Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Su Ming continued downward, returning to Gazing Star Cliff.

He pushed open the heavy stone gate of his cave dwelling, and a dull grinding sound echoed through the space.

A faint, musty odor wafted toward him.

No one had lived here for half a year. A thin layer of dust had already settled on the stone table and floor of the cave dwelling.

Shadow flew directly down from Su Ming’s shoulder.

She circled the cave a few times, as if re-familiarizing herself with the territory. Then, she precisely located her own little nest in the corner.

She landed and impatiently pawed at the dry, slightly moldy straw inside the nest, pushing some of it out.

Then she curled up in the nest, let out a huge yawn, and closed her eyes.

Su Ming stood in the center of the cave dwelling.

He looked around.The stone bed, the pill furnace, the bookshelves.

Everything was exactly as he had left it.

But he suddenly felt that it had become smaller.

It wasn’t an illusion of space. It was an extremely subtle psychological shift.

When a person had seen a stone wall that could connect to ten-thousand-year-old formation lines of the Void, when he had walked an ancient path that carried the entire formation system of the primordial era, returning to this cramped stone chamber naturally made it feel confining.

It wasn’t the cave dwelling that had changed.

It was him.

”Feels small?”

Lin Yu’s Soul Body silently floated out from the Xuantian Ring.

He hovered in midair within the stone chamber, not bothering to look at the dusty furnishings.

Su Ming looked at Lin Yu.

His master’s Soul Body hadn’t undergone any visible change—it hadn’t become more solid, and the range of his divine sense hadn’t expanded.

But Su Ming could still see the difference.

Lin Yu’s gaze had changed.

Before, when Lin Yu looked at things, there was always a sense of condescension, a kind of ”I know how this works” attitude, built on his theoretical confidence.

But now, there was a depth in those eyes.

”It is, a bit.” Su Ming walked to the stone table, pulled a dust-clearing talisman from his sleeve, and with a flick of his finger, the talisman transformed into a gentle breeze, sweeping away all the dust inside the cave dwelling.

His movements didn’t stop.

Lin Yu’s Soul Body hovered in midair, completely still.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the stone bed.

He closed his eyes and looked inward at his Dantian.

The spiritual energy lake of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment was several times larger than before he entered the secret realm. The liquid spiritual energy shimmered a deep sapphire blue, gently undulating, containing explosive power.

He unfolded his rune system in his Consciousness Sea.

Seven hundred and fifty runes.

They were no longer stiff, dead symbols. They were like living stars, flowing through his Consciousness Sea along a specific trajectory.

He no longer needed to deliberately recall how to draw each stroke.

Su Ming opened his eyes.

He slowly raised his right hand and extended his index finger.

Without relying on any formation plate, and without using a special spirit brush.

He simply made a casual, light stroke in the air before him.

There was no sound.

An extremely fine, pale-blue thread of spiritual energy materialized in the air.

It didn’t dissipate instantly like ordinary spiritual energy released into the void. It just hung there, its edges showing no sign of dissolving, as stable as a real steel wire.

One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths. Four breaths. Five breaths.

Only after the fifth breath did that thread dissolve into specks of light, vanishing into the air.

Lin Yu stared at the spot where the thread had disappeared.

He didn’t show any sign of shock. He simply nodded slightly.

”Not bad.”

Being able to stabilize spiritual energy in the void without any medium for five full breaths—that was already brushing the threshold of Void Formation.

For a cultivator at mid-stage Foundation Establishment, this wasn’t ”not bad.” It was earth-shattering.

But he himself had seen a true god, so he knew how high the ceiling was.

Right then.

A beam of golden light forcibly squeezed through the gap in the cave dwelling’s stone gate.

A communication talisman.

It circled once in midair, then flew straight to Su Ming and stopped in front of him.

Su Ming extended his divine sense into it.

His master, Xuanheng, his usual serious, deep voice echoing in Su Ming’s mind.

”Out of seclusion?”

”The matter of the Heaven-Mending Pill’s main ingredient can’t be delayed any longer.”

”Rest for a few days, then come see me at Star Pivot Hall.”

The voice abruptly ended, and the communication talisman turned to ash.

Su Ming looked at the ashes in his palm, then slowly closed his fist, tucking them into his sleeve.

...

Three days later, the morning mist hadn’t yet fully dispersed. The mountain path of Formation Peak was shrouded in a cold, damp layer of gray-blue moisture.

A thin coat of morning dew clung to the stone steps, making them a bit slippery. Su Ming, wearing the purple Daoist robe of a Formation Peak True Disciple, walked steadily up the winding mountain path toward the Star Pivot Hall at the peak, neither hurried nor slow.

Shadow lay sprawled on his left shoulder, her black feathers pressed tightly against her body, as if she found this damp, cold air quite disagreeable. She occasionally twisted her head, her golden eyes warily scanning the ancient pine trees looming faintly in the roadside mist.

”The matter of the Heaven-Mending Pill... it really can’t be delayed.” Lin Yu was silent for a breath, then slowed his speech slightly. ”Xuanheng summoned you this time. Have you thought about how to reply when you get there?”

Su Ming looked up at the Star Pivot Hall’s gate, its magnificent silhouette gradually becoming clearer through the mist ahead.

”Just tell the truth.” Su Ming quickly calculated in his mind. ”I’ve mastered seven hundred and fifty formation runes, and my cultivation has broken through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment. In front of a master of Master’s caliber, those two points can’t be hidden anyway. It’s better to be straightforward.”

”And what about the Border Defense True Seal absorbing the ancient intent of the secret realm?”

”Not a single word.” Su Ming’s pace was extremely steady, his gaze calm. ”That’s my survival trump card. Even if it’s Master, I can’t let him know that a complete set of ancient formation principles is stored inside my head.”

Lin Yu paced back and forth twice inside the ring, and the luster of his Soul Body brightened again.

”If he presses you on how you comprehended those seven hundred and fifty formation runes, what will you do?”

”Just say that I sat quietly by the Spirit Lake for half a year, had an occasional insight, emptied my Consciousness Sea, and broke through to rebuild.” The corner of Su Ming’s mouth twitched slightly.

”He’s the Peak Master of Formation Peak. Such talk won’t fool him.”

”I don’t need to fool him.” Su Ming stopped at the base of the high jade steps leading to Star Pivot Hall. ”I’ll just state the result, not the reason. Cultivation is all about opportunities anyway. If he doesn’t believe me, he can test me himself.”

Lin Yu’s Soul Body paused in the void. After a moment, he let out a very light snort.

”You little brat, you’ve truly mastered the art of passing the buck, just like your teacher.”

Su Ming didn’t reply.

He stood before the thick bronze gate of Star Pivot Hall, straightened his robes, reached out, and pushed the door open slowly.

The interior of the hall was dim, with no lamps lit.

At the far end, that massive star chart floated. Tens of thousands of points of spiritual light interwove in midair, rotating at an agonizingly slow pace according to some arcane trajectory. The light cast intricate, shifting patterns on the floor.

Xuanheng Zhenren stood with his hands behind his back in front of the star chart. His blue Daoist robe, illuminated by the starlight, shimmered with a cold, pale hue.

He didn’t turn around.

Su Ming stepped forward five paces, folded his hands, and gave a deep bow.

”Disciple Su Ming pays respects to Master.”

On Su Ming’s shoulder, Shadow obediently folded her wings and didn’t dare to make a single sound. She possessed an almost instinctual reverence for the powerful.

Xuanheng turned around, his deep gaze settling on Su Ming.

The air within the hall seemed to freeze for a single moment. That look carried a tangible weight, sweeping from Su Ming’s brow all the way down to his Dantian.

”Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.” Xuanheng nodded slightly. A faint, shallow line finally appeared on his face, as still as an ancient well. ”Your energy aura is restrained, your foundation solid. It seems you didn’t waste your time in that half-year secret realm.”

”All thanks to Master’s gracious token,” Su Ming replied respectfully. ”This disciple cultivated day and night by the Spirit Lake and was fortunate enough to break through.”

”Besides cultivation, have you made any progress in the path of formations?” Xuanheng walked to a red sandalwood chair and sat down, gesturing to the guest seat beside him.

Su Ming didn’t sit down immediately. Instead, he bowed his head and replied, ”To answer Master, I have now mastered seven hundred and fifty formation runes.”