I Am the Incarnation of the Ruthless Dao

For inspiration, my next novel will be [Platonic Passion]. I have 90,000 words written so far and expect to finish the draft in March or April before posting it. The blurb is at the very end (^3^)/~~ Blurb: I am the embodiment of the Heartless Path. From the moment I gained consciousness, I knew that our sect was destined to have a thriving membership. The entry bar is low and the ceiling is high. There are no strict examinations, no unreasonable demands. You only have to stay true to yourself to attain the Great Dao. Even I had to ask: Can something this good really be true!? But perhaps what comes too easily isn't valued. Over the past ten thousand years, hardly anyone who could enter the Sacred Mountain and cultivate to immortality has managed to do so, and one mishap after another always seems to get in the way. Then, after the umpteenth disciple whose wife was killed to prove his Dao began to waver, I finally couldn't take it anymore. I was astounded. I was indignant. I hinted as strongly as I could: “You can put up with this?” She nodded through her tears, absorbed in her cultivation, vowing to sever her romantic ties and ascend to immortality Only to reconcile with her lover in the blink of an eye and have two children in three years. What a sad story after another. I don't understand. I can't make sense of it. Where are things going wrong? Why do my disciples always say they'll cut off their romantic attachments with a sword, yet never see through the word “love”? And it's always romantic love. So I decided to descend the mountain myself and get to the bottom of it. ① The cultivation master who cares for the whole world [After learning that her disciples will covet and imprison her in the future, Yun Fu looks at the hundreds and hundreds of disciples covering the mountainside. #Which one are you talking about!?#] ② The koi girl chasing her dream [People say that Shi Jin, who carries the bloodline of a true dragon, can give birth to a natural-born dragon. So Shi Jin decides to ditch her future child and ascend to immortality herself. #Didn't see that coming!#] ③ The hermit who failed to ascend [Fang Ye fails to ascend after his spirit sword suddenly vanishes. Forced to descend into a strange village to seek another opportunity, he hears that true love is hidden there. Fang Ye stares at the village full of puppet monsters and falls into thought: “...” #A cultivation-world take on rule-based horror#] That's as far as this blurb writer can get. It might look like a story of love and hate, but the main goal is for everyone to ascend and become gods. *Thud, drops to knees.jpg* Reader's Guide: * This is a non-mainstream (?) take on the Heartless Path. All the worldbuilding is made up by the author, and all the stories share the same world. The protagonists of the main storylines will not meet. * Some supporting characters have one-sided feelings for the protagonists, but these never take up more than 10% of the story and mostly serve as a source of conflict. This is a no-couple story, so please check whether it suits you. * The blurb is written in first person. The main text has been revised to use the female leads' perspectives. The Heartless Path in the blurb is not the female lead's path. Draft completed on October 29, 2021; revised on November 1, 2022; four story summaries added on April 19, 2024. Screenshots posted on Weibo as proof. Blurb for Platonic Passion: Ming Ge knew from an early age that she could never accept love as society understood it. She couldn't accept deep physical intimacy, and she hated desire that was too naked and blatant. Yet she longed for companionship and being cherished, for holding hands and embracing, for every kind of intimacy that stopped short of crossing the line. She never dared to hope, until she met Zhan Yi. “I want to be with you: holding hands, embracing, leaning on your shoulder, strolling through the streets, the forest, or along the shore; basking in the sun on the beach, watching the sunset, gazing at the stars, and climbing the highest peak.” “Then, on a snowy mountaintop, we will write our names stroke by stroke, for the sky and the stars to see: We are each other's beloved.” Theme: Having seen the vastness of the world, I still cherish the green of every blade of grass.