Three months after the Immortal Summons Bell rang.
The Immortal Recruitment Order arrived as promised.
The disciples of the Ancient Body Transformation Dao gathered together to discuss strategies.
Li Fan also wanted to quietly approach, but his master, Master Guang Yangzi, sternly pulled him out, leaving him to eavesdrop vaguely outside the door.
“What nonsense, Immortal Recruitment Order?! Why bother with it! Those major sects have thousands of members, dispatching some of their own won’t be a problem.”
“We only have so few people studying the Ancient Body Transformation Dao, and they still want us to go to the front lines? What kind of reasoning is this?”
…
Second Senior Brother’s remarks were in line with Li Fan’s previous experience.
The final result was consistent with Li Fan’s previous experiences.
Eldest Senior Brother went to the front lines first.
Before he left, everyone bid him a tearful farewell.
Li Fan asked Eldest Senior Brother whom he was going to fight.
Si Xing just smiled and patted his Junior Brother’s head, saying he was going to fight the bad guys.
Then, transforming into a ray of green light, he broke through the air and left.
With Eldest Senior Brother gone, the atmosphere in the Ancient Body Transformation Dao became much more somber.
Thankfully, there was still Second Senior Brother, an active character who livened up the atmosphere and could bring laughter occasionally.
Li Fan successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, bringing a period of celebration to the Ancient Body Transformation Dao.
However, joy is always short-lived.
One year and three months after Si Xing left.
Bad news arrived.
Eldest Senior Brother died on the battlefield.
Second Senior Brother was full of grief and indignation. According to the information he obtained privately, this was due to the Ten Great Immortal Sects underestimating the enemy.
The battle started off smoothly.
The enemy retreated step by step.
However, the team led by the Ten Great Immortal Sects seriously underestimated the power of the enemy.
In a pursuit, they were ambushed and caught off guard.
The losses were heavy, and the frontline became extremely precarious.
So the sects issued another Immortal Recruitment Order.
Although there were a hundred grudges in the hearts of the sects, under absolute pressure, as long as the Ancient Body Transformation Dao did not want to be completely wiped out like other small sects, they had to obey orders and enlist again.
This time, Second Senior Brother headed to the war front.
For this reason, Second Senior Brother had a fierce fight with Third Senior Brother.
In the past, when the two senior brothers sparred, Third Senior Brother Lian Chang would usually have a slight advantage.
This time, to prevent the other from sacrificing themselves, both displayed their true abilities.
However, this time, Lian Chang lost.
Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao was very powerful.
His brush splashed ink into the air, instantly drawing dozens of flying swords.
Although they were constructed with a brush, they appeared as if they were real.
Whistling, they collided with Lian Chang’s protective copper bell.
The brush kept moving, and countless illusionary spiritual weapons formed continuously, ceaselessly attacking.
Lian Chang had almost no ability to fight back.
It turned out Ling Xiao had been letting his junior brother win all along.
Lian Chang was dismayed.
Ling Xiao, however, bid farewell with a smile.
Before leaving, he handed over dozens of yet-to-be-sold works that he had written to Li Fan for safekeeping.
He instructed Li Fan not to sneak a peek.
If Li Fan couldn’t resist, he should exercise moderation.
Then, he left in a carefree manner.
After Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao left, the Ancient Body Transformation Dao fell into complete silence.
Master Guang Yangzi watched as each of his disciples left, and he seemed to age significantly.
Third Senior Brother, Lian Chang, was already a silent individual.
After being stimulated, he began practicing like a madman.
Li Fan did the same.
Two years and three months after Ling Xiao left.
The Immortal Recruitment Order came once again.
However, Senior Brother Ling Xiao never returned.
Perhaps considering the possibility of resistance, the Ten Great Immortal Sects sent an Immortal Recruitment Envoy this time.
If there was any disobedience, they would be killed without mercy.
Similar to the previous experience, after some persuasion, Guang Yangzi went to the battlefield.
In the Ancient Body Transformation Dao’s cave, only Li Fan and Third Senior Brother Lian Chang remained.
Li Fan had already known the direction of events.
But as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could he resist the overwhelming trend?
He could only watch helplessly as things unfolded once again.
This time, the battle seemed even more brutal than the previous two periods combined.
Just six months later, the exhausted Immortal Recruitment Envoy returned, bringing orders from the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
“This battle has reached a crucial moment.”
“All sects and loose cultivators must cooperate and overcome the current difficulties together.”
“If anyone disobeys orders, delays the battle, spreads rumors, or attempts to betray, they will be killed without mercy.”
The authority of the Immortal Recruitment Envoy was imposing.
Using the youngest cultivator in the Ancient Body Transformation Dao, Li Fan, as leverage, the envoy made various empty promises.
Eventually, even Lian Chang, with tightly clenched fists, agreed to the Immortal Recruitment Envoy.
Before leaving, Lian Chang left a jade slip for Li Fan.
It contained the cultivation experiences of the Ancient Body Transformation Dao’s ancestors.
He instructed Li Fan not to go out easily, then closed the gate decisively and left.
The Ancient Body Transformation Dao was once again left with only Li Fan.
He returned to the original course of history.
Looking back at this simulation, Li Fan felt a bit helpless.
Objectively speaking, he had done quite well.
Using the “Peril” method from the Heavenly Doctor’s Immortal Sutra, he successfully averted his slumber.
He spent a happy time with the people of the Ancient Body Transformation Dao.
He had the ability of foresight.
He could change one person’s destiny.
But he couldn’t change the destinies of many people.
In the Ancient War, the entire cultivation world was involved.
Even Longevity Immortals were deeply entangled in the vortex of war and couldn’t avoid it.
Li Fan couldn’t influence or change any of this.
So, what was the obsession of Tian Yang?
While pondering, Li Fan continued his cultivation.
“Tian Yang’s soul is not weaker than man…”
Gradually, Li Fan formed his own speculations.
Back when Tian Yang was young, he watched helplessly as his master and senior brothers sacrificed themselves to protect each other on the battlefield, willingly facing death.
As the weakest and most protected member of the sect, he, alone, survived until the end.
This was all because of his perceived “weakness.”
Tian Yang’s heart was filled with guilt and regret.
If only he had been stronger at that time, slightly stronger than his senior brothers, could he have replaced them on the battlefield?
Then, he wouldn’t have had to watch his senior brothers die one by one?
Perhaps one of his senior brothers would have had a chance to survive?
Maybe this was Tian Yang’s simple and sincere obsession.
Time passed slowly as Li Fan continued his cultivation.
Five years and three months after Lian Chang’s departure, the entrance to the Ancient Body Transformation Dao’s abode suddenly burst open.
Seven cultivators who intended to occupy the Ancient Body Transformation Dao’s abode forcefully entered.
Li Fan, who had been sitting in seclusion for years and lacked the experience to form a Golden Core still couldn’t break through.
The outcome was the same as before.
The simulated world disappeared, and Li Fan returned to reality.
The usage counts for Tian Yang’s Eternal Remembrance also decreased to one.
However, Li Fan unexpectedly discovered that he hadn’t gained nothing this time.
The dozens of posthumous works that Second Senior Brother, Ling Xiao, handed over to him before leaving now vividly appeared in Li Fan’s mind.
After a long silence, Li Fan came to a realization.
Perhaps, because Tian Yang had been trapped in a deep slumber all those years, he couldn’t accompany his senior brothers properly and share the last moments of their lives.
This was also Tian Yang’s obsession.
Erasing all traces of the underwater retreat, Li Fan returned to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Under the name of Ling Xiao, he uploaded each of those dozen or so posthumous works.
Thus, the author who had died thousands of years ago began his updates once again.