Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Mu Ling'er nodded as if she understood, and with her strong ability to grasp the key points, she decisively seized on a question that was not so important.

"A step beyond Celestial Martial Saint? I remember that before you became a Land Immortal, you were already extremely strong, on a completely different level from other Celestial Martial Saints, and even possessed the combat power of a Land Immortal ahead of time."

Seeing Mu Ling'er propping her chin up with her hand, looking like a curious child, Mu An didn't bother to keep her in suspense and spoke directly.

"That's right. Between Celestial Martial Saints and Earthly Immortals, there should actually be two more realms, and the development like that of the Spirit Blossom Realm is the more common path for cultivation civilizations."

"It's only because the spiritual energy in the Nine Realms is insufficient, and the laws of heaven and earth impose restrictions, that so few people have ever reached these two realms. This is also why the power gap in the Nine Realms is so severe."

"So it's what Xiao Wumu was talking about, 'Refining the Spirit to Return to Emptiness' and 'Refining Emptiness to Unite with the Dao'?"

"All the great paths lead to the same destination. When the spirit merges with the Dao, one can begin to draw upon the power of the great Dao of Heaven and Earth. This is called the Refinement of Emptiness and Merging with the Dao. Cultivators at this level are just beginning to come into contact with the great Dao of Heaven and Earth and can, to a certain extent, draw upon the laws of Heaven and Earth that already exist in the world, according to their own cultivation direction."

To establish one's own path, to unite with the Dao, and to govern a region of heaven and earth—that is to become a terrestrial immortal. The realms of "Refining the Spirit to Return to Emptiness" and "Refining Emptiness to Unite with the Dao" are merely stepping stones to attaining the status of a terrestrial immortal.

Mu Ling'er rolled over in the rattan chair, popped another spirit fruit into her mouth, and asked with her mouth bulging.

"What about Supreme Immortals and Spirit Immortals? I heard from Xiao Wumu that these two realms are called Great Cultivators in their world. What's the difference between them and the terrestrial immortals in our world?"

"After reaching the Immortal level, the division of realms is not as strict as before. According to the standards of our Nine Realms, Supreme Immortals and Spirit Immortals are both among the terrestrial immortals. The only difference is that they can control a few Great Daos. People like Meng Yan can also be considered as members of the Spirit Immortals."

"On par with Meng Yan? He's not as impressive as I thought."

After making a casual complaint, Mu Ling'er's attention quickly returned to what had happened earlier.

"So even if the 'True Explanation of the Five Elements' were to spread throughout the world, it's unlikely that many people would actually be able to learn it."

"Indeed, this cultivation technique is more suitable for the future than for the present. In the next few hundred years, as the primordial energy between heaven and earth gradually stabilizes and slowly transforms into spiritual energy, this cultivation technique will usher in its own era."

Perhaps feeling that these matters were not relevant to her, Mu Ling'er stopped there after remarking on the difficulty of cultivation and changed the subject to other things.

"What realm is Xiao Wumu at now? Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness? I feel that in terms of cultivation alone, he seems to be more powerful than me."

When talking about how younger generations surpassed her, Mu Ling'er acted as if it were perfectly natural, not finding any problem with it at all. This made Mu An glare at her and say helplessly.

"He has absolutely no ambition."

Instead of feeling ashamed after being reprimanded by Mu An, Mu Ling'er spread her hands and shook her head like a rattle drum.

"There's nothing I can do, I'm used to it. Qingxi, Muyong, Liyin, Xiaowumu... they've all left me behind. Only Xiaobailing is here with me, just lazing around..."

Sigh, this wretched world. From the moment I was born, the upper limit of my cultivation was already determined. I can try to change my physique, but I can't improve my comprehension no matter what I do. I've almost eaten all the rare and precious treasures, but I still haven't reached the threshold of becoming a terrestrial immortal.

But it's okay, luckily there's also Little White Spirit who's just like me, not very bright, so it's quite fun to tease her sometimes.

As she said this, Mu Ling'er laughed heartily, seemingly not caring about these things at all.

Mu An didn't really believe any of this. Mu Ling'er's emotions were always very obvious to him, and he couldn't hide them no matter what.

Although Mu Ling'er spoke casually and seemed to be giving up, her aptitude and cultivation level were actually a hurdle she couldn't overcome in her heart.

He remembered very clearly that Mu Ling'er had a very grand dream when she was a child.

She said she wanted to become the best in the world, and when she grew up, she would protect Mu'an, Xiao He, and Xiao Lü.

At that time, Mu Ling'er didn't have as many thoughts as she would later have. When she had nothing to do, she would lead a group of followers to patrol the streets and occasionally get into fights with other kid leaders.

When Mu Ling'er was a child, she would always carry some copper coins with her when she went out. She would buy some simple food while patrolling the streets with her younger brother, and then distribute it all to her younger brother and the beggars on the street before returning home.

Although she occasionally had to outwit and outmaneuver Xiaohe, every day was a happy one for Mu Ling'er when she was a child.

But everything changed after Mu Ling'er began her cultivation.

As time passed, her former dreams were long forgotten. Under the repeated blows of reality, Mu Ling'er grew tired of cultivation and instead devoted all her energy to governing the country.

On the surface, it seems that Mu Ling'er is kind-hearted, unable to bear the suffering of the world, and further develops what Mu An taught her, with a heart for the world and concern for the people.

But isn't this also Mu Ling'er's way of proving herself through another path?

At that time, Mu An only taught Mu Ling'er two things.

One is spiritual practice, the other is how to be a person with a "heart".

After the former inevitably suffers setbacks, the latter becomes especially important.

The best environment, the best resources, the best family...

The more you enjoy, the more complicated your thoughts become.

Even if it was just a joke in the past and no one cared, young Mu Ling'er took it as her family's expectation.

And children expect their expectations to be met.

Unfortunately, failure always accompanied Mu Ling'er's life.

The more effort you put in, the more failures you'll experience, and the more controversy you'll generate.

For children, gossip and rumors are always particularly jarring.

Mu Ling'er's repeated failures on the path of martial arts led her to place all her hopes on another path.

Hanging one's head from the beam and pricking one's thigh with an awl were once the things she wanted to emulate.

What seems silly and makes people laugh and cry is actually Mu Ling'er's greatest expectation when she was a child.

She longed to prove herself, to prove that she wasn't worthless.

As she grew older, Mu Ling'er also worked hard in her own way.

Now, hundreds of years have passed, the old people are long gone, and the past has become a topic of casual conversation. Everything has gradually faded from memory, but Mu An does not believe that Mu Ling'er really doesn't care about any of these things.

People will always recall past events unexpectedly. They may not care much about them, but they will feel a moment of joy and bitterness.

In Mu An's opinion, Mu Ling'er did care about these things, at least she used to care, very, very much.

As for now, Mu An felt that Mu Ling'er must also have a wish in her heart, but out of concern for herself and other complicated thoughts, she had never mentioned it to herself over the years.

……