The bald man looked down at the elderly village guardian from his imposing height.
“Is that any way to speak to me?”
“Do you even know who I am?”
“I’ve been personally acknowledged by the Lord of Sin himself—”
Before he could finish, he prepared to flaunt the ‘blessing’ surging within him.
But then, the corner of his eye caught an unusual flicker of color.
Not the sacred golden light, nor the crimson hue of sin.
It was gray.
Lifeless, like the ashes of burnt firewood.
As if alive, it materialized on the ground not far from him—and then began to burn.
Though it bore no flame, the scorching heat it radiated was far more unsettling than any fire.
Where the ashes touched, whether soil or stone, everything instantly disintegrated into the same gray powder, vanishing without a sound.
The burly man’s triumphant grin froze.
No.
This wasn’t right.
This aura… it reeked of annihilation and finality!
He jerked his head up.
Everything in his line of sight was being silently devoured by an eerie ‘flame.’
…All of it rapidly turned to ash, without even a whisper of wind.
The speed was suffocating.
“No…”
This power… he’d heard of it somewhere before…
Why?!
Why would the power of the Lord of Ashes appear here?!
The great Lord of Sin had already declared his satisfaction!
The air thickened with the acrid stench of death.
He watched helplessly as his flesh withered into dust.
Then, only a skeleton remained.
And that skeleton, as if manipulated by an invisible hand, slowly turned.
It knelt abruptly in the direction where Su Qi and his group had departed.
Then it stood, took a step forward, and knelt again.
Within the hollow sockets of its skull, twin flames of soul burned eternally.
“I understand now…”
“This is the Lord’s will.”
“One step, one bow.”
“To cleanse the sins upon you.”
…
Meanwhile, the five who had reached the earthen house seemed to have found a new ‘clue.’
Su Muxue paused.
Though called a house, it was more like a sprawling compound.
She reached out to pull the copper ring handle on the wooden door.
A searing force shot through her fingertips, repelling her hand.
So, there was a barrier.
She took half a step back, considering leaping over.
But she sensed something watching her from the shadows.
If she dared jump, her head would roll the next second.
With no other options, she scanned her surroundings.
Around the house lay broken pottery shards, rotting wood, and… scattered bones.
Was the clue hidden among these?
At this point…
Her only hope was that the other side would play by the ‘rules.’
Su Muxue crouched and began meticulously examining the pottery fragments.
They varied in size, coated in dust, some edges bearing faint traces of patterns.
She patiently picked them up, brushing off the grime.
Then, on the inner side of a few larger pieces, she discovered shallow carvings.
Easy to miss unless scrutinized.
She pieced the marked shards together—they formed an incomplete design.
The shape… vaguely resembled a yin-yang symbol?
Next, she turned to the wood and bones.
The wood yielded nothing, but on a broken femur, she felt an uneven patch.
Scraping away the dirt revealed carvings similar to those on the pottery.
Mentally combining the bone’s markings with the pottery’s pattern…
A more complete yin-yang emerged.
But it still lacked the final piece.
Her gaze swept the area once more, landing on the door’s twin copper rings.
Su Muxue pressed the assembled design against the door, using the rings as the ‘eyes.’
She pushed again.
“Creak—”
This time, the door swung open.
A mustier, dust-laden draft rushed out.
Inside lay a desolate courtyard.
The central fish pond had long dried up, its bed caked in a sludgy black substance, interspersed with pale bone fragments—human finger bones, strangely covered in fish-scale-like keratin.
A dark purple tentacle, studded with suckers, coiled around a rockery, its severed end oozing pus.
Then, something shifted.
A skeletal arm shot from the ground, snatching the tentacle and dragging it underground.
As it retreated, it also scooped up the bony fingers from the pond, stuffing them all into the hole it had emerged from—regardless of whether they’d fit.
Finally, the bone hand patted the dirt flat.
Mission complete, it seemed to sigh before collapsing midair, shattering into inconspicuous fragments.
Su Muxue, witnessing this, wore a rare look of bewilderment.
What was that supposed to mean?
Outside, the middle-aged man, fearing she’d be left unsupported, quickly followed her in.
Liu Yuan, however, hesitated, her expression conflicted.
Su Qi ruffled her hair and bent down. “What’s wrong?”
Liu Yuan leaned in, whispering, “Brother, I don’t really want to play anymore…”
“Not fun?”
“Mhm. That sister… she’s probably played before. Always spoiling things…”
“Earlier, she just skipped past the old man who was obviously a clue-giver.”
“And now she solved this puzzle in seconds.”
“No sense of participation at all.”
With that, she blew a playful breath at him, her little fang grazing his ear.
“Let’s quit! Go buy bubble tea instead!”
…
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
+ Slow Paced + Main Character Thrives Together with His Disciples】 Transmigrated into a cultivation world, Chu Xingchen awakens a discipleship system that reveals the tags of his disciples! Starting from scratch, he builds the strongest sect. Disciple One: Li Yingling 【Gold Tag: Genius Cultivator】【Purple Tag: Extremely Lucky】【Blue Tag: Bewitchingly Beautiful】 Disciple Two: Li Hangtian 【Gold Tag: Reincarnated】【Purple Tag: Ruthless and Decisive】【Blue Tag: Loyal and Noble】 Disciple Three: ??? 【Orange Tag: Alluring Demoness】【???】【???】 Thus, in the cultivation world, an unremarkable little sect appears out of nowhere, but little do others know that each member of this sect is a powerhouse in their own right. The book is also known as: Cultivation? It's Exactly Like This!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
