Extra: When I am thousands of times 2

"Why?"

"Why has the historical progression of this life returned once again?"

Waking up from the darkness once more with a splitting headache, Qiao Sidao was startled.

But he couldn't care about that; his heart was filled with too many doubts as he constantly recalled and compared his experiences from the previous two lives.

As a minor character swept up by the great tides of the Era, he was truly at the mercy of fate.

He found it difficult to grasp the full picture of worldly events.

However, he did know certain key junctures that were significant enough to change the course of history.

After comparing them one by one, Qiao Sidao discovered that a world where [Martial] from the Creation Sect did not appear was the one that matched the history in his memories: the Immortal Venerable of Dharma Transmission would ignite the prairie fire of the New Dharma, overthrow the decaying Ten Immortal Sects, and establish the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance that would rule the Xuanhuang World for ten thousand years.

So, was [Martial] the anomaly?

Without Martial, would everything return to its proper track?

After a long period of contemplation, Qiao Sidao finally arrived at a seemingly reasonable explanation.

"In that case, should I first go to the Creation Sect in this life to investigate whether a person named [Martial] actually exists before making a decision?"

"But the Creation Sect is one of the grand Ten Immortal Sects, while I am merely an Outer Sect Disciple of an insignificant Sect. We belong to two completely different worlds; how could I possibly find any information?"

"Such secrets are clearly beyond the reach of my current body. If I'm noticed by someone with ill intentions, I might be subjected to soul-searching, exposing the fact that I can continuously reincarnate."

…Qiao Sidao was meticulous and no stranger to the various methods employed by Immortal Cultivators.

Naturally, he had many concerns.

Fortunately, he soon wouldn't have to worry about this dilemma.

Because, after he finished absorbing the memories of the body he occupied, Qiao Sidao was horrified to find that the Era of this life was not the beginning of the New Dharma.

Instead, it was a bizarre and unprecedented period he had never heard of.

Between heaven and earth, there actually existed a Restriction where different Cultivation Techniques could not be practiced together. Sects were extinct, and not even one in ten thousand Cultivators remained.

The surviving Cultivators were all solitary, wandering the world alone.

They would not easily trust anyone else, struggling to survive on the desolate wilderness.

Qiao Sidao didn't know exactly what had happened back then.

And the reason why he kept being reborn into worlds that were different every time was even more mysterious.

Qiao Sidao had no choice but to cautiously prioritize survival first, then explore various peril-filled Sect ruins to try and piece together the truth of history.

It took Qiao Sidao a full ten years to finally understand the events of that time.

The deviation in history occurred during the Era of the great tide where the New and Old Dharma clashed violently.

On this timeline, the vitality of those Sects was unexpectedly tenacious.

Not only did they withstand the countless New Dharma armies, but they even reformed themselves, with their internal members starting to switch to the New Dharma.

Once the advantage in cultivation speed was gone, the New Dharma Cultivators were undoubtedly far behind in terms of Cultivation Techniques, Magic Treasures, and Divine Abilities.

They only managed to avoid defeat by relying on the sheer number of Cultivators.

The war of attrition between the two sides lasted for decades.

During this period, in order to achieve final victory in the war, both the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Ten Immortal Sects resorted to any means necessary.

Massive numbers of Mortals were forcibly conscripted and granted cultivation methods.

After brief training, they were forced onto the battlefield.

With various Restrictions placed on them, they had no choice but to fight desperately for their lives.

It was said that blood flowed across every inch of the Xuanhuang World; even on the current wasteland, Qiao Sidao could still vaguely see the traces left by that tragic war.

Both sides relentlessly threw in Immortal Cultivator soldiers without restraint, madly competing to seize heaven and earth.

One day, a sudden mutation occurred.

It was a terrifying curse: Law Incompatibility.

Everyone who practiced the same Cultivation Technique lost their sanity in an instant, seeing each other as Mortal enemies.

One must know that to increase combat power as quickly as possible, the vast majority of Immortal Cultivator soldiers in both the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Ten Immortal Sects practiced the same specially modified Cultivation Technique.

Therefore, when the Great Catastrophe arrived, the entire Xuanhuang World instantly fell into a chaos of mutual slaughter.

It was the same for the low-level ranks as it was for the high-level ones.

The Ten Immortal Sects emphasized Sect Legacy. Those who practiced the same law were innumerable. In the face of the Great Catastrophe, even the Elders who had lived in seclusion began to swing their butcher knives at their own Disciples.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance emphasized mutual assistance. Everyone treated the Celestial Venerable of Dharma Transmission as their teacher and were mostly Loose Cultivators. To defeat the ancient Sects that had lasted for ten thousand years, they had to gather the wisdom of the vast majority of Cultivators to constantly deduce and perfect a flawless, universal technique for the majority of the Alliance. This technique, named the "Heavenly Net Divine Art," was originally the Foundation of the Alliance's unity, but it now became a terrifying death warrant.

It was a dark time that made even later generations shudder just thinking about it.

The end of the Great War was, naturally, the total annihilation of both sides, leaving the Xuanhuang World as clean as a vast white expanse of snow.

Only thousands of years later did some lucky surviving Mortals find remnant cultivation scriptures in the ruins and restart the civilization of cultivation.

As for the ultimate fate of the Celestial Venerable of Dharma Transmission and the leaders of the Ten Immortal Sects—the top experts of the Xuanhuang World—it remained unknown.

For the rest of his life, Qiao Sidao delved deep into various ruins, trying to find any traces they might have left behind.

Finally, on one occasion, he was unfortunately injured by a hidden trap Restriction and died with regret.

After he woke up again, the first thing he did was check the memories of this body.

As he expected, the world had changed once again.

A terrifying disease had been born in the world, spreading through Spiritual Qi. Once a Cultivator was infected, it was like a Mortal catching the plague.

No matter what Spirit Pill, medicine, or Heaven-Defying Divine Ability you used, it could not be cured.

Although this disease was not fatal, its impact on Cultivators was obvious.

With just a slight, intense circulation of Spiritual Qi, one would involuntarily break into bouts of coughing.

If one ignored the physical discomfort and forced the circulation, there was even a risk of coughing until they passed out.

This disease circulated in the world for over a decade, and almost no more fighting occurred in the Xuanhuang World.

It wasn't that the originally aggressive Immortal Cultivators had all changed their nature, but rather that their physical functions were constantly declining in an imperceptible way.

There were even ridiculous incidents where a Golden Core cultivator broke a leg while walking, or a Nascent Soul Cultivator flying in the sky fainted and fell from a high altitude because they couldn't withstand the high-speed circulation of spiritual power in their body.

Qiao Sidao's current body of a Golden Core cultivator felt, in his perception, not even as strong as a common Qi Refining Cultivator in his memory.

In this life, Qiao Sidao lived for sixty years. By the end of his life, due to the existence of this disease, Immortal Cultivators had been weakened to the extreme.

In the Mortal world, there were powerful Martial Artists with vigorous blood vitality who could suppress and kill Combined Dao Cultivators.

The path of immortality reached its end, and the way of martial arts began to flourish.

Therefore, the struggling practitioners called this disease [Perishing Immortals].

In the next life, Qiao Sidao returned once more to the time when the New and Old Dharma were in opposition.

However, in this world, war was no longer the focus.

Just as the battle between the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Ten Immortal Sects reached its peak, the phantom of a ruin suddenly appeared in the sky.

A figure stood within it, seemingly gazing quietly at the sentient beings of the Xuanhuang World below.

The entire world suddenly shook, swaying slightly.

Such a bizarre sight naturally caught the attention of the Cultivators. Both sides decided on a temporary ceasefire to first figure out the situation with the phantom in the sky.

After some research, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Ten Immortal Sects reached the same conclusion.

The ruin displayed in the sky was located above the Xuanhuang World. It seemed to have an extremely strong gravitational pull that even the weight of the entire world could hardly resist.

The tremors the Cultivators had sensed not long ago were a sign that the Xuanhuang World had already begun to be pulled upward.

According to calculations, in a hundred years at most, the Xuanhuang World would fall and perish within the ruins.

And when that time came, all Cultivators within the world would be unable to escape death!

Once the news broke, it immediately caused a massive uproar.

In the face of survival, the war was naturally set aside for the time being.

The Five Old Men Association and the Ten Immortal Sects did the unprecedented and joined forces to seek a solution.

Ultimately, they passed a plan called [Reversing Xuanhuang].

They would exhaust all resources to build tens of thousands of Obelisks on the land of the Xuanhuang World.

Using the thrust of the Obelisks, they would push the entire Xuanhuang World in the opposite direction, away from the ruins in the sky.

Generally speaking, this plan should have been sound.

Especially when the first Obelisk was completed and indeed slightly delayed the "ascent" of the Xuanhuang World, the feasibility of [Reversing Xuanhuang] was confirmed.

But they were too optimistic about human nature.

Cultivators were used to scheming against each other; how could they suddenly be expected to unite sincerely?

In just ten years, the fragile alliance had vanished. Instead, the Xuanhuang World fell into unprecedented chaos.

Because the project to build tens of thousands of Obelisks was too vast, it required the effort of every single Cultivator.

Over time, those Cultivators who were naturally free-spirited became somewhat reluctant.

Rumors began to spread slowly, saying that the phantom in the sky was a complete and utter conspiracy.

It was just a lie fabricated by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Old Men Association to enslave all Cultivators.

Even the Obelisks were said to be part of some terrifying Formation.

On the day the Formation was completed, Restrictions to control the Divine Soul would be planted in the Sea of Consciousness of all Cultivators.

The myriad Cultivators of the Xuanhuang World would completely become the slaves of certain individuals.

Although the rumors were quickly suppressed, the doubts in the Cultivators' hearts could not be erased.

Instead, they became deeply convinced of these conspiracies.

The [Reversing Xuanhuang] plan proceeded with great difficulty. At this time, rumors surfaced of a certain place using soul-snatching control to force Cultivators to build Obelisks.

This seemed to serve as further evidence for the conspiracy.

Tides of resistance began to emerge across the Xuanhuang World, growing more intense by the day.

And the occurrence of one event caused the situation to spiral completely out of control.

One night, a burst of dazzling white light suddenly came from the direction of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

It almost illuminated the entire Xuanhuang World.

The Cultivators could vaguely see a massive sword rising from the ground, piercing the firmament.

As the phantom of the ruin in the sky distorted, a black void was created in the air.

In the next second, under the gaze of all Cultivators in the world, the giant sword vanished without a trace.

Darkness descended upon the world once more. At first, the Cultivators were a bit confused.

But how could such a thing be hidden? Soon, everyone realized what had happened.

The Heavenly Sword Sect, one of the Ten Immortal Sects, had secretly forged a [World-splitting Divine Weapon], pierced through the Void Realm, and simply fled!

"Traitors!"

"Shameful!"

For a time, the sound of cursing was Never Ending. But it also made the Cultivators wonder—could it be that the ruin in the sky truly existed?

Amidst this uncertainty, the unrest in various places subsided, and Cultivators began to actively and positively build Obelisks.

But… soon, they sensed something was wrong.

The frequency of orders from the upper echelons of the Ten Immortal Sects and the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance became lower and lower.

It had even been a long time since they had seen any Cultivators of significance in person.

In their panic, they traveled together to the Ten Immortal Sects' headquarters. Only then did they discover that the place was already empty!

They were merely relying on Formations to issue orders to them every once in a while!

The Cultivators, feeling toyed with and abandoned, had infinite rage in their hearts but could find no target for their venting.

They could only blame the Cultivators who had initially spread the rumors. But in reality, they had also helped fuel those rumors back then.

Who could they blame now?

The upper echelon of the Xuanhuang World had collectively fled, leaving not even the method of how to drive the Obelisks.

The Cultivators, who could only sit and wait for death, watched as the image of the ruin in the sky grew larger and larger.

Slowly, they fell into madness amidst despair.

The slaughter began.

Facing this farce-like scene, Qiao Sidao remained a cold bystander throughout.

As the Xuanhuang World slowly disintegrated amidst constant tremors, he also ended his life in this world.

In the following times, the continuously reincarnating Qiao Sidao experienced all sorts of mysterious worlds.

For example: one with no Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and no Ten Immortal Sects. The one who unified the Xuanhuang World was a Great Celestial Venerable. Everyone, from birth, had to begin practicing a specific Cultivation Technique. The cultivation base generated by the technique was used to exchange for resources necessary for survival.

Or another: an [Immortal Net] shrouded the world, and every move of a Cultivator was monitored by it. But similarly, every Cultivator could earn contribution points through the Immortal Net to exchange for various techniques and Magic Treasures. They could even go through the Immortal Net to conquer other cultivation worlds and obtain massive amounts of merit… Qiao Sidao's talent was mediocre. In every life, even though he tried his best to live…

He was still just an ordinary member of the common masses. He left no trace of himself in history, born ordinary and dying ordinary every time.

In this way, he didn't know how many times he had been reborn.

He finally experienced a similar world once again.

It was the timeline where he had first awakened.

An Inner Sect Disciple of the Seven Star Sect.

The Celestial Venerable of Dharma Transmission was teaching the Dharma at Congyun Marsh.

However, Qiao Sidao, having seen countless destructions and prosperities, had already vaguely guessed his current situation.

So he didn't do anything particularly out of line; he just acted as he always had, like an outsider.

Silently observing the changes in the world.

This time, [Martial] from the Creation Sect did not appear. The Immortal Venerable of Dharma Transmission also successfully completed his transmission.

But as soon as the transmission of the New Dharma began, the Ten Immortal Sects paid special attention to it and issued a kill order.

They viewed the New Dharma as heretical; any Cultivator who practiced it would be executed without mercy.

It was said that this decree came from [Wisdom] of the Great Dao Sect.

Thus, the New Dharma died halfway before it could even begin its grand undertaking.

Even the Immortal Venerable of Dharma Transmission himself died tragically amidst the heavy pursuit.

Qiao Sidao, watching all of this, seemed to understand something.

Next came thousands upon thousands of cycles of Reincarnation.

In the versions of this world he experienced, Qiao Sidao never saw [Wisdom] again.

"So, is it for these people?"

In this world, most people are ordinary.

But there are always some exceptionally gifted individuals.

Relying on their own natural talent, they can even change the course of history.

For example, [Medicine], who single-handedly researched a complete cure for the Perishing Immortals disease.

Or, after the Ten Immortal Sects and the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance abandoned the Cultivators, the one who stood up to turn the tide and reunite everyone.

The [Immortal Emperor] who finally restarted the Reversing Xuanhuang plan and saved the entire world… Through countless Reincarnations, Qiao Sidao watched these geniuses appear and disappear.

His heart slowly grew cold.

He had already perceived the truth of the world he was in.

The different evolving worlds were merely to select those peerless talents.

And the rest of the sentient beings in the world were nothing more than background guests.

But… what about himself?

Why was he able to always retain his own memories through one cycle of Reincarnation after another?

Qiao Sidao didn't know the reason.

But he understood that this was also his only reliance for escaping from this "false world."

I will finish writing this side story tomorrow and resume normal updates.