Chapter 1522: Descending into the Mortal World

After losing consciousness, the very concept of time ceased to have any meaning.

Even if billions upon billions of years passed, or perhaps even longer, to the person concerned, there would be no difference. It would feel no different from the moment just before and just after awakening.

Li Fan was awakened by the light characters continuously flickering before his eyes.

As if they had been urging him for a long time, the light characters flashed incessantly. Although the frequency of each flash remained exactly the same, Li Fan instinctively sensed an air of urgency within them.

This emotion even seemed to infect Li Fan himself. Despite his mind still being completely blank, he could not help but feel compelled to make a choice.

Li Fan stared at the light characters for a long time before finally understanding what they meant.

[This simulation has ended.]

[You may choose one of the following options to retain:

One item currently possessed by yourself during this simulation.

,

Your cultivation realm during this simulation.

,

The simulated memories of one person who had a close relationship with you during this simulation. These memories may be inherited by that person.

,

Abandon the above options and accelerate the charging progress.]

,

...

"Simulation..."

"Inherit..."

These words felt both familiar and unfamiliar. They seemed to awaken certain memories from Li Fan's past. However, just as he was about to recall something, a sudden stabbing pain struck his head.

Countless images, vast and immeasurable, seemed to have finally found an outlet. They surged toward him all at once, drowning Li Fan in an instant.

His genuine memories vanished into an endless sea of images. Letting out a scream, Li Fan once again fell unconscious.

"Rest assured. It is nothing more than an invasion of wind-evil into the brain. Have him drink this bowl of talisman water, and he will surely turn danger into safety and recover from his critical condition. However, if you want to cure his symptoms completely, he will need to take it continuously. Shujuan, you should understand. How many people in the village are waiting for this talisman water to save their lives? Although we had a good relationship when we were young, giving you one or two bowls for free is already the utmost of what I can do. If you still want more of this talisman water..."

"Then it will depend on how sincere you are."

"Xiaoyue... Master Li Wu, please rest assured. Even if I have to sell everything we own, I will save Fan'er."

...

While unconscious, Li Fan occasionally heard two women's voices murmuring beside his ears.

Afterward, he felt something being forcibly poured down his throat. It was a murky liquid with an indescribably peculiar smell.

It was as if the liquid had been brewing in a filthy drainage ditch for more than a decade. The moment it entered his stomach, an overwhelming sensation of nausea and disgust shot straight toward the crown of his head.

"Ugh!"

Li Fan suddenly rolled over and began vomiting violently.

"Shujuan, look! Didn"t I tell you this talisman water was miraculous? He needs to drink a few more bowls promptly before he can fully recover..."

"Fan'er!"

A middle-aged woman rushed toward Li Fan in overwhelming delight, completely disregarding the filth he had vomited as she checked his condition.

However, Li Fan had only just regained consciousness, and his mind was in utter chaos. He could not make sense of anything. He only managed to grasp one crucial point. That sharp, shrill voice, which sounded like someone muttering incantations, wanted to force several more bowls of that murky liquid down his throat.

As though he could once again smell its unbearably pungent odor, an inexplicable fury surged within Li Fan.

"Stop playing tricks!"

His voice was hoarse, cold, and merciless.

The two women inside the room were immediately startled.

The small room fell into complete silence. Li Fan instinctively extended his hand toward the shaman and waved it through the air.

However, the moment he raised his hand, he felt an overwhelming sense of weakness.

His stomach churned violently, and he could not help vomiting again.

"Shujuan, I think... your nephew's delusional illness is rather serious. He needs to drink a few more bowls."

"Yes, yes, of course."

"You dare!"

Hearing this, Li Fan flew into another fit of rage.

However, this body was truly frail beyond belief.

Even though he struggled with all his might, he was easily subdued by the two peasant women. In the end, he could only endure the humiliation of having bowl after bowl of talisman water poured down his throat.

...

One month later.

At the dining table, Li Fan ate slowly and unhurriedly. The meal was not particularly sumptuous. A plate of vegetables and tofu, along with a bowl of fish soup, made up the entire spread.

"Although we sold more than half of the farmland belonging to our family, your health is gradually improving, isn't it?"

"I asked Scholar Qian from the village about your condition. He said that when you were afflicted by the illness, wind-evil invaded your body, causing you to experience all sorts of hallucinations. As long as you read more of the books written by the ancient sages, the righteous energy within your heart will naturally emerge. Those hallucinations should gradually disappear..."

Li Fan listened to the woman beside him rambling on, occasionally nodding in agreement.

At the same time, however, he was organizing the countless fragmented images in his mind.

After finishing his meal, Li Fan went outside as usual to take a walk and exercise. He completely ignored everyone who greeted him along the way.

After walking for quite some time, he finally arrived at a secluded place where no one else was around.

Only then did Li Fan carefully examine the rapidly flickering light characters before his eyes.

"Simulation. Inheritance."

"What exactly do these mean?"

During this past month, whenever he looked at the continuously flickering words before his eyes, Li Fan seemed to sense an unmistakable urgency emanating from them.

There had even been several nights when, despite lying in bed in the dead of night, he found himself unable to fall asleep.

He had been tempted to simply pick an option at random and get it over with.

However, his naturally cautious disposition had ultimately prevented him from making such a hasty decision.

Li Fan had a premonition.

Regardless of which option he chose, what awaited him would probably not be a good outcome.

Feeling a slight headache, Li Fan simply put the matter aside for the time being and stopped thinking about it.

Instead, he continued organizing the countless chaotic memories in his mind.

"Are these images real or false?"

An entire month had passed, yet Li Fan still could not figure out the answer.

The images within his memories came from different people, different periods of time, and even different worlds.

They were bizarre and fantastical, taking countless different forms.

Some were firsthand experiences seen from a first-person perspective. Others were observations from a third-person perspective. There were even scenes viewed from a grand, bird's-eye perspective high above the heavens.

It was truly impossible to distinguish reality from illusion.

"Perhaps... all of them are real."

"Perhaps they are all things I experienced in what was once called a [Simulation]."

Li Fan closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing the endless stream of fragmented images and distracting thoughts. He could not help arriving at this conclusion.

"If all these things are my memories, then there is no way I could possibly be as weak as I am today."

"Therefore, something must have gone wrong during the simulation process."

"Cultivation..."

Li Fan could not help turning his attention once again toward the second option displayed in the light characters.

During these past few days, Li Fan had made inquiries both openly and discreetly. Combining what he had learned with the countless images in his mind, he had determined that only genuine cultivators were associated with the term 'cultivation realm'.

"No matter what I experienced during the simulation or what realm I cultivated to, it must certainly have been better than my current condition. From that perspective, there seems to be nothing wrong with choosing this option and inheriting it."

"Flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth. Immortality and eternal life..."

At the thought of this, Li Fan felt an instinctive stirring within his heart. It represented both an innate yearning and, strangely enough, a mysterious sense of fear.

Nevertheless, having refrained from making a decision for so long, Li Fan was hardly going to change his mind on impulse.

He began comparing the option of inheriting his cultivation realm with the other choices, one by one.

Li Fan shook his head inwardly. "If it is merely an object, it does not seem likely to change my current predicament. Besides, with my body in its present, extremely frail condition, I can barely even hold a pair of chopsticks. Even if I obtained an immortal treasure, I probably would not be able to use it."

"Choose someone close to me and inherit their memories."

Li Fan pondered for a long time.

"Someone closest to me... If that person inherits the memories from the simulation and sees the predicament I am currently in, they should step forward and lend me a hand."

As his attention focused on this option, dozens of different figures appeared in Li Fan's mind.

He examined them one by one.

When his gaze settled upon an elderly man with a head of white hair, he instinctively felt the greatest sense of comfort. As for the others...

"None of them look like decent people."

"Could it be that, in the simulation, I actually associated with such people?" Li Fan found the thought somewhat unbelievable.

He stared at the old man's image for a long time.

Then he shifted his attention to the final option: "Accelerate the charging progress.."

Based on his observations over this period, Li Fan had roughly surmised that charging was a necessary condition for activating the simulation.

"In other words, I can conduct another simulation."

...

In reality, Li Fan slowly opened his eyes.

He had already spent quite some time in this secluded place outside the village. As dusk approached, he hurriedly made his way back.

For the following period, he pretended that everything was as usual.

He allowed his body to recover and continued reading day and night without interruption.

In reality, he was patiently waiting for the so-called charging process to finish.

Finally, one day, he felt a strange sensation in his heart. The so-called simulation could be activated once again.

Silently chanting in his mind, Li Fan once again sank into darkness.

When he awoke again, he looked around and was immediately astonished.

It was still the same familiar room.

Everything seemed to be exactly as it had been.

"Could it be that all of it really was just my imagination?" Li Fan's mind trembled, and his disappointment was beyond words.

However, he soon noticed some subtle differences between the room he was currently in and the one he remembered.

"I clearly used up more than half of this ink stick."

"And also..."

With a thought, Li Fan quickly began flipping through the books and sheets of paper on his desk.

"That's right. It seems I've returned to a point more than a month in the past."

To verify his suspicion, Li Fan hurriedly rushed outside to look for his aunt.

Sure enough, she looked noticeably younger. The graying hair on her head had actually decreased by more than half.

"So this is what the so-called simulation means!"

After his initial excitement, Li Fan quickly calmed down. Evidently, this body was already accustomed to such occurrences.

"Returning to the past, possessing the advantage of foresight."

"Though the world is vast, there is nowhere I cannot go."

"I must simply be more careful than ever. Especially of whatever it was that left me gravely injured in the simulation."

An indescribable aura rose from the young Li Fan.

Despite his youthful and scholarly appearance, he possessed an imposing presence that was difficult to fathom.

Twenty Years Later.

"Congratulations to the Grand Preceptor!"

Inside the Grand Preceptor's residence, Li Fan smiled and raised his cup toward the assembled officials of Great Xuan.

While accepting the flattery of the court's important ministers, his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

"What exactly is this so-called path of cultivation like?"

Over the course of twenty years, he had risen from an insignificant scholar to become the Grand Preceptor, a figure whose authority overshadowed the entire imperial court.

Yet he had never forgotten that he was merely living within a simulation.

Nor had he forgotten his objective.

To uncover the truth behind his lost memories.

"After years of tirelessly sorting through everything day and night, I've finally managed to figure out some of the underlying principles. Unfortunately, without immortal spiritual qi, even though I have several plans prepared, I have absolutely no means of putting them into practice." Li Fan sighed inwardly.

After three rounds of wine, the guests gradually departed.

Li Fan returned to his bedroom and quietly gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

He stroked his thick beard before removing his disguise.

"Compared to twenty years ago, there is practically no difference."

"Heh."

"And the same goes for this body."

Li Fan stretched and moved his limbs.

Twenty years had passed, yet he had not experienced the slightest sign of aging. In fact, as time passed and the years accumulated, he felt that his body had become even younger and more vigorous.

One had to understand that he had not even formally embarked upon the path of cultivation.

"As expected, I am no ordinary mortal."

To conceal the secret of his immortality, although Li Fan had wives and concubines, he rarely shared a bed with any of them. He simply used the heavy burden of state affairs as an excuse. Moreover, every few years, the woman who shared his bed would suddenly die of an illness.

Initially, people at court had used this strange occurrence as grounds for spreading all sorts of rumors.

However, after he personally assassinated the previous emperor and installed the young crown prince on the throne, all discussion throughout the realm ceased.

Li Fan had become the Grand Preceptor, but it was not because he coveted power.

Rather, he wanted to find a way to leave this world.

Although his body possessed the extraordinary ability of immortality, he was otherwise no different from an ordinary mortal. Trying to travel the world alone in search of the path of cultivation would prove rather difficult.

However, after becoming Grand Preceptor, he established a secret organization specifically tasked with searching for immortals and pursuing the path of cultivation.

This would make his future endeavors considerably easier.

Another Ten Years Later.

The young emperor gradually came of age. Unwilling to remain a puppet under Li Fan's control, he secretly began cultivating a force of deathsworn assassins while working to win over the court officials.

His objective was to assassinate Li Fan and reclaim imperial authority.

The plan proceeded smoothly. Completely unaware, Li Fan walked alone into the trap laid by the emperor.

Watching Li Fan surrounded by dozens of deathsworn assassins, the young emperor could not help bursting into triumphant laughter.

"Grand Preceptor, oh Grand Preceptor! Back when you beat me under the pretext of teaching me to read, did you ever imagine that this day would come?"

Yet even in this desperate predicament, Li Fan's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end.

"Today? And what of today?" He actually smiled and asked in return.

"You're still stubborn even when death is staring you in the face!" The young emperor sneered and waved his hand.

The deathsworn assassins immediately surged forward, weapons in hand.

However, what happened next was far beyond his expectations.

When the blades struck Li Fan's body, they produced only the sound of metal clashing against metal. They could not even pierce his skin.

Meanwhile, the seemingly frail Grand Preceptor could shatter the flesh and bones of the exceptionally robust men, whom the emperor himself had personally selected, with a single punch. Each blow sent blood and flesh flying in every direction.

What had originally been an assassination trap instantly transformed into a blood-soaked slaughterhouse.

By the time Li Fan, covered in blood, walked up to the young emperor, the latter had already been scared witless.

Li Fan glanced at his bloodstained clothes and frowned slightly.

"Without divine abilities or magical techniques, having to rely solely on this mortal body is rather inconvenient."

"Still, despite such an overwhelming stench of blood, I don't seem to feel particularly uncomfortable."

"It seems that what I experienced in my previous simulations..."

"Grand Preceptor! Grand Preceptor, spare my life!"

The young emperor burst into tears and begged desperately.

Li Fan merely snorted coldly before crushing him beneath his foot.

...

One emperor died, and another took his place.

Throughout the world, the only constant was the Grand Preceptor.

Time passed, and the Great Xuan Dynasty underwent several changes of rulers. The people of the realm gradually grew accustomed to the frequent changes of dynasty.

On this day, the Grand Preceptor celebrated his seventieth birthday.

Officials from every corner of the realm traveled thousands of miles to the capital to offer their congratulations.

The Grand Preceptor's residence was filled with distinguished guests.

"Dao Xuanzi, you have gone too far!"

A furious shout suddenly resounded above the skies of Xuanjing.