"Take him away."
At the young eunuch's command, Gu Qingfeng was led away by the Imperial Preceptor, Situ Kong.
Situ Kong guided Gu Qingfeng through the vast, winding corridors of the imperial palace, thoroughly disorienting the already directionally challenged young man until they finally stopped before the entrance to the national treasury.
Situ Kong produced a token and handed it to the guards for inspection. Once verified, the guards deactivated the treasury’s array seals and allowed the two to enter.
Gu Qingfeng couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances at the guards.
Damn, even the gatekeepers were at the early-stage Dragon Transformation realm. The Great Yan Dynasty’s imperial family truly had unfathomable resources.
Then again, the national treasury was a heavily guarded place—it made sense for Dragon Transformation realm warriors to be stationed here.
The treasury was massive, resembling a palace overflowing with treasures. Countless shelves lined the space, each laden with boxes of varying sizes, all exuding an aura of immense wealth.
Clearly, nothing ordinary made it into this vault.
Gu Qingfeng’s eyes gleamed as he took in the sight of tens of thousands of boxes. This was the accumulated wealth of generations of the imperial family. If only he could… heh heh heh…
The treasury was divided into multiple chambers, each presumably categorized by item type.
With practiced ease, Situ Kong led Gu Qingfeng to a room marked with the character for "Medicine." The moment they stepped inside, Gu Qingfeng’s eyes widened in shock.
Just a single breath of the air in this chamber sent his internal qi surging with unprecedented vigor.
Even though every rare herb and treasure here was sealed inside boxes, the faint traces of energy leaking from each container combined to saturate the room with an almost tangible concentration of spiritual essence.
A true treasure trove!
"This is the medicinal chamber of the national treasury," Situ Kong said calmly. "It houses nearly every type of rare herb in existence—the most comprehensive collection under heaven. Whatever ingredient you seek, you’ll find it here. If it isn’t here, then it’s practically impossible to find anywhere else in the world."
Gu Qingfeng greedily inhaled the air, certain that if he cultivated here, he could break through to the Inner Qi realm in minutes.
But of course, Situ Kong wouldn’t allow it. The emperor was on the verge of death, unable to even speak—there was no time to waste.
"Go and select the ingredients needed to refine the Ageless Pill," Situ Kong instructed.
Gu Qingfeng needed no further encouragement. He eagerly approached the shelves—
Only for Situ Kong to add, drily, "Remember, don’t overdo it. Extending His Majesty’s life is the priority. If the emperor perishes, no amount of riches will save you. Also, your spatial ring will be inspected upon leaving. If the quantity you take is… unreasonable, you’ll face the consequences."
Gu Qingfeng barely registered the warning as he strode toward the shelves.
Ridiculous. As if he needed the reminder! Who did Situ Kong think he was dealing with?
And inspecting his spatial ring? Fine by him!
His eyes darted across the labels on each box:
Thousand-Year Dark Soul Grass!
Polar Ice Marrow!
Seven-Leaf Spirit Fungus!
Thousand-Year Flame Spirit Fungus!
Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng!
Blood Vermilion Fruit!
Linglong Lotus...
Good heavens! Gu Qingfeng couldn’t stop sucking in cold breaths. He had always considered himself wealthy, but this—this was on another level entirely.
Even legendary ingredients thought to be mere myths were stored here!
Heh heh heh… Mine. All mine!
Just as he reached out, he suddenly paused and turned to Situ Kong with suspicion. "If you’re watching me pick the ingredients, won’t the formula for the Ageless Pill be exposed?"
"The Divine Refinement Method has existed for over a century, yet you are the only one in a hundred years to master it," Situ Kong replied flatly. "Do you really think knowing the ingredients alone would allow someone to replicate the pill?"
"Flattering, but no—this is my life’s work, the foundation of my status as a Peerless King. Not a single detail can be leaked."
"When you exit the treasury, the guards will still inspect your spatial ring. The formula will be exposed regardless."
"That’s different. I’ll grab extra herbs as decoys—uh, just a few, of course. The guards won’t be able to tell, but you? You’re the strongest human cultivator, a crafty old fox. Who’s to say you won’t deduce something from the order I pick them, or my expressions—"
Before he could finish, Situ Kong turned and walked away.
Phew.
Gu Qingfeng exhaled in relief before turning back to the shelves, eyes shining with greed.
"With so many treasures, surely no one will notice if I take just a little extra?"
Muttering to himself, he got to work.
Thousand-Year Dark Soul Grass? Mine now!
Polar Ice Marrow? Mine now!
Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng? Get in here!
Seven-Leaf Spirit Fungus…
Half an hour later, Gu Qingfeng stared at the mountain of treasures piled in his pocket dimension and murmured, "Maybe I was too cautious?"
"Ah, well. This should do for now. The old emperor will need another Ageless Pill next year anyway."
Closing the dimensional space, he casually stuffed a few more ingredients into his spatial ring—just enough to pass inspection as "materials for refining the Ageless Pill."
And of course, those would end up in his pockets too.
Exiting the medicinal chamber, he found Situ Kong waiting silently.
The Imperial Preceptor gave him a sidelong glance. "Let’s go."
The two left the treasury and underwent inspection—both of them. Even Situ Kong wasn’t exempt.
Such was the strictness of the treasury’s security.
Situ Kong, being a swordsman, carried few external possessions and was cleared quickly. Then it was Gu Qingfeng’s turn.
He opened his spatial ring for the guards to examine.
Their faces darkened instantly.
Pointing at the hundreds of rare herbs inside, one guard demanded, "The Ageless Pill requires this many ingredients?"
"Uh, yeah!"
Gu Qingfeng didn’t even flinch. "You call this a lot? A mere few hundred varieties. Do you have any idea how rare the Ageless Pill is? It’s the only one of its kind in the world! What’s the big deal about using a few extra herbs?"
The guard’s expression soured further. "I’m no alchemist, but I’ve never heard of a single pill requiring dozens of the same ingredient! Even if the Ageless Pill needed thousand-year ginseng, thirty roots is absurd! Taking more varieties is one thing, but this quantity—how do you explain it?"
"Now you’re just ignoring the facts. You admitted you’re not an alchemist, so what do you know? The Ageless Pill extracts the longevity essence from each herb! A single thousand-year ginseng has only a trace amount—understand?"
He waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, forget it. Explaining this to you is like playing the lute for a cow. Just let me through already."
The guard's eyes flashed with anger. Though he was merely a gatekeeper, he was still a gatekeeper at the Dragon Transformation Realm—when had he ever been mocked like this?
"Not allowed! You're clearly lining your own pockets. You can't leave."
Oh ho!
If Situ Kong, a peak Dragon Transformation expert, tried to stop me, fine—but you, a measly early-stage Dragon Transformation nobody, dare spout such nonsense?
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
