When Immortal Ascension Fails Time Travel to Try Again

"I'm right here, Bandleader!" Dread Lotus called. I found her next to Azure. They both looked grim.

"What happened?"

"We lost Parroting Liar from 17-P2V2."

Azure nodded. "I tried to keep him safe on the way over, but a stray shot from a Golden Core caught him. His defensive tool saved his life, but he's too injured to continue and had to retreat to the first aid tent."

"Damn. He's one of our better vocalists. At least he's still alive."

"Other than that, we're all accounted for and ready to go!" Dread Lotus continued.

"Good work!"

She grinned and then shared a high-five with Azure.

On the periphery of my divine sense, I noticed Crouching Tiger Hidden Dagger flying in fast. He barely stopped himself from crashing into me.

I grabbed his arm and helped him regain his stability. There were bags under his eyes that weren't there earlier, and his cheeks had thinned significantly. His mask had also fallen off.

When I released him, he bowed. "Elder Linlin, my Shadow Team is ready to continue."

"Are you sure? You don't look good."

He smiled wanly. "I had to use a minor forbidden technique to save a group of my puppeteers. I'll stay in the back and let them do the heavy lifting for the duration."

I quickly scanned his body with my divine sense. Fucking hell. Minor forbidden technique, my ass. He'd lost a good ten years off his lifespan just to save his team.

I handed him a bottle of Lin's Healing Dan. I didn't have a ton of these, but I respected a leader who protected their subordinates. "Take one… no, three. It won't return what you lost, but it will repair the damage."

He bowed. "Thank you, Elder Linlin." Then he joined his team, who hid within the crowd of warriors around us.

The Lion Guard arrived last. Fairy Cajoling Catnip landed next to me. "Elder Linlin. We've lost several disciples."

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"Can you keep going? Your team has been invaluable."

She nodded. "You can count on us, Elder. After we witnessed how you took down an entire row of orthodox cultivators, we're all still in high spirits."

I grinned. "Good!" Because it was time to go again.

::Everyone, move into your positions. We're playing The Angry Song of Sleep. If we have to, we'll switch to Enter Sleep.::

"Yes, Band Leader!"

Little Spring jumped down from my flying sword and joined the large group of beast tamers and their pets. ::Tagging Team, get ready! We're moving now!::

::Shadow Team! Let's go!::

::We have your back, Elder Linlin!:: Cajoling Catnip said.

After I split my mind into six, I connected with my band's flying swords and lifted us into the air.

The keyboards began to play as the vocalists sang the most violent and fastest sleep-inducing song to ever exist.

It took us thirty seconds to reach the front line on the Leashed Claws' side. When they heard our badass song, a few of the cultivators threw up shields to prepare for us. Some of their more intelligent beasts with good hearing ran. Hah!

Unfortunately for them, it was too late. While short, this song was fast and powerful as fuck. But that was expected when the inspiration for it was Tom Cardy's About Eight Hours.

Within that short half minute, we had built up enough energy to form a real illusion. Since I was controlling the formation and leading the song, it took the shape of the object I imagined when I thought about hours — a classic gold pocket watch with intricate filigree. It was something that had never been seen in this world before and would definitely cause these assholes to have nightmares after this.

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We flew forward, launching the pagoda-sized watch at the front lines. For a second, it loomed over everyone before it plummeted.

Screams filled the field.

Someone shouted, "Impossible! Hold strong! It's illusory and won't—"

Splat! The watch flattened everyone.

Muahahaha! Our strike had bypassed their defenses and shields. Whoever touched the gold surface fainted, hitting the ground like crushed ants.

Yes! This worked perfectly!

The watch flipped up and then dove. It spun, hitting the unlucky assholes in its way like a wobbling coin slowly running out of kinetic energy. But we weren't done performing, and the clock wasn't about to stop.

I aimed for the middle of the frontline, about where we started our first run through, and we moved across the battlefield. Our massive pocket watch jauntily followed along, smashing those unlucky enough to encounter it. It flipped every now and then, just before the surrounding cultivators started to predict its movements.

At this speed, we'd reach our finish line right at the end of the song.

Of course, that was when two Golden Core warriors exited the orthodox ships like their asses were on fire. They flew around the massive illusion and headed straight for our formation along with a serpent and a three-tailed fox.

These guys must have taken advice from someone in the Harmonious Sound Sect because they arrived prepared to attack us. They pointed at Gold String's node, sending a powerful illusory cheetah running toward them.

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I guess they wanted to take out each group one at a time to break up our badass battle formation.

Cajoling Catnip and her team of lion tamers came together. Using a series of hand seals, they formed a shield of spiritual energy. The illusion smacked against it before dissipating.

The Foundation Establishment guards were flung back several yards and coughed up three mouthfuls of blood. Not letting that injury stop them, the group pointed forward.

Their lions darted out to intercept the beasts of their opposition. Unfortunately, they reached them a little too late.

I pulled us back to get my precious musicians away from this fight. This, of course, fucking destroyed the beautiful momentum I'd built up. The gold watch had even slowed down and practically spun in slow motion.

Shit. We wouldn't make it to my goal with just this song.

Our flying lions collided with the enemy spiritual beasts. They ripped at each other, using fangs, claws, and energy attacks. Fur and scales flew everywhere, but the weaker lions ended up backing off.

The two Golden Core assholes performed a series of hand seals. An illusory tiger formed in front of them and rushed toward us.

Goddamn it. I was going to have to use up one of my damn defensive tools for this.

I gritted my teeth and prepared to step into the attack.

Pearlescent Rose and her band suddenly flew in, taking the full force of the tiger strike on a round shield they'd created with music Qi.

She coughed up a half mouthful of blood, then smiled. "Isn't attacking my juniors beneath you? At this rate, your righteous sect will lose all of its face."

"Never you evil, unorthodox bastard!"

"At least we're not judgmental hypocrites with sticks up our asses!"

Each Golden Core stage cultivator glared daggers at the other before flying higher. They started fighting using music Qi, spiritual spells, and various powerful beasts.

Thanks to Pearlescent Rose, our path was clear. I sped the band up, which caused our watch to do the same. It caught our opponents off guard. We plowed through the front line. A few lucky assholes jumped out of the way, but most didn't have the opportunity.

When we reached halfway to my goal, The Angry Song of Sleep came to an end. The watch's hour hand ‌stopped at the number eight, and the illusion splatted once more before vanishing.

The cultivators it spared all dashed away, letting other, braver disciples take their places.

Red talismans briefly appeared on the unconscious disciples before vanishing. Hidden Dagger's team was fast. At their pace, they'd run out of targets in a minute.

I used my control over everyone's swords to bring us further from the front.

I started playing the intro for Enter Sleep. Dread Lotus backed me up with cymbal crashes.

::Everyone. You did well, but we weren't able to finish what we needed to. You know what to do.::

"Yes, Elder!"

The flying band picked up the melody and moved into the new formation like the pros they now were.

Enter Sleep was inspired by a song that explored insomnia, monsters, and nightmares — Enter Sandman by the infamous Metallica.

The biggest difference was that the band that wrote our song made it induce sleep instead of keeping people awake. It also brought out the listener's fears in the form of really fucked up dreams. That was why I saved it as our last resort.

Our guitar playing spread through the battlefield. The drums sounded like cannons. Each vocalist sang their part using a deep, throaty voice.

Dark clouds gathered over our heads, causing the sky to darken. Our golden energy flowed into a spot just behind us. It took the form of an amorphous, eldritch monster. Suddenly, it caved in on itself before exploding forward into an illusory sandstorm. The way it moved was like a billowing cloud that was somehow also creepy and tentacled.

Cymbals crashed like lightning. I went heavy on my guitar, deepening our sound.

We charged the front once again, only this time, we had created the oncoming storm. Muahahaha!

When we stopped just before the front, the cloud zipped forward and expanded to cover the rest of the Leashed Claws side. It even reached their ships!

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Screams quickly silenced as most of the enemy cultivators hit the floor and passed out.

Some of the Irrepressible Beast Blood Sect did as well, but that was expected when you used AOEs in battle. At least our attack wasn't lethal.

Unfortunately, this effect wouldn't last long. While it covered the most area at once, its weakness was that it wasn't as strong. By the time we reached the last quarter of the song, Foundation Establishment cultivators were already getting up and fighting.

It didn't even affect the Golden Core assholes who were fighting with Pearlescent Rose. Fortunately, they weren't the guys we aimed to collect.

Iron Fang and Ice Lotus Flower exited the immortal ships along with a half dozen other Nascent Souls. They suddenly appeared above the battlefield.

Oh, fuck! Without Pearlescent Rose and her band in our formation, there was no way we could touch a hair on any of their heads. At least not with so many of them there.

Iron Fang brought out a massive spear and a wolf that stood in the air, showing just how powerful the creature was.

Ice Lotus Flower took out a spiritual tool of some kind that looked like the flower she was named after.

Before they could start attacking us, Sister Golden Pride, Brother Wrathful Waterspout, and a couple of Nascent Souls from the dread painter and puppeteer disciplines rushed to intercept them.

The dread painter elder rode on a massive brush and began to paint a horrifying scene using the clouds and air. It shot forward to wrap around several dozen hovering beasts.

The puppeteer brought out a dragon puppet. It was old as fuck and was probably created from a long-dead dragon the creator was lucky enough to encounter. As ancient as it was, the puppet was still powerful, causing the opposite side to think twice before they started attacking.

Wrathful Waterspout waved his arm. An army of giant crabs appeared before him.

Shit. If any more came out, I might start getting horrifying flashbacks of the damned crab mission.

One bright red crustacean that was larger and stronger than the others jumped in front of an attack from Iron Fang's massive gray wolf beast. Both creatures backed off, then they transformed into human shapes and began throwing energy spells at each other.

Golden Pride brought out a pride of her own. The leader, a beautiful black lion with a large, majestic mane, roared and pounced toward the enemy beasts.

Vengeful Siren practically appeared next to me. If I hadn't been focused on finishing up the full song and managing the timing of four fucking teams at once, I would have jumped. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time or extra split mind to be shocked. I was also close to running out of energy, which meant my flying band was in worse shape. One by one, those who ran too low stopped playing and fell out of the formation. They dropped into the crowd below and retreated.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up just after the Nascent Soul formed a hand seal to form a protective shield around us.

He wrapped his arm around my head, blocking my ears, and lifted his other hand into the air. He must have had an internal contract space because a stream of water blasted from his palm, forming a beautiful woman. Ethereal blue robes floated around her as her power grew.

Using an impossibly powerful voice, she screamed upward.

Holy shit! If Siren hadn't covered my ears, I would have gone deaf from that. Already, those near me had blood coming out of their ears. And that was after he had already protected us.

A heaven ranked spear became visible and stopped as her voice continued to ring out. It was pointed right at me. The weapon vibrated before flying back the way it had come.

When it reached Iron Fang, he caught it and glared down at us.

The woman, who was definitely some kind of mystical beast, rushed forward, joining the Nascent Soul fight.

Fuck me! That hidden spear had moved so fast that even my divine sense didn't notice it. Granted, I hadn't been using it as high as I could have, but still!

I turned to the unorthodox elder. "How did you know?"

He dropped his arm to my shoulders and pulled me out of my formation. I quickly put my flying sword into my spatial ring and allowed him to move me toward the farthest first aid station.

My band scattered and hid like they were trained to do. Our sandstorm evaporated as if it had never existed.

Vengeful Siren briefly pulled out a shiny black tile from his robes before tucking it back in. It had glowing patterns on it that changed as we moved. "I figured it out with this."

Oh! I'd never made one of those, but I recognized it. It was an extremely expensive divination tool. Few could afford them, and those who could rarely had the energy to work them.

He smiled. "A couple of minutes ago, I was trying to find the best time to make my move when a strange result appeared on it. When I dug deeper, I realized that our only hope was about to get taken out of the fight."

"Hah! I could have survived that." I had a ton of defensive items and healing pills.

The spear in Iron Fang's hand exploded. The alchemist looked disgusted and wiped the debris and char off his robes.

Vengeful Siren glanced down at me smugly. "I imagine the initial hit wouldn't have gotten past your defenses, but that blast would have bathed you in wounds."

That… was possible.

I hadn't expected two sudden surprise attacks from a much higher realmed cultivator. At least not from the orthodox faction, and not without some serious provocation…

Shit. Our wildly successful strike had definitely provoked them. It was absolutely my fault. I just couldn't help being so impossibly outstanding.