Meng Nan! Happy New Year!

"Sigh!"

"Cultivating immortality is too difficult!"

In Yinlian Village, Meng Nan rubbed his sore and swollen legs from meditation, a look of helplessness on his face.

He was twenty-eight in his past life.

Eighteen in this life.

Dying in a car accident during a trip in his previous life and being reborn was originally something worth celebrating. Meng Nan was indeed quite happy for the first sixteen years of this life, always cheerful and full of hope for the future.

But ever since he officially began cultivating two years ago, things had been going poorly.

"Fetal Breath."

"Inner Qi."

"True Qi."

"True Essence."

Meng Nan counted the four major hurdles before the Qi Refining Stage on his fingers, a wave of scalp-tingling dread washing over him.

Before the age of sixteen, he hadn't formally cultivated yet, and it seemed easy, as if he could do it too!

But after he truly started cultivating—

Two years!

Fetal Breath and Entering Stillness!

Meng Nan was still stuck at this initial stage.

Entering Stillness.

Qi Sensation.

Visualization.

He had been stuck at the first of the three minor stages of Fetal Breath for two years.

What a failure!

His cultivation journey seemed to be ending before it even began.

And further ahead—

The Inner Qi stage, Qi Circulation, Lesser Heavenly Cycle, Greater Heavenly Cycle.

The True Qi stage, Qi Accumulation, Body Cleansing.

The True Essence stage, Sense Imprint, Three Cavities.

And then, Qi Refining—

It all seemed to have nothing to do with Meng Nan anymore.

"Sigh!"

"Is it really this hard just to become a Qi Refining cultivator?"

Meng Nan shook his head.

This was nothing like the novels he'd read in his past life!

He thought of the aloof master of Tianlin Cave, who was seemingly 'only' at the third level of Qi Refining, yet ruled over three hundred villages and three hundred thousand villagers, all respectfully calling him Immortal Master!

"A Qi Refining Immortal Master?"

Meng Nan also wanted to be one, just for the experience.

But—

"Meng Nan!"

"The auspicious time has arrived, it's time to pick up the bride!"

Outside the small house, his elder brother, Meng Ba, shouted gruffly, startling the chickens and dogs. His nieces and nephews chattered noisily, and firecrackers popped and crackled.

The atmosphere was peaceful and festive, the clamor reaching his ears.

"Coming!"

Meng Nan's daydream was shattered. He got up and silently put on a bright red outfit, a large red flower pinned to his chest. He pushed open the door and stepped out—

Becoming an immortal is hard.

Getting married is easy.

According to the rules of the three hundred villages under Tianlin Cave, if one hasn't reached the Inner Qi stage by the age of eighteen, they must obey the village's arrangements and get married and have children.

Today!

Was precisely Meng Nan's joyous wedding day!

It was lively and bustling.

Into the bridal chamber.

In the new house with its wood and earth structure.

Zhao Xiaoshuang sat by the bedside, lifting the veil to look at her husband—

His nose was his nose.

His eyes were his eyes.

"Not ugly."

Zhao Xiaoshuang breathed a sigh of relief, her cultivation was acceptable.

The rules of the barbarian villages and strongholds were like this; regardless of gender, upon reaching sixteen years of age, one had the qualification to cultivate—

Entering Stillness.

Qi Sensation.

Visualization.

This was the 'Fetal Breath Stage'.

As long as one could reach the 'Inner Qi Stage' from the 'Fetal Breath Stage' by the age of eighteen, transforming inner breath into inner qi that circulated through the meridians, they were considered to have good aptitude, qualifying them to not rush into marriage or childbirth, and to continue focusing on cultivation.

Even if six more years passed, and they still hadn't advanced to the 'True Qi Stage' by the age of twenty-four, they would still possess the right to choose their own spouse.

Beyond that, the True Qi Stage offered a bit more freedom; marriage and childbirth were entirely up to personal preference.

But unfortunately, Zhao Xiaoshuang was eighteen this year, her cultivation stalled at the 'Qi Sensation realm of the Fetal Breath Stage', with one more threshold, 'Visualization', standing between her and the 'Inner Qi Stage'.

And so.

She could only get married.

Meng Nan looked at his new bride in this life, who was also the first spouse of his previous two lives, and couldn't help but chuckle.

He walked to the bedside, sat beside Zhao Xiaoshuang, and turned his head to look at her.

This woman had an ordinary appearance; at first glance, she wasn't striking, and upon closer inspection, she was just that.

But at least her features were well-proportioned, and her appearance was pleasing.

She sat there demurely; he didn't know what her true personality was like.

Meng Nan sat down, unsure of what to say, so he asked, "What's your cultivation level?"

"Qi Sensation."

Zhao Xiaoshuang listened to Meng Nan speak, finding his tone quite gentle and him seemingly easy to get along with. She blinked and asked, "And yours?"

"About the same."

"It's all the same if you haven't reached Inner Qi Stage."

Meng Nan skirted the issue, too embarrassed to admit he was still only in the 'Entering Stillness realm'.

He then deliberately changed the subject and chatted with Zhao Xiaoshuang about other things, just idle conversation, about their respective families, their villages, and some interesting anecdotes from their childhoods.

They increased their mutual understanding.

When the night grew late.

"Let's sleep."

"Mm."

The large quilt rolled, the bed swayed, and a night of spring breeze was intoxicating!

"Dad!"

"Dad!"

"Dad, don't die!"

Meng Nan was groggy, hearing someone calling, someone crying, someone shaking him.

He opened his eyes.

He saw three little sprouts, around ten years old, tugging at him and wailing incessantly. A middle-aged woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Zhao Xiaoshuang, was wiping away tears.

And he.

"My—"

Meng Nan looked at himself; he was sitting in a cross-legged position, his legs somewhat sore.

Both sore and painful.

He immediately straightened his legs, rubbed them, and then looked at the three children and the middle-aged woman, a bad premonition forming in his heart.

At this.

At this moment.

"Huh?"

"Dad?!"

The third son, Meng Santan, seeing Meng Nan move, jumped back in fright. "Oh my god, oh my god!" he exclaimed, his face pale with fear.

The second son, Meng Jian, was also quite startled and shuffled back quite a bit.

The eldest son, Meng Xingzhe, who was holding onto Meng Nan, froze. He didn't know whether to let go or not, and forced an awkward smile.

Zhao Xiaoshuang, however, reacted faster. Her crying stopped abruptly, then turned into surprise. She rushed forward and hugged Meng Nan, "It's good that you're okay! It's good that you're okay!"

She cried and smiled.

She smiled and cried.

Tears dampened Meng Nan's shoulders, feeling cool.

He glanced at the person in his arms, then at his three sons. For some reason, his heart stirred.

The next moment—

[Name: Meng Nan] [Lifespan: 0/8] [Faction: Chashan · Tianlin Cave] [Cultivation: Fetal Breath Entering Stillness] [Internal Breath: 0] [Root Bone: 1] [Cultivation Method: Thunder Illumination Scripture Level 1] [Spells: None] [Skills: None] [Death Log: Viewable]

"Status panel?"

Meng Nan rubbed his eyes and focused on the last item, [Death Log]. With a thought, the information expanded—

[Name: Meng Nan] [Age: 30] [Cause of Death: Forced breakthrough, qi deviation] [Cultivation before death: Fetal Breath Stage Visualization Realm]

"I—"

"I'm dead?"

After reading the [Death Log], Meng Nan felt it was absurd.

He died at thirty?

And his cultivation was only at the Fetal Breath Stage Visualization Realm when he died?

This was too fake!

"But—"

Meng Nan processed the complex information that flooded his mind along with the 'status panel'. After a while, he finally understood.

This wasn't the current timeline!

It was one of the countless possibilities of the future in reality, a future timeline.

Judging by the age—

"It's twelve years later."

Meng Nan flipped through the information. His panic subsided, replaced by curiosity.

Twelve years later?

He was currently in a future timeline twelve years from now?

In reality, he had just finished his wedding night.

But in this timeline, twelve years later, he had already completed the task of having "two children in three years and three children in five years," and his children had already grown into young adults.

He then looked at Zhao Xiaoshuang, who had released him and was looking up at him.

Her appearance was still ordinary.

But the youthful beauty of a moment ago was vivid in his memory. Now, her face was slightly sallow, and a few wrinkles had appeared.

These were the traces of time.

"Twelve years."

Meng Nan felt the changes and ruthlessness of time with such clarity for the first time.

"I'm fine."

"Just a slight mishap during cultivation, a momentary lapse. I'll be fine after I recover."

Meng Nan smiled at Zhao Xiaoshuang, but the missing twelve years of memories made him unsure how to interact with her for a moment.

Including those three children.

"Dad!"

"You scared us all! You almost stopped breathing just now!"

Meng Santan was a little girl, appearing about seven or eight years old. She must have been born about four or five years after their marriage.

As she spoke, Meng Nan could only guess vaguely, and he didn't even know the names of her and her two older brothers.

Seeing Meng Santan lean in again.

Meng Nan patted her head, feeling a sense of wonder.

He already--

Already had children?

And they were so big and cute, quite a relief.

A wave of joy washed over Meng Nan, but the immediate priority wasn't to revel in family bliss. Information about the 'panel' and the troubles he was currently facing needed to be dealt with.

After some thought.

He smiled at Meng Santan and her siblings. "You three go play outside for now. Xiaoshuang, you stay."

"Okay, okay!"

"Then, Dad, you take care!"

Meng Santan was obedient and sensible. She followed her eldest brother, Meng Xingzhe, and her second brother, Meng Jian, leaving with backward glances.

In the small room.

Meng Nan looked around the room's furnishings.

This wasn't a cultivation quiet room; it looked like a bedroom, but different from their newlywed room twelve years ago. He figured they must have moved out to start their own household after he got married and established himself, especially with three children.

Although the room was simple, it had many small details and thoughtful touches.

Some things he could tell he had done himself, like the tables, chairs, benches, and bed, all in styles he had seen in his previous life. Other parts were a blur, likely arranged by Zhao Xiaoshuang.

Meng Nan took a general look around, then turned his gaze back to Zhao Xiaoshuang.

His mind had calmed down a bit by now, and he had figured out what to say. He said to Zhao Xiaoshuang, "Perhaps going too deep into cultivation damaged my brain. Right now, I can only remember things from before my wedding and the night of our wedding. I remember perfectly what we said on our first night together after getting married. But anything after that, from the next day until now, I've forgotten completely."

As Meng Nan spoke, he tapped his temples lightly with his hand, feigning amnesia.

"Amnesia?"

Zhao Xiaoshuang looked at Meng Nan carefully.

She had been immersed in the surprise of her husband's return from the dead earlier and hadn't had time to think or feel things through. But now that her emotions had calmed down, hearing Meng Nan say this, she immediately understood.

She did indeed feel something strange, a sense of unfamiliarity.

As for their wedding night.

After more than ten years, she couldn't remember it very clearly.

"The first thing we said that night was to ask about each other's cultivation. I had only just entered the Entering Stillness realm then and was too embarrassed to mention it. Later—"

Meng Nan, worried Zhao Xiaoshuang wouldn't believe him, immediately repeated what they had said that night, which was actually what he had just experienced moments ago. It had happened recently, so he remembered it clearly, word for word.

"You remember it all!"

"And you forgot everything after that?"

"It's still good."

"If it were just one day earlier, you would have forgotten me too."

Zhao Xiaoshuang smiled, but she held Meng Nan's hand tightly, refusing to let go.

Without needing many words, Meng Nan knew that their relationship over the past twelve years must have been quite good.

Thinking about his own personality—

"I was always a good man."

"I upheld male virtues, was devoted, and willing to invest in our relationship. This is nothing strange."

But relationships are never one-sided.

Looking at Zhao Xiaoshuang, she must have been genuinely sincere towards him.

Meng Nan thought, feeling a bit lucky.

Arranged marriage.

Random assignment.

Practically breeding machines.

To be able to marry a wife who is truly devoted and will stay by my side through thick and thin in such an environment is truly a blessing.

Thinking of these things.

Meng Nan felt his head was still a bit groggy. He had originally wanted to chat more with Zhao Xiaoshuang, but he had unknowingly fallen into her arms and slept soundly.

A night of good dreams.

When Meng Nan woke up, the sky seemed to be bright. He didn't rush to get up. He organized his thoughts and glanced at the room's furnishings. Knowing he was still in the future timeline, he didn't get out of bed.

Lying on the bed.

Opening the panel.

Name: Meng Nan

Lifespan: 0/8

Faction: Chashan · Tianlin Cave

Cultivation: Fetal Breath Entering Stillness

Inner Breath: 0

Bone Root: 1

Cultivation Method: Thunder Illumination Scripture Level 1

Spells: None

Skills: None

Death Log: Viewable

"It's this thing that brought me to this future timeline."

"Right after 'I' died."

Meng Nan processed this information.

The 'Information Panel' brought him here from reality, but not to stay forever. The 'Lifespan' in the panel wasn't his real lifespan in reality, but the limit of time he could survive in this future timeline.

"Eight years!"

"I can stay for a maximum of eight years. When the time is up, I have to return to reality."

"The duration of my stay depends on the upper limit of my lifespan in reality, 10%."

"In other words, the limit of my life in reality is 80 years."

Meng Nan looked at the attributes line by line, processing the information layer by layer. When he reached the lifespan, he saw more information and couldn't help but shake his head: "The theoretical limit is 80 years, which isn't considered dying early in my previous life. But that's theoretical. In reality, in this timeline, I died at 30."

Thirty years old!

A short-lived ghost!

"It's one thing not to have reached the Inner Qi Stage by 30, but to die from qi deviation while still in the Fetal Breath Stage?"

"I'm too useless!"

Meng Nan looked at the [Death Log] again and couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Moreover, even if he hadn't suffered qi deviation, with this trend, he wouldn't achieve anything in cultivation in this lifetime.

Having children.

Obeying and laboring.

This was his value, the value to Yinlian Village, to Tianlin Cave.

"But that was before!"

"Now!"

"With this 'Information Panel', can things be different?"

Hope arose in Meng Nan's heart, and he continued to look down.

Inner Breath.

Bone Root.

Cultivation Method.

Spells.

Skills.

These were also inherited from his original timeline, not from the self in this future timeline.

It's the same with cultivation.

In this time and space, although Meng Nan had gone mad with his cultivation, he had at least reached the Visualization realm. But now, occupying this body, he had returned to how he was before.

Even his physical sensations were no longer those of a thirty-year-old; they had returned to when he was eighteen, just **.

"So--"

"Cultivating here is the same as cultivating in reality."

"It's just a shame that the cultivation achieved here can't be taken out."

Meng Nan felt a slight regret.

But it didn't matter.

He could stay in this time and space for eight years, and he could cultivate for eight years here. Even if he couldn't take his cultivation out, he could still take out the eight years of cultivation experience, the experience he had personally gone through.

Then, cultivating in reality would be much easier!

"At least I won't be in the Fetal Breath stage, Visualization realm, at thirty years old, or even go mad from cultivation!"

Meng Nan's fighting spirit ignited. He rolled over and nimbly got out of bed.

He was going to start the first day of his life in the future time and space.

"Meng Xingzhe."

"Meng Jian."

"Meng Santan."

Early in the morning, Meng Nan looked at the three children lined up in front of him. Recalling the names he had learned from Zhao Xiaoshuang, he had a certain understanding of his future 'quirks'.

No need to think, these three names must have been thought up by him.

"I suppose they were my expectations for the three of them at the time."

Meng Nan could imagine his own thoughts back then.

Calling it a 'quirk' was also a kind of sorrow.

Having transmigrated, unable to cultivate successfully, he had to passively accept--

Marriage!

Children!

He couldn't refuse any of it.

Even if you didn't want to have children, lied about infertility, or even castrated yourself, you would still have to have children.

If you didn't!

Yinlian Village would have someone else help your family have children.

Meng Nan knew these rules, which was why he accepted the marriage and consummation.

If you can't resist, you can only go along with it.

If you don't want to wear a cuckold's hat, you have to do it yourself; no room for pretense.

And so.

These three brats appeared before him.

Meng Nan looked at the three of them, then glanced around. As expected, they had set up their own households, quite a distance from the few rooms his parents had left for him and his elder brother, Meng Ba.

This was a bamboo grove, thick mao bamboo.

Judging by the location, it shouldn't have been here twelve years ago.

"Dad planted all of this!"

"Dad's woodworking and bamboo craft skills are top-notch, the best in Yinlian Village. Even the village chief has placed orders!"

Meng Santan was the most active and talked the most. Ever since she learned early in the morning that her father had amnesia and didn't remember anything from the past twelve years, she had become extremely enthusiastic, eager to tell him everything she knew so that he would regain his memory sooner and remember her.

Unfortunately, she was only seven years old this year, and only started remembering things at three or four. She didn't know much about the earlier years.

Her eyes darted back and forth, glancing at Meng Nan from time to time, then at her two brothers, afraid they knew more and would overshadow her.

"I'll make you a bamboo dragonfly later."

Meng Nan looked at his daughter's thumbs-up and felt he should connect with her, so he smiled at her.

"I have so many bamboo dragonflies!"

Meng Santan heard this, turned, and ran. In a short while, she came back carrying more than ten bamboo dragonflies, big and small, a large pile, many of which Meng Nan felt he couldn't weave himself.

"I must have made a living doing carpentry and bamboo work in Yinlian Village for these twelve years."

In his previous life, he had learned bamboo craft from his grandfather and carpentry from his father, and his skills were passable. Even in his previous life, or even in ancient times, his skills might not have been considered remarkable.

But in Southern Xinjiang, in this Yinlian Village, he could absolutely crush everyone else.

He hadn't shown much before getting married, focusing all his attention on cultivation in his spare time outside of work.

After getting married, he was forced by life to pick it up again, and even made a name for himself.

The immortal path must be cultivated.

Life must also be lived.

Meng Nan felt that he had done quite well in terms of life and emotions.

Only his cultivation was a bit lacking.

PS: New year, new book, new atmosphere. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!