My Longevity Simulation

Chapter 608

What is real, and what is false?

Having traversed so many worlds,

Each vibrant face,

Every heroic or tragic tale,

Rivers, lakes, seas, and mountain breezes,

Love and hatred, obsessions with immortality,

Heroes and cowards, saints and sinners...

Are these all illusions?

At first, Qiao Sidao was confused.

He wondered: if all worldly matters are mere illusions, what meaning remains in the lives of the myriad beings deceived by this world?

Their heartfelt desires, their painstaking pursuit of divine techniques, treasures, and realms of cultivation—

When time resets, it all begins again.

Even death, which they so fear, is not the end, but the start of something new.

In one lifetime, two souls might share a deep friendship, only to become strangers in the next.

What a sorrowful reality this is.

In his bewilderment, Qiao Sidao lost interest in everything.

Despairing, he began spreading the truth that the world was false.

He thought this would attract the attention of the "Observers" beyond the skies, bringing him liberation.

To his surprise, no one believed him.

Instead, they mocked him as a madman.

Even when he exhausted himself explaining the truth, people responded impatiently,

"Why don’t you see if my sword is real or not!"

When annoyed, they even sent sword lights his way, severing his legs.

At that moment, Qiao Sidao noticed the indifference in their eyes—there was no sympathy, only glee at his suffering.

In a world rife with madness, why would the Observers beyond care?

After this realization, Qiao Sidao gave up on exposing the grand conspiracy.

He adjusted his mindset and sought to blend into each world,

Abandoning the dream of being a savior, focused instead on finding a way to survive.

In this false world, escape was bound to be extraordinarily difficult.

Initially, Qiao Sidao was at a loss.

But soon, he found a path. He stopped openly proclaiming that the world was false.

Instead, he wrote fictional tales, narrating the story of someone living within an immortal artifact called the "Traveling Horse Lantern", experiencing countless fleeting and illusory cultivation worlds.[1]

With his vast experience across numerous civilizations, the grandeur of his depictions attracted many cultivators' attention.

As the tales spread, some cultivators began discussing whether the world they lived in was real.

Inevitably, discussions also turned to: "What would one do if they discovered the world was false?"

"If falsehoods can masquerade as truth, it means the laws of this false world must mirror those of the true world outside."

"To construct a flawless world framework... such an achievement is akin to creation itself."

"If so, the line between real and false blurs."

"Indeed, even if the beings within are false, the foundation of the world's operation might not be."

Someone mentioned an artifact called the "Stone of Dao Deviation" in the Taiyan Sect.

It was said that within its every instant, countless worlds evolved and perished. What might such fleeting worlds look like?

Through collective wisdom, the cultivators' discussions illuminated a path for Qiao Sidao.

From then on, his purpose became clear.

In each lifetime, he no longer sought cultivation or realms of power but delved into formations, restrictions, and simulation techniques.

Gazing at the vast ocean of information within the Immortal Spirit Tower, Qiao Sidao trembled uncontrollably.

He understood that the method to escape was hidden somewhere within.

Thus, Qiao Sidao devoted himself tirelessly to studying.

He lived in the Eternal Immortal Realm for 3,658 years without ever stepping away from the Immortal Spirit Tower.

Although he was still far from uncovering the [false world], he had finally glimpsed a sliver of hope.

After experiencing thousands of reincarnations and waking up from yet another cleansing, Qiao Sidao was thrilled to discover that, perhaps because his soul had grown more resilient, he had lost far fewer memories this time compared to before.

This gave him renewed confidence.

He continued to accumulate knowledge and insights, waiting for the next time the [Eternal Immortal Realm] would appear.

...

When Qiao Sidao arrived at the Eternal Immortal Realm for the ninth time, near the end of his life, he finally uncovered the secret of his world.

It was a false world, constructed around a certain mysterious artifact of deduction.

Most of the living beings within this world were virtual constructs.

Only a small fraction had real souls.

And Qiao Sidao was one of those rare true souls among millions.

"Deductions have their limits."

"This also means that the timeline of this world has gaps."

"Each smallest gap is an opportunity for me to escape."

"Of course, to avoid detection, the best time to escape is during a world reboot."

Standing atop the Immortal Spirit Tower, gazing at the sky above, Qiao Sidao silently resolved to act.

He spent the remainder of his life preparing.

When his life finally ended, as he sank into darkness, Qiao Sidao awoke from his slumber.

He sensed a fleeting opportunity, like a thread, breaking through the boundary.

In his mind, he had envisioned the [outside world] tens of thousands of times.

He had even imagined confronting the possible [Observers].

But what Qiao Sidao never expected was that the so-called outside world would be so cold and vast.

His once-mighty soul, which he thought invincible, was on the verge of collapse under the assault of this icy expanse.

It seemed like he would disintegrate entirely in the next moment.

To make matters worse, the halo he had escaped from began emitting an alarming sound.

Drifting aimlessly in the void, Qiao Sidao observed his surroundings in confusion.

"A... museum?"

He fell silent.

It turned out that his world was nothing more than an exhibit.

He vaguely sensed several powerful presences rapidly approaching.

Despite the vastness of the heavens and earth, there was no place for him to hide.

For the first time, Qiao Sidao experienced true despair.

At that moment...

He noticed a human skull in the center of the museum.

It sat there quietly, seemingly gazing at him.

From this skull, Qiao Sidao felt an indescribable warmth.

While the entire world rejected him, it exuded the greatest goodwill it could muster.

It was like a mother’s embrace, moving Qiao Sidao to tears.

Thus, as his soul was about to dissipate, Qiao Sidao used the last of his strength to dive into the skull.

[1] Traveling Horse Lantern 走馬燈 (Zǒumǎdēng) is also called zoetrope in english, which some of you might know is a pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion, by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion.