My Longevity Simulation

Chapter 1245: Subduing Ruomu with Reason

“Indeed, the identity of being from the so-called same clan is truly useful. I never expected that a casual remark would make it agree on the spot.”

“What?” Upon hearing Lin Ling’s answer, Wang Xuanba’s expression changed.

“Ally with that old thing? Junior Sister, are you serious?”

The Earth Vein Ancient Tree’s shift from arrogance to deference truly left Wang Xuanba feeling disdainful.

“It was merely a deceptive remark to coax it. Ally…”

“Does it even deserve that?” Lin Ling’s tone remained calm, yet the profound indifference in her words was unmistakable.

“Now that it has joined the Holy Dynasty, could it possibly go back on its word? If it dares mention such a thing in front of me…” Lin Ling snorted coldly.

Wang Xuanba was momentarily stunned.

He had always placed some value on keeping promises, so Lin Ling’s open breach of word was somewhat difficult for him to accept.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Ling’s expression softened into a smile: “Senior Brother, the art of war never shuns deceit.”

“When dealing with enemies, if one must always keep one’s word and follow through, would that not be foolish?”

Wang Xuanba had no reply.

“Moreover, Senior Brother, do you remember what Master instructed us before we went to see the Earth Vein Ancient Tree?” Lin Ling asked again.

“Of course I remember. Master said that if the ancient tree remained stubborn, Junior Sister could replace it.” Wang Xuanba recalled and replied.

“The name Earth Vein Ancient Tree sounds quite domineering. At first I had some expectations, but after seeing its appearance with my own eyes, only disappointment remained.” Lin Ling’s answer left Wang Xuanba somewhat astonished.

“Too weak. Far too weak. The strongest point of the Earth Vein Ancient Tree is its unity with the Xuanhuang earth veins, allowing it to summon the surging power of earth veins across the entire Xuanhuang Realm. This is both its characteristic and its advantage, yet it also determines the upper limit of the Earth Vein Tree. Moreover, the body of the Earth Vein Ancient Tree is far too large. In the eyes of true experts, it is full of flaws.” Lin Ling shook her head slightly.

“My dream is to become a figure like Master. If I truly became some Earth Vein Tree, my strength might soar in the short term, but my future prospects would be completely severed. I am not foolish.”

“I can only continue deceiving that old thing and keep it on duty.”

Lin Ling gave Wang Xuanba a sideways glance: “Senior Brother, what kind of person do you take me for?”

Wang Xuanba gradually came to his senses. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he scratched his head and apologized on the spot: “I underestimated you, Junior Sister.”

He turned to look at the Earth Vein Ancient Tree in the Holy Emperor’s hall and nodded in agreement: “The ancient beings of Xuanhuang are strong, indeed. Yet they merely borrow the power of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao’s laws. When the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao flourishes, they naturally rise with it. But if the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao is trampled underfoot by a figure like the Immortal Ancestor, as it is today, they can only linger on in the shadows, reminiscing about their past glory.”

“I did not expect Senior Brother to be so cultured, speaking with such eloquence.” It was unclear whether Lin Ling was sincerely praising him or delivering a small jab of sarcasm.

“I did not think that far. I simply want to become stronger.”

“Enough talk. I am going to cultivate. Swallowing part of that old thing’s body this time truly yielded some gains. If I had known, I should have been more ruthless and devoured more.” Lin Ling’s slightly regretful voice echoed in Wang Xuanba’s ears.

Moments later, her figure gradually faded and her aura vanished.

Wang Xuanba smiled wryly and mocked himself for overthinking.

...

Xuanhuang Realm, Tianyu Prefecture.

A renowned scenic wonder of the Immortal Alliance.

A fissure several hundred li long snaked across the earth like a black scar.

Even from afar, one could faintly sense the endless chill emanating from within the fissure.

The closer one approached the fissure, the more rapidly the temperature plummeted.

Even Golden Core cultivators could not endure the low temperature here for long and could not linger.

At the bottom of the fissure abyss, bursts of deep blue light would occasionally erupt.

That was freezing cold air.

Yet if one stood beside the fissure and looked down, one would see countless lotus flowers composed of flames blooming within this icy abyss.

They were not cold flames, but truly scorching hot flame lotuses.

Cold and heat, completely contradictory yet intertwined, appeared simultaneously within this icy abyss.

The Faceless Holy Emperor of Great Qi, Li Ping’s figure, suddenly appeared outside this wondrous scene of ice abyss and fire lotuses.

Just like the countless tourists who came here, he stood quietly and gazed downward.

“Bell-like spirit and beautiful nurturing, the wonders of creation.”

After a long while, Li Ping could not help sighing inwardly. In his eyes, the scene here was actually different from what ordinary cultivators saw.

The blue ice abyss truly exuded a deep aura of death.

Pitch black and suffocating.

The blazing red fire lotuses, however, were pure white and radiated a vigorous life force.

What appeared to be cold and heat intertwining here was actually…“Black abyss, white flowers. Death abyss, life flowers.”

Li Ping stepped forward, trod on empty air, and his figure plummeted rapidly into the black abyss.

His disappearance drew no attention from the surrounding cultivators.

At this moment, from Li Ping’s perspective, the scenery around him suddenly stretched and twisted.

Although the white flowers of life did not seem far away, Li Ping had already been falling for a long time yet had not drawn any closer to them.

The entire black abyss space expanded and extended infinitely as he fell.

What came with it was a correspondingly thickening aura of death.

Sensing the death aura attempting to invade him, Li Ping sneered inwardly but did not pay it much heed. For an ordinary cultivator, even one at the Dao Integration realm, such black death aura would drastically reduce their lifespan upon contact.

Yet he, Li Ping, was the incarnation of the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao and part of the Xuanhuang laws. Even if it was a portion that had gone out of control, how could it harm him?

Ever since he had forcibly devoured the Xuanhuang evil thoughts, Li Ping had indeed sensed that the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao seemed to have grown somewhat distant.

He was certain, however, that this was merely the Heavenly Dao’s instinctive reaction after the evil thoughts were devoured.

After some more time passed, the bond between him and the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao would eventually return to normal. Although he was currently in a period of weakened connection, it was still not something the death aura here could shake.

Sure enough, even without any protective measures, the Holy Emperor Li Ping remained impervious to all laws. The black death aura merely swirled around him in layers.

It could find no opening at all.

Li Ping’s gaze pierced through the thick death aura and fixed directly on the flowers of life below.

“The boundary between death and life, the origin of all spirits.”

“The Xuanhuang Realm has become like this, yet it merely hides in this secret place, lingering on…”

“What use are you!”

A killing intent suddenly surged from Li Ping’s body.

It forcefully pushed back the death aura around him.

“Retreat before me!”

Li Ping shouted in a low voice. The layers of death aura beneath him actually parted, opening a passage.

The space no longer extended. Li Ping’s figure drifted forward and passed through it in an instant. A dense surge of life force rushed toward him. The white flowers of life were now within reach.

Black clouds of death floated and swirled overhead, refusing to disperse.

Facing the thick life force, Li Ping’s heart suddenly grew somewhat grave.

Compared with pure death aura, a large amount of useless life force was more like a deadly poison.

Because life force was, by nature, a beneficial state.

As the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, Li Ping could naturally enjoy this favor from heaven and earth. It was unknown how many years had passed since a cultivator not rejected by heaven and earth had come here.

The life force accumulated for several thousand years beside the black abyss and white flowers now seemed to have finally found an outlet. It surged madly toward Li Ping. Even though he intentionally tried to block it, he could not withstand the excessive abundance of vital energy here.

Inevitably, a portion still surged into Li Ping’s body.

Vital energy indeed brought certain benefits.

But Li Ping was not a pure Longevity Immortal cultivator who relied solely on his own cultivation.

Source power essence, the fortune of the Holy Dynasty, Heavenly Dao blessings...

Only through the combination of all these various forces had he achieved his current strength comparable to the Longevity Immortal realm.

By now, Li Ping’s condition had long reached a state of balance after his advancement.

At this moment, however, this balance was slowly being disrupted by the continuous influx of endless vital energy.

Li Ping’s hair, as if coming alive, grew wildly.

In the blink of an eye, it had already spread down to his ankles.

His body was also expanding in sync.

One zhang, two zhang...

Amid the creaking of his bones, in just a few breaths Li Ping had transformed into a three-zhang giant.

It certainly made him appear more majestic, yet for the current Li Ping this was not a good thing.

He furrowed his brows slightly and tried his best to convert and absorb the surging vital energy.

But the rate of shrinking was far slower than the rate of growth.

While maintaining the balance of the various forces within his body, Li Ping observed his surroundings and searched for a way to enter Ruomu’s hiding place.

After devouring the Xuanhuang evil thoughts, very few things in the Xuanhuang Realm could escape his sight. Even though some of the evil thoughts’ memories had grown blurry, as long as he saw it with his own eyes, he could quickly sense it again.

With a flicker of his figure, Holy Emperor Li Ping vanished from the bottom of the Black Abyss.

The vital energy that had lost its target for infusion suddenly became somewhat dazed. The white flowers swayed gently and could only draw the vital energy back.

A place filled with an eerie aura, like a world of faded, withered yellow leaves.

Li Ping’s nearly five-zhang-tall body suddenly appeared within it.

The boundless vitality he carried surged out from his body and spread toward the surroundings.

Yet in this strange environment, it seemed completely unable to propagate.

Soon, like autumn leaves withering, it transformed into withered yellow solid matter and drifted down from the air.

With an outlet for the unwanted vital energy, Li Ping gradually expelled the culprit causing the imbalance from his body.

His body slowly shrank.

However, because the internal balance had already shifted during that brief period earlier.

After Li Ping returned to normal, some details of his body did not revert; instead, they became part of his physical characteristics. For example, his height remained at three zhang and three chi, with ink-black hair hanging down to his waist.

His physique had also become fuller, with explosive power hidden beneath the golden-yellow robe.

Li Ping did not pay special attention to these changes.

They were merely external appearances. If he wished, he could revert to his original form at any time.

At this moment, his attention was focused on this eerie location.

The decaying scent that permeated here even made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

What concerned him more was the center of this place.

A colossal tree that reached the heavens stood quietly, yet its entire body was withered yellow and covered in spots.

Even Li Ping’s three-zhang-tall giant form was no more than an ant at the base of this massive tree.

On the withered yellow branches, countless cultivators hung densely packed.

Like fruits filling the tree.

All of them had their eyes closed, their faces showing strange, satisfied expressions.

Li Ping’s gaze swept across the area. Apart from this withered yellow ancient tree, he found no other figures.

“So only the main body is here...”

Li Ping knew that Ruomu had a clone that frequently went out to lure cultivators here, turning them into Golden Core fruits to vent the hatred in its heart.

It seemed to have gone out at the moment.

Li Ping was not in a hurry and continued to carefully observe this space.

On the towering trunk, faint deep scars could be seen, as if it had suffered some fatal injury.

Li Ping narrowed his eyes and attempted to awaken the connection between this heavenly creation and the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao.

But perhaps due to being infected by the withered yellow, Li Ping’s call received no response whatsoever. Instead, it provoked the ancient tree’s instinctive defense.

Specks of withered yellow began eroding from the ground beneath Li Ping’s feet, following the giant tree’s veins.

Li Ping deliberately lowered his defenses and absorbed a trace of the withered yellow into his body.

He wrapped it with golden source power essence to prevent it from spreading and then observed it carefully.

Although the withered yellow power was eerie, it could not break through the seal of the source power essence. From this withered yellow power, Li Ping sensed not only ordinary aging. He also sensed what felt like the decay of the entire heaven and earth.

It was as if the heavens were about to collapse, with utter decline fully revealed and beyond redemption.

“This is...”

“The world is heading toward ruin.”

Countless scenes emerged in his mind, all depicting events in various prefectures of the Xuanhuang Realm caused by the decay of heaven and earth, with countless calamities descending.

Yet Li Ping knew that in reality, these events that should have occurred in the prefectures of the Xuanhuang Realm had not taken place.

“Ruomu is the source of all spirits in the Xuanhuang Realm. To a certain extent, it truly reflects the vital state of the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“Ruomu has now taken on this appearance, yet the Xuanhuang Realm still appears full of vitality...”

Li Ping frowned slightly.

Soon he understood the answer.

“If there were no external injection of vital energy, the Xuanhuang Realm would surely decay in sync with Ruomu.”

“The source of this vital energy is...”

“The remnants of other immortal cultivation realms that have been devoured.”

“Although they were dismembered, during the process of fusion, the remaining vital energy was drawn from those immortal realm remnants.”

“Xuanhuang has thus regained new life...”

Li Ping said thoughtfully.

“This surgery is truly exquisite beyond compare.”

As the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao and the nominal victim, after realizing what had truly happened over these thousands of years, he could not help but express heartfelt admiration.

“Life and death are impermanent. Death and life are impermanent.”

“This old one was once an existence that controlled life and death, yet now I have fallen to such a state.”

“The world seeks to abandon me. How could I not feel hatred...”

Just as Li Ping was pondering, a strange voice suddenly sounded from behind him without any warning.

Li Ping knew that the owner of the voice was Ruomu.