My Longevity Simulation

Chapter 1040: The Secret of the Du'e Scripture

In the gloomy grand hall above, several thin threads crisscrossed in a web.

One after another, paper figures that appeared entirely identical at first glance, but upon closer inspection revealed subtle differences in their facial expressions, hung neatly from these threads.

The passage of time had faded them, turning the paper figures a pallid, withered yellow, as if bleached by the years.

With Li Fan's abrupt intrusion, countless paper figures stirred without wind, swaying eerily.

Li Fan felt, in that instant, the gazes of all these paper figures converge upon him.

As if bound by chains, Li Fan's soul immediately lost its ability to act independently.

Fortunately, the swaying paper figures gradually stilled once more.

The pressure weighing on Li Fan also lessened bit by bit.

Once he had recovered his normal state, Li Fan did not choose to act rashly. For he vaguely sensed that within the grand hall, there lingered one gaze still fixed upon him, unyielding.

Following his intuition, Li Fan looked ahead, only to see something lurking in the shadows before him.

Like a venomous snake coiled tightly, staring at its prey, poised to strike at any moment.

He approached slowly.

Li Fan still refrained from moving, instead waiting quietly for the mass of shadow to draw nearer.

Responding to all changes with immovability.

The shadow's approach brought ever-increasing pressure upon Li Fan with each passing moment.

Faint whispers seemed to echo in his ears, as if urging Li Fan to strike at once.

But Li Fan, who had perceived every subtle shift around him, merely sneered inwardly.

During this period of motionless observation, he had already glimpsed the secret hidden within.

The shadow's approach, and the life-or-death pressure it brought, were entirely illusions.

All to compel the intruder into the grand hall to attack the shadow.

And the true nature of that shadow was...

Li Fan's vision shifted abruptly, the shadows dispersing to reveal its true form: a rope riddled with holes.

The aura emanating from it was one Li Fan recognized all too well.

It was the restriction left by the Immortal Ancestor!

"The Du'e Sect is no simple matter; even the restrictions left by the Immortal Ancestor have been corroded to this extent."

"No wonder, on the mountain path and in the small courtyard, I encountered the Du'e Sect's testing methods."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, scanning the countless paper figures in the grand hall.

At this moment, the faces of the paper figures all seemed to twist into eerie smiles.

Then, they shifted to expressions of utter innocence.

"From that fleeting glimpse in the vision just now, it seems these paper figures are all transformations of Du'e Sect cultivators?"

"But there are far too many paper figures."

As Li Fan pondered this, he released a thread of spiritual energy, attempting to pluck down one of the paper figures hanging from the threads.

As expected, his spiritual energy met with nothing.

The paper figures in the grand hall seemed entirely illusory, lacking any physical form.

Li Fan extended a strand of divine sense, attempting to make contact with the paper figures. Yet he still could not touch them.

"It seems that only the Du'e Sect's secret method can manipulate these paper figures."

"Destroying the restriction here..."

Li Fan's gaze flickered, and in an instant, he changed his mind.

"I will not destroy it; instead, I intend to repair this restriction!"

The Du'e Sect's way of doing things truly filled Li Fan with disgust. Like a turtle shrinking into its shell, they chose to fuse with the Xuanhuang heaven and earth to evade disaster.

Relying entirely on a possible savior.

Although effective, it was utterly unworthy of the dignity befitting one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.

More crucially, within the Du'e Sect, Li Fan felt constantly uncomfortable. It was as if they were naturally at odds, leaving one uneasy and ill at ease.

His soul clone stood motionless in the grand hall, while his true body, outside the Du'e Sect, began using the Dissociation Disc to reverse-engineer the formation's decryption.

With the previous experience as a guide, it took only seven days to successfully derive the formation for repairing the Immortal Ancestor's restriction.

Li Fan in the grand hall immediately took action.

"Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin. If I can successfully repair the Immortal Ancestor's restriction, it proves that my derivation of it is flawless. The same method can destroy it."

A seven-colored brush seemed to appear in his hand, and he sketched in the air.

Correspondingly, the somewhat rotten rope at the center of the grand hall slowly regained its vitality.

Light once again enveloped the gloomy hall.

But Li Fan's action seemed to enrage the countless suspended paper figures.

They shook violently once more, their facial expressions turning to anger.

They stared fixedly at Li Fan.

In an instant, sounds like ghostly wails and demonic howls echoed in Li Fan's ears.

"Noisy!"

Li Fan bellowed, utterly unmoved. Instead, he accelerated the repair process.

The paper figures' roars could not halt Li Fan at all.

The rope representing the restriction reemerged from the center of the grand hall, extending all the way to the entrance.

"Boom!"

After a violent tremor, Li Fan returned to the outside of the grand hall.

It was still the spacious courtyard, but the grand hall had shrunk to the size of a toy.

Fixed in place on the central open ground by the restriction rope.

Only then did Li Fan notice the traces of the damaged restriction hidden in the shadows.

The grand hall trembled continuously, still attempting to struggle.

Li Fan's gaze turned icy cold as he continued the repair work.

Once the restriction in the courtyard was fully repaired, the scene shifted, and Li Fan found himself back at the stone steps leading up the mountain.

The restrictions here were the most complex.

Fortunately, the vast majority remained relatively intact. The only missing section on this sole mountain path was due to erosion by the Du'e Sect's power.

After Li Fan mended the incomplete restriction, the mountain path naturally vanished without a trace.

The view before him shrank further.

The so-called Du'e Sect finally revealed its true form.

Beneath layers of restrictions, a book unfolded from the center.

The book contained no text, only relief-like images of mountains and cultivators.

As the pages turned naturally, the scenes within shifted and changed.

Yet they were all mere silhouettes, appearing comical yet eerie.

Gazing at the book before him, Li Fan observed it carefully for a long time, deep in thought.

"The Du'e Sect was indeed exterminated by the Immortal Ancestor back then."

"But this was precisely what they sought. Seeking life in death, the entire sect transformed into another form of existence."

"This book..."

"It bears a striking resemblance to the Genesis Tablet. However, while the Genesis Tablet records all things in the Xuanhuang Realm, this Du'e Book only depicts matters within the Du'e Sect."

"That was originally the case. But the Du'e Sect's people have become paper figures, scattered throughout the Xuanhuang Realm. Thus, through the eyes of the paper figures, one can similarly glimpse all things in the Xuanhuang from this Du'e Book."

Amid the fleeting shadows of continuously turning pages, Li Fan occasionally glimpsed familiar scenes from the Xuanhuang Realm and pondered silently.

At this point, Li Fan's purpose for the trip had already been achieved.

He had verified that the formation targeting the Immortal Ancestor's restriction was flawless.

But gazing at the Du'e Book now suppressed once more by the power of the Immortal Ancestor's restriction, Li Fan's thoughts inevitably stirred anew.