Time moved differently in the Celestial Realm.
At first, Chen Lu counted every day.
Then every month.
Eventually, he stopped counting altogether.
The first hundred years had been the hardest.
He spent most of his days working in Bai Yuexian’s palace, sorting celestial records, learning the language, studying formations, and occasionally being dragged around the Celestial Realm whenever Bai Yuexian decided he was becoming too boring.
Some days were peaceful.
Others were anything but.
He had seen cities larger than anything he had imagined on Earth.
He had watched immortals fight in distant arenas, witnessed enormous beasts crossing the skies, explored ancient libraries, and even stood on mountains that floated above endless clouds.
He learned that the Celestial Realm wasn’t simply a place filled with powerful beings.
It was a civilization.
There were laws, kingdoms, sects, clans, merchants, scholars, soldiers, craftsmen, cultivators, and countless races.
And every place had its own history.
Chen gradually became fascinated by it.
The paperwork that had once felt like torture became useful when he realized that the records contained information about nearly everything.
Ancient wars.
Lost civilizations.
Forbidden territories.
Divine artifacts.
Powerful cultivation techniques.
Extinct races.
Celestial disasters.
Even rumors about worlds beyond the Celestial Realm.
The more Chen learned, the more questions he had.
And Bai Yuexian seemed to enjoy watching his curiosity grow.
“You’re reading too much again,” she said one afternoon.
Chen didn’t look up from the enormous book in his hands.
“You’re the one who gave me access to the library.”
“I didn’t expect you to practically move into it.”
“I have four thousand years to kill.”
Bai Yuexian stared at him.
Chen slowly lowered the book.
“…That sounded worse than I intended.”
She laughed.
Years became decades.
Decades became centuries.
Chen changed.
His understanding of cultivation grew far beyond what he had imagined when he first arrived.
He learned how spiritual energy moved through the body, how formations interacted with the environment, how artifacts were created, and how different magical laws affected one another.
He wasn’t particularly powerful.
Not yet.
But he was no longer the confused mortal who had walked through Bai Yuexian’s golden gate.
He could now recognize dozens of celestial languages.
He could identify formations at a glance.
He could survive in several dangerous regions of the Celestial Realm.
And, most importantly, he had developed patience.
Mostly.
“Chen.”
He looked up from his desk.
Bai Yuexian stood in the doorway.
“You’ve been sitting there for three days.”
Chen blinked.
“Three days?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the window.
The scenery outside hadn’t changed.
“Oh.”
Bai Yuexian crossed her arms.
“Come outside.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re becoming a statue.”
“I thought statues didn’t have to work.”
“They also don’t get reincarnated.”
Chen immediately stood.
“I’m coming.”
Bai Yuexian smiled.
That was how life continued.
And somewhere along the way, Chen stopped thinking about his old life every day.
He still remembered Earth.
He remembered his apartment.
His terrible job.
The broken window.
The storm.
His final words.
But those memories no longer hurt the way they once had.
Earth had been his old life.
The Celestial Realm was his present.
And one day, he would have another life waiting for him.
A new body.
A new world.
A new beginning.
He just had to survive another few thousand years first.
Chen looked toward the distant celestial mountains.
“How much longer?”
Bai Yuexian didn’t even need to ask what he meant.
“Three thousand six hundred and something years.”
Chen’s expression fell.
“Don’t say it like that.”
“You asked.”
“I regret asking.”
Bai Yuexian laughed as they continued walking.
Neither of them noticed the faint change in the sky above them.
Far beyond the palace.
Far beyond the floating continents.
Something had begun to move.
And for the first time in centuries, Chen’s peaceful life was about to change.