"Zhiyan, are you all right?"
"Are you sure you didn't suffer qi deviation and really did successfully form your Golden Core?"
"You gave us quite a scare just now. Quickly, steady your breath and examine yourself carefully. Make sure there are no lingering problems!"
A babble of voices reached his ears. Seeing his disciple surrounded by everyone, he, her master, couldn't even squeeze his way in.
A middle-aged man with a long, three-strand beard and dressed in Daoist robes gave a helpless, rueful smile.
His Daoist title was Ling Yun, and he was a disciple of Master Green Feather.
Back then, he had taken Su Zhiyan as his disciple on his master's orders. He'd known the girl was exceptionally talented, but he'd never expected her to reach such heights.
Forming her Golden Core in ten years!
And even attracting an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon!
All of this showed just how extraordinary the girl was.
She had already been regarded as the sect's Seed of Immortality.
Now, his senior and junior fellow disciples had surrounded her and were showering her with concern. Meanwhile, he, her master, couldn't even squeeze through to ask how she was.
Looking at his fellow disciples, each with white hair and faces beaming with concern, Ling Yun could only smile wryly. What else could he say?
"Thank you for your concern, Ancestors. I'm all right!"
"Are you really all right?"
Everyone clicked their tongues in amazement.
After all, it had been an Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon. Even Mysterious Mastery Realm or Mahayana ancestors would turn pale at the sight of one.
Everyone knew that encountering one meant facing nine deaths out of ten.
And yet this girl had actually made it through?
How had she done it?
Everyone was deeply concerned and couldn't help peppering her with questions again.
It took a full two hours before Su Zhiyan finally managed to send off all the elders and seat-holders.
As for what she had gone through that day, she kept her lips sealed and didn't say a word.
It wasn't that she was wary of her Ancestors or didn't trust those who cared for and cherished her.
It was just that... everything that had happened, every experience, was a little secret between her and that mighty Immortal. How could she reveal it without his permission?
Su Zhiyan wasn't only a heaven-gifted genius with an exceptional spiritual root; she was also clever and knew what she should and shouldn't say.
Even to the master and Ancestors who loved her most, she didn't reveal a word about what had happened that day, instead making up an excuse to brush them off.
She'd managed to fool everyone, more or less.
Of course, it wasn't that these old monsters who had lived for over a thousand years were stupid enough to be taken in by a little girl.
It was just that what had happened that day was beyond anything they could imagine.
If she didn't tell them, there was no way they could guess.
They could tell Su Zhiyan was holding something back, but perhaps she had her reasons. The girl had only just survived a crisis, so no one was foolish enough to insist on digging into the matter.
What would be the point?
After all, she was now the most precious treasure in the immortal sect.
The future Seed of Immortality.
Everyone was so careful with her that they feared she might fall and break. If she didn't want to talk, who would force her?
Of course, everyone was genuinely curious.
An Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon! Even Mahayana ancestors were terrified of such a being. How on earth had the girl come through unscathed?
After seeing everyone off, Su Zhiyan sat cross-legged and looked within herself.
Pure, vigorous spiritual energy flowed through her meridians, without a single hidden flaw.
Violet light swirled in her dantian.
Each time the violet core, the size of a dragon's eye, made a full turn, the phantoms of a Phoenix and a Qingluan appeared before her eyes.
And unlike when she had first formed her core, both the Phoenix and Qingluan were now crystal clear, lifelike, as though they were truly alive.
The violet core was now flawless.
But the greatest change was in her sea of consciousness.
A quantitative change had brought about a qualitative one. On the surface, the girl's spiritual root had only increased by a point or two, yet it had forged a perfect spiritual root that shouldn't have existed in this era.
The Heavenly Dao was flawed, yet the Saints made it whole.
Su Zhiyan couldn't understand such methods. She might not even know what kind of change had taken place within her.
But she could vaguely sense that her future path of cultivation would be unlike anything before.
"The Immortal stroked my crown; he tied my hair and bestowed me with eternal life."
The girl had stopped meditating. She murmured to herself, her gaze a little hazy.
Without him, she would have long since been doomed beyond redemption.
He had not only helped her twice, but also bestowed upon her this peerless Immortal fortune.
She wondered whether she would ever get the chance to meet that Immortal again.
At some point, a fine drizzle had begun to fall outside. Lost in her thoughts, Su Zhiyan's expression had, without her noticing, turned dreamy.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoyao, the one who had set all this in motion, was humming as he swept the Founder's Shrine, as if nothing had happened.
He'd done this for ten years, and it had never felt like a chore. If anything, he enjoyed it.
As for what had happened yesterday, he'd long since put it out of his mind.
What others considered an incredible feat was, to him, nothing more than a casual gesture.
Why had he helped that woman?
Even Lin Xiaoyao wasn't sure.
Maybe he couldn't bear to see her die young.
Maybe he simply hated the Outer-Realm Heavenly Demon causing trouble at his sect.
Why did everything need a reason?
A great man acted according to his heart.
Having crossed over and lived another life, he naturally wanted to live in peace and happiness.
So aside from keeping a low profile in the Feathering Sect and refusing to venture outside, as well as keeping his identity secret, he could do whatever he wanted, however he pleased.
In short, he did it because he felt like it. Because it made him happy!
"System, sign me in!"
"Congratulations, host. Sign-in successful. You obtained 'Word of Law.'"
Word of Law?
Lin Xiaoyao froze.
He was quite pleased, too.
He wasn't unfamiliar with the concept. A true Saint naturally had no need to be constrained by divine abilities and spells. With a single word, the laws obeyed his command; the Great Dao was his to wield.
That was Word of Law: the myriad worlds of the heavens all obeyed his orders.
But that wasn't possible for him right now. Though he possessed a Saint's realm and status, he lacked the corresponding cultivation. After ten years of hard work, he had now restored his magical power to the late stage of Mysterious Mastery Realm.
But the immortal path was arduous, and the road stretched far ahead. Becoming a true Saint while keeping a low profile was still a distant prospect—not something he could accomplish overnight. In fact, it remained utterly out of reach.
So using Word of Law to decide the fall of the stars with a single word, or to bring about a world's destruction and rebirth with one utterance—that was still nothing more than a distant dream.
But this was different. The system had actually given him this supreme ability through a sign-in... All right, it could no longer be called a divine ability.
In any case, Lin Xiaoyao was incredibly excited.
After ten years of signing in, his heart had long since become as still as water. No matter what treasure he obtained, he could take it in stride, unmoved by success or failure. He never dwelled on what he gained or lost each time.
After all, he didn't have just one chance to sign in. Every day, once midnight passed, his chance refreshed.
So if he gained something, that was good fortune; if he lost out, it was fate. Even if he signed in and got a useless trinket today, he could simply regroup tomorrow and try again.
The same held true when he obtained useful treasures.
He never got too excited.
Unruffled!
But this time was different.
His eyes brimmed with delight, and anticipation danced across his brow.
Before you continue