My Longevity Simulation - Chapter 1287: Upheaval in the Star Sea Begins

“Risking everything…” Yin Shangren fell silent after receiving the answer.

“There is no need to worry. I have already made my plans. Regardless of victory or defeat, the orthodox Xuanhuang lineage will inevitably be reestablished. You and Xu Ke need only do what you wish to do,” Holy Emperor Li Ping said calmly.

“But…” Yin Shangren still hesitated after hearing this.

“The moment Immortal Ancestor appears will be the moment the Holy Dynasty army launches its full scale assault on the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance headquarters. You will take advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the Museum of Divine Treasures and bring out Mr. Bai’s skull. At this stage, victory and defeat are matters of the greater tide. Although both of you are not weak, you cannot influence the overall situation. Moreover, the Divine Treasures Pavilion is controlled by the Illusory True Sage lineage of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance. If you can tie them down, that too will be a great contribution.”

A gloomy glint flashed in Yin Shangren’s eyes. “They are merely the lingering souls of the strange beasts from Xuanhuang Realm’s past. If Emperor Yi were still here, I might fear them somewhat. But just Emperor Sanmo…”

“Nothing to fear!” Yin Shangren snorted coldly.

“The Illusory True Sage controls the miraculous artifact [Era]. Even the most mediocre being can produce miracles after hundreds of thousands or millions of simulations and deductions. Do not underestimate them,” Li Ping said seriously.

The Holy Emperor’s words still carried some weight in Yin Shangren’s heart.

He no longer argued, instead narrowing his eyes in thought.

As he thought, a rustling sound once again came from his scalp, like silkworms crawling. His scalp undulated, as though something might emerge at any moment from the crack atop his head.

Yin Shangren instantly became somewhat irritated, while Li Ping flashed to his side.

With a gentle stroke of his palm, under the penetration of tiny points of starlight, the disturbance gradually subsided.

“This is backlash from the True Self. Continuing to forcibly suppress it is not a good solution,” the Holy Emperor said at a glance, having seen through the issue.

Yin Shangren revealed a helpless expression. “I changed paths midway after all, rather than cultivating from the beginning. It was inevitable that various aftereffects would remain. Back then, I thought that as long as I consumed my original imperfect Dao Foundation and recultivated the Oneself Foundation Establishment, everything would be resolved. But recently, after listening to your teachings on the star sea, I gained further insight. Only then did I realize that the self I originally recognized as complete was not truly complete. My foundation has been shaken. It indeed requires further adjustment.”

“Do not worry. I will deal with it before the decisive battle arrives,” Yin Shangren assured him.

“As long as you know.”

The Holy Emperor’s lingering voice echoed, but his figure had already disappeared.

Yin Shangren looked around, only to discover in astonishment that the incomplete New New Method, which had previously materialized from illusion and been taken away by the Holy Emperor, had somehow reappeared on the long table where he had sat.

Knowing this was intentionally left behind for him by the Holy Emperor, Yin Shangren did not stand on ceremony and immediately picked it up to study.

“Marvelous…”

Even though it had merely been compiled to deceive the masses, this half volume of the New New Law still appeared profoundly mysterious in Yin Shangren’s eyes, nearly indistinguishable from a true divine technique.

He quickly became completely engrossed.

Holy Dynasty, Five Elements Great Cave Heaven, Fire Attribute Cave Heaven.

An endless sea of fire, with blazing flames like monstrous waves, erupted from time to time, shooting toward the heavens.

The scorching fire, like wild steeds, devoured everything within the cave heaven.

Yet in the deepest part of this infernal scene, a golden glazed flower bloomed brilliantly. No matter how the surrounding flames raged, the flower remained pristine and clear, utterly unaffected.

At the center of the glazed flower, the image of a world appeared faintly.

From time to time, a strand of golden light drifted out from the glazed world within the flower. When the surrounding flames came into contact with this golden light, they instantly flared explosively, burning even more fiercely.

If viewed from high above, one could see Hundred Flowers Daoist using the golden glaze as a guide to continuously sort and regulate this Fire Cave Heaven.

Compared to when it had first been captured here, not only the Fire Cave Heaven, but the scale of the entire Five Elements Great Cave Heaven had nearly expanded by a full circle. Daoist Hundred Flowers could be said to have rendered great service.

Holy Emperor Li Ping’s figure appeared beside the golden glaze.

The roaring flames instantly withered. They did not even dare approach, merely swaying in the distance as if currying favor.

“You have done well. The Five Elements Cave Heaven has been managed excellently.”

“The other cave heavens as well,” Li Ping said indifferently.

His gaze pierced through the canopy of the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven, reaching directly into the void beyond the world.

The Five Elements Great Cave Heaven, like a powerful navigator, carried the Holy Dynasty Great Qi swiftly through the void.

Around it, nearly a hundred large and small different small worlds were being carried along in tandem.

With Holy Dynasty Great Qi as the core, they faintly formed an formation, like a giant warship that inspired awe.

“It was merely my duty. Without the Holy Emperor’s reward of the Myriad Spirit Jade Nectar, I could not have achieved this,” Hundred Flowers came before Li Ping and bowed.

She followed Li Ping’s line of sight and looked outward.

After a brief silence, she could not help but sigh. “I can hardly believe that such a magnificent sight was created by me.”

“The vast majority of them are no smaller than my homeland.”

“I will need to trouble you once more. Return this Five Elements Great Cave Heaven to the main Xuanhuang world,” Li Ping’s voice sounded at just that moment.

Hundred Flowers was slightly stunned.

The Holy Emperor smiled and explained, “The time for evasion has passed. Now it is time for close combat. Let this be the vanguard of the first battle!”

As the Holy Emperor spoke these words, the surrounding flames seemed to receive some kind of encouragement and surged violently higher.

Daoist Hundred Flowers also noticed that within the blazing Fire Cave Heaven, aside from the flames themselves, a deeper shadow flowed within.

It was a terrifying existence capable of threatening her.

The Holy Emperor extended his palm. The shadow flowed rapidly to his hand, transforming into an adorable little insect with a tiger like head.

Though it looked plump and harmless, Hundred Flowers knew full well how terrifying this little thing was.

The Fire Cave Heaven they currently stood in, and even the entire Five Elements Great Cave Heaven, were merely manifestations of this black insect.

Rather than tending the cave heaven over these years, it would be more accurate to say that Hundred Flowers had been raising this insect called [Dao One].

“With Dao One helping you, dragging the cave heaven back will not be as difficult as it was on the journey here.”

“You need only return the Five Elements Cave Heaven to its proper place. Dao One will handle everything else,” the Holy Emperor instructed.

As Li Ping spoke, strands of starlight radiated from his palm.

Dao One seemed somewhat pleased, its plump body affectionately rubbing against Li Ping’s palm. It then greedily devoured the tiny points of starlight.

Its black body seemed to become even more solid.

“Go.”

Li Ping gently patted it. Though Dao One seemed somewhat reluctant, it obediently dispersed into shadow and returned to the surrounding Cave Heavens.

The surrounding fire instantly burned even more fiercely.

Hundred Flowers sensed even more clearly that the entire cave heaven had suddenly come alive. Being within it felt like being inside the belly of a giant beast.

The constantly rising sense of danger made her deeply uneasy.

Li Ping also noticed her abnormal state and brought her outside the Five Elements Cave Heaven into the void.

With a light tap of the Holy Emperor’s finger, the Five Elements Cave Heaven separated from Holy Dynasty Great Qi and the void fleet formation.

“There is no need to worry. Dao One will only faithfully carry out my orders.”

Since the Holy Emperor had said so, Hundred Flowers could only nod. Suppressing the fear in her heart, she transformed into golden light and flew toward the Five Elements Cave Heaven.

In an instant, the five ringed cave heaven seemed to be coated with a golden edge.

Boom boom!

After the initial rumbling, the movement of the cave heaven became absolutely silent.

Under the concealment of the Holy Emperor’s formation, even if one were beside the passing cave heaven, they might not notice this enormous moving entity at all.

Watching the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven as it returned to its homeland, Li Ping pondered inwardly.

“With Dao One in its current state, it is enough to silently alter the spiritual energy of the entire Xuanhuang Realm.”

“Not only can it be used against the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, it can also take this opportunity to stimulate the Xuanhuang Realm itself and further awaken signs of revival.”

Ever since his enlightenment at the center of the star sea last time, a burst of revival power had briefly erupted within the Xuanhuang Realm. However, it was ultimately rootless water. As time passed, the signs of revival gradually stagnated.

The newly sprouted tender bud on the Ruomu branch was beginning to wither and turn yellow once more.

After being transformed by the Dao One insect, the insectified Five Elements Great Cave Heaven was like a powerful medicine.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was an extremely important component of the Xuanhuang Realm. If it were invaded, it would inevitably provoke an intense instinctive reaction from the Xuanhuang Realm itself.

“The mission of the Dao One insect is not merely to create a battlefield environment suitable for the soldiers of Great Qi.”

“Its most important purpose is to insectify and devour as much as possible the foreign cultivation worlds that have been stitched together over these thousands of years.”

“Once the great war ends, the Dao One insect will die. Spiritual energy will return to its proper course, and the Dao One insect’s corpse, namely those foreign worlds, will become nourishment for the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“After enduring this insect calamity, the Xuanhuang Realm itself will become much stronger. Combined with the Xuanhuang Orthodoxy measures I previously arranged, no matter whether Immortal Ancestor or I emerge victorious, the Xuanhuang Realm will hold an absolute advantage in the future fusion of worlds.”

Within the Holy Emperor’s mind, he continuously deduced the scenes of the great battle that would soon arrive.

His gaze pierced through layer upon layer of spacetime barriers and saw the Daoist Hundred Flowers smoothly dragging the insectified Five Elements Cave Heaven back into position.

Amid the silent roar of heaven and earth, the Five Elements Great Cave Heaven, having returned to Tianling Prefecture, began to emit streams of abnormal spiritual energy outward.

The spiritual energy concentration of the Xuanhuang Realm would rise slightly within a short period.

Cultivators would find it difficult to detect the abnormalities in this newly born spiritual energy. Only when the Insectification Transformation was activated would they be caught off guard and lose their authority to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Seeing the plan proceeding smoothly, Holy Emperor Li Ping finally withdrew his gaze.

With a single step, he returned to the Holy Dynasty Great Qi.

Deep within the Holy Emperor’s throne.

The location of the core of the Heaven and Earth Myriad Spirits Grand Formation.

In addition, many formations such as the All Living Beings Refine the Soul Formation were layered upon one another. Even the Xuanhuang Heavenly Dao consciousness, which was closely connected to the Holy Emperor, would have its connection severed here.

This ensured that all outside prying was completely cut off.

The Holy Emperor’s disciple, Lin Ling, formerly the incarnation of the spirit wood from the Spiritwood Realm, had now revealed her true form.

However, what looked rather strange was that the tree was inverted, with the crown at the very bottom.

Its dense roots were instead at the very top.

Structures spread throughout the Holy Dynasty Great Qi, such as the Heroic Spirit Seats, Holy Physician Institute, Holy Academy, Holy Heart Hall, and Holy Supervisory Court, were all connected to the roots of the inverted spirit tree.

At the heart of the tree, every scene occurring within the Holy Dynasty Great Qi appeared simultaneously.

After each projection of light and shadow played once, it transformed into green light and was absorbed by the inverted spirit tree.

Holy Emperor Li Ping looked at the inverted spirit tree before him, and a trace of hesitation, exceedingly rare for him, flashed through his eyes.

“So called planning for defeat before planning for victory. Holy Emperor, this move can only be achieved by great wisdom.”

Beside Li Ping, a yellow paper figure with a perpetually worried face was praising him without restraint.

It was none other than Daoist Yi Jue of the Du’e Sect.

He sat atop the Book of Du’e, his eyes fixed tightly on the inverted spirit tree ahead.

“Moreover, Your Majesty’s plan is for the sake of the Xuanhuang Realm. It is not a retreat left for yourself, so it cannot be said to weaken your resolve and determination,” Daoist Yi Jue continued.

The Holy Emperor remained silent.

He only occasionally cast streams of spell seals, causing the roots of the inverted spirit tree to sway.

At the heart of the tree, the speed at which the projections of Great Qi were absorbed seemed to increase even further.

Only after a long while did the Holy Emperor stop.

He suddenly spoke.

“In this decisive battle with the Immortal Alliance, your Du’e Sect need not take action.”

“Proceed according to what I said before. Hide yourselves in secret and observe…”

“Whether there are other eyes watching.”

The Holy Emperor’s tone was difficult to interpret.

“The battle between the Holy Dynasty and the Immortal Alliance is an upheaval in the Xuanhuang Realm unseen in ten thousand years. If that force secretly monitoring the Xuanhuang Realm is still operating, it will inevitably observe this and then transmit the information. I do not require you to find the final destination of that information. You only need to determine whether such an event occurs.”

The tightly furrowed brows of Daoist Yi Jue from the Du’e Sect finally relaxed.

He clapped in praise.

“Holy Emperor, this action aligns perfectly with the great Dao of my Du’e Sect. If Your Majesty is willing, I could even relinquish the position of Du’e Sect Master…”

Before Daoist Yi Jue could finish, the Holy Emperor interrupted him.

“Regardless of whether Immortal Ancestor or I win, you must report the result to the victor. As for after completing the task, you may do as you please.”

Daoist Yi Jue showed no joy at the prospect of soon obtaining freedom. Instead, he looked somewhat stunned, his vaguely shaped little paper hand pointing at the inverted spirit tree.

“I am not going along?”

The Holy Emperor let out a light laugh.

“The only living being within this Tree of Primitive World is Lin Ling, who serves as its main body. Even I will not leave any retreat for myself upon it. And your Du’e Sect still wishes to go along?”

Daoist Yi Jue immediately wore a miserable expression.

“Holy Emperor, please reconsider. Relying only on that tree spirit who was born not long ago, what can possibly be accomplished? The star sea is vast. What if some disaster is encountered and it perishes halfway? Would this escape method not be abandoned midway…”

Li Ping waved a hand, cutting him off.

Staring at the inverted spirit tree, he corrected him.

“It is not an escape method, but information preservation.”

Daoist Yi Jue sighed repeatedly.

“What difference is there?”

Li Ping narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

Within this Tree of Primitive World was not only all preserved image records of every event that had occurred since the founding of the Holy Dynasty.

Even the true spirits and memories of those who had fallen during this time, originally located within the Heroic Spirit Hall, would be transferred here when activated.

This was a contingency move the Holy Emperor had left for the entire Holy Dynasty, inspired by the Taiyan Sect’s theory that information never perishes.

Or rather, the word proof would be more appropriate.

If Li Ping won, there was naturally no need to mention it. The Tree of Primitive World would never be activated.

But if Li Ping lost, then at the moment Great Qi was destroyed, the Tree of Primitive World would wrap up the true spirits of the Holy Dynasty’s citizens and fly into the depths of the void.

If it were a physical entity, it would certainly be unable to escape Immortal Ancestor’s obstruction.

But if it were only information, Immortal Ancestor might not care.

In addition, the Du’e Sect would create interference at that time.

It was not that the Holy Emperor had developed hesitation toward the decisive battle. After all, no place had been reserved on the Tree of Primitive World for any living being.

Rather, the Holy Emperor wanted to leave behind final proof of existence for the countless citizens who had followed and believed in him.

Li Ping knew that during the thousands of years in which the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance had ruled half of Xuanhuang, the Holy Dynasty Great Qi was not the first to raise the banner of rebellion.

Five hundred years ago, there had already been an example of the united worlds rising in resistance.

But after they failed, all information regarding them was erased and sealed away by the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.

It was as though those losers had never existed at all.

Li Ping’s actions were to prevent such a thing from happening again.

“Even if we lose, our existence will not be erased.”

“If in some distant future, when the Tree of Primitive World returns to Xuanhuang, it can inspire later generations, that would be even better.”

Many thoughts flashed through Li Ping’s mind.

The stirring emotions were quickly calmed.

“Dharma Transmitting Immortal Ancestor.”

Li Ping silently repeated that name once more in his heart.

In truth, with his current strength, he already had a thirty percent chance of remaining undefeated against the Immortal Ancestor. He might even defeat him.

After comprehending the Dao within the star sea, he had already understood where the current limit of this Darkest Star Sea lay.

Even though the Immortal Ancestor had dominated Xuanhuang for nearly ten thousand years, he certainly had not broken through the present limit of the star sea.

But what faintly unsettled Li Ping was the shadow standing behind the Immortal Ancestor.

The Heavenly Doctor.

Although Li Ping knew little about this figure, a vague intuition in his heart told him that this person absolutely could not be underestimated.

Anyone capable of conspiring alongside the Immortal Ancestor could not possibly be weak.

“The Immortal Ancestor, I can still handle. But if the Heavenly Doctor is added as well…”

Although the outlook was not optimistic, the Holy Emperor’s plan to launch the final offensive three years later was not an impulsive decision.

Three years from now was an extremely special point in time.

The significance was not within the Xuanhuang Realm, but in the entire Darkest Star Sea.

From his connection with that vast true intent of the star sea’s origin, he sensed that in three years, the star sea would once again erupt with the power of origin revival.

At that time, the revival power of the star sea would begin a large scale struggle against the calamity power lingering throughout the star sea.

Under the collision of these two immense forces, any cultivator in the star sea who had not reached the level of contending against either force would inevitably be affected.

This applied equally to cultivators who had comprehended the Dao through the star sea, as well as believers of calamity power.

The specific manifestation of this influence upon cultivators would be a severe reduction in their upper limit of strength.

Just as larger bodies in the ocean encounter more wind and waves.

The stronger one’s cultivation, the deeper the influence of the star sea and calamity power within the Darkest Star Sea.

The Immortal Ancestor and the Heavenly Doctor, these two beings standing at the peak of the star sea, would temporarily be forcibly dragged down.

Although the Holy Emperor’s strength would likewise be reduced, on one hand, a large portion of his combat power came from the fortune of the Holy Dynasty. As long as the Holy Dynasty did not fall, the strength he could exert would remain at a relatively stable level.

On the other hand, he had a vague connection with the true intent of the star sea’s primordial will. Protected by it, compared to other beings in the star sea, he only needed to face the impact of calamity power.

“Through my brief exchange with the Star Sea’s Primordial Will, I confirmed that before me, no cultivator had ever come into contact with it. Although I do not know why the Immortal Ancestor and the others failed to discover the revival of the Star Sea’s Primordial Will over these ten thousand years, it is undoubtedly fortunate for me.”

“Not only does it reduce the gap between us to a certain extent, I can even borrow some of the power of this vast star sea.”

“However, compared to the Xuanhuang Realm, which had no other choice, this star sea is currently undergoing vigorous rebirth, while my own power is far too insignificant. I have only one chance…”

The Holy Emperor stood before the inverted spirit tree, deducing the various possible scenarios of the great battle three years later.

No matter how Daoist Yi Jue of the Du’e Sect tried to persuade him, he remained unmoved.

“If I could borrow calamity power, perhaps my chances of victory would increase even further.”

The Holy Emperor could not help but think this.

He would never have imagined that at the distant opposite end of the star sea, a group of beings attempting to master the star sea’s calamity power had likewise perceived the coming upheaval three years later.

Xuan Immortal Ark, Severed Immortal Tower.

Zhao Xian, who was in secluded cultivation, namely the Holy Embryo Li Fan, was hurriedly summoned.

At the grand assembly of all core members of the Severed Immortal Tower, Ai Tianjue spoke and announced an event that might have a major impact on the Immortal Ark.

“The residual calamity power throughout the star sea is continuously strengthening, and it is expected to reach its peak within three years?”

“Under this influence, the True Immortal power attached to the Sea of Relics will also resonate. The usual fluctuations will intensify dramatically, making this our best opportunity to search for viable world extinction relics. Such an opportunity appears only once in a thousand years.”

“If all goes well, we may gather enough relics in a single attempt to meet the next hundred years of demand.”

After hearing Ai Tianjue’s report, everyone immediately became excited.

Because of the scarcity of world extinction relics, the Severed Immortal Tower’s research into True Immortal seal script had progressed extremely slowly.

Often, several cultivators had to share the same relic.

Only the true ruling figures and their disciples had the opportunity to exclusively use one each.

Nearly every cultivator in the Severed Immortal Tower believed their own aptitude was no worse than anyone else’s. If each person could have sufficient relics for study, the difficulty of research would undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

“What I care more about is why this phenomenon is occurring.”

Chi Gongdao’s voice sounded.

He himself did not attend the meeting. The speaker was merely a brush woven from flesh and hair.

The flesh brush danced continuously through the air, gesturing as it spoke.

“The Immortal Ark has always kept extremely detailed records of fluctuations in calamity power. Such abnormal phenomena have never appeared before.”

“And abnormalities either signify opportunity, or they represent…”

“Disaster!”

The flesh brush wrote an enormous character in the air.

A strange fluctuation emanated from the character. All the cultivators present involuntarily felt a chilling cold rise in their hearts, as if standing beside a bottomless abyss.

“Gongdao, stop fooling around.”

A blue haired elder spoke in a deep voice.

With a single glance, the character was absorbed into his eyes.

The speaker was the second elder of the Severed Immortal Tower and host of this assembly, Gan Jingda.

After stopping Chi Gongdao’s antics, Gan Jingda said gravely, “However, what you said is not without reason. In fact, several of us have already analyzed this privately.”

“This disturbance is different from the previous rebounding star force riot. The root cause likely comes from the Star Sea itself.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

The cultivators all contemplated the deeper implications of this statement.

None of them were fools. They clearly understood that the source of their current power came from the residual True Immortal power in the star sea.

But from the perspective of the entire star sea, that True Immortal power was a foreign object, an aberration.

Something that ought to be purged.

Judging from current trends, there was no possibility of mutual integration between the two.

Once the upheaval arrived, what would the outcome be?

If calamity power lost control, that would not necessarily be good news for the Xuan Immortal Ark, which already survived under extreme hardship, as if walking on thin ice. Even if more True Immortal power became available in the future, the dangers they faced would correspondingly increase.

This was the price of scheming for True Immortal power with a mortal body.

And if the Star Sea gained the upper hand, then the Xuan Immortal Ark’s future would be even more bleak.

These remnants aligned with True Immortal power would suffer a drastic weakening once deprived of the weapon they had long relied upon.

Unless they were willing to change paths and return to the route of Dao comprehension cultivation.

But…

A subtle atmosphere flowed through the hall.

Having once tasted the ability to wield True Immortal power with a mere gesture, who could still willingly accept the slow, step by step path of ordinary cultivation?

Ai Tianjue coughed lightly, breaking the silence.

“Everything now is still only speculation. There is no substantial evidence.”

“The Xuan Immortal Ark has endured countless disasters since ancient times. I believe we will safely survive this upheaval as well.”

The assembled cultivators responded with applause.

“However, this upheaval concerns a matter of great importance. We have decided that beginning today, the Immortal Ark will enter a state of emergency war preparation.”

“Prepare to enter wartime status at any moment.”

Gan Jingda announced the purpose of the meeting.

Although no one voiced opposition, the heaviness on their faces was unmistakable.

At this moment, Li Fan suddenly spoke, drawing everyone’s attention.

“If upheaval occurs, will the suction force in the Star Sea also be affected to some extent?”

“I once heard of the existence of the Xuanhuang Realm at the opposite end of the Star Sea. Compared to our Immortal Ark, that still intact cultivation world possesses vastly richer resources. Previously, the immense distance and the influence of the Star Sea’s suction force made such an expedition not worth the cost. But now…”

As Li Fan spoke, everyone’s eyes lit up.

Gan Jingda and Ai Tianjue exchanged glances, seemingly discussing something.

Then, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, they said:

“The Council of Elders will conduct a detailed evaluation of the feasibility of this matter.”

“If it proves possible…”

“Our Immortal Ark may perhaps find a place to establish ourselves at the far end of the Star Sea.”