The Clouds Are Deep and the Dust Is Tiny

In Xuanhuang Continent, cold rain pours down at the gate of Yunyan Sect. After surviving the war, Shen Yan brought a body of dust and mud to worship at the Immortal Sect, but only low-grade miscellaneous spiritual roots were detected. Without unique talent or protection from aristocratic family background, a gray wooden sign is his entire identity. Everyone knows that the Immortal Sect is a pure land to escape from mortal suffering, but it was only after he stepped here that he saw clearly that there was only cruel selection. Su Qinghan, who has a high-grade spiritual root, attracts all the attention, and he is born with the expectations of the whole clan; the disciples at the bottom who are struggling to survive have to exchange their lives for meager cultivation resources. On the path to immortality, mana can be accumulated by resources, but Taoist heart can only be tempered by suffering and choices. In order to survive in the outer sect, he saw conflicts among his fellow sects and fighting for interests; he met the idealistic elder Lu Linyuan, and thought he had found a glimmer of a way forward; he also met Ye Wu, a demonic woman who was spurned by the righteous path, and was constantly questioned about his true nature. There is hypocrisy hidden under a famous family, and there is no absolute right or wrong between good and evil. He has seen too many people abandon their friendship and conscience in order to seek immortality. Shen Yan did not want to embark on such a path. He wanted to find a way to immortality without abandoning humanity. But empathy is his foundation and also his shackles. The suffering of others always weighs heavily on his heart, and gratitude and guilt often drag him into danger. As one's cultivation level increases step by step, strength amplifies desire, and immortality breeds fear. He saw the genius collapsed due to expectations, the idealist alienated by righteousness, and the avenger trapped in hatred and unable to escape. It turns out that cultivating immortality has never been about fighting against destiny. The biggest shackles for all living beings are never the rules of heaven and earth, but the lingering obsessions in the heart. After millions of ups and downs, the so-called enlightenment is ultimately about self-transcendence.