Chapter 153

Inside the empty Wangshu Pavilion, three thousand six hundred and seventy-one cultivation manuals, once neatly arranged on every shelf, now flew out and hovered in midair, pages rustling like a summer downpour.

Some manuals had only a few thin pages, simple and easy to understand.

Others were vast oceans of text, obscure and difficult to comprehend.

【Ten Directions Sword Shadows】, 【Taiwei's Record of Clouds】.

【Gu Tianwang】 reached the pinnacle; the path of Heavenly Heart and Human Nature was fully deduced.

【Red Wheel Divine Wheel of the Celestial Vault】: I am the Great Sun; my light illuminates the ten thousand worlds.

Under conditions where quantum reading could not match him, Su Lin, aided by his temporarily elevated status, innate insight, and heavenly favor, swiftly mastered all the secret texts within Shuijing Peak, integrated them fully, and instantly constructed the Immortal Dao system within his mind.

The cosmos is dark and yellow; the universe is primordial chaos.

Unfortunately, even at this moment, Su Lin had learned all knowledge and could even optimize the mastered manuals through heavenly favor, forging his own supreme path.

But it was time-limited.

What was taken from somewhere must be returned there.

What was borrowed from the world would be reclaimed when heavenly favor abandoned him.

The knowledge in his memory would vanish; even the recorded patterns and characters would fade, even if he had seized the chance to cultivate to the supreme realm—yet that was merely a different experience granted by the world's power.

If one must explain, it was similar to the Sword Immortal experience card he once used—an external brain of sorts.

This was normal; if administrators had such powerful privileges, everyone in the group could reach the peak of their worlds in a year.

Pata

The last manual flew back onto the shelf; Shuijing Peak fell silent once more.

'One scroll is missing—Han Li took it.'

'No matter.'

Su Lin was trapped within the overlapping illusion's Magic Coffin; time and space formed a loop within this planet-sized blue sun, his spirit and body endlessly annihilated and reborn, each cycle leaving a gap like ebb and flow, leaving those trapped powerless to reach shore, tossed by ocean waves.

There was no pain, for before pain could be felt, the spirit plunged into darkness first. In void, essence gathered to form consciousness; then matter coalesced into form.

'Though merely a flesh-and-blood historical projection, this blurring of life and death is indeed formidable,' Su Lin thought sincerely; more than forceful intimidation, this was pure showmanship.

Restore the correspondence of celestial timing, terrestrial geography, and human affairs.

At this moment, Su Lin understood the world's fundamental composition better than ever—both from the materialist perspective and the idealist view of sentient beings.

His thoughts, his intentions, his reflections—he saw them all clearly.

Within the azure sun, Su Lin's historical projection's body repeatedly dissolved; moments later, subtle movements emerged—he smiled faintly.

People on Earth watched the blue sun in the sky, where the six-winged figure was utterly trapped, its black-and-white wings covering head, body, and feet like a cocoon.

Is it over?

It seems the purple-robed immortal was stronger after all.

Future Su Lin frowned; his premonition grew stronger. He ignored all else, fell silent for an instant, and boundless sword qi surged skyward—earth, metal, wood, water, fire, solar radiance, lunar glow—all transformed into primordial chaos. Though it was 'self-directed theater,' he must win this battle; his long-dormant competitive spirit had ignited.

He desperately wanted to know the true depth of this Su Lin—the more surprising, the happier he was, for it meant the future path would be far easier. But—

He could not lose! The needle of his inner competitive drive spiked beyond limits.

Space layered, sword aura never ceased; from beyond heaven, a primordial yellow river broke through the seal and surged in, flooding this realm—this place would become his domain, suppressing his own lingering disturbances.

The overall situation was nearly settled; all that remained was for the primordial chaos energy to merge into Su Lin's body. Through his cosmic-level trait, the primordial chaos would spread from the projection to the original body, locking and paralyzing its movement and thought—thus securing victory.

Future Su Lin was slightly intoxicated, tapping a sliver of his own origin. Still, the gains should more than compensate.

A vast, mysterious aura emanated from within the 【Coffin】.

'How much world-origin power do you have?!' Future Su Lin stared, stunned, at the figure within the blue sun radiating wave after wave of divine light.

If the world-origin power newly gained by Su Lin in the temple and upon first entering the stars had been 1 and 3 respectively, now it had suddenly increased by another 10.

The blue sun's rotation slowed; outside the luminous-dark wing-cocoon, roots of pure clarity spread, sinking into the vast, perfect 'sun.'

How is this possible?!

Three Flowers converge at the crown; essence, qi, and spirit unify in the mysterious pass. Heart, liver, kidney, lung, spleen churn the Five Elements' primordial qi. Su Lin stood in haze, yet his consciousness was crystal clear; golden flowers bloomed spontaneously in his inner vision. He stood on a bustling street, pedestrians passing by, scarf wrapped around his neck, gazing upward at the golden ocean in the sky.

This was his inner vision; the buildings and pedestrians around him were past echoes.

Su Lin surveyed his surroundings, quietly feeling the winter breeze—within and without, body and mind, heaven and earth, all rested perfectly in the 'middle harmony.'

In the external universe, the Lei Chi appeared; lightning plasma, bearing world-ending heavenly might, engulfed this star region.

'Lei Jie?!' Future Su Lin's movements paused slightly; vast immortal qi surged from the center of the 【Coffin】 in relentless waves.

Just moments ago, he fought with clumsy law-force, his Jin Dan cultivation negligible—but now—

All things in the world are yin and yang, generating and restraining each other. If the cultivator is yang, the heavenly tribulation is yin—the tribulation is the cultivator's nemesis. No matter where the cultivator hides, the tribulation appears. At least in this world, it is so. Yin and yang unite—that is how the tribulation forms: the cultivator's own yang draws in yin. Thus, when the tribulation comes, there is no escape; it strikes wherever you are. Survive, and yin-yang union elevates your power; fail, and yin-yang collision reduces you to nothing.

Whether cultivators enhance their cultivation by absorbing cosmic qi or by forging their immortal bodies to extend lifespan and elevate life's tier, they all disrupt the world's balance. Thus, heavenly punishment accumulates—the penalty earned on the immortal path. To ascend to higher realms, one must resolve the karmic debt with the world.

This is the Heavenly Principle—the Dao and Li established since the world's creation.

Su Lin opened his eyes from the haze; the Lei Jie had taken the form of a thunder beast, poised to strike—he fixed his gaze.

Shhh—

The wild lightning plasma and the thunder beast froze as if time had paused, then trembled with human-like shuddering.

'Withdraw!'

The Lei Jie came with overwhelming force, majestic and vast; it departed as naturally, vanishing without trace.

Because—he was Heaven itself.

Su Lin fully absorbed the blue sun, standing silently in space, gazing at the purple-robed figure before him.

Boom—

Space trembled; Su Lin's aura rocketed upward at an impossible speed, world-origin power flooding into his body.

Behind his mask, Future Su Lin's eyes widened—he had envisioned countless scenarios, dozens or hundreds of possible extremes this Su Lin might reach, even modeled his current point total, calculated the maximum boost from absurd luck, even factored in one-time items.

'How is this possible?'

He knew how stingy this world was; the future Su Lin had experienced many worlds, but none had been as "stingy" as this one. Yes, stingy!

He had once drawn a tool—a tool to communicate with the world. He tried to communicate with it, seeking its power to resist, only to find the world ignored him entirely, even locking away the normal pathways to obtain world power.

"Does this world even eat oil cakes?!"

It was like a creature raised by a stepmother. If not for the fact that the Celestial Emperors had fixated on his and his friends' bodies like ineradicable sores, and if he hadn't wanted revenge, the future Su Lin would have left this world long ago and found some decent Earth to farm and raise a family.

"Fucking hell! What the fuck!!!"

Su Lin didn't understand—strong emotional fluctuations emanated from the man. His expression was puzzled, yet his hand didn't pause; he thrust one finger forward, and at the same time, spiritual energy surged, elevating his strength and level once more.

Behind him, the Divine Kingdom Tree vanished, replaced by the phantom of a towering Jianmu tree. Countless Dao and principles transformed into emerald trees, misty and clear, sprouting branches and leaves, their green foliage swaying gently.

"I say, let there be light!"

His voice echoed like distant bronze bells; the beings witnessing the miracle heard Su Lin's voice reverberating in their minds. Most who understood these words stared at the sky in disbelief, and some even knelt on the ground, tears streaming down.

Then

The world fell silent.

The stars faded; boundless light descended, the world as bright as noon.

Supreme holiness! Supreme grandeur! Supreme radiance! The first ray of light since the world's birth reappeared!

Ten-directional light illuminates the myriad worlds!

————————————

Xiao Yan: "Forget Song Shuhang—I suspect Su Lin's old bastard is about to transcend first."

Ye Fan: "Next year, I, Ye Tian Di, will be the admin. Who's for it? Who's against it!"

Kleine: "I have an idea."

Ye Fan turned to look at Kleine, but his vision was filled with nothing but blinding white—his perception was blocked by the power of light; he had no idea where Kleine was.

Even the viewers watching the livestream could now feel only that infinite white light.

In the universe

The future Su Lin felt the light washing over his power barrier. For the first time, he entertained the thought of retreat. He had survived this long not just because he had a cheat, but because he deeply understood the Dao of Survival—never showing off beyond his control.

This power was nearly equal to his own. Though he still had the defensive advantage from the Tianhe Battle Robe's inherent quality, something was wrong!

Very wrong! The future Su Lin even felt the world rejecting him, trying to disrupt his spiritual energy flow!

Above his head stretched starry skies, beneath his feet lay the Five Elements. He swept his left sleeve, and a phantom of a sacred beast flashed—within it, heaven and earth separated, chaotic and formless, forming its own realm.

All boundless light was absorbed into it; the people on Earth saw color again.

And that boundless light became the first primordial light within the sleeve-realm.

This was the technique—Sleeve Containing Heaven and Earth!

Shortly after, the last sliver of light was absorbed; the two stood once more in opposition across the void.

"That's enough. Really. Fighting further is pointless," the future Su Lin transmitted.

Su Lin did not answer. Instead, the heavenly will's authorization rose again. This time, the future Su Lin could almost see with his own eyes the world's primordial power swirling around Su Lin.

"You know, no—you should know," Su Lin said, a blade of condensed law forming in his right palm: "I've always liked xianxia."

Snap

He snapped his fingers left and right. Celestial thunder descended, shattering the sacred beast's phantom.

The heavenly will's enhancement kept rising; the cultivation path's evolution kept perfecting. The amount of primordial world power this historical projection could hold expanded from a cup to a lake; his physical strength surged higher.

The light wings behind him shattered, dissolving into scattered fragments of auspicious radiance, drifting through the starry region.

Dao principles wove a pristine ancient-style long robe. Pure light swelled, immaculate and flawless. Su Lin's hair suddenly grew, reaching his waist. A streak of light shot from his left hand, transforming into a black jade hairpin that bound his hair. Simultaneously, his hair lost its blackness, instantly turning white.

"That's enough."

Geng Metal energy merged into the blade forged from law. Then the law's radiance faded; one side of the blade bore the sun, moon, and stars; the other, mountains, rivers, and plants.

This was the art of Refining the False into the True.

Amid the other's stunned gaze, Su Lin recalled the video clips in his mind—no, he didn't even need to recall; he had already read what had happened in this world.

【Shadow Lord, Gotham Nightmare, Winter Swimmer Gie of Le Du, Clueless Youth of Central Street, iKun's Special Task Force Leader, Woodleaf Dance King of Akihabara, Guangxi Ghost Fire Boy King】

Crossed over three months, pulled stunts for eighty days.

Su Lin thrust his blade forward. The blade-light split endlessly—one became two, two became four, filling the sky with shadows, then converging into one point, slashing toward that future possibility.

The cold, clear blade-light surpassed all things in the world, even brighter than the prior boundless light. In the instant the blade-light flashed, countless beings forgot to breathe, forgot themselves—as if the blade-light had split heaven and earth, even their consciousness. Only the rolling thunder echoed in their ears:

"In my life, I ask not for past deeds, seek not for future lives!"

The sacred beast's phantom fully manifested, yet like a dream or bubble, it was pierced again and again by the blade-light. Space froze, yet the blade-light shattered countless layers, as if breaking countless mirrors, advancing relentlessly. Time began to halt; the blade-light paused, then spread the Dao of Time, accelerating its flow to erode.

Within咫尺天涯, the blade-light struck the future version of himself. The future Su Lin grunted and was flung backward. The ultimate blade-light could not pierce his robe—he felt pain, but endured it, waiting for the Tianhe Battle Robe to slowly wear down the blade-light.

"Heaven's Will?!!!" the future Su Lin cried out.

His retreating body suddenly stopped—not because he had worn down the blade-light, but because a hand had pressed against his back.

Su Lin pushed against him, opposing the blade-light's force. This made the future Su Lin suffer—he could not deflect the power, forced to endure the blade-light directly.

"About one percent of heavenly will," Su Lin nodded slightly, ignoring the other's furious eyes beneath his mask, transmitting: "Though even one hundred percent wouldn't match your peak, I fear if I add more, I'll kill you."

Su Lin glanced at the other's purple ceremonial robe. "Though I don't much like purple, this robe looks good. It truly suits me."

The future Su Lin instantly understood what he meant. "You won't!"

Su Lin's gaze turned icy. He said nothing more. The heavenly will's enhancement rose again.

The other hurled his own slender purple sword backward. A shadowy figure emerged from the future's timeline, wielding sword aura, rushing toward the present—its cold, sharp killing aura targeted Su Lin's spirit.

Su Lin met it with his blade. At that moment, a sacred beast resembling a crow screeched, transforming into identical blade-light that pierced through the future Su Lin's chest.

The power ahead vanished. The future Su Lin spread his arms and vanished into the void.

Strange phenomena filled the sky

In the ethereal void, a city wreathed in mist and clouds appeared. Immortals and Buddhas sat high upon the Twelve Towers and Five Cities, gazing down upon mortals. Nine dragons pulled a chariot, treading wind, fire, water, and earth, flying from the palace halls. A majestic figure sat upon the dragon-chariot, like Tian Di on a royal tour, his long sword pointing at Su Lin. In the next instant, countless divine lights and immortal arts surged toward Su Lin.

Su Lin showed no fear; behind him appeared a landscape of ink and wash painting, with mist swirling, majestic mountains, sun and moon sharing the sky, ancient trees towering, a silver waterfall cascading from the heavens, and a blurred figure stepping out from the painting.

With each step he took, light flickered across his body, and the mist beside him thinned slightly.

When he reached the ninth step, his form had already covered the sky, shifting from illusion to reality; the Milky Way surged like flowing water in his hands, and from between his fingers dripped specks of eternal sand—each one a star.

"Cut!"

Su Lin roared, and in that instant the brilliant Milky Way transformed into countless flying swords, streaking with starlight to slash at the countless immortals and gods above, raining down upon the strange vision. Soon, the White Jade Capital began to crack and gradually reverted to its former starry sky, leaving only the terrifying future Su Lin standing where he was.

He looked battered, bearing the backlash from the vision's shattering; a star glowed on his forehead. He winced as he pinched out this star, forged from pure power, and crushed it—blood trickled down.

Su Lin's power surged again; the opponent seemed ready to resist, still holding back some trump cards, but then showed a pained expression. Future Su Lin weighed the gains and losses, then waved his hand, blocking Earth's view of the stars.

He returned the purple slender sword to his system space and sighed:

"Go easy—I hate pain."

——————————

When the sky returned to normal and stars became visible again over Earth's night, astronomy enthusiasts were stunned to find that only Earth remained intact among the Solar System's eight planets; shattered stellar remains littered the heavens, and where Jupiter once was, only a fiery sphere remained.

Yet strangely, the disappearance of these planets caused no physical disruption to Earth, and the planets were gradually being restored—as if time flowed backward.

Earth Calendar, January 3, 03 AD: Mythological Resurgence

People did not know what ideological differences the two gods held, nor what their beliefs were, who won or lost, where they came from, or where they went.

They only knew that after this battle, the two gods—who had once been one—went their separate ways; archaeologists on Earth became the top strategic target for every nation in a short time, and nations launched a frenzy of excavating ancient history, with seeking immortals and the Dao becoming the new "gold rush."

Soon, that Eastern nation drew the world's gaze; travel bookings to its territory were sold out even before the divine battle ended, and every tourist site tied to legends of immortals and gods was overwhelmed with visitors.

Similar conditions occurred in India, Nepal, the Vatican, and other nations.

On the same night, a professor from a certain country announced: "Those two gods came from Da Han, sseumida."

This statement sparked outrage across all sectors, but more people cared about one question:

Where did the immortals go?

————————————

In a room at Water Mirror Peak, Luo Shengying smiled as she applied spirit ointment to Future Su Lin, whose body—except his head—was shattered and severely damaged.

"Stop singing! Stop singing!"

Future Su Lin could not move any part of his body except his head and neck.

"Stop singing, aaaaaah!!!"

Physical pain and healing could be resolved with time and medicine, but his spirit and soul were not only restricted to ordinary human strength, but also branded—and subjected to four hours of high-intensity, nonstop remixes of "Blue Road Song," "Don't Look at Me, I'm Just a Sheep," "Teletubbies," "Garish Meets Haircut," "Philosophical Wrestling Theme," "Because You're Too Beautiful," "Wrong Wrong Wrong (Vietnamese Version)," "River of Love," and "Love You at 10°C."

Also interspersed were stand-up comedy and tongue-twister segments.

Luo Shengying put away the ointment, ignoring the wails beside her, and walked out of the room.

Su Lin was examining a purple robe carefully—it had been forcibly torn off. Soul imprint? Joke. The key to unlock a lock doesn't care about your labels.

"Physician, are you sure it's fine?" Luo Shengying asked.

"You coward, come out and fight me, aaaaaa! Just see how far I can transcend!!! Bastard, aaaaaa!!!"

"Fine," Su Lin put away the robe and walked over to close the half-latched door. "The most effective way to make someone hate something they once loved is to make them sick of it."

"In high school, I loved listening to certain songs, so I played them on repeat—until three days later I threw away my headphones because I heard echoes in my sleep."

"Like quitting internet addiction—you don't always need electric shock therapy. Just play it until you vomit."

"Perfect," Luo Shengying exhaled in relief, her face brightening. "Now I'm at ease."

6000 words, left work late

End of Chapter