Wang Shuyue is a twenty-one-year-old university student living in Guangfu County, China, who is currently in her internship period. She is the only child of Wang Jianguo and Tian Li. On the night of her grandfather Wang Xingbang's funeral vigil at the Baiyin Mountain Funeral Home, Wang Shuyue is left alone after her relatives retire for the night. While keeping watch, she encounters a mysterious woman dressed in purple ancient-style clothing who enters the hall and performs traditional mourning rituals before the coffin. The woman introduces herself as Wang Shufen, claiming to be Wang Xingbang's younger sister and Wang Shuyue's grandaunt. She states that she disappeared in 1970 after being struck by lightning while herding sheep, which transported her to the Vitality Continent, a world where cultivation exists. After training for nearly nineteen thousand years, she tore through the void to return to her original world.
Wang Shuyue is initially skeptical but is convinced when Wang Shufen demonstrates supernatural abilities, including telekinesis and the creation of a glowing golden pill that purifies Wang Shuyue's body. Wang Shufen reveals that Wang Shuyue possesses five spiritual roots, which are considered poor aptitude in the cultivation world, yet she is still worthy of guidance. She bestows upon Wang Shuyue the Five Elements Harmony Art and a compendium of basic immortal spells, beginning an intensive training regimen that includes waking Wang Shuyue before dawn for meditation. The two return to the Wang family home, where Wang Shufen struggles to adapt to modern technology, showing confusion over electric lights, smartphones, and digital payments. Despite these cultural shocks, she maintains her dignified and cold demeanor, occasionally displaying a surprising appetite for modern snacks.
The central conflict arises during a family dinner hosted to thank the funeral guests. A relative, Chi Bichun, behaves inappropriately toward Wang Shuyue's uncle He Qiang, provoking Wang Xiuying, He Qiang's wife. Wang Shuyue intervenes physically, using her newly enhanced strength to throw Chi Bichun to the ground. Chi Bichun's husband, Wu Yang, attempts to assault Wang Shuyue in retaliation. Wang Shufen intervenes, slicing Wu Yang's hand nearly in two with her spirit sword and threatening his life with her killing intent. This display of violence attracts the attention of the Special Operations Bureau, a secret government agency that monitors individuals with supernatural abilities. Armed police surround the restaurant and arrest Wang Shufen, despite her protests and the family's pleas.
Wang Shufen is taken to the G City Branch of the Special Operations Bureau for examination. Captain Roger, the head of the branch, reveals that there are fifteen other documented cases of missing persons returning with cultivation abilities. Medical examinations reveal that Wang Shufen has a fully formed Nascent Soul in her brainstem and a massive stone below her kidney, indicating her immense power. Although Roger initially intends to detain her for observation, Dean Qian, a doctor who recognizes Wang Shufen from their childhood, intervenes. He negotiates a compromise, allowing Wang Shufen to return home under the supervision of her family rather than imprisonment. The Wang family is forced to pay substantial medical compensation to Wu Yang, selling their assets to cover the debt. Wang Shufen is released, and her spirit sword is returned. She and Wang Shuyue then travel to G City, where Wang Shuyue rents an apartment to accommodate her grandaunt, continuing her cultivation training under Wang Shufen's strict guidance while navigating the challenges of modern life and the hidden supernatural world.
