Bai Qianshuang watched the entire process and noticed that Ye Chuan's alchemy technique was highly unusual. The medicinal herbs were tossed into the small alchemy cauldron, and with the churning black spiritual flames, they quickly condensed into pills.
To think that other alchemists might take months or even half a year to refine a single pill—yet here was Ye Chuan, effortlessly releasing that faint black energy to refine the herbs, the same energy that had once drained her own spiritual power.
"Hmm?" Ye Chuan set down his phone but caught Bai Qianshuang giving him a strange look. "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"The pill you just refined..."
"Huh?" Hearing Bai Qianshuang's hesitant response, Ye Chuan froze for a moment, his mind racing.
What was going on?
Could Bai Qianshuang see what was happening on his phone?
He was certain that no one else could see the app interface on his phone—he used it often enough to know. Yet Bai Qianshuang had apparently witnessed him refining a pill for Lan Xiaoke?
"You... saw me refining pills just now?" Ye Chuan asked.
Bai Qianshuang, noticing his confusion, only grew more puzzled herself. "Wasn’t that what you were doing? You summoned a small alchemy cauldron and used spiritual flames to refine those immortal herbs."
Me? Summon a cauldron?
Wasn’t that just the image on my phone?
There was nothing like that in reality.
Ye Chuan pondered—could it be that they were seeing different things?
"But why..." Though he found it strange, since his "system" hadn’t actually been exposed, he relaxed a little.
"Yeah, I just refined a pill for Xiaoke," Ye Chuan said to Bai Qianshuang.
Though she found his reaction odd—jumpy, even—Bai Qianshuang didn’t suspect anything. Or rather, she hadn’t been suspicious in the first place; she was just surprised by how fast his alchemy was.
"Xiaoke absorbs spiritual energy incredibly quickly," Bai Qianshuang remarked, shifting her focus to Lan Xiaoke. The girl had been silent the whole time, but Bai Qianshuang could sense the rapid rate at which she was drawing in energy.
Not only that—the faint glow around her body indicated that she wasn’t just absorbing it quickly, but refining it just as fast.
She really was talented.
Just... incredibly lazy.
After about two hours of absorbing energy, Lan Xiaoke opened her eyes and realized she had already broken through to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
"Whew~"
Stretching lazily, she flopped onto the sofa. "So tired..."
Glancing up, she noticed Ye Chuan sitting nearby, arms crossed, legs propped up, watching her with an unreadable expression.
"I did cultivate!" Lan Xiaoke blurted, as if expecting him to scold her.
"Here, refine this Crystal Pill," Ye Chuan said, tossing her a small jade vial. "Once you absorb it, you’ll break through to the Crystal Core stage."
"Huh?" Lan Xiaoke stared at the pill in her hand. "I’m not hungry."
"Is this about hunger?" Ye Chuan deadpanned.
Lan Xiaoke crawled over like a kitten, resting her chubby, baby-faced cheeks on his thigh.
"Ye Chuan, let me rest a bit~ Wanna go play games? Cards? I’ll do all the work~?"
"Break through to Crystal Core first, then you can rest." Ye Chuan patted her cheek, and she let out a soft, whining sound.
Just then, his phone rang.
He picked it up—Luo Xi was calling.
"Hey, my beautiful wife?" Ye Chuan answered.
"Ugh, why’d you call me that all of a sudden?" Luo Xi’s voice carried a hint of surprise, but she quickly continued, "Chuan, my mom made some slow-cooked soup. Can you go pick it up for everyone? I’m still out and won’t be back for a while."
"What are you up to?"
"Volunteering at the orphanage today. You know, after that monster attack last time, there are so many more kids there now... It’s heartbreaking."
"Send me a selfie."
"A selfie?" Luo Xi sounded confused but complied.
Image.jpg
"What’s this for?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to see you," Ye Chuan said. "Alright, I’ll go get it soon."
"Okay~ Bye, Chuan... husband~"
Before he could respond, she hung up with a shy giggle.
Ye Chuan glanced at his phone, then turned to find the white-haired girl pressed right up against him.
"What’s up?"
"Are you going out? Can I come?" Lan Xiaoke asked.
"Let me guess—anything to avoid cultivating, right?"
"It’s exhausting. Worse than all those positions you make me do," Lan Xiaoke nodded vigorously before clinging to his arm. "Please, Ye Chuan? Let me take a break. I’ll do anything!"
Ye Chuan flicked her forehead.
"Fine, let’s go for a walk." He still needed her to break through to Crystal Core tonight so he could check the refreshed items in the points store.
"Yay!" Lan Xiaoke bounced up and scampered off to change.
Bai Qianshuang was busy cultivating, so Ye Chuan didn’t disturb her, simply leading Lan Xiaoke out the door.
He rarely took her out alone. As they walked toward Luo Xi’s place, the white-haired girl seemed in high spirits, swaying playfully with each step.
"Luo Xi’s mom is amazing. She’s always making such delicious soups," Lan Xiaoke mused. Since her revival, she’d been enjoying every meal.
"She used to have health issues," Ye Chuan said casually. "What about you? How’s your family doing?"
"Ah..." Lan Xiaoke rarely—if ever—brought up her family, as if it were some kind of secret. At his question, she turned away before looking up again.
"Ahaha, the weather’s nice today, huh?"
Ye Chuan glanced at the overcast sky but didn’t press. "You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. That includes the thing with your heterochromatic eyes."
Lan Xiaoke’s long bangs usually covered one eye, but whenever she moved energetically, Ye Chuan would catch glimpses of it.
White hair, mismatched eyes.
And under his spiritual sense, nothing about her could stay hidden.
"Mmm, it’s not that I’m hiding it on purpose," Lan Xiaoke mumbled, tugging at his sleeve. "It’s just... kind of embarrassing."
"My family isn’t something worth talking about."
Her expression dimmed, as if recalling something unpleasant.
Just as she hesitated over whether to explain, she felt a hand gently pat her head.
"You don’t have to say anything. Everyone’s got a rough past."
She looked up, meeting Ye Chuan’s faintly amused gaze.
"Right?"
"Mm!"
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."
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
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.”
