"Senior Brother, this net is squeezing my bones so hard it hurts. What should we do?"
"I don't know either! This array is incredibly bizarre. The more you move, the tighter it gets."
"How about... we call for Master? The old man definitely has a way."
"Call Master? Are you crazy? If he sees us hanging here like cured meat, he'll beat us so hard tomorrow we won't be able to get out of bed!"
"But we can't just hang here forever, can we? It's almost dawn. If Junior Brother Ruobai comes out for his morning practice and sees us like this, we'll lose all our face."
"Then what do you suggest? Should we try our luck and call for Martial Uncle Gu?"
"Call Martial Uncle Gu? What if the old man thinks we're here to steal things and throws us down the mountain to feed the wolves?"
"Then... how about we pretend to be unconscious? Maybe someone passing by will let us down."
"Are you stupid? There are spiritual energy fluctuations in this net. If we faint, won't we be squeezed even worse?"
"If I knew it would be this troublesome, I shouldn't have listened to Master. What 'move before dawn'? Now look, we tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice."
"Who says otherwise? He wanted to mooch some tea leaves himself and insisted on pushing us out as a cover."
"Shh... I think I hear something!"
"Don't move! What if it's Martial Uncle Gu..."
A moment of silence...
"Where did it go? Scared me to death."
"It was just a little bird."
"So what do we do now? My arms are numb."
"What else can we do? Wait. Maybe the array will loosen up on its own in a bit."
"Your comfort is worse than saying nothing."
"..."
The surrounding darkness seemed to solidify into substance. Purple Bamboo Peak was so quiet you could hear the soft rustle of bamboo leaves falling to the ground.
Only the two people hanging in mid-air occasionally let out a few words of conversation.
Inside the bamboo hut, Gu Changge twisted a teacup between his fingers. Looking through the lattice window at the two dark figures hanging in mid-air, a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
The water mirror on the desk reflected the struggles of the two, and even their hushed conversations were clearly transmitted over.
Gu Changge couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"This Xuanyangzi, the disciples he teaches are just like him, always thinking of crooked ways."
He raised his eyes to look out the window, seeing the two in the net still bickering in low voices. He simply stood up, pushed the door open, and walked out.
Just as he stepped over the threshold, a little bird fluttered over and landed steadily on his shoulder, tilting its head to look at the two people in mid-air.
The smile in Gu Changge's eyes deepened. His gaze swept over the hanging Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong, carrying a bit of teasing and helplessness.
"Never mind, if they hang any longer, I'm afraid they really will turn into cured meat."
With that, he flicked his finger, and a wisp of pale green spiritual energy flew out silently.
The invisible large net in mid-air suddenly loosened. The two dark figures fell to the ground with a "thump," accompanied by two muffled cries of pain.
Gu Changge spoke leisurely, his voice neither high nor low, just enough to drift into their ears.
"Next time you want to visit in the middle of the night, at least scout the place out beforehand."
Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong fell to the ground, grimacing in pain. Hearing Gu Changge's voice, both of them stiffened, their faces full of embarrassment.
They struggled to get up, patted the dust off their bodies, and lowered their heads, not daring to look at Gu Changge.
Gu Changge walked slowly to the two of them. The little bird on his shoulder chirped twice, as if mocking their sorry state.
"You guys,"
Gu Changge gently shook his head.
"With this little bit of skill, you want to learn from others to sneak around? Look at your Martial Uncle Shi. When he comes to the mid-mountain in the middle of the night, he knows to dig a dog hole to crawl through. But you guys, you just crash straight into the array."
At this moment, far away on Heaven-Supporting Peak, Shi Wanshan was sleeping soundly while hugging his beloved stone pillow when he suddenly felt a cold wind blow past.
"Achoo—"
Shi Wanshan sneezed violently, his brows furrowing into a knot in his sleep.
He smacked his lips, rolled over, tucked the stone pillow closer to his chest, and his snoring resumed.
Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong's heads lowered even further, their cheeks burning hot.
Just then, a crisp teenage voice rang out: "Master, what happened?"
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Xiao Ruobai wearing a plain practice uniform, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked out of his room.
When he saw Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong dressed in night-traveling clothes and covered in dirt, he was instantly stunned.
Immediately, with a flip of his hand, a faintly glowing Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd appeared in his grasp. He shouted alertly, "Assassins! Master, step back!"
"Assassins?"
Li Xuanfeng froze upon hearing this, then raised his hand with a wry smile and pulled off the black cloth from his face.
"Junior Brother Ruobai, it's us, Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong from Azure Cloud Peak."
Shen Jinghong also pulled down her face cover, revealing a cold, embarrassed face.
It was just that having just climbed up from the ground, her hair was a bit messy, and paired with that night-traveling outfit, she looked somewhat suspicious no matter how you looked at her.
Xiao Ruobai's grip on the Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd tightened, his eyes still vigilant.
"You guys barged in here in the middle of the night wearing night-traveling clothes. You don't look like good people at all."
The little bird on Gu Changge's shoulder chirped, as if chiming in.
He coughed lightly and reached out to pat Xiao Ruobai's arm.
"Put it down. They were sent by your Martial Uncle Xuanyangzi."
Xiao Ruobai blinked. Yesterday he heard his master and martial uncle talking, and it seemed they did mention this matter.
It's just...
His gaze swept over Li Xuanfeng and the other.
"Does an exchange require dressing like this, and coming in the middle of the night?"
The smile on Li Xuanfeng's face stiffened. He couldn't exactly say he came to mooch spiritual energy and ended up being hung by an array for half the day, could he?
He coughed dryly twice to change the subject.
"Junior Brother, you don't know this, but Senior Sister Jinghong and I wanted to test your alertness.
It's not that Senior Brother wants to criticize you, but look, your Senior Sister and I sneaked all the way to the mountain gate of Purple Bamboo Peak, and you didn't notice a thing. It's still Martial Uncle Gu who's amazing; he knew there was movement the moment the array was touched."
As he spoke, he sneakily glanced up at Gu Changge. Seeing the smile playing at the corners of his mouth, he quickly struck while the iron was hot.
"Junior Brother, you still need to practice more. Consider this the first lesson your Senior Brother is giving you. In the future, when walking in the cultivation world, alertness is a life-saving skill."
Listening from the side, the corners of Shen Jinghong's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
This Senior Brother's skill in lying through his teeth was getting more and more proficient, making the embarrassing incident of being hung by an array for half the day sound so grand and righteous.
And he even took the opportunity to flatter Martial Uncle Gu. His skin was truly thick enough.
After listening, Xiao Ruobai looked earnestly at Gu Changge. Seeing that his master didn't refute, he believed most of it.
He put away the Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd, cupped his hands in a salute to Li Xuanfeng, and said with a sincere face.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for your teachings. It was Junior Brother's negligence. In the future, I will definitely practice diligently and improve my alertness."
That serious appearance made Li Xuanfeng's heart beat fast, and he almost couldn't maintain the expression on his face.
Gu Changge looked at Li Xuanfeng, forcing himself not to laugh out loud.
He thought to himself, how come he never noticed before that this kid Xuanfeng had such a comical attribute?
He could spin lies one after another, and actually managed to bluff the innocent Ruobai.
My good disciple, you really do need to practice more. At the very least, you need to practice making your skin as thick as your Senior Brother's.
"Alright, since you're here, don't just stand around. Go have your exchange."
Gu Changge spoke, breaking this slightly subtle atmosphere.
With that, he turned around and led the way toward the bamboo hut.
Meanwhile, far away on Qingyue Peak, Shi Wanshan shivered again in his sleep, mumbling, "The dog hole... my dog hole..."
【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.)
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?!”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
