[Simulation Concluded]
...
Regaining consciousness, Li Fan was still immersed in the terrifying power of Dao Xuanzi's strike.
"So this is a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment..." Li Fan's heart was filled with shock.
Previously, Kou Hong's ability to destroy Xuanjing with a casual gesture had already astonished him, but Dao Xuanzi's final sword strike had made Li Fan acutely aware of his own insignificance.
Like an ant facing a surging tide, from Li Fan's perspective, he could not comprehend that strike at all, nor could he perceive its full scope.
And yet, even that brief glimpse was enough to show Li Fan the chasm between a mortal and a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.
"Without the immortal-mortal miasma, even if I reincarnated for a hundred lifetimes and devised hundreds of schemes, I wouldn't be able to pose the slightest threat to them." Li Fan felt secretly fortunate, but at the same time deeply perplexed and alarmed.
"What exactly is this immortal-mortal miasma? Don't immortal cultivators develop step by step from mortals? How can mortal blood have such a terrifying suppressive effect on cultivators?" The implications behind this set Li Fan's thoughts racing.
However, Li Fan quickly suppressed these musings.
"First, summarize the gains and losses of this life."
Watching the scenes flash across the light screen, Li Fan pondered to himself.
"The ambush against Dao Xuanzi and Kou Hong basically went according to my expectations. First, consume their strength with bullets soaked in the blood of condemned prisoners, then unsettle their minds with the matter of the Core Formation technique, and finally deliver the decisive blow with the rain of blood, capturing both alive after weakening them to the extreme..."
"What I didn't expect was that the immortal-mortal miasma's suppression of cultivators would be so severe that it directly caused Kou Hong's death."
"Even more outside the plan was that, while I originally thought their talk of being brothers for a hundred years was just empty words, their bond was truly extraordinary. When attacked, Dao Xuanzi called out to warn Kou Hong, and Kou Hong, knowing he could not escape death, voluntarily gave the Core Formation technique to Dao Xuanzi."
"Seeing Kou Hong die to treachery, Dao Xuanzi's indignation was so great that he abandoned all hope of survival and unleashed a mutual-destruction strike to avenge him... All of this proves that there was an extraordinary friendship between the two..."
"If so, how could they have tried to kill each other over a Core Formation technique?" Li Fan felt increasingly puzzled.
Suddenly, he recalled the scenes from when he first encountered them.
"On the Grand Dao of the Golden Core, it is either him or me..." Li Fan grew thoughtful. "Can immortal arts not be cultivated together?"
"If even those close as brothers end up like this, what kind of place is the cultivation world out there?"
Li Fan had a premonition that the cultivation world in this universe might be entirely different from what he had envisioned.
"No matter how treacherous the path ahead may be, I will not waver. Besides, with [True Reversion]'s aid, as long as I am careful enough, surely no predicament can stop me."
Though he had wavered for a moment, Li Fan's resolve quickly hardened once more.
"In this so-called land severed from immortality, if I want to pursue the immortal path, I still have to find a way through Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi. Last time, I chose to attack both of them at once; perhaps this time, I can choose to win one over." His mind spun rapidly, conceiving several plans to deal with them in an instant.
Even though they were lofty Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Fan did not fear them much. In fact, he hadn't even treated them with the gravity due to true "opponents."
It wasn't arrogance on Li Fan's part—it was simply that [True Reversion]'s ability to restart endlessly was far too defying of the heavens!
How could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivation compare to fifty years of foreknowledge and countless opportunities for trial and error?
After the simulation ended, Li Fan once again chose the option to accelerate the charging progress of converting the unreal to reality.
Name: Li Fan
Cultivation Realm: Mortal
Physical Age: 20/86
Psychological Age: 216/1080↑
Convert Unreal to Real Charging Progress: 30%
"This time, my psychological age ceiling only increased by a few decades. It seems to be nearing its limit." Li Fan had anticipated this, so he didn't mind too much.
"Counting the life before my transmigration, this is already my fifth lifetime. How difficult the road to immortality is," Li Fan sighed. "I hope these fifty years won't be wasted in vain."
Li Fan began another fifty-year wait.
Like a pre-set routine, everything proceeded step by step according to plan.
Taking the imperial examinations, passing, and placing first as the Zhuangyuan.
Serving as a county magistrate, mining ores, and manufacturing guns.
After killing the Prince of Langya and taking his place, Li Fan ultimately grew a bit impatient.
Ten years was too long; as long as he did not control the entire realm, he remained confined to the Jiangnan region. If he could have ten more years to mobilize the power of the entire empire, his plan to capture the two cultivators alive would have a much higher chance of success.
Therefore, Li Fan decided to send a trusted confidant into the imperial palace to secretly administer slow-acting poison to the emperor.
Who could have guessed that this single decision would stir up unforeseen trouble?
Although Li Fan's confidant was not caught administering the poison, the emperor—who was supposed to be in the prime of his youth—suddenly found his health deteriorating day by day, and he grew deeply paranoid.
He suspected that someone was secretly plotting against him. His chief suspect was none other than the Prince of Langya, formerly his closest brother.
Consequently, in Anchor Year 7, when the emperor fell critically ill, instead of passing the throne to the Prince of Langya, he bequeathed it to the Prince of Runan, who had always been rather cynical and carefree.
Fortunately, the mole Li Fan had planted in the palace sent word in time, and Li Fan took immediate action upon hearing the news.
On one hand, he dispatched men to assassinate the Prince of Runan on his way to the capital; on the other, using the Prince of Langya's name, he proclaimed that the emperor had been harmed by treacherous ministers at his side. Under the banner of "pacifying the national crisis," he led the army he had assembled over the years on a forced march. Before anyone could react, they stormed into the capital and seized the imperial court by force.
Such drastic measures naturally brought many aftereffects.
First and foremost was the defiance of the court officials. The emperor's posthumous edict had bequeathed the throne to the Prince of Runan; wasn't the Prince of Langya's action outright rebellion? Although the ministers dared not openly resist due to Li Fan's overwhelming military pressure, they were adept at feigning compliance while dragging their feet. Some even covertly contacted regional vassal princes, urging them to lead troops into the capital to "set things right." Naturally, Li Fan showed no mercy, executing a batch of them before barely intimidating the rest into submission. With the behind-the-scenes assistance of his opportunistic father-in-law, the Chief Grand Academician, it took several months just to stabilize the situation.
During those months, Great Xuan had already erupted into turmoil. Feudatory princes across the land declared independence one after another, completely ignoring orders from the imperial court.
Li Fan had no choice but to send troops to suppress them one by one.
Potent as firearms were, their numbers were limited after all. Coupled with Great Xuan's vast territory, it took considerable effort.
Between the military campaigns and government administration, Li Fan was worn ragged.
Busy with these matters for a long time, it wasn't until Anchor Year 22 that he completely resolved both internal troubles and external threats.
Calculating it out, compared to patiently sticking to the original plan step by step, he was actually several years later in gaining total control of the realm.
"I still need to be more cautious, more patient," Li Fan thought with resignation once everything settled down, taking the lesson to heart. "A miss is as good as a mile. If there are too many variables, my advantage of foreknowledge is severely diminished."
Fortunately, it was merely a minor disturbance that did not jeopardize the overall situation.
Once things gradually returned to track, the gears of time sped forward, and in the blink of an eye, Anchor Year 35 arrived.
In this year, Li Fan left Xuanjing and traveled thousands of li to personally visit the Eastern Ruins Abyss.
Chapter 5