Chapter 402: The Most Beautiful Era

Having spoken, Bing Yin looked at Li Fan's expression and, accustomed to it, said, "What? You don't believe me?"

Li Fan remained silent.

Bing Yin pointed towards the light cluster ahead. The shifting scenery blurred, revealing a portion of the sapphire crystal within. Under the shimmering light, a blue beam shone before Li Fan.

"You can try to send a wisp of your spiritual consciousness into it; you'll know once you try," Bing Yin said confidently.

Li Fan pondered for a moment. With a flicker in his eyes, he separated a thread of his spiritual consciousness. The moment it touched the blue light, the beam retracted. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and Li Fan closed his eyes. The next moment, his spiritual consciousness abruptly returned. Li Fan snapped his eyes open, somewhat startled. Feeling the memories transmitted back by his spiritual consciousness, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a little speechless.

He had been born in the Great Plague Era, an ordinary Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator. It was simply because he went to the market to buy materials for alchemy that he accidentally contracted the Immortal-Mortal Miasma. Initially, his body felt weak and he was dizzy. He thought there was a problem with his cultivation technique, so he took a pill and forced himself into secluded cultivation. To his surprise, when he awoke from seclusion the next morning, he had lost all his cultivation, transforming from a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator into a powerless mortal. Unable to accept this drastic change, and with his body growing weaker, he succumbed to the dual blow and died.

Survival time: Seven days.

"The initial Immortal-Mortal Miasma was quite terrifying," Li Fan muttered, slightly frowning as he recalled his brief life. He then looked at Bing Yin, the facilitator. "I want to try again," Li Fan said.

Bing Yin smiled, unsurprised. He chanted an incantation, summoning the blue beam once more.

This time, Li Fan was born into the Wasteland Era. His original body had been a Soul Transformation cultivator who survived the brutal battles of the Great Dark Era. His hands were stained with blood, and he trusted no one. He was a lone wolf in the wasteland, an ascetic who lived by himself. After taking over this body, Li Fan, during a solo exploration of ruins, endured countless hardships and finally joyfully acquired a Dao Integration cultivation method. He then secretly began searching for information about the Souls of Heaven and Earth, attempting to break through to the Dao Integration realm. Unfortunately, despite his extreme caution, the news somehow leaked. He was ambushed by several cultivators in the wilderness and died with resentment.

Survival time: Three months.

Li Fan regained his composure, carefully contemplating these two experiences. Then, he asked Bing Yin, "Can I choose to start from scratch, as a blank slate?"

Bing Yin seemed to understand what Li Fan was thinking and gave a slight smile. With a gentle finger, the blue beam shot towards Li Fan again.

This time, he was born into an era of flourishing cultivation, before the Great Calamity had descended. Sects stood in abundance, Nascent Soul cultivators were common, and Soul Transformation cultivators were less esteemed than dogs. Li Fan originated from a small mountain village within the Crimson Flame Sect's territory. Through the five-yearly "Ascension Convention," he became an outer disciple of the Crimson Flame Sect. After two years of diligent effort, he successfully entered the Qi Condensation stage. He was on the verge of being promoted to an inner disciple, truly embarking on the path of cultivation.

However, unexpectedly, a major war broke out between the Crimson Flame Sect and the Nine Suns Mansion over a spirit vein. Though extremely reluctant, he had no choice. Li Fan, as cannon fodder, stepped onto the battlefield. He lasted less than two days before unfortunately dying in battle.

Survival time: Fifteen and a half years.

"Don't tell me you've intentionally raised the probability of various misfortunes happening?" Li Fan looked at Bing Yin suspiciously.

Bing Yin shook his head. "Everyone says the immortal path is good, but they don't know how many corpses of failures lie beneath the feet of an ordinary cultivator in ancient times." He continued, "I see you still have doubts about this. Very well, let me convince you." Bing Yin's expression became slightly more serious. He formed an incantation, causing the blue crystal enveloped by the light cluster to be further exposed. The crystal projected a diamond-shaped blue pattern, which appeared before Li Fan.

"Please separate a larger portion of your spiritual consciousness for this attempt," Bing Yin reminded him.

Li Fan nodded. His spiritual consciousness touched it, and in an instant, the world spun. His consciousness was divided into one hundred parts, each sent into different regions of various eras to experience different lives.

In the Great Plague Era, he barely survived the Immortal-Mortal Miasma. However, he then indulged in a rampage, slaughtering mortals, which caused the miasma within him to relapse. He lost all his cultivation and was stoned to death by vengeful mortals.

In the Great Dark Era, he killed all cultivators who practiced the same technique, becoming the sole surviving Gu King. He had originally planned to hide in a secret cave in the mountains, waiting for the Great Calamity to pass. But he was inadvertently caught in a battle between two passing mighty cultivators and died confusedly.

In the era when the new law was first propagated, he was among the first cultivators fortunate enough to hear the Immortal Venerable's teachings. Originally a rogue cultivator who found cultivation exceptionally difficult, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds after switching to the new method. He believed the immortal path would be smooth sailing from then on, but a group of people suddenly came looking for him. Calling him an "evil deviant," they killed him without a second word.

And in a certain unknown era, there was an existence against the heavens called the Immortal Spirit Pagoda. The Immortal Spirit Pagoda was everywhere, tirelessly releasing pure spiritual energy day and night. In that period, the world's spiritual energy density was even stronger than what was found within the Heavenly Profound Mirror after its activation in the present day. What was even more enviable was that any cultivation technique, if desired, could be searched and viewed through the Immortal Spirit Pagoda without any restrictions. If one encountered any ambiguities in a technique, they could even consult the Immortal Spirits in the pagoda for clarification, or ask other cultivators who practiced the same technique. It truly was a paradise for cultivators, a dream come true.

However... perhaps because it was something they were born with and accustomed to, humans living in that era were not particularly enthusiastic about cultivation. In that highly developed society, no matter how high one's cultivation, they still had to abide by the rules set by the supreme beings. And even if one was a mortal who didn't cultivate at all, their basic rights were respected. Living in such an environment with abundant spiritual energy, various natural treasures were as common as food. Lifespans were extremely long, with no end in sight. Every desire could be satisfied.

Gradually, an inexplicable emptiness began to occupy and erode their souls. After Li Fan's birth in that era, he indulged in pleasure for five hundred years, was idle for five hundred years, became gradually confused for five hundred years, and fell into despair for five hundred years. Finally, after surviving for over two thousand years, he laughed and deliberately ended his own life.

Among the more than one hundred portions of spiritual consciousness, excluding the Immortal Cultivation Paradise, the longest he lived was only forty-three years. The average survival time was a mere half a year. The highest cultivation achieved was early Golden Core stage, while the lowest died tragically before even embarking on the path of cultivation. One hundred different cultivation lives unfolded in Li Fan's mind. As he slowly recovered and all the scenes gradually faded, he vaguely saw a blurry figure standing before him, who softly said, "Remember, it's not the Myriad Immortal Alliance that needs you."

"It is you who need the Myriad Immortal Alliance."

"This era is the best era."

"Without a doubt."

All the scenes exploded like shattered glass, scattering like countless starlight threads towards every corner of his spiritual sea. Just then, a blue light glowed in the center. The starlight seemed drawn to it, changing direction and flying towards the blue crystal. Li Fan abruptly opened his eyes.