Chapter 255: Twilight Years (The third update is delivered with blood!)

This gap existed in the Concept of Absolute Emotion. Wang Lin could only imitate it according to his own comprehension. Although he ultimately carved it, there was still a gap compared to the genuine Concept of Absolute Emotion possessed by the middle-aged scholar.

Wang Lin looked at the broken carving knife in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and then with a wave of his right hand, the broken half flew out and landed on a nearby wooden shelf. He then picked up another piece of wood, used his finger as a knife, and continued carving… Time flowed, years rushed by, and in the blink of an eye, another ten years had passed!

Over these ten years, Wang Lin's appearance had already grown old. His temples were streaked with white hair, and his straight posture was slightly hunched. The entire person looked as if he was quickly entering his twilight years.

Inside his shop, the number of wood carvings decreased. In these ten years, Wang Lin only completed one wood carving: the old woman from the Baiyun Sect back then.

In fact, he had finished the old woman's wood carving nine years ago. Although it had flaws and could not achieve perfection, just like the middle-aged scholar's carving, Wang Lin knew this was because he had not yet reached the Soul Transformation cultivation.

The reason Wang Lin did not create any more wood carvings in the following nine years was because of the old man in blue robes!

No matter what he did, he could not carve the traces of the Concept of Time onto the wood carving, the way the old man had. Nine years, a full nine years, and Wang Lin still hadn't succeeded.

Although he had carved countless wood carvings of the old man, none of them could contain the Concept, and they were all eventually turned into ashes.

On this day, Wang Lin looked at the wood carving of the Old Man in Blue Robes in his hand, sighed softly, and with a swipe of his right hand over it, the carving instantly dissipated into ash. After a brief silence, he stood up and slowly opened the door of his shop.

The soft sunlight fell upon him. Wang Lin took a wooden chair and sat by the entrance, quietly watching the passersby. The ironware shop across from him had expanded several times over the past nine years.

Before long, a four-year-old child poked his head out from the ironware shop. Upon seeing Wang Lin, his little mouth curved into a smile. He quickly ran a few steps to Wang Lin's side, carrying a wine pot in his small hand. After handing it to Wang Lin, he asked in a childish voice, “Grandpa Wang, this is the wine I stole for you. Where's the candy?”

Wang Lin showed a hearty smile, patted the child's head, and with a flip of his right hand, a pill the size of a fingernail appeared. After tossing it to the child, he took the wine pot and drank a mouthful.

The child quickly swallowed it in one gulp, a look of satisfaction on his face. Propping his chin up with both small hands, he curiously asked, “Grandpa Wang, is this wine good? I see you drink it every day.”

Wang Lin smiled slightly. At that moment, a burly man walked out of the ironware shop. The man's appearance still vaguely resembled the bright and robust youth from back then. Seeing Wang Lin, his eyes showed nostalgic emotion. He stepped forward and said with concern, “Uncle Wang, you can't drink anymore today!”

Wang Lin chuckled and said, “Alright, just one sip, I won't drink anymore today! Da Niu, how is your father?”

Da Niu's face showed sadness, and he replied, “It's the old illness, nothing serious.”

Wang Lin sighed inwardly. He could not interfere with the Reincarnation of Mortals; birth, aging, sickness, and death were inherently part of the Heavenly Dao. Six years ago, Da Niu married the daughter of Shopkeeper Zhao from the tailor shop, and that child was theirs.

“Grandpa Wang, you still haven't told me whether this wine is good or not,” the child insisted, tugging on Wang Lin's arm and pressing the question.

Da Niu looked at Wang Lin, sighed softly, and said, “What Grandpa Wang is drinking isn't wine, it's life…”

Wang Lin glanced back at Da Niu, his eyes showing appreciation. He patted his arm and said, “Da Niu, take the child back. I'm going to wander around the street corner.”

Da Niu snatched the wine pot from Wang Lin's hand, placed it inside the wood carving shop, closed the door, and said, “You just promised me you wouldn't drink today!”

Wang Lin smiled, stood up, and walked towards the street corner. His slightly staggering silhouette was filled with the fading light of twilight.

Da Niu sighed softly, held the child's small hand, and returned to the ironware shop. The child pursed his lips and happily told Da Niu, “Dad, the candy Grandpa Wang gave me is so delicious. Every time I eat it, my whole body feels warm…”

Wang Lin walked along this old street where he had lived for over ten years. He saw the shopkeepers of various stores, having somehow received news, rushing out of their shops, their faces pale with anxiety, running up to Wang Lin and pleading softly.

“Shopkeeper Wang, you see, business is hard these days. Next month, next month I will definitely pay the rent!” This was the shopkeeper of the grocery store that had moved in three years ago.

“Yes, Old Master Wang, business really is difficult right now. Could you give us a few more days?” This was the innkeeper from back then, the fat man.

Similar voices came one after another. Wang Lin gave a wry smile as he looked around. He didn't know how it happened, but after living here for more than ten years, almost everyone on the entire street somehow owed him money.

Furthermore, most of the shops on this street had eventually become his property. Whenever a failing shop urgently needed money, they would find Wang Lin and transfer the business to him.

As for Wang Lin's own shop, the original owner came to him and sold it to him two years ago. Of course, the price was ridiculously high.

Now, almost as soon as Wang Lin stepped out, the shopkeepers would immediately follow behind him, speaking kindly and smoothly. This was actually related to Wang Lin rarely leaving his home; sometimes, he wouldn't appear even for several months. That's why his sudden appearance made these shopkeepers nervous, fearing he had come to collect rent.

In reality, the rent wasn't much money, but anyone who had lived there for a long time knew Wang Lin had a good disposition, so they got the idea of delaying the rent. As time went on, almost no one paid the rent, and this slowly became a habit.

After all, among Mortals, few people felt that silver was a burden; the more they had, the better.

Wang Lin didn't care much about this phenomenon in the first place, so he let nature take its course, treating it as part of comprehending the Heavenly Dao.

Over these nine years, circumstances had changed. There were few of the old familiar faces left on the entire street, which made Wang Lin quite emotional. He waved his hand and said to the shopkeepers around him, “I'm not collecting rent today. You may all disperse.”

The shopkeepers all let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly backed away.

Wang Lin walked along the street with his hands behind his back, and before long, he arrived at the street corner. But just then, a tall horse suddenly galloped quickly towards him. Sitting on the horse was a middle-aged man whose complexion was quite terrible, with even blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

As he rode past the street corner, he suddenly caught sight of Wang Lin. He fiercely yanked the reins with his right hand. Amidst the horse's long neigh, the middle-aged man leaped off the horse, took a few steps to Wang Lin's side, and before he could speak, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

That blood contained traces of internal organ fragments. The man was pale, his body swayed, and he fell to his knees, urgently saying, “Mister Wang, save me!”

Wang Lin's expression was calm as usual; he glanced indifferently at the man. This person was Xu Tao, who, for the past ten years, had offered large amounts of gold and silver almost every festival!

“If there's something wrong, speak slowly,” Wang Lin said.

“Mister Wang, His Highness the Crown Prince is in danger!” Amidst Xu Tao's hurried words, Wang Lin gradually understood the full story. His Highness the Crown Prince had somehow provoked a powerful enemy—a Cultivator possessing great Divine Abilities. As soon as this Cultivator appeared, the other Immortal Cultivators around His Highness the Crown Prince scattered, refusing to get involved.

Currently, the Crown Prince was hiding inside the Imperial Palace. The Cultivator seemed to have some reservations about entering the Imperial Palace, so he vented his anger on the Crown Prince's entourage.

Xu Tao was quite clever and immediately left when he saw things turning bad, but he was still severely injured by a swipe from the Cultivator's subordinate. In his panic, the only person he thought of was Wang Lin!

Just as he was speaking, a young Cultivator wearing a red Daoist robe suddenly walked in from outside the street. This person had an arrogant expression and walked step by step towards Xu Tao's location.

Upon seeing this Cultivator, Xu Tao immediately trembled and spat out another mouthful of blood. His entire being instantly wilted. He looked desperately at Wang Lin and said, “Save me…” After saying this, his head slumped, and he fainted.

The Cultivator sneered, glanced at Wang Lin, and with a wave of his right hand, a black Qi invisible to Mortals instantly spread out from his hand, transforming in mid-air into a giant skull that fiercely lunged towards Xu Tao to swallow him. This Cultivator was vicious and had already included Wang Lin in his attack.

In his eyes, although Wang Lin was just a Mortal, since Xu Tao sought him out while fleeing for his life, their relationship must be significant. He decided to just kill them all.

As for any trouble resulting from killing Mortals, his Master would cover it. Thinking this, a cruel look appeared on his face.

Wang Lin frowned. If this Cultivator had merely sought trouble with Xu Tao, he might not have interfered. Although Xu Tao had shown him great respect for over ten years, Wang Lin wouldn't act for such matters.

But now, this mere junior Cultivator, only at the Foundation Establishment cultivation stage, actually dared to include him in the attack. Wang Lin's expression remained normal, his eyes calm. He waved his right hand dismissively, as if swatting away a mosquito.

Instantly, the formed skull seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying, letting out a shriek. It dared not swallow, but hastily retreated.

However, it was still too late. As Wang Lin waved his right hand, the Devil Head Xu Ligou suddenly materialized. With a sinister laugh, he swallowed the skull whole, smacked his lips, glared fiercely at the horrified junior Daoist, and slowly dissipated.

The junior Daoist's face became abnormally flushed. At the moment the skull was swallowed, his mind and spirit were damaged. After spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, he fled in panic without saying a word.

Wang Lin stared coldly at the man's retreating figure but did not deliver a killing blow. His current Integration into the Mortal World was already in its final stages, and he truly did not wish to ruin his state of mind built over many years because of such a trivial matter.

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