Deathly silence answered him.
After a moment, the other's voice softened considerably as he gently persuaded, "Guang Yangzi, I'm sure you understand the principle that no egg remains unbroken when the nest is overturned.
"Ten Great Immortal Sects do not want to pressure you relentlessly either. The truth is, the war has reached a critical juncture where the situation is utterly deadlocked.
"Your remote mountain sects have suffered greatly, but have we leading sects fared any better?
"I'll be frank with you. In our Heavenly Sword Sect alone, more than half of my fellow disciples from the same generation have already fallen in battle.
"I fear I'll soon be heading to the front lines myself.
"With the war reaching this point, there's no turning back now."
After a long while, Guang Yangzi sighed. "I understand, Honored Envoy. This time, let me accompany you.”
"Master!" a slightly hoarse voice cried out in alarm.
However, Guang Yangzi cut him off before he could say more. "My decision is final, Lian Chang! Do not try to dissuade me!"
"Excellent! I admire your resolve! In that case, I won't stay any longer. Remember, you must reach Congyun Mountain within seven days and rendezvous with us there."
After the other had departed, Guang Yangzi spoke to Third Senior Brother, "Lian Chang, come with me. Before I leave, there are matters I must entrust to you."
"Yes, Master," Lian Chang replied, voice choked with emotion.
Their voices gradually faded into the distance.
Li Fan slipped back into unconsciousness.
***
"Tian Yang, Tian Yang! It’s time for your medicine. The herbs we've been getting recently all come from those major sects. They’re much higher quality than the ones you were taking before.
"I believe you'll recover completely before long."
In his memory, the usually taciturn Third Senior Brother had suddenly become much more talkative.
While feeding Tian Yang his medicine, he shared various anecdotes and interesting stories from the cultivation world.
"Third Senior Brother, will Master... not return, like Big Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother?" Li Fan suddenly asked.
Lian Chang's movements froze.
After a moment, he forced a smile. "Junior Brother, don't think such thoughts. Focus on recovering. Our old Master will definitely return.
“He definitely will."
Lian Chang repeated these words once more, as if trying to convince himself.
Li Fan nodded.
As the medicinal broth settled in his stomach, a wave of warmth spread through his abdomen. He did feel considerably more comfortable.
Drowsiness washed over him, and Li Fan once again lost the battle against sleep, sinking into deep slumber.
Bang!
Bang!
Li Fan woke to the sound of fighting.
Third Senior Brother's voice carried from afar: “Every time, it’s the same story—the ‘final battle,’ the ‘decisive moment!’
“How long has this been going on? How many people have already died? It never ends!”
"I'm not going.
“You might as well kill me here. Going to the front lines means death anyway!"
The other voice sounded equally weary. "Lian Chang, don't force me to act."
"Do you think dying is that simple? I can turn you into an immortal puppet and send you out there all the same. My mission would still be accomplished.
"However, your master Guang Yangzi once saved my life on the battlefield. Before he died, I promised him I'd look after your Embodiment Transformation Dao Sect as much as possible.
"Coming here personally to explain things to you is already going above and beyond. Otherwise, you'd have been taken by force long ago.
"Use what little time remains to settle your affairs.
“As for that youngster called Tian Yang, Guang Yangzi mentioned him to me as well. His constitution is exceptionally compatible with your sect's Embodiment Transformation Technique. If he can survive this illness tribulation, he'll surely be able to restore the Embodiment Transformation Dao Sect to its former glory.
"I know your Embodiment Transformation Dao Sect has sacrificed greatly. When the war is won and rewards are distributed, I'll petition my superiors to grant Tian Yang a Taishang Foundation Forging Pill to cleanse his meridians and reshape his constitution.
“That’s the Taishang Sect’s peerless divine medicine. Even their ordinary inner disciples aren’t qualified to use it.”
After the other’s repeated persuasion, Lian Chang was finally swayed.
“I’m willing to go to the front lines,” Lian Chang said firmly. “But I have one condition. I want this Taishang Foundation Forging Pill before I leave.”
“Little Junior Brother’s body is too frail. He sleeps all the time. Without this pill to change his fate, there’s no way he can survive on his own.”
“You...” The other person let out a long sigh.
After a long silence, he finally said, “Very well. I’ll try.”
Once the man left, Lian Chang walked over to Li Fan and seemed to speak at length.
But Li Fan’s consciousness drifted in and out, and he couldn’t make out a single word.
After an unknown stretch of time, an excited voice suddenly rang out beside his ear.
“Junior Brother, hurry and take this pill. Once you do, you’ll recover.”
Lian Chang personally fed him the Taishang Foundation Forging Pill. After watching him for a moment, he finally seemed to relax.
Another familiar voice sounded again. “Good. Since there’s nothing wrong with the pill, come with me at once. If we’re late for the final battle, even I won’t be able to protect you.”
Lian Chang gently patted Li Fan on the head.
“Take care, Little Junior Brother.”
Footsteps faded into the distance. The main door slammed shut.
The Embodiment Transformation Dao Sect sank into complete silence.
Lying on the bed, hovering between sleep and wakefulness, Li Fan felt the medicinal power of the Taishang Foundation Forging Pill spread through his abdomen.
Warm currents surged through his meridians, reshaping his physical constitution.
Its effects surpassed all the medicinal broths he had taken before combined—by hundreds of times.
Strength slowly returned to his body.
Before long, Li Fan drifted back into deep sleep.
When he awoke again, vitality he hadn’t felt in ages filled his limbs, and his mind was far clearer than before.
Thinking back on everything that had happened since he took over Tian Yang’s body, Li Fan felt a trace of helplessness.
This body’s weakness had far exceeded his expectations. It left him unable to form clear thoughts or make any meaningful response.
He could only lie there, powerless, watching events unfold; no different from the original Tian Yang.
It seemed this first attempt was bound to end in failure.
But that was hardly unexpected. He hadn’t counted on success from the very beginning; simply gathering information was already enough.
With that thought, Li Fan began inspecting the cave dwelling of the Embodiment Transformation Dao Sect.
Aside from a jade slip left behind by Third Senior Brother, there was nothing of value.
The main door of the cave dwelling was tightly sealed, impossible to open even from within.
After examining it for some time, Li Fan vaguely understood why.
This wasn’t because the restrictions were particularly powerful. It felt more like a limitation imposed by Return to Truth itself.
So I’m confined here.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Fan returned to the room and picked up the jade slip.
Besides the inheritance of the Embodiment Transformation Technique, it contained a message from Third Senior Brother.
Little Junior Brother, stay home and focus on your cultivation while you wait for my return.
Master said once your body recovers, you won't lose to anyone in cultivation talent. Not even those direct disciples from major immortal sects.
Cultivate diligently. I’m counting on you to become my backer once you grow strong.
Li Fan set the jade slip down.
He remained silent for a long time.