The evening breeze swept across the rooftop of the orphanage.

The rooftop had been renovated beautifully with red bricks and white tiles. An old woman sat on a rocking chair, gazing towards the direction the wind came from.

"Grandma! Grandma!"

San Pao trotted over, sniffling, and said earnestly, "Look! I'll show you a unique skill!"

He took a deep breath.

Held it.

Then… blew the air out of his nostrils, a unique skill commonly known as blowing snot bubbles.

The old woman's expression was complicated.

Was this child getting more confused as he grew older?

She silently admired the performance. Outside the orphanage gate, there was first a knock, followed by exclamations and cheers.

San Pao maintained his bubble-blowing posture, like an acrobat balancing a water tank on his head.

He heard the laughter outside the orphanage and was puzzled.

"Little Gu is back…"

The old woman smiled and asked, "Can you keep that unique skill going until you get downstairs?"

"What's so hard about that?"

San Pao swaggered downstairs, head tilted back.

Then came the sound of the snot bubble bursting… Meeting Gu Shen with a snot bubble was the most regrettable thing San Pao did this year.

Because Gu Shen didn't return alone. He brought a beautiful older sister, even more beautiful than the one who had visited the orphanage last time.

The children of the orphanage stared wide-eyed, surrounding the celestial beauty. Chu Ling wore her red and white sacrificial robes, her ethereal temperament stunning. Even extraordinary individuals with strong resolve couldn't help but take a second look, let alone these simple-minded children.

They were all dumbfounded.

Chu Ling smiled.

Actually, she had seen these children two years ago… but back then, she was just an orange cat.

Now, Gu Shen had returned to the orphanage.

For her, it was also a return to a familiar place.

"Little Gu…"

The old woman's voice called out from afar.

The old woman leaned on her cane, her footsteps light. Seeing Gu Shen and Chu Ling, she was excited, finally just saying a series of "good" with profound meaning.

"Good… good… so good…"

In truth, she only glanced at Gu Shen.

Most of her gaze was on Chu Ling.

This girl was just too pleasing to the eye.

The last time Little Gu came back, he said he had a girlfriend. At the time, she thought it was just an excuse.

She didn't expect Little Gu to be telling the truth!

This girl was even more beautiful than those celebrities on the screen, much more beautiful!

…

…

Evening.

Smoke curled from the chimneys of the orphanage. The old woman watched Chu Ling deftly chopping vegetables in front of the stove. The joy on her face was more than just "love."

This girl's fingers, ah, looked so white and tender.

She was clearly from a wealthy family, never lifting a finger.

She never expected—

That she would be so efficient at chores!

Chopping vegetables, preparing ingredients, starting a fire… Not many people knew how to use this old-fashioned stove anymore. She heard that in the city, meals were pre-made and robots cooked. She never thought Little Chu would know how to do this.

The old woman, who had originally planned to cook a sumptuous dinner, was now at a loss. All the work was taken care of, and she became a free person. And Chu Ling chatted with her while handling these trivial matters, without delaying anything.

This girl was extremely clever.

The old woman knew that she hadn't been to the city much and didn't know many things. Most of the trivial matters she rambled about were probably meaningless, but Chu Ling listened attentively. And no matter what she said, Chu Ling could chime in with a few words.

Finally.

The old woman sincerely said, "Little Ling, although Gu Shen is the smartest child here, I always feel that you meeting him is luckier for him."

Gu Shen wasn't idle either.

He had been squatting under the stove, adding firewood, and occasionally chopping some more. He laughed loudly at the moment, "That's for sure!"

Chu Ling also smiled.

Most of the time, she had a calm expression.

If it weren't for this extremely beautiful appearance, which played a key role in concealing it… then her usual calm expression would best be described as "expressionless."

She wasn't very familiar with joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and how to express these emotions.

If these were the seasonings of life.

Then the seasonings she possessed were naturally fewer than others.

Often, everyone else was laughing, but she wasn't… not because she didn't want to laugh, but because she didn't find those things funny, so she couldn't laugh.

But after arriving at Mount Wu Lao, she felt genuinely relaxed and happy.

It was a very strange feeling.

Living in Zero Zero One, the [Source Code] monitored every corner of the Five Continents through the [Heavenly Eye]. She had seen countless sunrises and sunsets, countless family dinners in the city.

But in the past years.

Even [Deep Sea] had overlooked such a quiet and remote place as Mount Wu Lao.

Here, one was far from the hustle and bustle, and far from the radiance of the mental network… Humans found peace here.

She was the same.

As long as she was in the city, she received a large amount of information every moment.

Every glance.

Skyscrapers, hundreds or thousands of people, countless data streams flowing by.

But at this moment, those trivial and chaotic information disappeared.

Tranquility.

She found true tranquility.

…

…

After dinner, the children of the orphanage performed some programs.

Of course… not programs like blowing snot bubbles.

"Cui Zhongcheng did a really good job."

Gu Shen said softly, "I saw that Grandma has collected a lot of fake photos… Cui Zhongcheng provided working photos of me at the research institute."

He had a slightly complicated expression when he said these words.

Because [Deep Sea] had done "balanced" processing of the Five Continents' information, he wasn't worried about Grandma learning about the existence of the extraordinary world.

It's just that Grandma always thought that he worked at a research institute in the Dadu District.

Looking back, Gu Shen realized that he had unknowingly gone very far. When he was in Mount Wu Lao, he cherished the dream of being ordinary, but now that dream had been left far, far behind.

Perhaps, in another world, there really was a "researcher" Gu Shen?

He smiled.

This was actually a good thing.

Extraordinary individuals guarded the Five Continents.

And he was destined to become a leader among extraordinary individuals, fighting against the collapse of order.

This tranquil mountain was his birthplace. It was actually a very fortunate thing to be able to use his own strength to protect this land from the impact of external order collapse.

It's just that he would come back less and less often in the future.

Late at night.

Grandma and the children had fallen asleep.

Gu Shen and Chu Ling left the orphanage and walked on the mountain path. The mountain breeze was gentle, blowing against their faces. After crossing this mountain, they could see a distant river.

That was the Qing River.

The two stood on the top of the mountain. Tonight, there was no moon in the sky, and the stars were shining brightly, as if they could be plucked with a hand.

The mountain wind blew Chu Ling's clothes, and the red dress fluttered in the wind.

"I know what you're thinking."

Chu Ling suddenly turned around to face Gu Shen.

She stood on the top of the mountain, with strands of clouds and twinkling stars in the hanging night behind her.

But with a slight smile, the distant mountain colors were dimmed.

"The Great Dao…"

Chu Ling softly uttered two words.

These two words sounded irrelevant to this era, like something written in ancient picture books, but coming from Chu Ling, who was wearing red and white sacrificial robes, there was no sense of incongruity.

"The Great Dao is merciless."

After a slight pause, Chu Ling said earnestly.

Ordinary people and extraordinary individuals were all pursuing their own paths.

Those who mastered "divination" possessed the ability to peer into fate. Apart from the special existences shrouded in the power of the Seed, every living being had a wisp of golden thread of fate belonging to them.

That was the Great Dao.

Everyone had the Great Dao.

Everyone pursued the Great Dao.

It's just… the Great Dao of extraordinary individuals was different from that of mortals.

And the Divine Seat that fused the Seed was different from other extraordinary individuals.

"You're wondering, when will you see them again? Are the old friends well?"

Chu Ling said calmly, "You don't need divination to see that Grandma's spirit is very weak. That is natural death. Birth, aging, illness, and death are iron laws. Even if you are the 'Nether King', you can't change all of this."

"Yes."

Gu Shen did not deny what Chu Ling said.

He looked sadly at the orphanage at the foot of the mountain and said softly, "Grandma… doesn't have much time left."

The moment he saw Grandma.

He actually wondered if he could use the power of "Pure Land" to do something that would resist the iron law of life and death?

If he couldn't keep Gu Changzhi, could he at least keep an ordinary mortal?

But… once he used the power of "Pure Land," how would he explain all of this to Grandma?

Chu Ling asked softly, "So, what are you going to do?"

She didn't interfere with Gu Shen's choice, but quietly looked at him, wanting to hear Gu Shen's thoughts.

"I probably… won't do anything."

After a long time, Gu Shen spoke.

He said softly, "Here, I'm not some 'Nether King', I'm just Little Gu who grew up at the foot of the mountain. Grandma's life has reached its end, and she's not the same as Tie Wu."

Chu Ling listened quietly.

"The Great Dao is merciless, but the Great Dao is also affectionate." Gu Shen said, "For me… keeping her might be a cruel ending. She doesn't live for me, and I shouldn't decide whether she can die."

After Chu Ling listened, she slowly said, "Actually… if I were you, I would do the same thing. However, the reason I do these things is based on the calculation of the [Source Code]. I don't think it's a good thing to interfere with worldly rules with the power of the Seed. Aside from your relationship with the 'deceased', this might cause a hidden destruction to the Pure Land."

Currently.

There were strict conditions for the Pure Land to retain the deceased.

To maintain this "Nether King world" that defied the rules, a large amount of extraordinary source matter had to be consumed.

The growth of the Susu Tree, the evolution of the seasons, the rules of this world, everything, were all built on this foundation… and retaining Tie Wu's spirit was also a kind of consumption.

However, Tie Wu also provided feedback to the Pure Land.

He had grown along with the Pure Land world this year, and while cultivating his spirit, he indirectly helped the Pure Land world "produce" extraordinary source matter.

And once "disordered" souls were adopted.

This clean world would become "turbid"... This world was an existence that even the Divine Seat had to sigh at as a miracle. To expand the Pure Land, every step needed to be taken correctly.

"Perhaps… a long time later, you can retain any 'deceased', but not now."

Chu Ling gave a very rational answer.

And Gu Shen had given a very subjective answer earlier.

Fortunately, the two answers overlapped, so there was no need to make painful entanglements and decisions.

"Heaven and earth are like an inn, and we are all travelers."

Chu Ling's expression became serious.

She looked at Gu Shen and asked, "I've always been curious… what does death feel like?"

She had now come to life.

If the feeling of coming to life was joy, luck, and excitement…

Then what about death?

She couldn't understand, couldn't understand the reluctance of the world when faced with death, nor could she understand those who escaped, retreated, struggled, and went crazy.

It was just death.

Why be afraid?

She took a small step back, standing on the top of the mountain, opening her arms. She only needed to take one more step back and she would fall off the mountain… Unfortunately, she wouldn't die because of it. The Divine Embryo had no flesh and blood, only extraordinary source matter. She wouldn't even feel real pain.

If no defensive measures were taken.

In the event of a violent impact with the ground, the extraordinary source matter would be greatly depleted due to this cliff fall… After she fell, there would be no damage, not even a need to rest. As long as she patted the dust off her skirt, she could stand up again elegantly.

Gu Shen did not stop this action.

Not only because he knew that Chu Ling would not "fall to her death," but also because he had a hundred ways to rescue her before Chu Ling fell.

"You can find the answer to any question in books, but unfortunately, you can't find this one."

Chu Ling smiled regretfully.

What did death feel like? Only the dead knew.

"If you're curious… I can ask Tie Wu, maybe he can give an answer." Gu Shen thought for a while and said, "It should be considered a half-standard answer."

Chu Ling nodded earnestly.

A moment later.

Tie Wu, who was sitting cross-legged in the Pure Land, scratched his head and asked awkwardly, "Divine Seat, are you serious?"

His memory of death stopped at the moment of "Divine Advent."

"The feeling of death… is probably, with a 'bang', the person is gone, like setting off fireworks."

Tie Wu had a complicated expression, paused, and said, "Except, I was the firework."

This answer was somewhat ironic.

Gu Shen looked at Chu Ling and asked with understanding.

"Does it hurt?"

"Does it hurt…"

Tie Wu recalled carefully and said with a wry smile, "It's a little painful, but since I'm already dead, does it matter if it hurts?"

This was a half-standard answer provided by a "dead person."

It made a lot of sense.

Since you're already dead, does it matter if it hurts?

"Actually, it's still very important… because I still don't know what pain is like."

Chu Ling looked at Gu Shen and explained earnestly.

Gu Shen nodded to show his understanding, and then ended this spiritual dialogue in the Pure Land.

"Actually… my time is almost up."

Chu Ling stretched out her palm and smiled, "I'm a little apprehensive, I don't know what it will be like when the time comes."

The blood color on her palm gradually faded.

She was becoming less and less like a person.

Because she was not a person in the first place.

Theoretically, when the original source matter in the Divine Embryo was completely dispersed, she would "die." No one had seen such a death, and no one knew how this death would be presented.

"Actually, I don't have much attachment."

"Instead… I'm a little happy."

Chu Ling asked with a soft smile, "If I will also die, then does this prove that… I once truly lived?"

…

…

(Volume 2, Pure Land, end of the volume ~ scattering flowers ~)

(ps: 1. There will be an end-of-volume summary later. 2. There will be an update tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm sharp.)