Looking Back, a Withered Flower Remains

"Alright, stop fighting, stop fighting."

Hong Ying chewed on a lollipop while trying to persuade the furious Ice-Sealed Sword Saint, and Hao Renjie immediately cast him a grateful look.

"Isn't it just biting the hand that feeds you?"

"Isn't it just betraying your master and ancestors?"

"What's the big deal?"

"If you're not satisfied, draw your sword and hack away. Just using your fists is boring."

The Ice-Sealed Sword Saint and Hao Renjie looked at the instigating Hong Ying with simultaneous rage.

"Rebellious disciple, get back there." The Ice-Sealed Sword Saint suppressed the anger in his heart and shooed Hao Renjie away.

After all, he was his last disciple; even if he was a bit stupid, he couldn't really kill him.

"Done fighting?" Hong Ying crunched his lollipop. "Then let's talk business."

"I've looked over the files on Lin Huang, and let me tell you, I've got this loser pegged. Come, let me analyze him for you." Hong Ying's expression turned serious. "Someone like Lin Huang, even if he achieves the Saint Realm, can't escape a vulgar mindset. Especially now that he's struck it rich overnight and isn't short on resources, he'll expose this loser mentality even more. If I were him, guess what I'd do?"

The Ice-Sealed Sword Saint sat up straight, watching Hong Ying.

"Return home in glory, of course. Meet up with old flames, catch up with old classmates. Otherwise, it's like wearing silk in the dark—if you don't show off in front of people you know, then forget about becoming a Saint; even if you became a God, it would still be boring!"

The Ice-Sealed Sword Saint pondered for a moment, while Hong Ying watched him expectantly. "Well? You think my analysis makes sense, right?"

"Sect Master, there's news. The package sent to Renjie was mailed from Sansu Prefecture."

The Ice-Sealed Sword Saint stood up in a flash, cast a look of disdain at Hong Ying, and waved his hand. "Notify the two Supreme Elders. Lin Huang is in Sansu Prefecture. We leave immediately."

"Wait for me! Hey, you have to trust my judgment. I can't be wrong." Hong Ying hurriedly followed behind, shouting and yelling.

Daqian Prefecture, South City, Hometown of the Painting Saint, and also the hometown of Lin Huang.

"I thought people who could become Saints were all above the common fray. I didn't expect you to be so vulgar too." The Spring-Autumn King looked at Lin Huang with disdain and mocked him.

"Let me tell you, since you're returning home in glory, you should first change your outfit. Didn't you rob the Zhongnan Dojo? Pave the way with crystal essence, carpet the ground with divine artifacts—that's how you show some presence."

Lin Huang glanced at the Spring-Autumn King and walked into a nearby flower shop. "You still have thirty-six months. Think about it slowly; if you can't figure it out, you'll die. Right, I'd like a bouquet of white daisies. Thank you."

After taking the flowers, Lin Huang ignored the bitter-faced Spring-Autumn King and walked straight toward the cemetery in his memory, his footsteps heavy.

"Wow. You haven't come to pay your respects in a long time. The grass has grown so tall. You really are an unfilial son."

"Shut up!"

Lin Huang's gaze was like lightning as he fiercely scolded him. The Spring-Autumn King felt a tremor in his heart, dared not play the fool anymore, and retreated to the side.

He carefully pulled the weeds in front of the grave one by one, then placed the prepared bouquet and offerings in order. Lin Huang bowed heavily three times before the grave, stood up, and looked somewhat lonely.

"Tell me, if I go to the Netherworld, can I bring them back to life?"

Lin Huang suddenly spoke up and asked.

"How is that possible?" The Spring-Autumn King shook his head decisively. "I've read the files on your parents. They've been dead for ten years, and their cultivation in life was no higher than the lower stage of the Scholar Realm. To put it bluntly, the threshold for the Netherworld is very high. In your parents' case, even if a God came, there would be no way. Their souls have long since decayed and dissipated. Maybe every time you breathe, you're inhaling the annihilated soul particles of your parents."

"Ouch!"

Lin Huang kicked him, causing the Spring-Autumn King's chest to cave in and a mouthful of blood to spill out. He felt a lingering fear and dared not speak nonsense again.

"The dead are gone. Resurrection is nothing but a legend. Even Gods can't do it; no one can. You must not let this become an obsession."

The Spring-Autumn King watched Lin Huang's expression shift between light and shadow, terrified that Lin Huang would fall into the fantasy of resurrecting his parents, which would be too terrifying.

Although there were legends of resurrection in this world, those were for fallen deities whose divinity remained immortal, leaving a possibility for revival. But for mere mortals, it was impossible. This was a law that even Gods could not defy.

"I know." Lin Huang waved his hand weakly. "The child wishes to provide, but the parents are gone. The mortal world has regrets, and Saints have regrets. Is it only the Gods who have no regrets? Must one truly sever all ties to the mortal world and isolate the seven emotions and six desires to transcend and become a God?"

Having reached this stage of cultivation, the experiences of predecessors were no longer useful. To become a God, one had to forge their own path.

For Lin Huang now, every insight and every emotional fluctuation could very well be where the path forward lay.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Huang had no leads and could only give up. Turning around, he saw a graceful young woman standing in the distance holding a bouquet of white daisies.

"It's her."

"Who?" The Spring-Autumn King turned his head to look. "Eh, isn't this your old flame? Ouch!"

Lin Huang stepped on the Spring-Autumn King, pinning him to the ground. After a moment of thought, he walked over. "Hi."

"Hi." Chen Ruo hadn't expected to run into Lin Huang and was a bit flustered, but she quickly calmed down. "I came to visit Mom and Dad Lin."

"You..."

"You..."

"You go first." Lin Huang laughed, his gaze gradually becoming indifferent.

"I'm getting married. Although I don't know what happened to you, I hope you can come." Chen Ruo had also seen the news about Lin Huang and had even been called in by the Law Enforcement Department for questioning several times. But now, the matter seemed to have settled down; at least, the wanted notices for Lin Huang could no longer be seen on the Dream Net.

"Okay." Lin Huang spoke slowly, looking at Chen Ruo carefully. In his mind, the sixty years of the human tribulation he hadn't finished crossing flashed through his heart bit by bit, and his expression became increasingly calm.

Chen Ruo felt a bit of difficulty breathing and looked at Lin Huang in surprise. She suddenly felt that Lin Huang had become very strange, a feeling that he was no longer human rising in her heart.

Forcing down this terrifying thought, Chen Ruo smiled stiffly, placed the bouquet in front of the grave, smiled at the Spring-Autumn King who was lying on the ground bleeding, and never looked back.

"Do you think she'll go and report you? Hey, you're hitting me again! I'll fight you to the death!"

Lin Huang said nothing, only looking at his parents' graves and the flowers left by Chen Ruo, a faint smile suddenly appearing at the corner of his mouth before it gradually turned calm, indifferent, and rational; in this moment, Lin Huang severed his ties to the mortal world.

"Looking back once more..."

"I am already a withered flower and a broken willow. Hahaha, I get it now, you must have heard she is getting married, so you're feeling particularly sentimental, right?" the Spring-Autumn King laughed loudly.

Lin Huang just looked at him calmly, a gaze that made the Spring-Autumn King feel a chill in his heart.

"You don't understand." Lin Huang spoke slowly, and for the first time, he let the Spring-Autumn King know what the majesty of a Saint truly meant.

Saints are heartless, treating all living things as straw dogs.

Subconsciously, this phrase flashed through the Spring-Autumn King's mind.

"In the end, it was still a little off. But, it's close, it's close." Lin Huang chuckled softly, knowing his state of mind was now complete; the sixty years of companionship during the human tribulation had seemingly perfected his state of mind and severed his mortal ties, but had it not been for this visit to the graveyard today, Lin Huang would have almost deceived himself.

He could calmly accept Chen Ruo's marriage and could stoically accept his parents' deaths, but only at this moment did Lin Huang truly let go, severing his ties to the mortal world, from this point on no longer human.