In the West Ridge mountains of Huaxia, due to the unique environmental conditions, it is warm in winter and cool in summer, attracting many visitors year-round.

Today, as always, there were many tourists in some exceptionally scenic locations.

In a certain secluded canyon, a quiet river flowed.

"Whoosh!" Suddenly,

The tranquil river was disturbed when a young lad of about seventeen or eighteen emerged from the water.

"I'm finally back!"

Looking around, the young man felt quite emotional.

He was dressed in a long robe. Although young, he exuded a certain worldly charm.

Even though he had just emerged from the water, there wasn't a droplet of moisture on him.

In any way you looked, he was unlike an ordinary individual.

Standing quietly for a moment, the young man raised his head, his eyes filled with a chilling gleam.

He would never forget why he was banished from the capital city. The insufferably arrogant Jiang family had propositioned a marriage - a man more than forty years old, perversely trying to marry his twelve-year-old sister at the time.

His sister, Ye Xue, was to marry Jiang Jue when she turned sixteen.

At the time, forty-five-year-old Jiang Jue had just become a third-level martial artist. The Jiang family's influence was at its peak, and the Ye family dared not oppose them. Despite his desperate attempts to protect his sister, he faced intense oppression from the Jiang family. His life was in grave danger. In the end, his sister kneelingly begged at the doorstep of the Jiang family, pleading with Jiang Jue. Ultimately, he was exiled from the capital with a decree that forbade his return forever, barely escaping with his life.

His mother and father were implicated because of him, and there was no change in his sister's circumstances.

Three years ago, his efforts were all in vain, just like an egg against a rock, or a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Ye Fan's right hand reached to the sky, gradually clenching into a fist.

"Nothing in the world is eternal, it is a cycle of power struggle, thirty years on one side and another thirty years on the other side!"

"None of you would ever imagine what I have been through!"

"Jiang Jue, three years ago, you explained to me the meaning of power and the strong, this time, I will make you understand what death is!"

"Jiang's family, the day when Xue'er turns sixteen will mark the end of you all."

Even if he had exhausted all the mana in his body to overthrow the restriction of the river, with his cultivation only remaining at the Qi-refining phase, he was still the immortal Honored Ye Fan. With his 3000 years of cultivation experience, it wouldn't take him too long to grow.

To him, a third-rate warrior is nothing more than an insignificant ant.

"Xue'er, don't worry. This time I won't let anyone bully you. No one dares to force you to do anything you don't want to."

"Xue'er, wait for me, I will come to save you soon!"

Ye Fan's eyes were filled with determination.

He glanced at the clear riverbed below and walked slowly towards the canyon.

"Whoosh-"

As Ye Fan took only a few steps, the initially clear river suddenly turned black and began to boil. It transformed into a black hand, shooting out from the river surface, subtly reaching out towards Ye Fan.

"Get lost!"

Ye Fan's aura suddenly changed, turned around, and coldly spat out these words.

The "Black Hand" trembled, eventually receding back into the river. The waters returned to tranquility; the river flowed clearly once again.

"Blocking me for three millennia isn't enough, you even want to drag me back."

"The last time, you succeeded, but this time, I won't be captured again."

Ye Fan whispered, the old man hadn’t lied to him at least about one thing. The time difference between these two worlds indeed was one to a thousand; a thousand years there equated to just one year here.

It seems the individual who orchestrated all this was very precise in controlling time in this world. Could they be a person who emerged from here as well?

Perhaps he could return another time!

Ye Fan ponderously moved forward, thinking to himself like this.

...

On the West Ridge Mountain trail.

Ye Fan, clad in a Daoist robe, strolled towards the base of the mountain.

At this moment, during the National Day Golden Week, when tourists were most numerous. The mountain trail was quite congested.

Given his archaic attire, contrasting with others in their modern clothing, he attracted many eyes.

Upon reaching the base of the mountain, he discovered that things ahead were not exactly calm.

A deformed supercar was parked at the side of the road, four men in black suits were anxiously looking at a blood-soaked young man beside the car, at a loss for what to do.

"Call an ambulance right away," the leader of the men ordered.

One of the men in the black suit replied, "We've already called, but all the lanes are blocked. The ambulance can't get here, we can't even bring him to the hospital ourselves."

As they watched the life slowly fading from the young man, a shiver ran down their spines. If anything happened to the Young Master, it wouldn't end well for them. Not only would they pay with their own lives, their families would be dragged into it too.

The leader of the men roared at the surrounding crowd: "Is there a doctor here? My young master is Li Zihao, the son of Li Renyuan. If anyone can save him, they will be rewarded generously!"

"Li Renyuan!"

The crowd shuddered at the name - Li Renyuan was a well-known figure in Xiling Province. Should anyone save his only son, it would be their ticket to glory. Yet, even with this offer, no one stepped forward. Not only it's unclear whether there was a doctor present, even if there was, they wouldn't dare to step out given the severity of Li Zihao's injuries and the time that had already elapsed. Who would dare to take the risk?

Just as people were sighing in resignation, two people suddenly approached. A young woman and an elder. The young woman had bright eyes and carried an aura of regal elan, while the elder, despite his white hair, radiated a vibrant energy.

The head bodyguard looked at the elder, "Are you a doctor?"

The elder responded, "My name is Tang Yishan."

The bodyguard's eyes lit up, excitedly he ushered, "Doctor Tang, please!"

The other bodyguards also showed excitement in their eyes. If you were to name the few with the best medical skills in Xiling Province, Tang Yishan must certainly be on the list.

"So it's Master Tang, all is well now. Li Zihao should be safe."

"Master Tang? I've heard of him, he's quite powerful. But can Li Zihao, who is so seriously injured, be saved?"

Tang Yishan walked up to the young man, scrutinized him closely for a while, then took a box of silver needles from the woman behind him and inserted them into several acupoints on Li Zihao's body.

Hmm?

Seeing Tang Yishan's needle technique, Ye Fan stopped with curiosity.

In the cultivation world, such a method was rarely used. It was not inferior, just different in focus. On the contrary, if the healing techniques of the immortals there were brought to this world, most people couldn't even imagine it.

A quarter of an hour passed, and Tang Yishan withdrew the silver needles.

A few bodyguards looked at him nervously and asked, "Old Tang, how is it?"

Tang Yishan looked at the blood-covered Li Zihao, sighed, shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I'm powerless."

"The wounds of Young Master Li are severe, his internal organs have all suffered serious injury, I estimate..."

Upon hearing this, the faces of several bodyguards in black turned as white as a sheet.

"If even Master Tang is helpless, then Li Zihao really is beyond saving," they thought.

"Let me try."

At this moment, Ye Fan suddenly spoke up in a light tone, then walked into the crowd, looking at Li Zihao lying on the ground.

Today, he returned to his "old grounds" feeling rather good, surprisingly eager to lend a hand.

On any ordinary day, in the ruthless world of cultivation, after practicing for three thousand years, having braved countless challenges, he wouldn't have bothered with such matters.

Let it be, let this just be a casual stroke of fate.

"You?"

The guards looked at him skeptically, filled with distrust.

In fact, it wasn’t just the guards. The rest of the crowd was also looking at him with a smirk.

Ye Fan, who had experienced three thousand years in the cultivation world, looked very young. Even the famous Tang Elder of the West Ling Province was helpless, what could this young man possibly do?

His remark also infuriated the young lady standing next to Tang Yishan.

"I'll do it," she said, appearing quite competent.

The Tang family was a prominent figure in West Ling, and this woman was proud and arrogant, her eyes coldly fixated on him:

"Do you claim your medical skills to be superior to my grandfather’s?”

"Exactly, young man, it's good that you want to get to know the Li family, but don’t play with fire."

At this moment, everyone's distrustful eyes simultaneously turned towards Ye Fan.