My longevity simulation

"The method of using this Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting is quite simple. It is like a mirror. It reveals the true essence of things upon the blank scroll. Of course, it may not present everything so directly. Some further comprehension may still be required."

"But no matter what, it is far easier than directly researching this gray Go piece."

As Zhong Daogong spoke, his lips moved slightly as he slowly unfurled the blank scroll.

Like a long dragon, it floated above everyone's heads.

"Go."

The gray Go piece slowly flew toward the Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting. At the instant it drew near, it vanished from everyone's sight.

Meanwhile, colors began to appear upon the previously blank scroll, as though countless pigments had been dripped across it. Strange and bizarre images gradually emerged.

It resembled a storm of swirling paint. Different colors intertwined, collided, separated, and merged.

"This Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting can actually analyze objects from the Immortal Realm. Could it also have originated from the Immortal Realm?" Li Fan casually asked as he watched the ever-changing images upon the scroll.

Jian Daosheng smiled and answered Li Fan's question.

"This painting is unquestionably an artifact of the lower realms."

"It was acquired by the Xuan Immortal Ark from a destitute cultivator many years ago."

"That cultivator's ancestors were originally direct disciples of the renowned Star Dao Sect. In ancient times, the Star Dao Sect's influence extended across several neighboring cultivation worlds. It was said that the sect's supreme arts could control the Dao of the Star Sea itself, surpassing even the Taijia Divine Art that Fellow Daoist has taught us."

Li Fan raised an eyebrow.

"How did such a glorious great sect decline?"

"That remains one of history's greatest mysteries. Even back then, countless theories existed, yet no definitive answer was ever found. Some claimed they offended a True Immortal of the upper realm, bringing down immortal punishment. Others believed the Star Dao Sect attempted to refine and control the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea itself, only to suffer its backlash."

"In any case, for reasons unknown, the Star Dao Sect's upper echelon and backbone cultivators all seemed to vanish overnight. The remaining lower-ranked disciples, who understood nothing of what had happened, waited for a short time before realizing there was no hope of recovery. They scattered in every direction. Before leaving, they made sure to loot every valuable treasure they could carry."

"In barely a month's time, this once mighty sect that had dominated the Star Sea completely collapsed."

Jian Daosheng sighed softly.

"This Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting was one of the Star Dao Sect's treasures. It is said that within the sect's Star Communion Hall, where Star Dao Sect cultivators communicated with and comprehended the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea, countless such paintings hung upon the walls."

"Whenever the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea resonated with a cultivator, it was as though an invisible brush left traces upon the scroll. Over time, these paintings gradually copied portions of the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea into themselves."

...

Hearing this, Li Fan interrupted.

"Even if they contain an engraved image of the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea, how could they possibly reveal objects from the Immortal Realm?"

Although he deliberately pretended ignorance, Li Fan had already reached his own conclusion.

Zhong Daogong smiled.

"The Star Sea and the lower realms are the foundation of all existence."

"They are where the projections of the Great Dao ultimately manifest. Although the Immortal Realm stands high above, it is not a castle built in the air. Looking upward from below, one cannot glimpse its true form, but one can still perceive the shadow of its Dao."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan acted as though he were encountering this theory for the very first time. His expression changed dramatically as he appeared lost in deep contemplation.

Meanwhile, the Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting continued its transformation.

It was as though an invisible True Immortal wielded a brush with effortless mastery, painting with sweeping strokes.

Eventually, the storm of colors settled into a single image.

The painting became completely still.

Li Fan gazed at the picture overhead, his pupils contracting slightly.

It was not a highly detailed realistic depiction.

Instead, it was an abstract ink painting that merely outlined its subjects.

A towering figure occupied nearly half of the entire image, looking down from above.

Its face could not be seen.

One impossibly long arm extended outward.

Beneath the figure appeared to be a Go Board.

The pieces arranged upon it were not gray Go pieces.

Instead, each Go piece was an entirely different cultivation world.

What initially appeared to be nothing more than clusters of blended colors suddenly transformed, the moment one attempted to observe them carefully, into countless scenes of different living beings.

Within those worlds, they were born, aged, fell ill, died, cultivated, and fought. The stories of those countless lives, together with the cultivation worlds themselves, ultimately became individual Go pieces upon the board.

Boom.

After remaining visible for several breaths, the Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting suddenly seemed to be struck by a violent gale.

Not only did the scroll itself sway violently, but even the pigments upon the canvas were swept away by the raging wind.

The image gradually disintegrated.

The gray Go piece slowly emerged once more from the painting.

"The Myriad Manifestations Painting has reached the limit of its analysis."

Zhong Daogong spoke gravely as he joined the other elders in carefully putting away the Myriad Manifestations Yin-Yang Painting.

Afterward, everyone stared silently at the gray Go piece floating quietly in midair.

An eerie silence filled the room.

"If I understand correctly, this gray Go piece seems to represent a cultivation world after all living beings have perished and all life has withered away. That towering figure should be a True Immortal from the upper realm."

Li Fan was once again the first to speak.

No one answered.

Only after quite some time did Elder Jian Daosheng slowly shake his head and offer his own opinion.

"Although the Myriad Manifestations Painting reveals the true essence of things, it is never so superficial."

"The Medicine King Cauldron is practically a world unto itself. It can naturally generate spiritual energy and nurture spiritual herbs and medicinal plants."

"How could a world completely devoid of life possibly accomplish such a thing?"

Zhong Daogong nodded in agreement.

"Precisely."

"I believe that this world embodied by the Go piece does not represent death."

"Rather, it represents a world that has already fulfilled its purpose upon the Go Board and has become a discarded piece."

As he spoke, intersecting lines appeared, forming a Go Board where black and white pieces were placed one after another.

Soon afterward, the black pieces completely surrounded and captured a group of white pieces.

Those captured white pieces left the board.

Never again could they return.

Their colors faded into gray, no longer participating in the struggle between black and white.

"Elder Zhong's interpretation seems much more reasonable."

The elders of the Xuan Immortal Ark rarely engaged in political scheming among themselves. They simply voiced whatever they truly believed.

Most of the elders agreed with Zhong Daogong's interpretation of the painting.

"True Immortals play the game, while the lower worlds become their Go pieces."

"If that is truly the case, then what is the purpose behind this game?"

"And in the end, is there even a true victor?"

An even greater mystery now arose within everyone's hearts.

"There is no need to investigate matters involving True Immortals for now."

"What we know at present is that this gray Go piece was most likely created by a True Immortal through refining an entire world into an artifact."

"Even without immortal spiritual power sustaining it, it should still qualify as half an immortal artifact."

"And not just one, but an entire set."

"If even these gray Go pieces, which have already lost their place in the game, possess such miraculous abilities, it is difficult to imagine what the black and white world pieces that still remained upon the Go Board must have been like."

Lu Yuzhi spoke with obvious longing.

"Heh. Do not forget that the Immortal Realm has already been destroyed."

"Even the players themselves may already have perished."

"Those worlds remaining upon the Go Board most likely disappeared together with the Immortal Realm long ago."

"On the contrary, these gray Go pieces, having left the game beforehand, survived through a fortunate coincidence after being transformed into artifacts."

...

The elders of the Xuan Immortal Ark continued discussing the matter.

After half a day of deliberation, they finally reached a preliminary consensus.

Since the gray Go piece was fundamentally an entire world, they would refine it using the same methods employed to refine a world itself.

The elders selected Jian Daosheng, Zhong Daogong, and three others.

Each would separate a portion of their divine consciousness and jointly begin refining the gray Go piece.

Li Fan was not among the five chosen participants.

To avoid causing any displeasure, the elders of the Xuan Immortal Ark even offered an explanation.

Although Li Fan had already earned the trust of the elders, he had only joined the Immortal Ark recently. More importantly, his "lifespan was nearly exhausted."

If he were allowed to participate now, then after less than twenty years, once he passed away, the refinement process would have to be repeated from the beginning.

And so on.

...

Li Fan waved his hand, wearing an unconcerned expression.

His gaze remained fixed on the gray Go piece that the elders were refining.

'This object is one of Sun Piaomiao's hidden arrangements. If anything abnormal occurs during the refinement, it will prove that Sun Piaomiao is still alive...' Li Fan silently pondered.

Unfortunately, he was disappointed.

The refinement process carried out by the elders of the Immortal Ark proceeded with astonishing smoothness.

Before long, the refined Go piece seemed to lose some of its gray coloration.

However, the gray color never completely faded away.

'Has Sun Piaomiao truly fallen?'

The question flashed through Li Fan's mind before he temporarily suppressed it. He then asked Zhong Daogong and the others about their impressions.

"Marvelous. The originally orderly Heavenly Dao of the world has seemingly been reforged under countless mighty hammer strikes. Such methods are simply miraculous. Truly miraculous!"

"It is not merely a single form that has been forged. It has already forged hundreds of possible future forms. After refining it, one can freely control it and transform between those different states at will."

"Although... such transformations seem to require an enormous amount of energy. Spiritual qi alone is far from sufficient."

"I even tried using the power of True Immortal seal script characters. That was not enough either." Nangong Lie's voice was filled with regret.

Like children who had just obtained a fascinating new treasure, the elders of the Immortal Ark eagerly began researching the gray Go piece.

"This object is of immense significance to our Immortal Ark."

"Perhaps our resource shortage will be greatly alleviated for a very long time."

"What a pity. Such an invaluable treasure remained buried within our treasury all these years. Had Brother Li not reminded us, who knows how much longer it would have remained forgotten."

The joy and regret of the elders intertwined as they once again transformed the gray Go piece.

This time, it no longer became the Medicine King Cauldron capable of nurturing spiritual plants.

Instead, it assumed the form most suitable for the current Immortal Ark.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

It was as though countless invisible giant hammers continuously struck the gray Go piece.

The originally tiny object gradually unfolded across space itself.

It spread directly over the outer shell of the Immortal Ark.

Under Li Fan's watchful gaze, the Immortal Ark seemed to grow an additional layer of hard gray armor.

This gray shell not only provided protection.

It also continuously supplied spiritual qi and resources to the Immortal Ark.

"With an entire world's protective shell covering the Ark, our defensive capability has increased by far more than double. Even its overall stability has undergone a qualitative leap."

"We no longer need to worry that the original power of a single True Immortal seal script character spreading freely will bring catastrophic destruction upon the Ark."

"The ten thousand years of accumulated life force stored within the gray Go piece has now been completely transferred into the Divine Tree."

"The results are remarkable. At the very least, for the next hundred years, unless something extraordinary occurs, the Divine Tree will no longer need to feed."

...

Every elder of the Immortal Ark wore broad smiles.

At that moment, Li Fan suddenly spoke in a cold voice.

"Everyone, now that your harvest has been so tremendous, surely you are not planning to abandon the plan of crossing the High Wall?"

The lively atmosphere immediately became silent.

The elders instinctively avoided Li Fan's gaze.

In the end, Zhong Daogong stepped forward to reassure him.

"You need not worry."

"Crossing the High Wall has always been our established strategy. It will not change simply because our resources have become more abundant. You may rest assured on that."

"However..."

"The better prepared we are, the better. According to the mutual resonance between these gray Go pieces, there are at least eleven more of them scattered throughout the Darkest Star Sea."

"Just this single piece has already brought almost earthshaking changes to our Immortal Ark. If we could gather the entire set..." Zhong Daogong's eyes shone brightly.

"What do you think, Fellow Daoist? By then, we might not even need any additional assistance. The defensive layers alone could directly smash through the High Wall."

"Furthermore, the direction indicated by their mutual resonance is very clear. At our current speed, even if we had to travel throughout the entire Star Sea, it would take no more than three years. At the same time, collecting them would not interfere with any of our other preparations."

Zhong Daogong's explanation was perfectly reasonable.

Li Fan pondered for a moment before nodding slightly in agreement.

Only then did the somewhat awkward atmosphere return to normal.

"In that case, there is no time to waste. Let us depart immediately."

"I am also very curious to see what will happen once the complete set of gray Go pieces has been assembled," Li Fan said calmly.

The elders exchanged glances before holding a brief council.

Their first conclusion was unanimous.

"The Xuan Immortal Ark itself absolutely must not be moved lightly."

"Correct. The Ark's current structural strength is still insufficient to withstand the pressure beneath the High Wall."

"There is no need for all of us to go searching for the gray Go pieces. That would only be cumbersome. It would be far more convenient to travel individually."

"One person can remain behind to use the resonance for guidance and direct the search. The others can spread throughout the Star Sea to recover the gray Go pieces."

"That should be much more efficient."

"Each group should consist of at least three people, in case of unexpected danger."

"Seven or eight of the Go pieces are relatively close to our current location. They appear to be near the Remnant World Great Wall. We should recover those first."

...

As the elders discussed the matter, Li Fan also spoke.

"I can contribute as well. With my movement technique, even crossing the entire Star Sea requires only a single day."

This time, the elders of the Immortal Ark had no reason to reject Li Fan's proposal.

Once the preliminary arrangements had been finalized, the first mission to recover the gray Go pieces was assigned to Li Fan, Nangong Lie, Lu Yuzhi, and another Academy of Dao Attainment elder named Xu Gongding.

"First investigate the situation. If you encounter any danger, preserving your own lives takes priority above everything else," Zhong Daogong instructed before they departed.