Returning after 10000 Years Cultivation - Chapter 143

“Sigh, why do I keep running into Master Jiang? This is just my luck! Is my fate really this terrible?”

After dropping Jiang Tian off at the highway entrance, Young Master Tang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with lingering fear.

“Young Master Tang, perhaps embracing Buddhism could be beneficial!” Bai Tiannan, standing beside him, pondered for a moment before offering this solemn suggestion.

“Is that so?”

“Indeed, embracing Buddhism must surely help. As they say, the Buddha protects the devout. If you sincerely follow Buddhism, you will definitely avoid encountering this living King of Hell again!” Bai Tiannan explained.

“What’s the issue with embracing Buddhism? If it means I never have to meet Jiang Taichu again, I’d willingly trade ten years of my life for it!”

As if seeing a glimmer of hope, Tang Shaozhe clasped his hands together, his face etched with piety. “Buddha above, from this day forward, your humble servant vows to abstain from lust, refrain from eating meat, avoid false speech, abstain from alcohol, and devoutly worship, chant scriptures, and pray daily. My only wish is to never lay eyes on Jiang Taichu again in this lifetime!”

…

Fu Lanjun had been having a miserable time lately. The marriage engagement with the Tang family was called off, she was stripped of her position as vice-president of the socialite club, and without the Tang family’s support, the sales of her Junzilan brand were plummeting.

She had practically become the biggest laughingstock in Linzhou!

It was as if all the spirit had been drained from Fu Lanjun; she was completely deflated.

She spent her days restless, unable to eat or sleep properly, plagued by severe insomnia, her mind constantly replaying scenes of Jiang Tian.

Him during their blind date, softly trying to please her, giving her that childish Winnie the Pooh bear.

Her throwing the bear back in his face, calling him a toad lusting after swan meat, and the look of stunned disbelief and dejection on his face.

Him at the Tang family’s apprenticeship ceremony, receiving their reverence, the center of attention, looking right through her with disdain.

…

Scene after scene flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

Her gaze grew vacant, her words few and far between. Her parents even began to worry that she might have had a mental breakdown.

Within a few months, she had lost ten pounds, becoming gaunt and haggard.

One night, Fu Lanjun picked at her dinner, managed a few bites, then lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

“Jiang Tian, a useless good-for-nothing, and a lunatic to boot… how did he become Jiang Taichu, Master Jiang?”

Years of battling in the business world had honed her meticulous and rational way of thinking. Precisely because of this, she found it all the more unbelievable.

Finally, gritting her teeth, she changed her clothes, slipped quietly out of her house, and headed towards the King’s No.1 Villa.

Her best friend, Lu Biyao, had become one of Jiang Tian’s admirers, constantly feeding her updates about him. She knew Jiang Tian had moved into the King’s No.1 Villa.

And Zhou Xianya, who had gone to develop her business in Yangcheng, had met with her once, warning her never to provoke Jiang Tian again.

When Fu Lanjun asked her why, Zhou Xianya was so terrified she trembled uncontrollably, leaving without saying another word.

It was now 5 a.m.; a faint glow of dawn was breaking in the eastern sky.

She pushed open the villa gate with ease.

Inside, mist swirled, lush vegetation grew wild, and the shapes of rockeries were faintly visible—it was like a scene from a celestial paradise.

“Is there no one living here? Could that girl Lu Biyao have gotten it wrong?”

Fu Lanjun ventured in as if entering an unoccupied place. Finding the villa locked, she made her way up to the rooftop viewing platform.

“Jiang Tian!”

She gasped in surprise. There he was, Jiang Tian, lounging in a rocking chair, looking completely at ease, sipping tea contentedly.

“I knew you would come…” Jiang Tian swallowed a mouthful of tea, a trace of mockery curling at the corner of his mouth.

“You think you’re some kind of immortal? Knowing everything!”

Seeing Jiang Tian’s calm and composed demeanor ignited a surge of anger in Fu Lanjun. All the scenes of humiliation she had suffered at his hands flooded back to her.

Especially his gaze made her intensely uncomfortable. It was as if he were looking down with amusement at the struggles of an ant.

Or like an audience member in the corner of a theater, watching someone else’s desperate performance, knowing all along it was just a play.

Aloof, looking down on her as if she were an insect, brimming with arrogance.

She trembled with rage, her voice shaking as she spat out, “I simply don’t believe you are this so-called Master Jiang!”

“Why don’t you believe it?” Jiang Tian’s eyes narrowed slightly, showing a flicker of interest.

“Why? It’s simple! Reason!”

Fu Lanjun poured out the grievances of the past few months, finally giving voice to them, her fists clenched as she shouted hoarsely:

“The Tang family treats you like an honored guest, the Jiangbei elite see you as their leader, but I just don’t believe it!”

“Because you lack every single quality of a truly great man!”

“You seem low-key, but in reality, you look down on everyone, disregarding social conventions, incapable of flattery!”

“Family background? The Jiang family has fallen, the Yao Wang Group is struggling, and you were even kicked out for offending that big shot in Yanjing! You can’t rely on your family at all!”

“In terms of skill? You’re crude and brutal, inferior to Liu Tianle, even worse than Long Gaitian!”

“Intelligence? You’re insane, reckless, your actions are erratic, no different from a madman! How could you possibly compare to business elites?”

“You’re uneducated, you only attended a third-rate dump of a school, you almost didn’t graduate because you cheated on exams!”

…

“Your character is lacking, your family is lacking, your skills are lacking, your intelligence is lacking—you’re lacking in every way! How could you possibly be Master Jiang? So, either you’re a fraud, or they’re all blind!”

By the end, she was screaming herself hoarse, her body trembling, fists clenched so tight her knuckles were white, as if trying to expel all the confusion, grievance, and fear of the past days.

Fu Lanjun had received an elite education since childhood, having studied at the London Business School. She prided herself on her sharp eye for talent and character, believing she had never misjudged anyone in her life.

Her relationship with Tang Jianfeng had been her masterpiece.

After all, Tang Jianfeng was famously disowned and sidelined by the Tang family back then, with no one giving him a chance.

But regarding Jiang Tian, she had misjudged him repeatedly, ultimately plunging herself into an abyss of despair.

“Oh, is that all?”

Jiang Tian smiled faintly. “You’re not actually stupid. It’s just that my abilities are far beyond what ordinary people can comprehend. And you, unfortunately… are merely ordinary.”

Jiang Tian looked down at the city gradually awakening under the morning sun—the trees, the tiles, the sprawling urban outline, the flat lakes and distant mountains, and the wider world beyond the lakes and mountains.

He gazed at everything that seemed familiar, yet held a different meaning from his past life.

“And you can never imagine that beyond the surface of this world, there exists another, truer world. And this world… is one you can never enter,” Jiang Tian said lightly.

“Another world?” Fu Lanjun looked bewildered.

“Indeed.”

Jiang Tian lazily rose to his feet and chuckled. “Well, since you’ve been so preoccupied, even coming all the way here today, I might as well let you take a glimpse of that other world.”

With that, Jiang Tian stamped his foot and uttered softly, “Array, arise!”

In an instant, between Xiu Lake and Lion Peak, pillars of light shot straight up into the sky.

Over the lake and amidst the mountains, clouds churned and spiritual mist surged like a tide, enveloping the entire villa.

Under Fu Lanjun’s horrified gaze, two white qi dragons, thick as giant trees, let out rumbling roars. Majestic and powerful, they soared through the layers of clouds towards them.

“This… what is this…?”

When she saw the dragon heads, large as millstones, appear vividly before her eyes, Fu Lanjun stumbled backward in terror.

“Woooo—!”

The two white mist dragons coiled and curled obediently at Jiang Tian’s feet like tame cats, their massive heads nuzzling his shoulders gently.

“Now, do you have your answer?”

Jiang Tian turned, his gaze piercing her panicked eyes as if looking down at an insect, and said calmly:

“My dominance over Jiangbei, my conquest of Lingnan… it doesn’t rely on knowledge, skill, or family background. It’s because I possess the power to control life and death!”

Faced with this scene straight out of mythology, Fu Lanjun’s heart screamed as it plummeted into an abyss:

“With such power… he truly is akin to a god! No wonder he’s the revered Master Jiang!”

Immediately afterward, regret and remorse ten times stronger than before completely consumed her.

Tears streamed down her face as she stumbled and fled the villa.

Morning, November 28th, 2007. On Lion Peak Mountain, the Canglong Formation was complete!

On this day, Jiang Tian condensed primordial energy into spirit, transforming it into two Canglongs, successfully stepping into the middle stage of Qi Refinement!

“Now Linzhou is finally secure. I can finally return home for a visit.”

Jiang Tian paid no mind to what Fu Lanjun thought, letting her run off in disgrace. His thoughts drifted to Jinling, to Qixia County, the place where he grew up.

“Time, please slow down… let mom and dad age a little slower…”

Thinking of his parents, whom he hadn’t seen for ten thousand years, Jiang Tian’s eyes grew slightly moist, yet shone with excitement.

At that moment, Zhao Xueqing, dressed in a white silk nightgown, having just finished her cultivation, walked onto the terrace. She smiled and said, “Mom and dad really miss you. Dad even called this time!”

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, and enhanced by her cultivation, her aura was even more ethereal and transcendent. Her smile could topple cities and captivate nations.

“Oh, really?” Jiang Tian was slightly taken aback, a faint wetness welling in his eyes.

His father, Jiang Zhixing, in this previous life, should have held the position of Deputy County Head of Qixia County.

Being part of the system, he was cautious and reserved, his feelings for Jiang Tian deep and restrained, rarely expressing direct concern.

But they say a father’s love is like a mountain. Jiang Tian still remembered, in his past life, after he brutally assaulted that young master from Yanjing and brought disaster upon them, his father, disregarding his age and pride, pleaded and apologized desperately before that young master, almost begging on his knees.

After Jiang Tian was disowned, his father seemed to age ten years in an instant, drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day, sighing incessantly. Within six months, his hair turned completely white.

“I told dad you were researching medicinal formulas. He didn’t quite believe it, but his voice was full of relief…”

Seeing Jiang Tian’s red-rimmed eyes, Zhao Xueqing thought he was just missing his parents after a year apart. She comforted him gently, “Don’t be sad. The formation is complete, and you’ve broken through. Let’s hurry back to Qixia County for a visit…”

Little did she know, Jiang Tian hadn’t seen his parents for ten thousand years—how could it be just a year or two?

Since Jiang Tian jumped off the cliff, was taken by his master, and embarked on the path of cultivation, ten thousand years had passed.

Ten thousand years of countless battles and victories, suppressing countless demons and great evils, forcing numerous Immortal Emperors and Divine Princes to submit, making the name Taichu Immortal Venerate resound across the stars—Jiang Tian had gathered endless glory upon himself.

But deep in Jiang Tian’s heart, his greatest regret was Xueqing.

And his greatest longing was… for his parents.

Ten thousand years of witnessing the world change, ten thousand years of ups and downs. And now, Jiang Tian was about to return to the beginning.

If Jiang Tian’s memory served him right, soon, Qixia County would hold an investment promotion conference. It was at this very conference that his father would be framed for bribery and corruption and thrown into prison.

And this framing would become the clarion call for the three great families of Jinling to launch their final assault on the Jiang family.

Four years later, the Yao Wang Group would be maliciously acquired in its entirety, becoming the final straw that broke the Jiang family’s back.