Three months after the tolling of the Zha Immortal Bell, the Immortal Conscription Order arrived as expected.
The master and disciples of the Path of Bodily Transformation gathered together to discuss countermeasures.
Li Fan tried to sneak over as well, only to be hauled out by Master Tianyangzi with a stern expression.
He could only catch the rough gist from outside the door.
"What kind of bullshit is this Immortal Conscription Order? Why should we give a damn about it! Those great sects easily boast thousands or tens of thousands of members; dispatching a few people poses no issue for them."
"Our Path of Bodily Transformation has only this handful of people in total, yet they want us on the front lines? What sort of sense does that make?"
...
Second Senior Brother's outburst was virtually identical to what Li Fan remembered.
And the ultimate outcome was entirely consistent with Li Fan's previous experience.
Eldest Senior Brother was the first to enter the war.
Before his departure, everyone bid him a tearful farewell.
Li Fan asked Eldest Senior Brother whom he was going to fight.
Sixing merely smiled, patted his little junior brother's head, and said he was going to fight bad people.
Then, transforming into a streak of green light, he broke through the air and sped away.
Without Eldest Senior Brother, the daily atmosphere within the Path of Bodily Transformation grew considerably more subdued.
Fortunately, Second Senior Brother was still around—a lively trickster who enlivened the mood and frequently brought laughter and cheer.
And when Li Fan successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment realm, the entire Path of Bodily Transformation rejoiced for a time.
Yet happiness was always fleeting.
One year and three months after Sixing's departure, disastrous news arrived.
Eldest Senior Brother had perished on the battlefield.
Second Senior Brother was overcome with grief and fury. According to the news he had obtained privately, this had clearly been caused by the Ten Great Immortal Sects underestimating the enemy.
At the outset, the campaign had gone extremely smoothly, with the enemy retreating at every turn.
However, the forces led by the Ten Great Immortal Sects severely underestimated the enemy's hidden strength.
During a pursuit, they were ambushed and caught completely off guard.
Suffering grievous casualties, the front lines teetered on the brink of collapse.
Thus, the immortal sects issued another Immortal Conscription Order.
Though harboring a hundred resentments toward the immortal sects, beneath absolute coercion, unless the Path of Bodily Transformation wished to be utterly exterminated like other rustic mountain sects, they had no choice but to obey the order and enlist once again.
The one heading to the war's front lines this time was Second Senior Brother.
To that end, Second Senior Brother even fought fiercely with Third Senior Brother.
In the past, whenever the two sparred, Third Senior Brother Lian Chang had always held a slight edge.
This time, to keep the other from throwing his life away, both unleashed their true capabilities.
Yet this time, Lian Chang lost.
Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao was formidable.
His wondrous brush splashed ink through the air, instantaneously painting dozens of flying swords. Though formed from brushstrokes, they seemed as real as could be, whistling as they crashed against Lian Chang's protective bronze bell.
Without pause, the brush conjured countless illusory dharmic treasures showering down like celestial maidens scattering blossoms, beating Lian Chang until he had scarcely any power to fight back.
It turned out that all along in the past, he had merely been yielding to his junior brother Lian Chang.
Lian Chang was left utterly demoralized.
Ling Xiao, however, bade farewell to everyone with a smile.
Before leaving, he handed the dozens of manuscripts he had written but not yet had time to sell over to Li Fan for safekeeping.
He also admonished him not to peek—and if he really couldn't resist, to exercise moderation.
Then, he departed with a dashing grace.
After Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao left, the Path of Bodily Transformation fell completely silent.
Watching his disciples leave him one after another, Master Tianyangzi seemed to have aged considerably.
Third Senior Brother Lian Chang was taciturn by nature. Having suffered this shock, he began cultivating frantically and bitterly.
Li Fan did the same.
Two years and three months after Ling Xiao's departure, the Immortal Conscription Order arrived once more.
Senior Brother Ling Xiao never returned.
Perhaps anticipating possible resistance, the Ten Great Immortal Sects even dispatched an Immortal Conscription Envoy this time.
Disobedience would be met with summary execution.
Just like the previous experience, after an exchange of persuasion, Tianyangzi set off for the battlefield.
Only Li Fan and Third Senior Brother Lian Chang were left in the cave abode of the Path of Bodily Transformation.
Although Li Fan had long known the course of events, against the surging tide of history, how could he—possessing merely a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator—withstand it?
He could only watch helplessly as history repeated itself.
This battle seemed even more brutal than the previous two combined.
Merely six months later, an exhausted Immortal Conscription Envoy arrived again, bearing the orders of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
"This war has reached its most critical juncture."
"All sects throughout the realm and rogue cultivators across the wilderness must unite as one and overcome these trying times together."
"Anyone who disobeys orders, delays tactical opportunities, spreads rumors, or seeks a chance to defect to the enemy..."
"Shall be executed without mercy."
The immortal prestige was chilling and austere.
The Immortal Conscription Envoy even used Li Fan, the youngest member of the Path of Bodily Transformation, as leverage, and subsequently made a number of empty promises of rewards.
Lian Chang clenched his fists tightly and ultimately agreed to the envoy's demands.
Before departing, Lian Chang left a jade slip for Li Fan, filled with the cultivation insights and experiences of the Path of Bodily Transformation's past patriarchs.
He urged Li Fan not to leave casually, then sealed the entrance and departed resolutely.
Once again, Li Fan was the only one left in the Path of Bodily Transformation.
Everything had returned to the original trajectory of history.
Reflecting on this Simulation, Li Fan felt a touch of helplessness.
To be fair, he had already done quite well.
By virtue of the "Peril" character method from the medical scripture, he had successfully escaped the endless slumber and spent a joyful period of time together with the members of the Path of Bodily Transformation.
He possessed the power of foresight and could change the destiny of an individual, yet he could not change the fates of many.
The ancient war swept up the entire cultivation world. Even a Longevity Heavenly Venerable was deeply engulfed in the vortex of war, unable to evade it.
There was simply no way for Li Fan to influence or alter any of this.
Then, what exactly was Tianyang's obsession?
Li Fan pondered while cultivating.
"In this life, Tianyang yields to no one..."
Gradually, Li Fan developed his own hypothesis.
Back then, the young Tianyang had watched helplessly as his master and senior brothers strode onto the battlefield to die resolutely in order to protect one another.
Yet as the weakest in the sect and the one most sheltered by everyone, he alone had survived to the end.
All because of his "weakness."
Tianyang's heart had been filled with guilt and remorse.
If his strength had been greater back then—greater than that of his senior brothers—could he have gone to the battlefield in their stead?
Would he not have had to watch his senior brothers perish one after another?
Might one of his senior brothers have had the chance to survive?
...
Perhaps this was Tianyang's simple and pure obsession.
Time flowed slowly by as Li Fan cultivated.
Five years and three months after Lian Chang's departure, the cave abode of the Path of Bodily Transformation was blasted open.
Seven cultivators seeking to seize the cave abode stormed inside.
Having sat in seclusion for years and lacking experience in Core Formation, Li Fan still failed to break through the bottleneck and form a Golden Core.
The ending was just as before.
The Simulation world dissipated, and Li Fan returned to the reality of the cultivation world.
The remaining uses of Tianyang's Eternal Lingering Thought also became one.
Yet Li Fan unexpectedly discovered that he had not come away entirely empty-handed this time.
Those dozens of posthumous works Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao had entrusted to him before leaving now clearly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Li Fan remained silent for a long time before coming to a realization.
Perhaps because he had been perpetually trapped in deep sleep back then, unable to properly accompany his senior brothers through the final days of their lives... this, too, was Tianyang's obsession.
Destroying the traces beneath the sea, Li Fan returned to Wanxian Island.
Under the name of Ling Xiao, he uploaded those posthumous works one by one.
And so, this author who had died thousands of years ago...
began releasing updates once again.
Chapter 235