Chapter 445

The Dao is without emotion, without form; thus it gives birth to heaven and earth, governs the sun and moon, and nurtures all things.

The Dao is the primordial source of the universe, existing before heaven, earth, and all things.

The Great Dao numbers fifty; Heaven's evolution completes forty-nine, leaving one hidden away. Cultivators defy heaven and walk against its flow, yet they also resonate with the Great Dao, cultivating that single thread of life, the Dao of all things, the Dao of their own selves—immortality is merely a stage of progress gained along this path.

Su Lin watched water and fire swirl at his fingertips, shaped by his own thoughts into different forms, faint signs emerging that they might awaken into independent life.

The secrets of creation, the laws of Heaven's operation, the primordial mysteries of the universe—all became the most familiar, most easily accessible things to him.

All the magic, immortal arts, divine techniques, Heavenly Dao, laws, and roots he had learned and mastered—descending from their essence to their manifestations—gave birth to all things.

So he was not cultivating immortality; he was cultivating the primordial Dao.

But when had this begun? Why did he have no memory of it at all?

No, there were signs—when his Jin Dan and Nascent Soul were singing hymns and chanting prayers, and even liked playing basketball, he should have realized it then…

From the perspective of a normal cultivator, this was already abnormal, especially with Song Shuhang's precedent right there—he still thought nothing of it.

"Cultivating the Dao?" Su Lin repeated the word under his breath.

He roughly understood what Meng Qi and Zhong Li meant.

Cultivation realms had lost meaning for him; for a very long time ahead, he would see no bottleneck on the immortal path, nor need to consider how to break through.

He didn't even need to rigidly follow the traditional paths of human immortal, earth immortal, heavenly immortal… he only needed to cultivate the Dao.

Cultivating the Dao did not mean he had reached the end; the immortal path was elusive, like an ordinary person chasing knowledge—after climbing one hill, there was always a higher one.

The path of the Dao was endless.

Su Lin looked at the two before him: "Here's the question—what do you think I should do now to cultivate the Dao?"

"You're asking me?" Meng Qi covered his face, his expression strange. "Wait until I attain Legend, then I'll answer you."

Zhong Li shook his head, his voice rich and resonant: "Your current situation is complex. Have you gained anything from your cultivation lately?"

Gain? Naturally, he had.

"It's like studying in class—understanding a technique means you've grasped it, learning it means you've mastered it, and practicing it again is cultivation," Su Lin tried to describe his feeling: "Something like that."

Meng Qi said slowly: "Don't be bound by fixed forms—everything under heaven and earth can become your Dao."

Zhong Li fell silent, eyes lowered, lost in thought.

"I don't get it," Lu Mingfei said, bewildered beside them.

Su Lin replied: "He says I'm a numbers monster—cultivating the Dao just means increasing my numbers."

"Got it," Lu Mingfei exclaimed in sudden understanding:

"Leveling up and class changes don't work for you anymore—you just need to pile up numbers and rely on brute force. Like those newbies in Area 11 who recently went viral, swinging a starter sword against lv999 Niu Mowang."

"So all the things and knowledge you currently know will become your buffs and stats?"

He was utterly clueless in daily life, but once gaming was mentioned, he instantly grasped connections and applied insights broadly.

"Tsk."

For some reason, Su Lin felt strange hearing Lu Mingfei say this—the tone had shifted entirely. What had once felt lofty now seemed less impressive than just continuing to cultivate immortality.

Though, admittedly, his current situation was indeed a good thing.

"We'll take it one step at a time."

Su Lin planned to study further; with the Heavenly Dao of Changsheng Tian as an aid, he'd handle these matters far more efficiently.

He thought for a moment, then looked at Meng Qi and the others: "If I say I regret not being able to feel what becoming an immortal is like, will you think I'm being dramatic?"

Zhong Li: "."

Lu Mingfei: "You're… honestly ridiculous."

Meng Qi: "I admit, you're stronger this time."

To speak honestly, no one believed him.

After the tribulation ended, Su Lin sent Lu Mingfei away with a skewer of street barbecue from the neighborhood entrance, claiming he was on a drinking hiatus.

"Has the sun risen in the west?!"

"If you really want to see it, it's not impossible. In exchange, can you reset the timeline and erase your memory again so I can give your high school self a cheat?"

Facing Lu Mingfei's skepticism, Su Lin chose honesty as his ultimate weapon.

"Haha, bro, you're not trying to watch my harem drama, are you?"

This kid always spouted nonsense when drunk.

"You're serious?"

"Just kidding."

In the end, negotiations failed, and Su Lin returned home with half a two-liter bottle of cola.

He had always wanted to make up for Lu Mingfei's interrupted harem matchmaking event last time—his best friend never gave him the chance to repay him. What a pity.

"Mom, Dad, I'm back."

Su Lin closed the door, slipped on his slippers, and looked at his parents—whose faces, though "long unseen," had grown noticeably younger—and immediately felt much happier.

A bright but soft orange-yellow ceiling lamp illuminated the living room; the TV news still aired tonight's incident of an unknown cultivator undergoing tribulation. His father, Su Xiangrong, sipped tea from an old, scratched thermos. His mother, Liu Yumei, was on the phone.

"Yes, yes, I told you those two would be perfect for each other—maybe they could even be companions."

"How's that French restaurant? I have a great recommendation."

"Which one? Oh, all the names are in foreign languages—I don't understand any of that stuff. Last month I won a prize from the telecom ad outside the neighborhood gate. We'll talk tomorrow—I just got home."

Though his life as a top student in Dà Ná's urban cultivation world was comfortable, how could it compare to this scene? It was absurd—even Meng Qi's past and daily life had been copied into his memories, yet he himself had ended up in Fuli Academy.

But fortunately, no replication occurred; having two extra sets of parents would've felt strange, though if it had, he'd have gained shared memories from sleep like Meng Qi did, and wouldn't have felt out of place.

"Conflicts among cultivators are terrifying," Su's father said, watching the news with fear.

"Son, don't be like those cultivators in the news—charging in like a reckless fool."

"Look—though they meant no harm, they had no chance to defend themselves! If the opponent had intended to kill…"

"Cultivation is a blessing, but you must be extremely cautious—should you ever encounter evil demons, heretical sects, or rogue sword immortals, don't be a hero and rush ahead."

Su Lin opened his mouth, then nodded obediently, agreeing with his father's words.

Su's mother picked up the thread and said, "Exactly—when the sky falls, it's the tall ones who hold it up. I've only got one son. If you go off being a hero, what'll happen to your old parents?"

Should I just stay away for a few more days?

The advice was crude but true—would these elders' nagging go on for long again?

Outside, he might act casually, but when facing his parents—who had loved him since childhood—Su Lin set aside his true self and could only nod in agreement: "Aww, don't worry—I know my own worth. If I run into someone strong, I'll run first thing."

His son cultivating was a surprise; his son being the hidden hero behind the scenes was a shock—especially given the crisis this world now faced.

For now, let's keep secret the fact that they have two sons.

"Remember to take it to heart!" Su's mother, seeing Su Lin's mind wandering, grew anxious: "This isn't something to joke about!"

Su Lin responded again: "Yeah, I know, don't worry."

Buzz—buzz—

"Fei Wei called."

Just then, Su Lin's high school classmate Fei Wei phoned; using the call as an excuse, Su Lin retreated to his room.

Fei Wei was Su Lin's high school classmate, one of the few close friends he still kept in touch with—and mentioning his name always left a strong impression.

No way, because there's also a Fei Wei in the "Memorial to the Emperor."

【Lao Su!! You've vanished for so long—when are you coming back? When you do, I'll treat you to dinner.】 Fei Wei's excited voice came through, 【Tonight, all-night gaming session?】

"The sun's rising in the west—you won the lottery?"

"Oh, congratulations! How about you v-transfer me fifty?"

【And my son Liu Dajun—he got selected too! We're heading to an internet cafe booth tonight to celebrate. Now all three of us are on the city's list—we can get into the closed beta before the nationwide cultivation launch.】

"What? Oh, uh… forget the dinner and gaming—just v-transfer me fifty each." Su Lin blinked, then realized this was all Su Tuoni's doing.

He'd mentioned it offhand before—perfect chance to explain to his parents that he was a cultivator, and use this to justify the origin of those spirit fruits and pills.

As for Fei Wei and Liu Dajun, their slots were probably arranged by Su Tuoni behind the scenes. Them each v-transferring him fifty? Fair enough.

Amid Fei Wei and Liu Dajun's loud bickering, each calling the other "my dad," Su Lin smiled faintly and hung up.

If he remembered right, in Su Tuoni's diary, these two… never mind, why think so much?

"Actually, the urban qi-revival trope isn't so bad." Su Lin opened his door, watching his father and mother chatting in the living room, and sighed with a wry smile: "What can I do? I'm the tall one."

Actually, it wouldn't hurt to crouch down and let Su Tuoni become the tallest.

Should he offer a few points? Would the other be willing to try one more time?

"Why can't we sever it? Why not try ultimate transcendence?"

Su Tuoni was nearly broken, even showing rare fear in his eyes—he murmured to the system interface: "Everything else was easy to cut, but this soul connection… why is separation so hard? That shouldn't be possible…"

"Holy shit—he's undergoing a tribulation? A twisted tribulation? He's got zero β-numbers in his head."

"One of us must be from another world. Logically, this shouldn't happen. Did you mix our souls together evenly and then split them?!"

"So I'm the first burnt egg, and he's the backup? How else do you explain the timeline burning clean of all possibilities—and still having one extra?"

No response—but sweat broke out thickly on Su Tuoni's forehead. He was no longer in his half-soul state; human traits had returned.

That dream…

It's over. If this keeps up, it's really over.

He'd lived for so long—even cultivated in the temporal rifts of other universes—and in his spare time, he'd studied the system and made some deductions.

But now what worried him most wasn't what the system intended, but how deeply his connection to that demon ran—ordinary methods couldn't sever the karmic soul bond.

Su Tuoni shivered, immediately scrolling through pricier, stronger, more effective items—but when he saw the prices: "Swindler! Swindler!"

"Your identity registration is complete." Luo Shengying walked into the principal's office, ignoring its prohibitions: "Welcome back, Lord Su Lin, to campus life. I'm sure you'll soon encounter all sorts of beautiful CEOs, lolis, senpais, and—"

"Stop. Don't mention those lit-search keywords." Su Tuoni rubbed his messy hair, sizing up the petite girl before him: "You've restructured your soul-body?"

"Of course—I can't keep running her account forever," Luo Shengying said, twirling a strand of hair with her finger, glancing at him before pulling out a phone.

"Your mom arranged a blind date for 'Su Lin'—her old classmate's daughter, also on our enrollment list. She probably hopes they'll become cultivation partners."

"Pretty well-matched. Who's going—you or him?"

Su Tuoni's head throbbed. He and Su Lin shared the same memories: both had been pressured into blind dates, then woke up the next day having crossed over.

The thought of this happening again made him uneasy—he hadn't expected his mom to still be pushing it.

Your son's cultivating—why keep obsessing over this?

"By the way, the girl's talent is decent—above average. But I ran the numbers—she's had three ex-boyfriends. The last one? She met him yesterday—at a Zen-themed hotel."

"You've invaded personal privacy."

"Oh, so who's going? It'll probably happen in a few days. Venue's a new French restaurant—Chateau Joel Robuchon?"

"I didn't know about this. And I didn't hear you say anything just now."

Why would I be the fool who takes the hit?

Su Tuoni thought of this, then asked: "By the way, how do you know so much? Doesn't my house have heavenly mechanism shielding?"

"I added your mom on WeChat—we chat nicely. She even asked me to look out for you two at school. Hehe." Luo Shengying waved her chat history with Su's mother, then walked toward the door.

"If you won't go, then I'll ask Luo Xiaoying to go help him avoid a bad woman—no problem, right?"

Enough. Don't drag Luo Xiaoying into this. I can't even bring myself to tell you what he's evolved into now—a heretical god.

"Do as you please."

Time flew; the sun set.

Along the coast, in a remote, sparsely populated sea area, dozens of miles were sealed with arrays and cultivation techniques.

An island descended from the sky.

Song Shuhang stood on the beach, his face radiant with joy—he hadn't expected all his group chat friends from the Multiverse Chat Group to show up, bringing even more people with them.

"Senior Su Lin, what are you riding?" Song Shuhang pointed at the quantum motorcycle beneath him. "That's not a tractor, is it?"

Su Lin looked bewildered. He glanced at the new-type tractor behind him, bound by law chains and fused with the front of a tractor via dimensional magic, and replied:

"This is a tractor."

(End of Chapter)