The Return to the Mortal World

Time passed swiftly—half a year had gone by.

The golden desert lay desolate and solitary. The battle of the Ancestral Gods had long since ended, and all had departed. The vast desert held no life, no green—empty, barren, and remote, a land forgotten by all.

The spatial rift that had once been here was shrouded in black clouds. A colossal stone statue stood alone beneath the leaden sky, towering like a primeval demon mountain, its face turned toward the Eternal Continent as if gazing, as if longing...

Half a year had passed, and finally the wind rose again. The deathly stillness of the desert stirred to life. A fierce gale cut across the golden sands, raising a blinding storm of dust that swallowed even the giant statue. Yellow sand blotted out the sun and sky, sending the ribbon-like black clouds reeling and threatening to scatter them at any moment.

Amid the wind, a snow-white little beast whimpered. It wept into the gale, having guarded this towering stone statue for half a year now.

Eight colossal War Swords pierced the giant statue, pinning it in place. Its lower half sealed the spatial rift; its upper half stood in silent stillness.

The statue's expression was identical to Xiao Chen's at the moment he was sealed—a face filled with faint regret, gazing southward as if trying to look across the Eternal Continent, toward Dragon Island, toward the Mortal World.

"Wuwu... Xiao Chen, when will you wake up?" The little beast's true feelings poured out as it wept, half-conscious atop the statue, murmuring: "I have no parents now... and you're dead too... Wuwu... I want to go back to Dragon Island and never come out..."

The gale howled, and a figure soundlessly appeared atop the giant statue.

"Demon..." The little beast, as if sensing something, roused from its half-slumber.

The newcomer was none other than Chiyou. He sighed and said, "Come with me."

"No!" Then, with a pleading tone, the little beast added, "Please save him. I can give you Paradise Lost..."

"Pierced and sealed by the Twenty-Four War Swords, there is nothing I can do. Regretfully, I was not present that day. We went to aid the Ancestral God Shennong and were nearly annihilated on the battlefield. Shennong prevailed with our help, but all the Half-Ancestors who went perished. Ancestral God Shennong used his boundless divine power to save only me, the Martial Saint, Laozi, the Yellow Emperor, the Buddha, and Zhuangzi. The other Half-Ancestors were utterly destroyed."

It had been a brutal battle. Even Half-Ancestors, facing an Ancestral God, could be reduced to nothingness.

"Wuwu... I only want him to live. I ask for nothing else..."

"Come, I will take you away from here."

"I won't go. This world is full of bad people. They always want to kill me and Xiao Chen."

"That is because some fear you."

"Why fear me? Wuwu... I have never harmed them."

"Because they fear what you might become. They believe you should not have come into this world."

"Wuwu... I want to go back to Dragon Island. Father and Mother are gone. Xiao Chen is dead too. I will never come out again." Keke wept in sorrow, like a wounded child, and then fell unconscious.

The Demon cast a beam of dark light toward the statue, then soared into the sky with Keke, muttering to himself: "Dragon Island... Perhaps you truly should never have left there. That may well have been your parents' wish. For you do not belong to this world."

The gale ceased, and the desert returned to stillness. A month later, a towering figure descended from the heavens with two little girls in tow, bringing a spark of life to this place.

The Yellow Emperor stood wreathed in cloud and mist, motionless. Linglong and Tutu, two tender little girls, sighed with dejection.

"We finally found an interesting handsome big brother, and he's turned to stone..."

"Daddy, please help! Bring him back to life!"

"Yes, yes! Dear handsome daddy, save him!"

The Yellow Emperor's stalwart form seemed even more imposing within the clouds. He shook his head. "I cannot save him." With that, he cast a beam of yellow light toward the giant statue, and with the two little girls, vanished in a flash.

Another month passed. The Buddha manifested atop the statue, serene and immeasurably peaceful, and spoke: "Above heaven and beneath heaven, I alone am honored."

The 'I' in 'I alone am honored' did not refer to the petty self, but to the 'Great Self' of all sentient beings. Once enlightened, anyone could shed the bonds of desire, delusion, and illusion—that was the Buddha's Dao. Then one would be 'I' alone honored.

A ray of Buddha light shot from between his brows into the statue, and the Buddha shattered the void and departed.

Another month later, Sun Wu and Zhuangzi appeared together. They spoke of something, but their words were lost among the leaden clouds. Finally, they too pointed a beam of light each and vanished.

Laozi was the last to manifest on the statue. He said nothing, only pointed a stream of pure light, and then disappeared.

Time flowed on. A full year passed. The giant statue still stood in lonely solitude. But during that year, the statue's forehead slowly cracked, revealing faint, barely visible fissures. Three more months passed, and with a cracking sound, the towering statue's forehead shattered, opening a great hole.

A human of flesh and blood emerged from within, his body gleaming with a bronze light, as solid as if cast from copper.

A golden divine halberd blazed in his right hand, though its blade was now turned and cracked. A black iron seal appeared in his left hand, deformed beyond its original shape.

"Tongtian, Primordial, Zhunti, Sun, Old White Cat, Old Mud Eel of the Southern Wastes... I curse your ancestors for eighteen generations!" The Golden Divine Halberd roared with a voice that shook the Ancient God Wasteland.

"Son of a bitch! I f*#@ %#&..." The Dark-Iron Seal also bellowed furious curses.

Both baleful weapons were nearly destroyed, their surfaces cracked, as if they might shatter at any moment. But Xiao Chen himself was unharmed, without a single scratch.

"Am I still me?" Xiao Chen asked himself. He turned to look at the towering stone statue, then at his own naked body, feeling a sense of unreality.

"Son of a bitch, who else would you be? From now on, live well. We are bound to your life now. If anything happens to you, we'll suffer too. Damn that crippled Stone Man—what the hell is he? Making us share life with him. I f*#@..." The two baleful weapons roared with curses.

"Crack... crack..." Behind him, the great hole in the statue's forehead slowly healed, becoming smooth again, as if it had never been broken.

The Golden Divine Halberd and the Dark-Iron Seal were wretchedly damaged, emitting faint glimmers of light to protect Xiao Chen. But they had expended too much power; their light flickered unsteadily, as if they might shatter at any moment.

With the spatial rift sealed, the Ancient God Wasteland seemed less terrifying. Protected by the two baleful weapons, Xiao Chen spread his Eight-Aspect Worlds divine art and could fly at extreme speed, no longer struggling as when he entered.

At this time, the Eternal Continent was in turmoil. Ancestral God Shennong had reappeared in the world, opening the Divine Farmer's Palace and distributing treasures, then rushing into the boundless starry sky. Before leaving, he sent a message across the Eternal Continent: all sects should select their most outstanding disciples; when he returned, he would have great use for them.

The Ancestral God said no more, but the news relayed through the Half-Ancestors shook the entire Eternal Continent. To be chosen by the Ancestral God was a blessing cultivated over a thousand lifetimes. To this end, a grand gathering of cultivators was held across the continent. The disciples of nearly all Half-Ancestors—Primordial's Chan Sect, Tongtian's Jie Sect, the Buddha's Buddhist sect, the Sun Holy God's Sun Church—registered for selection.

It was an unprecedented grand event. Although it was only for the most outstanding younger disciples, it also drew the attention of the older generation.

But there was one strange thing: not a single Half-Ancestor showed their face. They seemed to have vanished at the same time, their disciples unable to find them.

When Xiao Chen flew to the edge of the Ancient God Wasteland, he was shocked to discover an unbelievable fact: the wasteland had been severed!

An immense spatial rift gaped between the vast desert and the Eternal Continent—dark, bottomless, without a trace of light. Only a tiny strip of land still connected the two regions, as if they were about to be completely cut apart.

"What happened? Why is this?" Xiao Chen's heart shook.

Without hesitation, he flew toward that narrow connecting strip.

But with a thunderous roar, boundless blood-colored lightning struck down, hurling him back instantly. The two baleful weapons in his hands creaked and cracked further.

"Why? Am I cut off here?" Xiao Chen murmured.

Just then, on the opposite side, at the tiny strip still connecting the Ancient God Wasteland to the Eternal Continent, a graceful figure came flying. She waved her jade-like arm and called out loudly: "Uncle..."

It was a beautiful, ethereal young woman, her smile blooming like spring flowers. She was not only beautiful but radiant and warm. Light as a spirit, she flew to the edge, her smiling, perfect face full of joy. She wrinkled her cute nose and said, "Uncle... you really know how to cause trouble."

"Qingqing... why are you here?"

"I happened to hear news of you. I've been here for nearly a year, wanting to rescue you, but... I couldn't get through." As she spoke, her face paled, and she quickly covered her mouth with her slender fingers.

But Xiao Chen's sharp eyes caught a trace of blood seeping between her fingers.

"You're injured?"

"It's nothing. Just a small wound. Knowing that my trouble-making uncle is safe, I'm relieved." Qingqing laughed lightly, unconcerned. Even then, she couldn't resist teasing him: "Uncle, now that you're back, are you going to cause more trouble? This time, I'll be your helper."

A warmth flowed through Xiao Chen's heart. He shook his head. "I'd like to go back and cause trouble, but... it seems I can't get across."

"Hehe, you really want to cause trouble..." She paused, frowning. "Oh no, Uncle, you might never be able to return."

At that moment, from the pitch-black spatial rift, a strange and immense force surged. The rift suddenly became like a terrifying sea-eye, madly devouring everything around it.

Xiao Chen only heard Qingqing's startled cry and vaguely saw her graceful figure swaying—then he felt himself spinning, swiftly pulled into the terrifying spatial vortex.

He did not know how long passed before he awoke to the sound of a deafening roar.

A magnificent scene unfolded before his eyes: ahead, a great yellow dragon surged and roared!

The Yellow River—he was seeing the great yellow river!

And beyond lay that familiar land.

The Mortal World. He had returned to the Mortal World.