Chapter 116: Re-entering the World

In the early spring of March, inside a park in BJ, a young man yawned widely out of boredom. The cold morning dew dampened the hems of his pants, his brows furrowed slightly, and his face still bore the sleepy expression of someone not fully awake.

“What bad luck, having to get up every day just to buy breakfast…” The young man carried a translucent white plastic bag in his right hand, undoubtedly holding the breakfast he had just mentioned. “Life’s such a hassle. Today’s a day off, too! If only I were as carefree as Tianyu, at least he wouldn’t get up so early just for a meal.” Muttering to himself, a look of envy crossed his face.

The youth’s name was Fang Yanbin, 21 years old, a sophomore majoring in Bioengineering at QH University. The Tianyu he referred to was actually his classmate and friend, Long Tianyu, a year younger than him. When it came to their personalities, they perfectly embodied the adage that birds of a feather flock together. The two were kindred spirits, drawn to each other by their shared disposition.

They were equally lazy to a fault, but with a subtle difference: Long Tianyu’s laziness was unwavering and skillful, a practiced art, while Fang Yanbin’s laziness was driven by desire but lacked the strength to follow through. After all, today was Saturday, yet Fang Yanbin was already up at dawn—not by choice, but because his rebellious stomach had started making noise just as day broke.

Meandering down the narrow street, still half-asleep, Fang Yanbin shivered as a cold gust brushed past him. Instantly alert, he shook his head in annoyance. He had planned to go back and catch a few more winks, but the wind’s chill had shattered that hope. Why bother trying to sleep now?

Suddenly, a face loomed large before him—a face so strikingly handsome it could incite envy. The eyes sparkled as if sprinkled with starlight, seeing through the world’s illusions, radiating irresistible charm.

Startled, Fang Yanbin grumbled, “I say, Bingyan, can you not be so ghost-like next time? You know people can actually die from fright.”

It was none other than his other roommate, Leng Bingyan, who lived with him. As for Bingyan’s personality, Fang Yanbin found it hard to pin down. At first meeting, he seemed cheerful and approachable, always wearing a happy expression. But over time, Fang Yanbin noticed Bingyan often sat alone on the window sill, lost in thought, his eyes harboring some indescribable depth. When asked why he liked to sit there alone, Bingyan would reply, “I feel so melancholic and profound at those moments—I’m almost in love with that part of myself.”

Fang Yanbin would just smile and call him a narcissist. Sometimes, he wondered if his roommate was hiding some great secret. But as friends, everyone deserved their space, so Fang Yanbin never pressed further.

Seeing Fang Yanbin’s startled face still lingering with shock, Bingyan chuckled, “Are you even a man? Scared so easily.” A hint of disdain flickered across his face.

Fang Yanbin frowned in displeasure, gazing at Bingyan’s delicate yet handsome features with growing jealousy. How could someone be so striking? If only he had such looks, charming girls would be effortless. Sighing, he nudged Bingyan’s shoulder with his elbow, “Hey, Bingyan, how did your parents manage to make you so good-looking? You really should use that to your advantage. It’s a shame you don’t chase after girls more… Hey, don’t walk off on me.”

Ignoring the nagging, Bingyan moved ahead alone.

“I’m heading back,” Bingyan said softly over his shoulder.

Fang Yanbin rubbed his nose, feeling the temperature around him drop momentarily. “Damn, must be sleep deprivation,” he muttered, breaking into a run after Bingyan.

Six years had passed since Leng Bingyan had established the Jiuzhou Barrier—six full years. It was now 2015, and Bingyan was 21.

Today, he was a sophomore in the Bioengineering department at QH University. His academic performance, carefully concealed, hovered around the upper-middle tier. However, socially, Bingyan was somewhat lacking compared to others. His closest companions were Fang Yanbin and Long Tianyu. The three of them rented a place off-campus and thus became roommates.

Bingyan was content with his current life: a small circle of trusted friends, the pursuit of his university dream, and the hope of finding a good job afterward. To live quietly and unassumingly—sometimes the greatest wisdom is in the simplest life. This was a path uniquely his own.

Yet one matter continued to trouble him—or rather, her. It was a problem with her body.

According to Grandpa Mo, once the Lingyu Violet Qi within her had fully transformed into her own power, she would be free from the burdens of her Lingyu body. Regrettably, much of that Violet Qi had been expended to establish the Jiuzhou Barrier. Now, the reservoir within her body was nearly dry.

After setting the barrier, Bingyan had fallen into a coma and was taken back to the Immortal Cultivation Realm’s Jade Void Palace by Long Xian’er. Upon awakening, the Violet Qi inside her was difficult to replenish. A half-year of seclusion followed, during which the celestial spirit energy was restored, and as a blessing in disguise, her cultivation advanced to mid-Immortal Emperor stage. Yet the Violet Qi remained sparse.

To regain her male form, the Violet Qi was essential—and that was precisely what she lacked. Bingyan sighed deeply.

The Chaos Reincarnation Eye was originally Bingyan’s trump card. It was an ancient secret technique of the primordial age. When she had abundant Violet Qi, she wielded it with great skill. But now, with the Qi dwindled, even using the Reincarnation Eye became problematic.

Over the past six years, aside from the first half-year spent on recovery, Bingyan had immersed herself in comprehending the Violet Qi and attempting to convert other energies into it, but with disappointing results. After years of fruitless effort, she realized that the restoration of Violet Qi depended solely on fate. When the time came, the Qi would fully return, and only then could she reclaim her male body.

Having reached this understanding, Bingyan ceased obsessing over the Violet Qi and devoted herself entirely to cultivation. In the Jade Void Palace, she found a secluded, quiet spot and took out the “Record of the True Lineage.” Though this manual was entrusted to her by Mo Wuxie, continuous interruptions had prevented her from studying it thoroughly until now.

The “Record of the True Lineage” was divided into three volumes: Cultivation of Reality, Cultivation of Immortality, and Cultivation of Divinity. Legend said that mastering the Divine volume and reaching its peak could break through to a higher realm. For now, Bingyan was at the mid-Immortal Emperor level and should be focusing on the Immortality volume, but she chose to proceed gradually, starting with the Reality volume.

Unlike other manuals, the “Record of the True Lineage” did not detail step-by-step cultivation methods. Instead, it recorded offensive and defensive techniques at various stages, along with some insights. The specifics of cultivation were left to the practitioner’s own reflection. Cultivating Reality meant cultivating the heart—practicing the true self. Though this approach was slower, its effects were profound, for only through personal experience and creation could one truly understand and apply the teachings.

For Bingyan, at her cultivation stage, the Reality volume was a breeze. The initial chapters of the Immortality volume posed no difficulty either. It was only upon reaching the Immortal Emperor level techniques that her pace slowed, her brow furrowing in perplexity over seemingly unsolvable problems.

The “Record of the True Lineage” also categorized techniques by elemental types: Wind God, Thunder God, Fire God, Water God, Earth God, Metal God, and Wood God. These were offensive and defensive methods. Their names bore some resemblance to the powers wielded by those with supernatural abilities. In fact, the similarity was more than superficial. The manual taught mastery over natural elements, whereas superpowered individuals drew strength from innate elemental energies within their bodies. When these inner energies resonated with the external world, they could unleash formidable power.

Their attack forms were alike enough that, if one were not scrutinizing closely, Bingyan might be mistaken for a superpowered individual.

Of course, these were only the surface manifestations of the “Record of the True Lineage.” The deeper mysteries grew increasingly elusive as Bingyan delved further, especially the Divine volume, which, at her current level, appeared as nothing but a blank void.

Having mastered the seven elemental techniques superficially, Bingyan reached her limit in understanding the manual. After studying the chapter on formations, she reluctantly set the book aside—the remaining content was too profound for her to grasp.

Since she could not continue with the manual for now, Bingyan sought out Qingxu. With his permission, she entered the Jade Void Palace’s Scripture Tower, a treasure trove of cultivation methods and ancient texts. In her spare time, she immersed herself in these volumes.

“Yin and Yang constitute the Way. The myriad forms and endless transformations of the world arise from the interaction of Yin and Yang. Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are the three fundamental forces, with Humanity as the root. Each possesses Yin and Yang, forming the sixty-four hexagrams of the six lines. As the ‘Book of Changes’ states: ‘The Way of Heaven is Yin and Yang; the Way of Earth is softness and hardness; the Way of Man is benevolence and righteousness. Combining the three talents and their dualities, the sixty-four hexagrams arise. Dividing Yin and Yang, alternating hardness and softness, the six positions form the chapters.’”

Bingyan had thrown herself into the mysticism of the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams, becoming fascinated by divinations and hexagrams. For months, she devoted herself tirelessly to their study, often forsaking sleep.

After years in the cultivation realm, Bingyan left and returned to the mortal world, enrolling anonymously in an ordinary high school. Later, she sat for the college entrance examination and entered QH University’s Bioengineering program.

Of course, she did all this under a male identity—dressing in men’s clothes, cutting her hair short, and using a slight illusion to sharpen her facial contours. Though still delicate, her features now appeared distinctly masculine.

In this guise, she was a charming young man. Looking in the mirror, Bingyan smiled happily and gave herself a thumbs-up.