Upon hearing Wang Jianqiang's transmitted message, Ye Qingxue fell silent for a long while.
She had always considered herself bold—otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to kill fellow sect members.
Yet Wang Jianqiang was even bolder.
No, perhaps "mad" was a better word.
The disciples who could enter the secret realm were all elite outer sect members of their respective sects, the future backbone of their factions.
Losing a few might not sting enough for the sects to investigate.
But if all of them were killed, the losses would be devastating.
By then, it wouldn’t just be the supervising elders outside the secret realm—
The leaders of the four major powers would likely go berserk!
Snapping back to reality, her faint voice reached Wang Jianqiang’s ears. "The supervising elders are stationed outside the secret realm. The methods of Core Formation cultivators are beyond our comprehension."
"We might not be able to cover our tracks."
"Is that so?" A flicker of regret crossed Wang Jianqiang’s face. "Then forget it."
With that, he glanced at the remaining two, who were eyeing him warily.
"Let’s kill these two as well."
Ye Qingxue didn’t respond with another message. Instead, two streaks of condensed spiritual energy shot forth, piercing through the duo’s skulls the moment Wang Jianqiang finished speaking.
Wang Jianqiang instructed Wang Yuyao to collect the meditation cushions while he took four storage pouches for himself. His gaze then shifted to the third raised platform.
Moments later,
the third cushion was easily secured, along with six more storage pouches.
"Next, we enter the herb garden," Wang Jianqiang said, glancing at Wang Yuyao.
Understanding his intent, Wang Yuyao took out all three cushions, placed them beneath their feet, and sat cross-legged on one.
Wang Jianqiang settled onto another, while Ye Qingxue materialized and occupied the third.
The trio extended their spiritual senses, connecting with the stone stele.
The cushions beneath them erupted with a radiant glow.
In the next instant, all three—along with the cushions—vanished without a trace.
...
Within an ancient bronze hall,
a flash of light heralded the simultaneous appearance of three figures.
"Is this the herb garden?" Wang Jianqiang scanned the surroundings, momentarily stunned.
Wang Yuyao also turned to Ye Qingxue in confusion.
This place didn’t look like it could grow spirit herbs at all.
"This is likely a transit station," Ye Qingxue mused after a moment of observation.
"A transit station?"
"Correct." She nodded, gesturing around. "See these doors?"
Wang Jianqiang and Wang Yuyao nodded.
They had already noticed the nine doors evenly spaced along the hall’s walls.
Strangely,
though the hall was well-lit, the spaces beyond the doors were pitch-black, revealing nothing of what lay behind them.
"Entering these doors leads to trial spaces. Passing the trials will teleport us into the herb garden," Ye Qingxue explained.
Wang Jianqiang nodded thoughtfully.
"In that case, let’s proceed."
With that, he casually chose a door and stepped through.
Wang Yuyao and Ye Qingxue followed—
but the moment they crossed the threshold, an irresistible force shoved them back.
"What’s going on?" Wang Yuyao exclaimed, turning to Ye Qingxue.
Frowning, Ye Qingxue’s expression suddenly darkened as realization struck. "Damn it, I forgot something."
"What?" Wang Yuyao pressed, eyes locked onto her.
"Each door can only admit three people per trial cycle, and the difficulty is set based on the first entrant."
"What?!"
Upon hearing Ye Qingxue's words, Wang Yuyao's expression changed drastically.
This meant that two individuals had already entered the portal before Senior Brother Wang, and neither had yet passed the trial!
If that were the case, wouldn’t Senior Brother Wang end up taking the trial alongside those two?
If both were merely at the Qi Refining stage, it might not be so bad—but what if one of them was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, especially the first to enter?
Wouldn’t that mean Senior Brother Wang would have to face a trial of Foundation Establishment-level difficulty?!
...
After stepping through the portal,
Wang Jianqiang felt his vision darken. When his sight returned, he found himself in an unfamiliar space.
Noticing that Wang Yuyao and Ye Qingxue were nowhere to be seen, he frowned.
"What’s going on?"
"Where are Yuyao and Little Xue?"
"Were we separated, or did they fail to enter?"
Just then, the scent of blood drifted toward him.
Wang Jianqiang immediately snapped to attention and moved forward.
Moments later, several enormous corpses came into view.
They were the remains of four massive birds, each over a hundred feet tall.
Their bodies were riddled with deep, bone-exposing wounds.
"Hmm, these injuries don’t seem to be from spirit beast infighting. They look more like… the work of a cultivator!"
Wang Jianqiang’s eyes flashed. "Could someone have entered here before me?"
After a brief pause, he continued forward.
The moment he entered this space, the trial’s objective had already imprinted itself in his mind:
Reach the core of this realm.
There, a teleportation array would take him directly to the herb garden.
His current path led precisely in that direction.
As he journeyed onward,
he encountered over a dozen spirit beast corpses, all seemingly slain by the person who had entered before him.
This realization sent a chill down his spine—yet also filled him with relief.
What unsettled him was the sheer strength of this unknown individual.
Among the fallen beasts were several particularly terrifying ones.
Even in death, their lingering aura made his heart race with dread.
The oppressive sensation reminded him of Ye Qingxue after her breakthrough.
To have slain multiple beasts of such power, this person’s prowess was beyond question.
No doubt they were a top-tier genius from some major sect, and like Ye Qingxue, had already achieved Foundation Establishment.
The silver lining, however, was clear:
Thanks to this person’s overwhelming strength in clearing the path of all threats,
Wang Jianqiang had been able to travel this far unharmed.
Had he encountered those Foundation Establishment-level spirit beasts himself, he’d have been in for a world of suffering.
...
Two days later,
a violent surge of battle energy erupted from ahead.
"Is that person fighting a spirit beast?"
Wang Jianqiang tensed and halted his advance.
The one who had entered first was at the Foundation Establishment stage.
Uncertain of their identity, recklessly approaching would only put him at risk.
Only after the battle’s tremors faded did he summon a Wooden Sword Array, wrapping it tightly around his body like armor.
Once certain his presence was completely concealed, he cautiously crept toward the source of the disturbance.
Soon, amidst a thicket of weeds,
Wang Jianqiang gently parted the overgrowth—revealing a scene of carnage.
A shattered battlefield lay before him, dominated by the corpse of a massive spirit beast.
The lingering aura radiating from the corpse served as a stark reminder: this had once been a Foundation Establishment-level beast.
As Wang Jianqiang studied the remains, a male voice suddenly spoke out.
"We've already slain seven Foundation Establishment spirit beasts back to back. This trial is truly brutal."
Wang Jianqiang glanced toward a corner of the battlefield, where two figures—one male, one female—immediately caught his eye.
The man was strikingly handsome, standing out with an air of unrivaled distinction.
The woman possessed peerless beauty, her slender frame and ethereal grace making her seem almost otherworldly.
The moment he saw them, two names flashed through Wang Jianqiang's mind:
Lin Xian'er!
Xiao Wuya!
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
