Fragrant Hill Villa, security booth.

An elderly security guard sat hunched in the corner, bombarded by a shower of punches. Despite the extreme pain, he could do nothing but cover his head with his hands. He dared not fight back, nor had the strength to.

"Chen Gu, think back to three years ago when you were the Chen family's chief steward. You used to ride in luxury cars, but now you're as helpless as a grandson."

"The Chen family was annihilated three years ago. How are you, an old timer, still alive?"

"You dare not hand over your wages to me?"

"Old Dog Chen, I heard that you adopted Miss Chen. She must be around sixteen or seventeen by now, right? How about it? Bring her out for us to enjoy a bit?"

Each vile utterance spewed from the mouths of the surrounding guards. If an ordinary person heard this, they would hardly believe that such evil individuals existed in this world.

The old man in the security uniform, Chen Gu, clung desperately to his head as he weathered the onslaught of abuse. His murky eyes held no luster, only a dull ash grey.

If it hadn't been for the need to take care of Miss Chen, he would have already embraced death as retribution, following his former masters.

A person with a desolate heart has no emotions. Now, he thought only of saving enough money for Miss Chen before his death, as repayment for the kindness shown by his former masters.

As the punches and kicks intensified, numbness took over Chen Gu's body, his consciousness gradually hazy, his eyelids growing heavier...

At that moment.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

In the noisy environment, all of a sudden, the sound of distinct footsteps echoed.

Chen Gu, from the gap of the crowd beating him, vaguely saw a handsome young man dressed in white, with jet-black hair trailing behind him.

His stature was tall and straight, his features were fine, and his demeanor was refined and elegant.

Only between his brows, a hint of sharpness could be vaguely seen!

What drew the most attention was the young man's deep eyes, which seemed to harbor countless stars.

"So familiar..."

"This... seems like the young master?"

"But didn't the young master die three years ago by being pushed off a cliff? It was because of this, that the old master, in a fit of rage, went up against the four major families of Jiangyang, and finally ended up having his clan wiped out."

Chen Gu thought in a daze, and in the next moment, his head tilted, and he passed out.

Seeing this.

The security guards finally stopped their hands, spit out saliva one after another, and turned around with curses on their tongues.

"Who are you? Why are you here? This is a high-end villa area where filming TikTok is not allowed, scram!"

The security guard who turned around saw the young man in ancient white clothing with his hands behind his back, his hair flowing like a waterfall, walking towards them at a leisure pace, and immediately barked angrily.

In recent years, many people have specifically come here in Han clothing to take pictures and shoot TikToks because of the beautiful scenery of Xiangshan Gardens.

Chen Ping'an walked closer, looking at Chen Gu, who had already passed out in the corner, his expression indifferent and detached as he stood with his hands behind his back. Yet, the surrounding temperature, in the blink of an eye, shifted from the scorching summer heat to bone-chilling winter cold!!!

The leaves on the trees lining both sides of the path were also covered in a layer of crystalline frost!

An invisible forcefield pushed away the security guard who was about to drive Chen Ping'an away, stopping them dead in their tracks.

Walking straight up and standing next to Chen Valley, Chen Ping'an's usually placid eyes finally showed a hint of emotion, and he sighed quietly.

With this sigh,

the surrounding lawn and the rows of trees along the road turned yellow and wilted in an instant, as if autumn had arrived, full of regret and grief!

"So three years have passed on Earth?"

"Fortunately, it's only been three years, yet three years have already passed!"

"In the endless years, my Dao heart is invincible, my will has lasted through the ages, but there is regret. Therefore, during the tribulation, my heart demon is hard to remove, almost dying."

"Today I return to Earth, but I didn't expect it has already been three years. However, everything has changed!"

With his gaze fixed on Chen Valley's aged face, streams of spiritual energy were transferred from his slender fingers into the latter's body, assisting Chen Valley in mending his injured body.

Chen Ping'an, the eldest young master of the Chen family.

Three years ago, while frolicking with the young masters of other major families in Jiangyang City, he was pushed off a cliff by someone.

Expecting to shatter to death without a worthy burial place, he didn't anticipate that he would traverse to the world of cultivation.

In the cultivation world, with great opportunities and wisdom, he was fortunate to be accepted by the Taoist Master Dao De, the Supreme Master.

After ten thousand years of hard cultivation, ruthless killings, he finally achieved the position of the ninth Taoist Master and was universally respected as the master of longevity by billions of beings in the cultivation world.

His cultivation prowess towered like the peaks across the Immortal World, his physical build as majestic as mountains and rivers, and celestial bodies, while his divine insight was as vast as the dome of heaven.

But as he strived to ascend and become an immortal, he found a flaw in his path of Dao. The thought of his family on Earth – his parents and sister – and the regret he felt towards them, prevented him from crossing the catastrophe of inner demons. As he was on the brink of perishing, he found himself back on Earth.

Except…

It was Earth, three years in the future.

For him, everything had changed, and all that was left was a regret-filled Earth.

"You have two choices: either be killed by me, and have your soul imprisoned in the Eye of Yellow River for a thousand years, or kill yourselves," said Chen Pingan, withdrawing his gaze and looking at the five security guards with indifference, his tone as if discussing a trivial matter. But his words were filled with a sense of unquestionable supremacy.

His gaze, his words – they embodied the indifference towards life that has marked Chen Pingan for millennia, and the absolute power he held over it.

Suddenly, the five security guards realized they were free to move, and they retreated in fear, screaming.

"It seems you've made your choices!"

Chen Pingan finished saying, lifting his index finger, and made a gentle swipe.

A super-bright light flashed.

Five symbols, formed from the light, materialized and shot rapidly into the foreheads of the five security guards…….

For the next three days, they would face the most painful torture in the world, feeling an irresistible itching sensation across their bodies, until they would itch themselves to death!

"Evil acts will bring self-destruction, now go!" Chen Pingan lightly lifted his eyelids and spoke indifferently.

The five security guards, scared out of their minds, didn’t care what Chen Pingan had said. They just wished they had more legs to run away faster.

At this moment.

Chen Gu, who had passed out in the corner, began to stir awake under Chen Pingan’s spiritual nourishment. He looked at Chen Pingan with confusion, and gradually, a glimmer of life returned to his previously dull, dead eyes.

"Young Master? Where are the master and madame? I...I have failed you and the Chen family! After the master and madame passed away, I wanted to follow them to the afterlife, but thinking of the still underage second miss, I knew I couldn’t die!"