Immortal Dao is dead, I am the mastermind behind it all.

As I wrote, densely packed small characters flew out of the book and gathered together.

[You have returned to the first year of your time travel, to the first page of this book, where you are still just a young novice monk at Shaolin Temple.]

At just 10 years old, you were still consumed by anger over the massacre of your entire family. After bidding farewell to the abbot and leaving the temple, you preserved your cultivation from your previous life using a bookmark. Disguising yourself as a top-tier master, you sneaked into the temple and stole the Shaolin Temple's "Yi Jin Jing" (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic). Then, under the cover of night, you descended the mountain.

[For five years, you used the Yi Jin Jing to cleanse your marrow and refine your essence. Later, you went to the mansion of your enemy from your past life, plotted for three months, and waited for three months. On the day of the birth of the young master of the Ye family, you sealed off the courtyard and slaughtered everyone, leaving no one alive. You even sliced ​​earthworms horizontally and shook all the eggs until they turned yellow, thus obtaining the Ye family's martial arts technique, the Seven Injury Fist.]

At 15, you laid in wait and assassinated a powerful protector of the Demonic Sect who was wreaking havoc in the region. From the protector's corpse, you retrieved the "Wind God Leg Technique" and used his sword to forge a divine sword named "Amazing Swan." Afterwards, the name "Amazing Swan Prince" spread throughout the land, attracting the attention of countless sects.

At 17, you mastered the Wind God Leg technique, achieving mastery of lightness skill. You traversed the Xiang River, found the underwater ruins that had been washed away before the flood in your previous life, and obtained the peerless martial arts technique, "Frosty Ice and Blazing Fire Palm."

At 19, you honed your martial arts skills, created the "Amazing Sword Technique," and rose to the ranks of top-tier masters. You defeated three elders of the Beggars' Sect in succession, and rescued the Wudang Sect leader from the siege of the Demonic Sect at Mount Huang. Your fame grew daily.

At that time, the Demonic Cult rose to power. Its leader, Ren Wuchang, possessed the Blood-Transforming Demonic Art, and his followers were found throughout the land. They slaughtered righteous disciples, burned down temples and Taoist monasteries, and everyone in the martial world lived in fear.

[At 24, you are invited to the "Sword Debate Conference" held at Mount Hua by the Five Sacred Mountains and Ten Sects, a gathering to discuss important matters of the martial arts world, but in reality, it is a competition for the title of "Number One Martial Artist."]

On the sword-fighting stage, you stood alone, your white robes frosted with age, wielding only your sword, defeating all the heroes of the world. The leader of the Songshan Sect, the young master of the Huashan Sect, the abbess of the Emei Sect, and other top-tier masters took turns fighting you, but all were defeated by you alone. The entire audience was utterly astonished.

[In the sword duels, you fused the "Songyang Swordplay," the "Nine Swords of Dugu," and the "Extinction Swordplay," mastering all the moves to nourish your "Amazing Swan Sword Technique."]

In the same year, you established your own sect on Ziyang Mountain, created your own martial arts technique, "Ziyang True Skill," and cultivated your own confidants, recruiting many disciples. More and more masters from the martial arts world came to challenge you, but you defeated them all.

At 27, the Demonic Cult held a "Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony" at Blackwood Cliff, vowing to annihilate the Five Mountains and Eleven Sects within three months and sacrifice top-tier masters.

The Five Mountains Sword Sects, along with Shaolin, Wudang, and other sects, formed the "Righteous Path Alliance" and gathered at Mount Song to discuss countermeasures. However, they were deadlocked over the position of alliance leader. Just as everyone was at an impasse, you, who had been secretly pushing the alliance forward, appeared. Relying on your Shaolin background, the life-saving grace of the Wudang sect leader, and your past achievements in defeating the demonic cult's protectors, you became the "Alliance Leader."

Three days later, the righteous alliance split into three groups and stormed the headquarters of the demonic sect. On Blackwood Cliff, demonic flames soared into the sky. Ren Wuchang, wielding the Heavenly Demon Sword, had reached the pinnacle of power and was extremely arrogant. He defeated the abbot of Shaolin and the leader of Wudang, and no one from the Five Mountains and Ten Sects was his match.

Just as Ren Wuchang was ravaging the world, you disguised yourself among the crowd of henchmen, and taking him by surprise, you swiftly appeared, your sword flashing, and instantly severed his right arm.

Faced with the sneak attack, Ren Wuchang was taken aback, but you pressed your advantage, greatly boosting the morale of the alliance.

Just as your true energy was completely depleted, you exhausted all your wisdom and suddenly comprehended the strongest sword technique, 'A Glimpse of Beauty'.

[Ren Wuchang couldn't dodge in time and was beheaded by your sword. The Blood Transformation Demon Art instantly backfired, and his body crashed to the ground, turning into a pool of blood.]

Upon seeing their leader dead, the members of the Demonic Cult immediately crumbled.

After this battle, the alliance disbanded, but your earth-shattering sword strike was forever etched in the hearts of everyone present.

Your reputation in the martial arts world has gradually been deified, from "Alliance Leader" to "Supreme One".

The Emperor of Daqi and the Emperor of Taikang, having heard of your deeds, summoned you to court, addressed you as brothers, and even married their daughter, Princess Anle, to you.

[You know this is a political maneuver used by emperors to win you over and give the imperial court a voice in the martial arts world.]

[But you also want to glimpse the royal martial arts techniques to refine your skills, eliminate the dross and retain the essence, and reach the legendary pinnacle, so you accepted the marriage alliance.]

When people in the martial arts world heard about this, they were all puzzled. Some even called you a dog of the imperial court, but you didn't care.

In the years that followed, the Ziyang School you founded recruited many disciples and became a force to be reckoned with.

At 28, Princess Anle gave birth to a son for you. Gazing at your son, who bore royal blood, and pondering the state of the world, you thought for a long time.

At the age of 29, the northern barbarians launched a massive invasion, their iron cavalry breaching Yanmen Pass, and the northern border nearly fell. The imperial army suffered repeated defeats, and Emperor Taikang issued an edict summoning martial arts practitioners to aid in the battle.

Upon hearing of the national crisis and the barbarian acts that angered both heaven and man, you immediately set aside your martial arts affairs and, using your former prestige as the leader of the alliance, gathered 30,000 martial arts righteous troops to rush to the aid of the northern border.

On the day the battle began, barbarian cavalry surged in like a tidal wave. You led the charge, your sword flashing like lightning, and wherever you went, Tartar soldiers fell to the ground.

With the Ironclad Army of the Northern Garrison leading the charge, you led your righteous army in small squads, employing flexible battle formations to repeatedly break through the Tartar army's lines. At night, you led a hundred disciples of the Ziyang School, renowned for their exceptional lightness skills, to infiltrate the Tartar camp, burn their supplies, and kill the enemy's deputy general.

After more than a month of fierce fighting, the Tartars ran out of food and supplies, and their morale collapsed.

In the final moments of the war, you seized the opportunity, your sword flashing as you swept across the battlefield, clearing a space for a decisive battle against the barbarian tribal leader, Baturu, at the foot of Yanmen Pass.

[Baturu possessed immense strength, wielding his giant axe like a whirlwind. You countered with the "Surprising Swan Sword Technique," displaying agility and maneuverability to engage him. When he was exhausted, you unleashed the Frostfire Palm, piercing his chest. Seeing their leader dead, the Tatar army collapsed in disarray. You and the General of the North led your troops in pursuit for a hundred miles, and three months later, you recaptured Yanmen Pass and a thousand miles of lost territory.]

After this battle, your reputation reached its peak. Everyone in the northern border of Daqi knew your name as the supreme martial arts master, and the voices calling you a lackey of the imperial court decreased.

In the same year, Emperor Taikang summoned General Zhenbei to the capital alone to bestow rewards, but General Zhenbei refused, citing serious injuries. You learned of your close friend's plight and remained silent for a long time.

[At 29, Emperor Taikang drowned in the middle of the night while traveling south of the Yangtze River. Before the incident, one of his top-notch personal guards had disappeared, while you spent the night listening to the rain on a pleasure boat on the river.]

In the same year, due to the lack of a crown prince, the nine princes fought for the throne, plunging the capital into chaos and causing widespread strife.

[At age 30, your disciple, the Ninth Prince, with your help, slaughtered all the other princes and ascended the throne, adopting the reign title Jingyang. In the same year, you were appointed Supreme Imperial Tutor, the legendary martial arts master, and from then on, you were allowed to wear a sword and shoes in the palace, and were exempt from bowing in court.]

At 31, thanks to your extensive network of connections, you finally find traces of your wife from your past life. However, she has died because of the power struggle you instigated in the capital, leaving behind a devastated family and a profound sense of the capriciousness of fate.

[At 40, in the martial world, only the Supreme Being is known, not the Emperor. The Jingyang Emperor, in league with top-tier masters like the General of the North, plots to poison and kill you at your 40th birthday banquet, intending to extract your secrets of swordsmanship through torture.]

[You are furious at being betrayed. Fortunately, you have cultivated for two lifetimes and are a genius like you. Your Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique has reached the twelfth level, only one step away from perfection. But no one in the world can defeat you.]

With your unparalleled internal strength, you effortlessly slaughtered six thousand armored imperial guards and beheaded all the top-tier experts, killing your former comrades-in-arms with hatred in your heart.

In the same year, news spread throughout the land that the General of the Northern Garrison had murdered the emperor and plotted to seize the throne. You quelled the national crisis and thwarted his wolfish ambitions. With only one line of the royal blood remaining, you installed your second son as emperor, changing the era name to Yuanchang.

At 45, your wife, Princess Anle, fell into a deep depression and contracted a terminal illness. You searched the world for renowned doctors, but to no avail, and watched helplessly as your wife passed away, falling silent all night.

[At 50 years old, your eldest son suffered a qi deviation during his martial arts practice, resulting in his death from a reversed internal energy flow.]

[At 55, the abbot of Shaolin Temple, who was like a father and friend to you, suffered a relapse of his old illness and passed away suddenly. You knelt before the clay Buddha statue all night.]

At 60, standing atop Ziyang Mountain, overlooking all the surrounding peaks, you feel loneliness for the first time and conceive the idea of ​​seeking immortality.

At 62, you visit the former site of the Demonic Sect's Blackwood Cliff and obtain a cryptic piece of information: the Demonic Sect's sacrificial ceremony was related to "ascension." Overjoyed, you want to know more, but the trail has gone cold, and you have no way of knowing. Perhaps the former leader of the Demonic Sect, Ren Wuchang, knew something, but he is dead, and the dead cannot speak.

[At 64, you have successfully completed the thirteenth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, becoming a true peerless master in this world.]

At 66, having searched for immortality for many years without success, you begin to enjoy the rest of your life, taking many wives and concubines, and traveling the world.

[At age 70, two cultivators descended upon your plane, tearing apart the surface and wiping out 99% of life. You survived the aftermath thanks to your unparalleled, invulnerable body.]

The story of Shen Moyan's life is condensed into clusters of small characters, which gradually gather on the bookmark and piece together into four large white characters.

[Supreme Martial Arts Master (White)]

At the same time, in Shen Moyan's perception, the surrounding scenery kept changing and rapidly receding, and memories surged in like a tide.

[At the end of this life, holding the edge, my final words.]

[Back to where the bookmark is]

thump—

Inside the Shaolin Temple, the deep, resonant sound of the morning bell pierced through the thin mist, striking the eardrums.

Shen Moyan slowly opened his eyes, revealing three parts vicissitudes and seven parts determination.

The first thing you see is a mottled gray mud roof, with a few rays of sunlight leaking in through the holes in the window, illuminating the dust floating in the air.

A faint scent of sandalwood and damp musty lingered around his nose as Shen Moyan exhaled a long breath.

"It's just a little bit of hardship."