I'M BACK

The ocean roared softly in the distance. The sky above was blindingly blue, the kind of hue that only existed in dreams or in the untouched corners of the Spirit Realm. White mist trailed lazily through the treetops, and the island lay hidden in the cradle of cloud-covered mountains, unseen and unreachable from the mortal or immortal realms.

Mo Tianzun stirred.

A warm breath huffed against his cheek, then a wetness dragged across his face.

He frowned.

Again.

Slurp.

His brow twitched.

Again.

Slurp. Slurp.

His eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was...a nose. A very large, velvety, brown-and-pink nose attached to a creature with big, innocent eyes, horns curved like silver blades—and the serene expression of a cow that had no idea it was licking the face of the most feared Demon Lord in history.

There was a beat of silence as they stared at each other.

Then—

"WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS?!"

Mo Tianzun bolted upright, scrambling away from the affectionate beast as he wiped his face furiously. His already messy robes clung to him from dried sweat, now smeared with cow slobber. The magical cow blinked at him, unfazed, chewing on a lotus flower it had stolen from somewhere nearby.

"Disgusting!" Tianzun hissed, leaping to his feet. "Have I been reduced to... livestock bedding?!"

He looked around, wiping more saliva off his cheek.

The island around him was oddly beautiful. Crystal-clear streams ran between glowing jade rocks, silver-leafed trees sparkled under the sunlight, and magical beasts of every shape and size roamed freely—foxes with butterfly wings, peacocks with tails made of ice crystals, and even a rabbit chewing on a talisman.

Ocean stretched in all directions beyond the cliffs. He was utterly isolated.

"...A sealed Spirit Realm island?" he murmured, slowly piecing it together.

He stumbled toward the ocean's edge. The air was warm and fragrant, filled with spiritual energy so thick he could taste it on his tongue. The moment he knelt by the water to rinse the remnants of cow-lick from his face, he froze.

The reflection looking back at him wasn't Lin Xuanji.

No—

It was him.

Mo Tianzun.

Hair white as snowfall.

Eyes sharper, deeper, ancient in their clarity.

His jawline more defined, his expression no longer the soft, mortal curve of Xuanji's kindness, but the cold elegance of a godless devil who had once reigned above all. His brows furrowed as he slowly reached up, touching his own cheek.

"This...this is the previous me."

A whisper, barely a breath on the wind.

Then he stood.

He didn't know whether it was the ocean breeze or the realization of his soul's return to its rightful vessel, but a calmness spread through him like sunrise across mountaintops.

He found an open patch of land in the center of the island—lush and untouched. Magical beasts turned to watch him, their eyes wary. The cow from earlier was still chewing something vaguely magical-looking.

He sat down cross-legged, spine straight, and closed his eyes.

His breathing slowed.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Spiritual energy pulsed outward from him like a storm of sunlight. It rippled through the ground, stirred the trees, and startled the beasts into fleeing in all directions. Yang energy—pure, ancient, fierce—blazed out from his body like wildfire, scattering light across the forest.

And then—amidst the golden flames of qi, something else stirred.

Soft.

Cold.

A trace of Yin.

Subtle, nearly undetectable.

Nestled deep within his core, it coiled like moonlight waiting for nightfall.

But Tianzun didn't sense it yet.

He opened his eyes. The golden glow faded. He grinned, that old feral grin that once made cultivators across all realms tremble.

"I'm back."

His voice was calm, powerful, steady—yet just beneath it, the threads of fate were already beginning to twist again.

A balance disturbed.

A power long forgotten.

And somewhere in the realms above, the heavens shivered.