“Chen Qingyuan, I’ll give you two choices. One, become my Dao Companion; two…”

In the depths of a restricted zone called Sky Abyss, a girl in a red dress spoke coldly.

Her long skirt dragged behind her, adorned with several gorgeous flowers.

She was barefoot, revealing her ankles, which were as flawless and white as jade.

Her dark veil covered her face, with only a pair of eyes that seemed like stars visible, her willow-like eyebrows and long hair cascading down, exuding charm with every smile and frown.

“I choose the second option.”

Before the girl in the red dress could finish her sentence, a young man in a blue shirt made a decisive choice.

Beautiful women are poison, especially those who have lived for countless years. Chen Qingyuan had been tormented by the girl in the red dress for a hundred years and knew how terrifying she was, not to be swayed by her appearance.

In addition to this reason, Chen Qingyuan had made a verbal agreement with a certain girl to become Dao Companions and could not go back on his word.

“You, don’t regret it.”

The girl in the red dress glared at Chen Qingyuan and snorted.

“I will not regret it.”

Chen Qingyuan’s will was firm.

“Then make nine agreements with me, and I will release you afterward, severing the karmic ties between us.”

The girl in the red dress took out a jade bracelet and handed it to Chen Qingyuan.

Taking the jade bracelet, Chen Qingyuan set out on the road back home. He had been trapped in Sky Abyss for a hundred years and could finally leave this ghostly place, feeling extremely excited inside.

***

Northern Wilderness, Flow Star Domain, Mystic Azure Dao Sect.

“Master, the Soul Lamp of Junior Master has lit up.”

A core disciple on duty at the Soul Hall today noticed something and hurriedly ran to the Elder Council.

“Nonsense, your Junior Master has been dead for over a hundred years.”

Inside the house, an old man was making tea and scolded loudly.

“It’s true, you can go see for yourself.”

This was a big deal, and the core disciple had confirmed it multiple times before daring to report it.

Hearing this, the old man choked on the tea he was drinking and stared with wide eyes. “Really?”

At the Soul Hall, a faint light lit up on a corner’s Soul Lamp, confirming the truth.

The old man’s body trembled slightly, excited and a little apprehensive, fearing that this possibility would be shattered, and he would once again endure the pain of despair. “The Soul Lamp has been relit. Is my Junior Master really still alive?”

“Master, what should we do?”

The core disciple asked for instructions.

“Investigate!”

A glimmer of hope shone in the old man’s eyes as he clenched his hands, looking serious. His name was Dong Wenjun, a high-ranking Elder who protected the Mystic Azure Dao Sect, with a distinguished status.

Over a hundred thousand miles from the Mystic Azure Dao Sect, there was an ancient restricted zone called Sky Abyss.

A hundred years ago, there was a phenomenon in the Sky Abyss, and someone claimed to have seen a Heaven and Earth Treasure fall into the restricted zone.

As a result, many sects from the Northern Wilderness entered the Sky Abyss.

The Mystic Azure Dao Sect dispatched over ten powerful Elders and dozens of core disciples.

Among them was a newly appointed inner sect Elder named Chen Qingyuan, who was young but had a high seniority.

Upon entering the Sky Abyss, many experts from various sects went missing and perished.

The Mystic Azure Dao Sect suffered even more, with all its forces annihilated.

A hundred years later, Chen Qingyuan’s Soul Lamp lit up, causing a stir among everyone in the Mystic Azure Dao Sect.

“I finally come out.”

Outside the Sky Abyss, Chen Qingyuan stood by the lake, taking a deep breath.

His clothes were covered in some dust, and there was no trace of spiritual energy emanating from him.

He was the last disciple taken in by the Mystic Azure Dao Sect’s Supreme Ancestor before his passing.

All the old men of the Mystic Azure Dao Sect had to address him as Junior Master, and the disciples below had to call him Master or even Grand Master.

“I don’t want to go back in there for the rest of my life.”

Chen Qingyuan looked back at the dark forest, where there was an ancient abyss, a world of its own.

Just as Chen Qingyuan said this, a ethereal female voice reached his ears. “Boy, don’t forget our agreement.”

Hearing this, Chen Qingyuan shivered and quickly shut his mouth.

The hundred years of experience in Sky Abyss made Chen Qingyuan reluctant to look back.

What still puzzled Chen Qingyuan to this day was how he managed to escape death.

Was it because of his handsome appearance?

This possibility was small, but not impossible.

The girl in the red dress had secretly informed him that the Mystic Azure Dao Sect would soon discover his whereabouts and send people to find him.

“Find a shady place to rest for a while.”

As a result, Chen Qingyuan was too lazy to walk and lay down under a big tree, falling asleep contentedly.

It had to be said that in this remote wilderness, Chen Qingyuan dared to act so arrogantly despite losing his cultivation. From this, it could be seen that Chen Qingyuan’s cultivation might have been lost, but he definitely still had hidden cards that no one knew about, or else he wouldn’t dare to act so boldly.

An hour later, Dong Wenjun arrived with a group of people.

When Dong Wenjun saw Chen Qingyuan lying in the shade of the tree, he trembled all over with excitement, his lips quivering, wanting to shout out loud. However, Dong Wenjun was afraid it was just his imagination, so he stood still, his eyes rippling with waves.

“Brother, wake up.”

Some disciples hurried forward and called out.

Chen Qingyuan slowly opened his eyes and saw the crowd.

The next moment, Chen Qingyuan looked at Dong Wenjun, whose hair was now white, and joy spread across his face as he called out softly, “Senior Brother Dong.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Dong Wenjun seemed to snap back to reality, and he hurried over to Chen Qingyuan, carefully reaching out his hands and grabbing Chen Qingyuan’s arms. “Junior Brother, is it really you?”

“It’s me.” Chen Qingyuan smiled. “Senior Brother, be gentle, it hurts!”

Then, Dong Wenjun let go of his hands and examined Chen Qingyuan closely.

“Brother, what happened to your cultivation?”

Dong Wenjun had not noticed this before, but now he carefully probed and found that there was no spiritual energy fluctuation in Chen Qingyuan’s body, and he had no cultivation at all.

“It’s gone, but it’s not a big deal.” Chen Qingyuan’s emotions didn’t fluctuate much, and he kept smiling.Normally, a cultivator who has become a useless person should feel worse than death.

However, Chen Qingyuan seemed indifferent, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Over a hundred years of life in the Restricted Zone was not without gains.

“Ah? This…” Dong Wenjun was quite surprised, and also felt a bit of heartache.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore, let’s head back first!”

Chen Qingyuan waved his hand, cutting off the conversation.

“Alright.”

Dong Wenjun nodded heavily, this place was indeed not suitable for chatting.

Then, Dong Wenjun took out a Dao Treasure, protected Chen Qingyuan’s physical body, and headed towards the Mystic Azure Sect.

The Mystic Azure Sect was able to find Chen Qingyuan smoothly, guided by the light of the Soul Lamp.

Soon, Chen Qingyuan finally returned to the Mystic Azure Sect.

Mountains stood tall, shrouded in mist.

Looking at this beautiful scenery, Chen Qingyuan’s face showed a deep joy.

“I’m finally home.”

Chen Qingyuan had grown up in the Mystic Azure Sect since he was a child, but unfortunately, just after he was taken as a disciple by the Supreme Elder, his master passed away due to the end of his lifespan.

Therefore, Chen Qingyuan cultivated under the guidance of his Senior Brothers and Sisters, with whom he had a great relationship.

The Council Hall was filled with people, all Elders of the Mystic Azure Sect.

This meeting was very important, and even core disciples were not qualified to attend.

Chen Qingyuan was brought to the Council Hall, and seeing the familiar faces, he bowed and saluted: “Greetings to all Senior Brothers and Sisters.”

The Sect Master of the Mystic Azure Sect was named Lin Changsheng, Chen Qingyuan’s Big Senior Brother.

“Brother, how did you survive?”

Lin Changsheng sat in the main seat, already aware of the general situation.

“Alas, it’s a long story, not easy to explain.”

Standing in the center of the hall, Chen Qingyuan felt uncomfortable under the gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes.

“We have plenty of time, take it slow!”

Lin Changsheng’s expression was serious.

Seeing this, Chen Qingyuan could only slowly begin: “That day, we entered the Sky Abyss…”

Next, Chen Qingyuan recounted the prepared story.

In summary, a group of them entered the Sky Abyss, encountered various prohibitions and unknown dangers, and in the end, only Chen Qingyuan was left alive. It was because Chen Qingyuan used a Secret Art that he was able to fake death and escape, spending a hundred years to make his way out.

Although he escaped from death, due to the backlash of the Secret Art, his Cultivation Level was completely destroyed, and his Spiritual Root was severed.

The crowd listened and fell into deep thought. They were unclear about the situation inside the Sky Abyss, and naturally could not discern whether what Chen Qingyuan said was true or not.

“Only you are left, alas.”

Lin Changsheng sighed.

Originally, everyone still held a glimmer of hope that the others might have escaped death like Chen Qingyuan.

“The Sky Abyss is forbidden.”

Chen Qingyuan recalled the scenes of his fellow disciples dying tragically, his face filled with sorrow.

The laws within the Restricted Zone were extremely terrifying, and touching them meant certain death. Chen Qingyuan’s survival might have been due to luck or destiny.

“Brother, for safety’s sake, we must check your physical condition.”

Lin Changsheng said solemnly.

“Understood, go ahead!”

The Mystic Azure Sect was worried that Chen Qingyuan might have been subjected to Body Possession, which, if not handled cautiously, could be detrimental to the Sect.

Generally, Body Possession could only take over the physical body, not the memories. Of course, there are very few cases where the possessor might retain the memories of their previous life.