My longevity simulation

The object bound by golden chains was shrouded in a hazy radiance.

Its details could not be clearly seen, yet there was no doubt it was an enormous existence.

Compared to the Immortal Ancestor’s size, it was nearly as vast as half of a prefecture within the Xuanhuang Realm.

And yet, as the Immortal Ancestor dragged this colossal mass along, it seemed he felt no strain at all.

His expression remained unchanged, as calm and cold as eternal ice.

With that massive orb of light trailing behind him, the Immortal Ancestor resembled a comet flying backward through the endless dark void.

In just a few moments, he vanished completely from sight.

The scene within the Water Mirror Technique ended there, but Han Zhong did not stop his narration.

“What I just described,” he said, “is only one of the many scenes I witnessed during the long years of my imprisonment.”

As Han Zhong spoke, he repeatedly cast the Water Mirror Technique.

Before Li Fan, more than a dozen shimmering screens appeared.

Each displayed a similar image, yet with faint differences.

In every one, the Immortal Ancestor was dragging a glowing sphere behind him with golden chains.

The only difference was that the light spheres varied in size.

“These scenes look far too alike,” Han Zhong muttered.

“To the point that I even began to doubt myself, wondering if despair had driven me to hallucinate.”

He looked at his own conjured visions with a face full of confusion.

Li Fan, however, knew this was certainly no illusion.

The Immortal Ancestor’s image could be imagined from a statue he had once seen, but those golden chains behind him…

With Han Zhong’s cultivation only at the Golden Core stage, there was no way he could have drawn such details unless he had truly seen them with his own eyes.

Because Li Fan had seen those very same golden chains before.

They were the ones from the Floating Starry Sky Formation recorded in the memories of Ji Yuzhen, the Dharma King of the Xuantian Sect.

The Floating Starry Sky Formation could use those golden chains to capture pocket worlds and small realms.

Thus, Li Fan naturally arrived at a reasonable speculation.

“Could it be,” he thought, “that what the Immortal Ancestor is dragging behind him are other worlds?”

“He left the Xuanhuang Realm, traveling through the pitch-black sea of stars, to collect the remaining fragments of the cultivation worlds scattered throughout the cosmos?”

In an instant, countless thoughts surfaced in Li Fan’s mind.

“What is the purpose of doing all this?”

“Where are these cultivation worlds now?”

“Could it be that controlling the Xuanhuang Realm alone is not enough for him, and he seeks to devour more cultivation realms to advance even further?”

“To break through and become a True Immortal?”

Combining all the information he had recently gathered on the Xuantian Sect, Li Fan derived what seemed the most reasonable conclusion.

Just as Li Fan fell silent in deep thought, Han Zhong noticed his lack of response. Believing that Li Fan also thought he had hallucinated due to despair, Han Zhong hesitated for a moment before adding,

“In fact, besides the Immortal Ancestor, I once saw another person.”

“I had never seen that person before, and he appeared only once.”

“That is why I believe what I witnessed may not have been an illusion at all.”

As he spoke, Han Zhong once again activated the Water Mirror Technique.

The image that appeared made Li Fan’s heart tremble violently.

Because the figure soaring through the void was one of Li Fan’s deepest psychological shadows.

The Heavenly Doctor (Tianyi).

The Heavenly Doctor flew swiftly through the darkness, surrounded by a white, sacred radiance.

Unlike the Immortal Ancestor, there were no golden chains dragging anything behind him.

He merely paused and moved again, as if making calculations with his fingers while traversing the starry void.

After successfully discerning the direction, he hurriedly flew onward.

“Heavenly Doctor actually managed to escape the pull of the Immortal Ruins?”

“How could that be possible?”

The instant Li Fan saw Heavenly Doctor, that thought surged up in his mind.

Utterly shocked, he quickly glanced toward Han Zhong.

He even began to suspect that this might all be some scheme fabricated by Han Zhong against him.

Although Heavenly Doctor’s true cultivation level was unknown, Li Fan had never once dared to underestimate him.

Even now, though Li Fan was considered invincible beneath the Longevity Immortal Realm, he would not claim he could gain any advantage if he faced Heavenly Doctor.

Heavenly Doctor’s identity was shrouded in mystery.

He could issue missions through the Tianxuan Mirror.

Yet aside from that single mission involving the Cloud-Water Diagram, Li Fan had never been able to find any trace of him within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance during his many reincarnations.

It was as if Heavenly Doctor, though technically part of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, stood in a different position from ordinary cultivators.

More like Emperor Sanmo, serving in some “guest elder” capacity, rarely showing himself in public.

Moreover, Heavenly Doctor’s abilities were extraordinary.

That secret art of observation, listening, inquiry, and pulse diagnosis could peer directly into the heart of a cultivator. Other than Heavenly Doctor, Li Fan had never seen anyone else capable of such a thing.

But even after already assuming the highest possible estimation of Heavenly Doctori’s true cultivation, Li Fan never imagined that Heavenly Doctor could, like the Immortal Ancestor, could ignore the restraints of the Immortal Ruins to leave the Xuanhuang Realm and wander freely through the Darkest Star Sea.

“To be capable of what even Longevity Realm experts cannot accomplish…”

“What in the world…”

Li Fan’s heart trembled violently.

But soon he calmed himself down.

“No, that doesn’t necessarily mean Heavenly Doctor’s strength has surpassed the Longevity Immortal Realm.”

“The Longevity Immortal Realm is indeed powerful, but the price is that one becomes deeply bound to the Xuanhuang Realm itself.”

“Unless one achieves transcendence like the Immortal Ancestor, they will never be able to leave this world.”

“Even without the Immortal Ruins, that remains unchanged.”

“This doesn’t mean Longevity Immortal Realm cultivators cannot resist the pull of the Ruins.”

“Heavenly Doctor, however, never attained Longevity. Perhaps for that very reason, he can move freely beyond the bounds of the Xuanhuang Realm.”

…

After slowly organizing his thoughts, Li Fan’s mood gradually steadied.

Han Zhong, who had been observing him closely, could not discern any change in Li Fan’s inner state.

Li Fan’s unchanging expression gave nothing away.

With a trace of regret, Han Zhong continued, “Aside from the scenes I’ve already described, I didn’t see anything else.”

“I don’t know how long I remained within that invisible bubble. For most of the time, I was surrounded by absolute darkness.”

“I’m amazed I didn’t go insane from it.”

“Also, I discovered that inside that bubble, I showed no signs of aging.”

“At first, I thought if I were to suffer such endless confinement, it might be better to end my own life.”

“But not long ago, for some reason, the bubble seemed to encounter something.”

“It began to shake and shrink…”

“I thought I was doomed,” Han Zhong said with some relief, “but before the bubble completely collapsed, there was a loud bang, and somehow, I found myself back in the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“Of course, when I saw that vast plain, I had no idea it was the Nine Mountains Prefecture. Only after meeting some cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance and questioning them did I finally understand.”

Han Zhong recounted his strange experience in full detail.

While Li Fan was still deep in thought, he suddenly heard Han Zhong’s voice tremble with astonishment, “You are…”

But the words were not directed at him.

Startled, Li Fan turned around—and saw that at some unknown moment, a figure had silently appeared in the room.

It was—

Heavenly Doctor!