Linzhou City, First People’s Hospital, Psychiatry Department.
On the hospital bed, Jiang Tian’s body suddenly convulsed violently, and his eyes snapped open.
In that instant, his eyes flickered with an otherworldly light, as if countless stars were swirling within them, as though an entire universe had been born.
“Water—!”
His head throbbed with pain, his body felt like it was on fire, and his throat was so dry it felt like it was about to crack. He let out a soft groan.
“Jiang Tian, you’re awake?” A soft, pleasant voice reached his ears.
Immediately after, something cool touched his lips, and cool water flowed down his throat, bringing some clarity to his mind.
When he saw the girl feeding him water, Jiang Tian was struck as if by lightning. “Xueqing, aren’t you… dead?”
The girl before him had shoulder-length black hair, eyes as bright as gemstones, long lashes, and full, rosy lips. Her delicate features and the white dress that hugged her figure made her look like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.
He couldn’t believe it. To confirm his suspicion, he reached out to touch her hair.
“Jiang Tian, what are you doing?”
Zhao Xueqing instinctively took a step back, avoiding his touch. A hint of fear flashed in her clear, beautiful eyes.
“Could it be… I’ve come back?”
Zhao Xueqing’s delicate face was so vivid, so close. Jiang Tian’s expression shifted dramatically, and a storm of emotions surged within him.
Memories, like a slideshow, flashed through his mind at lightning speed.
—
As a member of the Jiang family of Jinling, Jiang Tian had once been engaged to a girl from a prominent family in Yanjing. However, the girl’s family suddenly broke off the engagement, turning Jiang Tian into the laughingstock of Jinling.
In a fit of rage, Jiang Tian beat up the young master who had come to annul the engagement, causing a huge uproar.
Under his grandfather’s direction, Jiang Tian was disowned and exiled to Linzhou.
In Linzhou, Jiang Tian secretly married Zhao Xueqing, the daughter of a third-rate family, and even became a live-in son-in-law.
Although Zhao Xueqing was beautiful—known as the most beautiful woman in Linzhou—and had a gentle personality, Jiang Tian, who still saw himself as a young master from a wealthy family, looked down on her. He resented his grandfather for sending him to this backwater town.
Filled with frustration and anger, Jiang Tian took out his emotions on Zhao Xueqing, treating her coldly and even resorting to verbal and physical abuse.
Once, after alcohol poisoning caused permanent damage to his brain, Jiang Tian’s behavior became increasingly erratic. On one occasion, he nearly strangled Zhao Xueqing to death.
But Zhao Xueqing, with her compassionate heart, never abandoned Jiang Tian, even when the Jiang family fell from grace. She spared no expense to treat him and cared for him tirelessly.
In 2012, the Jiang family of Jinling faced a catastrophic upheaval.
Jiang Tian’s father was framed and imprisoned, where he died in despair.
His already ill grandfather couldn’t withstand the shock and passed away.
His mother died in a car accident on the highway, hit by a truck—a suspected murder.
The Jiang family crumbled, and their pharmaceutical empire was carved up by several powerful families.
It was only then that Jiang Tian understood his grandfather’s intentions. He had sent Jiang Tian away to protect him, to ensure the Jiang bloodline would survive.
After the fall of the Jiang family, Liu Wangfeng, a young master from Linzhou, revealed his true colors. He forced Zhao Xueqing to submit to him, and unable to bear the humiliation, she took her own life by burning charcoal.
Torn apart by despair, guilt, hatred, and madness, Jiang Tian leaped from the Hundred Zhang Cliff in Linzhou, hoping to end his miserable life.
But Jiang Tian didn’t die.
Instead, he was taken by a wandering cultivator to another realm, where he embarked on the path of cultivation.
That journey lasted ten thousand years!
In just five hundred years, Jiang Tian rose from the most basic levels of body refinement to the Mahayana stage, overcoming the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulations and ascending to immortality, earning the title “Tai Chu Immortal Venerable.”
For the next several millennia, Jiang Tian, now known as Jiang Taichu, pushed himself to the limits, dominating the cosmos and proving his might through slaughter!
He battled divine sons, annihilated god-kings, and swept through the stars, capable of destroying entire planets with a wave of his hand. Eventually, he reached the level of a Primordial God.
A Primordial God, the supreme deity.
The hallmark of this level was the ability to create one’s own universe, to break through the Primordial Chaos and establish a realm entirely under one’s control.
But in the process of creating his universe, Jiang Taichu perished, his body and soul disintegrating.
Only at the final moment did he realize that even after reaching the pinnacle of the universe, overlooking countless races across the stars, what truly occupied his heart were the regrets of his parents’ deaths and the deep guilt he felt toward Zhao Xueqing.
His inner demons had destroyed him.
“All the glory in the world cannot compare to a single smile from a loved one. Eternal life is meaningless without family by your side…”
“Turns out, I never truly let go…”
As he fell, Jiang Taichu gazed at the sky with tears streaming down his face. In the next moment, his body shattered into countless dark meteors.
—
“It’s nothing, Xueqing. Is your neck okay?”
When Jiang Tian came back to his senses, he awkwardly withdrew his hand, a look of pain and sorrow flashing in his eyes.
The bruise on her neck—hadn’t he caused that a few days ago when he had strangled her in a fit of madness?
“It’s fine…” Zhao Xueqing’s delicate face showed a hint of surprise.
Jiang Tian’s mind seemed clear, and he was even concerned about her. This was completely different from his previous erratic behavior.
Could it be… he had recovered?
Jiang Tian felt his dantian—it was completely empty, devoid of even a trace of true essence. He frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, “Xueqing, what year and month is it now?”
“March 12, 2007…” Zhao Xueqing’s expression darkened.
His brain had been damaged beyond repair, or so the doctors said. How could he have recovered? Sigh, I must be dreaming.
“This year, I’m 25, three years out of college, and Xueqing and I have been married for a year…”
A look of wild joy flashed in Jiang Tian’s eyes as he murmured to himself:
“And there are still five years before those families make their move. I have plenty of time!”
“What did you say?” Zhao Xueqing looked at Jiang Tian with concern.
“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here!”
Jiang Tian ripped out the IV needle, ignoring the blood on his arm, and quickly got out of bed. He walked to the window, hands behind his back, a sinister smile playing on his lips. “Heh, so what if I don’t have a shred of cultivation? I can start over!”
“In these five years, I can reach the Foundation Establishment stage, maybe even the Golden Core stage. At the very least, I’ll be invincible on this planet!”
Then, he looked up at the sky, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, as if he could tear the heavens apart.
“In my past life, you humiliated my family and killed my loved ones. In this life, I’ll make you pay a thousand, no, ten thousand times over!”
“In my past life, you took my wife and drove me to suicide. In this life, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
“I’ll make the heavens tremble, the earth bow, and turn the entire world upside down!”
Seeing this, the nurse turned pale. “Miss Zhao, your husband seems to be having another episode. Should we give him another sedative?”
“No need…” Zhao Xueqing shook her head gently, sighing inwardly.
He’s spouting nonsense again. It seems he hasn’t improved at all.
Just then, her phone rang. Zhao Xueqing’s expression changed, and she quickly answered. “CEO, I’m at the hospital taking care of Jiang Tian. I’m done here, and I’ll be back at the company soon!”
After hanging up, she turned to Jiang Tian. “Jiang Tian, can you take a taxi home by yourself?”
“No problem, go ahead…” Jiang Tian waved her off.
“Take care, and come home early!”
Zhao Xueqing gave Jiang Tian one last worried look before hurrying out the door.
“Xueqing, in my past life, I owed you too much. In this life, I’ll give you a lifetime of happiness and peace. I swear, I’ll never let you suffer even the slightest harm or injustice again!”
As he watched Zhao Xueqing’s retreating figure, a look of deep affection appeared in Jiang Tian’s eyes.