"It seems to be called Shatuo City?" Ye Chuan flashed to a spot not far away, observing from a distance.
Yellow sand stretched across the sky, and the city stood between the crimson desert and an oasis, half-rooted in the scorching gravel. The arched gate was carved with coiling sand serpent totems, their scales embedded with fragments of sunstone. Whenever the wind swept through, the stone scales would shimmer with flowing golden light, breathing in the arid heat of the Gobi like living creatures.
The city guards wore black iron armor lined with camel wool, curved crescent-shaped sabers hanging at their waists, the hilts adorned with red silk and wolf-tooth ornaments. Spotting an approaching merchant caravan, they shouted in thickly accented voices,
"Show your token, unload your saddles for inspection—hey friend, air pass!"
"Token?"
Ever since his Heavenly Dao infant transformation, Ye Chuan's teleportation range had exceeded a hundred miles. With just a flicker of movement, he appeared inside the city.
Stepping into the city, he was greeted by a mix of spices, roasted meat, and spiritual energy. The main street was paved with desert-toned stones, flanked by shops with pointed roofs, wooden beams draped with prayer flags and dried desert dates, the banners flapping loudly in the wind.
"Really has that Western Region flair, no wonder Princess Ademi looks like a Dilraba double."
"Different lands breed different folks," Ye Chuan mused with interest.
In the shops, Western Region cultivators in embroidered vests haggled over goods. The stalls displayed artifacts and carpets inlaid with Gobi agates.
Ye Chuan spotted some gemstone jewelry at one stall and asked,
"Hey friend, how much?"
"One spirit stone, take your pick," the vendor replied.
"These should suit Luo Xi just fine." Ye Chuan bent down to browse, not even bothering to bargain given the low price. After picking out a few beautiful agate pieces, he grabbed some extras for Bai Qianshuang and Lan Xiaoke.
"Here, spirit stone." Tucking the jewelry into his backpack, he tossed the vendor a small pouch.
"Heh."
"Feels like sightseeing." Ye Chuan strolled leisurely through the city, in no hurry to find Princess Ademi. Instead, he savored the tourist-like vibe.
"What kind of bread is this?" A whiff of spices caught his attention. He turned to see a stall piled with round flatbreads and asked.
"Naan!" the vendor corrected. "Not bread."
"What’s in it?"
"Flour, eggs, milk, onions..."
"Isn’t that just bread?" Ye Chuan pressed.
"Naan!"
"Fine, naan it is—just a translation thing. Give me one."
"One silver."
"Uh… spirit stone okay?" Ye Chuan didn’t carry Xiluo Kingdom’s currency.
"Spirit stone?" The vendor’s voice instantly perked up. "One spirit stone, friend, all of it’s yours!"
Judging by the vendor’s tone, one spirit stone could buy the entire batch.
"Deal." After paying, Ye Chuan stuffed all the naan into his spatial backpack—space wasn’t an issue.
Taking a bite, the texture was indeed bread-like, though a bit tough, with onions and strong spices.
"Not bad, just a bit hard." Munching as he walked, he continued his aimless wandering.
Before he knew it, night fell.
Lamps flickered to life across Shatuo City, warm yellow glows seeping through windows, stretching pedestrians’ shadows long across the earthen paths.
The aroma of roasted lamb wafted from taverns, making Ye Chuan pause to buy some.
"Mm, time to log off. Got that beach trip tomorrow." He gnawed on a lamb leg, grease glistening at the corners of his lips.
"Burp. Tianxuan Continent, log out."
……
……
His vision shifted.
When he opened his eyes again, Ye Chuan was back in his room.
"Nothing planned tomorrow… maybe I’ll just grind the adventure world for a few days." Stretching on his bed, he immediately checked his status.
[Status: Auto-cultivating. Time remaining until late-stage Nascent Soul realm: 1,000 days (affected by cultivation techniques, spiritual roots, physique, etc.)]
A thousand days?
Typical Nascent Soul realm—three years just for a minor breakthrough.
"Too slow." Ye Chuan shook his head. Bai Qianshuang next door was already nearing Spirit Transformation.
But Ye Chuan didn’t rely solely on idle cultivation. Occasional lightning tribulations and serendipitous encounters kept his progress decent.
The real kicker was his home’s Spirit Gathering Array, which had a small chance to gift free minor breakthroughs. He even suspected Bai Qianshuang’s rapid advancement was due to its overpowered effects.
"Whatever." Tossing his phone aside, he rolled over.
Time to sleep.
After another restless turn, he found himself wide awake. With a flash, he appeared in the neighboring room.
Lan Xiaoke was curled up in bed, softly snoring, belly exposed.
"Out cold. Was hoping for some cuddle service." Seeing her deep asleep, Ye Chuan didn’t wake her—just slipped in.
"Mmm?"
Lan Xiaoke mumbled drowsily before dozing off again.
"Mmm?"
Ye Chuan adjusted slightly, feeling her steady heartbeat, then settled in.
The night passed without incident, XX.
……
……
Morning.
Today was beach day, so everyone rose early—even Luo Xi had arrived ahead of time.
"Hum, hum~" In the kitchen, Luo Xi, clad in an apron, flipped breakfast on a sizzling pan.
Hearing movement behind her, she glanced back to see a long-haired girl standing nearby.
"Awake, Qian Shuang?" Luo Xi smiled sweetly.
"Didn’t sleep… cultivated." Bai Qianshuang shook her head, a stubborn cowlick sticking up as she entered the kitchen. "Need help?"
"Don’t worry, I’m almost done." Luo Xi gently declined. "Could you wake up Chuan Chuan for me?"
"Ye Chuan."
"Yeah, he sleeps in sometimes. Can you fetch him?" Luo Xi prodded the frying eggs with long chopsticks, adding,
"Oh, remind him to pack swimwear. Can’t have him showing up at the beach bare, right?"
Bai Qianshuang’s gaze, however, was fixed on the sandwiches on the table—unclear if she’d even registered Luo Xi’s words.
"Here."
Luo Xi stuffed a small sandwich into Bai Qianshuang’s mouth. "Off you go, Qian Shuang."
"Mmm… chew chew… got it." Bai Qianshuang nodded.
She headed to Ye Chuan’s room but found it empty.
"…Hm?" Not spotting him in bed, Bai Qianshuang’s brows furrowed slightly as she extended her spiritual sense—quickly locating him in the adjacent room.
Along with Lan Xiaoke.
Currently linked.
"……"
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
