Chapter 1629: Virtual Realm Blocks Zhen

Angry Squid

The Grand Tutor's Mansion in Xuanjing, the capital of the Great Xuan Kingdom.

Li Fan held his wine cup, observing the civil and military officials who filled the hall, gathered to celebrate his birthday. Even though he was now in his seventies, he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. It was truly remarkable: eight or nine tenths of the entire court's high-ranking officials had come to the Grand Tutor's Mansion that day! What an immense display of influence!

To think that Li Fan, when he first transmigrated to this world, was merely a poor scholar. For over fifty years, he had risen from nothing to become the Grand Tutor, wielding immense power over the land. The story of his journey was rich enough to fill a multi-million-word novel. With such a life, what more could one ask for?

Li Fan stroked his beard and drained the fine wine in his cup.

"To the Grand Tutor's longevity!" chorused the assembled officials in celebration.

Li Fan felt even more pleased.

Just then, waves of discordant exclamations suddenly erupted from outside.

"Look! What's that!"

"Fire falling from the sky! This is an auspicious omen, a sign of good fortune! Quick, go inform the Grand Tutor!"

"Why does it look like it's flying directly towards our Grand Tutor's Mansion!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Li Fan furrowed his brows. The grand hall, which had been somewhat lively, suddenly fell silent. Li Fan stood up and was the first to walk out. However, before he could scold his servants or express his displeasure, he was captivated by the sight in the sky. Far on the horizon, two silver lights, one after another, sped towards them like meteors.

"This is..." Li Fan was stunned.

In the blink of an eye, the two meteors arrived above Xuanjing, but suddenly stopped. At the same time, a voice like thunder descended from the sky, exploding in everyone's ears.

"Dao Xuanzi! You go too far!"

Everyone present was inexplicably terrified. Some even cried out "Immortal Master" and prostrated themselves on the ground. And a word, buried deep in his memory and almost forgotten, suddenly leaped into Li Fan's mind at that moment.

"Cult...cultivators!" Li Fan froze, muttering to himself, "How is this possible..."

The two cultivators in the sky clearly didn't care about the thoughts of the mortals below. Another voice then rang out: "Kou Hong! Do you think I'll let you go just because you fled to this place where immortals are cut off? Hand over the cultivation method you obtained that day, or I'll pursue you relentlessly until death!"

"A joke!" Kou Hong snorted coldly, his voice full of disdain. "It's precisely because I lacked a Core Formation method that I've been stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage for nearly a hundred years. My lifespan is nearing its end, and I'm about to turn into dry bones. But now that I've obtained this Core Formation cultivation method, how could I possibly hand it over to another!"

"Indeed!" Dao Xuanzi sighed deeply. "The Great Dao of the Golden Core allows no rivals. Though there are many Core Formation methods in this world, there are far more cultivators trapped in the Foundation Establishment stage!"

Dao Xuanzi's tone suddenly turned fierce: "Since that's the case, with the method of eternal life before me, how could I possibly let you go? How could I not go too far!"

Kou Hong laughed loudly: "It's just a matter of fighting it out! How laughable that you and I, brothers for a hundred years, are now drawing swords against each other for a slim chance at survival!"

Dao Xuanzi sneered but did not reply.

Kou Hong, however, suddenly said: "I know I'm no match for you, and I probably won't escape this calamity today. But there are so many mortals here; I wonder if you can withstand such a high concentration of the mortal-immortal miasma!"

Dao Xuanzi's expression instantly changed: "Kou Hong! What do you want to do!"

Kou Hong laughed wildly: "It's just for a slim chance at survival!"

Listening to the conversation of the two cultivators above him, Li Fan instantly felt a bad premonition. However, before he could react, he saw a scarlet flame explode above Xuanjing.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A tremendous roar continuously erupted in Li Fan's ears. His vision instantly turned blood red, and in just a moment, he passed out.

After an unknown period of time, Li Fan finally woke up. At first, he was somewhat disoriented. It took him a long time to recall what had happened earlier. Li Fan coughed, spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, then trembled as he struggled to his feet and looked around.

It was still night, and the once luxurious Grand Tutor's Mansion had been reduced to ruins. The air was filled with the foul smell of burnt corpses. The entire court of civil and military officials, who had been there moments ago, were all utterly annihilated, their souls gone to the Western Heaven. And Li Fan's wives, concubines, and five sons had not been spared either.

There was no trace of emotion left on Li Fan's aged face. His eyes were somewhat blank. He stood there for a long time before dragging his weakened body out of the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

Xuanjing, which had been incredibly prosperous and lively moments before, had now clearly become a hell of blood and fire. As far as the eye could see, there were only shattered bodies and collapsed buildings. Presumably, fewer than one in a hundred of the common people would survive this disaster. All of this, everything, was because of the two "Immortal Masters," the two cultivators, who had suddenly descended.

Li Fan lost his strength and collapsed casually into a shattered corner of a wall. His hearing had long been destroyed by the intense explosion. But that didn't matter anymore. At this moment, he just wanted to laugh.

How could there be cultivators in this world? From the moment he became an official, he used his power to search for any possible trace of the immortal path. When he became the Imperial Tutor, positioned above ten thousand others, he even searched every corner of the world! From the Frozen Sea in the north to the Great Ocean in the south, from the Ruin Abyss in the east to the Linked Mountains in the west. The entire Great Xuan held not a single trace of an immortal's existence!

But today, when he was already ancient and frail, many years after he had completely given up hope, two cultivators descended from the sky, appearing before him, and without a word, utterly destroyed everything he possessed. Is this what an immortal is? And where do immortals come from? All his anger and unwillingness ultimately turned into endless bewilderment. Heaven's will toys with mortals!

At the same time, Li Fan also felt incredibly fortunate. Fortunate that before his death, he finally confirmed the existence of immortals! Otherwise, after he began his next life, wouldn't he have wasted another fifty years in vain?! That's right! He, Li Fan, a mere mortal who rose from a humble scholar to the Imperial Tutor of the world, how could he not have relied on something? This was also why he narrowly escaped death at the hands of the immortals.

"Return to Truth!" Li Fan silently recited in his heart. Immediately, the surrounding scenery suddenly dimmed, becoming psychedelic and somewhat indistinct, as if viewed through a thick curtain of water.

"When the real becomes fake, the fake is also real."

Seven large characters lit up in the darkness, then suddenly dispersed, forming a light screen.

"Charging complete."

"Virtualize current scene and return to initial anchor point?"

Two lines of small text appeared one after another. At the same time, scenes appeared one after another, rapidly filling the entire light screen. That was Li Fan's fifty years of life in this current existence. Li Fan looked at himself in each of the scenes and was stunned for a long time.

This was the name Li Fan had given to the wondrous treasure he carried with him. It had only one function: to turn truth into falsehood, and reality into illusion! "Turning reality into illusion" meant transforming everything Li Fan had truly experienced into simulated, illusory experiences, allowing him to return to his initially set anchor point—the moment he had first transmigrated to this world.

In fact, this was already Li Fan's second life. In his first life, although Li Fan harbored great ambitions, he was unfortunately just an ordinary person. He repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, and after turning thirty, he finally gave up the idea of studying and becoming an official. He started a small business, became an ordinary wealthy man, then married, had children, and lived out an ordinary life. It was only when he was very old and on the verge of death from illness that "Return to Truth" finally awakened. Only then did Li Fan's second life begin, rising with unstoppable momentum. It's just a pity that now it seemed he had used it in the wrong place.

After a moment of deliberation, Li Fan did not choose to immediately end this life. Before that, he still had a few things to do. Turning off the light screen and returning to reality, Li Fan forced himself to rally his spirits and deal with the aftermath of Xuanjing being severely damaged by the immortals. After searching for some survivors, Li Fan, relying on his prestige built over many years, finally managed to somewhat stabilize the public's morale. Even though Li Fan couldn't hear, he could still find paper and pen. Though communication was a bit troublesome, it didn't prevent Li Fan's orders from being continuously relayed.

First, Li Fan ordered his trusted garrison camp stationed outside the city to swiftly come to Xuanjing to maintain post-disaster order. He then issued orders to surrounding cities to dispatch food supplies and officials to Xuanjing. Most of Xuanjing's buildings had been destroyed. After the garrison camp took over Xuanjing, Li Fan simply stayed in the military camp to oversee the aftermath work. And with Li Fan's decrees, resources and talented individuals from surrounding cities were continuously transported to Xuanjing. A month later, Xuanjing, still full of ruins, only slightly regained some semblance of life.

It was only after the Great Xuan Kingdom finally recovered from the immortals' strike that Li Fan began to order various regions to collect information about the two immortals who had appeared that night. This included where the two had originally come from, where they had gone afterwards, and if they had had any other conversations along the way. Unfortunately, months of investigation yielded no other results, apart from knowing that the two cultivators seemed to have appeared from the direction of the Eastern Ruin Abyss. The mutually destructive battle Li Fan had hoped for between the two immortals did not happen.

"I shouldn't have had any expectations for such a thing in the first place," Li Fan sighed inwardly. "Since that's the case, I have nothing left to linger on in this life."

Standing in the newly rebuilt Grand Tutor's Mansion, Li Fan once again activated "Return to Truth."

"Virtualize current scene and return to initial anchor point?"

Li Fan no longer hesitated and chose "Yes." On the light screen, countless vivid scenes simultaneously froze. Then, all the strategizing, maneuvering, glory, and wealth of this life shattered and exploded like dream bubbles, transforming into streaks of meteors that flew into Li Fan's mind. Scene after scene flashed rapidly before Li Fan's eyes like a revolving lantern, finally settling on the two cultivators confronting each other high above the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

"Dao Xuanzi, Kou Hong," Li Fan softly uttered their names. "Fifty years from now, I will still be waiting for you in this Xuanjing city."

"Wealth and glory are but fleeting clouds to me." Li Fan's consciousness gradually blurred, but his will and goal became firmer than ever before. "In my next life, I will hunt immortals!"

The brilliance in his mind gradually faded, and Li Fan slowly drifted into slumber.