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

"The Path of Ruthlessness?" Yan Ye's eyelashes fluttered. "What gave you such a misconception?"

Lin Du couldn't explain it, because Yan Yehe, like Luo Ze, was born of ice and snow, and melted into ice and snow.

Do ice and snow have feelings?

She didn't really want to get to the bottom of it; the idea just popped into her head suddenly.

"Just asking."

Yan Ye lowered his eyes and withdrew his divine sense from his little disciple. "No, I am not a ruthless person."

There are three thousand paths to cultivation, which can be divided into sword cultivation, saber cultivation, body cultivation, weapon cultivation, array cultivation, and so on, depending on one's specialization. This can be chosen as early as when one enters the path.

But what truly determines whether you can reach the stage of ascension on the Great Dao is the lineage a cultivator chooses after experiencing many stages, perhaps the third, fifth, or even the seventh.

For example... the supreme state of detachment, even ruthlessness, or the concepts of killing and joy—these are among the rules of the Heavenly Dao that cultivators have come to understand.

That wasn't even your own choice; perhaps it was the rule of Heaven that chose you.

Yan Ye didn't know why his little apprentice would suddenly ask this, but he told her with utmost responsibility, "What I cultivate is fate."

Lin Du was taken aback. "Fate?"

Yan Ye nodded. "Fate."

Yan Ye was skilled in calculation throughout his life, and he calculated that his only master-disciple relationship in this life would be a cold spring day, crossing a stream in the forest.

Thus, Lindu came into being.

Lin Du tilted her head and thought for a moment. This woman who held the script in her hand would probably also embark on the path of cultivating her destiny in the future.

"Didn't Master foresee that your disciple probably wouldn't live long?"

Yan Ye reached out and flicked her forehead with perfect accuracy. "If you say that again, you can jump into Luoze and wash your brain."

"I don't know about others, but for me and Jiang Liang, if you want to live, you must live."

Lin Du diligently calculated every day, afraid that her hair would bother her, so she usually wore a hairnet. Now, even through the dense black mesh, the red marks on her hair could be seen when the hairnet was flicked.

The next day, when Lin Du opened his eyes from his meditation, he saw the bruises on his forehead.

That old bastard, he really went all out.

First, he memorizes his lessons, then goes to have breakfast. After breakfast, he goes to the library to calculate the fragments of the formation. Then he returns to Luoze to set up the formation for Yan Ye to test. After that, he consciously breaks through the thick ice to enter Luoze to cleanse his mind. After dinner, he returns to his cave to meditate and cultivate. This is a day in Lin Du's life.

Just like high school or graduate school, life is ordinary and simple, day after day. Once you get used to it, it doesn't seem so tiring.

Lin Du felt that the cultivation world lacked iced Americanos and cigarettes, and she quickly found a substitute for iced Americanos.

There are icebergs around Luoze, not snow-capped mountains, but icebergs.

Beneath the ice, there were tea trees. Yan Ye had heard her complain about why there was no iced tea, so he personally picked the tea leaves and processed them using ancient methods. He then steeped the leaves in the spiritual water from the waterfall above Luoze overnight to make the iced tea. The tea was light green in color, slightly bitter on the palate, and had a refreshing and invigorating aroma.

The tea itself comes from a three-thousand-year-old tea tree, covered in natural snow and ice, gathering the rich spiritual energy of this blessed land. It has accumulated over hundreds of years, and the resulting one pound of tea is a natural treasure that can dispel inner demons and calm the mind. If it were on the market, one hundred spirit crystals might not even be enough to buy three ounces.

Lin Du felt that he could calculate faster after drinking tea, and thought to himself that iced caffeine was indeed the best way to improve learning efficiency.

That day, she only spent half a day calculating the last remaining array. Instead of rushing to find Yan Ye, she simply took out the fan and played with it.

The voice that only urged her during mealtimes suddenly rang out again, "That fan is missing something, but it's not entirely useless."

Lin Du was taken aback. "Senior?"

She didn't even know who was guarding the library, and even Yan Ye seemed to be unclear about it.

"Will they imprint a divine consciousness mark?"

Lin Du certainly knew it; she had learned these minor spells herself from books.

She released her divine sense, then completely enveloped the fan, and waited for the spiritual treasure to soften and accept it.

"That was a Heavenly Grade Spiritual Treasure, but now it can only be considered half a Heavenly Grade Spiritual Treasure."

The voice rang out again.

The divine consciousness that had been floating on the surface suddenly rippled, as if it had fallen into a bottomless black hole.

Lin Du raised his hand to form a seal, imprinting his divine sense onto the spiritual treasure.

The dull silver-gray color of the folding fan, which had never been opened, now resembled metal gradually melting under high temperature, displaying a softened metallic luster.

At that moment, Lin Du learned the name of this magical treasure.

Life is fleeting.

This is indeed not a complete spiritual treasure, because it also has a symbiotic spiritual object, the Dream Pen.

Dreams paint fleeting moments.

Lin Du reached out and grasped the fan handle, then swiftly opened the folding fan.

The inside was still gleaming. This folding fan was not made of ordinary bamboo or wood, but of a composite molten gold. The handle had a rigid, angled protrusion, but there was no other carving.

Both the fan ribs and the fan surface are neat, sharp, and cold shapes. The moment it is opened, it shines like pearls carved from shells, and you can vaguely see Lin Du's fragmented face.

Then the background color of the fan turned pale blue, and frost slowly formed on it, clearly showing the growth process of various colored snowflakes, crystal clear.

Lin Du was taken aback at first, but quickly realized why this item was called "Floating Life".

She closed the fan, thinking it was only good for showing off, but the next moment, the person from the library spoke up, "This is also a deadly weapon."

"How can a folding fan kill someone?"

"Knowing his life story allows one to kill him."

Lin Du was stunned for a moment. "An illusion array?"

This time, no one answered her.

Lin Du didn't mind, picked up his fan, stood up, and walked out of the library.

Next, he channeled spiritual energy into the fan handle.

A sweep forward.

Nothing happened.

Lin Du chuckled and shook his head. What kind of fantasy was she dreaming about?

As expected, a noob is still a noob even if he gets a magical treasure.

Just as she was about to turn around and go back to the library, she suddenly heard the sound of ice forming.

It was subtle and fragmented, but it was exceptionally clear to cultivators with heightened senses.

Lin Du suddenly turned around and saw that the ancient green pine trees on both sides of the stone steps of the library were covered with frost inch by inch, and the stone steps were also slowly turning white.

A bird on a branch, still unaware of what was happening, had its tiny claws frozen to the branch, while the frost continued to climb upwards.

Lin Du wanted to untie it quickly, but couldn't find a way. He moved his divine sense inside the spiritual treasure and communicated with it for a long time. The bird, which was so anxious that it couldn't fly even with its wings spread, had already frozen to its neck.

"Hey no, I didn't mean to kill anyone today, Brother Bird, wait for me, I'm coming to save you."

Lin Du tried it out, closed the folding fan, poured in spiritual energy again, and pointed it towards that branch.

A wisp of spiritual energy transformed into a tiny ice blade, slicing off the branch in one stroke. The bird and the branch fell to the ground with a thud, looking from afar like a skewered, candied sparrow.

Lin Du: ...

"Never mind, we'll have extra food in the kitchen."