Immortal Realm? Earth!

Huaxia.

Dozens of miles outside the suburbs of Linchuan City, amidst a range of rolling mountains.

The sky, originally clear and sunny, was suddenly pierced by a thunderclap that rang out without warning!

Immediately following, a strange light seemed to tear the firmament apart, silently blooming in a magnificent display—a ribbon of radiance stretching across the horizon!

Then, clouds of rosy mist filled the sky!

The entire firmament was rendered as if it were a fairyland, breathtakingly beautiful...

Yet, within that sea of rosy light, a figure appeared with an eerie suddenness.

He was dressed in sky-blue long robes, his hair bound with a hairpin. His frame was slender, his skin as fair as an infant's, and his features were as gentle as jade, resembling a refined young master stepped out from an ancient painting...

However, the moment he appeared, he seemed to be struck by a sudden, immense pressure, plummeting straight toward the ground.

But quickly, he steadied his form, actually standing firmly in mid-air!

If anyone were to witness this scene, their jaw would likely drop in shock.

Could there truly be someone in this world capable of standing in the void?

They would surely exclaim: Is this a man or an immortal?

But at this moment, the man's eyebrows were tightly locked, his heart filled with suspicion as he looked around...

"What is happening? Could it be... that this is not the Immortal Realm?"

"But that shouldn't be! When I ascended, I clearly saw the Immortal Gate open wide. Why, after my ascension, did I not experience the infusion of immortal energy, the tempering of my flesh and soul, or the forging of an Immortal Body and Immortal Soul as recorded in the ancient texts?"

"Instead, I feel an inexplicable restraint suppressing my primordial spirit and spiritual power, preventing my soul from leaving my body and completely stifling my divine sense, rendering it unable to project outward."

"My spiritual power is restricted to a level equivalent to the peak of the Golden Core Stage..."

Ning Wangshu pondered deeply, yet he could not find an answer.

Afterward, he sensed his surroundings carefully and discovered that this world contained only the faintest traces of spiritual energy, causing him to frown once more.

He grew increasingly suspicious of whether this place was truly the legendary Immortal Realm...

"Enough, I shall look around to see what the situation is. Since I cannot project my divine sense, I must rely on my naked eyes."

"Moreover, my cultivation has been inexplicably shackled, leaving me only the spiritual power of the peak Golden Core Stage. I must proceed with caution..."

Thinking this, Ning Wangshu immediately pinched a spell, concealing his form and masking his presence from the divine sense of any other immortal cultivators.

Then, he beckoned with his hand.

A flying sword brimming with Immortal Charm instantly appeared beneath his feet...

This was his natal artifact, the top-grade spirit artifact known as the "Wangshu Sword"! He had forged this sword himself, naming it after his own name.

Although he could fly through the air without the sword, his speed would not be as great as when riding it.

Stepping onto the flying sword, Ning Wangshu instantly transformed into a streak of flowing light, vanishing into the horizon...

Before long, a massive, modern city appeared within his field of vision.

When Ning Wangshu saw the city and the towering skyscrapers standing within it, his heart shook violently. His eyes widened abruptly, revealing a look of utter disbelief!

"This, is this... Earth??"

"No, that's not right. That building... it is clearly the Jinjiang Building! Yes, that is the Jinjiang Building in Linchuan City!"

Ning Wangshu suddenly became incredibly agitated.

His eyes were fixed intently on the tallest building in the city ahead, staring at the faint, visible characters "Jinjiang Building" on its facade...

Even though his divine sense could not be projected, his eyesight was far beyond that of an ordinary person. Even from a great distance, he could clearly read the words on the building!

But soon, Ning Wangshu's excitement turned into shock and... disbelief.

"How is this possible!? I... I have actually returned to Earth? I didn't ascend to the legendary Immortal Realm, but instead returned to Earth, back to my hometown of Linchuan City???"

Ning Wangshu's tone was strained, his breathing involuntarily quickening, his mind filled with countless questions.

A tempest raged in his heart; he could not fathom how this had come to pass.

It was incomprehensible, and inexplicable.

Just like when he had first transmigrated to the Cangyuan Realm...

That's right!

Ning Wangshu was originally a man of Earth, and his hometown was the city of "Linchuan" before him.

But due to an inexplicable accident, he had transmigrated to an immortal cultivation world called the "Cangyuan Realm," where he had remained for nearly ten thousand years!

There was a time when he had yearned desperately to return to Earth, exhausting every possible method.

Because here, he had his family...

Yet, nearly ten thousand years had passed. He had traveled the path from a mere mortal, enduring countless hardships to reach the Mahayana Stage and become the undisputed Number One Person of the Immortal Dao in the entire Cangyuan Realm, but his wish had remained unfulfilled.

Throughout those long, arduous years, he had long since let go of his obsession with returning to Earth, focusing his heart solely on the Immortal Dao in hopes of ascending to immortality.

In the end, he did not disappoint.

He became the only person in millions of years within the Cangyuan Realm to ascend!

However, he never imagined that instead of ascending to the legendary Immortal Realm, he had returned to Earth!

At this moment, the emotions swirling within Ning Wangshu were incredibly complex.

He gazed deeply at the city ahead, a place buried in the deepest recesses of his memory—once so familiar, yet now feeling strangely alien.

For a time, he could not find the words to describe his state of mind.

Just then, Ning Wangshu seemed to realize something, his expression suddenly freezing—

"Wait! I clearly spent over nine thousand years cultivating in the Cangyuan Realm, so why does this place look no different from how it was before I transmigrated?"

"Even the Jinjiang Building is still standing there! Never mind ten thousand years; the exterior of the Jinjiang Building doesn't even look aged. It doesn't look like it's been more than ten years!"

"Otherwise, if nearly ten thousand years had truly passed, let alone the Jinjiang Building, the entire Linchuan City would have either ceased to exist or undergone earth-shattering changes..."

"But this shouldn't be! What on earth is going on?"

Ning Wangshu furrowed his brows tightly.

"Unless..."

Suddenly, a possibility struck him: "Unless the flow of time on Earth is different from that of the Cangyuan Realm! Even though I spent over nine thousand years in the Cangyuan Realm, not much time has actually passed on Earth!"

"If that's the case, doesn't that mean... Mom and Ruoxuan are still alive?"

Thinking of this possibility, Ning Wangshu became instantly agitated, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Back when he was in the Cangyuan Realm, a major reason he had abandoned the thought of returning to Earth was the certainty that his mother and younger sister must have already passed away.

Even if he did return to Earth, he would never see them again, making the journey meaningless.

But now, everything seemed to have taken a turn for the better...

Even if he hadn't ascended to the Immortal Realm, hadn't become a true immortal, and even if his cultivation was inexplicably shackled, allowing him to exert only the power equivalent to the peak of the Golden Core Stage...

The moment he realized there was still a chance to see his mother and younger sister again, Ning Wangshu felt none of that mattered!

"Go home! Go home right now—"

At this moment, only this single thought remained in Ning Wangshu's mind.

He did not want to wait even a single second longer.

He immediately pushed his flying sword to its full strength, racing toward Linchuan City ahead at the highest possible speed...