The Second Anchor Appears

"*Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos*, a Nascent Soul realm technique. Current practitioners: 0." As Li Fan picked up the jade slip, a piece of information surfaced naturally in his mind. "The Nascent Soul realm..." Li Fan felt a wave of yearning in his heart. Unfortunately, he was still just a mortal without even divine sense. Though he could manage simple use of the storage ring, he was powerless before this Nascent Soul true technique. He could only stare at it longingly, unable to learn its contents. Sitting upon a mountain of treasure without the good fortune to enjoy it, Li Fan could only cast a few more covetous glances at it before reluctantly setting it down. Li Fan then looked toward a rust-encrusted iron sword lying nearby. It was none other than Dao Xuanzi's Foundation Establishment wonder, the Rusty Sword Dao Xuan. According to Kou Hong, Qi Refining cultivators wishing to break through had to rely on various wonders of heaven and earth to forge their Dao foundations. The wonders of heaven and earth each possessed miraculous qualities, discoverable only by those fated to find them. Yet once forged into a cultivator's Dao foundation, a wonder became bound to that cultivator through thick and thin. If the cultivator perished, the wonder would lose its divine craftsmanship along with their death and the dissipation of their Dao, becoming nothing more than an ordinary object. Li Fan stroked the ordinary iron sword with his hand, but his attention was focused on the prompt that had suddenly popped up from True Reversion. "Chargeable item discovered: Rusty Sword Dao Xuan (Damaged)." "Initiate charging?" Li Fan pondered for a moment and chose yes. The rusty sword in his hand vanished without a sound, and following that, a line of small text appeared in Li Fan's mind: "Current anchor charging progress: 1%" "Current anchor count: 1" Li Fan's heart stirred. According to the feedback from True Reversion, once the anchor charging progress reached one hundred percent, a second anchor would be unlocked. In the future, when virtualizing everything and choosing to return, he would be able to restart from any anchor. *If I can truly unlock a second anchor, it would make things so much more convenient,* Li Fan mused, filled with anticipation. For instance, in these past few lifetimes he had repeated the cycle over and over just to pry the method of cultivation from Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi. The fifty years preceding that had essentially been a repeated torment for him, not to mention that uncontrollable variables could crop up at times. If he could reincarnate directly from the moment he became Grand Preceptor and held sway over the realm, the efficiency of his attempts would increase exponentially. Thinking further ahead, right now he was only a mortal, and a single cycle lasted only fifty years. Although rather long, Li Fan could still barely tolerate it. Once he stepped onto the path of cultivation in the future, centuries or millennia could pass in the blink of an eye. If he failed and wanted a redo, having to restart everything from scratch made Li Fan's scalp tingle with dread just thinking about it. Moreover, if he could unlock even more anchors, Li Fan would have an abundance of opportunities for trial and error. By testing step by step in this manner, forging a flawless path to immortality was by no means impossible. As for the initial anchor, it could serve as a final safety net. "Wonders of heaven and earth may be rare, but the cultivation world is boundless, and wonders are inexhaustible. As long as I can leave this land severed from immortality and break free from these shackles..." Contemplating all this, Li Fan's desire to leave this place burned ever more fiercely. After absorbing the Rusty Sword Dao Xuan, Li Fan paid little heed to the rest of the items inside the storage ring. They were nothing more than standard spirit stones, low-grade dharma artifacts, and the like. Standard spirit stones were produced jointly by organizations like the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association. Divided into various grades, they served as the legal tender of the cultivation world. Each spirit stone was embedded with a unique anti-counterfeiting restriction that prevented anyone else from replicating it. In truth, standard spirit stones held value because they were recognized by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association and could be redeemed with them for cultivation techniques. Privately minted, inferior spirit stones and natural spirit stones mined from various spiritual ore veins were all utterly worthless. In the end, what shackled cultivators in the present cultivation world was not spiritual energy or spirit stones, but cultivation techniques—techniques for each realm. It was precisely because the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and the Five Elders Association controlled the vast majority of techniques under heaven that they could become colossal behemoths spanning the entire cultivation world. As for those low-grade dharma artifacts, most were expendable items used in combat. Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi could hardly be considered wealthy, so the artifacts on them were all ordinary goods of little actual worth. After stowing the items before him, including the Nascent Soul technique, back into the storage ring one by one, Li Fan was already gasping for breath. This body had grown so decrepit, like a flickering candle in the wind that could be snuffed out at any moment. Taking a deep breath, Li Fan closed his eyes, as though engraving this current frailty deep into his heart. Then, without further hesitation, Li Fan summoned True Reversion and brought an end to this lifetime. ... In the darkness, scenes flashed past in rapid succession. Finally, several familiar lines of text appeared in his vision: [Current simulation concluded] [You may choose one of the following options to retain: 1. One item in your possession from this simulation. 2. Your cultivation realm from this simulation. 3. The simulated memories of an individual closely associated with you in this simulation. These memories may be inherited by said individual. 4. Forfeit the above options to accelerate charging progress.] This time, Li Fan chose the first option. Unfortunately, his attempt to cut corners at the end of his last life by stuffing all the items into the storage ring did not work. The storage ring, the Nascent Soul technique, spirit stones, dharma artifacts, and other items surfaced in his mind one after another. Naturally, Li Fan chose the Nascent Soul technique. To his pleasant surprise, once he selected this technique, he could retrieve it from or deposit it back into True Reversion at any time. Moreover, the technique had achieved a bound relationship with him in a certain sense. This technique now belonged entirely to him. Even if he did not choose to bring it back in the next simulated life, it would permanently reside within True Reversion. "With this, many more schemes become possible..." Li Fan took out the golden jade slip, turning it over in his hand while pondering his plan of action for this life. *Several millennia have passed since the Era of the Great Migration, and the relevant clues have long been buried deep underground. Indiscriminately excavating ancient tombs is simply too shocking and scandalous. Even with the iron grip I had over the imperial court in my last life, it still provoked considerable opposition. If I carry out such an endeavor when the court has only just settled, it will certainly prove unsustainable.* *However, if I begin laying the groundwork right now and spend twenty years on it, it might not be impossible to transform the mindset of the people of the world...* Name: Li Fan Realm: Mortal Physical Age: 20/86 Mental Age: 282/1109↑ Virtualization Charging Progress: 0% Anchor Charging Progress: 1% Current Anchor Count: 1 Bound Item: *Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos* ... Time flowed on, and Li Fan's sixth lifetime began. Everything proceeded along its established trajectory, save that with Li Fan quietly fanning the flames from the shadows, worldly affairs underwent subtle shifts. Beginning in Anchor Year 3, rumors of immortals descending into the mortal world began circulating across Great Xuan. In Anchor Year 5, the School of Antiquity burst onto the scene. Carrying several volumes of ancient texts, members of the school traveled to the capital for an audience with the emperor. Because the texts were exquisitely profound and of a brilliance rarely seen in the world, they shook the realm. The ancient texts were titled: *The Book of Changes*, *The Way and Virtue*, *Nan Hua*, *The Analects*, *The Great Learning*...