Traversing the path of life and death

Chapter One Lin Yu

Qingcheng, located in the westernmost part of the Tianhuo Continent, consists of twelve towns. Among them, Qingshan Town ranks last in overall strength and is located on the edge of Qingcheng, closely connected to the Wild Beast Mountain Range. It is constantly attacked by wild beasts. It is precisely because of its unique geographical location that Qingshan Town has a strong cultivation atmosphere.

In Qingshan Town, at the Lin family's training ground, a child of about five years old sat lazily on the edge of the training ground. He had short, jet-black hair, a pair of bright eyes, and an exceptionally handsome, youthful face. His two little legs were crossed, his right arm rested on his right leg, and his little hand supported his handsome face. He lazily looked at the sky. Some small animals flew by, and the child merely blinked, his body remaining in the same position of looking up at the sky.

As evening approached, people gradually left the training ground. Only then did he stand up, pat his little bottom, straighten his slightly small shirt, and walk towards the north. His thin figure looked particularly lonely in the dim sunlight. If someone walked with him, they would occasionally hear a few sighs.

The child's name is Lin Yu. He has been in this world for five years. In these five years, Lin Yu's behavior has aroused the curiosity of his relatives and many servants of the Lin family. Lin Yu has never laughed or cried since he was born. If you look at Lin Yu for a long time, you will find that there is a trace of sadness on Lin Yu's tender face. This sadness is full of doubt and sorrow.

Lin Yu learned to speak when he was one year old. However, after learning to speak, Lin Yu rarely spoke to others except for his close family members. Moreover, Lin Yu's attitude towards his parents worried them. Normally, a child of Lin Yu's age would be very happy to see his parents and would have a heartfelt smile on his face. But Lin Yu's attitude towards his parents was always very indifferent, and unusually indifferent.

For the past five years, Lin Yu has always been alone, finding a random place and sitting there for a whole day. Since he learned to walk, he has continued to do this. And every time he sits down, he maintains the same posture: his right arm supporting his right leg, his little hand supporting his tender chin, and his eyes lazily gazing at the slightly red sky. Strands of memories well up in Lin Yu's eyes, and his thoughts slowly return to the past, to another world.

Lin Yu grew up in an orphanage and spent a unhappy childhood. The loneliness in his heart continued until college. In college, Lin Yu fell in love with travel and adventure. Every winter and summer vacation, he would travel around the beautiful landscapes of the motherland. His mentality gradually became happier and stronger. After graduating from college, Lin Yu did not choose to find a job immediately, but chose to continue to travel around the country and explore unexplored places.

In the year following his graduation, he climbed Mount Everest, waded through long rivers, and ventured deep into karst caves. Traveling from north to south, Lin Yu experienced the grandeur and beauty of his motherland's mountains and rivers.

Finally, Lin Yu arrived at the southernmost part of the country, the last stop of his adventure. Once this expedition was completed, Lin Yu planned to return to his hometown, find an ordinary job, and live a peaceful life. However, once Lin Yu went in, he never came out, and his fate and life took a dramatic turn, becoming even more complicated.

Lin Yu looked at the boundless forest before him. The hot climate made the forest slowly become ethereal, with tree roots intertwined and weeds growing everywhere. Faint animal roars echoed from the forest.

Lin Yu knew this expedition would be incredibly difficult, but his indomitable spirit, thirst for knowledge, and desire for challenge drove him to resolutely stride into the forest.

Because of the weather, Lin Yu was only wearing a short vest and shorts, plus a small backpack containing some water. In his right hand, he held a curved knife, which he had found by chance during one of his expeditions. When he first discovered it, the knife was covered in rust. But the moment Lin Yu picked it up, the rust crumbled away, revealing the knife's sharp edge. Lin Yu found it incredible, as he couldn't explain this phenomenon from any scientific perspective. So, he could only believe that the world is full of wonders, and perhaps even more bizarre things were happening.

Lin Yu entered the forest, sweat dripping down his body. His vest, already soaked, was removed, and hot beads of sweat dripped onto his skin, each drop causing him intense heat. His right palm was also drenched in sweat, yet he gripped his curved knife tightly. This uninhabited forest was fraught with danger; a moment's carelessness could be fatal. Fortunately, Lin Yu hadn't encountered a single wild animal in the dozens of miles he had traveled. His only regret was that he had run out of water. To survive in the forest, he needed to find water, and given the harsh climate, he had no choice but to begin searching for a water source.

In the forest, water is not easy to obtain. Every water source is teeming with wild animals that also need water. Lin Yu is forced to confront the rulers of the jungle.

After traveling for several dozen miles, Lin Yu finally saw a river as white as a mirror. Instead of rushing over immediately, Lin Yu chose to observe whether there were any wild animals nearby. The terrain on both sides of the river was quite different. The right bank was where Lin Yu was located, with trees of varying heights and dense undergrowth. The left bank was not as messy as the right bank, with trees of miraculously the same height and not a single weed, as if it had been specially tidied up. There was also a deep valley nearby, shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to see anything inside.

Seeing this, Lin Yu gripped the curved knife in his right hand and held the water-filled tool in his left, carefully walking towards the riverbank. The journey was unusually quiet. When he was about two meters from the riverbank, some water plants suddenly entangled him. Lin Yu was immediately alarmed and quickly took out his curved knife to cut the water plants, letting out a slight sigh of relief.

After filling the water, Lin Yu looked at the calm lake, then gazed at the boundless forest and the strange valley opposite. His subconscious desire to explore grew stronger. He then tucked his curved sword into his waistband and jumped into the river with a splash. This jump put Lin Yu in an extremely dangerous situation.

Suddenly, a beast's roar rang out from the right bank. Lin Yu, who was in the river, was startled and began to swing his arms more vigorously. His eyes kept darting around as he looked at the wild beasts that appeared around him. Lin Yu's heart turned cold. At this moment, his only chance of survival was to swim to the other side of the river and run away as fast as he could.

When faced with life-threatening situations, humans often unleash their inner potential, and Lin Yu was no exception. The immense pressure caused Lin Yu to swim even faster. However, Lin Yu only saw the wild beasts on the right bank and did not consider the potential dangers in the river. Just as Lin Yu was about to reach the shore, a water python suddenly appeared and dragged Lin Yu into the river. Despite being dragged by the python, Lin Yu did not give up hope of survival. He took out his curved knife and quickly slashed at the python, severing a section of its tail. His coiled body was suddenly freed, and Lin Yu took advantage of the moment the python loosened its grip to quickly rush to the shore.

Lin Yu reached the shore and saw the wild beasts rushing towards him. He quickly ran towards the valley. The intense concentration and unprecedented pressure caused all of Lin Yu's strength to disappear the moment he entered the valley. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and his body was so overdrawn that he couldn't take a single step. He collapsed to the ground, closed his eyes, and awaited death.

When the wild beasts outside saw Lin Yu enter the valley and linger outside for a long time, they dispersed without going in.

When Lin Yu woke up, he didn't know how much time had passed. When Lin Yu opened his eyes, he saw an old man in white sitting in front of him. The old man had long, snow-white hair and a long beard that hung down to the ground. There was not a trace of blood on his hair. His eyes were tightly closed and showed no sign of opening. He had obviously passed away. Looking at the old man in front of him, a trace of doubt lingered in his heart.

The old man's white robes were covered with a thick layer of dust, about an inch thick, which was obviously not formed overnight. "The first thing I saw after waking up was him. If I wasn't saved by the old man, then the person who saved me must also be closely related to him. Now that the old man is dead, how can I forget the life-saving grace?" Lin Yu thought to himself.

Then, Lin Yu knelt down in front of the old man and respectfully kowtowed three times.

Just as Lin Yu kowtowed for the third time, a sudden storm arose outside the wooden house. A fierce wind raged, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds, and lightning bolts crisscrossed within the clouds, relentlessly ravaging the world. The lightning, like serpents, intertwined with the dark clouds, forming a giant black and white net that enveloped the dim world. Each surge of the lightning serpents illuminated the sky as if it were daytime. The space in the valley also became unstable due to the energy bursts of the lightning serpents, and cracks appeared in the sky above the valley. All this fantastical scene was unfolding within the valley.

Lin Yu, inside the wooden house, seemed completely isolated, unaware of what was happening outside. Just as he finished his third kowtow, the white-robed elder turned to dust. A ring slipped from the elder's finger and crashed heavily to the ground. Lin Yu quickly picked it up, and in that instant, the ring automatically slipped onto his right index finger. He tried to remove it, but couldn't. He then ignored it, looked around the house, and saw nothing else inside except himself, including his curved sword. He then left the house.

The moment Lin Yu stepped out of the door, the scene before him shocked him. The sky, as dark as ink, was raging with lightning, and cracks slowly spread from the black expanse. Standing outside the wooden house, Lin Yu was completely numb and could only stare dumbfounded at the sky. A bolt of extremely bright purple lightning struck out along the crack, heading straight for Lin Yu. With a bang, the lightning struck Lin Yu, instantly turning him into countless tiny molecules that slowly spread out along the crack in the sky.

At this very moment, in Qingshan Town, at the Lin family home, Lin Qingyun was anxiously waiting by a house when a bolt of purple lightning suddenly appeared, striking the house next to him. The strange phenomenon passed, accompanied by the cries of a baby. Lin Qingyun rushed to the house and, seeing the exhausted woman on the bed, a trace of sadness appeared on his face.

At this moment, the baby next to him opened his little eyes, looked at the person in front of him, and then looked at himself. A strange thought enveloped the child's mind: "I didn't die. So what is going on? Did I travel through time?"