Chapter 220: Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan: Drifting and Lost Contact in Dou Po

In the quiet hallway, Su Lin stared in thought at the door gods on the door—a fusion of Eastern and Western styles.

Not just on his own front door, but on several other residents' doors on this floor, there were door gods of similar yet slightly different designs: ink-wash style, printed image style, oil-painting style.

Su Lin pulled out his phone, opened Taobao, and saw randomly recommended products: Immortal Emperor figurines, Creator statues, hanging paintings, posters, shopping bags.

One six-wing logo pen, 100 yuan each for identical Immortal God masks, a sealed Longquan-made identical long sword for 1999 yuan.

Scrolling down the screen, Su Lin saw a product labeled 【Sacred Site Ticket】 for 699 yuan; he clicked in and found the semiconductor park's previous press conference venue had been converted into a cultural tourism attraction. Inside the May Day blockbuster attraction, identical weapon-shaped ice cream sold for 30 yuan.

Did I agree to let you use my likeness?!

Su Lin stared, eyes wide, at these wildly profitable products—all with sales exceeding ten thousand—and suddenly felt his old-fashioned anti-corruption earnings weren't so appealing anymore.

Damn capitalist games!

Due to the effect of the Seven Emotions Tea, Su Lin's emotions were currently easily stirred; he recalled his grueling past labor life and considered striking out in his Divine Light form to tax major corporations—seventy percent would be about right.

"Back home and you don't even say a word?" Su's father opened the door, holding a black trash bag, surprised to see his son standing there playing with his phone. "Knock, for heaven's sake! Just stand there like a fool?"

Su Lin slapped his own forehead twice, rubbing it to make those scattered thoughts vanish completely.

Think bigger. Why cling to such mundane things?

"Yeah, I came back to visit." Su Lin stepped inside and was about to take off his shoes when he saw, on a cabinet near the TV, statues of Su Su Tuoni and his Divine Light form, each with three electronic incense sticks planted before them.

Thick! Gift! Thanks!

"You're back!?" Su's mother exclaimed happily. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes." Su Lin stared at the three electronic incense sticks and clicked his tongue. "Just eating."

"What did you eat?"

"Nothing much."

Su Lin pointed at the statues on the cabinet. "You still believe in this? And aren't they two always at odds? Why put them together?"

"It's free, so why not believe a little?" Su's mother took fruit from the kitchen fridge and rinsed them in the sink. "Believing in one is believing; believing in two is still believing. They don't take up much space on the cabinet."

"This isn't like the past—they're real immortals. Go pay your respects later, ask them to bless you with wealth and good health!"

"This time, you're not allowed to take the statues out and throw them away!"

Su Lin, who had just had that thought, froze—he hadn't known Su Su Tuoni had already thrown the statue away once before, and he'd assumed Su Su Tuoni's thick skin could ignore it entirely.

"Relying on them is worse than relying on myself." Su Lin felt a headache coming on; he'd still overlooked the subtle effects, which weren't harmful but were utterly exasperating.

"Too bad you're a bit old. I heard the national departments are screening students nationwide—if you'd been younger, you might've had a chance to cultivate." Su's mother sighed, placing the rinsed fruit on the living room coffee table.

"Cultivate?" Su Lin picked up a fruit, hesitated, then said: "I've been in the mountains lately—no signal. What happened?"

For the people of this planet, since the battle between the champions of the Eastern and Western Divine Realms months ago, everything had gone haywire—but not completely.

Fanatics searching for divine and immortal traces gained nothing, yet brought instability to society's security; though chaos didn't erupt frequently, ordinary people suffered endlessly.

Domestically, things were slightly better—mostly just temples and Daoist monasteries seeing daily visitors seeking immortality, in normal or abnormal ways, with occasional property losses, but still less than what they earned the next day.

Abroad, things got wild: scenic spots flooded with crowds; citizens protested, demanding the government reveal top secrets—the public had the right to know about the gods.

The rulers were equally baffled; they admitted they wanted to know too.

But no one believed them; eventually, the Pope of the Vatican announced he'd received a divine revelation—truth unknown.

Order, at least, was barely maintained and gradually stabilized.

Inevitably, some unscrupulous individuals have stolen and destroyed items of historical value, treating them as sacred treasures.

Some opportunists tried to exploit the chaos for profit, but all were wiped clean—not by official organizations, but by a group of cultivators.

"Damn, I go out for a trip and come back missing hundreds of chapters?" Su Lin drifted above a bustling city, scrolling through news on his phone.

The cultivators had contacted official organizations and collectively declared that no other spiritual lineages existed in the mortal world besides themselves; they revealed no other information.

All remaining matters were handled by official spokespersons communicating with the public.

The official news office stated at a press conference:

One: The revival of spiritual energy is inevitable, but our national conditions won't change; in the short term, social production structures remain stable, and the public's lifestyle won't alter.

Two: View cultivators through a materialist lens; don't blindly idolize them. Currently, only about a hundred cultivators exist within China's borders; no demonic or heretical supernatural forces exist. The government urges these cultivators to abide by laws and promptly register with local authorities.

Three: The cultivators currently interfacing with the government belong to the Immortal Emperor's faction from the day the Immortals descended into the sky; after negotiations, the two great beings reached consensus.

Four: Actively engaging with cultivators to commercialize and market certain techniques as soon as possible, allowing more people to enjoy the benefits of progress.

Five: Predictions indicate average lifespan will reach 100 years; retirement age may rise to 80.

"Immortal Emperor? You're just a little brother." Su Lin put away his phone—everything matched his expectations. Su Su Tuoni had implemented his old discarded plan: contacting the government to lead the spiritual energy revival.

Su Lin roughly understood what this guy was thinking: exploit information gaps and state power to gather those who'd achieve greatness in future disasters, cultivating a native Earth force before the chaos of the myriad worlds arrived.

Though Su Lin wondered how many strong cultivators could be produced in just over a decade, having an extra layer of security was always better.

He gazed down at the city below—today there was a class reunion. If not for the hassle of his real identity being exposed, he'd have loved to show off under his true name.

But now isn't the time.

Like a successful entrepreneur who built a famous company, everyone—familiar or not—will want your help.

Friends you care about? Fine, helping them within your principles isn't a problem. But when you're in the spotlight, even distant relatives you've never met want a share.

Sufficiently large profits drive people to cling desperately to that towering tree; if they succeed, their life's path changes.

Though you can refuse, can ignore it, the tangled complications still pull you in.

Better to pack your bags early and explore other worlds—or reveal your divinity in the city, like now.

Su Lin slightly altered his appearance, controlling the cloud sea within several miles to form a colossal cloud dragon. He stood atop its claw, riding the dragon.

No thunderous clamor surrounded him, no rain poured, no storm raged.

Beneath the blazing blue summer sky, Su Lin, in wide robes and tall crown, sword at his side, rode through the steel forest of towering buildings, fulfilling his teenage fantasy.

His gaze swept across the glass walls of office buildings, savoring the sensation of being unbound by worldly constraints while still observing the splendor of mortal life.

Today, forget the future, forget the myriad worlds, forget what's called growth.

The asphalt roads teemed with traffic, crowded with people.

I live freely and unconstrained, detached yet connected to the mortal world, facing my inner self without hypocrisy or evasion, sensing my own uniqueness.

Occasional moments like this are the meaning and joy of life.

"After all, the me of now," Su Lin smiled, fully absorbing the effect of the Seven Emotions Tea: "am still human."

——————

Su Lin: "Today is the thirteenth day since Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan went missing. I'm watching the fourth episode of the fourth season of Dou Po Cang Qiong. I'm desperate."

Su Lin: "Hey? You there? @Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, Flame Emperor? Pure Love War God? Xiao Aotian? I just want to know why the streamer Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan suddenly went offline."

Today was Su Lin's third time mentioning Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan in the chat group; he pings Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan four or five times daily on average, but the other party never responds.

Kleine: "Just be a person already. Everyone knows this deep down—you know, I know~."

Su Lin: "If giving up being human can summon Xiao Huohuo, our group's main expert on devoted love, then I'm done being human!"

Lu Mingfei: "I stake a quarter of my life—he's definitely lurk-viewing!"

Zhang Chuyan: "+1"

Ye Fan: "The livestream went black halfway through. What exactly happened? We don't know, right?"

Weigong Shilang: "Give Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan some privacy. He doesn't have deep feelings with Queen Medusa right now—he probably doesn't want this known…"

Su Lin: "What exactly happened? Elaborate. @Weigong Shilang"

Weigong Shilang: "This"

Yi Leina: "Doesn't anyone believe Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan was affected by something else?! Can't men think of healthier possibilities?!"

Luffy: "Eat meat! Meat is healthy!"

Su Lin: "Come to think of it, Luffy, you're also connected to snakes."

Luffy: "What?"

Su Lin: "Nothing. Come join the banquet in two days."

Luffy: "Yay!"

Yi Leina still tried to find excuses for Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, since he had once given her a Youth-Preserving Pill while she observed his alchemy.

"It's just… like, maybe he's in seclusion consolidating his newly attained realm, right? Or maybe he was attacked by a Soul Sect elder," Yi Leina mumbled out possible explanations, though she barely believed them herself.

Kleine immediately rebutted:

"Master Yao holds three 'Yesterday's Weight' talismans, and Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan himself possesses the Flame Authority. Only a Dou Sheng from the Soul Clan could pose a real threat."

Zhongli: "Even if this night's clear, beautiful moment may never return, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's prolonged absence is unusual."

The day he was corrupted was precisely the day Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan livestreamed his taming of the Fallen Heart Flame within Jianan Academy—and over ten days have passed since then.

Song Shuhang: "Maybe he just needs to disconnect from society for a while."

Song Shuhang could understand why Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan wasn't popping up—he'd just said, "My fate is mine to command, not heaven's," and "Destiny is meant to be shattered," then immediately crashed.

Ye Fan: "I don't get why he's being such a coward! Liu Li Ge, the veteran, hasn't said a word, right?"

Han Li: "Please… don't drag me into this."

Han Li, the direct beneficiary of the Ink Dragon, had been lurking—but suddenly found himself dragged into the conversation.

He had already gone to great lengths to avoid involvement in such gossip.

The group buzzed with heated discussion: #XiaoYanStatus#, #XiaoXiaoLoadingProgress#, #HowMuchRedEnvelopeForTheFullMoonBanquet#, #Child'sGodfather# became daily topics.

And what was Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan, the main subject of the group's trending topics, doing right now?

"Monster! Don't these guys have any empathy?!"

Near a clear stream, Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan was frantically slamming his head against a massive boulder; given his current physical strength, it was the rock that suffered.

Small stones lay scattered at his feet; some were embedded in tree trunks, flung there by the impact.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Why can't I remember! Why can't I remember! Why can't I remember!" Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan repeated the same phrase over and over. He had woken up five days ago, naked and bare.

He asked Master Yao what happened, but Master Yao claimed he had sealed himself entirely to train Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's independence and knew nothing of the outside world.

"You promised to have my back!! Old man, you tricked me!!"

"What exactly happened! What happened! I didn't even do anything!"

"I can't remember!!!"

Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan roared to the sky. At the time he fused the Fallen Heart Flame and the Green Lotus Heart Fire, all preparations had been completed in advance. Knowing full well the risks of fusing the Flames, he could never have failed—and he absolutely would not have failed.

"Ah, my dear disciple, I truly don't know what happened. I only meant to foster your independence—who could've imagined that someone with so many blessings would still fail such a minor trial?" Yao Chen floated out of Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan's ring with a chuckle, pointing to a spot nearby:

"Come here~."

A torrent of fierce seven-colored energy, brimming with lethal intent, shot toward him. Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan widened his eyes and fled desperately.

He'd rather be seen as a coward who never showed up than let them know he'd been hunted for five days and five nights! Who wants to apply to enter this world?! Get lost!

The surging seven-colored energy swept past his ears, snipping strands of hair. Especially Especially Especially Xiao Yan broke into cold sweat, his footsteps quickening further.

Being chased like this—he truly couldn't fight back. It wasn't fear of Queen Medusa; it was respect. Out of reverence for the future Flame Emperor toward the weak.

Trying to save drafts.

End of chapter.