[Ensemble cast + gentle, slow-burn, low-angst + setting-focused + original expansive worldbuilding + literary leanings + carefully layered plot with early and late details echoing each other + proceed with caution if this isn't your thing, or give it a look]
Ye Youqian was once a renowned Sword God in the Immortal Realm. Then he took part in the Immortal Realm's year-end event and unexpectedly won first prize!
A lifetime-long excursion to the Lower Realm.
Luckily, he was allowed to take two things with him.
The first was his peak sword intent, to ensure his life would never be in danger.
The second was a pair of starry eyes, to ensure that his path to immortality would never be cut short.
Meanwhile, his true self would fall into a deep slumber in his immortal cave abode.
Once his soul returned to his body...
After arriving in the Lower Realm, he transmigrated into the body of a middle-aged beggar who had just been beaten to death with a club, his eyes cruelly gouged out.
His body had been dumped in a trash heap.
When Ye Youqian's soul awoke, the starry eyes settled into the bloody sockets of his flesh-and-blood body. He picked up the black ribbon that had suddenly appeared beside him and tied it over his eyes.
It was a special gift for the first-prize winner, Immortal-Wrapping Cloth. It could conceal the Golden Immortal aura of the starry eyes, in case he accidentally caused the continent to collapse.
Only out in the starry sky could the Lower Realm barely withstand their pressure!
Meanwhile, the peak sword intent took the form of a nine-petal flower seal on his brow.
At the same time, it seemed...
This lifetime-long excursion to the Lower Realm came with three bizarre rules!
First, he had to live as a beggar.
Second, he couldn't cultivate. He could only
