My longevity simulation

After pondering for a moment, Li Fan did not choose to continue playing coy. Instead, he nodded and said: “Indeed. How did you calculate that, Fellow Daoist?”

Xu Ke replied with his somewhat low voice, chuckling lightly: “For someone who is an enemy to the world, where else in the Xuanhuang Realm could my information exist besides in the Fallen Immortal Realm?”

Li Fan was slightly taken aback: “An enemy to the world? What do you mean by that?”

Now it was Xu Ke’s turn to look puzzled: “You don’t know what I’m sitting on?”

Li Fan shook his head candidly.

“Then why did you come looking for me?” Xu Ke stared intently at Li Fan, his expression inscrutable.

“I sought you out, Fellow Daoist, first to help the empire’s descendants and fulfill their lifelong wish.”

“Second, to understand the various contingencies left behind by Mr. Bai back then. After learning of his deeds, I was deeply moved by his righteousness. But the information I obtained in the Fallen Immortal Realm was incomplete, consisting only of memory fragments from different periods. So, it took considerable effort to locate your hiding place. I hoped you could help clarify things for me.” Li Fan cupped his hands, speaking sincerely.

Upon hearing Li Fan’s attitude toward Mr. Bai, Xu Ke’s expression softened considerably.

“The empire?” His eyes narrowed, as if sinking into memories.

“It’s the legacy you left in the world where Red Nine-Headed fell.” Li Fan reminded him.

“Ah…” Xu Ke finally recalled.

“Xiao Qing, Xiao Hong…” He showed a reminiscent expression.

“Both are still alive. But that Heavenly Fate Black Bird fell while searching for your whereabouts.” As Li Fan spoke, he handed over an item.

It was the last Black Bird feather left by Xiao Hei in the Beast Realm.

Xu Ke took the pitch-black feather, his hands trembling slightly. A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes. After a long while, he slowly said: “I’ve let you down.”

“May I have this item?” Xu Ke asked.

“It’s merely returning it to its original owner. If Xiao Hei knew that the Black Bird feather he left behind could finally return to your side, he could rest in peace.” Li Fan sighed.

“Thank you.” Xu Ke solemnly tucked the Black Bird feather into his bosom.

Atop the towering stone mountain, silence once again enveloped them absolutely.

At the pinnacle of this desolate world, even the wind seemed absent.

Only the eternal, unchanging dead silence that had persisted since ancient times remained.

Li Fan was not impatient. He simply accompanied Xu Ke through this heavenly desolation, waiting patiently.

After a long time, Xu Ke finally spoke again.

Due to the effect of that earlier combination of blows, his attitude toward Li Fan had already changed dramatically.

“How much do you know so far?” Xu Ke asked.

“Back then, you and Xiao Hei traveled far to the Nanming Sacred Beast Mountain. In truth, it was a task assigned by Mr. Bai to the Beast Taming Sect. The subsequent series of actions were all to ultimately cultivate the Rift Whales, capable of infinite proliferation and void-opening. This was so that the mortals from the various small worlds, forced to migrate due to the birth of the Immortal-mortal Miasma, could be as far from the Xuanhuang as possible.”

“And the so-called Immortal-mortal Miasma was also a product of Mr. Bai defying the natural order. As the Great Celestial Venerable of Xuanhuang, he ultimately ended his own life because of it.”

…

Li Fan articulated each word and sentence, slowly recounting the conclusions he had pieced together from the Fallen Immortal Realm and the real world.

“You know quite a lot.”

“You’ve put thought into this.”

“In this world, how many people can still remember Mr. Bai?” Xu Ke surprisingly bowed to Li Fan, expressing his inner respect.

“But I have many unresolved doubts and things I cannot let go of. Please, Fellow Daoist, clarify them for me. Otherwise, I fear I will be unable to eat or sleep peacefully in the future.” Li Fan said solemnly.

“Mr. Bai, as the Xuanhuang Celestial Venerable, possessed the strongest power in the Xuanhuang Realm at that time. Why did he choose to sacrifice himself and use the Immortal-Mortal Miasma to protect mortals?”

“Do you think the Immortal-Mortal Miasma was effective? If the Xuanhuang Realm had never produced the Immortal-Mortal Miasma from beginning to end, how would history have unfolded?” Xu Ke asked in return.

Li Fan pondered for a moment before slowly saying: “Without the Immortal-Mortal Miasma, the Great Calamity of Incompatible Cultivation Technique would still exist. In the end, the cultivators would still fall into mutual suspicion and slaughter, reaching a desperate impasse. In that process…”

“The city gates catch fire, and the fish in the moat suffer. In the wasteland of ruined cultivation, where could mortals find a place to survive? One in ten thousand surviving would be fortunate. Being infected by the Immortal-Mortal Miasma and then forced to migrate to small worlds: although many would die in the process, compared to the fate they would face if left in the Xuanhuang Realm, it is almost negligible.” Xu Ke finished Li Fan’s thought.

Li Fan nodded slowly upon hearing this, indicating agreement.

“So, Mr. Bai foresaw the Xuanhuang Realm’s fate for the next several thousand years right from the onset of the great calamity?” Li Fan asked again.

“For Mr. Bai, that was no difficult feat.” Xu Ke stated matter-of-factly.

“If that’s the case…” Li Fan’s tone and expression changed abruptly.

“The Great Calamity of Incompatible Cultivation was caused single-handedly by the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor spreading the new method. As long as that root of all evil is slain, it might yet be possible to right the wrongs! Why did Mr. Bai choose to retreat without a fight?”

“He disregarded even his own life, yet lacked the courage to battle the Immortal Ancestor?” Li Fan’s voice carried a thick resentment.

“Before us, The path to immortality lies ahead, yet it cannot be trodden. for the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Ancestor stands above.” After a moment of silence, Xu Ke sighed softly and uttered Mr. Bai’s former lament.

He then explained: “Leaving aside whether Mr. Bai was even a match for the Immortal Ancestor, who had already succeeded in defying the principles at that time.”

“In truth, in Mr. Bai’s deductions, even slaying the Immortal Ancestor could not prevent the great calamity from descending upon the Xuanhuang Realm.”

“Have you seen the beast species monster in Ningyuan City, the underground chamber: that human-dog hybrid?”

“I have.”

“That beast species had a human torso and canine limbs. Mr. Bai once tried to restore their lives. He gathered suitable human limbs, intending to remove their dog limbs and reattach human ones.”

“But because the dog limbs had already fused as one with their bodies in daily life, Mr. Bai’s multiple attempts all failed without exception.”

“Most died directly during the transplant surgery. Even those that seemed successful often did not survive a month afterward. They all perished miserably due to the frenzied draining of their life force.”

“No matter how Mr. Bai tried, the outcome remained unchanged.”

Xu Ke explained calmly.

Li Fan gradually came to understand.

“You mean the Xuanhuang Realm faces the same situation?”

Xu Ke sighed: “What is spilled cannot be recovered.”

“The changes the Immortal Ancestor inflicted on the Xuanhuang Realm have already taken effect.”

“To reverse them, the effort required would likely be tenfold, a hundredfold, or more.”