My longevity simulation

"It is an ingenious method of concealment. Only those who deliberately search for these objects and know they may contain hidden secrets will notice anything unusual about them."

"As for everyone else..."

"They are nothing more than ordinary objects."

Everyone present gradually understood.

"If Brother Li had not accidentally uncovered the secret hidden within that figurine, then even after another thousand years, our Immortal Ark might never have discovered anything unusual about these relics," Lu Yuzhi said with a sigh.

"The problem now is that although we know they are extraordinary, we still have no way to uncover their secrets."

"Haha, there is no need to worry. We have already deciphered True Immortal seal script. Are we really supposed to be helpless before a few relics? Could it be that Sun Piaomiao is even greater than a True Immortal?"

The elders of the Immortal Ark were full of confidence.

And indeed, their talent was extraordinary.

After observing the relics continuously for seven days, someone finally discovered something unusual.

"Everyone, look carefully at this small cauldron."

The speaker was Mo Yinfeng, who was usually quiet and devoted entirely to his own research.

"During our previous examinations and appraisals, the Immortal Ark concluded that it was simply a supreme-grade alchemy treasure. It even contains a Cave Heaven space capable of generating spiritual energy on its own and cultivating spiritual herbs and crops. However..."

As he spoke, Mo Yinfeng struck out with a [Reveal] character.

The Medicine King Cauldron was immediately enveloped by it.

As though submerged within hazy luminous mist, tangible lines of varying thickness gradually emerged from the surrounding fog.

They sliced through space and extended toward different directions.

In an instant, they disappeared beyond everyone's field of vision.

"This is..."

"So the Medicine King Cauldron is not unique? It is connected to other existences somewhere within the Star Sea?"

The expressions of the Immortal Ark elders all changed.

Li Fan also narrowed his eyes.

Among everyone present, only he noticed that one of those misty lines pointed precisely toward the direction of the Xuanhuang Realm.

As for the others...

"The overwhelming majority extend toward the Remnant World Great Wall. However, another two or three lead somewhere deep within the Darkest Star Sea."

One of the abilities of the [Reveal] character was to reveal the hidden connections between all things.

The secret concealed by the Medicine King Cauldron for ten thousand years had finally been exposed beneath its illumination.

"If my guess is correct, Sun Piaomiao forged many Medicine King Cauldrons back then. These cauldrons exist as a single interconnected whole, linked together through some mysterious connection. Even when separated by more than half the star sea, they can still sense each other's existence."

Zhong Daogong gazed into the empty air, as though those vanished lines were still visible.

"Judging from the records left behind during Sun Piaomiao's stay aboard the Immortal Ark, he once traveled extensively throughout the Star Sea. The places he visited surpassed even those explored by the Immortal Ark. Since forging a Medicine King Cauldron is no simple matter, deliberately scattering them throughout the Star Sea must have served a purpose. One possibility is that he used their locations as anchors to determine his own position," Mo Yinfeng said calmly.

"I am afraid that was not the only purpose. At that time, the world-destroying catastrophe had not yet erupted. The locations of the cultivation worlds throughout the Star Sea were relatively stable. If his goal was merely to avoid getting lost, there were countless easier methods. Why would he go to such extraordinary lengths?"

"Exactly. If I remember correctly, the coordinates of each cultivation world were not considered highly classified information in those days. Since Sun Piaomiao could already traverse the Star Sea, obtaining accurate coordinates would not have been difficult."

The elders discussed the matter among themselves.

Mo Yinfeng quietly listened.

Only after everyone fell silent did he cough lightly before speaking in a somewhat distant tone.

"If his purpose had merely been to explore the known Star Sea, then naturally none of this would have been necessary."

"But what if his goal was to travel beyond the Great Void?"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed.

"The Great Void?"

It was a term Li Fan had never heard before.

The confusion on his face was genuine.

He turned toward Zhong Daogong, whose face showed thoughtful contemplation, hoping for an explanation.

After remaining silent for a while, Zhong Daogong slowly explained.

"Back then, the Xuan Immortal Ark traveled throughout every explored star region. Even in the wilderness at the very edge of the Star Sea, our merchants maintained permanent stations."

"However, the civilized regions of the Star Sea are not infinite. Beyond the outermost wilderness lies an endless expanse of absolute nothingness."

"It is called the Great Void."

"No one knows how vast it truly is."

"No one has ever managed to pass beyond it."

"Every cultivator who attempted to cross the Great Void ultimately shared the same fate."

"They became completely lost."

His expression turned solemn.

"However, compared to today's Darkest Star Sea, the explorable Star Sea of that era was filled with life. There was abundant room for cultivation worlds to flourish. The vast majority of cultivation worlds had not even reached the desolate frontier, so very few cultivators actually cared about the existence of the Great Void."

"But cultivators are, by nature, beings who seek to break every limitation imposed upon them."

"So there were always a handful who wished to cross the Great Void and uncover whatever secrets lay beyond."

"Sun Piaomiao was clearly one of them."

"Unfortunately, no one ever succeeded."

"He was no exception."

"The Great Void. The High Wall."

"It seems the predicament of cultivators has remained unchanged since ancient times," Li Fan said quietly.

At the same time, he thought to himself.

"'The Great Void. Could this have been the reason Sun Piaomiao failed to continue his exploration? If so, then the twelve coordinates he left behind become rather suspicious. Given the vastness of the regions he explored, he certainly visited far more than twelve cultivation worlds. Yet he intentionally preserved only these...'"

"'What secret was so important that it could not be stated directly, forcing him to conceal it in this manner?'"

Countless questions arose in Li Fan's mind.

"Unfettered Free, Xuanshang, Ocean of Light, Beige, Spiritual Mound..."

Having once served as the Young Sect Master of the Medicine King Sect, Li Fan naturally knew of the information that the founding ancestor Sun Piaomiao had passed down.

At the time, however, he had not paid much attention to it.

First, because the great catastrophe had descended and countless cultivation worlds had already been destroyed.

Second, because of the existence of the Immortal Ruins. Even if those cultivation worlds had survived, their spatial positions would inevitably have shifted.

The coordinates Sun Piaomiao left behind had therefore become meaningless.

"'But what if Sun Piaomiao had already foreseen that such a future would arrive, and deliberately left the Medicine King Cauldrons behind to assist in locating them?'"

A bold speculation suddenly appeared in Li Fan's mind. There was no concrete evidence supporting it. It was simply an inspiration that flashed through his thoughts.

Meanwhile, the discussion among the Immortal Ark elders continued.

"The power contained within the Medicine King Cauldron is extraordinarily mysterious. Perhaps this connection allows one to maintain a sense of direction within the Great Void. If so, then even if exploration ultimately failed, at least one could safely return instead of perishing meaninglessly."

"You must understand that the Great Void truly deserves its name. According to the limited records that remain, not only is there no light or spiritual energy there, even the medium through which divine sense can propagate does not exist. It is complete and absolute nothingness..."

Mo Yinfeng's speculation received the approval of many elders.

Exploring the Great Void had once been one of the highest ideals pursued by cultivators of that age.

Sun Piaomiao was entirely capable of attempting such a feat.

"Regardless of his true objective, if we can uncover the mysterious power maintaining the connection between these Medicine King Cauldrons, it will certainly benefit our Immortal Ark."

Now that they had a clear direction for their research, progress advanced much more smoothly.

After unanimous approval from the elders, including Li Fan, everyone decided to completely refine the Medicine King Cauldron and force out the mysterious power hidden within it.

As a famous alchemy cauldron, the sturdiness of the Medicine King Cauldron required no explanation.

After all, one of its counterparts had once carried the entire Medicine King Sect across the endless void.

However, before the Immortal Ark, which had already mastered the power of True Immortal seal script, such durability meant nothing.

Bang. Bang.

Under the crushing force of an invisible power, the ancient bronze cauldron instantly shattered into countless fragments.

The fragments continued to be ground apart, breaking down into particles even finer than dust.

In the end, every last particle disappeared.

Yet as the dissolution process continued, the expressions of the Immortal Ark elders gradually became increasingly solemn.

Because they discovered that the material composing the Medicine King Cauldron did not vanish as greater external force was applied.

It merely became even more condensed.

"Our previous analysis concluded that the Medicine King Cauldron had been forged by refining rare ores together with heavenly treasures gathered from various cultivation worlds."

"It now appears that was merely an illusion."

"This material..."

The Immortal Ark elders stared fixedly at the final transformation within the force field.

It had become so small that it could no longer be seen with the naked eye. Had they not been monitoring it from beginning to end, even divine sense would have struggled to detect it.

Condensed to the absolute limit, it was not a perfect sphere.

Instead, it was slightly flattened, convex on both sides, resembling a single Go piece.

"The enormous Medicine King Cauldron was actually transformed from this?"

The elders were all dumbfounded.

Li Fan also gazed at the gray Go piece, but his thoughts drifted back to the lifetime in which his Holy Embryo clone had wielded the enhanced Medicine King Cauldron and charged into the Immortal Ruins.

"At the time, I was so overwhelmed by the True Immortal's world destroying gaze that I did not notice anything unusual. Looking back now, there were several unreasonable aspects."

"In the eyes of a True Immortal, cultivators are no different from ants. Let alone my Holy Embryo, who only possessed the cultivation of a mortal at the time."

"If a True Immortal was in secluded cultivation, how could they possibly have been disturbed?"

"It is just like when I enter seclusion. I am never interrupted by ants. Before they can even approach, my protective methods reduce them to nothingness."

"And yet, that True Immortal within the Immortal Ruins really was interrupted during seclusion."

"When I destroyed the Xuanhuang Realm with an Immortal Formation in my previous life, They merely sent out a single projection to investigate."

"But in that lifetime..."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, as though returning once again to that scene.

Within the pitch black darkness, a vast barren wilderness suddenly appeared.

Countless ruins lay scattered across the wasteland.

The True Immortal was nothing more than skin hanging loosely over a skeleton, resembling a corpse.

Dozens of crimson chains were deeply embedded into the ground, binding the True Immortal firmly upon the wilderness.

The moment They sensed Li Fan, or rather the Medicine King Cauldron under his control, the True Immortal, who was comprehending the Dao, suddenly opened Their eyes.

"So that is the truth. What caused the True Immortal to open Their eyes was not simply an external object intruding into the Immortal Ruins."

"It was this mysterious Go piece material used to forge the Medicine King Cauldron."

Li Fan's thoughts returned to the present.

Like the elders around him, he stared intently at the gray Go piece.

Now that it had returned to its original form, its connection with its "companions" scattered throughout the Star Sea seemed to have become even stronger.

Without needing to use the [Reveal] True Immortal seal script character, everyone present could vaguely sense the direction of those connections.

However, the connection flickered intermittently, making it impossible to use as reliable guidance.

"It seems that possessing the Go piece alone is not enough. There must also be a corresponding special method." Zhong Daogong also perceived the mystery behind it.

"Interesting. Now I am truly curious about what exactly Sun Piaomiao has been trying so hard to conceal."

"Although the origin of this gray Go piece is mysterious, I do not believe it is directly related to immortal power. After all, the Immortal Ark has collected quite a number of immortal artifacts before. We are confident in our judgment in this regard."

...

"I, on the other hand, believe this gray Go piece may truly have originated from the Immortal Realm," Li Fan suddenly said, presenting an entirely different opinion amid the elders' discussion.

"Oh? Brother Li, what makes you say that?"

Li Fan had already established considerable prestige within the Immortal Ark. None of the elders dared dismiss his conclusions lightly and immediately asked for his reasoning.

Li Fan answered in a deep voice, "It is very simple. Just observe this object's reaction to the [Reveal] True Immortal seal script character. The answer should become obvious."

The elders were briefly stunned.

Then quite a few of them suddenly slapped their thighs as realization dawned.

"Indeed. Although the [Reveal] character reveals connections between things, the Medicine King Cauldron, or rather this gray Go piece, reacted far too sensitively to the residual power of the True Immortal."

"Exactly!"

To verify Li Fan's speculation, Lu Yuzhi produced a seven colored stone.

"This stone was carved from a piece of Jade Crystal Marrow. There are eighteen pieces in the complete set. The other seventeen remain in my residence."

As he spoke, he activated the [Reveal] True Immortal seal script character.

The power of the True Immortal seal script enveloped the seven colored stone.

It was as though immortal power slowly seeped into it. Only after a long while did mist and fine threads indicating its connections emerge from within the stone.

The difference compared to the Medicine King Cauldron's earlier reaction was obvious at a glance.

"We previously believed it was because the cauldron contained some mysterious power. Looking back now, it was actually caused by the material itself."

"There is an absolute distinction between immortals and mortals. Objects originating from the Immortal Realm naturally possess a much greater sensitivity to immortal power."

The elders sighed in amazement.

"And do not forget. The indication from that Go piece just now proved that many more identical objects exist throughout the Star Sea. Objects from the Immortal Realm..."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Only Zhong Daogong remained calm.

"Let us first determine exactly what this gray Go piece is."

"When its nature remains unknown, something from the Immortal Realm may bring disaster rather than fortune."

Now that they had confirmed the object's origin, the Immortal Ark naturally had a complete research procedure for studying artifacts originating from the Immortal Realm.

There was no longer any need to worry about the power of the True Immortal seal script damaging the object. They could freely employ various True Immortal seal script characters to conduct extensive testing.

While participating in these experiments, Li Fan also saw, for the first time, the Immortal Ark's greatest research treasure.

It was a completely blank scroll.

"The Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting? The painting is clearly blank. Why is it called by such a name?" Li Fan asked curiously.

Zhong Daogong answered with obvious pride.

"It is precisely because it encompasses all the myriad manifestations beneath heaven that it appears completely blank."