Zhong Shenxiu awoke to find he was no longer himself. Why say this? He discovered his hands and feet had shrunk; he had somehow woken up transformed into a child.

What depressed Zhong Shenxiu even more was that all his previous power and magic had vanished as if they had never existed.

This realization, let alone for a cultivator on the cusp of Ascension, would have been a devastating blow even to an ordinary man!

The moment he discovered it, Zhong Shenxiu felt an urge to die. After all, tens of thousands of years of arduous cultivation, gone just like that—the shock was truly immense.

Several hours passed before Zhong Shenxiu could finally shake off the shadow of the crushing blow, even if only slightly.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings, and a fresh wave of fury surged within him.

It turned out that Zhong Shenxiu was lying in a garbage dump. His naked, fair, tender body was buried amidst a haphazard pile of refuse: stinking shoes, torn socks, discarded cabbage stumps… Truly, it was beyond tolerance! He had once been a figure of some standing in the Cultivation World, only to end up discarded in a trash heap—what an unimaginable humiliation!

Zhong Shenxiu desperately wanted to scramble up and unleash a torrent of curses, but his inherent and acquired restraint kept him from doing so. As the saying went, when in Rome, do as the Romans do; any impulsive action would be useless. The immediate priorities were to figure out what had happened and how he should face this new reality.

Zhong Shenxiu remembered he had been studying a secret manual he had extorted from the Demonic Sect. Regarding this manual, it was exceptionally bizarre. It wasn't paper; it was formed from a peculiar stone. Zhong Shenxiu had never seen such a stone before; one might call it a rare Spirit Stone, yet it possessed absolutely no spiritual energy. Nevertheless, despite lacking any spiritual power, it emitted a strange, uncanny glow. Bizarre it was, because the light it cast shifted colors every time it took to steep a cup of tea, following no discernible pattern whatsoever.

Most peculiar of all was the incredibly powerful restriction array layered upon this stone. The strength of this prohibition was something Zhong Shenxiu had never heard of or witnessed in all his experience. Despite his vast background, this single stone had cost him tens of thousands of brain cells, yet he could not fathom its nature.

What frustrated Zhong Shenxiu most was that, even with his considerable strength at the time, he couldn't break the restriction. But what kind of man was Zhong Shenxiu? Was he the sort to be deterred by difficulty? Absolutely not! He was the type of eccentric who "knew there was a tiger on the mountain but headed toward it anyway!" Furthermore, he was renowned as a "Ghostly Talent"—the kind of person whose potential was ignited by the very difficulty of the challenge!

Indeed, Zhong Shenxiu did not disgrace the name "Ghostly Talent." He spent forty-nine years, combining unique decryption techniques from the Buddhist, Daoist, Demonic, and Shamanic domains, finally brute-forcing his way through the restriction of the strange stone (the supposed manual).

A quick aside is necessary here: Zhong Shenxiu possessed an extremely particular hobby—he loved delving into all manner of odd and unusual things. The more unconventional, the more it suited his palate. Be it Shamanic Gu poison, esoteric arts like Qimen Dunjia, or the crafting of artifacts and elixirs, he had devoted immense effort to studying them all, with considerable achievements to show for it. If he were in modern society, he would undoubtedly qualify as a post-doctoral researcher.

Driven by the spirit of "dedication to the pursuit of knowledge," Zhong Shenxiu had been deliberately suppressing his own power to evade the impending Ascension. In his own words, life was good here; why rush oneself to death trying to ascend, especially when life afterward might be worse?

However, even without ascending, Zhong Shenxiu’s power was terrifying. Even four or five fully ascended Immortals might not be able to defeat him. This wasn't due to the sheer might of his spiritual power, but because he knew far too much, and most of his knowledge was his own upgraded and mutated version of existing techniques—it was utterly astonishing. Those who confronted him often met unpredictable ends: most were swiftly subdued within a few exchanges, left twitching, eyes glazed over, and frothing at the mouth. Even more alarming was that everyone who had sparred with Zhong Shenxiu was left with lingering side effects to some degree.

Thus, many cultivators would rather offend an Immortal than face Zhong Shenxiu in combat. In their words, the man simply refused to adhere to the rules of martial engagement; here he was, a supposed righteous figure, constantly employing the moves of a villain.

Over time, this anomalous variant earned the moniker well-known throughout the Cultivation World: the Ghostly Talent!

Returning to the main narrative, the instant the restriction broke, a dazzling, seven-colored light erupted from the stone, accompanied by an enormous, terrifying surge of power. Fortunately, Zhong Shenxiu reacted quickly and cast a spell to shield himself, but even so, he was blasted several miles away, sustaining a considerable injury.

No one in the entire Cultivation World could injure Zhong Shenxiu. Besides his title of "Ghostly Talent," his strength was universally acknowledged as the N.1 in the realm. The last time Zhong Shenxiu was injured was three thousand six hundred years ago, during a battle with an Exploding Profound Qilin. Having been overly complacent, he failed to notice when the Qilin singed a single strand of his hair. The Qilin's final fate, however, was to be subdued by Zhong Shenxiu and designated his "Treasured Guardian Beast."

Yet, this incredibly formidable Zhong Shenxiu, who hadn't been hurt in millennia, was injured during this breaking process—and quite severely at that! Just what was this stone? It was simply too formidable!

The injured Zhong Shenxiu had no mind to heal his wounds; his primary concern was the manual itself. He swiftly moved to investigate. But just as he took his first step, a sphere glowing with seven colors shot out with lightning speed and struck Zhong Shenxiu’s body.

But something bizarre happened: the seven-colored sphere vanished. To be precise, it drilled directly into Zhong Shenxiu's body. Even stranger, Zhong Shenxiu’s injuries miraculously healed, and his power instantly soared by more than thirtyfold.

Zhong Shenxiu, usually unflappable, was stunned silent by this bizarre turn of events. He stood frozen, completely oblivious that his sudden surge in power had attracted Heavenly Tribulation.

Yet, another bizarre event unfolded: the formidable bolts of heavenly lightning, radiating destructive radiance, plunged into Zhong Shenxiu’s body as rivers flow back to the sea. Instead of inflicting material damage, the lightning that entered Zhong Shenxiu brought immense benefits—continuously tempering his meridians and developing the regions of his brain.

Suddenly, insights flooded his mind like an endless, vast cosmos; like countless brilliant stars erupting uncontrollably! The sensation was profoundly mysterious. Zhong Shenxiu realized that things he hadn't previously understood were now suddenly clear; research projects he hadn't fully grasped now saw immediate breakthroughs! Zhong Shenxiu dared not waste a moment. He immediately sat cross-legged in meditation, frantically absorbing the changes brought about by this mystical inspiration.

The deeper he delved, the richer the harvest. Zhong Shenxiu was utterly captivated, completely immersed in this strange, profound mystery. But for some reason, he began to see hallucinations in his mind.

The hallucinations were strange: in a world of endless white mist, all sorts of curse seals danced in the air. These seals seemed to carry specific meanings, yet each also appeared to possess a life of its own, moving in a rhythm too subtle to perceive. At that moment, Zhong Shenxiu felt a sudden comprehension—he was confident he could now elevate and reorganize all the disparate, esoteric skills he possessed.

Then, the scene shifted abruptly. The entire world plunged into pitch darkness, impossible to see even one's fingers. Then, countless strands of seven-colored light, moving irregularly, suddenly appeared. These light beams were mesmerizing, resembling the complex, interwoven pathways of the human body, yet they were orderly. At this instant, Zhong Shenxiu felt an ineffable, mysterious connection to space and time. As this feeling sharpened, his joy mounted, for he felt he had grasped the true essence!

Afterward, the scenes changed repeatedly, and Zhong Shenxiu's consciousness grew increasingly hazy. He lost count of how many times the scene shifted.

When Zhong Shenxiu regained awareness, he realized he was no longer the man he used to be; he had become a child!

This was the sequence of events!

Zhong Shenxiu glanced toward the heavens, utterly speechless. But that single glance stunned him. The color, size, and position of the sun in the sky unequivocally stated one thing: this was absolutely not Earth.

Calm, he must remain calm! Zhong Shenxiu reminded himself.

After a series of deep breaths coupled with distraction techniques, Zhong Shenxiu finally composed himself. Through the rational function of his sharp intellect, he deduced the following possibilities:

One, Rebirth in Another World. This scenario meant he had usurped the body of someone in this world, though his consciousness remained his own.

Two, Transmigration to Another World. This scenario meant he had been teleported to another world by some inexplicable force, causing a series of changes to his body.

Three, Lost in a Dream. This scenario meant he was still dreaming, and everything around him was unreal.

...

After listing these potential scenarios, Zhong Shenxiu began analyzing which one most closely approximated reality.

Through meticulous, step-by-step analysis, Zhong Shenxiu reached this conclusion: he had Transmigrated to Another World, because this body was not someone else's; it was his own body from childhood. Furthermore, his surroundings were clearly not a dream; only Transmigration fit his situation best.

Depression, overwhelming depression!

A formidable figure reduced instantly to a helpless little brat, with absolutely no transitional period to accept it—this was truly the height of supreme, unparalleled melancholy!