Chapter 588: 560
“Invading the Immortal Cultivation World…”
Sima Changkong’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if recalling something.
After a moment, he said slowly: “Now when people mention it, most cultivators regard it as a farce. But in reality, the scale of the Little World Alliance is far from being just a farce.”
“Otherwise, why would the ever-hostile Alliance of Thousands of Immortals and Five Elders Organization need to unite?”
A subtle gleam flashed in Li Fan’s eyes as he leaned in, asking in a blurred tone: “Unity? Just to deal with the Little World Alliance?”
“Sima, you didn’t get it wrong, did you? Isn’t it said that the Little Worlds are all inhabited by banished mortals?”
“How could we cultivators struggle so hard against these ants? Besides, we have the Immortal Sovereign dominating the world. Can they really win against us?”
Sima Changkong, seeing Li Fan’s incredulous face, was not angry.
Instead, he smiled slightly and flicked his finger, a drop of blood flew in between them.
The drop of blood, like a living creature, paused in mid-air, then squirmed and stretched upwards, downwards, and sideways.
It turned into a canvas composed of blood mist.
On the canvas, one shocking scene after another appeared in sequence.
The ones battling should be the cultivators of the Xuanhuang World.
But the other side, who could also fly and dig into the earth, was clearly not ordinary mortals either.
Though they had different means of combat, they were able to fight back and forth with the cultivators.
Some relied solely on their physical body to withstand the attacks of cultivators’ flying swords and Taoist techniques, closing in and tearing the cultivators to pieces with bare hands.
Others, positioned in the back, were remotely controlling strange energies that rained down from above, targeting and attacking cultivators at specific locations.
Even more bizarrely, some had no human form, but were merely transparent white human-skin-like figures. They floated and wandered in the battlefield center. When encountering severely wounded individuals, they completely attached themselves.
Those who were on the brink of death and could not move an inch, miraculously returned to their vigorous state in an instant.
Even if they lost an arm or a leg, after being attached by the white human skin, they could regenerate their limbs and recover their combat power.
Li Fan stared at the continuously changing scenes on the blood curtain, his expression gradually becoming grave.
“Where are our high-level cultivators of the Xuanhuang World? Unity-path and Immortal Experts, are they just watching us fight and not getting involved?” Li Fan sounded somewhat indignant.
Sima Changkong shook his head slightly: “Not really, they too have their opponents.”
“Although our ancestors couldn’t witness the battles of the powerful due to their limited realm, it’s said that our Xuanhuang World also suffered heavy losses.”
Sima Changkong sighed: “So severe that neither side has wanted to reignite conflicts over the past five hundred years, focusing instead on recuperation.”
Li Fan couldn’t help but be astonished: “Are they that strong? Are these people really from the Little Worlds?”
“Yes and no,” Sima Changkong served more wine, filling their glasses.
He continued: “They are merely pawns controlled by others.”
“The real mastermind behind them is someone else.”
Li Fan twitched slightly, energized: “What do you mean?”
“Their origin seems to date back to the time when the Great Calamity just arrived. The specifics were not recorded by our ancestors.”
“But according to the fragments of information after the war, they seem to be a group of ‘returnees.’
Sima Changkong said slowly, with a trace of puzzlement on his face.
“Not only were the Unity-path cultivators of the Xuanhuang World who fought against them calling them traitors, but even those cultivators who didn’t know their identities, the moment they saw them, would naturally feel intense hatred.”
“Even during the battle, thunder descended from the sky and struck these people.”
“They seemed to be detested by the entire Xuanhuang World.”
“Returnees, traitors…” Li Fan fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
Combining the scene described by Sima Changkong with what he had witnessed in Sister Zhao’s Illusory Realm, Li Fan couldn’t help but speculate.
When all sorts of disasters such as the Immortal and Mortal Miasma struck together, the Immortal Dao Ten Sects originally planned to unite and overcome the difficulties together.
But later, the situation deteriorated too quickly. All sects were too busy to help each other, let alone aid others.
Everyone had different destinies when disaster struck.
Some were wiped out completely from the river of history due to infighting among their members.
Others sealed their gates and lived in seclusion, barely surviving.
But some, like the Nanming Demon Mountain and the Heavenly Sword Sect, chose to simply flee the Xuanhuang World.
“As Emperor One said, the individuals of a group have their own choices. It’s impossible to act with a single will without an absolute leader.”
“It’s only natural that cultivators make their own choices.”
“They might have taken something when they fled, causing even the Xuanhuang World itself to harbor resentment towards them.”
“What I don’t understand is why they returned. But to be able to return safely from the powerful pull of the Immortal Ruins, their power must not be weak.”
Li Fan’s thoughts slowly calmed down, and he turned to look at Sima Changkong with a more intense gaze.
He is indeed the historian of the Immortal Cultivation World.
In the past thousand years, many of the sealed and forgotten events in the history of the Xuanhuang World can be found here in Sima Changkong’s records.
Since Li Fan returned from the Sky-Spirit State, he came to Sima Changkong’s underwater Crystal Cave Mansion to avoid the impact of war.
Using the familiarity he had gained from his previous incarnation and his extensive knowledge of many secrets, he quickly won the favor of Sima Changkong.
The two men drank and chatted about the past of the Xuanhuang world every day, living a joyous life.
In order not to let outsiders disturb them and to get more information from Sima Changkong, Li Fan voluntarily offered to assist in setting up a stealth and protective array for the Crystal Cave Mansion.
Seeing Li Fan’s enthusiasm, Sima Changkong felt even more confident that he was worthy of close friendship.
Their relationship became increasingly harmonious.
“Peace is temporary, whereas war is the eternal topic of history.” After a long silence, Sima Changkong suddenly sighed and put down the wine glass he had already lifted, looking depressed.
“Why do you say that, my friend…” Li Fan suddenly realized what was happening.
“Did the war between the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals and the Five Elders Organization officially start?”
Sima Changkong nodded with a somewhat heavy heart: “Who knows how many cultivators will lose their lives on the battlefield.”
“This is the law of Heaven and Earth. We’re not the Immortal Sovereigns, how can we resist? Let’s drink, drink!” Li Fan actively poured another glass of wine for Sima Changkong, trying to comfort him.
“You’re right, my friend.” Sima Changkong drank it all in one gulp, swallowoing both the wine and his worries.
Li Fan then deflected the topic elsewhere.
Time flew by, and a year passed in a blink.
The war between the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals and the Five Elders Organization had reached a fever pitch, but Li Fan completely settled down in Sima Changkong’s mansion and hadn’t left once within a year.