My longevity simulation

“Devouring your power?”

Upon hearing this, Li Fan was startled.

The ability Tianyang spoke of naturally originated from the spatial power of the Spirit of Heaven and Earth—Ink Stone.

It was a manifestation of the Xuanhuang Laws, and once a cultivator absorbed it through the New Method, even the current Xuanhuang Realm had no means of stripping it away.

Yet, in this bizarre and remote small world, it was being devoured?

“Senior Brother, don’t worry. To me, those unknown entities are like mere ants crawling all over me.”

“It may sting or itch, but they pose no real threat to my life.”

Tianyang transmitted an image, briefly conveying his thoughts.

However, Li Fan did not lower his guard.

This Soul Shade Realm was clearly different from what the 115th Immortal Alliance Expedition Team had detected upon their arrival.

With heightened vigilance, Li Fan and Tianyang began exploring the Soul Shade Realm.

This small world was not vast—in fact, its area was even smaller than the Spiritwood Realm.

But strangely, Li Fan could not find any of the spiritual entities described by the Immortal Alliance Expedition Team.

The vast land was dim and gloomy, without any noticeable changes in terrain.

It was composed entirely of gray soil.

Not a single plant or animal could be found—not even an intact rock.

Sweeping his divine sense across the Soul Shade Realm, Li Fan discovered that apart from himself and Tianyang, there was no other presence.

With a serious expression, Li Fan picked up a handful of the gray soil and examined it carefully.

It seemed to be nothing more than ordinary dirt.

Yet, as he observed his own hand—only moments after coming into contact with the soil—he noticed charred markings, as if it had been burned.

Li Fan immediately knew this was no ordinary substance.

“No pain. The corrosion is completely silent.” His eyes flickered with thought.

A surge of vital energy emerged from his body, attempting to heal the wound on his hand.

However, to his shock, the energy he injected seemed to become nourishment for the scorched area!

The blackened flesh rapidly expanded, and in mere moments, it began spreading toward the rest of his body.

Without hesitation, Li Fan decisively severed his own hand.

What happened next made his pupils contract sharply.

The severed flesh and blood hand, after landing on the gray soil—

Instantly faded, turned to ash, and merged with the earth.

“What in the world…?”

Li Fan looked at the endless expanse of gray soil, feeling an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

The eerie nature of this place far exceeded his imagination.

Just as he was contemplating leaving, Tianyang suddenly sent a voice transmission.

“Senior Brother, the strength of this devouring force varies in different areas.”

“Perhaps we can determine the anomaly’s source based on its intensity.”

Li Fan hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Receiving Li Fan’s approval, Tianyang began sensing his surroundings while swiftly flying over the Soul Shade Realm.

Soon, he locked onto a particular location.

There, the devouring force was extraordinarily strong.

Li Fan could faintly sense an unseen fluctuation emanating from Tianyang’s body—

As if Tianyang was locked in an intense battle with an equally formidable opponent.

After only a short while, Tianyang was forced to retreat.

“It feels like being devoured by a swarm of countless ants. Senior Brother, do you not feel it?” Tianyang asked through a voice transmission.

Li Fan shook his head. He simply controlled his Seven-Colored Divine Light and flew toward the location.

Indeed, he felt nothing unusual.

However, deep in his heart, he had a vague premonition—if he were to use fire-element spiritual power like before,

The consequences would not be as simple as merely having his physical body frozen into a sculpture.

Thus, Li Fan completely suppressed his internal spiritual energy.

He chose to rely solely on his physical body and the power of the Seven-Colored Divine Light to proceed.

Upon arriving above the target location, Li Fan carefully observed his surroundings, attempting to find useful clues.

He soon noticed something unusual.

He had previously investigated the entire Soul Shade Realm and found it to be an absolutely flat terrain.

But this particular spot…

Seemed to be slightly raised.

As if something was buried beneath the gray soil.

This time, Li Fan was more experienced. With the Seven-Colored Divine Light protecting his right hand, he began digging into the soil.

He dug deeper and deeper until, suddenly, his fingers touched a hard object.

His expression grew solemn as he retrieved it from the depths of the gray soil.

The layer of accumulated gray dust on the object disappeared shortly after leaving the ground.

Revealing its true form.

“This is…?”

Li Fan was momentarily stunned.

What he held in his hand was a human skull.

However, unlike an ordinary skull, this one had what appeared to be a third eye at the center of its forehead—a hollow cavity the size of an eye socket.

Additionally, the skull naturally bore intricate gold-and-black markings.

Flipping it over to examine the interior, Li Fan was shocked to find that the inside of the skull seemed to be covered in mold.

Clusters of gray spots—ghastly and unsettling.

Even more disturbingly, these gray spots seemed to have a will of their own.

After lying dormant for who knows how many years, the moment they detected the presence of a living being nearby, they began to wriggle eerily.

As if they were exploring their surroundings.

A deep, indescribable sense of danger suddenly surged in Li Fan’s heart.

Without hesitation, he unleashed the Seven-Colored Divine Light, forming a perfect seal.

It completely isolated his presence.

Only then did the gray mold spots settle down again.

Staring at the peculiar skull now encased within the glowing sphere of divine light, Li Fan frowned slightly.

“A skull with three eyes… similar to a human, but also different. Clearly, this being did not originate from the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“It seems that the disaster that befell the Soul Shade Realm was caused by these gray mold spots.”

“Could it be… that this foreign entity brought the gray mold spots here, turning this place into a desolate gray land?”

“And this instigator… was ultimately consumed by the gray mold spots, leaving behind nothing but this skull.”

“The only reason it remained intact was because of the black-and-gold runes engraved upon it.”

…

A possible answer formed in Li Fan’s mind.

“This place is located at the farthest edge of the Xuanhuang Realm… It’s very likely that it has already reached the boundary of another cultivation realm.”

“This three-eyed being must have come from that realm.”

“Did he come here seeking refuge?”

“But in doing so, he brought this terrifying gray mold with him.”

A series of images flashed through Li Fan’s mind.

He realized that even the Seven-Colored Divine Light was not enough to completely resist the power of the gray mold spots.

Even though it was merely sealing them, he could still feel the divine light being steadily consumed.

If not for the Five Elements Cave-Heaven providing an endless supply of power, the seal would have already collapsed.

After contemplating for a moment, Li Fan did not return the skull to its original location.

Instead, he attempted to store it inside his storage ring.

Surprisingly, it was abnormally smooth.

There was no resistance whatsoever—it was effortlessly sealed inside.

However, when he observed it through the storage ring, he found that the gray mold spots remained active.

Not only were they still consuming the power of the Seven-Colored Divine Light…

Even the space within the storage ring itself was starting to become unstable.