Boom—!
Gu Qingfeng raised his fists high, bringing them down like two mighty hammers.
The body of the Flame Heavenly Emperor instantly exploded, engulfed in a haze of deathly energy.
Yet in the next moment, the swirling death energy transformed once more into boundless vitality, and the Flame Heavenly Emperor resurrected amidst the life force.
"Useless. I cannot die..."
"Malice of All Living Beings! True Illusion! Demon-Seeding Dao Heart!!" Gu Qingfeng's furious roar cut off the Flame Heavenly Emperor's words.
His eyes erupted with an eerie, demonic light, and endless black mist surged from his body, twisting into countless tiny black serpents that madly forced their way into the Flame Heavenly Emperor’s seven orifices.
It was as though a demon god had crawled up from hell to devour souls—a scene of utter horror!
"Eternal damnation awaits you!"
"No!!!"
Terror flashed in the Flame Heavenly Emperor’s eyes as he struggled wildly, but with his invincible heart shattered, how could he resist the invasion of such supreme corruption?
Countless black serpents slithered into his body through his mouth, nostrils, ears, and eye sockets. His veins bulged grotesquely, his skin writhing with unnatural undulations as the serpents squirmed beneath. Even the divine light in his eyes dimmed into nothingness.
Moments later, all brilliance vanished from the Flame Heavenly Emperor’s gaze, replaced by a cold, inhuman glint of pure malevolence.
"This subordinate pays homage to the Supreme One!"
As though reborn into another being, the Flame Heavenly Emperor knelt on one knee, his gaze toward Gu Qingfan filled with fanatical reverence—as if beholding the progenitor of demons himself.
The other Heavenly Emperors witnessing this scene were struck speechless, an unspeakable dread spreading through their hearts.
When they had seen the Flame Heavenly Emperor defeated, their fury had been boundless—millions of years of waiting, their hopes of resurrection dashed. Who wouldn’t rage?
But now, seeing the once-mighty Flame Heavenly Emperor kneel in submission, calling another his master, they felt only terror. Trembling fear.
Those who ascended to become Heavenly Emperors were peerless geniuses, the supreme talents of their eras.
Such beings did not fear death. But they feared what had befallen the Flame Heavenly Emperor—reduced to a puppet, stripped of dignity, a fate worse than death.
Ignoring their shock, Gu Qingfeng turned his attention to the Flame Heavenly Emperor.
"Attack me with your full power."
"As you command, Supreme One!"
The demonized Flame Heavenly Emperor rose like an automaton, his hands swiftly forming seals.
The Wheel of Life and Death, the Dao of Flames—the Mystic Flame of Life and Death manifested once more!
"What is he doing?!"
A Heavenly Emperor gasped.
"Wasn’t the Flame Heavenly Emperor enslaved? Why is he attacking Gu... no, the Heavenly Emperor Gu?"
"Has he broken free of control?!"
Boom—!
Resplendent light of life and death illuminated the void, and invisible flames surged forth, their overwhelming presence drowning billions of miles of emptiness—Gu Qingfeng’s figure vanishing within the cataclysmic force.
For a fleeting moment, the Heavenly Emperors dared to hope.
But then the radiance dispersed, revealing Gu Qingfeng—utterly unharmed.
With a faint smirk, he raised a pale, slender hand and snapped his fingers.
A flickering flame, woven of black and white, danced upon his fingertip.
The Mystic Flame of Life and Death!
Examining it with amusement, he murmured, "Fascinating power. Even stronger than before. 'Corruption brings strength'—the ancients spoke true."
The Heavenly Emperors’ eyes nearly bulged from their sockets at the sight.
"That... that’s the Flame Heavenly Emperor’s Mystic Flame of Life and Death!"
"That flame was tempered through a hundred cycles of reincarnation—a fire capable of reversing life and death! How can Heavenly Emperor Gu wield it?!"
These were not fools. They had lived for eons, their knowledge vast.
Seeing the flame in Gu Qingfeng’s grasp and recalling his earlier actions, realization struck.
"Could it be... Heavenly Emperor Gu possesses an ability to absorb his enemies’ attacks?"
The ember of hope reignited in their hearts. The Flame Heavenly Emperor himself mattered little—what they truly sought was the Mystic Flame of Life and Death.
Whether it was wielded by the Flame Heavenly Emperor or Gu Qingfeng mattered not, so long as their resurrection remained possible.
As for whether Gu Qingfeng would grant them rebirth, the Heavenly Emperors were unconcerned.
Their goals aligned—the Heavenly Dao. Bound by its laws, even Heavenly Emperors could not achieve true immortality. None could resist the lure of eternal life.
Though Gu Qingfeng was undying, he remained shackled by the Heavenly Dao, even imprisoned by it for countless ages. A man of his temperament would never let such a grudge go unavenged.
And the Heavenly Dao was no foe to face alone.
Thus, the Heavenly Emperors believed that though their path to resurrection had twisted and turned, the end would be just.
"Leave the Void Battlefield," Gu Qingfeng commanded.
The Flame Heavenly Emperor bowed deeply, then voluntarily conceded defeat and withdrew.
The moment he departed, the Void Battlefield trembled—and with it, the entire Emperor’s Path!
The cosmos quaked, stars flaring in their billions as a dazzling, multicolored radiance engulfed the Emperor’s Path, spilling even into the Cangming Realm beyond.
Divine light wove through the heavens, illuminating the Cangming Realm like the most glorious fireworks of this golden age.
A sacred chorus resounded—echoes of ancient rites, the chants of three thousand divine demons hymning in unison.
Across the Cangming Realm, countless beings stirred with excitement.
They felt the heavens shift—an omen recorded only in ancient texts: the Coronation of a Heavenly Emperor!
A new sovereign was ascending!
"Has the Heavenly Emperor been decided?!"
"The struggle for the Emperor’s Path has reached its end! Who has seized the Mandate of Heaven?"
"Let it be a human! It must be a human Heavenly Emperor!" Some among mankind fell to their knees in prayer.
Factions across the realm prayed fervently that their own would rise to supremacy.
...
At the end of the Emperor’s Path, upon the Void Battlefield, the heavens rained sweet dew as golden lotuses bloomed from the earth—auspicious signs heralding a grand celestial celebration.
And then, the guest of honor descended.
A lotus—neither wholly real nor illusory, crystalline in its perfection, radiant beyond compare.
"The Mandate of Heaven!"
A Heavenly Emperor gasped.
In that instant, greed and longing flickered in their eyes.
Though each had once borne the Mandate, it was precisely because they had tasted its power that they craved it all the more.
To wield the Mandate was to know true omnipotence—to feel the heavens bend to one’s will, where every word became law, every desire reality.
Yet for all their yearning, the Heavenly Emperors could only watch from beyond the Void Battlefield as the Mandate drifted gently down...
And settled upon Gu Qingfeng.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
