When Lin Wei's consciousness returned, it was to cold earth and unfamiliar scents. The sky above was vast and open, devoid of the towering mountains, floating palaces, and soaring spirit qi of the jade cliffs he had known. He knew, he felt it within him, that he was no longer in the Ancestral Realm. He was in a lower or upper world, or perhaps even one of the hidden ghetto realms.
One thing was certain: this body was not his own. He tried to search his new form with his spirit but failed, realizing he could no longer project his spiritual consciousness outward. He awoke within the lithe form of a young man named Mu Yan, a nobody with no notable heritage but a fierce vitality. His new body ached with the rawness of life all over again.
Clasped tightly in his palm was a black coin—worn, etched with ancient runes, pulsating faintly with a cold light. This was the coin that had saved him. He recalled finding it in an ancient relic site, the only thing left in ruins that should have been filled with cultivation resources. He had spent a hundred years meticulously piecing together clues from ancestral manuscripts in the clan's library to locate that relic, all in the desperate hope of assisting his ascension to the Immortal Ascendant tier. All of it was for naught. He had lost his life and all his cultivation to his love—no, to that treacherous bitch who betrayed him.
"By the Dao's grace... I live," he whispered, a tremor in his voice. "And that man in the shadows, I will find out who you are and give you a death you cannot imagine."
His heart thundered—not just with survival, but with the fire of rebirth and revenge. Yan Ru's betrayal would not be his end. He would carve a new path. This new life came with endless possibilities, and with the knowledge of his past life, he could now accomplish feats previously beyond his reach. He had been a prodigy in his previous life, but not the only one, nor the best. Only his sheer willpower had propelled him through his arduous cultivation journey. Now, he would let his ambitions soar, forging a foundation that would put the ancients to shame. He would push for the fabled God Realm. He would reach the pinnacle and beyond what the heavens had to offer.
From the ashes of his death, a phoenix would soar, setting ablaze his enemies and his path alike.
The journey had begun.