Chapter 3: The Six Paths of Reincarnation

  "Yes, of course, you mortals will all go down to hell after you die." Guangyuanzi nodded.

  "Is that not the case, when a person dies, they can be reincarnated?" Lin San's eyes lit up. When he was young, Lin San had read many myths and ghost stories, and at the time, he believed them to be true. As he grew older and received higher education, he gradually came to realize that these stories were all fabrications with no basis in reality. However, a question had always lingered in Lin San's mind: where did humans originate from? Yes, science has proven that humans evolved from primates, but then where did those primates come from? The transformation from an inanimate object without any signs of life to a being with independent thought is truly miraculous.

  "Of course, you must have heard of the Six Paths of Reincarnation?" Guang Yu Zi asked back.

  "I've heard of it, but that's just a legend." The term "Six Paths of Reincarnation" was something Lin San had seen before. He had even discussed the Six Paths of Reincarnation with his classmates and friends in the past, but at that time, he only treated it as a topic to pass the time and didn't believe that the so-called Six Paths of Reincarnation really existed in the world.

  Guangyuan smiled: "All things in the world are possible and exist, for example, you have always believed that there are no immortals in the world, but am I not standing alive in front of you?"

  Lin San slightly raised the corner of his mouth, nodded, and said that Guang Yuansu was right. Indeed, there are many things on earth that humans have not discovered yet. Lin San took a deep breath and asked: "I'm very curious, humans have been living on earth for thousands of years, but no gods have ever come to earth before. Why did you appear today?"

  "You think I wanted to come? I was forced to come to your human world."

  "Why?" Lin San was somewhat puzzled.

  "Alas..." Guangyuanzi sighed: "This is a long story, I was originally in charge of punishment for the gods, punishing those gods who violated the heavenly code. Not long ago, a heavenly god got drunk and insulted the Heavenly Emperor, the Heavenly Emperor was furious and sentenced that heavenly god to death. When I took the heavenly god to the execution grounds, I momentarily let my guard down and allowed that heavenly god to escape. I chased after him relentlessly, exchanging hands three times along the way, but still couldn't catch up to him. Later, the heavenly god was so anxious from being chased by me that he suddenly ran into the Heavenly Machine Pavilion..."

  "What is Tianji Pavilion?" Lin San interrupted.

  "The Heavenly Machine Pavilion is a spatial passage leading to other interfaces. The Heavenly Emperor has set up a formation to seal the pavilion, not allowing any gods to go to other interfaces... But that heavenly god somehow broke through the emperor's formation and directly opened the passage, drilling in. I chased after him to the pavilion, without thinking, followed him into the passage... And then appeared at your place." Guangyuanzi said: "The spatial pressure inside the passage is extremely high. If my magical powers weren't so deep, I would have been reduced to a wisp of dust inside the passage long ago. Even so, 90% of my powers are gone, and now my body is very weak. It will be difficult for me to recover in a short period of time."

  "What about Tian Shen?" Lin San asked.

  Guangyuanzi shook his head: "I don't know where he is, but I'm sure that Heavenly God has also arrived in your mortal world." At that time, Guangyuanzi almost entered the space channel with the Heavenly God one after another. It was not unexpected that the Heavenly God should have fallen to the earth, only the specific location was unknown.

  "What? So you're saying two gods have descended upon our earth at the same time?" Lin San's mouth was agape.

  "I've said all I need to say," Guangyuanzi said. "Do you have any further questions?"

  "Hey, are you still looking for that heavenly god?" Lin had a lot of questions.

  "Of course, if I don't bring that heavenly god back to the immortal realm, I'll be punished by the Heavenly Emperor, and my life might not even be spared." Guangyuanzi said.

  "Our earth is neither big nor small, if you want to find someone, it's like finding a needle in the ocean." Lin San slightly furrowed his brow.

  "No matter how difficult it is, no matter how much time it takes, I must find that heavenly god." The heavenly god had escaped from Guangyuanzi's hands. If Guangyuanzi couldn't capture the heavenly god and bring him back to the immortal realm, the Heavenly Emperor would definitely punish Guangyuanzi, and might even take his life. The Heavenly Emperor was the overlord of the immortal realm, with profound magical powers and a ruthless heart. Anyone who offended the Heavenly Emperor would be skinned alive if they didn't die first.

  Lin San asked with a crooked mouth: "How are you planning to find it?"

  "I don't know either. If I had fully recovered my magical powers, I could have used the Search God Technique to find out where that Heavenly God is hiding. But now... I've lost all my powers and really don't know how to search for it." Guang Yuanzi sighed, feeling frustrated as he thought about it. If only he hadn't been careless at the time, how could he have let the Heavenly God escape? Now that he had fallen into the mortal world, his powers were almost completely gone, which was truly suffocating.

  Lin San's eyes rolled around: "I'll help you find it." Lin San wanted to curry favor with Guang Yuanzi, and thereby gain some benefits. In this day and age, isn't it all about taking advantage of others' kindness and being soft on those who feed you?

  "Who are you?" Guangyuanzi looked up and down at Lin San: "Can you find the Heavenly God just because of you?" It's not that Guangyuanzi looks down on Lin San, but Lin San is really too weak. In Guangyuanzi's eyes, Lin San is no different from an ant, and Guangyuanzi doesn't believe that Lin San can help him find the Heavenly God at all.

  "I know I'm not very capable, but one more person is one more bit of strength, right?" Lin San smiled.

  Guangyuan's son remained silent.

  "You, now that your magical powers are gone, and it's your first time on Earth, you're not familiar with the place, without a guide, it's very difficult for you to find someone on this planet." Lin San's meaning was simple: even if you were a god, it wouldn't be hard to find someone on Earth, let alone when you're still unfamiliar with the planet and definitely need someone to show you around.

  Guangyuanzi slightly furrowed his brow: "You're so kind to help me, what do you want in return?" Guangyuanzi was very clever and saw through Lin's intentions at a glance.

  Lin San nodded his thumb in admiration, saying: "Immortals are indeed immortals, they even know what I'm thinking, no mistake, I do have a small request." Lin San was just thinking about how to ask for some benefits when Guangyuanzi brought it up directly, which saved Lin San a lot of effort.

  "What request?" Guan Yu Zi asked in a low voice.

  "Teach me the immortal way," Lin San said, looking at Guang Yuanzi with a tense expression. Lin San had read many mythological books, which described those immortals as being all-powerful. The most important thing was that gods and immortals could live as long as heaven and earth, and be immortal. Lin San also wanted to live a longer life.

  Guangyuanzi was taken aback, he never expected Lin San to make this request, and for a moment, he really didn't know how to answer.

  "What's wrong, Master?" Lin San asked nervously.

  "Learning the immortal way is very hard, especially since the spiritual energy on your planet is thin and human lifespan is relatively short. There's simply no time or energy to learn the immortal way." Guang Yuansu said slowly after a moment of contemplation.

  "I'm not afraid of hardship, I have perseverance, great immortal, please teach me the immortal method, I also want to be like you and become an immortal!" Lin San begged.

  "Actually, being an immortal isn't all that great. We immortals have to go through a heavenly tribulation every now and then, and if we can survive it, we can live in peace, but if we can't, we'll be reduced to nothing. That's why us immortals are always trying to increase our powers, just so we can survive for a little while longer." Guang Yuansu shook his head slightly.

  "It's better to be an immortal than a mortal!" Lin San made up his mind and was determined to learn the immortal arts.

  Guangyuan furrowed his brow and didn't say a word.

  "Then take me to the Immortal Realm." Lin San saw that Guang Yuanzi was slow to respond to his request to teach him immortal techniques, so he changed tactics and directly asked to go to the Immortal Realm. Once there, Lin San would be able to come into contact with many immortals, and he didn't believe that with his own intelligence and talent, he wouldn't be able to find an immortal to teach him immortal techniques.

  "Do you want to go back to the Immortal Realm with me?" Guang Yuansu smiled.

  "Yes, Guangyuanzi, great immortal, I beg of you, take me back to the Immortal Realm." Lin Sanshu said, his face filled with hopeful expression.

  "It's not that I don't want to take you to the immortal realm, it's just that you can't go there at all."

  "Why?" Lin San furrowed his brow slightly.

  "To go to the immortal realm, you must pass through a space tunnel. Based on your physique, I estimate that as soon as you enter the space tunnel, you'll be blown into dust." Guǎng Yuánzi curled his lips in disdain. In fact, Guǎng Yuánzi was panicking, and indeed, Lín Sān, this ordinary mortal, would indeed be blown into dust by the gusts of wind inside the tunnel. However, if Guǎng Yuánzi were willing to spare some attention to take care of Lín Sān, it's still possible for him to reach the immortal realm. It's just that Lín Sān and Guǎng Yuánzi are not related, so Guǎng Yuánzi is unwilling to go to the trouble."

  "Ah!" Lin San was shocked: "Then I won't be able to go to the immortal realm for the rest of my life?"

  "Since you've reincarnated as a mortal, just accept your fate and don't think about other crooked ways. Actually, being a mortal isn't bad either - no heavenly tribulations, and you're free to do as you please, how great is that?"

  "But human life is so short." Lin San pouted.

  "A person's fate is determined from birth, and it is impossible for an ordinary person to become a god," said Guangyuanzi.

  "No! I don't believe in fate! I've always believed in one thing: my life is mine to control, not heaven's. Guangyuanzi, great immortal, please give me a chance! Since we can meet, it proves that there's a connection between us. Guangyuanzi, I really want to learn the ways of immortality!" Lin San exclaimed excitedly.

  "You're really stubborn..." Guangyuanzi sighed, fell silent for a moment, and said: "You have one thing right, we are separated by two spaces and can meet each other, it is indeed a kind of fate." After finishing speaking, Guangyuanzi touched his Taoist robe and suddenly appeared with a yellowed small booklet in his hand.

  "Huh?" Lin San stared at the small booklet in surprise, his heart secretly wondering. Yesterday, Lin San had carefully checked the Taoist robe and there was no pocket, let alone a hidden booklet. Today, Guangyuanzi simply touched the robe lightly and took out a small booklet, it was truly too mysterious.

  Guangyuanzi handed the small booklet to Lin San: "This records some elementary immortal methods, take a look, as for whether you can learn it or not, it depends on your innate talent."

  Lin San hastily took over the booklet, carefully flipped through it once, and suddenly felt a bit dizzy. The booklet was very thin, with only ten short pages, each depicting a naked Daoist priest with a refined and elegant demeanor, posing in different postures. The Daoist priest's body was marked with many small red dots, which were slowly moving and changing positions, making Lin San feel even more astonished. After looking at it for a while, he felt his head spinning and his eyes blurring.

  Guangyuanzi glanced at Lin San: "This immortal method is the lowest level in the immortal world, and it's also the simplest. If you can't even learn this simple immortal method, then it proves that you really have no fate with immortal methods."

  Lin San took a deep breath, closed the booklet and looked at Guangyuanzi with a serious expression: "Don't worry, I will study hard and master the immortal method as soon as possible."

  Guangyuanzi curled his lip in disdain, a hint of contempt on his face. As for Lin San's qualifications, Guangyuanzi really didn't think much of them.

  Lin San's hands kept stroking the small book, his face full of joyful smiles.

  "Alright, let's get back on track. Are you really going to help me find that celestial being?" Guang Yu Zi didn't want to discuss the ways of immortals with Lin San anymore and directly changed the subject.

  Lin San nodded: "I, Lin San, always keep my word. I promised to help you find the Heavenly God, and I will definitely find him, but I don't know what he looks like."

  "Do you have paper and pen here?" Guangyuanzi said.

  "There is." Lin San put away the small book, casually pulled open the drawer of the tea table, and took out a piece of paper and a pen.

  Guangyuan picked up his pen and scribbled a few strokes on the paper before throwing it down: "I'm done drawing."

  Lin San picked up the paper and took a look, only to see that it was a very realistic portrait of a person's head, with a handsome face: "Is this what the heavenly god looks like?"

  Guangyuanzi nodded, Guangyuanzi liked to hold a brush and paint landscapes when he had nothing to do in the immortal world. Occasionally, he would also draw portraits for immortals. Now that he was drawing the appearance of the heavenly god, it came naturally to him.

  "Alright, I'll go to the TV station and post a missing person notice right away." Lin San said.

  "Missing Person Notice?" Guangyuanzi had never heard of this phrase before.

  Lin San picked up the remote control and turned on the TV: "It's posted on this." The TV was playing a shootout scene, with intense gunfire and explosions everywhere.

  Staring at the live demonstration on TV, Guangyuanzi was stunned: "You humans really... have some skills, and can actually make something so... interesting." Guangyuanzi stared blankly at the TV screen, his face filled with an incredulous expression. In a small square box, actual people were performing - even Guangyuanzi, an old god who had seen it all, was shocked beyond belief.

  Lin San smiled: "There are many interesting things, I'll take you to experience them another day."

  "Ding ding ding." The living room phone suddenly rang.

  Lin San walked over, picked up the receiver, listened for a moment, and furrowed his brow.