My Simulated Road to Immortality

Xuanyuan Tuo was illiterate, but for the sake of cultivation techniques, he seized every chance on the road to humbly ask others to teach him.

Although he was advanced in age, his mind was still sharp. By the time he safely arrived at his destination, Xuanyuan Tuo had already recognized seven or eight portions of the characters in the introductory immortal laws.

Without the guidance of an Immortal Teacher, Xuanyuan Tuo could only rely on himself to ponder and explore alone.

Immortal laws are profound; even introductory cultivation techniques are not something that a rustic old farmer, unacquainted with the world, could master through solitary effort.

Especially considering that Xuanyuan Tuo was already at the age of knowing destiny, long past the best years for cultivation.

Moreover, he had to work during the day to maintain a basic livelihood...

In the blink of an eye, the one-year deadline was almost up, yet Xuanyuan Tuo had achieved nothing from the immortal laws, despite possessing them.

"Even if I manage to produce spiritual energy, I won't make it back in time."

Xuanyuan Tuo's heart was nearly in total despair.

"Cultivation is far, far too hard for people like us ordinary mortals."

He suddenly recalled seeing a young Immortal Teacher in the city some days before—just barely past his youth, yet already capable of soaring effortlessly through the wind.

How unfair the Heavenly Dao is!

Despair, envy, fear...

Xuanyuan Tuo collapsed onto the ground, gazing up at the sky dome.

"Why can't everyone in the world cultivate?"

"Why must there be such limitations in Heaven and Earth?"

"Damn this thieving heaven!"

Such curses were all too ordinary, endlessly echoed everywhere in the world, day and night.

But just as Xuanyuan Tuo poured out his curses in his heart, his ears were once again filled with the familiar muttered chants of Crazy Uncle Xuanyuan Sheng.

This time, the whispers did not dissipate quickly.

Instead, they circled endlessly, eventually drowning his entire spirit consciousness!

In a daze, Xuanyuan Tuo seemed to return once more to his childhood.

In the eerie Small Black Room, Crazy Uncle loomed among a houseful of Xuanyuan Ancestors' memorial plaques, his face twisted in a malevolent grimace.

"It's appeared again! Burn it, yet it endures; banish it, yet it clings!"

"Then we shall all perish together!"

A sudden blaze erupted from Xuanyuan Sheng's body.

He then charged at the towering rows of memorial plaques.

The dark flames spread gradually from Xuanyuan Sheng's figure to those plaques.

Amid Xuanyuan Sheng's crazed laughter, the fire consumed everything.

In the end, only the plaque inscribed with the name Xuanyuan Hong was left, its corner barely intact.

Afterward, Xuanyuan Tuo picked it up!

[Xuanyuan Hong]!

The three large characters appeared in his spirit consciousness like phantoms, their golden sheen gradually tinged with blood-red that dripped off in tiny beads.

Then, with a deafening explosion, it burst apart!

Xuanyuan Tuo fainted away as a result.

When he awoke, he stared blankly at the azure sky, then turned to the reflection of himself in the mirror.

Something—something had changed.

Turning back to the introductory immortal laws bestowed by the Guiyuan Sect Immortal Elder, Xuanyuan Tuo found them uncommonly simple and clear.

Even...

Somewhat primitive.

Xuanyuan Tuo no longer clamored to succeed in cultivation merely to return to join Guiyuan Sect.

Instead, he began to think once more about the question he had earlier pondered.

"Why can't everyone in the world cultivate?"

Xuanyuan Tuo knew well that nature gives birth to all beings, each distinct in their way.

But was there any method that could make people defy the disparities of talent, enabling everyone to cultivate?

The murmurs that had long been his constant companions no longer rang; at first, Xuanyuan Tuo found this somewhat disconcerting.

Yet at the same time, his spirit consciousness grew ever more cluttered with countless images.

Among them were visions of endless grasslands and beasts.

Others were faces, both familiar and unfamiliar.

Still others were fragments of cryptic dialogue scenes.

"How much certainty do you have in going forth?"

"I'll do all I can; destiny will decide the rest."

"That doesn't sound like something you'd say."

"The difference in power is too great; I can only gamble my life."

"Enough, go forth. Whether it will be fortune or disaster, who knows."

...

Xuanyuan Tuo pressed his fingertips lightly against his brow.

It seemed he had forgotten some exceedingly crucial mission.

The chaotic memories did not shake Xuanyuan Tuo's resolve.

Instead, drawing on the sudden emergence of countless fragments in his spirit consciousness...

Xuanyuan Tuo continued delving deeper into that earlier question.

How could everyone attain cultivation?

The images in his mind grew increasingly numerous and disorderly.

Gradually, they pieced together the life of another powerful cultivator named [Supreme Heavenly Physician].

Yet Xuanyuan Tuo, relying on his inner conviction, forcibly suppressed all distractions for the moment.

Continuing to mechanically contemplate.

Sitting motionless in the courtyard for thirty-three days.

On this day, now emaciated to the point of resembling a skeleton draped in a thin layer of skin, Xuanyuan Tuo suddenly stood.

His eyes shone as brightly, as vividly, as stars.

He raised his head to the heavens and muttered in a low voice.

"I desire Immortal Ascension; why must I seek Heaven's will? If Heaven denies me, I will seize it myself!"

"Obey Heaven, remain mortal; defy Heaven..."

"Become Immortal!"

The humped chest of Xuanyuan Tuo instantly straightened.

With nothing but a mortal body, he met the sky dome head-on.

No special aura cloaked him, yet he appeared never outmatched.

He continued to murmur: "Thus, the path of immortality is as follows..."

"Absorb the spirit of Heaven and Earth to command its energy;

Wield the marvels of Heaven and Earth to erect a Tao Foundation;

Perceive the Law of Heaven and Earth to refine a Gold Core;

Seize the essence of Heaven and Earth for forming a Nascent Soul;

Extract the pith of Heaven and Earth to obtain divinity;

Offer the essence of Heaven and Earth to merge with the path;

Defy the logic of Heaven and Earth to prove longevity!"

Xuanyuan Tuo spoke faster and faster, until the final phrase took all his strength, causing him to collapse feebly.

Yet he did not rise; he simply lay on the ground, laughing heartily.

Exceedingly weak now, Xuanyuan Tuo drifted into unconsciousness, satisfied to have found the path he sought.

Spiritual Energy from Heaven and Earth began to gather of its own accord, forming a whirlwind that lifted and cradled Xuanyuan Tuo's body.

After some time, the unusual phenomenon of Spiritual Energy pouring into his body gradually subsided.

Xuanyuan Tuo drifted gently down to the ground, his middle-aged frame revitalized with boundless vigor. Though his outward appearance remained old, vitality surged within.

It was unclear how much time passed...

As Xuanyuan Tuo lay asleep, his face suddenly twitched violently.

He abruptly opened his eyes.

There were no pupils—only eerie, empty whites.

His voice had grown much older, more gravelly.

"The Xuanhuang Heavenly Path is even harder to contend with than I had imagined."

"I nearly lost myself entirely, unable to restore my original consciousness."

"Cough! Cough! I miscalculated."