An unknown amount of time passed...
Chen Chang'an's consciousness, like a stubborn stone sunk in the deep sea for ten thousand years, was finally awakened by a glimmer of light.
He slowly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion from his first awakening in his gaze.
Dreams and reality intertwined. Everything from before—the brutal slaughter in the Spirit Realm, the resolute figures of his disciples, the weakness and relief when he finally sealed the Spirit Realm—seemed right before his eyes, as clear as if it had just happened.
He sat up and looked around. This was an elegant and familiar meditation room, simply furnished and spotless, with a faint calming fragrance lingering in the air.
The windows were bright and the desk was clean. Sunlight streamed through the lattice, casting dappled shadows.
Everything indicated that this place was regularly and carefully maintained.
"This sleep... seemed especially deep."
He rubbed his brow, feeling the power that had been dormant for who knows how long slowly reviving within him. Though a hidden ache still lingered deep in his life essence, an unprecedented sense of fullness and vitality was spreading throughout his body.
He had no idea how long he had been asleep. The concept of time had already grown hazy.
He rose and pushed open the door of the meditation room, his steps still somewhat unsteady like someone who had been bedridden for a long time. Just as he stepped over the threshold, he collided full-on with a figure about to enter.
It was Ji Hongli.
She stood there, motionless, just staring at him without blinking.
Those peerlessly radiant eyes were now as deep as two bottomless ancient wells, churning with overwhelmingly complex emotions—disbelieving ecstasy, the bitterness of endless waiting, bone-deep longing, and a trace of exhausted relief.
She just looked at him like that, as if wanting to deeply brand his current appearance into the very depths of her soul.
Chen Chang'an felt a bit self-conscious under her gaze. He coughed dryly and unconsciously asked the question he cared about most.
"Hongli? How long... have I been asleep?"
"How... are things outside? Is the Spirit Realm still stable?"
"Xiao Chen and the others..."
He didn't get to finish his words.
Ji Hongli suddenly smiled.
That smile was unlike any he remembered—
She stepped forward, almost pressing against Chen Chang'an, and extended her slender jade fingers to gently touch his lips, stopping him from saying anything more.
"Those trivial matters can wait."
Her voice was languid and magnetic, carrying an undeniable authority.
With bewitching glances, she purred, "My dear dao companion... this sleep of yours left me alone in an empty room for a very, very long time..."
"...now that you're awake, shouldn't you properly... compensate me?"
Chen Chang'an was stunned by her sudden bluntness and seductive manner. Before he could react, Ji Hongli grabbed his wrist and dragged him back into the meditation room without a word of explanation.
The door creaked softly and gently closed.
... ...
(Several indescribable days omitted here)
Several days later, one morning.
While Ji Hongli was still fast asleep, Chen Chang'an practically tiptoed out of the room, stood in the courtyard, and let out a long breath.
He rubbed his still-aching waist with a peculiar expression on his face, muttering to himself in a low voice.
"Those who know would say it's the reunion of dao companions. Those who don't... would think I accidentally wandered into the gates of the Joyous Union Sect..."
Shaking his head with a wry smile, he finally had a moment to carefully take in his surroundings. The familiar pavilions and towers, the misty spiritual springs, the distant mountains wreathed in clouds...
Every plant and tree here radiated an incomparable sense of familiarity and warmth.
"This place... is Immortal Spirit Valley?"
He finally realized with a belated start.
"Right, I have no idea how many years have passed. Hongli absolutely refuses to say... I wonder how Xiao Chen, Xingcai, and those rascals are doing now?"
A surge of deep longing and curiosity welled up in his heart.
He assessed his own condition. His cultivation seemed to have stepped into a profoundly mysterious realm—he couldn't say exactly what level, but it was certainly far beyond his former Immortal Venerable realm.
"At worst, I'm still an Immortal Venerable. Surely the times haven't changed that much?"
With a hint of playfulness, he decided to leave the valley and see what the outside world had become during his long slumber.
He strolled out of the valley, the warm sunlight washing over him. However, the very instant he stepped past the valley entrance—
A premonition struck his heart!
An indescribable throb, as if connected to the very veins of heaven and earth, made him involuntarily stop in his tracks and look up at the sky.
The next instant, heaven and earth changed color!
The originally clear sky suddenly rippled with countless spatial fluctuations!
Wave after wave, layer upon layer... filling the sky and covering the earth, countless cultivators in unified attire appeared silently above the sky and across the land outside Immortal Spirit Valley.
They came through teleportation arrays, flying artifacts, or by directly tearing through the void, as if they had rehearsed this countless times.
Their numbers were too vast to count, like clouds blotting out the sky, yet they were perfectly orderly and utterly silent.
Every single person's gaze was focused with incomparable fervor and reverence upon Chen Chang'an, who had just walked out of the valley in his green robes, still looking somewhat bewildered.
Then came the earth-shaking, perfectly unified, sky-piercing bow and roar:
"Welcome, Ancestor, upon emerging from seclusion!!!"
The sound waves rolled like thunder, echoing among the mountains, carrying boundless excitement and faith.
Chen Chang'an was slightly taken aback.
At that moment, the crowd parted like the tide, clearing a path. A woman in magnificent palace attire, with an outstanding presence and a noble, graceful bearing, walked forward slowly.
Her appearance still faintly bore the outline of Chen Xingcai from years ago, but the youthfulness was gone, replaced by authority and maturity. Her cultivation was even more unfathomable.
Behind her followed familiar figures—Xiao Chen, Han Yu, Lu Xiaoluo, Li Hanzhou, Jiang Che, Ji Lingxiu...
They still looked young on the outside, but their eyes were filled with the steadiness and wisdom of those who had weathered the storms of time. Their auras were as deep as the ocean, clearly having reached inconceivable realms.
The mature woman at the lead walked up to Chen Chang'an. Her eyes glistened with emotion, yet her expression was incomparably solemn. Together with everyone else, she bowed deeply.
They looked at their father and master who had slumbered for ages and finally awakened, their voices clear and resolute, spreading in all directions:
"Father, Master, the Spirit Realm has perfectly merged with the purified new world. The order of the myriad realms has been reshaped, all beings live in peace and prosperity, and there is no longer any threat of great tribulation."
"Everything has already been arranged."
She turned slightly to the side and, together with Xiao Chen and the others behind her, made a gesture of respectful invitation.
"Next... it is time for you to take the helm and become the Sovereign of Heaven and Earth of this new era!"
Chen Chang'an gazed at everything before him—at the unquestionable certainty in his daughter and disciples' eyes, at the heartfelt devotion of the countless cultivators representing the power of the new era filling the sky and earth.
He felt the vast power within him that seemed to breathe and pulse in rhythm with the newborn world...
He understood.
This sleep of his might have truly lasted a very long time—long enough for seas to dry and fields to change, long enough for the world to be completely renewed.
And his era had not ended. Rather, it was just beginning in an even more magnificent form.
But at the very least, it seemed he no longer needed to strive.
...
(The End)
A Heartfelt Thank You
Dear readers, this novel has come to an end. Thank you so much for your unwavering support throughout this journey.
There is a new Perfect World fanfic, and a very good Xianxia progression novel already in the works. You can read those, and I am sure you will enjoy them.
With my academic work, this novel's progress was bumpy and the quality degraded at times—I acknowledge that. But I assure you that now that I have started to use AI in my workflow, I can make sure that quality remains consistent, and the speed of updates will increase as well.
I can translate more and keep quality consistent, and also bring you very underrated gems that get overlooked by mass translation websites' radar.
[100 Lives of Reincarnation: My Max-Level Identities Can't Stay Hidden] For your support, i have posted this novel. This is a long 1000+ chapters novel, so you can take a look.
So I hope you can enjoy the new novels and fanfics and keep your support consistent.
Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.