Having said that, C-3 observed Li Fan's expression and said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "What? You don't believe me?"
Li Fan did not reply.
C-3 pointed towards the glowing sphere ahead. The shifting scenery blurred, revealing a portion of the blue crystal within.
From the shimmering light, a beam of blue light shot towards Li Fan.
"You can try sending a wisp of your divine sense into it. You'll know once you try." C-3 said, with full confidence.
Li Fan pondered for a moment, his eyes flickering, then split off a thread of his divine sense.
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 divine sense abruptly returned.
Li Fan's eyes snapped open, a look of astonishment on his face.
Sensing the memories transmitted back by his divine sense, Li Fan couldn't help but feel speechless.
He had been born into the Great Plague Era, living as an ordinary Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator.
Just because he had gone to the town market to purchase materials needed for alchemy, he had inadvertently contracted the Immortal-Mortal Miasma.
At first, he felt weak and dizzy, and his vision blurred.
Thinking it was a problem with his cultivation technique, he swallowed some pills and went into secluded cultivation.
Who could have known that, when he awoke from his seclusion just one night later, he would actually lose all his cultivation. From a proud Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had regressed into a mortal utterly devoid of spiritual power.
Unable to accept such a drastic fall from grace, and with the second blow of his body growing increasingly frail, he passed away.
Total survival time: seven days.
The potency of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma when it initially descended was rather terrifying.
Recalling his brief, recently concluded life, Li Fan frowned slightly.
Then he looked at his guide, C-3.
"I want to try again."
C-3 smiled, not at all surprised.
He formed a hand seal, summoning the blue beam of light once more.
This time, Li Fan was born into the Wasteland Era.
The original host was a Spirit Transformation cultivator who had survived the brutal slaughter of the Dark Ages.
His hands were stained with blood, and he trusted no one.
He was an ascetic, a lone wanderer in the wasteland.
After Li Fan took his place, he endured countless hardships and finally, joyfully obtained a Dao Unity technique while exploring some ruins.
Thus, he began secretly gathering information on Soul Arbiters of heaven and earth, attempting to break through to the Dao Unity realm.
Unfortunately, despite his utmost caution, the news somehow leaked.
He was ambushed by several cultivators in the wilderness and died with bitter regret.
Total survival time: three months.
Li Fan returned to himself, carefully considering these two experiences.
Then, he said to C-3, "Can I choose to start from scratch, with a blank identity?"
C-3 seemed to understand what Li Fan was thinking. He gave a slight, knowing smile.
With a gentle tap of his finger, the blue beam shot towards Li Fan once more.
This time, he was born into the era of peak cultivation prosperity, before the great calamity had descended.[1]
Sects stood like forests, Nascent Soul cultivators were as common as dirt, and Spirit Transformation cultivators weren't even worth a mention.
Li Fan was born in a small mountain village within the territory of the Crimson Flame Sect.
Through the Ascension Assembly once every five years, he became an outer disciple of the Crimson Flame Sect.
Toiling diligently for two years, he finally succeeded in stepping into the Qi Refinement realm.
He was on the verge of being promoted to an inner disciple, truly setting foot on the path of cultivation.
Unexpectedly, war erupted between the Crimson Flame Sect and the Nine Suns Manor over a spirit vein.
Though he was extremely unwilling, he had no choice in the matter but to step onto the battlefield as cannon fodder.
He lasted fewer than two days before his unfortunate death.
Total survival time: fifteen and a half years.
***
"You didn't, by any chance, deliberately increase the probability of all sorts of unfortunate events happening, did you?" Li Fan eyed C-3 with suspicion.
C-3 shook his head. "The world speaks of the path of immortality as a great good, yet they do not know that in ancient times, beneath the feet of an ordinary cultivator lay the corpses of countless others.
"I see you still have doubts. Very well, I shall prove it to you beyond doubt."
C-3's expression grew slightly more serious.
He made a hand seal, exposing the blue crystal within the sphere of light a little more.
The crystal projected a blue, diamond-shaped pattern before Li Fan.
"Please allocate a larger portion of your divine sense for this attempt," C-3 reminded him.
Li Fan nodded.
His divine sense touched it, and in an instant, the world spun.
His consciousness was split into one hundred fragments, each cast into a different region of The Eras to experience a different life.
In the Great Plague Era, he barely survived the Immortal-Mortal Miasma.
Yet, in a fit of rage, he slaughtered mortals indiscriminately, causing the Immortal-Mortal Miasma within him to flare up again.
His cultivation was lost, and he was stoned to death by mortals seeking revenge...
In the Dark Ages, he killed all other cultivators practicing the same technique, becoming the sole surviving Gu King.
His original plan was to hide in a secret cave dwelling deep in the mountains and wait for the great calamity to pass.
But he inadvertently got caught in the battle between two passing powerhouses and died in a confused, muddled state...
In the era when the new methodology was first spreading, he was among the first fortunate cultivators to hear the teachings of the Immortal Venerable.
Originally a rogue cultivator who found cultivation exceptionally difficult, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds after switching to the new methodology.
Just when he thought the path of immortality would be smooth sailing from now on, he was suddenly visited by a group of people.
Shouting "demons and heretics," they attacked and killed him without another word...
In some unknown era, there existed heaven-defying constructs called Immortal Spirit Pagodas.
They were spread across every corner of the world, ceaselessly releasing pure spiritual qi day and night.
The concentration of spiritual qi during that period surpassed even what one could experience inside the Tianxuan Mirror with the epiphanic state boost fully activated.
More enviable still: any technique one could desire was available through the Immortal Spirit Pagoda, searchable and viewable without restriction of any kind. If something in a technique proved difficult to grasp, one could seek answers from the pagoda's Immortal Spirit directly, or consult with fellow cultivators practicing the same path.
It was, in every sense, a cultivator's paradise.
And yet, perhaps because everything was freely given and therefore taken for granted, the people of that era were not particularly passionate about cultivation. For all the heights one's cultivation might reach, one still had to abide by the rules set by the supreme authority. And even a mortal who never cultivated at all had their basic rights respected and protected.
In such a spiritually abundant world, rare treasures and natural wonders were as commonplace as daily meals. Lifespans stretched on without visible end. Every conceivable desire, it seemed, could be satisfied.
As time wore on, a strange emptiness began to take root and hollow out the soul.
After Li Fan was born into it, he spent five hundred years in pleasure, five hundred years doing nothing, five hundred years drifting in confusion, and five hundred years sinking into despair.
In the end, having survived for over two thousand years, he laughed heartily and brought his own life to a willing close...
Of the hundred-plus threads of divine sense, apart from the one in the cultivator's paradise,
the longest any other survived was just forty-three years.
The average survival time was just half a year.
The highest cultivation realm reached was the early-stage Golden Core realm; the lowest met an untimely death before even setting foot on the path of cultivation.
A hundred different lives played out within Li Fan's mind.
As he gradually recovered, and all the visions slowly faded, he faintly glimpsed a blurred figure standing before him, whispering, "Remember, it is not the Myriad Immortals Alliance that needs you.
"Rather, you need the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
"This era is the best of all eras, without a doubt."
All the images shattered like broken glass, scattering like streaks of starlight across the sea of consciousness.
At that moment, a blue light ignited at the center.
The starlight seemed to be drawn into the blue crystal.
Li Fan's eyes snapped open.
1. not sure which great calamity the author is referring to here. Could be the Great Reformation or the Great War ☜