The night sky over the Immortal Qi Realm was a tapestry of swirling nebulae and distant stars, but Luo Fang felt none of its beauty. He stood atop the highest peak of his sect's sacred mountain, his long black robes billowing in the cold wind, obsidian eyes reflecting a weariness that no amount of cultivation could erase.
For three thousand years he had fought—demonic invasions, heavenly tribulations, wars between immortal clans. He had reached the pinnacle of his realm, his qi so refined that he could shatter mountains with a thought or mend shattered souls with a breath. Yet victory after victory left him hollow.
"I need… a break," he whispered to the void. "Just a simple vacation. Somewhere peaceful. Somewhere new."
With a faint smile, he formed complex hand seals. Pure immortal qi gathered around him, condensing into a silver-blue portal that shimmered like rippling water. He had crafted this technique himself—an interdimensional gateway meant to take him to a quiet mortal paradise he had once glimpsed in ancient records.
He stepped through.
The transition was supposed to be gentle. Instead, it felt like being torn apart and reassembled in the span of a heartbeat. Luo Fang stumbled out the other side, his knees sinking into soft moss. The air was thick with a completely different energy—not immortal qi, but something vibrant, wild, and primal. Soul power.
Towering ancient trees stretched endlessly upward, their leaves glowing faintly with spirit energy. Distant roars of powerful beasts echoed through the forest. This was no serene beach or tranquil meadow.
"Where… am I?" he muttered, rising to his feet and dusting off his robes. His spiritual sense spread out instinctively, scanning hundreds of kilometers in an instant. He saw villages, cities, academies… and a unique cultivation system revolving around martial spirits and colored rings.
"Douluo Continent," he realized, recalling fragments from forbidden scrolls he had studied in his youth. "Soul Land. Well… this is certainly new."
A vacation in a world of spirit beasts and soul masters? It could be interesting. Dangerous, yes—but after millennia of boredom, danger sounded refreshing.
Luo Fang leaped lightly into the canopy, moving silently through the branches like a shadow. He had only traveled a few dozen kilometers when his senses picked up a fierce battle ahead.
In a small clearing, seven young soul masters—barely into their teens—were fighting desperately against a massive spirit beast. It was a Man-Faced Demon Spider, its eight legs skittering with terrifying speed, venom dripping from its fangs. The beast was at least eight thousand years old, far beyond what these children should face.
The group moved with surprising coordination. A boy with blue-silver grass vines tried to restrain it, a girl with incredible agility darted around delivering kicks, and others provided support with sausages, phoenix fire, and ghostly shadows.
But the one who drew Luo Fang's gaze immediately was the silver-haired girl standing at the rear. She wore elegant pale-blue robes embroidered with treasure motifs, her expression a mix of determination and barely concealed fear. A crystalline pagoda floated above her palm, radiating seven colored lights that boosted her companions' speed, strength, defense, and soul power.
"Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—wait, Seven Treasures?" Luo Fang murmured, intrigued. The girl's voice rang out clear and commanding despite the chaos.
"Thirty percent speed boost! Oscar, more recovery sausages! Dai Mubai, charge it head-on!"
Her name, he sensed from the others' shouts, was Ning Rongrong.
She was beautiful—delicate features, bright eyes filled with spirit, and a haughty tilt to her chin that hid deeper vulnerability. But more than beauty, Luo Fang felt the purity of her auxiliary spirit, the way it harmonized with the world's soul power. It resonated strangely with his own qi, like two halves of a forgotten melody.
The spider broke free of the vines and lunged straight toward Rongrong, sensing her as the greatest support threat.
Time seemed to slow.
Rongrong's eyes widened. She raised her pagoda for a defense boost, but it wouldn't be enough. The spider's leg was already descending.
Luo Fang moved.
He appeared in front of her in a blur too fast for mortal eyes to track. With a casual flick of two fingers, he released a strand of immortal qi. It looked like a simple silver thread, but when it touched the spider's leg, the entire limb shattered into dust. Another flick, and the beast's core exploded silently from within. The massive body collapsed, lifeless before it could even scream.
The clearing fell silent.
The seven teenagers stared at the stranger who had appeared from nowhere. Tall, impossibly handsome, with an aura that felt both gentle and overwhelmingly profound.
Rongrong's heart pounded—not just from the near-death experience, but from the man now standing protectively in front of her. His back was broad, his presence calming yet electrifying.
"Who… who are you?" she finally managed, her voice softer than she intended.
Luo Fang turned, offering a warm, slightly amused smile that made her cheeks flush without warning.
"Just a traveler on vacation," he replied, his deep voice carrying a hint of distant stars. "My name is Luo Fang. And you, little pagoda princess?"
The nickname caught her off guard. No one had ever called her that. She straightened, recovering her usual pride.
"Ning Rongrong, heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. That was… incredible. Your power—it's not soul power. What was that?"
Luo Fang's eyes sparkled as he looked at her, truly looked. In that moment, something stirred in his ancient heart—a spark he hadn't felt in millennia.
"Something from very far away," he said softly. "And meeting you, Rongrong… I think my vacation just became a lot more interesting."
As the Shrek group cautiously approached, thanking him and asking questions, Luo Fang's gaze never fully left the silver-haired girl. Destiny, it seemed, had opened a new chapter—one that would span worlds, eras, and generations.
Little did either of them know that this chance encounter in the Star Dou Forest would become the foundation of an eternal legacy.