Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao had impressively thick skin.
Even when caught red-handed in mischief by his little junior brother, he showed not the slightest hint of embarrassment.
He even winked and teasingly asked Li Fan if he wanted to give it a try.
Before Li Fan could reply, Big Senior Brother’s sword shot through the air. Waves of killing intent swept across the area, sending the cats scattering in every direction.
Ling Xiao laughed awkwardly, stowed his brush, and scurried out of the cave dwelling like a whipped dog to find new toys to experiment with.
"Little Junior Brother, you must never follow your Second Senior Brother's example. When choosing an Embodied Object, you must select something proper and respectable."
Si Xing advised with grave sincerity.
Li Fan nodded repeatedly in agreement.
***
There were many such amusing little incidents.
Overall, the atmosphere within the Embodiment Transformation Dao sect remained quite harmonious and warm.
In this environment, Li Fan stimulated the hidden reserves within his body, strengthening his frail physique. Simultaneously, he cultivated the Embodiment Transformation Technique.
In the sixth year after Li Fan's consciousness had entered the simulated world, a series of urgent, soul-shaking bell peals echoed from the distant horizon.
The moment Li Fan heard the bells, an uncontrollable dread gripped his heart, and his blood roiled.
Startled by the sound, his senior brothers abandoned their own tasks and quickly gathered, exchanging horrified expressions.
"That bell... it's the Immortal Judgment Bell?!"
"If I recall correctly, the last time the Immortal Judgment Bell sounded, it was because the eternalkind captured by the immortal sects collectively rebelled and fled, wasn't it?"
"Correct. Back then, the Ten Great Immortal Sects issued a bounty. Anyone who captured an eternalkind would be granted a Hundred-Year Longevity Pearl, adding decades or even a century to one's lifespan."
"Few cultivators could resist the temptation of living an extra hundred years. To claim the heads of those rebel eternalkind, cultivators slaughtered each other with frenzied bloodlust, stirring up a massive storm of violence and death.”
"Who knows what major event has occurred in the cultivation world this time?"
The senior brothers discussed amongst themselves.
Li Fan listened quietly, seizing a lull in their conversation to put on an intensely curious face: "Senior Brothers, Senior Brothers, what are eternalkind? And what is a Hundred-Year Longevity Pearl?"
This time, unlike their usual evasiveness, the senior brothers did not avoid the question.
Second Senior Brother Ling Xiao sighed, his eyes filled with envy. "Little Junior Brother, you must understand. Heaven is never fair.
"For ordinary humans, those who live to a hundred years old are considered long-lived.
"Even if one becomes a cultivator, without reaching the Eternal Life realm, a thousand years is the limit."
Ling Xiao paused, his tone turning distant and somber. "Yet, in this world, there exist creatures born with extraordinarily long lifespans. Even ordinary members of their tribes can easily live for one or two thousand years without any powerful cultivation.
"For us short-lived humans, how unjust is that?"
Eternalkind... Li Fan's heart stirred.
Before his transmigration, he had read about beings similar to eternalkind in various tales and novels.
But in the actual cultivation world, he had never encountered any information about them, let alone seen a living eternalkind with his own eyes.
"Senior Brother, what do these eternalkind look like? Are they similar to the legendary monsters and spirits?" Li Fan asked Ling Xiao in a naive voice.
Ling Xiao patted his junior brother's head and explained: "Heh, there are many kinds. Some take the forms of exotic beasts, yet speak human tongue.
"Some are plant spirits.
"Some bear striking resemblance to humans, with all members being exceptionally handsome...
"Oh, I once wrote a book called Passionate Romance where the protagonists were eternalkind from distant continents. Let me see if I have any copies left..."
Ling Xiao abruptly changed the subject, his face lighting up with excitement.
Before he could finish, Big Senior Brother appeared behind him with a darkened expression.
Second Senior Brother had to awkwardly terminate the inappropriate topic and return to the main subject.
"Ahem, what were we just talking about? Ah yes, eternalkind...
"There's a special category of eternalkind who are almost identical to ordinary humans. Or rather, they are human.
"The only peculiar thing about them is that they possess lifespans far exceeding what ordinary people can achieve.
"These individuals hide among the populace, living cautiously. Every so often, they must change their appearance and identity, starting life anew to avoid discovery."
Li Fan immediately asked: "They’re afraid of being discovered? Why is that? Does it have something to do with that Hundred-Year Longevity Pearl?"
Ling Xiao said seriously: "Junior Brother, imagine this. You can only live about a hundred years before becoming old and frail, while others remain youthful even after hundreds or even thousands of years. Wouldn't you find that unfair and infuriating?"
Li Fan nodded heavily: "That's outrageous! So unfair!"
"Indeed, ordinary people can hardly tolerate such disparity. As mentioned earlier, some eternalkind don't possess powerful cultivation.
"Hmph, as the saying goes, 'he who possesses a treasure must expect to be robbed.' How could those cultivators at Spirit Transformation or Dao Unity realm who have no hope for eternal life not covet these eternalkind?"
Ling Xiao lowered his voice: "Those major immortal sects control a secret technique called Lifespan Transference that can extract the lifespan from living beings and utilize it.
"And the lifespan extracted from eternalkind is the purest.
"Tens of thousands of ordinary people can only produce a few longevity fruits after years of extraction, adding just over a century of total lifespan.
"But a single eternalkind can provide enough lifespan to refine dozens or even hundreds of longevity pearls.
A trace of greed unconsciously appeared in Ling Xiao's eyes: "The higher the cultivation of the eternalkind, the higher the quality of the longevity pearls refined.
"Back in the day, I was fortunate enough to participate in a hunt for an eternalkind and obtained one Hundred-Year Longevity Pearl. After consuming it, I felt euphoric, as if I'd returned to my youth.
"That feeling..."
Ling Xiao smacked his lips, savoring the memory.
"If the Hundred-Year Longevity Pearl is already so extraordinary, I can hardly imagine the taste of the legendary Thousand-Year Longevity Pearl, or the Ten-Thousand-Year Longevity Pearl."
At this moment, the usually taciturn Third Senior Brother suddenly spoke: "Xiao Xiao, with your cultivation level, even if you’re lucky enough to swallow a Thousand-Year Longevity Pearl, you'd just end up having your lifespan extracted by others anyway."
Ling Xiao glared resentfully at Lian Chang: "Xiao Xiao? Is that what you should be calling me? Third Brother, you're becoming increasingly disrespectful."
Third Senior Brother crossed his arms, watching Ling Xiao with amusement: "What, you want to test your strength against mine?"
Ling Xiao didn't back down an inch. "Looks like my long absence from battle has led you to overestimate yourself.
“Today, I’ll show you exactly what it means to face your senior!"
With those words, the two clashed in a whirlwind of motion.
Meanwhile, Big Senior Brother stood watching with an amused smile.
The scene was one of such warmth and harmony.
Yet soon enough, the storm of war would tear all of this to shreds.