The night deepened, and the lights of Fengyu City gradually dimmed, leaving only a solitary lamp burning in the study of the Liu Family residence.
The candle flame flickered slightly in the night breeze, casting a long shadow of Liu Canglan, who sat gripping a cultivation manual, though his thoughts wandered far away—
Feng Tian's words about the Holy Land echoed like a hammer in his mind.
"Twenty years old and already at the Transforming Spirit Realm… the Holy Land…" Liu Canglan murmured under his breath, his fingers unconsciously tapping the desk.
The memory of Liu Chengfeng's ruined foundation was still fresh, yet the mere thought of the Holy Land's terrifying power—capable of overturning the heavens with a wave of their hand—replaced the fury in his heart with a bone-chilling dread.
The teleportation array was one of the Liu Family's resources, but if its use provoked the Holy Land, not only would the array be lost, but the Liu Family's century-old legacy could vanish overnight.
He took a deep breath, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes replaced by resolve.
"This grudge must be buried deep. For the sake of the Liu Family, the teleportation array must be lent…"
With that, he rose and walked to the window, gazing at the impenetrable darkness outside, hoping this move would secure his family's safety.
"Heh… truly no room for choice, is there, Patriarch Liu?"
Just then, an almost imperceptible surge of spiritual energy spread through the air—gentle in appearance, yet carrying an unyielding authority, like a celestial net enveloping the entire Liu Family estate.
"Who's there?!" Liu Canglan stiffened, immediately releasing his divine sense!
The patrolling cultivators in the estate froze in place, unable to even stir their spiritual energy. Liu Canglan's expression darkened, but before he could muster his own power, his wrist tightened—
Several nearly invisible threads had somehow coiled around his limbs. The spiritual energy emanating from them carried an eerie binding force, locking his body in place, rendering even his fingertips immobile.
"Patriarch Liu, the use of this teleportation array… shall be decided by this old man."
A calm, indifferent voice sounded from the doorway. Without any external force, the wooden door of the study slowly creaked open.
An elderly man in dark purple brocade robes stepped inside. The robes were embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, and a silver token faintly gleamed at the collar—bearing the character "Xuan."
Though his hair was streaked with white, the old man stood tall and upright, his deep, pond-like eyes sweeping over Liu Canglan with a scrutinizing gaze.
Liu Canglan's heart roiled with shock. He could clearly sense that the threads binding him were condensed from pure spiritual energy, and the pressure radiating from the old man far surpassed that of a Transforming Spirit Realm expert—even carrying a trace of the Dao Rhythm unique to those at the Dao Comprehension Realm!
"Who… are you?!"
His voice trembled slightly from disbelief.
Liu Canglan realized that even as a Transforming Spirit Realm cultivator, he wouldn't last three moves against this elder!
Dao Comprehension Realm—and not an ordinary one at that!
Liu Canglan could tell that this old man was even stronger than Feng Tian, the sect master of Fengyu Sect!
The elder's lips curled into a faint smile. With a flick of his hand, the translucent threads tightened slightly, making Liu Canglan gasp for air, his eyes wide with terror.
Even his soul was restrained?!
"This old man is Elder Xuan, affiliated with the Holy Land of Xihua Divine Continent…" he spoke slowly, his tone laced with subtle arrogance.
"That brat, Ye Chuan, killed the Holy Son of the Xuanbing Palace, Bing San, whom I was tasked to protect. Naturally, this grudge must be repaid."
Liu Canglan's pupils constricted. He never imagined that Ye Chuan had offended a cultivator from the Holy Land!
What terrified him even more was that Elder Xuan, despite being from the Holy Land, dared not confront Ye Chuan openly!
What did that mean?
Ye Chuan must have an extraordinary background—at least on par with the Holy Land itself!
What Liu Canglan didn’t know was that Elder Xuan feared Ye Chuan after their last encounter. Not only had he failed to kill him, but he’d been stabbed repeatedly in the waist—nearly losing something far more precious.
And after that humiliation, he had recuperated right here in Fengyu City.
Who would have thought that his divine sense would pick up a familiar scene?
Ye Chuan was at it again—helping others stir up trouble!
The mere thought made Elder Xuan shudder.
Liu Canglan's face darkened. "Our Liu Family is but a minor clan in a remote corner. The conflicts between Holy Lands—"
"Enough." Elder Xuan cut him off, his finger twitching as a translucent thread slithered into Liu Canglan's meridians.
"You need only obey my orders—tomorrow at dawn, you will personally go to Fengyu Sect and pretend to lend the teleportation array to Ye Chuan, claiming the Liu Family wishes to atone for past conflicts."
Liu Canglan's heart sank as he instantly grasped Elder Xuan's plan. "You intend to ambush him at the array? If anything happens to him, his faction will retaliate, and—"
"And his other backers?"
Elder Xuan sneered, his finger flicking again. The thread inside Liu Canglan erupted with violent spiritual energy, sending soul-rending pain through his body. Cold sweat drenched his robes in an instant.
"Patriarch Liu, you seem to forget—your life is in my hands." He stepped closer, his gaze icy.
"Obey, and afterward, I shall ensure the Liu Family retains its standing in Fengyu City—and even avenges its disciples. Refuse, or breathe a word of this…"
He left the threat unspoken, but the threads around Liu Canglan pulsed with a killing chill. The patriarch knew that with a mere thought, they could shred his meridians to pieces.
Staring into Elder Xuan's murderous eyes and weighing his family's survival, the last of his resistance crumbled.
"I… I agree." His voice was thick with despair.
Elder Xuan nodded in satisfaction, withdrawing the threads slightly—though some remained coiled within Liu Canglan's body, like a blade hanging over his head.
"When the array activates tomorrow, I will lie in wait. Remember—no tricks, or not a single soul in the Liu Family will survive."
With that, Elder Xuan's figure blurred, merging into the night as he vanished from the study, leaving Liu Canglan slumped in his chair.
He knew that from the moment he agreed, the Liu Family had stepped onto a path of no return.
This situation had spiraled beyond his imagination. And for a Dao Comprehension Realm expert like Elder Xuan, annihilating the Liu Family would be no difficult feat.
Nor would Fengyu Sect dare oppose a powerhouse of his level—let alone the Holy Land backing him.
"The Liu Family… truly faces calamity this time."
"Why did that fool Liu Chengfeng have to make friends with such a person?"
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.”
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."
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
