The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

This is the most successful book I've written in over a year. It's not perfect, but it's the most perfect one I could create at the moment.

The starting point of this book was when I thought of a sentence on the eve of my 24th birthday, a low point in my life: "I will save myself."

I want to use my own way of thinking to interpret a self-rescue story disguised as a transmigration into a fantasy novel.

Thus, the name Lin Du came about, meaning "to ferry others and oneself."

I created her life story. She had a difficult life, struggling out of a world that favored sons over daughters, like a drifting duckweed without support. She was once influenced by worldly views and tried to seek love to fill the void of loneliness in her growth. But she finally woke up when she lost all meaning and redeemed her former self by saving others. In other words, she became an emotional blogger, saving those with love-obsessed minds. Thus, the prototype was born.

But as I began to shape the story, the world of this story revealed a vast, real, and vibrant spectacle, allowing me to create many plots and reveal many things.

There is a lot I want to explain. I repeatedly read many Taoist books and some simple Buddhist scriptures, collected information, and improved my story. Thus, this Dongming Realm, this Supreme Sect, and many others were born.

I want to create a righteous path. There may be conflicts of interest, and there may be individual schemes, but when faced with a great enemy, every cultivator in the righteous path, by instinct, chooses not to seek personal gain, but to work together. I want to create a villain with his own system and core, who is also suffering. It is not a tragedy that is entirely personal, but a tragedy of the times and the world.

When Lin Du arrived, she had nothing. Through helping others, she gradually gained the following: Lin Tuan, who played the role of "mother"; Yan Ye, who played the role of "father"; many elders who guided her; those who unconditionally loved, protected, and taught her; younger generations whom she worried about and wanted to guide; many friends she could entrust her back to; a confidant on the same path; and completely healthy and burden-free relationships. Thus, a large family in the cultivation world was born.

Through growth and a grand scheme, Lin Du gained healthy, stable, and fulfilling relationships along the way. She also transformed from being wary and afraid of close family reunions, preferring to make it a transaction with no debts owed to each other, to openly accepting the help and gifts from relatives, friends, and teachers, because she knew she could accept those kindnesses without having to think about the underlying causes and human relationships.

She needs to learn to be at peace, rediscover her original aspirations, establish her Daoist principles, complete the Four Sentences of Hengqu, and, with the ideas she learned in modern times, integrate the Daoist methods she has learned, and learn to accept separation, regret, imperfection, as well as death and sacrifice.

She will transform herself from flawed to whole, from her career to her character and way of dealing with people. This is my view of a strong female protagonist's growth story. I think I have probably achieved this in this respect.

An author's writing inevitably reflects their current worldview. Initially, I wanted Lin Du to live alone, so I had to push myself to be the best, more outstanding than boys, and live alone. Therefore, the image was more independent, neutral, and inviolable. After researching many images in the cultivation world, I chose the simplest modern Taoist image, which is simple and fits her modern concept.

In fact, I subconsciously projected my self-preservation concepts onto her. Now, my way of self-preservation is to learn Muay Thai, not to dress in a more androgynous way. I'm turning changing my image into increasing my strength. This is an awakening I've had after being knocked on and scouted several times in my single apartment. I need to become strong and capable of throwing punches to protect myself, not to become less feminine and prepare chainsaws that I might not have time to lift. You can't judge your past self from your present perspective.

I admire people with a youthful spirit, but it wasn't until this book was first published and unexpectedly seen by many people who pointed out the controversy surrounding the word "youth" that I realized it was a controversial point.

Based on my personal experience and common language, "teenager" includes both boys and girls, just as "child" includes both men and women.

However, everyone's experiences lead to different sets of beliefs.

I started this book as a practice piece on ensemble writing, so at the beginning, I didn't invest enough in each character, and the focus of the writing was different.

I wanted to depict different kinds of women, so I used different ways of describing them and different pronouns. Although I tried my best to avoid having Lin Du herself use fatherly terms, the unconscious misogynistic thinking that was deeply ingrained in me during the writing process still exposed its flaws. I wanted my female protagonist to be unique and to have a stronger sense of youthfulness. She is my most cherished creation. It is undeniable that my writing has flaws and that I sometimes unintentionally compromise with societal norms to make it easier to read. I am constantly reflecting on this and accepting the need for correction.

However, I still believe that "teenager" is a word that women can use, and I don't think that Lin Du is the only one in the text who is a teenager. A sense of youth is one of her characteristics, but her greater characteristics are her gentleness and generosity beneath her indifference and aloofness, and her empathy and sensitivity as a woman. Therefore, I do not think she is gender-neutral, and "saintly mother" is not a derogatory term. Saving people and helping the world is our national culture and cohesion.

The cultivation world is a world where power is built on strength, so there is no essential difference between genders. You can find many women in the book who are intelligent, powerful, and diverse, each following their own path. This is what I tend to express: the image of women is diverse, unrestricted, each with their own world, evergreen trees, peak peaks, and infinite possibilities.

My philosophy is constantly evolving through learning. I may discover more of my past shortcomings in the future, but I will still love what I create.

Another point of contention is the pairing issue. I've always believed that the relationship between Du Wei and I is one of spiritual resonance, a true companion on the same path. I wanted to try to create a restrained yet spiritually compatible and normal emotional relationship. The core of the story isn't about romance, so I didn't focus much on it; it was all for the sake of the plot.

My only talent as an author is my love for the characters and worlds I create. The plot and the way I express myself may have flaws, but I truly love them with all my heart and soul, and I believe that they were born in my spiritual world and have become an independent parallel universe loved by many.

Eight months is not a long time, but it has allowed me to grow slowly. As the plot progressed, I began to invest more love and effort into the supporting characters in what was originally intended as a group portrait exercise. My attention shifted from focusing solely on the main characters' storylines during breaks from eating, sleeping, walking, and laughing, to thinking more about the supporting characters' storylines, which made them more fleshed out.

I am grateful that I stuck to my ideas and didn't change any of the original outline or plot, but I am even more grateful to the readers who have supported me all the way. Without your support, I wouldn't have had the determination to keep creating my story.

This is indeed an ordinary online article, about snacks, but I've tried to make it at least a snack with some nutritional value. I hope you enjoy it, and if it suits your taste, I'll be very satisfied.

I will not stop writing and creating. I hope that when we meet again, I will be a better version of myself.

Finally, I wish everyone good fortune and a pleasant journey.