My Longevity Simulation

Chapter 1090: A Millennium Later, Xu Ke

However, what surprised Li Fan was that these few individuals who had successfully passed the Oath of the Dharma-Transmitter, although they no longer held executive power, did not leave the core of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's authority. Instead, they were granted supervisory rights as a supplement to the Dharma-Transmitter Council.

It seemed that Jiang, after this incident, had also realized the problems within the Dharma-Transmitters. If not restrained, issues would surely arise again in the future.

"I wonder if Mo Rubin can ultimately pass the test of the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable."

"Revealing some details of the test illusion to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is harmless. After all, they have now mastered the method to enter it. With the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's resources, they will sooner or later find suitable candidates to enter the illusion."

Thinking this way, Li Fan transmitted a general account of the first scene in the illusion, [Ning Yuan Obtains the Lifespan Fruit], to Dharma-Transmitter Zhou. However, he did not mention that he had successfully passed the test. Instead, he fabricated a scenario based on the most likely plot development for a first-time entry.

During the obtaining of the Lifespan Fruit, he was severely injured by Manager Song. Although he barely preserved his life under Senior Brother Zhang's protection, he fell into a coma and remained dazed and muddled all day. Until one night, he was inexplicably possessed and lost consciousness.

Not long after, Dharma-Transmitter Zhou solemnly replied: "The information provided by Fellow Daoist is crucial. It will greatly aid our subsequent exploration of the illusion."

As a token of gratitude, Dharma-Transmitter Zhou, on behalf of the Dharma-Transmitter Council, bestowed upon Li Fan a nominal position as a senior elder of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. It held no real authority, but it allowed free access to the Alliance headquarters at any time, with a permission level only slightly lower than that of a Dharma-Transmitter.

"However, Fellow Daoist cannot assume this senior elder position. After all, in the eyes of other unaware Dharma-Transmitters, you have already been executed by Jiang for false accusation," Dharma-Transmitter Zhou reminded.

This so-called senior elder position was clearly intended to win over the Federation of All Worlds behind Li Fan. In the Xuantian Sect possession incident this time, the Federation of All Worlds had already demonstrated sufficient strength. It even possessed many secrets unknown to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

Deepening the cooperative relationship between the two sides with a nominal position was absolutely worthwhile. However, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance would never imagine that the so-called Federation of All Worlds was merely Li Fan's one-man show.

During the more than a year that Li Fan had been in seclusion and vanished, everything within the Federation had proceeded in an orderly manner, steadily developing according to the established guidelines, and periodically compiling reports to Li Fan.

He skimmed through each piece of intelligence one by one. Among them, the one that most caught Li Fan's attention was the report from the empire.

The location of the small world where Xu Ke resided was finally confirmed!

A weathered old man, carrying a coffin on his back. It matched exactly the image Li Fan had once seen. Although the imperial daughter was extremely excited to have found her ancestor, she did not let her enthusiasm cloud her judgment or disobey Li Fan's orders by meeting Xu Ke on her own.

"Then let me go meet him. I am still quite interested in Mr. Bai's contingency plan."

"Qinghui Prefecture."

Li Fan headed straight for the target location. "Although transforming into the seven-colored divine light allows for great speed, it pales in comparison to the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable's ability to arrive with a single thought."

In the trial illusion, although he had only temporarily borrowed Mr. Bai's body, returning to reality presented a stark contrast that left Li Fan with a faint sense of loss. Even a subtle regret stirred in his heart.

The moment this emotion arose, Li Fan's mind sharpened. He immediately circulated the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra, intending to dispel it. But the method that had always worked flawlessly now failed him.

"Hmph. There is nothing in this Xuanhuang Realm worth my regret. Even a transcendent immortal artifact, I could discard like a worn-out shoe!"

"A mere Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable, trying to disrupt my state of mind?"

The thought that after activating [Truth], all these lost opportunities could be reclaimed anew. In an instant, those minor discordant emotions in Li Fan's heart vanished completely.

"The Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Mantra is the reason I have been different from other cultivators since entering the Fallen Immortal Realm. Even back when it was the Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Mantra, it likely became a special marker for the Fallen Immortal Realm to identify me."

"When it involves the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable, it directly malfunctions. It seems unknown origins can never be fully trusted. In the end, everything must rely on oneself."

A flicker of gloom passed through Li Fan's eyes.

"Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Mantra..."

Before this, Li Fan had never entertained the idea of sharing this method with others. But this minor mishap served as a reminder to him.

"Passing it to a suitable person, encouraging them to inherit the position of Great Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable, or to inherit the immortal spiritual energy and venture beyond the High Wall, are both good ideas."

One face after another flashed rapidly before Li Fan's eyes. While pondering suitable candidates, Li Fan also arrived at Xu Ke's hiding place.

"This place... It seems similar to Nine Mountains Prefecture, formed from the remains of some demon beast."

At the entrance to the small world, Li Fan keenly detected a familiar aura. In the trial illusion, he had spent over a decade coexisting with a group of demon beasts, forming an instinctual familiarity. Although back in reality, he could still discern the lingering demon beast aura here.

"This is the growth of cognition."

In an instant, he cracked the formation restrictions at the small world's entrance. Li Fan entered quietly.

The empire's intelligence was accurate: this small world was a barren Gobi landscape. As far as the eye could see, everything was a hazy gray. In the distance, a towering stone mountain that seemed to connect heaven and earth was likely the only notable feature of the small world.

Li Fan was immediately drawn to it. Xu Ke was at the very summit of this stone mountain.

Li Fan tried to fly up, only to discover with some surprise that he could not take flight. This was not due to his own strength, but the special rules of this small world. Forcing flight was possible, but it would require preparing for the backlash from the small world's heavenly dao.

Li Fan did not want to sour the atmosphere right from the start. So he raised his head, his gaze piercing through thousands of miles of obstruction, landing directly on Xu Ke at the mountain's peak.

This white-haired elder also sensed something and cast his gaze over. Their eyes met.

In the next moment, Li Fan stepped forward. He did not fly, but tore through space, appearing beside Xu Ke. His expression calm, leaving only two lingering spatial rifts at the start and end points that had yet to dissipate.

"Fellow Daoist Xu Ke?"

Li Fan cut straight to the point, directly naming the white-haired elder's identity.

Xu Ke showed no surprise at Li Fan's sudden appearance. Instead, he asked straightforwardly: "You know me from the Fallen Immortal Realm?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fan's gaze sharpened. His usual foolproof tactic of seizing the initiative had failed this time.