In recent years, Zhao Dezhu's life as a cultivator had grown somewhat chaotic.

Every few weeks, he would receive a check-in call from the Special Investigation Unit. If he walked around outside, it never took long before he noticed surveillance drones hovering above.

All of it started when he first encountered a powerful being in the cultivator detention center. Since then, the course of his life seemingly changed, starting with Zhao Dezhu receiving the Special Investigation Unit's special attention. They would check in on him from time to time, keeping track of his actions and movements.

If not for the fact that memory-wiping devices were said to carry a high risk of turning people into idiots, they probably would have used one on him already.

There had even been a few times when he finally reached a crucial moment during a date, only for members of the Special Investigation Unit to knock on his door and question him for half an hour.

It must have been deliberate! Those workaholics were definitely doing it on purpose! They are jealous that I am both a cultivation prodigy and someone with great luck with women.

At least, that was Zhao Dezhu's usual conclusion.

What he could not understand was why the authorities treated Wang Sheng's existence as a complete secret. That person had once been publicly praised as a hero, yet now there was no trace of him online at all.

The second time Zhao Dezhu met him was at the unforgettable dance club.

He had been happily enjoying a cultivator-style rave when he casually extended his spiritual perception and spotted two immortals being stopped at the entrance.

An idea struck him, and he quickly went over to clear the way for them.

He initially wondered if he would receive some kind of treasured artifact as a reward. Instead, he ended up meeting someone even more extraordinary.

The forefather of Fei Yu's sect? Wouldn't that be the legendary... Who was it again?

In any case, it was someone far beyond his imagination.

From that point on, the next five years of Zhao Dezhu's life were completely thrown into disarray.

He often felt like a criminal under constant surveillance. The Special Investigation Unit watched his every move as if he would suddenly transform into a devil lord and turn Earth into a living hell.

Hence, Zhao Dezhu once approached the official assigned to his case. The official explained in a roundabout way that the order to monitor him came directly from the highest levels.

It was not just him. Anyone who had come into contact with Chun Yangzi had to be closely watched to prevent any information from leaking out.

These were only the negative effects.

Zhao Dezhu had also tested what would happen if he handed over his phone and stayed in the mountains, quietly focusing on cultivation. Not only did the Special Investigation Unit not bother him at all, but they even provided extra support and resources. Both he and his master benefited from this arrangement.

On top of that, after meeting Wang Sheng, Zhao Dezhu noticed that his luck had improved for no clear reason. It became easier to add girls on YouChat, and relationships progressed more smoothly. Even when he secretly played virtual games during his spare time, every loot box he opened was filled with treasures.

He had reflected on it himself. His luck only started improving after meeting that person related to Wang Sheng. He did not understand why, but since cultivation was full of mysteries anyway, he decided it was enough to simply believe.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye. Zhao Dezhu would still visit that nightclub from time to time, but he never saw the man again. Even now, he still did not know who the forefather of Wang Sheng's sect was.

Gradually, a question formed in his mind.

"What does the world look like in the eyes of someone like that?"

Whenever he had nothing to do and did not feel like meditating, he would lie on the roof of the small mountain house like he was doing now, reaching out as if to grasp the distant stars.

Of course, he could not catch anything. After all, his cultivation was still far too shallow. He was still several Golden Immortals and Taiyi Golden Immortals' worth of distance away from being able to control a star.

Still, there were times when Zhao Dezhu wanted to go out and see more. He wanted to leave Earth and wander through the endless space, exploring wherever he pleased.

"Five years have gone by in a blink."

He sighed softly, resting his head on his arm as he gazed into the distant night sky.

A faint worry lingered in his heart. He feared that the blessing he received from that powerful being would fade—that he would return to the ordinary and unremarkable life he once had.

Over these five years, he had been breaking through three times faster than before. Many principles he once struggled to comprehend would suddenly become clear in a flash of insight. Once, he even broke through a minor realm in his sleep and only realized it after waking up. He also managed to destroy his soft, large bed in the process.

Zhao Dezhu felt that all of this came from basking in that being's influence.

He still wanted another chance to benefit from it, but he had no excuse to seek him out and no idea where to find him.

In a playful tone, he pinched his voice and said, "Ding! Your luck buff has expired. Please recharge to enjoy the benefits again."

He chuckled to himself, though a trace of loneliness remained in his heart.

Everyone wanted to be the protagonist of a story, yet for most people, even giving everything they had would only make them the protagonist of their own life.

Will my future be grand and full of twists? Will it be exciting and extraordinary? Or perhaps...

"Hey, Dezhu," his master called from below, "when you head into the city later, remember to buy some rice and salt."

Zhao Dezhu raised a hand and rubbed his eyes, replying weakly, "Got it, Master. I'll go tomorrow. Can't you just order it online?"

"They said last time they could not find the place. I had to fly ten kilometers on my sword to pick up the delivery. I have been craving lighter meals recently, too. Do you have any objections?"

"No, not at all. I understand, Master," Zhao Dezhu answered listlessly and let out a long yawn.

The old Daoist below shook his head and walked back into the house.

Zhao Dezhu grinned, then continued staring at the stars, indulging in his quiet nighttime daydreams.

Cultivators were not supposed to indulge in foolish fantasies, yet Zhao Dezhu had been unable to stop himself from dreaming like this since he was young.

He knew it could even be a kind of illness. It could easily give rise to a heart devil, but...

"If a person has no fantasies, then how are they any different from a machine?"

Zhao Dezhu yawned once more. This time, he did not resist it. He closed his eyes on the rooftop, slowly drifted into sleep, and dreamed again.

Each dream passed like fleeting scenes, strange and ever-changing.

Sometimes, Zhao Dezhu dreamed of modern life. He also dreamed of ancient days every now and then, taking on the roles of a scholar, a general, or an ordinary soldier. Other times, he dreamed of more recent eras, charging into battle for the Hua Republic.

Up to now, Zhao Dezhu had never had two similar dreams.

This was also because, at his level of cultivation, he could go without sleep whenever he wanted. Since he slept less often than ordinary people, he hadn't seen that many dreams yet, and there were fewer chances for dreams to repeat.

In this dream, he seemed to be a fruit vendor walking through the streets with a pole on his shoulders. Business appeared to be good that day, and he felt quite pleased.

It continued until the sun rose. A ray of sunlight fell across Zhao Dezhu's eyelids, making it impossible for him to keep sleeping.

He sat up, stretched, and then sat there in a daze for a moment. Afterward, he thumped his chest and stomped his feet. After all, he had just wasted another night that he could have spent enjoying himself in carefree indulgence.

Upon taking out his phone and checking his messages, he realized he had forgotten about his late-night chat with a girl.

After sitting in regret for a while, Zhao Dezhu jumped down from the roof. He planned to greet his master, but found that his master had already sealed the surroundings of the house with a simple array and had seemingly started cultivating.

"Rice and salt..."

Zhao Dezhu shook his head. With a casual motion, he drew over a flying sword that had been tossed in the corner of the wall. Dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt, he stepped onto it and set off toward the mountain without a care in the world.

Not long after, the city came into view.

Just as Zhao Dezhu was about to merge into the air route designated for cultivators flying with controlled objects into the city, the flying sword beneath his feet suddenly stopped. He also stopped in midair without any warning.

What the heck?

Zhao Dezhu twisted his body, but the flying sword felt as if it had been locked in place by the air itself. It would not move at all.

An array? A spell?

A chill ran through Zhao Dezhu's heart. He had not heard news of corrupt cultivators harming people for a long time, but he had no desire to end up in the news like this.

From above, someone gently called, "Daoist Friend..."

Zhao Dezhu looked up and saw three people standing on a cloud several hundred meters overhead. The first to catch his attention was the man in the center, who was dressed in a bright-red robe.

The one speaking to him from several hundred meters away was the young woman standing to the man's right. Judging by appearance alone, he thought she was the most beautiful cultivator he had ever seen. Almost immediately, though, that title was passed to the quiet female immortal standing on the other side of the man in red.

So beautiful... How could someone like her exist in this world? Wait!

Zhao Dezhu focused his gaze and looked more carefully. A face he had seen many times in photos surfaced in his mind, and a name slipped out.

"Mu Bu Yu!"

At that moment, Zhao Dezhu shuddered as he felt a faint pressure descend upon him. He then heard the people above speaking in an ancient dialect.

"Senior Sister, it seems you are quite famous here. Even some random young cultivator recognizes you."

"Not really."

"Feiyao, go down and ask that person if he knows where Fei Yu is. When Chun Yangzi sent us here, all he told us was to ask any cultivator we'd meet. I have searched this place many times, yet I still cannot find any trace of Fei Yu."

Although Zhao Dezhu was not very skilled in understanding ancient speech, he at least caught a few words.

Feiyao, Fei Yu, cultivator, ask around...

"Are you looking for Senior Fei Yu?"

The girl who was descending nodded lightly.

Zhao Dezhu immediately said, "I am somewhat acquainted with him. I may not know where he is, but I can take you to someone who can find traces of him! Would that work?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

A minor cultivator who had not even become an immortal now spoke casually to Qinghua, the Lord of Death, whose fearsome reputation had spread across the endless space.

This was probably what people meant by a newborn calf not fearing the tiger.

***

Inside a lakeside villa, Wang Sheng watched a dull drama on the projection screen in loose home clothes, passing the time. He had moved here three or four years ago.

"Why has my eyelid been twitching all day?"

Without his Primordial Spirit, there was not much he could do. Apart from reading and watching shows, he had nothing important to occupy himself with.

He had also started his own plan to experience life. Whenever he had the chance, he would go out and wander, committing the landscapes of the Hua Republic to memory.

Five years passed in a flash. Outside, that meant five hundred years. He no longer had any idea what the current situation was like.

Buzz! Buzz!

His phone vibrated. Wang Sheng casually drew it over and glanced at the message on the screen.

For the first two seconds, he did not react. He tossed the phone aside onto the sofa and just kept lying there watching the show.

However, he soon froze. He turned his head to look at the message on the phone. In the next moment, he jumped up in excitement.