"An Apprentice Immortal."
The Daoist's voice suddenly rang out from within Ye Qianfan's body, filling him with joy. "Daoist! I thought you'd disappeared! Why didn't you answer when I called you before?"
"I did. You just couldn't hear me," the Daoist grumbled. "You fell into Daoist Chen's trap in the Netherworld River, and your soul nearly scattered to the winds!"
"Then how am I still here? And why am I in such a strange place?"
Ye Qianfan asked.
"Call it Daoist Chen's bad luck. Ye Fu was only one step away from ascending. Daoist Chen turned all his Daoist arts into one final talisman spell, hoping to kill you, steal Ye Fu, and escape with his life. Instead, Ye Fu devoured his magical power and accidentally opened the Ascension Gate."
The Daoist continued, "You were lucky, kid. An existence above the White Jade Capital cast a glance at you, granting you an enormous amount of divine power."
"But your divine soul was too weak to bear all that power."
"So you fell into a world of nothingness."
"You nearly fell apart."
"Fortunately, someone in this world remembered you. The imperial in-laws joined forces with the Fourth Prince to rebel and seize the throne, but the emperor killed them. So the throne naturally fell into Shen Lang's hands."
"Shen Lang remembered how you'd saved his life and even helped him obtain a vast trove of burial treasures. He used those treasures to buy off quite a few court officials."
"That was how he ascended the throne!"
"So after his coronation, he named you Celestial Venerable Ye, letting you receive the people's incense offerings."
"Those incense offerings gradually allowed your divine soul to take shape again. But your divine soul is no ordinary soul now—you've truly reached the realm of an immortal!"