Eternal life changes over thousands of years

Chapter 590: A Thousand-Year Change in Longevity

The originally verdant trees grew visibly old as specks of green light continuously faded away.

During this period, [Ruo Wood] had not failed to consider striking back.

The trees trembled, spawning countless Spirit Monsters within them that launched fearless attacks against the Cultivators.

Even Ruo Wood itself lashed out with its branches, piercing forward like swords.

However, the cultivation base of those Cultivators who had arrived here was truly terrifying to the extreme.

All resistance was futile, and everything was suppressed in an instant.

Even Ruo Wood's final, mutually destructive blow, which caused all the purple-gold fruits borne at its crown to wither,

was salvaged and reversed by this group of people.

Powerless to resist, Ruo Wood could only watch helplessly as its own life essence was wantonly extracted.

Its leaves slowly turned withered and yellow, drifting down like rain.

Amidst thunderous roaring sounds, many tree branches snapped with a crash.

Cracks began to emerge all over Ruo Wood's trunk.

However, this group of people showed not the slightest intention of stopping.

They looked as though they would never stop until it was completely drained dry.

Fortunately, at the crucial moment, it seemed that another group of Cultivators arrived.

A chaotic battle broke out between the two sides, and the extraction process was forcibly halted.

They successfully retrieved the green light clusters condensed in the air, and as they withdrew, they did not forget to launch a joint attack on the already battered [Ruo Wood].

The damage inflicted upon Ruo Wood by this raid seemed even greater than the forced extraction of its life energy just moments before.

Massive fissures continuously extended upward from the base of the trunk, and vast swathes of branches plummeted down, disappearing into unknown depths.

Seeing this, the Cultivators who had come to the rescue abandoned their pursuit and hurriedly began treating Ruo Wood.

Through their efforts, they finally averted the fate of [Ruo Wood]'s complete death.

But the injuries it sustained were simply too severe to reverse.

Ever since then, withering and aging have constantly accompanied it.

Until many years later, a humanoid Cultivator manifested a form within Ruo Wood.

…

The scenes witnessed within [Searing Life], although merely fragmented images,

carried an immense amount of information.

Through the continuous playback of the Dao Transformation Stone, Li Fan watched it over and over again.

Combined with the information he had previously gathered, he slowly began to form a guess.

"Those Cultivators who caused damage to Ruo Wood are likely the very people who advocated abandoning the Xuanhuang Realm and fleeing far away when the Great Tribulation descended back then."

"Judging from the might they displayed when striking, there was no shortage of Longevity Realm Experts among them."

"Five hundred years ago, for reasons unknown, this group wanted to return to the Xuanhuang Realm, leading to a massive battle."

"Sima Changkong once said that the heavens and earth exhibit extreme hatred toward these Cultivators, far surpassing even people like us who plunder the skies and seize the earth."

"Traitors, what did they steal…"

"Could it be this Ruo Wood capable of condensing the [longevity fruit]?"

"Hmm… Judging by the methods this group employs, there are probably some other things as well."

"Thousands of years have passed, and yet they returned after leaving. Did they ultimately fail to escape the Immortal Ruins? Or is there another reason?"

Li Fan frowned slightly.

The existence of the Immortal Ruins was no secret to the Ten Immortal Sects.

This group acted with such ruthless cruelty, leaving no margin for error.

They clearly had the confidence to successfully escape the Xuanhuang Realm.

Yet it was precisely unknown what kind of mishap occurred that forced them to turn back.

The known information was too scarce, so he temporarily set it aside.

Regardless, at this point Li Fan finally understood why [Ruo Wood] harbored such bitter resentment toward Cultivators.

Whether it was having its fruits wantonly plundered by humans or later being driven to near death,

the enmity between it and the Cultivators could simply be described as irreconcilable.

If Li Fan were to suffer such treatment, his methods of retaliation would probably be several times more cruel.

"After the Heavenly Venerable propagated the Dao and established a New Law, the longevity fruit lost its ability to grant longevity entirely."

"For Ruo Wood, this might still be a good thing."

"In a sense, Dharma Transmission could even be considered its savior."

"Otherwise, no matter how powerful Ruo Wood was, it would probably still fail to escape the fate of being plundered."

"Judging from its desire to reverse [things grieving for their own kind], it should not have reached the Longevity Realm yet. It's just that having lived for I don't know how long, with a true body that is such an unimaginable creation, its strength cannot be simply measured by Dao Integration."

"Another one above Dao Integration, yet failing to attain longevity…"

"The chasm between Dao Integration and the Longevity Realm is simply a bit too vast."

The Heavenly Doctor, the Fisherman, and this Rotten Wood that Li Fan had encountered—all three Experts were situated within this Realm.

Although this was merely a coincidence, it could also demonstrate from a certain aspect the difficulty of wanting to "defy the principles of heaven and earth to attain longevity".

Although there were many heroes and talented figures in the world, those who achieved longevity through the New Law always remained just a few.

Li Fan's gaze was dim, remaining silent for a long time.

Having summarized his gains this time, Li Fan began to reflect.

"Being run into by Rotten Wood this time and narrowly losing my life was, generally speaking, simply bad luck."

"If one were to say that I had just achieved a breakthrough in my Realm and inevitably grew a bit arrogant and carried away…"

"That certainly wasn't the case."

"This place was Tianling Province city, and here was a separate courtyard rented from the Dao Discussion Tower. Safety was definitely guaranteed."

"Who could have imagined that a Cultivator engaging in sordid business and peddling Golden Cores would actually be a mighty figure full of malice towards humanity?"

Thinking of this, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness in his heart.

Surely his main body couldn't always turtle up and rely entirely on his Clone to move about outside, right?

After all, a Clone was just a Clone; many Divine Abilities could not be fully unleashed.

It was also one minor Realm lower than the main body; wanting to rely on it to cultivate to the Longevity Realm was no different than wishful thinking.

"It was just like walking on the street and suddenly being struck to death by lightning—a complete low-probability event. One cannot give up eating for fear of choking."

"For many matters, only when the main body takes action can it be done without leaving a trace."

"However, for the ability of Daoist Rotten Wood to distort and alter people's thoughts, a method of defense still needs to be found."

"If not for the fact that it harbored hatred toward Cultivators and seemed to have peeked into what I would do in the future, wishing to use my hands to exact revenge upon Cultivators, it wouldn't have let me return."

"Otherwise, I don't know how long I would have remained lost among the treetops before waking up."

"I prided myself on having a sufficiently steadfast mind, yet I still possessed not the slightest ability to resist…"

"However, Wondrous Items and Cultivation Methods emerge endlessly in the Cultivation World; a method to break this can surely be found."

"I don't ask to completely block it; as long as it allows me to maintain a shred of sobriety, that will be enough to make up for my shortcomings."

Li Fan firmly engraved this matter in his heart and placed it in the primary position.

He intended to begin heavily inquiring about news regarding this aspect next.

After a long time, once his thoughts had calmed down, Li Fan finally picked up the withered branch of Ruo Wood that had been lying on the table all along.

Stroking it carefully, Li Fan suddenly felt a trace of familiarity.

It wasn't because he had previously come into close contact with Ruo Wood's true body.

But rather because…

This tree branch seemed somewhat similar to the materials Jiao Xiuyuan used to create his Clone.