ease, we can remain here in the void of the Star Sea."

"The main reason is that I would like to exchange insights with Fellow Daoist regarding our research into True Immortal seal script."