801: Birth, aging, sickness, and death, the cycle of time.

"You are going to die."

Hearing this from the Yin Soul, Lin Yang was slightly surprised.

The Yin Soul had actually spoken to him.

He stared at the Yin Soul and said, "Are you saying you will definitely succeed in controlling me today?"

The Yin Soul did not answer again, nor did it speak further; it simply manipulated its cold power and attacked him.

This time, Lin Yang did not feel the completely irresistible despair he had felt in previous encounters; instead, he moved his body and circulated his Dao Power, dispelling some of the cold aura.

However, that was as far as it went.

There was no further effect.

This secretly shocked Lin Yang.

He was now a Dao Wulou Realm Practitioner, yet he still had almost no ability to resist this Yin Soul.

Just how strong was this Yin Soul?

One had to consider that the Yin Soul was still suppressed by the realm rules and was already this strong; if it were not suppressed, how powerful would it be?

Lin Yang found it hard to imagine.

At this moment, the half-set of armor on his body played its role again, blocking the invasion of the cold power.

But the Yin Soul was clearly prepared, and mixed into its cold power were things Lin Yang could not comprehend, which actually began to corrode the armor.

Clearly, after seeing his armor last time, the Yin Soul had devised a countermeasure.

Lin Yang's heart sank; no wonder the Yin Soul said he would die today; it was completely prepared.

Feeling the armor being corroded more severely, Lin Yang's eyes flashed, and he took an object out of his spatial ring.

It was exactly that piece of incomplete cloth.

After forcing the Yin Soul away the first time, this cloth had lost all its power, but after hundreds of thousands of years of recovery, it reacted again when facing the Yin Soul's power.

As soon as the cloth appeared, the cold power was immediately suppressed.

The Yin Soul stared at the cloth, not reacting as strongly as it had the first time, but it let out a gloomy sigh:

"These damn fellows, even after they die, they refuse to rest!"

Accompanied by the voice, the cold power surged again, concentrating its pressure on the cloth.

The cloth emitted a faint white light to contend with it.

The Yin Soul shifted its gaze from the cloth to Lin Yang: "This thing can save you this once, but next time, let's see how you escape!"

After saying this, the Yin Soul's figure gradually faded away.

However, the cold power did not disperse; it continued to contend with the cloth, clearly intending to exhaust the cloth's power.

Lin Yang also saw the Yin Soul's intention.

Once the cloth's power was exhausted, it would take nearly hundreds of thousands of years to recover.

The Yin Soul was clearly planning to exhaust the cloth's power again this time, and once it was depleted, there would be nothing left to save him next time.

The Yin Soul only needed to appear once more before the cloth's power recovered, and it would be able to control him.

Lin Yang watched as the cloth's power was gradually consumed, drifting toward the ground.

He reached out, caught the cloth, put it back into his spatial ring, and continued along the small stream.

The sudden appearance of the Yin Soul was just an interlude and could not interrupt his travels.

Time passed.

Ten thousand years, and another ten thousand years.

Year after year went by.

The aura of old age on Lin Yang grew heavier.

He had seen the changing of mountains and rivers, the cycles of withering and flourishing.

Yet, he was always missing a bit of inspiration, unable to fully comprehend it.

One day, he sat cross-legged on a grassy field, thinking of many old friends.

In particular, he thought of some who had passed away.

Gradually, he seemed to understand something.

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are also part of time."

Lin Yang whispered.

In the days that followed, some silver strands first appeared in his hair.

Then his eyebrows also turned quite white.

He looked like an old man in his sixties or seventies among mortals.

A few years later, even his back began to hunch.

Even his cultivation seemed to begin to decline.

He passed by a city and settled down in a Rogue Cultivator Stronghold outside the city.

His condition was no longer suitable for continuing his journey.

Seeing his appearance, the people at the Rogue Cultivator Stronghold, seemingly out of sympathy and pity, only charged him half the normal fee to obtain a residence.

Thus, Lin Yang settled down in this Rogue Cultivator Stronghold outside a city named Fengchi City.

He rarely went out.

But occasionally, he would take out some low-quality Formation Array he had refined in the past to sell in exchange for daily necessities.

He completely integrated into his current life, environment, and identity.

The people at the Rogue Cultivator Stronghold also gradually learned that an old man who seemed to have an incurable injury had arrived.

This did spark some discussion.

Because Lin Yang's current state looked as if he had suffered a severe injury, his vitality exhausted and constantly flowing away, to the point where even maintaining normal bodily functions was difficult.

This was a relatively rare occurrence.

Because in most cases, cultivators rarely suffer such severe injuries, and once they do, it usually means they have endured an almost fatal attack to cause it.

And it was not easy to survive after suffering an attack of this magnitude.

In the vast majority of cases, people either died on the spot or lingered for a few days before dying.

Being able to survive a fatal attack and not die quickly was quite rare.

Therefore, it attracted some attention.

Lin Yang's neighbor to the left was a young-looking man, and to his right was a rare pair of rogue cultivator companions, both of whom appeared to be middle-aged.

Because they were neighbors, Lin Yang would often run into them, and thus they became relatively familiar with each other.

The young neighbor was named Jiao Guang, and sometimes when he returned from Fengchi City, he would bring him some food and wine from inside the city, giving it to him to taste without asking for money.

Jiao Guang was also a guy who liked to eat and drink.

Lin Yang refused at first.

He understood very well that life was not easy for ordinary cultivators in a Rogue Cultivator Stronghold.

Although food and fine wine were not expensive, they still cost money.

But Jiao Guang was an interesting guy; he directly said he felt bad taking money from an old man like him who was about to go into the ground, and that he was just being kind, letting him eat a few more good things before he died so he could be a well-fed ghost.

These blunt words left Lin Yang somewhat amused and speechless.

Saying to his face that he was about to go into the ground showed zero emotional intelligence.

Later, Lin Yang stopped refusing; it would be foolish not to eat what was offered.

As for the couple, the male cultivator was named Bi Cheng, and the female cultivator was called Kong Qing; sometimes they would give Lin Yang some medicinal pills.

Bi Cheng was a half-baked alchemist.

Seeing Lin Yang in such a pitiful state, he said that although his pills could not cure the illness, they could alleviate the pain.

Since it didn't cost anything anyway, Lin Yang did not refuse this kindness.

Slowly, Lin Yang discovered that the people in the entire Rogue Cultivator Stronghold had an inexplicable sense of care for him.

Perhaps it was his state that made everyone, as fellow cultivators, feel the difficulty of the path of cultivation.

Or perhaps they admired him for being able to persist in living in such a state.

In any case, Lin Yang actually experienced some kindness and warmth from strangers.

In the thirty-fifth year of his stay in the Rogue Cultivator Stronghold, the stronghold suffered an attack by a Nì Swarm.

Fortunately, it was a small-scale attack and did not cause too many casualties.

When they encountered the Nì Swarm attack, Jiao Guang and the couple Bi Cheng and Kong Qing protected Lin Yang behind them, so he was not too affected, nor did they let him contribute.

Another sixty years passed.

Lin Yang's condition was getting worse and worse, looking like he could die at any moment.

"Hey, old man, have you prepared your coffin money? If not, I'll lend you some."

One day, Jiao Guang brought a pot of wine and very familiarly came into Lin Yang's courtyard.

Lin Yang coughed twice and said unhappily: "You brat have no manners at all, is that how you talk?"

"Hehe, I'm just telling the truth. Look at you now; it's possible that after finishing this pot of wine today, you'll be gone tomorrow, so shouldn't you prepare a coffin in advance?" Jiao Guang poured wine for Lin Yang.

Come to think of it, Jiao Guang also felt it was very strange.

Lin Yang's body, logically speaking, might have lived a few more years if he had taken care of it.

But Lin Yang didn't care about these things; instead, he ate and drank whatever was brought to him.

Jiao Guang was initially out of sympathy, but later he found that Lin Yang never spoiled the mood and was a qualified drinking buddy, so he loved running to Lin Yang's place more and more.

Because everyone else was busy with their own cultivation, few people could accompany him to eat and drink happily, which was still a bit lonely for someone like Jiao Guang who loved to eat and drink.

Although Lin Yang was old and frail, he was knowledgeable, never refused food or drink, and never said things like focusing on cultivation and reducing eating, drinking, and playing; Jiao Guang was very satisfied to have such a drinking buddy.

The only pity was that Lin Yang was about to die.

"Sigh, life is truly boring." Jiao Guang drank a cup with great regret.

"But I see you living quite comfortably, eating or drinking all day; I haven't seen you bored." Lin Yang teased.

"Life is short, one should enjoy it while it lasts." Jiao Guang laughed, "It's just a pity that I finally found a qualified drinking buddy like you, but you're about to die."

"Since ancient times, who doesn't die?" Lin Yang slowly raised his cup and took a sip.

"That's true, so one should enjoy it while it lasts, especially someone like me with poor talent whose future achievements won't be too high; who knows when I'll die, so I must enjoy myself well while I'm alive."

Jiao Guang nodded, then as if remembering something, his eyes became inexplicably bright, and he looked at Lin Yang with a strange smile:

"Old man, seeing as you won't live long anyway, do you want to go crazy before you die and enjoy the last spring of life? My treat."

"What kind of crazy?" Lin Yang asked, not having reacted yet.

"Hehe, you know!"

Jiao Guang cast a somewhat lewd look:

"I just don't know if your old bones can handle it; don't just drop dead on the spot from being too happy."

"..." Lin Yang was stunned, then speechless: "You brat, you really have no filter; don't mention this again, I am not that kind of person!"

"Tch..." Jiao Guang sneered, but didn't say anything more, just drank his wine.

Lin Yang didn't speak either, just drank on his own.

Before long, the wine pot was empty.

Jiao Guang got up: "Sigh, old man, after you die, I will miss you."

"Just because I accompany you to drink and never talk too much?" Lin Yang smiled.

"I suppose so." Jiao Guang turned and left.

Not long after Jiao Guang left, the couple Bi Cheng also came to Lin Yang's small courtyard.

They brought a pot of good tea and some pastries.

The three sat around the stone table, and Bi Cheng poured a cup of tea for Lin Yang, saying: "Brother Lin, did that brat Jiao Guang come to find you for a drink again? You'd better drink less; your body is not suitable for drinking."

Lin Yang waved his hand: "It's fine, death will come sooner or later anyway; Jiao Guang is right, one should enjoy it if one can."

Bi Cheng didn't bring up this topic again, turning to chat instead.

They were much more steady than Jiao Guang, and although they didn't have much to talk about with Jiao Guang, they could talk to Lin Yang.

No matter what topic was brought up, Lin Yang could carry the conversation.

So the couple also liked chatting with Lin Yang very much.

Days passed by like this.

Another thirty years passed, and Lin Yang's body looked like it had reached the point of exhaustion.

One day, Jiao Guang and the couple Bi Cheng were all in Lin Yang's room.

Lin Yang lay on the bed, about to stop breathing.

They came to see Lin Yang off.

"Old man, if there is a next life, remember to find us again."

Jiao Guang was still his usual unreliable self, saying:

"Just go in peace; I've found you a geomantically blessed spot."

Bi Cheng said: "Brother Lin, have a safe journey."

Lin Yang nodded at them one by one, his breath getting weaker until it finally fell into silence.

"Sigh, this old man..."

Jiao Guang sighed, and with the couple Bi Cheng, placed Lin Yang into the coffin that had been prepared long ago, and then together they sent him to a place that had been chosen long ago for burial.

In the days that followed, Jiao Guang and the couple Bi Cheng would occasionally come here to pay their respects.

But as time went on, these visits gradually became fewer.

The wind blew over the grave, and the newly grown grass on the grave mound swayed with the wind.

I don't know how long later.

A sigh came from the depths of the grave mound.

"Birth, aging, sickness, death; it is indeed a complete cycle of the world."

With the voice, a figure gradually condensed above the grave mound.

It was Lin Yang.

At this time, Lin Yang was no longer showing signs of old age, but had returned to his initial young appearance, with a straight posture, a face like jade, and a handsome appearance.

He looked at the grave mound that belonged to him, his eyes flashing with sharp light.

The Dao of Time was indeed mysterious.

After experiencing many years of travel and that final period of life, aging, sickness, and death, he had realized some mysteries of the power of time.

The living can die.

The dead can live.

Life and death are both within the cycle of time.

"Cycle of Time."

Lin Yang whispered, his finger brushing across a blade of wild grass on the grave mound.

Time seemed to begin to flow backward, the wild grass began to turn back into a seedling, but then quickly grew to lushness, and finally withered and decayed.

In an instant, this blade of wild grass experienced a lifetime.

Lin Yang stopped his movement and whispered: "Simple time acceleration or reversal can only perform a single change in the same instant, but the Cycle of Time can allow an object to experience a lifetime of time changes; this is a capability that fuses time acceleration and time reversal, or rather, a higher-level application of these two capabilities."

"But I always feel that the Cycle of Time should have more advanced capabilities, only I haven't discovered them yet."

The Cycle of Time was a new, high-level application of the power of time that he had comprehended.

His comprehension of the Dao of Time also reached a new height along with his mastery of the Cycle of Time.

"Perhaps I can start to break through to the Heng Realm; on the path of cultivation, only by reaching the Heng Realm can life be considered truly eternal and indestructible, no longer limited by natural lifespan."

Lin Yang looked into the distance.

A cultivator's life increases with the improvement of cultivation, and the further one goes, the more lifespan is added for each realm improved.

Although the lifespan of the Dao Wulou Realm can basically ignore the concept of lifespan in the ordinary sense, it is not unlimited.

Only by reaching the Heng Realm can one completely get rid of the concept of lifespan.

As long as one is not killed, one will not slowly die with the passage of time.

Whether it is billions of years or longer.

"But if I break through now, will it be a bit too fast? After all, I haven't reached the Dao Wulou Realm for too long."

Lin Yang said again.

He felt that his speed of improvement was surprisingly fast even to himself.

He was a little worried that his foundation would not be solid.

However, soon, Lin Yang decided to break through to the Heng Realm anyway.

Reaching the Heng Realm is the only way to be completely detached from life and death in the ordinary sense.

With his current foundation in both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time, even if his foundation is slightly unstable, he can make up for it.

"If I want to break through to the Heng Realm, it is better to return to the Grotto-Heaven Secret Realm in Xiwu City; in there, the 'Realm' will also feedback power to oneself; although it is little, it is better than nothing."

Lin Yang prepared to return to Xiwu City.

Just at this moment, Clear Source suddenly sent him a message: "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, come to the Human Ancestor Hall immediately, urgent matter!"

Lin Yang looked at the message and immediately replied: "Fellow Daoist Clear Source, what is so urgent? Can it wait?"

He still wanted to return to Xiwu City to go into seclusion first.

"Not really, something happened at the border, come quickly!" Clear Source's tone was very serious.

Lin Yang did not ask any more questions and activated the token to teleport to the Human Ancestor Hall.