Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life-Chapter 231: The Way of Survival 2.0

Lin Yu's voice carried the excitement of someone seeing through the opponent's final card. "This shows the formation's 'fear' towards you is still stuck at the mundane stage. It dug up your fear of 'losing family,' but hasn't yet fully linked that fear to 'the cruelty of the cultivation world.' Deep in your subconscious, the greatest threat still comes from secular power and wealth, not high-level cultivators. This is good news, meaning it couldn't dig out the deepest secret about me in your soul."

Su Ming's heart tightened, and he fell into thoughtful silence.

"So how did you finally get out?" Lin Yu asked. "Who did you think of? Your father and mother? Or..."

"No specific person," Su Ming replied bluntly. "At that moment, I just felt that sense of 'being arranged' was utterly disgusting. I wanted to control my own fate, not be a puppet on strings. Whether it's perfect wealth and honor, or brutal destruction, as long as it's fake, I'll smash it to pieces."

Silence reigned in the Consciousness Sea for a moment.

After a long while, Lin Yu finally let out a long sigh, his tone carrying a mix of relief and complexity. "The Dao heart is initially formed, self-awareness awakened. Disciple, you passed this trial with more backbone than I imagined."

"However..."

Lin Yu's tone shifted instantly, becoming serious and full of calculation. "Our previous 'Way of Survival' needs an upgrade."

"An upgrade?" Su Ming was puzzled.

"Yes. Before, we were 'rats in the gutter,' focusing on staying invisible to everyone. But now, you've earned an 'A+,' and you were singled out by that Questioning Heart Elder. Trying to pretend to be invisible anymore is impossible."

Lin Yu conjured up the gesture of pushing up imaginary glasses within the Consciousness Sea. "This Questioning Heart Forest is essentially a super-large 'user profile generator.'

The first stage uses the perfect illusion to make you relax—that's 'data collection.'

The second stage, when you discover the flaws, it patches them with logic—that's 'dynamic game theory testing.'

The third stage, when fear descends, that's 'stress threshold testing.' It's not trying to kill you, but to see your rebound coefficient in a desperate situation."

"You not only withstood it but also gave a high-scoring answer of 'my path is not a cage.' Now, in the eyes of the sect's higher-ups, you've transformed from 'ordinary expendable material' into a 'rare specimen.' Especially that Questioning Heart Elder. The way he looked at you was like an old lecher seeing a peerless beauty... ahem, I mean, like a research fanatic seeing a rare specimen."

Su Ming felt a chill run down his spine. "Then what should we..."

"Panic about what? This is a crisis, but also a heaven-sent opportunity!"

Lin Yu chuckled, the previous gravity completely gone. "Our Way of Survival is officially upgrading to Version 2.0—'The Visible Way of Survival.'"

"What is the Visible Way of Survival?"

"Simply put, it's 'hiding in plain sight, sinking deep roots and securing the foundation, leaning against a big tree.'"

Lin Yu began rapidly laying out the strategy. "First, regarding what happened in the illusion, only speak seventy percent of the truth. Say you saw through the vanity of the mortal world and strengthened your resolve for the Dao. As for that smiling face, that rebellion against the desire for control, keep it buried deep inside. That's your core privacy, and the final wall of defense against prying eyes from the higher-ups."

"Second, firmly establish your persona! What are you? You are the 'Repair Hall Hall Master,' the 'standardization fanatic,' the 'formation path otaku'! From now on, you need to display a fanatical pursuit for the order and efficiency of formations. This 'tech nerd' persona is the safest because, in the eyes of leadership, tech nerds might be weird, but they're useful and have no political ambition."

"Third, and this is the most important point."

Lin Yu lowered his voice. "We need to start 'weaving the web.' Relying on Elder Ma alone isn't enough; he's going into seclusion after all. You need to use the Repair Hall to tie the interests of the Alchemy Hall, the Vessel Hall, and even the Spiritual Plant Garden—even if just a little bit—to your chariot. Make everyone feel that although this kid Su Ming is just an outer sect disciple, without him, many things just don't run as smoothly."

"This is called—making others unable to do without you is the greatest safety."

Listening to his master's analysis, Su Ming's originally somewhat tense heartstrings gradually relaxed, and his train of thought became clearer.

"Lean against the high mountain, build deep roots, forge wide connections of goodwill, and slowly plan for the future." Su Ming silently recited these sixteen words in his heart.

"Exactly!" Lin Yu snapped his fingers. "Alright, stop pretending to sleep. That Zhang Lie over there is looking this way, and that Zhao Yin's eyes are about to pop out. Go, give them a reaction fitting your 'tech nerd' persona."

Su Ming opened his eyes.

Dusk had deepened, and formation-powered lamps lit up around the plaza.

He stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, ignored the various gazes cast his way, and walked directly towards Zhang Lie.

"Elder Zhang."

Su Ming clasped his hands in salute, his tone sincere and calm, without a hint of arrogance from newly receiving an "A+." Instead, it carried the focused attention of an apprentice seeking guidance. "When this disciple exited the forest earlier, in a daze, I perceived that the rhythm of the mist's flow outside the forest had a subtle lag compared to the external celestial timing and earthly qi. Dare I ask, Elder, for maintaining the stability of this Questioning Heart Forest illusion formation, was a principle similar to the 'midnight-noon ebb and flow' introduced to harmonize the spiritual energy tidal differences between different earth vein nodes?"

Zhang Lie's hand, which was gathering the formation flags, suddenly stilled.

He turned around, his gaze sharp as a torch, scrutinizing Su Ming up and down as if examining a formation plate that had suddenly started talking.

Several nearby disciples who hadn't yet left stared dumbfounded. Having just escaped such a mind-grinding illusion, ordinary people would either be spiritually exhausted or filled with endless emotion. But this one? The moment he opens his mouth, it's about profound formation principles?

Zhang Lie stared at Su Ming for several breaths. The muscles on his usually stern and rigid face seemed to twitch with extreme difficulty.

"That's a variant application of the 'Minor Universe Earth Vein Suppression Art,'" Zhang Lie's voice was still hard as iron, but he unusually added half an explanation. "If you're curious, go to the Scripture Depository and look up the seventh chapter of 'Essentials of the Cloud-Concealed Formation Pivot.' It has a detailed explanation."

With that, he said no more, rolled up the formation flags, turned, and strode away. Compared to usual, his retreating back seemed less sharp-edged and carried a hint of an indescribable... smoothness?

In the distance, Zhao Yin watched this scene, his teeth grinding audibly.

"Putting on an act, playing mysterious..." Zhao Yin cursed under his breath.

Su Ming watched Zhang Lie leave, then turned and returned to his group.

"Let's go, back to the Repair Hall."

He smiled at Wang Defa and the others. The smile held less of a youth's naivety and more of an unflustered confidence.

"Tonight, I'll still need to trouble everyone to organize the data from that batch of formation plates returned by the Spiritual Plant Garden last month. Wasting three days in the illusion, I seem to have some new, clumsy ideas regarding data processing." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Hearing this, Wang Defa and the others exchanged glances, then erupted in a chorus of good-natured, laughing complaints.

"Hall Master, you just got out..."

"Less chatter. Contribution points will be calculated."

"The Hall Master is wise! We will definitely exert our utmost effort!"

The group chatted and laughed, their figures gradually blending into the deepening night, leaving behind that lively, mundane chatter outside the silent Questioning Heart Forest.

Su Ming knew that from the moment he stepped out of this mist, his Dao path had truly begun to part the floating clouds, revealing the rugged road ahead.

The wind rises from the tips of the duckweed, the waves form between tiny ripples.