Divine Heaven.
First Heavenly Domain.
Aetheria Equinox Domain.
At the center of Aetheria Equinox Lower Realm, high above the ground, floated a massive island. On top of it stood a Grand Palace, glowing with a steady golden aura that shimmered like ethereal sunlight.
Inside the palace, the rooms were decorated with detailed murals and elegant furniture. Every room looked grand, but one gate outshined all the others. Golden light spilled from its frame, thick and ethereal it is not oppressive, just perfectly balanced and harmonious.
The room beyond was empty but beautifully crafted. The walls, the floor, even the ceiling carvings were arranged with immaculate precision.
At the center sat the one responsible for all this divine atmosphere. White hair flowed from his head and touched the ground. His face was unfairly beautiful, the kind of beauty that made the air itself hesitate. He wore a white-and-gold robe, simple but majestic.
He sat on a cultivation mat, completely still. Each breath he released made the surrounding air tremble in delight, as if reality itself admired him. His expression stayed cold, not matching the soft harmony in the room.
This was Jian Wuji.
Sole Deity of this Lower Realm.Supreme Ruler of the Aetheria Equinox Domain.His words were law. His believers treated them as heavenly mandates.
Right now, Jian moved for the first time in a thousand years.
His brows creased in irritation at the disturbance inside his Soul Sea.
Tremble~Tremble~
The air itself recoiled back seemingly frightened.
A strange phenomenon rippled within his soul — something he never thought possible for someone at his level. Yet it was happening.
Jian had been cultivating for more than a thousand years when suddenly a memory appeared inside his Soul Sea from nowhere.
He examined it and saw it belonged to a mortal who shared his name and personality — but lived in a completely different world with a limited lifespan.
The world was called Earth, a place without cultivation at all. But what surprised Jian most was how this tiny, 43-year memory wasn't being erased by his own 96 million years of memories. Instead, it was slowly gaining presence.
Jian observed it carefully and realized why. Something faint was powering it. And his own Concepts of Harmony were stabilizing it instead of crushing it.
"Heh… fascinating. Truly fascinating."
His calm scoff shook the room.
Jian tried to sense the faint source behind this phenomenon, but it was too subtle. It wasn't Heaven and Earth energy. It wasn't any known force. It couldn't even be categorized.
He didn't focus too long on something he had no control over. He could erase it anytime if he wanted, but he didn't.
This was the first thing that had genuinely entertained him in three million years.
He came to one conclusion: this was a memory from his past life. The spiritual signatures matched — faint, but unmistakable for someone at the Divine Spirit stage.
But Jian had abandoned everything related to his past life long ago, back when he stepped into the True Immortal stage while still a puny Immortal. This stage introduces the possibility of getting one's past life memory back. They can leave it or embrace it.
And Jian had chosen to leave it.
Which made this situation even more intriguing. Someone or something strong enough to bypass his senses and mental defenses was awakening his past life memories… and still influencing them?
Jian felt no fear. If a being beyond his understanding wanted something from him, there was nothing he could do anyway. So he simply watched.
He stopped cultivating and monitored the phenomenon with interest.
A month passed.
Jian opened his eyes.
His Concepts of Harmony and Duality had broken through from Minor Deity Concept level Nine to Divine Spirit Concept level One!
Rumble~~Rumble~
Heaven and Earth trembled. Space shook. The ground convulsed rhythmically.
Boom! Crack~
Golden light erupted. The palace walls cracked under the pressure, barely holding. All the glass shattered. Almost all the animals on the island died.
Jian raised his head. The transparent ceiling showed the sky. The gold-tinted sky shifted into countless colors as ethereal particles rained down, merging into his body.
Heaven was congratulating him!!
Energy from every direction surged toward his palace and rushed into his Soul Sea. Heaven and Earth energy grew so dense it turned mist-like.
Jian felt his Soul Force shifting and rising at an incredible pace.
His strength jumped two levels.
His aura of Harmony deepened. The air around him trembled like it was excited.
Pulse~ pulse~
The entire Domain pulsed with his heartbeat. Waves of energy shot outward, covering everything.
After a few seconds, the world calmed. Everyone in the Domain felt his breakthrough.
"Huff… haha. I really was stupid, wasn't I?"
Jian's voice carried new clarity. His awareness had sharpened. Like a toddler wielding a nuclear warhead suddenly becoming an adult with the same toy. His common sense had finally caught up.
That sudden clarity was what pushed his Concepts into breakthrough. Only now did he understand things he couldn't before.
An unexpected opportunity. Nothing more, nothing less.
For the whole month, he'd tried to sense the mysterious power behind the past-life memory. He succeeded only at the moment of breakthrough, which meant he sensed it because they allowed him to.
His heart shook in awe and gratitude. The feeling was deep enough to be instinctual.
Like a mortal sensing a divine being… but far more profound.
Jian stood up. Heaven and Earth energy shifted with each small movement.
He stood straight, then bowed ninety degrees toward a seemingly random direction, a deep bow of absolute respect.
He remembered that fleeting sense from the breakthrough… a being that felt infinite yet finite, eternal yet mortal, vast yet impossibly narrow. They felt like…
He didn't finish the thought. He straightened and walked out of the palace.
The floating island around the palace was small compared to others but full of grand wildlife living in perfect harmony. Birds circled overhead. The wind carried a clean, otherworldly floral scent.
They have been revived by the formation. Jian stood there. His eyes closed. Letting the sunlight hit his face. Feeling free after millions of years.
He recalled everything he did and the decisions he had made in the past three million years without every talking to his wives.
Jian still remembered the day he and his beauties first ascended to Divine Heaven. Got familiar with the culture of First Heavenly Domain. It was fulfilling, delightful and happy moments before he became paranoid.
His wives were beauties that can make any man's legs go weak. Especially his first wife.
Thinking about her, his heart ached in pain as he had not only ignored her and thought it was for her own good but also made her watch his slow decent into paranoia and madness.
He owed all his wives a genuine apology. Including the ones he had married as political bargaining chips and influence. He even capped their growth in paranoia.
"Aaaaarrrrrrghhrhrgg~~~"
Jian rubbed his face aggressively. As if trying to wipe our the embarrassing history.
... like what would people think if they head he married 100,000 women because he panicked?
What kind of excuse was that.
"Argh! Whatever! No more excuses! I need- no! I WILL own up to my mistakes!!... and I need to control my aura so I accidentally killing these poor animals every time I have an emotional breakdown..."
Jian look at the garden which now looked like a bloody hell as blood and flesh were splattered everywhere and they were being resurrected by the formation.
This was the reason why there was no survents here. If Jian ever lost control of his aura even for a millisecond, even Immortal Emperors would become meat pest and sustain permanent injury and most positive outcome being their foundation being crippled...
And beings above that are too proud to normally become servants anyway.
Jian watched the animals resurrect and the garden becoming normal before deciding to go meet his neglected Seraphim wife who now acts cold.
"Hehe~~ Wait for me wify~~ Your husband is coming to melt you~ hehe~"
Jian laughed goofily at that thought and disappeared.