I cultivate the Purple Mansion Golden Elixir Dao on Earth

At midday, the sun was at its brightest and the sunlight was intense.

After taking the subway, Lin Yu returned to her rented apartment in Minjiang City under the scorching sun.

This is the place he just moved into this year; he's only been renting it for a few months.

The door hadn't been opened for several days, and not much dust had accumulated, but Lin Yu felt as if she had been in another world.

"The external world remains unchanged, and other things are not altered... only my heart has changed."

Lin Yu walked into the rented room thoughtfully, closed the door behind her, changed into slippers, and walked step by step into the bedroom.

Game consoles, computer equipment, recently read books... all these things are piled up in the bedroom, either on the table or under the table, making it look a bit crowded.

For a middle-aged person living in a cramped corner of a metropolis, such a layout, though crowded, is in line with their daily lifestyle.

For Lin Yu in the past, this scene was commonplace; all the things she used were in the most convenient positions, just right.

But now that he has Lin Yu's memories, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

"The lighting is not harmonious, and the room is not well-ventilated. The most crucial issue is... the energy is not right."

For a Purple Mansion Grand Master who failed to attain the Golden Core realm, even in a world devoid of spiritual energy, he could still gain a high-level perspective and view problems from the viewpoint of a Golden Core True Monarch, using the Dao principles that delve into the essence of heaven and earth.

The term "incompatible lighting" refers to a mismatch between indoor lighting, computer light sources, and sunlight streaming in from outside the window.

Living in such an environment for a long time, not to mention its impact on mental health, the damage to eyesight caused by the interplay of light of different frequencies alone should not be underestimated.

Poor ventilation in a room means that the furniture and other items piled up inside the room prevent the air from flowing in the direction most comfortable for the human body.

The indoor draft, though seemingly internal, is actually external, consisting of airflow that seeps in and out through the gaps in window frames, doors, and walls. These meandering breezes can be beneficial or harmful to a person. But from Lin Yu's perspective at this moment, all the drafts generated by this indoor environment are harmful to him!

"No wonder my eyesight has been declining every day over the past few years; and I often catch colds. I originally thought it was just sub-health caused by years of working in front of the computer, but now it seems that the living environment I inadvertently developed in the past has also given me a hard push in the process."

Lin Yu understood immediately.

"And also, this 'qi'..."

This "qi" is neither wind nor breath, nor is it the spiritual energy or inspiration from a previous life.

It refers to the atmosphere, or "imagery," within the entire space.

Imagery can be the traces of predecessors, the ancient charm of history, the changing of dynasties, or the natural evolution...

It is not a tangible thing, but a mysterious and intangible change that can be encompassed by everything from a small family or room to the heavens and the earth!

In Earth terms, the so-called "feng shui" can also be somewhat related to imagery.

However, in this world devoid of spirits, there are no high-ranking cultivators or true masters. Therefore, all those interpretations of feng shui are merely blind men touching an elephant, offering only a superficial explanation or imitation of the imagery.

That is, Lin Yu in his previous life, as a Grand Master of the Purple Mansion, after perfecting the Five Methods, was always vigilant and cautious. In order to prove his Golden Core status, he refined and honed the imagery of the [Sinking Wood], and collected a lot of knowledge, which is why he was able to immediately realize that the "qi" in this bedroom was not right.

—Or rather, the imagery is absolutely uninhabitable.

"No wonder, when I was looking for a place to rent through an agency, I noticed this apartment had been vacant for a long time and the rent was several hundred dollars cheaper than the surrounding apartments. Although others might not notice the difference, their intuition would subtly remind them to avoid it. But back then... I was so focused on saving money, and being middle-aged, my senses were dulled, so I completely ignored any potential problems!"

Lin Yu chuckled and, after merely glancing around, made up her mind to give up the house she had only rented for a short time.

As for where he would settle down next, he did not have a specific goal, but he did have a plan.

But before that, there is one more thing that must be done.

……

"...You're resigning!?"

In the company's single-person conference room, HR Yang Hongyu looked at the unremarkable middle-aged man in front of her and raised her voice in surprise.

"Yes."

Lin Yu leaned forward slightly and then returned to the right path.

"I fainted at the company a few days ago, went to the hospital for a check-up, and was hospitalized... I'm worried that things might not go well, so I'm thinking of taking good care of my health. Please arrange the handover of my work afterwards."

Lin Yu's voice was slightly low, with a hint of weariness in it. But Yang Hongyu was secretly pleased to hear it.

She had heard about the middle-aged programmer in front of her collapsing at his workstation and being taken away by an ambulance that day.

Colleagues who are close to 35 and haven't been promoted are already disliked by the company and are considered to be someone who needs to be eliminated, not to mention that he also has health problems!

Therefore, in the past few days, Lin Yu has been listed as a "key personnel" on the HR department's internal list. As long as there is an opportunity to lay him off, the leaders above will not hesitate to do so!

However... if employees who are sent to the hospital in an ambulance are laid off as soon as they are discharged, it is very easy to cause public opinion problems.

This company is a leader in the industry and is located in Minjiang City, so it needs to maintain a good reputation in the market and save face.

So although Lin Yu was included in the key list, they held back for the time being. The higher-ups were preparing to implement a process under the pretext of protection: "transfer to another position - pay cut - force him to leave / contact headhunters to lure him to leave".

...But I never expected that this person would be so sensible, actually bringing it up himself!

It's important to know that if an employee resigns voluntarily, the company is not required to pay severance!

Yang Hongyu was secretly pleased, but she didn't show it on her face.

She quickly recalled the process of entering the conference room with Lin Yu, and then revealed a sincere face.

"Lin, you've worked at the company for so many years and are indispensable to the project team. If there aren't any major health issues, the company still wants to stick with you through thick and thin. By the way, have the hospital test results come out? What's the specific situation on your end?"

As she spoke, Yang Hongyu secretly glanced at Lin Yu's phone on the table.

With the phone screen facing down and the rear camera facing up, it was impossible to tell whether it was on or in standby mode.

Upon hearing Yang Hongyu's words, Lin Yu immediately fell silent, but reached into his coat pocket, seemingly kneading something, which made Yang Hongyu even more alarmed.

Then, Lin Yu revealed a bitter smile:

"...The result was good; it wasn't a terminal illness."

"That's alright, that's alright."

Yang Hongyu adopted a relaxed posture, but the wariness in her eyes did not diminish at all.

It's not a terminal illness?

However, with current medical technology, while there are many diseases that can be called terminal, there are not many.

It's important to know that in today's clinical surgical guidelines and medical texts, many cancers that were originally classified as "cancer" have been removed from the list!

Who knows what this employee named Lin Yu is thinking, or if he has any intention of going all out?

"So, I can understand why Lin is preparing to take care of her health and resign..."

Yang Hongyu pondered the words she was about to say, her mind racing with various thoughts, but just then, Lin Yu interrupted her abruptly:

"Although it's a resignation, I hope to receive severance pay. After all, someone my age is probably already on the layoff list, right? If I'm not mistaken, there are probably quite a few more people on the project team's layoff list?"

Yang Hongyu's face stiffened.

—That's exactly what they were thinking!

If it's simply a matter of resigning, you can just open an application in the company's back-end system, or you can even leave the company directly without applying.

But Lin Yu still came to the company specifically to see me, the HR person, so it's clear she didn't just want to resign...

"Well, Lin, although we lay off staff every quarter, it's always employees in peripheral business areas. Key personnel like you are highly valued by the company..."

Yang Hongyu was being evasive and didn't want to respond to Lin Yu's request.

Although Lin Yu's salary is not high, he has worked for the company for eight years. If the compensation is calculated as N+1, the expenditure would be several hundred thousand yuan.

More importantly, as an HR professional, it's not a skill to lay off employees who receive severance pay; the real achievement that earns you a promotion and a raise is to get employees who are entitled to severance pay to resign on their own!

Yang Hongyu was talking, but Lin Yu lowered his head at that moment.

His right hand clenched tighter in his pocket, the outline of a pen vaguely visible through it. From his face, whose expression was obscured, a heavy sigh, as if pressed out from a crack in the stone, escaped his lips.

"...If I can't get unemployment benefits, do I have to wait until my family member comes to collect the workers' compensation death insurance on some other day?"

These words startled Yang Hongyu, and she fell silent for a moment.

A moment of silence fell over the air, and the atmosphere reached a freezing point.

But the next second, Lin Yu's voice became low and mournful, slightly breaking the atmosphere.

This also brought Yang Hongyu's heart, which had been in her throat, back down to her throat:

"Sigh... After working for so many years, I've accumulated a lot of health problems."

"...When you reach middle age, you're stuck in this company, staring at a computer all day. There's nothing you can do about it."

These words inexplicably touched Yang Hongyu's heartstrings.

She suddenly remembered her cervical spondylosis, anxiety, insomnia, and the rhinitis that had been flaring up more and more recently, as well as the nodules in her lung CT scan.

For some reason, a feeling of "sympathy for one's own kind" and "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" spread through my heart.

The next second, Yang Hongyu's thoughts changed drastically, and she crossed the chasm directly from one side to the other.

His original intention to use Lin Yu to get a promotion and a raise sank to the bottom, and a genuine sense of sympathy and pity rose from the depths of his heart instead.

So she sighed deeply and changed her tune:

"Okay, Lin, I understand the situation..."

"...Okay, I'll go ask the leader and apply for compensation for you. Lin, I hope you won't give up on yourself and believe that there will be light in your life."

……

A few hours later, Lin Yu left the company.

He stood calmly at the foot of the building, took an ordinary ballpoint pen from his pocket, and casually threw it into the trash can.

Lin Yu took out his phone and glanced at the messages. The first message was from Yin Fengze, "You got a bonus today?" The latest message was from Yang Hongyu, "Mr. Lin, the approval has been granted. The agreement will be drafted tomorrow. Please come and sign it. The compensation will be paid out on the last working day of this month."

Lin Yu smiled slightly, ignoring the first message and deleting it from her friend list; she replied to the second message with "Okay, thank you." Then she put her phone back in her pocket and slowly walked towards the subway station.

After all, he was once a True Person of the Purple Mansion. Even without any cultivation, he is not someone that ordinary people can manipulate.

The life essence divine power he cultivated in his previous life, "Hearing Soul Incense," has the ability to secretly perceive the thoughts of others, bewitch the mind and spirit, prevent wandering souls from leaving, make wild ghosts serve as his henchmen, and hear the dark and see the unseen. And this happens to be the only divine power that Lin Yu can fully recall now.

Although he had lost all his cultivation, he could still imitate some of its mysteries. Otherwise, relying solely on those movements and postures wouldn't have been enough to make Yang Hongyu follow his intended path completely.

Of course, the biggest factor that could cause Yang Hongyu's mind to change so drastically was not these two things...

Lin Yu's expression remained unchanged, but his mind sank into the depths of his Shengyang Mansion. In the deepest part of his sea of ​​consciousness, a dark and gloomy inky light emerged.

The light reached the pinnacle of life within death and death within life, cycling through life and death amidst decay. Various traces of dark wood and coffins emerged from within, leaping into illusions one by one, as if the most yin and decaying wood in the world had transformed into a forest, completely covering the entire world, before finally converging into pure, dark light, and finally condensing into a single point of black mystic.

This is precisely the greatest achievement left behind by Lin Yuzheng after his failure in his previous life.

A touch of gold in the driftwood!

—It is called, 【The Submerged Wood and the Deceased Spirit】!

This trace of metal was also a result of his discovery in his sea of ​​consciousness over the past few days.

The change in Yang Hongyu's thoughts just now was the effect of this object. Lin Yu didn't even actively use it; he merely loosened his control over the metal element slightly!

Lin Yu quietly observed this golden element with his own consciousness. It seemed to be the manifestation of the Dao fruit he had pursued throughout his previous life, possessing boundless power.

The rank contained within it is so high that even a Great True Person could not attain even a fraction of it!

Logically speaking, in that cultivation world, let alone Lin Yu's current mortal body, even a Purple Mansion Grand Master like Lin Yu in his previous life would be unable to restrain this bit of gold nature without a fruit position to rely on, let alone bear the status within it.

If it is allowed to reside there without the help of a true lord, Lin Yu will soon be transformed into a demon, harming the world and causing all sorts of evil spirits and ghosts to roam freely.

but……

"Being in such a desolate place, and according to my perception and understanding, the rules of this world are too strict, and there has never been a transcendent being born... All these factors combined have suppressed this bit of gold essence from turning into evil things, and it can only stay in my sea of ​​consciousness."

"...Moreover, I can also feel it. After traversing this place with 'Lin Yu' and being revived along with my past life memories, this metal element underwent an extremely wondrous change, even merging with my true spirit. Even a true [Sinking Wood] level True Monarch couldn't shake it...it's as if it has truly become a part of me!"

Lin Yu used his consciousness to "see" the metal nature of the [Sinking Wood]. As various insights emerged in his mind, a subtle sense of emotion filled his heart, making his heart supremely clear.

"So this bit of gold... is my greatest opportunity in this world! In this world devoid of spiritual energy, even cultivators of the Purple Mansion realm cannot cultivate techniques and simply ascend to immortality by following the path of their previous lives."

"But with the element of gold—a point completely connected to me, inseparable, and possessing wondrous transformations—it becomes possible for me to turn decay into wonder in this world and embark on the path of spiritual practice once more!"