Dual Cultivation God Returns Chapter 1: A Gift

"Haa-"

With a blade of grass between his teeth, a striking youth heaved a sigh while staring off into the distance.

"Wu Long, oh Wu Long. They call you 'God', so many of them? What a joke..." he muttered aloud, a bitter smile twisting his lips.

Perched on a cliffside close to the mountain's summit, he observed the stunning landscape surrounding him swallowed by shadows, the very fabric of space fracturing and shattering apart.

The spectacle before his eyes was an event rarer than once in a billion lifetimes, so scarce it could be tallied on a single hand across the entire history of the cultivation world: the annihilation of a minor world. Moreover, this marked the inaugural instance where such a catastrophe wasn't natural but deliberately triggered, since even the mightiest figures from all Seven Boundless Worlds united couldn't typically obliterate a whole minor world.

For him, though, the price of witnessing this extraordinary display was his own life, for one needed to be within that world to behold its downfall, and despite his immense strength, he couldn't endure the crumbling of the realm containing him.

He found himself in this dire predicament due to betrayal. His disciple had revealed the spot where he planned to attempt his breakthrough, allowing his fiercest foes to plot the use of a singular, invaluable treasure to demolish the minor world and take him out.

The very treasure hovered overhead, unleashing vast waves of formless energy that tore this world apart. Known as one of the Four Primordial Artifacts—the supreme relics of the cosmos—it was an ornate ancient jade pagoda now riddled with fissures. Nothing short of detonating such a mighty item could bring about the end of this minor world.

Sacrificing a treasure of that magnitude to eliminate just one man, while dooming an entire minor world in the process, revealed the depth of fear his adversaries held for him.

"Young man"

All at once, a voice reached his ears. Turning around, he spotted a nondescript woman in her thirties positioned a short distance away.

Her presence didn't startle Wu Long, for he was aware she resided in a bamboo hut close to the mountain peak where he sat. He had detected her the instant she emerged from her home.

"My apologies, my lady. When I sought permission to borrow your mountain for my tribulation crossing, I never imagined I'd unleash disaster upon your serene existence." Wu Long expressed with a remorseful expression.

"No need to fret, one might say you've injected some thrill into things." The woman responded, appearing utterly indifferent to the world's unraveling nearby. Her gaze held a detached apathy, brimming with endless tedium.

Wu Long mulled over the enigmatic woman, unable to unravel her true nature. Upon their initial encounter as he scouted a perfect site for his tribulation—where feng shui and plentiful Spiritual Qi proved crucial—he had pegged her as an ordinary mortal. No trace of Spiritual Qi, cultivation aura, or even a whisper of strength emanated from her. Not even the top experts of the Three Divine Realms, the ultimate cultivation stage, could conceal their power from him, so he trusted his assessment.

Naturally, he found it strange for a mortal to thrive in this isolated minor world devoid of other inhabitants, yet she might have stumbled through a wormhole and ended up stranded, prompting him to leave it alone since mortal matters rarely piqued his interest—particularly after she turned down his offer of aid.

Yet her nonchalant dismissal of the chaos now stirred suspicions that this woman hid depths beyond the ordinary.

"Excitement? Haha, sure, perishing alongside one of the Four Primordial Artifacts does sound thrilling. At least it's something to boast about." Wu Long remarked with a sardonic grin.

"Four Primordial Artifacts? Hahahaha, young man, there exist only Three Primordial Artifacts, their might eclipses this little trinket by far." The woman chuckled lightly, as if savoring a rare jest after endless monotony.

Wu Long's eyes bulged in shock at her words. Rising to his feet, he spat out the grass stalk and turned to confront her.

"Are you saying this pagoda isn't a Primordial Artifact?" he inquired, utterly perplexed.

"Naturally. Did you believe that kid could trigger one of the Three Primordial Artifacts? Even your so-called True God couldn't manage it. What's above is a human-made creation, whereas the Primordial Artifacts predated the birth of stars in this universe—humans weren't even a thought then." The woman stated offhandedly, like discussing idle chit-chat.

Wu Long sensed his heart pounding fiercely—who was this enigmatic woman whose knowledge went far beyond the usual understanding in the cultivation world? She had even referred to the Emperor of the Heavenly Phoenix Empire, among the most formidable and prominent figures across all Seven Boundless Worlds and one of the ancient human Gods in the known universe, as a mere 'youngster'.

The woman gazed at Wu Long, and though he could maintain a calm facade hiding his inner thoughts, she appeared to detect his inner turmoil and revealed a gentle smile. Her eyes then delved deeper into him, making him feel utterly exposed, as if all his secrets, thoughts, and very being were completely visible to her. This sensation profoundly startled him, since he hadn't experienced it in ages and had nearly forgotten its intensity.

"Young man, you've sparked my curiosity for the first time in ages upon ages. Even while you struggle to embrace your destiny, I see a burning will to resist it and a deep longing for life. What fascinates me is how someone like you, with a life that seems long and complete, still harbors the fiery heart of youth," she remarked with a warm smile.

Though her looks were ordinary, a captivating allure emerged the moment she showed a hint of feeling.

That smile left Wu Long entranced, a rare occurrence for a man who had savored beauties beyond count throughout the Seven Boundless Worlds.

In that instant, the shock from her earlier words slipped entirely from his mind.

Noticing the trance in his gaze, her smile widened with unexpected delight, and she stepped closer to him.

"Haha, young man, since you've ignited my interest—something I thought impossible now—I'll grant you a priceless gift as reward. Whether you grasp the chance it brings is solely up to you," she whispered softly, now standing directly before him.

"Wha-" Wu Long jolted back to awareness, but too slowly—the woman leaned in abruptly, her tender lips pressing against his, and his sight swiftly faded.

"I hope you'll amuse me further, young man." Her words echoed as his awareness plunged into darkness.

---

Atop a cliff, a simple woman in her thirties watched the stunning landscape around the mountain shatter into ruin, while white specks before her dissolved into void.

She brushed her lips with a finger and smiled, her form beginning to transform. Otherworldly beauty gradually filled her features, her body shaping into heaven's perfect creation. Her unadorned white robes enhanced rather than diminished her splendor, their plainness highlighting her radiance. The pristine white glowed even purer in her presence, evoking an immaculate goddess untouched by mortal taint.

"Ahh, the thrill of banishing boredom feels divine—I've craved this sensation so long I'd forgotten its bliss..." she murmured nostalgically toward the horizon scarred by wild devastation, then grinned playfully, "perhaps if he amuses me plenty, I might offer an even grander prize, hahahaha..."

By the moment the destructive surge hit the mountain's base, she had vanished from her perch, leaving behind echoing laughter and a fragile jade pagoda teetering on the brink of shattering...

---

Wu Long's eyes flew open as he bolted upright from his reclined state.

A flicker of confusion and disorientation crossed his gaze while he gulped air, drenched head to toe in icy sweat.

'What the...?'

'Where am I?'

'What's going on?'

'...'

A torrent of queries and ideas flooded his foggy mind, dulled from awakening abruptly from profound sleep. Then, a keen glint pierced his eyes as a profound breath steadied him completely.

Scanning his memories, he discovered with astonishment that he now inhabited the body of a sixteen-year-old Outer Court disciple from the dual-cultivation sect 'Yin Yang Unity Palace'. An Outer Court elder had recruited him roughly five months prior, with no memory of prior events. His name remained Wu Long, and his appearance matched his own at that age precisely.

His cultivation stood at the second stage of Body Transformation Realm, lagging behind most ten-year-olds and akin to a total novice embarking on the cultivation path.

The final alien recollection was a venomous snake bite during a group herb-gathering mission on a nearby mountain.

Having pieced it all together, he stared in stupefaction, utterly baffled by his predicament.

'What did that woman do? Who in the world is she?'

His mind was filled with questions.

Right at the moment he prepared to sort out his thoughts, the room door creaked open, admitting a middle-aged man. Upon seeing Wu Long seated on the bed, a wave of relief washed over the man's face.

"Disciple Wu, thank heavens the medicine worked, how are you feeling?"

From his newly gained memories, Wu Long swiftly identified the man as an Outer Court elder stationed at the Medicine Hall. He resolved to leave this place at once and seek a serene spot to arrange his thoughts.

"Elder Zhi, I am okay, thank you. I still feel a little weak, but that should be normal after such deadly venom, so I would like to return to my living quarters to recuperate."

A flicker of surprise crossed Elder Zhi's features, and he nodded in agreement.

"Yes, in fact you are quite lucky as the antidote for this venom works only on four out of ten victims, but as long as you managed to wake up, you are completely out of danger, you may go."

Wu Long gave a nod and made his way to the house he remembered from the new memories, while Elder Zhi proceeded to the sect's central area, his expression brimming with sincere relief.