C1 Immortal Venerable Returned
At Saltshield City's First People's Hospital.
"Someone's jumped off the building, call the police, quick!"
A figure plummeted from the sky with a harrowing scream, landing on the ground below.
Yet, against all expectations, there was no gruesome spectacle of blood and gore.
"How did this person survive a fall from the fifth floor without a scratch?"
The jumper, named Jiang Chen, was no longer the Jiang Chen of before.
"Ah!"
Struggling to his feet, Jiang Chen was a stranger to this world, hailing from the Immortal World.
Amidst the chaos of the Nine Heavens Returning to Void, he single-handedly battled three thousand demons, ultimately sacrificing his cultivation in a self-destructive act to take them down with him.
As despair set in, and he believed himself to be at death's door, the Nine Emperors Fire Bell transported a fragment of his soul to this world.
Jiang Chen felt as though he'd been struck by a train, barely able to muster the strength to take a step.
The onlookers, initially drawn to the spectacle, retreated as he rose to his feet.
Though they had come for the drama, the sight of a man unharmed after a five-story fall, now standing once more, made them wary of potential trouble.
Before long, a striking woman in a white suit approached Jiang Chen.
Tall, with black-rimmed glasses, she hurried over with a look of urgent concern.
Upon seeing Jiang Chen upright, she inquired with heartfelt worry, "What drove you to such despair?"
She then arranged for the hospital staff to conduct a thorough examination of Jiang Chen.
As Jiang Chen laid eyes on her, a flood of alien memories washed over him.
The woman before him was Luo Yiran, his fiancée in this lifetime.
This life's Jiang Chen had led a stifling existence. An orphan taken in by the Luo family, it was only a serendipitous event that had led Luo Yiran to consider marrying him.
The always dutiful Jiang Chen lacked ambition.
Now at 26 or 27, he was still dependent on Luo Yiran's family for support.
Though Luo Yiran had agreed to marry him, she held little regard for a man who showed no initiative, merely coasting through life. To her, they were more like strangers than a couple.
Until recently, Jiang Chen had been diagnosed with cancer, and given the Luo family's disdain for him, he began to entertain thoughts of suicide. It was this very reason that prompted Luo Yiran to hurry to his side.
Yet, it was his brush with death that allowed Jiang Chen, an Immortal Venerable, to resurrect through the power of the Nine Emperor's Fire Bell from the Immortal World.
Luo Yiran approached Jiang Chen, gently lifted his eyelids, and scrutinized his pupils intently.
"Go get a full body checkup now," she ordered Jiang Chen, though she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Incredible luck—surviving a fall from the fifth floor without a scratch."
Jiang Chen merely gave Luo Yiran a glance and replied, "Unnecessary."
His voice was flat, devoid of any warmth or emotion—a stark contrast to the usually submissive man who never stood up for himself. Luo Yiran felt a flicker of surprise at her husband's defiance.
Before she could respond, Jiang Chen had already walked away. At that moment, Luo Yiran's phone began to ring.
"Yiran, your mother isn't feeling well. You need to come home quickly."
Watching Jiang Chen's retreating figure, Luo Yiran stamped her foot in frustration and then hastily exited the hospital.
Having expended his cultivation in a self-destructive act, Jiang Chen was left with little power. Furthermore, inhabiting the body of his current life had further drained his already diminished strength.
As Jiang Chen's body hit the ground from his leap, unnoticed by all was the miraculous reassembly of his shattered form—a testament to the nearly destroyed Nine Emperor's Fire Bell of the Immortal Venerable Jiang Chen.
Based on the memories within him, he knew he owned a house in this life—an old one at that, given as a dowry by the head of the orphanage to Luo Yiran.
Jiang Chen could vividly sense the longing of his current self, who had handed over the deed to the old house, wishing nothing more than for Luo Yiran to truly see him for once.
Luo Yiran's mother dismissed the gesture with a frosty retort, "Keep it for yourself. Our Luo family isn't impressed by such trifles."
In this life, Jiang Chen was reduced to a mere cur within the Luo family, a dog that could only wag its tail and plead for scraps. He was relegated to tasks that even the cleaning lady would balk at. But when you're under someone else's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.
Sensing the injustices and humiliations that Jiang Chen had endured, Immortal Venerable Jiang Chen vowed to the cosmic forces, "Since I've taken over this body, I will ensure that you are not forgotten in this lifetime."
Yet, upon arriving at the old house, Jiang Chen was met with a group already gathered there.
"Director Wang, if we acquire this property, we can develop a luxury residential complex right here," one man said.
"The trouble is, we can't seem to reach the owner," another added.
A young man was speaking to a portly middle-aged man, Director Wang.
Director Wang dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand, "The idea that Wang Qinian's purchased land could be held up by a stubborn holdout is laughable. If we can't reach them, then demolish it. I refuse to believe they won't show up once their house is rubble."
No sooner had he spoken than Jiang Chen approached, keys in hand, and unlocked the gate with an air of indifference to the onlookers.
The young man at Director Wang's side called out, "Hey, are you the owner of this place? You do realize Director Wang has bought this land, right? Be smart and sell your house to him..."
But before he could finish, Jiang Chen turned a chilling gaze upon him. The murderous intent in his eyes sent a shiver down the young man's spine, leaving him quaking in fear.
Director Wang chimed in, "If you think acting tough will get you a bigger payout, you're sorely mistaken."
Annoyed by their chatter, Jiang Chen snapped, "Scram!" and slammed the gate shut with a resounding thud.
Director Wang, his pride wounded, barked at his entourage, "Bring in the bulldozer. I want this place leveled."
Director Wang has been a player in the real estate development game for many years. Without employing some tough tactics, he wouldn't have been able to secure a spot among Saltshield's top ten real estate moguls so smoothly.
But just as the bulldozer rolled in, an unexpected branch hurtled from the courtyard.
It shot straight through the bulldozer's cabin window, embedding itself fiercely into the engine.
"Leave now, or meet the same fate," came the stern warning.