Immortality Simulator

Chapter 741: Divine Ability That Trims Life

"So this is why he turned into an idiot?"

Nangong Shirong looked at Guan Changge, who had reappeared but now giggled incessantly like a simple-minded child. His expression twisted as he asked the question.

"Correct." Xu Bai nodded. "Most of his divine sense remains submerged in contemplation of the sword path. He refuses to return. There was nothing more I could do."

He coughed, then coughed again.

The Wuliang Wall had devoured part of his body, and he could feel himself growing weaker. It was as if something had drawn out a portion of his essential qi, leaving behind a hollow ache.

It resembles my Draw Thread divine ability, but only on the surface. Draw Thread leans toward bodily disintegration. This is different. It feels as though a piece of me has been sliced away.

A moment later, Xu Bai slipped back into contemplation of a divine ability, his gaze going distant.

Nangong Shirong mistook his dazed state for an injury he had suffered in the Wuliang Wall and tried to reassure him. "It's fine. You did what you could. If that Guan kid refuses to come out on his own, there's nothing more to be done.

"Besides, his body's intact, and that's enough for us to report back to Old Guan. Go rest. Leave the rest to me. I want to see if Guan Xingxiu still cherishes this blithering fool." He laughed coldly.

Xu Bai accepted the order and turned back, his mind still submerged in contemplation of the Dao.

The others assumed it was his injuries and paid him no mind.

Back in Tianliang City, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Good. This newly comprehended divine ability is the counterpart to Draw Thread. I'll call it...

Trim Life.

Xu Bai snapped out of his contemplation, sharp light flashing through his eyes. He fixed his gaze on a bird flying past just above the rooftop.

Without warning, the bird lost all control and plummeted from the sky.

It flapped its wings frantically and barely recovered mid-air, but its flight afterward was noticeably slower than before.

Xu Bai withdrew his gaze, satisfied.

Invisibly, it trims the life of a living being. Compared to Draw Thread, its execution is far more subtle. I can unleash it in an instant, and others will hardly notice. They'll simply feel as though their bodies have inexplicably weakened.

I can also use it together with Draw Thread, causing internal and external collapse at once. In the blink of an eye, I could erase both the life and the Dao of a being.

Combined, I'll call the two Draw Thread, Trim Life.

Xu Bai let out a long breath and slowly rose to his feet.

As the saying goes: possessing a sharp weapon breeds a murderous heart. With his divine ability advancing another step, the urge to find someone to test it on rose unbidden in his mind.

But before he could act on it, the desire dissolved on its own, vanishing without a trace.

Xu Bai's gaze sharpened. Something was wrong here.

This avatar didn’t cultivate the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Sutra. And if his true self had conceived such a thought, it would have taken considerable time to dissolve.

But this one had faded almost instantly.

His thoughts drifted back to the scene inside the Wuliang Wall, where he'd watched Guan Changge choose death rather than abandon his comprehension of the sword path. At that moment, a pang of pity and sorrow had risen in him.

Such feelings would never touch his true self.

Given Li Fan's nature, he would have called Guan Changge's choice a foolish, senseless pursuit of death and nothing more.

Is it this body's influence?

Xu Bai's eyes narrowed.

To enjoy the benefits of top-tier comprehension, far beyond the ordinary, I must also bear the cost: a change in heart and nature.

Xu Ke... Mister Bai...

The true self possessed the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Sutra, so the avatar didn’t give the matter much thought.

After leaving the courtyard and asking around about the aftermath, Xu Bai noticed something peculiar.

Nangong Shirong had successfully delivered the man, so Guan Xingxiu could no longer use that as an excuse to cause trouble. But Guan Xingxiu's next move startled the onlookers from Tianliang Province, who had been expecting a spectacle.

Right in front of Nangong Shirong and the gathered cultivators, Guan Xingxiu summoned his Falling Star Flying Sword and executed the drooling and utterly witless Guan Changge on the spot.

"A disgrace like this tarnishes your mother's reputation. It’s better that you die early. I'll come find you again in eighteen years." Guan Xingxiu's voice was cold as ice as he swung his sword.

Golden sword qi surged outward in all directions. Not a shred of Guan Changge's flesh remained. He was annihilated on the spot, reduced to ash.

The crowd from Tianliang Province stood stunned by Guan Xingxiu's ruthlessness. Even Nangong Shirong's face stiffened, and he offered a word urging the man to restrain his grief.

Guan Xingxiu ignored him completely. He simply tore through the air and vanished.

Nangong Shirong's expression soured, but he finally let out a long breath of relief. The plague had been sent away.

Then came the part that left Xu Bai confused. He was the one who had resolved the entire affair, yet Nangong Shirong seemed to have forgotten him entirely. Ten days passed without a word of reward, not even a token gesture of consolation.

Meanwhile Yan Yiqiu and his two companions, who had done little more than tag along and irritate Nangong Shirong, received gifts.

Xu Bai went back over every detail of his conduct during the incident, searching for where he'd gone wrong.

After a long while, the answer came to him.

There had been no flaws. From beginning to end, his performance had been perfect.

That was precisely the problem.

He'd known the Wuliang Wall could devour cultivators at any moment, yet he'd rushed forward without hesitation and tested it himself. Within a single breath, he'd found a way inside, and he'd even managed to bring Guan Changge back out.

Too perfect.

Had the man who'd accomplished all this been a cultivator Nangong Shirong had personally raised and knew inside out, he would surely have been overjoyed.

But Xu Bai was a man of unknown origin who had only recently come to pledge his allegiance.

There was no way Nangong Shirong believed that a few words could make someone submit wholeheartedly.

So Xu Bai's zealous effort had aroused suspicion instead of trust.

Too clever for my own good. Xu Bai shook his head.

But he didn't mind.

In the days that followed, he stuck to his duties and worked diligently. From time to time, he complained to his fellow cultivators about the unfair treatment he'd received.

These complaints eventually reached Nangong Shirong's ears, and his doubts slowly began to fade.

He still hadn't fully let his guard down, but Xu Bai pretended not to notice and carried on as usual.

Time flew by.

Two years later. Anchor Year 22.

Longevity Valley.

The Disassembler Disc in Li Fan's hand erupted with blinding white light. Countless array symbols appeared on the disc, shifting and reshaping at a breathtaking pace.

When the white light finally faded, Li Fan noticed that his Disassembler Disc had grown.

That was the first loser in the struggle of the nine discs.

Before he could examine the evolved Disassembler Disc in detail, Fang Zaiji's voice broke through, barely containing his excitement.

"Sect Leader! I've finally found the precise way to use the Final Stone Disc!"

The Sight-Sharing Eye flew toward Li Fan, bobbing through the air and carving trails of golden light behind it.