Chapter 12: The Last Day of the Simulation

"This body has only one year of life remaining."

"Let the simulation naturally come to an end."

Xu Xi said.

He laboriously moved his stiff legs, heading back toward home.

[Knowing that your younger sister is doing well, your mood is very relaxed, but you still cannot let go of her and decide to continue silently watching her growth in the limited time you have left.]

[Your body is in terrible condition; to create the External Spiritual Root, you burned everything you had.]

[The countdown for your life has begun.]

[For many people, life is extremely limited and scarce, and as they approach the end, they involuntarily harbor feelings of fear and dread.]

[But you are different; you know clearly that death is merely your return.]

[More than your dwindling lifespan, what troubles you more is the increasing pain brought by your deteriorating body and the many inconveniences in your daily life.]

[In the first month of the final year, at dawn, you wake up to find that your left leg has completely lost all sensation; no matter what method you use to stimulate it, you cannot make it walk normally.]

[You find joy in hardship, thinking that you still have one leg left, which is at least much better than in the real world.]

[You take out the wooden sword gifted by your Master, Li Wanshou, and use it as a crutch. From then on, you become an eccentric and a cripple in the eyes of others, finding it exceptionally difficult to walk.]

[You don't mind. In ancient times, there was Iron-Crutch Li of the Eight Immortals; today, there is the Crutch Sword Immortal, Xu Xi. Thinking of this, you can't help but laugh.]

[In the third month of the final year, you realize you laughed too early.]

[The rain is torrential, and the wind howls fiercely. While walking home steadily, you suddenly lose sensation in half of your body. Before you can react, you fall headfirst into a muddy puddle.]

[The puddle formed by the rain is very small; not to mention a normal adult, even a child could easily step over it. But for a person whose half-body is paralyzed and weak, it is like an uncrossable abyss.]

[Struggling, supporting yourself with one hand, you slip again.]

[You repeat this process continuously, your clothes becoming soaked through, before you finally stand up with great difficulty. You decide never to laugh again, because you are in too much pain to laugh.]

[In the fifth month of the final year, you rarely go out. Your coughing becomes more frequent, and every time you cough, there is a large amount of black blood. People nearby shake their heads and sigh for you.]

[In the eighth month of the final year, your body becomes even worse. You can no longer taste food, and your vision has become blurry. Aside from your consciousness remaining clear, you are worse than an old man in every other aspect.]

[Some roaming thugs see your weakness and try to break into your door in the middle of the night to steal your money.]

[Holding your wooden sword, even though your eyes cannot see, your ears cannot hear, your legs are inconvenient, and your hands are clumsy, you still easily slay them and hang them at the door to deter others who might harbor ill intentions.]

[Time continues to flow. By the final month, your life is like a candle in the wind.]

[At this time, during the transition between autumn and winter, you spend three grueling hours, enduring pain as if your heart and lungs are being torn apart, to barely move to the threshold to bask in the sun.]

[An unexpected figure appears before you.]

[It is your Master, the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator Li Wanshou.]

"…" The old man gazed at the beloved disciple he hadn't seen in a long time, remaining silent. His eyes were filled with regret and a fleeting flash of sorrow.

Finally.

Li Wanshou asked, "Do you regret it?"

Xu Xi shook his head, just as before. "No regrets."

Li Wanshou followed up, "How does it feel?"

Xu Xi answered honestly, "It hurts."

The Nascent Soul elder laughed, amused by Xu Xi's exasperation. He waved his hand and cast several Daoist Magics, treating Xu Xi's body despite knowing it was useless.

Then, the Master and disciple sat on the threshold and chatted.

Both knew this was their final conversation. The atmosphere was tinged with an inescapable silence and sadness. The old man spoke of Xu Moli's progress, while Xu Xi spoke of his life in Blackstone City.

Li Wanshou: "That child, Mo Li, is already preparing to Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage."

Xu Xi: "So fast? I remember it hasn't even been a year since she achieved her Foundation Establishment, right?"

Li Wanshou nodded. "Her talent is even more astonishing than you or I imagined. In time, she might truly be able to achieve Ascension to the Immortal Realm."

Xu Xi smiled, though the pain in his body made the expression look a bit strained. "That's wonderful."

As the sun set in the west.

The old man departed on his sword, completely disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Xu Xi struggled to move his body, leaning against the right side of the doorframe. Using it for support, he watched the beautiful sunset.

At this very moment.

His life was just like this setting sun.

Approaching its end at a visible speed.

However, there was nothing left to miss. Being able to learn about his sister's recent situation from Li Wanshou's mouth at the final moment of his life made Xu Xi very satisfied.

This way, he could end this simulation with peace of mind and return to the real world.

[Three days before the end of your life.]

[You have almost lost the ability to move and can only lie paralyzed on your bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. You cannot cook, but fortunately, your mind is connected to your Storage Pouch, allowing you to take out Medicinal Pills to satisfy your hunger.]

[You do not want your cause of death to be starvation.]

[Two days before the end of your life.]

[You cough violently, coughing up not just blood, but also some body tissues you don't recognize. You have a moment of realization: you are going to die.]

[The last day of your life.]

[You lie quietly in bed, recalling everything you and your sister experienced together from the first year of your Transmigration until now, as well as all your adventures in the Cultivation World.]

[You feel regretful; the Cultivation World has countless wonders, but you had no chance to explore them, nor have you ever witnessed the splendor of the Immortal Realm.]

[You do not regret it. To be able to exchange your own life for the survival of your sister, Xu Moli, you feel it is an incredibly worthwhile trade.]

[You close your eyes.]

[Feeling the weakness of your spirit and soul.]

[Waiting for death to arrive.]

[But to your surprise, on this final day, an extremely intense magical battle suddenly appears in the sky above Blackstone City. Buildings collapse and are destroyed, and a large number of Mortals are killed in the crossfire.]

[The wooden roof of your house is also destroyed. Thanks to this, you see a large number of Cultivators fighting in the sky through the damaged roof.]

"Rumble! Rumble!"

Various spells bombard the sky. From time to time, Flying Swords are shattered, or Spirit Beasts are cut in half.

The Righteous Path.

The Demonic Path.

Sect Cultivators.

A vast number of Loose Cultivators.

An incomprehensible and unbelievable scene appears before Xu Xi.

"This… could it be that the Righteous and Demonic Paths have gone to war?" Xu Xi was uncertain and surprised; he hadn't expected to see such a magnificent and spectacular scene at the last moment of his life.

When he was at the Heavenly Sword Sect before, he already felt that the friction between the Righteous and Demonic Paths was growing.

He didn't expect it to truly escalate into a war.

Suddenly.

Xu Xi thought of Mo Li, who was preparing to Breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage.

If it really was a war between the Righteous and Demonic Paths, then Xu Moli, as a Righteous Path Prodigy with Immortal Potential, would surely become a primary target for the Demonic Path Cultivators.