"Jiejiejie... The Heaven-Severing Ruler is in my hands! Lord Demon Emperor will definitely reward me!"
Shi Tianlu laughed wildly with a hideous expression, his originally clear eyes already filled with a scarlet demonic light.
The heavily injured First Elder was so angry his eyes practically split open: "You traitor!!"
Now everyone finally understood why Shi Tianlu had acted so out of character, aggressively targeting the Heaven-Severing Dao Child. It turned out his goal was the Heaven-Severing Ruler. He was the World-Destroying Demon Emperor's man!
After a burst of maniacal laughter, Shi Tianlu turned and fled without any hesitation.
"Quick, stop him!!"
The First Elder roared.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several terrifying immortal lights appeared from all directions, blasting towards Shi Tianlu.
However, they were all blocked by the defensive immortal weapon he had taken out earlier.
Seeing this, the First Elder was even more enraged; he directly spat out a mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he fainted.
Before passing out, he understood everything. He had been played by Shi Tianlu. Not only was he tricked into bringing out the Heaven-Severing Ruler, but he also allowed the other party to make full preparations right in front of everyone.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Countless experts of the Heaven-Severing Sect flew out, chasing after Shi Tianlu.
Terrifying explosions continuously rang out as the two sides engaged in a fierce chase and battle high in the sky.
However, with the only few peak Immortal Kings in seclusion and the First Elder heavily injured from a sneak attack, the other Immortal Kings were completely unable to do anything to Shi Tianlu, who held the Heaven-Severing Ruler.
Nevertheless, they could still entangle him. As time passed, more and more experts surrounded Shi Tianlu.
Gradually, Shi Tianlu fell into a bitter struggle.
Right when the scene was in utter chaos, Gu Qingfeng, who was hidden in the crowd, revealed a wicked smile.
Naturally, he was the one orchestrating everything.
During his previous four battles with Shi Tianlu, he had long left hidden means within his body. Furthermore, Shi Tianlu had been constantly condemned by everyone, causing cracks in his state of mind, which allowed demonic nature to take advantage of his vulnerability.
With his current strength and having laid so much groundwork, manipulating an Immortal King expert was a breeze.
As for his goal, it was naturally Shi Tianlu's life and the Heaven-Severing Ruler.
The relentless pestering of the weak always comes with a price!
Seeing Shi Tianlu locked in a bitter struggle, Gu Qingfeng felt the time was about right. If it drew Mu Yuhan to intervene, things would become difficult to handle.
Thus, an obscure demonic light flashed in Gu Qingfeng's eyes, and Shi Tianlu up in the sky immediately received the signal.
Shi Tianlu let out a maniacal laugh: "Jiejiejie... Everything for Lord World-Destroying Demon Emperor!"
Immediately after, the veins on Shi Tianlu's face bulged, and his magical power surged violently like raging flames, much like a firecracker about to explode.
Bang!
An earth-shattering explosion resounded through the heavens and the earth.
Shi Tianlu exploded; he self-destructed.
Dazzling immortal light swallowed everything. The surrounding Heaven-Severing Sect experts were all blasted away. They were not fools; when they realized Shi Tianlu wanted to self-destruct, they had already retreated hundreds of miles, yet they were still caught in the blast.
Some weaker ones died on the spot, while the stronger ones barely survived, suffering heavy injuries.
And the Heaven-Severing Ruler also faded into the void during this earth-shattering explosion, disappearing without a trace.
"Quick, search!"
"Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must find the Heaven-Severing Ruler!!"
An elder ordered with a furious expression.
Countless disciples mobilized in full force, beginning to search for the whereabouts of the Heaven-Severing Ruler. As for the dead Shi Tianlu, no one cared.
After all, the sect's foundational treasure was the most important.
Following this incident, the ascension to the Sect Master position was temporarily put on hold. Many Heaven-Severing Sect elders stepped forward to clean up the mess and arrange the aftermath.
As the one targeted by the World-Destroying Demon Emperor's subordinate, and having passed the inspection of the Heaven-Severing Ruler, naturally no one made things difficult for Gu Qingfeng, and he went straight back.
After returning to his cave dwelling, Gu Qingfeng set up a sealing array. With a flip of his large hand, a quaint ruler, much like a schoolteacher's discipline ruler, appeared in his grasp.
It was exactly the Heaven-Severing Ruler.
Gu Qingfeng's large hand gently stroked the Heaven-Severing Ruler, as if caressing a lover's skin.
A hint of joy flashed in his eyes.
"Worthy of being the Heaven-Severing Sect's foundational treasure, it is actually a treasure at the Immortal Monarch level. I really hit the jackpot this time."
Gu Qingfeng was very satisfied. Not only had he defeated his competitor, but he also used his competitor to obtain the Heaven-Severing Ruler. It was truly a win-win!
Now all he had to do was wait. Wait for the chaos to end, and he could gloriously ascend to the Sect Master position, then go conquer his beautiful master, and usher in an eternal era!
The outside world was in turmoil, but Gu Qingfeng ignored it. Instead, he retreated into the world within his palm and began to refine the Heaven-Severing Ruler.
An extraordinary treasure like the Heaven-Severing Ruler couldn't possibly lack a spiritual mark. Therefore, to prevent accidents, he had to hide in the world within his palm, isolate himself from the outside, and then refine it.
Once he finished refining it and erased the mark, only then could he rest easy.
After retreating into the world within his palm, Gu Qingfeng wasn't entirely unprepared. He separated an avatar to stay in seclusion within the cave dwelling to handle any unexpected situations.
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
This massive treasure hunt also came to an end.
The entire Heaven-Severing Sect was turned upside down, yet they couldn't find the Heaven-Severing Ruler.
As the people from the major factions returned, this incident also fermented. Before long, everyone in the First Star Ruin, and even other Star Ruins, knew that the Heaven-Severing Sect Elder Shi Tianlu was a subordinate of the World-Destroying Demon Emperor.
Silently swaying a late-stage Immortal King level elder, the reputation of the World-Destroying Demon Emperor grew even more prominent for a time.
In the First Star Ruin, it had reached the point where his name could stop a child from crying at night.
Everyone in the major factions felt endangered, and they all began to investigate whether their own members had been infiltrated by the World-Destroying Demon Emperor's forces.
If even a late-stage Immortal King expert of the Heaven-Severing Sect could be swayed, what else was impossible?
There were even rumors saying that the World-Destroying Demon Emperor had long planted moles in all the major factions, with the goal of wiping them all out in one fell swoop.
Some deranged demonic cultivators even publicly honored the World-Destroying Demon Emperor as their supreme leader, erected statues of him, and worshipped them day and night.
However, no one knew that the World-Destroying Demon Emperor was actually a lone commander without an army, and did not possess the countless spies told of in legends.
But even if it were said out loud, no one would believe it. The number one fierce demon of all eternity—how could such a fiend not have millions of subordinates under his command?
On this day, the First Elder, whose heavy injuries had not yet healed, came to Gu Qingfeng's cave dwelling to discuss the matter of his ascension.
It was Gu Qingfeng's avatar who received him. As for his true body, he was in the world within his palm, enjoying himself freely with Little Corpse Charm, Shang Xinyan, Princess Qinglin, White Fox Queen, Ling Feier, Nangong Xue, Duan Wushuang, Yan Lingxue, Yan Lingyu, Shangguan Wan'er, Shangguan Qing, Luo Li, and the other women.
The Heaven-Severing Ruler had long been completely refined. The remaining time was naturally spent intimately mingling.
The First Elder and Gu Qingfeng set the time for him to take over as Sect Master: one month later, they would invite the major factions to come and observe the ceremony.
Although Gu Qingfeng felt the wait was a bit long, he couldn't show too much eagerness. Fortunately, there were quite a few girls, enough to keep him accompanied for a month.
After all, a month later, he would still need to focus his efforts on Mu Yuhan, that aloof sword cultivator, so his schedule was quite tight.

for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?

【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.)

world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”