The improved female villains regained their memories.

He had never seen his father, never seen his mother, and never even had a chance to call out "Dad" or "Mom" before he was thrown to the side of the road, lying among many corpses.

Perhaps it was due to war, or perhaps for some other reason... Many years later, when the boy recalled this incident, he did not seek to uncover the truth of what happened back then.

He felt it was meaningless.

An old beggar found him, and from then on, he became a little beggar.

The defects of the immortal's body are not fixed and have no time pattern. The old beggar said that this was for the best, so that he could arouse the sympathy of the rich and beg for food.

After following the old beggar for so many years, he finally couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't bear the old beggar's beatings and scoldings, nor could he bear the occasional flare-ups of his own defects. He thought of death.

With a body like this, it's better to be dead.

He followed the refugees south, running for an unknown amount of time until he finally could no longer run.

He shifted his body, lying down beside the corpse as he had when he was born.

In that instant, the world was silent. He lay there quietly, without moving.

Then he sensed that someone was standing in front of him.

It was very windy that day.

The wind never stops, having traveled thousands of years to reach this place, blowing the boy's long hair. Later, whenever Yang Pingsheng pondered, he would always think of his teacher.

"From now on, your name will be Yang Pingsheng."

That was the first time he had a name. The man pulled him out of the pile of corpses, took his hand, and walked towards home.

He said, "Sir, I want to die."

The man said, "Dying is easy; living a hard life requires more courage than dying."

The man paused, then said, "But you must live your life."

He replied somberly, "I don't know what the meaning of my life is."

A naturally born immortal body is a blessing bestowed upon humanity by the heavens, but for this young man alone, it is a curse. A powerful soul dwells in a humble body; is this a misfortune for the soul or for the body?

...Or perhaps, the misfortune of youth?

Greatness and humility can never coexist.

If he had only one, the boy could have been strong enough to survive, but unfortunately, he had both.

He was in unbearable pain.

The man gripped his hand tightly: "Heaven gives life to all living beings, and it always has a meaning; you just have to find it yourself."

He heard the gentleman's gentle sigh:

"If you give up on yourself, then you really have nothing left."

"Don't give up your life because of temporary pain. Everyone has their own moment in life. Once you understand this, even the shortest moment is eternal."

The man took his hand and stood on the high earthen slope: "Pingsheng, can you see this?"

The boy strained to open his eyes wide. Today's good fortune—his innate immortal body—did not deprive him of his sight, but rather of his senses.

He couldn't feel the wind's breath, but he saw in the distance, the wind tearing at the trees, dancing wildly.

Large numbers of refugees headed toward the nearby city walls, and the fallen people lined up in rows.

So many people have died. A war or a plague can cause countless lives to vanish in the wind.

Life is so precious and so rare.

The man's voice drifted in the wind, sounding somewhat unreal: "Life is precious. You still have it, so you are not without anything."

"In your life, you have not been without anything."

The boy lowered his head and asked, "But sir, I'm in so much pain..."

The wind tried to wipe away the tears in the boy's eyes, but it couldn't stop the sorrow in his heart.

"Sir, must everyone be born into such suffering? Or am I the only one who suffers like this?"

"What is the meaning of such a life?"

The man looked at him for a while, then lowered his gaze.

“There will always be something meaningful,” he said. “Life will always have something meaningful.”

-------------

In today's world, war rages on, the Great Dao has split into a hundred paths, and the path to immortality is undefined.

During the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, Xiong Yi, the leader of the Chu people, was enfeoffed as a viscount, and the State of Chu was established. After several hundred years of development, the State of Chu gradually grew stronger and stood in the southeast of the Central Plains.

The Chu royal family practiced secret cultivation techniques, and the powerful Linlang Sect further solidified Chu's position of strength.

What followed was the comprehensive prosperity of the Chu state... ingenious methods, deadly moves, magical artifacts, culture, economy... no one at that time could have imagined that the Chu state would actually fall to the Qin state.

But none of that mattered to Yang Pingsheng.

He didn't even know if he was from the State of Chu. When he was a child, a beggar took him all over the country, and he learned a lot of the languages ​​of various countries.

The only reason he stayed in the State of Chu was because he had joined the Linlang Sect, nothing more.

At that time, Yang Pingsheng was searching for the meaning of his life. He wanted to learn from the virtuous and ambitious people of Chu and change the problems inside Chu, but he really had no feelings for Chu. Later, he simply followed the crowd, improved his strength, and became greedy for power.

When they arrived in the Eighth World, Qi Feng asked, "When did you find the meaning of your life?" He remained silent for a long time.

"Perhaps it's because I've embarked on this path, but that sounds too strange. All I can say is that I would be extremely unwilling to give up now."

He reached out and stroked Qi Feng's jet-black fur, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Of course, it's also possible that I told myself that."

-------------

That was a truly painful period in my life.

He was in so much pain that whenever he recalled it, he could remember how he had desperately begged for the grace of death.

-------------

The old beggar was very strict with him. If he did anything even slightly wrong, he would be severely punished. The time he remembered most vividly was when he was so hungry that he sneaked into a corner while the old beggar was away and stole the food they had begged for.

He hadn't even taken a few bites when the old beggar discovered him—that little bit of food was the old beggar's precious treasure; what would be an ordinary thing to others was all the possessions the two of them had at the time.

The old beggar whipped him with a twig, and he could feel the pain of the twig brushing against his skin, leaving red marks with each strike.

He wanted to cry, but unfortunately, the lingering problem from that day was his vocal cords. He was beaten so badly that his mouth was open, but he couldn't utter a single sound.

Even God is against him.

I can't remember how much time passed, but maybe the old beggar finally vented his anger, or maybe he saw that Yang Pingsheng was about to be beaten to death, and the torture finally stopped. The old beggar kicked him, tied him up with a rope, and hung him outside all night.

That night, he was surrounded by pain, cold, and hunger, and he was all alone.

The thought of dying surged within him once again, but strangely, for the first time, he had other thoughts during that suicidal idea.

How many people in this world are like him?

The young boy didn't follow that thought any further; he simply looked up at the azure sky.

That day, heavy snow was falling from the sky.

Snow covered his head and soaked him completely.

-------------

As time passed, the former youth joined the Linlang Sect, the largest sect in the Chu Kingdom.

He no longer had to worry about food, but he still hadn't found his own answer and could only keep climbing upwards to numb himself.

In the Linlang Sect, he had no friends; the only person he could talk to was Lin Feng.

Lin Feng was different from him. He was silent and aloof, while Lin Feng was lively and talkative. They were practically opposites.

One day, he came to see Yang Pingsheng for drinks. As the two clinked glasses, Lin Feng suddenly asked, "Pingsheng, are you from the State of Chu?"

Yang Pingsheng answered yes, and Lin Feng chuckled, "It really doesn't look like it."

He said he was from the State of Chu and grew up there. The people of Chu he knew had a very special feeling for Chu, even to the point of dying for it. Although Yang Pingsheng spoke fluent Chu dialect, he did not sense this feeling from Yang Pingsheng.

Yang Pingsheng frowned as he listened to his outrageous remarks: "Do I have to die for the State of Chu to prove myself?"

Lin Feng laughed heartily: "Of course not. My statement is only one side of the story. Of course, there are treacherous officials and villains in Chu. If all the people of Chu were really like what I said, then they wouldn't be declining."

He said, "Whether it's love or hate, there are always feelings involved, but in your life, you haven't."

That statement about having no feelings is not entirely wrong. Yang Pingsheng never met his parents, and from birth to adulthood, he never felt at peace. He wanted to die; he had wanted to die from the very beginning.

He looked at Lin Feng's unrestrained and carefree demeanor and felt a pang of envy.

Perhaps people should live like him.

In the days that followed, he and Lin Feng began to talk more. Lin Feng disliked being reserved, spoke his mind directly, and often spoke without restraint.

"...The royal family controls the Linlang Sect, and the Linlang Sect controls us," Lin Feng complained. "The Gu worm technique is truly disgusting."

Yang Pingsheng calmly said, "That's still better than starving to death."

Lin Feng smiled helplessly: "You always bring up the issue of whether or not someone will starve to death. Does that mean that as long as a person doesn't starve to death, that's enough? Can't people pursue things beyond just survival?"

Yang Pingsheng was speechless. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was half open and he couldn't say anything.

What is the meaning of life?

How should one live one's life?

No one could tell him.

From birth, he was alone, and when he looked into his memories, he had nothing but darkness.

How he wished there was someone, someone so gentle and so steadfast, to guide him through the darkness.

He needs a reason to live.

Anything is fine.

-------------

One day, just as the new sect base of the Linlang Sect was being established, the royal family of Chu visited the Linlang Sect to offer their condolences.

Yang Pingsheng and the others greeted them together. He stood behind the crowd and watched the royal family members pass by.