My Longevity Simulation

Chapter 1350: Earthly Fissures Spread Throughout the Star Sea

Ever since comprehending the phantom Wooden Sword movement technique, this was the first time Li Fan had encountered a situation where this divine ability was so violently affected by the outside world.

He even had a faint premonition that if not for the fact that [Truth] had just absorbed the three pronged tree, allowing his understanding of the Transformations Between Truth and Falsehood to deepen another step...

Then that sudden plunge alone would have been enough to shatter the divine ability and leave him gravely injured at the very least.

Fortunately, Li Fan had improved, if only by a little.

It was precisely that tiny bit of progress that allowed him to barely keep the Wooden Sword phantom from collapsing and successfully enter the depression node within the Remnant World Great Wall.

This place was completely different from the depression basin Li Fan had encountered before, the one that stored residual True Immortal power.

The moment he stepped inside, he could clearly sense that the violent difference in elevation had created an environment entirely unlike the outside world.

It was as if the earth had suddenly split open, revealing a bottomless chasm.

Li Fan and the others had now fallen to the bottom of that abyss, looking up at the narrow strip of sky exposed above.

Only, the sky here was an endless expanse of lifeless darkness.

As for this fissure depression...

Li Fan did not dismiss the phantom Wooden Sword. It continued protecting Yin Shangren and Hundred Flowers.

He himself stepped outside the phantom and personally experienced the surroundings.

Darkness still filled everything.

But the darkness here was different from the dead void outside.

Instead, it resembled the night sky of midsummer. It was filled with vigorous vitality hidden beneath the darkness.

"The fissure node beneath the High Wall actually gathers such immense vitality?"

Li Fan was inwardly shocked.

After observing more carefully, he confirmed that this was no illusion.

Continuing his inspection, Li Fan discovered that aside from pure vitality, no living beings had yet been born here.

Moreover, the true extent of this place was nothing like it appeared at first glance. Rather than being a small depression, it stretched endlessly in every direction, seemingly without end.

Finding no immediate danger, Li Fan finally withdrew his divine ability.

Yin Shangren and Hundred Flowers looked around in astonishment.

The existence of such abundant vitality here clearly exceeded their understanding. Both remained extremely vigilant, fearing that some unknown creature might suddenly emerge from the surrounding darkness and attack them.

Only after seeing their reactions did Li Fan realize they were far less composed than he was.

Perhaps it was because they were experiencing the concept of the elevation of force for the first time. Having left the region they had inhabited since birth, their minds naturally became uneasy and unsettled.

It was much like ordinary mortals who had lived on a plateau all their lives suddenly finding themselves standing atop a sheer cliff or deep within an underground ravine, completely without the ability to protect themselves. Such drastic environmental changes naturally affected one's state of mind.

After speaking a few reassuring words, Li Fan led the two of them deeper into the fissure depression.

Silence filled everything.

Pure vitality, as pristine as that which had existed at the dawn of creation, flowed quietly beneath the ground like an underground river.

The vitality continuously rose upward.

Yet it could never escape the deep fissure.

It simply gathered and condensed within this place.

Li Fan keenly sensed that the vitality here differed significantly from the vitality that nurtured life within the Xuanhuang Realm.

If such an overwhelming amount of vitality existed inside the Xuanhuang Realm, it would undoubtedly trigger countless miraculous transformations. Mountains would rise from the earth, forests would stretch endlessly into the heavens, and countless new species and forms of life would inevitably be born.

But here, vitality was merely vitality.

It did not possess the conditions necessary for life to emerge or evolve. Instead, it resembled a stagnant pool, giving off an incomparably eerie feeling.

"Perhaps it is because the force of this place is simply too low."

Li Fan could not help thinking so.

After exploring slowly for more than half a day, the scenery around them showed almost no noticeable changes.

Frowning slightly, Li Fan instructed Yin Shangren and Hundred Flowers to remain where they were.

He then once again summoned the Wooden Sword phantom and sped forward at tremendous speed.

At his current escape speed, he could cross the entire Darkest Star Sea in less than a day.

Yet Li Fan was horrified to discover that this fissure depression was far longer than he had imagined.

As he continued onward, he also found that the fissure resembled an enormous maze, gradually branching into different directions.

At first, there were only a handful of forks.

But later, every branch divided into dozens or even hundreds of different passages.

Each of those passages soon split into countless more branches.

Eventually, despite possessing his heaven defying movement technique, Li Fan no longer dared venture deeper.

This fissure maze was simply too enormous.

He had explored at top speed for three full days.

In theory, that was enough time to traverse the entire Darkest Star Sea.

Yet even now, he could not see the end of the fissure maze.

Li Fan could only rely on his memory of the route and return the way he had come.

After explaining his discoveries to Yin Shangren and Hundred Flowers, both were deeply shaken.

"This strange fissure certainly does not exist only beneath the Remnant World Great Wall."

"It may be like an underground waterway, extending throughout every corner of the Darkest Star Sea," Yin Shangren said as realization dawned upon him.

Hundred Flowers nodded in agreement.

"I can vaguely sense the source of the vitality here. It does not come solely from the countless ruined worlds within the Remnant World Great Wall."

"It also comes from every corner of the silent Star Sea."

"It is like an underground river, drawing in every trace of newly born vitality and gathering it together like countless streams."

If the High Wall was the highest existence surrounding the entire Star Sea, then the fissure depression hidden beneath its nodes was the lowest point in the entire cosmos.

Most of the vitality restored from the destruction of the Star Sea slowly flowed through the countless fissures hidden beneath the Star Sea before ultimately converging here.

It was precisely because it had accumulated the overwhelming majority of the Star Sea's vitality over millions of years that even Li Fan found its sheer magnitude alarming.

"This magnificent creation could never have been accomplished by mortal hands..."

"Could it also be the work of a True Immortal? Just like the High Wall itself, perhaps it exists to completely seal away the vitality of the Darkest Star Sea."

Yin Shangren's expression shifted uncertainly.

Meanwhile, Hundred Flowers had gradually recovered from her earlier fear.

"Holy Teacher, may I harvest some of this vitality?" she asked.

Li Fan's eyes flickered as he pondered for a moment before replying,

"If you only take a small amount without disturbing the underground river of vitality, there should be no danger."

"But remember, do not be greedy. Stop while you are ahead. Otherwise..."

Li Fan looked toward the calmly flowing river of vitality, his expression becoming solemn.

"The quantity here is simply too vast. Once its overwhelming force erupts all at once, even vitality itself can become a weapon that kills."

Hundred Flowers nodded.

"I understand. In truth, I have no need for that much. I only need enough to awaken the Frozen Glazed World..."

Her voice grew quiet.

As she spoke, she revealed her Glazed Golden Body.

Within the dazzling golden and transparent figure lay the miniature image of an icy world, resembling a sculpture carved from crystal and jade.

Within it, one could vaguely make out countless former cultivators, sects, mountains, and rivers.

"Glazed..."

"...Bloom."

Hundred Flowers softly chanted.

Her golden body suddenly transformed into a thirty-two petaled glazed golden flower.

It radiated holiness and solemnity.

The glazed golden flower drifted into the river of vitality without causing the surrounding vitality to scatter.

It simply floated there quietly.

Its thirty-two petals slowly began to bloom.

Li Fan watched as strands of vitality were drawn out by those flower petals and continuously poured into the miniature world at the flower's center.

However, the immense vitality before them seemed extraordinarily condensed. It was far from easy to extract.

All thirty-two glazed golden petals worked together, yet only one or two tiny droplets, visible to the naked eye, appeared within the miniature world.

But even this tiny amount of vitality was like long-awaited rain after a devastating drought.

It was as if a withered flower had finally been watered, regaining its former freshness and vitality.

All kinds of miraculous transformations unfolded within that miniature world, the Wansheng Realm.

A look of overwhelming joy appeared on Hundred Flowers' face.

Even Yin Shangren was momentarily captivated by the astonishing sight.

Li Fan, however, noticed that because Hundred Flowers was extracting vitality, the immense life force slowly flowing in from the surroundings had begun to form a tiny vortex around her.

At first, the vortex was insignificant.

But before long, it began expanding at an astonishing rate.

It seemed as though the vitality throughout the entire underground fissure was surging toward them.

The overwhelming force, as though descending from the heavens to suppress and sweep away everything in its path, even caused Li Fan to look at it with caution.

"Enough!" Li Fan frowned and warned.

Fortunately, Hundred Flowers remained clear-headed and had not been blinded by immediate gains.

Although filled with reluctance, she ultimately withdrew the thirty-two glazed golden petals.

Without an outlet, the increasingly roaring underground river of vitality gradually calmed down once more.

However, the vitality that had already gathered did not disperse immediately. Instead, it formed a turbulent current at their location.

Under the constant scouring of this immense vitality, Li Fan and the others felt as though even their souls were about to be swept away along with it.

Li Fan had no choice but to strengthen the protection provided by the phantom Wooden Sword divine ability.

Looking at the seemingly tranquil yet actually bizarre and perilous surroundings, Yin Shangren suddenly came to a realization.

"I know where that contradictory and ever-present sense of danger comes from. What flows here is not merely vitality. Covering the surface of the vitality is another layer of unknown power that strips away vitality itself."

"It is precisely this force that continuously draws vitality from every corner of the Star Sea and seals it here."

Having returned to her normal form, Hundred Flowers nodded in agreement.

"Separating this force from pure vitality is precisely why extracting it was so difficult. Strictly speaking, the rank of this vitality-stripping power does not seem especially high. Even I can separate it from vitality."

"But..."

A trace of fear flashed across her face.

"There is simply far too much of it. Wherever there is vitality within this fissure, there is an equal amount of vitality-stripping power. We may withstand a few waves, but we could never survive an endless torrent."

As she spoke, Hundred Flowers glanced at Li Fan.

After pausing briefly, she continued.

"Perhaps only you, Holy Teacher, with your extraordinary movement techniques, could survive."

Li Fan did not reply.

Instead, he reached out to touch the rushing river of vitality around them.

The erosion caused by the vitality-stripping force was immediately apparent.

The instant his hand came into contact with the current, it turned deathly pale.

It was as though all the flesh had been drained away, leaving even the bones faintly visible beneath.

Moreover, this loss of vitality gradually spread toward the rest of his body.

Li Fan decisively severed his own arm, finally halting the continued spread of the vitality-stripping force.

The severed hand fell into the River of Vitality.

Without the protection of its original body, it quickly melted away like wax beneath intense heat before disappearing completely.

It became part of the river itself.

"This power..."

After regenerating his arm, Li Fan flexed it slightly while recalling the subtle sensations he had experienced.

This was not an ordinary extraction of vitality.

Rather, it instantly washed away the very foundation upon which vitality depended.

Without the skin, where could the hair attach?

Once the foundation disappeared, vitality no longer had anything to cling to and could only drift along with the current.

It was an incomparably mysterious sensation.

Li Fan still could not comprehend what this so-called foundation of vitality truly was.

Yet he could clearly sense its disappearance.

"As expected, truly inconceivable."

"But..."

"It seems to share certain similarities with the High Wall."

Li Fan pondered.

"The so-called High Wall is an absolute restriction imposed by supreme laws. There is no path ahead. Or rather, there simply is no 'ahead.'"

"The vitality-stripping force within this fissure, meanwhile, causes the very foundation that sustains life to disappear."

"..."

The underground basin of the fissure lay hidden beneath the ordinary Star Sea.

Like countless underground rivers, it spread throughout the entire Star Sea.

Its sheer scale made it obvious that only the being who constructed the High Wall could possibly have created it.

"Perhaps, just as Yin Shangren guessed, it truly exists to extract and seal away the vitality born throughout the Star Sea."

But Li Fan soon frowned slightly.

It certainly extracted vitality.

Yet it did not extract it completely.

Because the immeasurable vitality gathered by the fissures over countless millennia still lay quietly stored here.

True, entering these underground fissures was extraordinarily difficult.

Li Fan had traveled between the Remnant World Great Wall countless times without ever discovering that minuscule entrance.

But difficult did not mean impossible.

By pure coincidence, someone could still stumble inside.

Just as Xu Ke had this time, accidentally entering the fissure after being swept in by the rampaging echoing star force.

"If its true purpose were to completely extinguish the Star Sea's vitality, then with the power to create both the High Wall and these underground fissures, it could easily have extracted all this vitality beyond the High Wall."

"But instead, it deliberately left everything within the Star Sea itself..."

Li Fan's expression became increasingly thoughtful.

"Either the creator of the fissures and the creator of the High Wall are two different beings."

"Or this was done deliberately."

A complete image of the Darkest Star Sea suddenly appeared within Li Fan's mind.

Towering High Walls surrounded the Star Sea on every side, sealing it completely.

Beneath the Star Sea, countless underground fissures intertwined like an immense network, extracting and preserving its vitality.

At the very edge of the Star Sea.

The highest High Wall.

And the deepest underground fissures.

Converged into one.

"What a magnificent spectacle."

"For the living beings within the Star Sea, however, both are symbols of utter despair."

"But..."

"Perhaps these underground fissures are not."

The scene before Li Fan changed once again.

"The Star Sea recovered from destruction. Yet nurturing life again could never happen overnight."

"Especially since the residual power of the True Immortals has lingered for millions of years without dissipating. Even if new vitality emerged, it would merely become contaminated by the remaining True Immortal power almost immediately. Just like a scorching desert. Even if a brief rainfall comes during the day, it quickly evaporates beneath the blazing sun."

"The slowly emerging vitality scattered throughout the Star Sea is simply wasted. It cannot truly give birth to living beings."

"But if all of that vitality were gathered together..."

Li Fan slowly narrowed his eyes.