The mortal world in Qingxi City had never changed. Its sky remained a dull, dusty gray, and the blowing wind felt dry, carrying the familiar scent of slum poverty. In the poorest corner of the district stood a dilapidated wooden hut with a straw roof riddled with holes. The old house looked increasingly fragile, as if a single storm could flatten it to the ground.

In front of the weathered door, a small girl sat curled up on the hard earth. Her body was gaunt and thin, wrapped in an oversized, faded hemp tunic full of patches. It was Xiao Mei.

As it turned out, the passage of time differed vastly between the Immortal Realm and the mortal world. To Ye Tian, it felt as though he had fought and bled for months in the heavens above. Yet in the lower world, barely a year had passed since the night of his sudden disappearance.

Xiao Mei had grown slightly taller, yet the marks of hunger and hardship remained clearly etched upon her small, unwashed face. Clear tears rolled down her soiled cheeks, pattering onto an empty straw mat before her.

"Gege... where are you?" Xiao Mei whispered, her voice raspy and trembling as she held back tears and the gnawing hunger that had twisted her stomach since yesterday. "Xiao Mei misses Gege... Xiao Mei has guarded our home well... but Xiao Mei is so hungry..."

Her small, shaking hand fumbled inside her empty pocket. Not a single grain of rice remained. The townspeople often mocked her, claiming her brother had been devoured by wild beasts in the forest or had abandoned her. Yet deep down in her heart, Xiao Mei still held onto her brother’s final promise before he vanished that night.

Suddenly, the quiet tranquility of the slum district shattered.

RUMBLE—————!

A thunderous roar of unprecedented magnitude echoed from the highest heavens. The gray clouds cloaking Qingxi City spun wildly, forming a colossal vortex that split the sky clean in two.

The townspeople rushed out of their homes, their faces pale with terror, assuming doomsday or the wrath of the gods was descending upon the earth. They fell to their knees, trembling as they looked toward the heavens.

From the center of the parted cloud vortex, a pillar of pure golden light shot down like a giant meteor, striking squarely in the front yard of Xiao Mei's dilapidated hut. The light was intensely brilliant, yet strangely, it did not burn or damage the arid ground around it. A soothing, warm wave instantly swept across the slum district, banishing the biting cold and oppressive hunger.

Tap.

A steady, authoritative footfall echoed from behind the slowly fading veil of golden light.

Xiao Mei looked up with wide eyes, her crying coming to a sudden halt. Out from the divine radiance stepped a tall, handsome young man. He wore a lavish navy-blue robe embroidered with golden thread—the robes of the Supreme Master of the Cloud Sword Sect—which fluttered majestically in the celestial breeze. His long black hair was neatly styled, and his refined face radiated the dignity of a true sovereign who had stepped into the True Immortal Realm.

The aura of mortal dust no longer clung to him, yet as his golden eyes fell upon the dilapidated hut, that divine sharp glint softened entirely, replaced by a profound wave of deep affection.

Bound to his waist was an old hemp bag that stood in stark contrast to the grandeur of his robes—the very bag he had guarded with his life across the nine layers of heavens.

"Xiao Mei," the young man called out. His voice was deep, soft, and trembling with the intense longing that had burned within his soul for so long.

Xiao Mei froze. Though the young man before her looked like a divine god stepping out of a sacred painting, she could never forget the contours of his face or the warmth of his voice for as long as she lived.

"Ge... Gege?!" Xiao Mei pushed herself up on her small, trembling legs. Her tears overflowed once more—this time not from pain, but from overwhelming joy.

"Yes, it’s Gege, Xiao Mei. Gege is home," Ye Tian said with the most genuine smile.

Ye Tian stepped forward and knelt on the dusty earth, uncaring of his majestic robes, throwing his arms open wide. Xiao Mei could hold back no longer; she ran as fast as her small feet could carry her, hurling herself into her brother’s warm embrace.

HUP.

Ye Tian pulled his sister's frail body tight against his chest, burying his face in her hair. Tears of victory welled from the eyes of the True Immortal. Every ounce of agony—from having his flesh torn in the Mist Cave, to the desperation of betrayal inside the monster's lair, to the burns endured while shattering the Heavenly Emperor's tribulation lightning—vanished without a trace within this single embrace.

All his sacrifices in the Immortal Realm were worth it for this moment.

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long," Ye Tian whispered softly, stroking Xiao Mei’s back.

"Xiao Mei knew Gege would come back... Xiao Mei believed in Gege's promise..." Xiao Mei sobbed against her brother's chest.

Ye Tian gently loosened his grip and reached for the hemp bag at his waist. Opening it, he revealed the grains of pure rice, which had mutated into Heaven-Grade Spiritual Rice from continuously absorbing the Ascension energy within Ye Tian’s body. The grains glistened like small pearls, releasing a sweet fragrance that instantly washed away all fatigue from Xiao Mei's body.

"Look, Gege brought plenty of the finest rice for you. From this day on, Xiao Mei will never go hungry again," Ye Tian declared with absolute conviction.

With a wave of his unarmored left hand, Ye Tian triggered the residual creation power within his physical frame.

WHOOSH—!

An instant miracle unfolded before the eyes of Qingxi City’s stunned, wide-eyed residents. The dilapidated wooden hut transformed miraculously, growing and solidifying into a grand pavilion palace forged from fragrant sandalwood and white jade, complete with a spacious courtyard filled with lush, green spiritual medicinal plants.

Not stopping there, Ye Tian dispersed a fraction of his Immortal vitality into the surrounding earth, instantly turning the squalid slum into the most fertile and prosperous land in the mortal world. Long-standing illnesses afflicting the locals vanished in a single breath of warm wind brought by Ye Tian.

The woodchopping laborer who was once mocked and oppressed had returned as a guardian deity, bringing absolute prosperity to his homeland.

That evening, inside the warm pavilion illuminated by spiritual lanterns, a large wooden table was set with a giant bowl of fragrant white rice alongside dozens of delicious dishes. Ye Tian sat beside Xiao Mei, watching his sister eat heartily with a happy smile on his face.

Xiao Mei scooped up a spoon of rice and looked at her brother with clear, round eyes. "Gege, will you go back up to the sky after this?"

Ye Tian gently stroked his sister’s hair and looked out the window at the peaceful night sky, where not a single dimensional rift dared to disturb them again. The nine layers of heavens and all the divine thrones above meant nothing compared to his sister’s smile in this world.

"No, Xiao Mei," Ye Tian answered with a firm, tranquil voice. "Gege has resolved everything up there. From now on and forever... Gege will stay right here, protecting you."

Xiao Mei broke into a wide smile, taking her brother’s sturdy hand and holding it tight. Under the shelter of the jade pavilion and the absolute protection of the Mortal Sovereign, their story of suffering had come to an end. All that remained was a new chapter filled with happiness, prosperity, and eternal peace that no force in the universe could ever disturb again.

— THE END —