The night at Qingyue Peak was exceptionally peaceful. The pre-dawn moonlight spilled like water through the window lattice of the quiet room. Shi Jingxian was immersed in the tranquility of his cultivation when his blanket was suddenly thrown off by a brute force.
Jingxian! Mochen! Get up quickly!
Shi Wanshan's rotund figure barged in. His usually dignified, plump face was flushed with a strange red glow, looking exactly like a mouse that had just stolen oil.
His small eyes darted around in the dim light as he made a shushing gesture. Your master is taking you to find a great fortune. Keep your voices down.
Before he even finished speaking, Shi Jingxian was yanked into a stumble. Next door, Lin Mochen was also dragged out, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
This youth, two years younger than Shi Jingxian with Heaven-tier Mid-grade aptitude, currently had hair as messy as a chicken's nest and was still groggy from sleep. Master, what kind of fortune requires us to go out in the middle of the night?
Purple Bamboo Peak!
Shi Wanshan rubbed his plump hands together mysteriously, his tone full of certainty.
After Xuanyangzi's two disciples returned from there, their cultivation surged. That brat Gu Changge must be hiding some good stuff!
Shi Jingxian felt bewildered. Although Gu Changge, the Lord of Purple Bamboo Peak, was a peak master, he was only known to have a Core Condensation Realm cultivation and usually lived a secluded life. How could he have any great fortune? He whispered a reminder, Master, isn't it inappropriate to trespass on another peak?
What's there to be afraid of! Shi Wanshan patted his round belly, speaking with righteous conviction. I am the Lord of Qingyue Peak, after all. What's wrong with dropping by my junior brother's place?
And so, under the moonlight, the three of them sneaked stealthily toward Purple Bamboo Peak.
As the silhouette of Purple Bamboo Peak appeared in the moonlight, Shi Jingxian couldn't help but hold his breath.
The entire mountain peak was shrouded in a faint purple mist. Bamboo leaves swayed gently in the wind, making a soft rustling sound. What was even more peculiar was that the spiritual energy in the air was so dense it almost condensed into tangible points of light, floating slowly in the air.
Such dense spiritual energy! Lin Mochen took a deep breath, his eyes instantly lighting up.
Shi Wanshan stroked his beard smugly. See? I told you there were good things here! Let's go up the mountain!
Following the stone steps upward, the spiritual energy became even more mellow. The golden core within Shi Jingxian's body actually began to revolve on its own, greedily absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.
Just as he was about to respond to Lin Mochen's doubt of Is Martial Uncle Gu really only at the Core Condensation Realm?, his ankle suddenly tightened. An emerald green vine had wrapped around it at some unknown time.
Mas—
Shi Jingxian's cry got stuck in his throat as his entire body was hoisted upside down.
The exclamations of Shi Wanshan and Lin Mochen echoed in his ears. In the blink of an eye, the three of them were strung up like cured meat by the Spirit-Binding Vines between two sturdy purple bamboos.
Spirit-Binding Vine?! Shi Wanshan cried out, his plump face turning bright red. Gu Changge, you little brat! To actually put such an insidious thing right at your doorstep!
Hanging upside down, blood rushed to Shi Jingxian's head, turning his vision a bloody red.
He forced his eyes to move and saw that his master had been tied up like a dumpling. His gray robes were rolled up, exposing his round belly, and a bamboo leaf was even hanging from his beard.
Lin Mochen had it even worse. With a bamboo leaf stuffed in his mouth, he looked just like a caught frog, only able to let out muffled whimpers.
Master... is this the great fortune you were talking about? Shi Jingxian spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse from the rush of blood.
Shi Wanshan coughed awkwardly and forced a defense. An accident, purely an accident! This Spirit-Binding Vine only ties up those with malicious intent, which proves that there's definitely something fishy going on at Purple Bamboo Peak!
The night breeze blew past, and the three of them swayed gently like wind chimes. Lin Mochen struggled to spit out the bamboo leaf in his mouth. Shi Wanshan was still struggling in vain, but the more he struggled, the tighter the Spirit-Binding Vine constricted, until eventually, he couldn't even speak.
It wasn't until the eastern sky turned the color of a fish's belly that Shi Jingxian, borrowing the morning light, could clearly see that every bamboo stalk on Purple Bamboo Peak glowed with a faint purple light, with runes faintly flashing at the joints.
What was even stranger was that the sweat dripping from them onto the soil of Purple Bamboo Peak was instantly absorbed completely, leaving not a single trace behind.
Senior Brother, look...
Lin Mochen pointed at the ground with difficulty, his tone full of shock.
Ahem... Shi Wanshan suddenly cleared his throat and lowered his voice. Jingxian, Mochen, when Gu Changge arrives later, remember to act pitiful. We've lost a lot of face this time, so we must at least get some benefits out of it.
Shi Jingxian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After being hung up all night, his master was still thinking about getting benefits.
Right at that moment, light footsteps came from deep within the bamboo forest. A figure in a green robe walked over slowly. The morning mist lingered around him, making him look like an immortal from a painting.
It was a young man under twenty years old, with handsome features and picturesque eyebrows. A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth. He indeed only had the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Core Condensation Realm around him, but those eyes were so profound that they seemed to see right through a person's heart. It was exactly the Lord of Purple Bamboo Peak, Gu Changge.
What kind of play is Senior Brother Shi putting on here?
Gu Changge walked a circle around the three of them, his voice as clear as clashing jade.
Early in the morning, instead of watching over your disciples at Qingyue Peak, you ran to my bamboo forest to swing on swings?
Shi Wanshan's old face flushed red, and he quickly begged for mercy. Junior Brother, stop making fun of me! Hurry up and let us down!
Gu Changge chuckled. Green light gathered at his fingertips as he tapped lightly.
The Spirit-Binding Vines loosened instantly. The three of them fell to the ground with thuds. As they rubbed their numb limbs and stood up, they heard Gu Changge add with a half-smile, How am I supposed to know if Senior Brother came to my Purple Bamboo Peak in the middle of the night with malicious intent, or to steal my skills?
Junior Brother, please stop making fun of me!
Shi Wanshan wore a bitter expression. Catching a glimpse of his two disciples' miserable states out of the corner of his eye, he quickly changed the subject.
Yesterday I saw Xuanyangzi's two disciples coming out of your place, and their auras were different. I knew you must be hiding some good stuff! Look at my two disciples, their aptitudes are mediocre, and they've been stuck at the early stage of the Core Condensation Realm after years of cultivation. Why don't you show some mercy and let them benefit a little too?
Your two disciples, one with Heaven-tier Low-grade aptitude and the other with Heaven-tier Mid-grade aptitude. Placed in any of the Seven Great Sects, which one wouldn't be treated like a precious treasure? This is what you call mediocre? Gu Changge's voice was flat, but it sent a shock through Shi Jingxian's heart. Martial Uncle Gu had seen through their aptitudes at a single glance. This was definitely not something a Core Condensation Realm cultivator could do!
Shi Wanshan laughed awkwardly, rubbing his hands together. Compared to Xuanyangzi's two disciples, aren't they just mediocre...
Gu Changge shook his head. His gaze turned to Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen, a hint of profound meaning flashing in his eyes. You two little guys, following this improper old master of yours, it must have been hard on you.
The two bowed respectfully. Disciple Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen pay our respects to Martial Uncle Gu.
Rise. Gu Changge waved his hand, his tone softening. Since you're here, come in and have a cup of tea.
Hearing this, the awkwardness from moments ago vanished from Shi Wanshan like smoke. Beaming with joy, he followed along. Now that's more like it! Let's go, let's go. Junior Brother's Purple Bamboo Tea is a specialty of our sect!
Watching their master's eager back as he followed closely behind Gu Changge, Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen exchanged a smile. This Martial Uncle Gu, who seemed to only be at the Core Condensation Realm, appeared to be very different from the rumors.
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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.”
