Chapter 1985: Returning to Earth

When Yuan emerged from the space rift, for a brief moment, he thought the teleportation had failed—that he was still in the Seventh Heaven. The spiritual energy in the air was simply too dense, too rich, to belong to Earth.

But he quickly realized that it was because the spiritual energy had flowed in from the Seventh Heaven.

The moment the teleportation device connected the realms, the boundless spiritual energy from the Seventh Heaven flowed into Earth. Even though it was only a fraction, for a small world like Earth, even the tiniest trickle of spiritual energy from the Seventh Heaven was enough to blanket the entire planet, saturating every corner with spiritual energy it hadn’t experienced since the Immortal Monarch’s Era.

The cultivators on Earth immediately sensed the shift. The moment the spiritual energy thickened around them, many dropped whatever they were doing and entered seclusion on the spot. Fearing it might vanish as suddenly as it appeared, they rushed to absorb as much of it as possible, eager to seize the rare opportunity to advance in cultivation while the heavens allowed it.

Since the rift opened up above the Dragon Spiral Mountain, it didn’t take long before Yuan noticed it and descended upon it.

When Yuan descended onto the peak of Dragon Spiral Mountain, his gaze was immediately drawn to two distant figures.

It was the Lord and Liya.

But something was wrong. The Lord lay motionless on the ground, seemingly unconscious, his aura faint and unstable. Beside him, Liya was transferring her spiritual energy into him.

Seeing this, Yuan rushed over and asked, "What happened?!"

"He sacrificed his cultivation to activate the teleportation device," she revealed in a grim tone.

"What?! Let me help!"

Upon hearing that the Lord had sacrificed his cultivation, Yuan immediately moved to help. However, he didn’t rush to pour spiritual energy into the Lord.

With his cultivation reduced to the 2nd level of Spirit Apprentice, the Lord could only absorb what his current realm could withstand. Anything beyond that would do more harm than good.

Instead, Yuan retrieved some of his blood and fed it to the Lord.

Almost instantly, the Lord’s complexion improved significantly. Color returned to his face as the chaotic flow of his body began to stabilize. His breathing, once shallow and erratic, grew steady and calm, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest.

Seeing that the Lord’s condition had stabilized, Liya slowly turned her gaze toward Yuan.

The moment her eyes met his, they widened in astonishment.

He looked completely different—taller, sharper, more refined. But it wasn’t just his appearance. His aura… it was vast, boundless, and utterly unfathomable to her.

It was as if she were staring at a stranger wearing the face of someone she once knew—someone who had soared far beyond her reach.

"A-Are you really Yuan…?" she couldn’t help but mutter.

"I know it’s been a few years since we last saw each other, but I can’t have changed that much, right?"

"Your face hasn’t changed much. I was talking about everything else. Your scent, aura—everything."

Yuan smiled and said, "Where are the others?"

"Probably still training in the Nine Heavens. They rarely return to Earth these days," she said.

"Then I’ll leave for now. I’ll come back once I get back into my real body."

Then, he soared through the sky and returned straight to his home, landing softly on the familiar balcony just moments later.

Stepping inside, a wave of warmth washed over him. There, in the quiet of the room, lay his physical body, resting peacefully beside Chu Liuxiang.

But to his surprise, Meixiu was there as well, resting on the same bed, her expression gentle and serene.

"So, how does this work? Do I jump inside my own body or something?" Yuan questioned out loud.

Yu Ning then said, "Since your soul was separated using the Soul Transference Array, we’ll likely need to undo the formation first."

"Do you think you can do it?"

"I can try, but I’ll need some time to analyze the formation first."

"Go ahead. I’ll even lend you my body," said Yuan.

The next moment, Yu Ning took over Yuan’s soul avatar and began examining Yuan’s real body.

"This formation is much more complicated than I’d anticipated," she muttered after a single glance at the formation.

Half an hour later, Yu Ning spoke, "I think it’s doable. Fortunately, the Soul Transference Array wasn’t created to be unbreakable and is actually quite fragile. Once I remove the formation from your real body, your soul will likely automatically return to its body."

"I’ll begin on your command."

"I’m ready. You can begin whenever you’re ready."

"Okay, then I will begin now."

Yu Ning, using Yuan’s avatar, began making array symbols in the air.

About ten minutes later, she combined the array symbols into a single array and sent it directly inside Yuan’s body.

"It’s broken," she said.

The very next moment, Yuan’s vision went completely blank. Yet, despite the absence of sight, he could still feel. A strange, irresistible force had gripped him, pulling at his very essence. He felt his body being pulled, as though something unseen was trying to consume his very existence.

This sensation lasted for a few seconds before everything went still.

Eventually, Yuan opened his eyes and could see the ceiling right above him.

He sat up on the bed and looked down at his body.

It worked. He’d finally returned to his true body.

"How do you feel?" Yu Ning asked.

"Weak," he replied.

After examining his body more closely, he realized that his cultivation was no longer at the peak of Immortal Ascension but his true body’s cultivation, which was still in the Spirit Realm. However, he could sense his cultivation slowly improving.

"I’ll probably need some time before my body and soul are fully integrated again."

"That’s normal, since your soul has been split into two parts for many years."

Suddenly—

[Celestial Emperor’s Curse has activated]

When the Celestial Emperor’s Curse activated, an excruciating pain tore through Yuan, not in flesh or bone, but from the depths of his soul.

It was a searing agony unlike anything he’d ever known, as if his very existence was being unraveled thread by thread.

[Your soul has been damaged]

Yuan realized what was happening even without looking at the notification.

The Celestial Emperor’s Curse was trying to destroy his soul.