Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 568 Preparing for Seclusion

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Chen had more than a dozen more children.

The older one can already run, while the younger one is still whimpering in its swaddling clothes.

Every time I return to Dongshan Villa, the scene is—tsk, it's like a pot has been boiled over.

"Father!"

Lin Nian'er was the first to rush over, with two little pigtails and wearing a little red jacket, running like a ball of fire.

She's a grown woman now—at least that's what she says herself.

"Hey!" Lin Chen bent down and scooped her up.

"Daddy, look, the flowers I picked!" Lin Nian'er leaned closer, a small wildflower tucked behind her ear.

"It looks great!"

"Then praise me!"

"It's so beautiful."

"not enough!"

"It's really beautiful!"

"That's more like it." Lin Nian'er was satisfied and hugged Lin Chen's neck, refusing to let go.

Lin Nianjun rushed over from behind, running like a whirlwind, and bumped headfirst into Lin Chen's leg.

"Daddy! I fell down yesterday! But I didn't cry!"

Lin Chen scanned the area with his divine sense and indeed found a scabbed wound on the kid's knee.

"That amazing?"

"Of course!" Lin Nianjun puffed out his chest. "A real man sheds blood, not tears!"

"You're only three years old, what kind of man are you?"

"Even a three-year-old is a boy!"

Lin Chen: ? ? ? Seems like there's nothing wrong with it.

Lin Nianbei, Lin Nianying, Lin Nianjie, Lin Nianze, Lin Nianzhao, Lin Niansu, Lin Nianruo, and Lin Nianxing chased after him from behind and surrounded Lin Chen in a flash.

"Daddy, hug me!"

"Daddy, I want a hug too!"

"Father, I was here first!"

"Me first!"

"Don't push, don't push—" Lin Chen held Lin Nian'er in one arm and tried to reach for Lin Nianxing with the other, but Lin Nianjun climbed onto his lap and jumped up like a little monkey.

What are you doing?

"Riding a big horse!"

"You're riding a horse as soon as I get back?"

"right!"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes.

The dozen or so new babies are still small; they do nothing but eat and sleep all day, occasionally crying a few times.

The cries rose and fell, like a choir rehearsing, with high and low voices in perfect harmony.

Su Wanqing came out of the house, still holding an embroidery hoop in her hand. She glanced at the chaotic scene and sighed.

"You, as the father, only come home once a month. The children are going crazy missing you."

"I can't help it," Lin Chen said with a wry smile. "Cultivation is the most important thing."

"Cultivation, cultivation, all you know is cultivation." Su Wanqing glared at Lin Chen.

"Look at your father, even when he was busy, he never neglected you brothers."

"My dad isn't as busy as I am—"

"Your father couldn't have given birth to you!"

Lin Chen shut up.

The old lady sat on the armchair in the courtyard, watching the chaotic scene unfold, her eyes narrowing into slits with laughter.

"Alright, alright, let Chen'er rest for a while," the old lady said. "You little rascals, what are you doing circling around your father? Go and play."

"No!" Lin Nian'er hugged him even tighter.

"Me neither!" Lin Nianjun clung to Lin Chen's leg and refused to get down.

The old lady shook her head and stopped caring.

Lin Chen sat down in the courtyard, with Lin Nian'er sitting to his left and Lin Nianjun to his right.

Liu Ruyan's youngest son, Lin Nianjun, lay down at Lin Chen's feet, hugging his leg and nibbling at it.

"What is she doing?" Lin Chen asked, puzzled.

"My gums are itchy from teething," Su Wanqing said.

Lin Chen looked at the drool on his trouser leg and fell into deep thought.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At night, after the children had all gone to sleep, Lin Chen sat in the courtyard, looking at the moon in the sky.

Su Wanqing brought over a cup of tea and placed it beside him.

"Leaving tomorrow?"

"Um."

"Where are we going this time?"

Hehuan Valley.

"Going again?" Su Wanqing frowned. "You spent twenty days in Hehuan Valley last month."

"Cultivation, you know."

"You and that Yan Ruyu—"

"Mother," Lin Chen interrupted her, "you're overthinking it."

"Are you overthinking it?" Su Wanqing looked at him. "You're my child, I know what you're going to poop the moment you bend over—"

"mother!!!"

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more." Su Wanqing waved her hand, turned around and left, but stopped after a couple of steps. "Take care of yourself, don't overwork yourself."

"understood."

Su Wanqing is gone.

Lin Chen sat in the courtyard, took a sip of tea, looked at the moon, and his thoughts were churning.

The will of heaven and earth of Tianyuan Continent can last for another thousand years.

A thousand years later, the continent will collapse, and everyone will die.

The spirit said that only by refining the will of heaven and earth and becoming the new ruler of the Tianyuan Continent can the continent be reborn.

However, refining the will of heaven and earth requires the cultivation level of a Great Emperor.

He is only at the mid-stage of the half-step Great Emperor realm, and is still far from becoming a Great Emperor.

He didn't know how long it would take.

Ten years? A hundred years? A thousand years?

Lin Chen knew that it would be difficult to break through by relying solely on dual cultivation.

Because someone has already attained the status of a Great Emperor in the Yin-Yang Dao.

That's a path that's already been walked.

If he's going to leave, he has to forge a new path.

Once you have fully comprehended the principles of Yin and Yang, you can unite them into one and transform into chaos.

Chaos is the beginning of all paths, and also the end of all paths.

If he can prove the Dao of Chaos, he will become the first person in all ages, and breaking through to the God-Emperor realm will be a smooth path.

But proving one's path in chaos is too difficult.

No one has ever succeeded.

The chaos on the ninth level of the Chaos Pagoda was a contingency plan left by that deity for his successor.

Therefore, Lin Chen naturally has an advantage over others, although it may not be much.

The mysterious powerful figure from the outer passage is still peering into this world from the void.

Although they have temporarily retreated, they could make a comeback at any time.

He must break through to the Great Emperor realm, refine the will of heaven and earth, and become the new ruler of the Tianyuan Continent before that powerful figure makes another move.

At that time, he will be able to fight that powerful figure, or even kill him in one fell swoop.

There's also the Zhang family from the Origin Realm.

Lingbo's parents died at the hands of the Zhang family, and he promised Lingbo that he would help her avenge them.

The Zhang family is a divine family that has been passed down for tens of millions of years. The family has many emperors and a divine ancestor who is in charge.

He must break through to the Great Emperor level.

One must break through to the level of Godhood.

Only by breaking through to the God-Emperor realm will he be qualified to enter the Origin Realm and have the ability to fight against the Zhang family.

Only then can one afford to lie down and do nothing.

And another thing is—to go back to the world we used to live in.

He has been in this world for several years now. What happened to his original world?

Do your friends still remember him?

Is there any chance we'll meet again?

Although he was an orphan and didn't have many ties in that world, even the hardest days had beautiful memories and people.

The old lady who sells breakfast at the alley entrance always gives him an extra steamed bun every morning.

The security guard at the school gate always pretends not to see him when he's late.

And there was his deskmate who always secretly helped him in school—he hadn't had a chance to repay his kindness.

Lin Chen wanted to go back and take a look.

But returning requires the cultivation level of a Great Emperor.

The emperor was a threshold he had to cross.

Lin Chen took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Hehuan Valley, Time and Space Palace.

Gray light, eternal silence.

Lin Chen sat cross-legged in the center of the hall, his eyes closed, his breathing light and his heartbeat slow.

Yan Ruyu stood outside the hall, looking at Lin Chen through the door.

Mei Jiu Niang stood next to her, holding a handful of melon seeds, cracking them open with a loud crunching sound.

"How long do you think he'll stay this time?" Mei Jiu Niang asked.

"I don't know," Yan Ruyu said. "It might be a long time."

"How long is considered a long time?"

"Ten years? Twenty years? Fifty years?"

Mei Jiu Niang nearly dropped the melon seeds in her hand: "Are you kidding me?"

"Cultivation knows no time. With his current cultivation level, one period of seclusion might be equivalent to a lifetime for an ordinary person." Yan Ruyu glanced at Mei Jiu Niang.

"He has a heavy burden on his shoulders, and we cannot hold him back. We can afford to wait."

"I can't wait any longer!" Mei Jiu Niang cried out anxiously, "It's been three months already—"

"Ninth Sister".

"...Okay." Mei Jiu Niang pouted, "What if he misses me?"

Yan Ruyu didn't say anything, and turned to leave.

Mei Jiu Niang chased after him, crying, "Master, say something! What if he misses me?!"

"You can go in and find him."

"real?"

"Fake."

"Master!!!"

The two voices gradually faded into the distance.

The doors of the Hehuan Hall slowly closed.

Inside the hall, Lin Chen's figure disappeared and entered the Time-Space Palace.

His consciousness sank into his body, and the Dao of Yin and Yang flowed within him.

The Great Way of Yin, the Great Way of Yang.

Two giant dragons coiled, intertwined, and merged within his body.