How Did I Become the White Moonlight of the Three Realms?

[Lots of chapters in reserve, please add to your collection!]

Xie Qingxian sacrificed himself to suppress the demons and fell a thousand years ago.

When he opened his eyes again, the mighty Soul Formation cultivator who once shook the Three Realms had become a lowly servant everyone could bully.

The good news was that he had somehow become the entire Immortal Realm's beloved icon, admired by everyone.

Even better, his former disciples had all made names for themselves and become powerful figures in their own right.

But the bad news was that his dear friend Zuntian seemed to have met with an accident. Trapped in the Immortal Alliance, he was in mortal danger...

How could Xie Qingxian stand for that?!

He immediately risked everything to sneak into the Immortal Alliance and save him!

And then,

Zuntian personally bound him with an Immortal-Binding Lock...

Zuntian was no longer the carefree, flamboyant young man in red he had once been. Now the Immortal Alliance's leader, with crimson at the corners of his eyes, he kept Xie Qingxian locked deep within his bedchamber and spoke in a hoarse, obsessive voice:

"A Yuan, don't even think about leaving me behind again."

Xie Qingxian: ??

Wait, can't we talk this out? Why are you arresting me?

So he secretly sent his disciples a plea for help.

Before long, his second disciple, Yin Nanyu, stormed into the Immortal Alliance, heedless of the danger, and reached out to him tenderly:

"Master, come with me!"

Xie Qingxian was touched. His good disciple really had come through for him!

And then,

Yin Nanyu imprisoned Xie Qingxian too.

"Master, I was the one who called your soul back. Why should Zuntian get to swoop in and reap the rewards?"

Yin Nanyu leaned over him, a madness repressed for a thousand years in his eyes, though his smile remained gentle:

"This time, you can only look at me."

Xie Qingxian: ...

Wait, this isn't how the story is supposed to go, is it?

I've only been dead for a thousand years. How did you all turn into obsessive lunatics???

Reader's Guide:

1. Obsessive, love-struck seme (Zuntian/Que Yan) x carefree, easygoing beloved shou (Xie Qingxian)

2. The protagonist is a genuine beloved icon, loved by the entire world

3. One-on-one romance. Everyone except the seme has an unrequited crush

Theme: Some responsibilities cannot be escaped; some people are impossible to let go.

This time, he does not return for all living beings, but for those who have waited a thousand years for him.