Chapter 1: I Have Died Billions of Times

```htmlIn the early morning, the gentle sun has just risen, casting sunlight on the worn small temple's eaves, causing the water droplets attached to them from last night to refract into a rainbow of colors.
一滴水珠缓缓的沿着屋檐下滑，岁月的侵蚀让它前进的道路无比的忐忑曲折，不知从哪来的草籽飘飞到瓦缝中生根发芽，屋脊上的檐兽已经落了獠牙，砖瓦上的红漆早已在风吹雨刷下褪去颜色，青绿色的苔藓在其上肆意舒张，从来无人打扰它们。
The water droplets cautiously avoided the clawing grass blades, passing by an old beast with missing teeth that steadfastly upheld its duty, rolling on the rough moss, and arriving at the edge of the eaves with the escort of the tiny, invisible leaflets.
Then it fell,
Pa~~~
with a faint sound barely audible,
a water droplet landed on a face covered in filth, shattering into pieces on the rough skin that seemed as if it hadn't been washed for nine hundred years.
The owner of the face opened his eyes and looked at the rising sun in front of him. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, sketching a shallow arc. The expression was natural and practiced, the muscles had already formed a memory, and before the brain could react, the smile was already there as if it had been long awaited.
Only those eyes, calm as a millennia-old well, resembled the still waters of a deep pond that had not rippled for centuries. Even the eyes of the dead retain a hint of emotion from their past lives, but these eyes held not a shred of sentiment belonging to any living being; they seemed as cold and lifeless as purely mechanical creations.
It's hard to believe that these are the eyes of a human.
He wore tattered, dirty clothing that looked like it had been hastily wrapped in a piece of burlap picked up off the ground; one could barely discern the original color and style of the outfit from some frayed edges. The frail, scrawny body wrapped inside was strikingly pitiable, with exposed ankles and protruding blue veins that looked truly frightening; even the most impoverished beggar on the street wouldn't appear as wretched as he did.
After opening his eyes, he remained leaning against the wall, staying still in the same position, gazing at the distant sunrise as it slowly ascended, its emitted sunlight gradually becoming sharp and piercing.
Just like that, he remained like an unmoving stone, letting time flow slowly by.
Until a sharp, long call of a crane came from overhead,
“Lin Yi! I’m here to find you again!”
A lively and clear voice belonging to a young girl rang in his ears, startling the birds pecking at the grass seeds in the cracks of the tiles.
Her hair, tousled and fluffy like weeds, was lifted by the strong wind, covering his eyes. An elegant and proud white crane gracefully landed on the stone steps, and from its back jumped down a girl with a beaming face. The girl hopped around cheerfully, her long hair dancing behind her, resembling a squirrel that had just found a pine cone, full of delight.
She approached the man known as 'Lin Yi', completely ignoring his filthy appearance and beggar-like image. Casually, she sat down beside him, eager to share her inner joy with this stone-like man.
“Lin Yi, do you know? I have already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and will soon advance to Core Formation!” The young girl spoke with enthusiasm, her pride evident on her face.
“Hmm……” Lin Yi responded with only a slight nod, a perfunctory reply, without even casting a glance at the girl beside him. He continued to gaze at the sun, observing the rise and set of this fiery orb day after day, year after year.
“You're being so dismissive!” The girl rolled her eyes, clearly unhappy as she pouted, “Can’t you say a few more words?”
“Hmm, great…” Lin Yi maintained the smile on his face and added two more words to his earlier remarks, speaking in an indifferent tone that instead came off as a subtle mockery.
The girl helplessly pressed her forehead, knowing for over a decade the bad temper of the person before her, yet still couldn't help but clench her fists.
Forget it, this fairy won’t argue with a mortal!
The girl decided to let Lin Yi Yi go this time, even though she had previously let thousands of horses escape.
“Where's the fasting pill I gave you last time?” Looking at the frail and emaciated figure in front of her, the girl couldn't help but frown, asking in a tone that carried a hint of certainty, “Don't tell me it was eaten by a mouse again!”
Lin Yi narrowed his eyes, seemingly contemplating where those poor fasting pills might have been tossed into some corner, but he quickly gave up on the thought.
“Who knows, maybe…” He lazily closed his eyes, completely oblivious to the two fiery gazes poking at him.
“You! You! You!” The girl was exasperated by Lin Yi's indifferent expression, wanting very much to take her sword and poke a few holes in his forehead to see how his brain was structured, wondering why he didn't even care about his own life.
But in the end, she still didn't take action; she just sighed deeply, feeling like she had become the unlucky mother of a rebellious son, thinking that no matter how rebellious he was, she couldn't ignore his well-being—especially since the name 'Lin Yi' was indeed given by her.
“Here, take this. You better not lose it again!” The girl angrily threw a clean white jade bottle and said to Lin Yi fiercely, “If you lose it again, I won’t take care of you anymore. Just starve to death!”
The jade bottle traced a beautiful arc in the air, landing perfectly in Lin Yi's embrace. Lin Yi opened his eyes, reached out to pick up the jade bottle, and the pristine white surface was immediately stained with dust and grime. He simply shook the bottle, hearing the sound of small pills jingling against the walls inside, then closed his eyes again. He didn't pay any attention to the girl's threat; after all, this was a statement she had repeated countless times, and his ears had grown tired of it. Even if she was serious this time…
It doesn't matter...
Seeing Lin Yi accept the fasting pill without even saying a thank you, the girl wasn’t angry. She knew that Lin Yi was just that kind of indifferent person. In the more than ten years she had known him, she had never heard a single sincere word of thanks from him. Now, even a perfunctory 'thank you' was absent, which was truly regrettable.
Looking at Lin Yi's lazy demeanor, she thought of the task her master had entrusted her with and, not feeling discouraged, said, "Lin Yi, how about I take you to join Qingshan? You can be my little brother, and I'll look out for you, guiding you in cultivation to achieve the Dao and attain immortality!"
The girl stared intently at the lazy Lin Yi; as long as he nodded even slightly, she would immediately tie him up, starting with his mouth, leaving him no chance to regret.
Lin Yi didn’t give her that opportunity and said, “Not interested!”
```htmlHe didn't care at all about the opportunity to attain immortality and break free from the mortal world that the girl spoke of.
“My master is very optimistic about you!” the girl exclaimed anxiously. “You can't just give up on yourself! Don’t you want to become a cultivator like me, with a long lifespan and immense power? Don’t you want to achieve immortality, rid yourself of this frail body, and become an omnipotent immortal?”```
“Haha~” Lin Yi grinned, shaking his head softly, and said, “Cultivation, longevity, enlightenment, becoming an immortal—these things hold no meaning for me…”
The girl's face had turned as dark as a pot's bottom. She suddenly stood up, her pretty brows filled with disappointment towards the person in front of her: “Then tell me, what in this world is truly meaningful?!”
Lin Yi's smile never faded: "Nothing is meaningful; everything... has nothing to do with me."
“You…” The young girl couldn't help but stand up, pointing at Lin Yi, her face pale and purple, her eyes filled with disappointment, but she couldn't say anything because she had spoken similar words time and again, and the outcome was always the same.
“I’m leaving...” She threw out a lonely sentence and turned to disappear in front of the small temple.
Lin once again closed his eyes, tossing the fasting pill onto the grass beside him, not caring whether the jade bottle would roll away.
He is very aware of his physical condition, weak and feeble, and he may die of starvation in three days or ten days; anyway, it will be soon.
But so what? It will just be another experience…
The world is a cage, time is the punishment, and he—he is the only prisoner.
However, what Lin Yi, this prisoner, does not know is that a true key to escape the cage is arriving at this moment!
【Mr. Lin Yi, you will die in four days. Do you choose to join the 'Reincarnation Space' and become an Apostle?】
A line of text suddenly appeared in front of Lin Yi's eyes.
Lin Yi tilted his head and said leisurely, “Who are you? The Ghostly Evil Old Demon? Or the Longyang Ancestor? Find someone else to fool, don’t come to me!”
【I am the 'Reincarnation Space', and I am just 'Reincarnation Space'】
“Sigh... another alias, what's the point of this?” Lin Yi sighed, struggling to prop himself up, and helplessly said, “Alright, alright, I believe you. So, what is 'Reincarnation Space'?”
【Sign a contract with me and join the Reincarnation Space, where you will traverse various worlds to complete tasks and earn rewards】
【The Reincarnation Space is omnipotent!】
“Omnipotent…” Lin Yi carefully pondered these four characters, then opened his eyes. He smiled faintly and pretended to be curious, asking, “Omnipotent means being able to do anything, right?”
【Yes! The reincarnation space is all-powerful!】
“Then... can you kill me?”
For a moment, the reincarnation space did not answer. This was the first time in its eternal life that it faced such a bizarre question, or rather, a provocation.
After a long time, a line of text appeared before Lin Yi,
【As you wish, the erasure is about to begin, ten, nine, eight, seven……】
【……three】
【two】
【one】
Lin Yi felt darkness before his eyes and fell into a long slumber.
[Erasure of... Invaders! Warning! Invaders! Warning!]
[‘Unique Characteristic’ invasion, firewall failure! Defensive measures terminated! *amp;amp;*￥%amp;amp;……]
Accompanied by a burst of garbled text, a line of blood-red words appeared in the void,
【You have been killed by the system once, and will be permanently immune to system annihilation attacks】