dà xuán guó , xuán jīng , tài shī fǔ 。
大玄国,玄京,太师府。
Great Xuan Kingdom, Xuanjing City, Taiyi Mansion.
lǐ fán duān zhe jiǔ bēi , kàn zhe mǎn táng qián lái zhù shòu de wén wǔ guān yuán , ráo shì tā rú jīn yǐ shì gǔ xī zhī nián , què yě bù jīn xīn zhōng àn zì dé yì 。
李凡端着酒杯,看着满堂前来祝寿的文武官员,饶是他如今已是古稀之年,却也不禁心中暗自得意。
Li Fan held a wine cup and looked at the gathered officials from both civil and military service who had come to celebrate his birthday. Despite being in his seventies, he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.
xū zhī , jīn rì tài shī fǔ nèi , mǎn cháo gōng qīng , lái le shí zhī bā jiǔ ! zhè shì hé děng shēng shì !
须知,今日太师府内,满朝公卿,来了十之八九!这是何等声势!
After all, nearly ninety percent of the high-ranking officials in the entire court were present here at Taiyi Mansion! What an impressive show of power!
xiǎng tā lǐ fán , gāng chuān yuè dào zhè yī fāng shì jiè shí , nǎi shì yī qióng kǔ shū shēng 。
想他李凡,刚穿越到这一方世界时,乃是一穷苦书生。
When Li Fan first arrived in this world, he was just a poor scholar. Over fifty years later, from nothing to becoming Prime Minister and wielding supreme authority over the land—this journey could fill a novel with hundreds of thousands of words.
wǔ shí duō nián lái , tā cóng yī wú suǒ yǒu dào rú jīn guān bài tài shī 、 quán qīng tiān xià , zhè qí zhōng zhǒng zhǒng , zú yǐ xiě chéng yī běn jǐ bǎi wàn zì de cháng piān xiǎo shuō 。
五十多年来,他从一无所有到如今官拜太师、权倾天下,这其中种种,足以写成一本几百万字的长篇小说。
Life is like this; what more does one need?
rén shēng rú cǐ , fū fù hé qiú a !
人生如此,夫复何求啊!
Li Fan stroked his beard and drained the wine in his cup.
lǐ fán fǔ le fǔ hú zi , jiāng bēi zhōng měi jiǔ yī yǐn ér jǐn 。
李凡抚了抚胡子,将杯中美酒一饮而尽。
"To the health of the Prime Minister!"
“ wèi tài shī shòu !”
“为太师寿!”
The officials present echoed him, their voices blending into a chorus.
zài chǎng de yī zhòng guān yuán qí shēng hè dào 。
在场的一众官员齐声贺道。
Suddenly, a red flame exploded above Xuanjing City. "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The deafening explosions filled Li Fan's ears, turning his vision blood-red before he fainted.
lǐ fán yù fā dé yì le 。
李凡愈发得意了。
...
jiù zài zhè shí , wài miàn hū rán chuán lái le zhèn zhèn bù hé xié de jīng hū 。
就在这时,外面忽然传来了阵阵不和谐的惊呼。
After an indeterminate amount of time, Li Fan regained consciousness. At first, he was disoriented but eventually remembered what had happened. He coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood and shakily got to his feet, looking around.
“ kuài kàn ! nà shì shén me !”
“快看!那是什么!”
It was still night. The once opulent Prime Minister's mansion lay in ruins. The air reeked of burnt corpses. All the high-ranking officials from both civil and military service were dead, their souls gone. Even Li Fan’s wives and five sons had not survived.
“ tiān jiàng liú huǒ , zhè shì xiáng ruì , xiáng ruì a ! kuài qù gào yǔ tài shī !”
“天降流火,这是祥瑞,祥瑞啊!快去告予太师!”
Li Fan’s aged face showed no expression as his gaze became dazed. He stood for a long time before limping out of the mansion. The once bustling Xuanjing City was now a blood-soaked hell, with broken bodies and collapsed buildings everywhere.
“ zěn me hǎo xiàng cháo zán men tài shī fǔ fēi guò lái le !”
“怎么好像朝咱们太师府飞过来了!”
Certainly, only one in a hundred would survive such a calamity. All because of two suddenly appearing "Immortals," two cultivators.
……
……
Li Fan slumped onto a broken wall corner. His hearing had been damaged by the explosion earlier, but that mattered little now. He just wanted to laugh.
tīng dé wū wài xuān huá , lǐ fán cù le cù méi tóu 。
听得屋外喧哗,李凡蹙了蹙眉头。
How could there be cultivators in this world?
yuán běn hái yǒu xiē rè nào de dà táng nèi dǒu rán ān jìng le xià lái 。
原本还有些热闹的大堂内陡然安静了下来。
Since he became an official, Li Fan used his power to search for any traces of immortality. As Prime Minister, he scoured every corner of the land from the Frozen Sea in the north to the Great Ocean in the south, from the Vast Abyss in the east to the Continuous Mountains in the west.
lǐ fán qǐ shēn , shuài xiān zǒu le chū qù 。
李凡起身,率先走了出去。
Yet, there was not a single trace of an immortal anywhere in all of Great Xuan!
rán ér , hái méi děng tā lái de jí hē chì xià rén 、 biǎo dá chū xīn zhōng de bù mǎn , tā jiù bèi tiān shàng de jǐng sè xī yǐn zhù le 。
然而,还没等他来得及呵斥下人、表达出心中的不满,他就被天上的景色吸引住了。
But today, after many years of giving up hope, two cultivators descended from the heavens and shattered everything he had. Were these immortals?
yuǎn yuǎn de tiān biān , liǎng dào yín sè de guāng máng , yī qián yī hòu , rú liú xīng bān , fēi sù cháo zhè biān shǐ lái 。
远远的天边,两道银色的光芒,一前一后,如流星般,飞速朝这边驶来。
Where did they come from?
“ zhè shì ……” lǐ fán lèng zhù le 。
“这是……”李凡愣住了。
His anger and resentment turned into boundless confusion.
zhuǎn yǎn jiān , liǎng dào liú xīng jiù lái dào le xuán jīng chéng shàng kōng , què hū de tíng le xià lái 。
转眼间,两道流星就来到了玄京城上空,却忽的停了下来。
Fate is cruel!
yú cǐ tóng shí , yī dào shēng yīn rú tóng léi tíng cóng tiān ér jiàng , zài zhòng rén ěr biān zhà xiǎng 。
于此同时,一道声音如同雷霆从天而降,在众人耳边炸响。
At the same time, Li Fan felt immensely relieved that he finally confirmed the existence of immortals before his death. Otherwise, he would have wasted another fifty years in his next life!
“ dào xuán zi ! nǐ bú yào qī rén tài shèn !”
“道玄子!你不要欺人太甚!”
Indeed! As a mere mortal, how could Li Fan rise from an ordinary scholar to become Prime Minister if not for some support?
……
……
This was why he had survived against the immortals.
zài chǎng zhòng rén fēn fēn jīng hài mò míng 。 shèn zhì hái yǒu jǐ rén kǒu hū xiān shī , zhí jiē bài dǎo zài dì 。
在场众人纷纷惊骇莫名。甚至还有几人口呼仙师,直接拜倒在地。
"Zhenhuan!"
ér yí gè bèi yā zài jì yì shēn chù , jī hū kuài yào bèi yí wàng de cí huì , cǐ kè què shì tū rán cóng lǐ fán de nǎo hǎi zhōng bèng le chū lái 。
而一个被压在记忆深处,几乎快要被遗忘的词汇,此刻却是突然从李凡的脑海中蹦了出来。
Li Fan silently repeated it as the surroundings dimmed. It felt like looking through a thick water curtain, hazy and indistinct.
“ xiū …… xiū xiān zhě !” lǐ fán zhèng zhù le , nán nán zì yǔ dào ,“ zhè zěn me kě néng ……”
“修……修仙者!”李凡怔住了,喃喃自语道,“这怎么可能……”
"Zhen zhi jia yi zhen"
tiān shàng de liǎng wèi xiū xiān zhě , xiǎn rán bú huì zài hū xià fāng yī zhòng fán rén de xiǎng fǎ 。
天上的两位修仙者,显然不会在乎下方一众凡人的想法。
Seven words appeared in the darkness before dispersing into a light screen.
zhǐ tīng lìng wài yí gè shēng yīn xiǎng qǐ :“ kòu hóng ! nǐ yǐ wéi nǐ táo dào zhè xiān jué zhī dì , wǒ jiù huì fàng guò nǐ ? bǎ nà rì nǐ dé dào de gōng fǎ jiāo chū lái , fǒu zé wǒ gēn nǐ bù sǐ bù xiū !”
只听另外一个声音响起:“寇洪!你以为你逃到这仙绝之地,我就会放过你?把那日你得到的功法交出来,否则我跟你不死不休!”
"Recharge complete."
“ xiào huà , jiù shì yīn wèi qiàn quē jié dān fǎ mén , wǒ cái bèi kùn zhù jī qī jìn bǎi zài , yǎn kàn dà xiàn jiāng zhì , jiù yào huà wèi kū gǔ 。 què dé cǐ jié dān gōng fǎ , zěn me kě néng jiāo yǔ tā rén !” kòu hóng lěng hēng yī shēng , yǔ qì zhōng mǎn shì bù xiè 。
“笑话,就是因为欠缺结丹法门,我才被困筑基期近百载,眼看大限将至,就要化为枯骨。却得此结丹功法,怎么可能交予他人!”寇洪冷哼一声,语气中满是不屑。
"Virtualize current scene and return to initial anchor point."
“ shì le !” dào xuán zi cháng tàn yī shēng ,“ jīn dān dà dào , yǒu wǒ wú tā 。 zhè shì jiān jié dān fǎ mén suī duō , nài hé kùn dùn yú zhù jī qī de xiū shì gèng duō !”
“是了!”道玄子长叹一声,“金丹大道,有我无他。这世间结丹法门虽多,奈何困顿于筑基期的修士更多!”
Two lines of text appeared as images rapidly filled the screen. They were Li Fan's fifty years of life in this world.
dào xuán zi de yǔ qì hū dì biàn wèi xiōng hěn :“ jì rú cǐ , rú jīn cháng shēng fǎ mén zài qián , wǒ yòu zěn me kě néng fàng guò nǐ , wǒ yòu zěn me kě néng bù qī rén tài shèn !”
道玄子的语气忽地变为凶狠:“既如此,如今长生法门在前,我又怎么可能放过你,我又怎么可能不欺人太甚!”
Li Fan stared at his various incarnations, lost for a long time.
kòu hóng dà xiào :“ bù guò zuò guò yī cháng bà le ! kě xiào nǐ wǒ bǎi nián xiōng dì , rú jīn què wèi le yī xiàn shēng jī bá dāo xiāng xiàng !”
寇洪大笑:“不过做过一场罢了!可笑你我百年兄弟,如今却为了一线生机拔刀相向!”
[Zhenhuan]
dào xuán zi lěng xiào bù dá 。
道玄子冷笑不答。
This was the name Li Fan had given to this portable treasure. It only had one function: turning reality into illusion, substance into virtuality!
kòu hóng què hū rán dào :“ wǒ zhī dào wǒ bú shì nǐ duì shǒu , jīn rì xiǎng bì nán táo yī jié 。 dàn shì cǐ dì fán rén rú cǐ zhī duō , què yòu bù zhī dào , nǐ shì fǒu yòu néng dǐ dǎng dé zhù rú cǐ nóng dù de xiān fán zhàng ne !”
寇洪却忽然道:“我知道我不是你对手,今日想必难逃一劫。但是此地凡人如此之多,却又不知道,你是否又能抵挡得住如此浓度的仙凡瘴呢!”
Substance into virtuality meant transforming all of Li Fan's real experiences into simulated illusions, allowing him to return to his initial anchor point—when he first arrived in this world.
dào xuán zi dùn shí sè biàn :“ kòu hóng ! nǐ xiǎng gàn shén me !”
道玄子顿时色变:“寇洪!你想干什么!”
In fact, this was already Li Fan’s second life. In his first life, although he had grand ambitions, he could only be an ordinary person. He failed many times and gave up on becoming an official after thirty years. Instead, he ran a small business as a wealthy commoner, married and raised children, living a mundane life until he finally awakened to [Zhenhuan] when he was old.
kòu hóng fēng kuáng dì xiào le qǐ lái :“ bù guò shì qiú yī xiàn shēng jī bà le !”
寇洪疯狂地笑了起来:“不过是求一线生机罢了!”
This led to Li Fan’s rise in his second life, unstoppable and formidable.
tīng zhe tóu dǐng shàng fāng liǎng wèi xiū xiān zhě de duì huà , lǐ fán xīn zhōng dùn gǎn bù miào 。 rán ér hái wèi děng tā yǒu suǒ fǎn yìng , jiù kàn dào yī dào chì sè de huǒ yàn zài xuán jīng chéng shàng fāng zhà liè kāi lái 。
听着头顶上方两位修仙者的对话,李凡心中顿感不妙。然而还未等他有所反应,就看到一道赤色的火焰在玄京城上方炸裂开来。
Unfortunately, it seemed misplaced now.
“ hōng hōng hōng hōng !”
“轰轰轰轰!”
After some thought, Li Fan decided not to end this life just yet. There were still a few things he needed to do first.
jù dà de hōng míng shēng zài lǐ fán ěr biān bù duàn bào fā , tā de yǎn qián shùn jiān yī piàn xuè hóng , bù guò piàn kè , tā biàn yūn le guò qù 。
巨大的轰鸣声在李凡耳边不断爆发,他的眼前瞬间一片血红,不过片刻,他便晕了过去。
Turning off the screen, returning to reality, Li Fan gathered his strength to deal with the aftermath of the immortals’ destruction in Xuanjing City.
……
……
After searching for survivors and using his long-standing reputation, Li Fan managed to somewhat stabilize people's minds. Even though he could no longer hear, he found paper and pen, making communication a bit tricky but not hindering the transmission of orders.
bù zhī guò le duō jiǔ , lǐ fán cái sū xǐng guò lái 。
不知过了多久,李凡才苏醒过来。
Firstly, Li Fan ordered his loyal troops stationed outside the city to quickly rush to Xuanjing City to maintain order after the disaster. He then issued commands to nearby cities to send food supplies and officials to assist in Xuanjing.
qǐ chū , tā yǒu xiē máng rán 。 guò le xǔ jiǔ , cái xiǎng qǐ zhī qián fā shēng le shén me 。
起初,他有些茫然。过了许久,才想起之前发生了什么。
Most buildings were destroyed, so when the military took over Xuanjing City, Li Fan stayed at the camp to oversee post-disaster work.
lǐ fán ké le ké , tǔ chū jǐ kǒu xiān xuè , chàn dǒu zhe pá qǐ shēn , cháo zhe zhōu wéi wàng qù 。
李凡咳了咳,吐出几口鲜血,颤抖着爬起身,朝着周围望去。
As orders spread, resources and talent from surrounding cities poured into Xuanjing City. A month later, the city began to regain some semblance of life.
yī rán hái shì yè lǐ , xī rì shē huá de tài shī fǔ yǐ rán biàn chéng le yī piàn fèi xū 。
依然还是夜里,昔日奢华的太师府已然变成了一片废墟。
After Great Xuan Kingdom recovered from the immortals' attack, Li Fan ordered a search for information about the two immortals who appeared that night—where they came from, where they went after, and any other dialogues during their journey.
zhōu wéi kōng qì lǐ jìn shì shī shǒu shāo jiāo de nán wén wèi dào 。
周围空气里尽是尸首烧焦的难闻味道。
Unfortunately, months of investigation only revealed that these cultivators seemed to have emerged from the eastern Vast Abyss. There was no further information.
piàn kè zhī qián de mǎn cháo wén wǔ , quán dōu sǐ wú quán shī , hún guī xī tiān 。
片刻之前的满朝文武,全都死无全尸,魂归西天。
The expected confrontation between the immortals did not occur.
ér lǐ fán de qī qiè , wǔ gè ér zi , yě dōu méi néng xìng miǎn 。
而李凡的妻妾,五个儿子,也都没能幸免。
"Shouldn't expect such things," Li Fan sighed inwardly. "Since this is the case, I don’t need to linger in this life."
lǐ fán cāng lǎo de miàn páng shàng zài wú yī sī biǎo qíng 。 tā de yǎn shén yǒu xiē dāi zhì 。
李凡苍老的面庞上再无一丝表情。他的眼神有些呆滞。
Standing in his newly built Prime Minister's mansion, Li Fan activated [Zhenhuan] again.
yuán dì zhàn le xǔ jiǔ , tā cái tuō zhe xū ruò de shēn tǐ , zǒu chū le tài shī fǔ 。
原地站了许久,他才拖着虚弱的身体,走出了太师府。
"Virtualize current scene and return to initial anchor point."
piàn kè zhī qián hái wú bǐ fán huá rè nào de xuán jīng chéng , cǐ kè yǎn rán yǐ jīng chéng wéi le xuè yǔ huǒ de dì yù 。 rù mù suǒ jí , quán shì cán pò de qū tǐ yǐ jí dǎo tā de jiàn zhù 。
片刻之前还无比繁华热闹的玄京城,此刻俨然已经成为了血与火的地狱。入目所及,全是残破的躯体以及倒塌的建筑。
Li Fan made no hesitation and chose yes.
xiǎng bì , zāo cǐ jié nàn hòu néng huó xià lái de bǎi xìng , bǎi bù cún yī 。
想必,遭此劫难后能活下来的百姓,百不存一。
The screen froze countless lifelike images. The纵横捭阖、荣华富贵 of this life shattered like a dream, turning into streaks of light that entered Li Fan's mind.
zhè yī qiè dōu yī qiè , dōu shì yīn wèi liǎng wèi hū rán jiàng lín de “ xiān shī ”, liǎng wèi xiū xiān zhě 。
这一切都一切,都是因为两位忽然降临的“仙师”,两位修仙者。
Scene after scene flashed before his eyes until the final image stabilized on the two cultivators standing high above Taiyi Mansion.
lǐ fán méi le lì qì , suí yì tān zuò zài yī chù pò suì de qiáng jiǎo 。
李凡没了力气,随意瘫坐在一处破碎的墙角。
"Daoxuanzi, Kao Hong," Li Fan whispered their names. "Fifty years later, I will still be waiting for you in this Xuanjing City."
tā de tīng lì zǎo yǐ zài gāng cái nà chǎng jù liè de bào zhà shēng zhōng bèi pò huài le 。 bù guò , zhè yě méi shén me le 。
他的听力早已在刚才那场剧烈的爆炸声中被破坏了。不过,这也没什么了。
"Wealth and honor mean nothing to me." Li Fan's consciousness gradually faded but his resolve and goal became more resolute than ever before.
cǐ shí cǐ kè , tā zhǐ xiǎng xiào 。
此时此刻,他只想笑。
"In my next life, I must capture an immortal!"
zhè ge shì jiè zěn me huì yǒu xiū xiān zhě ne ?
这个世界怎么会有修仙者呢?
The brilliance in his mind dimmed as he slowly fell into a deep sleep.
Great Xuan Kingdom, Xuanjing City, Taiyi Mansion.
Li Fan held a wine cup and looked at the gathered officials from both civil and military service who had come to celebrate his birthday. Despite being in his seventies, he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.
After all, nearly ninety percent of the high-ranking officials in the entire court were present here at Taiyi Mansion! What an impressive show of power!
When Li Fan first arrived in this world, he was just a poor scholar. Over fifty years later, from nothing to becoming Prime Minister and wielding supreme authority over the land—this journey could fill a novel with hundreds of thousands of words.
Life is like this; what more does one need?
Li Fan stroked his beard and drained the wine in his cup.
"To the health of the Prime Minister!"
The officials present echoed him, their voices blending into a chorus.
Suddenly, a red flame exploded above Xuanjing City. "Boom! Boom! Boom!" The deafening explosions filled Li Fan's ears, turning his vision blood-red before he fainted.
...
After an indeterminate amount of time, Li Fan regained consciousness. At first, he was disoriented but eventually remembered what had happened. He coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood and shakily got to his feet, looking around.
It was still night. The once opulent Prime Minister's mansion lay in ruins. The air reeked of burnt corpses. All the high-ranking officials from both civil and military service were dead, their souls gone. Even Li Fan’s wives and five sons had not survived.
Li Fan’s aged face showed no expression as his gaze became dazed. He stood for a long time before limping out of the mansion. The once bustling Xuanjing City was now a blood-soaked hell, with broken bodies and collapsed buildings everywhere.
Certainly, only one in a hundred would survive such a calamity. All because of two suddenly appearing "Immortals," two cultivators.
Li Fan slumped onto a broken wall corner. His hearing had been damaged by the explosion earlier, but that mattered little now. He just wanted to laugh.
How could there be cultivators in this world?
Since he became an official, Li Fan used his power to search for any traces of immortality. As Prime Minister, he scoured every corner of the land from the Frozen Sea in the north to the Great Ocean in the south, from the Vast Abyss in the east to the Continuous Mountains in the west.
Yet, there was not a single trace of an immortal anywhere in all of Great Xuan!
But today, after many years of giving up hope, two cultivators descended from the heavens and shattered everything he had. Were these immortals?
Where did they come from?
His anger and resentment turned into boundless confusion.
Fate is cruel!
At the same time, Li Fan felt immensely relieved that he finally confirmed the existence of immortals before his death. Otherwise, he would have wasted another fifty years in his next life!
Indeed! As a mere mortal, how could Li Fan rise from an ordinary scholar to become Prime Minister if not for some support?
This was why he had survived against the immortals.
"Zhenhuan!"
Li Fan silently repeated it as the surroundings dimmed. It felt like looking through a thick water curtain, hazy and indistinct.
"Zhen zhi jia yi zhen"
Seven words appeared in the darkness before dispersing into a light screen.
"Recharge complete."
"Virtualize current scene and return to initial anchor point."
Two lines of text appeared as images rapidly filled the screen. They were Li Fan's fifty years of life in this world.
Li Fan stared at his various incarnations, lost for a long time.
[Zhenhuan]
This was the name Li Fan had given to this portable treasure. It only had one function: turning reality into illusion, substance into virtuality!
Substance into virtuality meant transforming all of Li Fan's real experiences into simulated illusions, allowing him to return to his initial anchor point—when he first arrived in this world.
In fact, this was already Li Fan’s second life. In his first life, although he had grand ambitions, he could only be an ordinary person. He failed many times and gave up on becoming an official after thirty years. Instead, he ran a small business as a wealthy commoner, married and raised children, living a mundane life until he finally awakened to [Zhenhuan] when he was old.
This led to Li Fan’s rise in his second life, unstoppable and formidable.
Unfortunately, it seemed misplaced now.
After some thought, Li Fan decided not to end this life just yet. There were still a few things he needed to do first.
Turning off the screen, returning to reality, Li Fan gathered his strength to deal with the aftermath of the immortals’ destruction in Xuanjing City.
After searching for survivors and using his long-standing reputation, Li Fan managed to somewhat stabilize people's minds. Even though he could no longer hear, he found paper and pen, making communication a bit tricky but not hindering the transmission of orders.
Firstly, Li Fan ordered his loyal troops stationed outside the city to quickly rush to Xuanjing City to maintain order after the disaster. He then issued commands to nearby cities to send food supplies and officials to assist in Xuanjing.
Most buildings were destroyed, so when the military took over Xuanjing City, Li Fan stayed at the camp to oversee post-disaster work.
As orders spread, resources and talent from surrounding cities poured into Xuanjing City. A month later, the city began to regain some semblance of life.
After Great Xuan Kingdom recovered from the immortals' attack, Li Fan ordered a search for information about the two immortals who appeared that night—where they came from, where they went after, and any other dialogues during their journey.
Unfortunately, months of investigation only revealed that these cultivators seemed to have emerged from the eastern Vast Abyss. There was no further information.
The expected confrontation between the immortals did not occur.
"Shouldn't expect such things," Li Fan sighed inwardly. "Since this is the case, I don’t need to linger in this life."
Standing in his newly built Prime Minister's mansion, Li Fan activated [Zhenhuan] again.
"Virtualize current scene and return to initial anchor point."
Li Fan made no hesitation and chose yes.
The screen froze countless lifelike images. The纵横捭阖、荣华富贵 of this life shattered like a dream, turning into streaks of light that entered Li Fan's mind.
Scene after scene flashed before his eyes until the final image stabilized on the two cultivators standing high above Taiyi Mansion.
"Daoxuanzi, Kao Hong," Li Fan whispered their names. "Fifty years later, I will still be waiting for you in this Xuanjing City."
"Wealth and honor mean nothing to me." Li Fan's consciousness gradually faded but his resolve and goal became more resolute than ever before.
"In my next life, I must capture an immortal!"
The brilliance in his mind dimmed as he slowly fell into a deep sleep.