Renegade Immortal

Wang Lin’s expression was calm, but he was very alert. This person was very strange. There wasn’t a sliver of spiritual energy in him and he looked like a mortal at first glance, but how could a mortal see through his cultivation? Wang Lin calmly clasped his hands and replied, “I’m just someone from the mountains. No need for a name; just call me Da Niu.”

The large fellow looked at Wang Lin with a curious gaze and laughed. “Brother Da Niu, why don’t we sit down and talk in this rainy night?”

Wang Lin faintly smiled and nodded before sitting cross legged on the ground. He waved his right hand and a gourd of wine appeared. He took a drink.

After the Four Sect Alliance was destroyed Wang Lin’s stock of this fruit wine had decreased, so he drank it a lot less often now.

That large fellow let out a laugh, sat down, and said, “Brother Da Niu’s cultivation is really shocking. If I’m not seeing this wrong, you’re close to obtaining your domain.”

Wang Lin’s heart skipped a bit. He became even more cautious of this person, but on the outside, he just quietly chuckled and dodged the question.

At this moment, one of the men next to the fire laughed loudly. “What in the world are you two talking about? We can’t understand a word of what you are talking about. Obtaining your domain? Are you two crazy?”

Mo Zhi faintly smiled and said, “Sir, your use of the word ‘crazy’ is excellent. If one isn’t crazy, why would they try to understand something like the laws of the heavens? If one isn’t crazy, why would they try to become an immortal? One must want something in order to obtain it. That is the truth.”

The man next to the fire frowned and scolded, “He really is crazy. I didn’t understand a word.”

Mo Zhi smiled and shook his head. He looked at Wang Lin and asked, “Did brother Da Niu understand?”

Wang Lin let out a faint smile and said, “Your words are too mysterious. I don’t understand, but I think the word ‘crazy’ is not good. Instead, the word ‘eat’ is better.”

Mo Zhi’s eyes lit up and he laughed. “Good! ‘Eat’ is a very good word! If us cultivators lost the urge to eat, then how could we go down the right path and complete the Dao of the heavens?”

Wang Lin took a drink and silently smiled.

Mo Zhi looked at Wang Lin, then his eyes suddenly showed confusion and then were filled with void. Wang Lin’s eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat. He then quietly moved his hand over his bag of holding.

After a long time, the confusion in Mo Zhi’s eyes slowly disappeared. “Just now… where were… we at?”

Wang Lin brows furrowed as he stared at Mo Zhi.

At this moment, one of the men next to the fire, the one who had been listening in on them, laughed. “He really is crazy,” the man said.

Mo Zhi let out a sigh and smiled at Wang Lin. “Forget it. Since I forgot, I forgot. My name is Mo Zhi. What is your name?”

Wang Lin’s brow furrowed even harder. After a while, he shook his head and let out a faint smile as he said, “Da Niu.”

Mo Zhi nodded. He looked at the rain outside and said, “The rainy night is beautiful in its mood and endlessness. The plants silently absorb the water and the scent of death on them quietly disappears. This is the beauty of the rain and the taste of life.”

Wang Lin turned his head to look outside the shrine. The sound of the falling rain slow came inside and the sound of thunder would occasionally light up the outside for an instant.

The fire inside the shrine flickered in the night, causing the shadows in the shrine to flicker as well. It was as if this was the border of life and death. The flickering of light seemed to also contain some hints of the life and death domain.

Light is death, darkness is death, the flickering light represents the exchange between life and death.

Wang Lin whispered, “What is life?”

This question had confused him for a long time.

Mo Zhi withdrew his gaze. He pointed at the fire and faintly smiled. “This fire is life.”

Wang Lin pondered as he looked at the flickering light and asked, “Why?”

Mo Zhi faintly smiled as he looked at the fire and said, “I don’t know why it is life, but I have constantly heard mortals say ‘live fire, live fire,’ so I think fire must be life.”

“Crazy!” This time, all of the men next to the fire looked at the two as if they were some strange creatures.

This fire is life… Wang Lin felt like he had gained some clarity, but he still hadn’t fully understood it. He remained silent for a moment and then asked, “What is death?”

Just as Mo Zhi was about to speak, his eyes were filled with confusion and void again. After a long time, he regained his senses and looked around in a daze.

“What were… we talking about… before?”

Without waiting for Wang Lin to speak, one of the men around the fire said, “He just asked you what death was.”

Mo Zhi looked at Wang Lin apologetically. He hesitated for a bit and said, “I believe brother also knows what my name is. May I ask for your name?”

Just like before, before Wang Lin could respond, another man next to the fire responded, “His name is Da Niu.”

Mo Zhi’s eyes became even more apologetic as he said, “Ever since I obtained my domain, my memory has been a mess. I hope brother Da Niu can forgive me.”

Wang Lin’s expression remained the same, but his heart was shocked. He hesitated for a bit before asking, “What domain did brother Mo comprehend?”

Directly asking someone their domain was somewhat taboo, but Mo Zhi didn’t seem to mind. The confusion in his eyes became even stronger and he said, “Forget domain…”

“Hey, you haven’t said what death is yet. Continue what you were saying; it was getting interesting,” one of the men next to the fire hurried Mo Zhi.

The confusion in Mo Zhi’s eyes became even stronger as he said, “What is death… death is to die. If a person dies, then it is death, and if the heart dies, then it forgets… that is death.”

Wang Lin’s heart shook. That sentence was like a gust that blew away a lot of the fog that had left him confused.

Death was to die. If a person dies, it is death. If the heart dies, then it forgets…

Mo Zhi’s confused eyes were filled with wisdom as he looked around before pointing at a puddle outside with this right hand. He muttered, “The water falling in this puddle today is life. Tomorrow, when there is no water falling, then this puddle is death. Dead water is water without life and flow.”

Then his right hand casually pointed again and this time it was on the men next to the fire. The void in his eyes became even stronger and he said, “Today they can enjoy, be angry, be sad, or be happy. That is life. In the future, they won’t be able to enjoy, be angry be sad, or be happy, and that is death.”

His hand suddenly moved and pointed at a praying mat. He said, “This shrine was alive when the statue of the god was here. Now that it is without it, it is dead!”

Speaking of this, he stood up, pointed at the sky, and said, “These raindrops are born in the sky and die on the earth. What’s in the middle is their life. I look at this rain not for the sky, earth, or the rain itself, but the raindrop’s entire life… this cycle of life and death.”

Wang Lin was touched. He stood up and respectfully bowed toward Mo Zhi.

Mo Zhi faintly smiled. He then took a step and left the shrine like a meteor. His faint voice came from the distance and said,

“Brother Da Niu, you either understand it or you don’t… know your limits.”

Wang Lin stared at the rain. After a long time, he let out a smile.

At this moment, the men around the fire were all confused. They felt like they understood a bit, but when they thought about it carefully, there seemed to be a layer of fog blocking their eyes.

“Fellow brother, what did that person mean?” One of them couldn’t help but ask. Everyone else’s gazes turned toward Wang Lin.

Wang Lin shooked his head and said, “You guys… won’t understand…”

With that, he took a step and left the shrine. He walked in the rain and looked up. This raindrop was born in the sky. Then he looked at the ground. This raindrop dies on the earth.

What’s in between is the raindrop’s entire life.

This is life and death!

Fire is life because it has life, this is what they mean by “live fire.”

Death is to die. If a person dies, it is death. If the heart dies, then it forgets…

Wang Lin was walking between the heavens and earth when he suddenly felt something in his heart. He managed to grasp a bit of the truth behind life and death. He originally needed one more year of cultivating his domain to reach the Soul Formation stage. However, his comprehension suddenly grew, and after a short while, he was already at the state to reach the Soul Formation stage.

It could be said that at this moment, if Wang Lin wished to, he could immediately reach the Soul Formation stage.

But this was obviously not the place to reach the Soul Formation stage. Wang Lin suppressed the urge to break through and flew even faster.

“I believe brother Mo’s domain is heart’s death, and this results in his memory loss. To forget everything, leaving only the Dao.” Wang Lin took a deep breath. This Mo Zhi was a genius.

The insight he had gained in the shrine on that rainy night allowed Wang Lin’s mentality to finally reach the level of Soul Formation. At this moment, he was worthy of reaching the Soul Formation stage and had the domain of a Soul Formation cultivator.

The Soul Formation stage is where the strength of cultivators begin to vary greatly.

This is because once cultivators reach the Soul Formation stage, their focus of cultivation changes from their bodies to their minds. Their basis is their understanding of the heavens and their strength is how well they can control that power.

The domain is the most important insight for cultivators above the Soul Formation stage.

According to the difference in understanding of the heavens, the domains obtained are different too. In other words, there are countless domains out there, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a difference in strength between the domains.

Although the domains are very close in strength when they reach their extremes, the starting points are very different and can definitely affect future cultivation.

Therefore, at the Soul Formation stage, the strength of cultivators vary greatly. If one only obtains an ordinary domain, even though they are gods compared to Nascent Soul cultivators, they will be lagging behind among fellow Soul Formation cultivators.

If Wang Lin really wanted to reach the Soul Formation stage quickly, he could have done it when he was able to carve the first statue of the White Cloud Sect’s Soul Formation cultivator. However, that domain was not something he had made himself. It was the same as following in someone else’s footsteps. Even if he had reached the Soul Formation stage, he would find it very difficult to break through in the future, resulting in a very low chance of reaching the Soul Transformation stage.

Since it was not a domain he had formed himself, it would be very difficult to even fully comprehend it, not to mention transcend it…