Lie flat, stay safe, coast along, and enjoy life (or immortal life). Avoid cultivation, steer clear of trouble, keep your life, and earn a little money (spirit stones) to improve your quality of life. In his previous life, he was a corporate drone who worked himself to death and developed PTSD from striving too hard. This time, he just wants to make up for the regrets of his past life and be a carefree couch potato. The fighting and scheming of the cultivation world leave him feeling desperately unsafe, so all he wants is to keep his head down.
*He goes from “forced to cultivate, but I just want to lie flat” to “if I want to lie flatter, safer, and more comfortably, I’ll have to put in just a tiny bit of effort” (and use outrageous schemes to influence the world along the way), before perhaps coming to understand an unconventional “Dao” (the Great Dao of Couch Potatoes? The Great Dao of Winning While Lying Flat?). His power is forced to grow, but at heart he still believes in “lie flat whenever you can.”
