Main Text Chapter One: The Return of the Immortal

As the snow drifted gently down, those touched by these white petals displayed a passion that seemed at odds with the chill of winter. The “vampire” and the “chainsaw man” exchanged glances, then suddenly howled, “Yoo-hoo! It’s snowing!”

On Halloween’s eve, dusk had already settled. Lanterns and streamers adorned every corner, welcoming the parade of a hundred ghosts, immersing this ancient city of Lincheng in a lively and bustling atmosphere. The young people laughed and joked, critiquing the “monsters” who tried to scare them, while the elders shook their heads—ah, this world! The children corrupted by foreign culture, dressing up as ghosts in the street for fun. Do they not believe that if I, an old man, suddenly collapsed, I could frighten them to death?

At this very moment, in an unremarkable dead-end alley piled with junk in Lincheng’s old city, a white point of light suddenly appeared, as if a tiny bubble had risen from the surface of calm water. Simultaneously, a misty white curtain, invisible to ordinary eyes, appeared at the mouth of the alley. At first, the light point was no bigger than a grain of rice, its glow faint, but in mere moments, it trembled violently, radiating a soul-stirring brilliance and slowly growing and splitting. Instantly, a fierce wind arose. The sky above Lincheng, still pale a moment before, was now covered with swirling black clouds, so dense and roiling that an inexplicable fear crept into the hearts of those below, as if doomsday were at hand.

The light point that caused this celestial phenomenon had now become a fracture the size of a chopstick. Then something even stranger happened: a slender, jade-like hand suddenly thrust through the crack, widening it. Another hand emerged, palms turning outward, and with a forceful pull, as if tearing open a piece of silk, the hands ripped the fissure into a black hole three feet square. From within, a figure of light gradually drifted out.

“Ah… I have returned…”

With a gentle sigh, the light faded, and a young man with features like polished jade stood suspended in midair. His brows arched gracefully; starlight shone in his eyes; his skin glistened with a dreamlike glow, clear as crystal. Clad in robes of blue and white, his tall frame exuded an ethereal elegance—his presence as lofty as a celestial, his bearing as imposing as a deity.

Just as the youth was about to take in his surroundings, a clap of thunder resounded from above, vibrating through the air. In an instant, mysterious rings appeared about his neck, wrists, and ankles—rings of violet-gold, black-gold, white-gold, scarlet-gold, and pure gold, densely inscribed with arcane sigils that bound him motionless in midair. As he struggled, a gray chain of runes shot out from the void before his chest, wrapping him tightly, binding him hand and foot. Overhead, the black clouds churned violently, thunder rumbling and lightning flickering within.

“The Rings of Law, the Chain of the Interface, Heaven’s Punishment Lightning, the Barrier of Perception! Who would have thought that the moment I descend, my homeland would be so generous—laying out all the best for me,” the young man said with a wry smile, then closed his eyes.

He knew that the otherworldly aura and force within him exceeded the limits this world could tolerate. Thus, upon arrival, the world’s will had bound and sealed him, seeking to destroy him, lest he disrupt its order.

“My cultivation is only at the early Nascent Soul stage, yet the world’s restraint is far too strong. It seems the legend is true: Earth is the Primal Interface. Otherwise, how could a lower world confine a Saint of the Celestial Realm like me? So be it—this is how it must be…”

His thoughts raced. After a few moments’ silence, he acted. His lips moved in silent incantation; suddenly, five-colored divine light flickered about his head. Instantly, his aura diminished rapidly. As he cast his spell, the colors of the Rings of Law and the Chain of the Interface faded; the black clouds above gradually dispersed.

A quarter hour later, the rings and chain vanished, and the sky cleared as if nothing had ever happened—like a dream.

“Sigh, the Qi Condensation stage! Not a trace of spiritual power left!” No longer able to remain airborne, he landed lightly on his feet. Looking at his hands, he found his dantian and meridians utterly empty, his spiritual sense shrunk into the sea of consciousness. Where once a single thought could reach the ends of the heavens or the depths of the underworld, now he felt as mortal as any other—an unfamiliar sensation after so long.

“No matter. I am but a hair’s breadth from true perfection. May the calculations of King Zhou and my own intuition prove true. Perhaps this return to the mortal world will grant me final transcendence!” Striding forward, he consciously reined in the mystic radiance about him in a single breath, his once crystalline skin now merely pale and fair. In the next breath, his long, waterfall-like hair swiftly shortened, leaving only a close-cropped, military cut—sharp and heroic.

By the time he reached the white curtain at the alley’s entrance, he appeared to be nothing more than a handsome, spirited young man. His blue and white robe, too, differed little from the current wave of retro Han fashion.

The white veil before him was in fact the mystical “Barrier of Perception”—an arcane “door” separating dimensions. What lay within could not be detected by those outside; as long as this door existed, no one nearby would subconsciously approach, look, or hear anything within. Inside and out, two worlds apart.

He paused before the barrier, pinched his fingers in calculation, and came to an intriguing conclusion: “If I remember right, I spent one thousand six hundred and eighty-five years in the Celestial Realm, but only five years have passed on Earth! People often say a day in heaven is a year on earth—who knew it was the other way around? Fascinating!”

Before his words had fully faded, he cast one last glance upward, smiled inexplicably, and strode through the light curtain. Instantly, the breath of Earth surged over him, and the seal hidden deep within his consciousness strengthened further. In three more heartbeats, he would be unable to use nearly all his arts—when suddenly, a surprising sound reached his ears.

“Woof! Woof!”

He turned. Beside the fading barrier sat a bamboo basket filled with refuse, from which a small, filthy pup emerged—its eyes pure, full of fear and a touch of hope.

“Hahaha!” The young man laughed heartily. “I, Jiang An, return to find a stray dog as the first creature I meet! I do as I please, and since fate has brought us together, why not bestow wisdom upon you?”

With that thought, he formed a seal with his fingers and pointed at the pup. “Crash!” A nearly invisible green bolt of lightning struck from the sky, hitting the little dog, which leapt from the basket in fright. Dazed, it shook its head, a human-like spark now glimmering in its eyes.

“Farewell, till we meet again!” Without looking back, Jiang An disappeared into the wind.

…

In the bustling city, the snow had stopped, disappointing those who had longed for a world of white. The wild discussion stirred by the earlier strange celestial event gradually died down, and people resumed their routines, for life marched on.

Amid the crowd, Jiang An seemed somewhat out of place—though only somewhat, as tonight was the wild revelry of Halloween. At most, people admired his looks, perhaps wondering if this handsome man had chosen the wrong cosplay theme.

“Hey, what’s happening up ahead? Why are so many people gathered?”

“Let’s go see!”

“Seems like an old man’s lying on the ground.”

“Hope it’s not a scam…”

Jiang An, absorbed in observing the city’s changes and comparing them to his memories from five years prior, was drawn back to reality by this commotion. Ahead, a crowd had gathered, gawking at some unknown incident.

If he were still the immortal Jiang An, such matters would not have interested him in the slightest. But now, as a mere mortal, he needed to adopt a mortal’s mindset—only then could he truly walk the path of worldly cultivation. And so, he walked over to join the crowd.