Indeed!
The issues of the Divine Land are not something that can be changed overnight. After all, they stem from centuries—even millennia—of accumulated corruption and ingrained prejudices. The biases in people's hearts are like an immovable mountain, impossible to cleanse in a short time.
But so what?
Chen Yi has a plan to break through it all!
As long as the Heavenly Dao of the Divine Land revises its oversight rules, the incense gods wouldn’t dare to exploit and oppress so brazenly as they do now. At the very least, they’d be forced to operate in the shadows.
And that’s enough!
At its core, isn’t the problem just that the upward path has been blocked, forcing the incense gods to endlessly compete within a limited system?
You embezzle, so I embezzle. You raise ghosts to fake merits, so I do the same. Once this vicious cycle begins, it’s nearly impossible to reverse—a once-living spring can turn into a stagnant pool.
And what Chen Yi intends to do is carve an outlet in this dead water!
The Divine Land is fertile and moist, while Zi Wei is arid and parched!
Even stagnant water can nourish the earth!
Besides, Zi Wei, after ascending to the True Immortal Realm, has seen its variables multiply exponentially—and there’s a dire shortage of hands to manage them!
Several of the first batch of celestial officials, such as the Rain God Yuan Qiyue, Earth Vein Supervisor Xu Zhanpeng, and Divine Artificer Xu Qingfeng, were stripped of their divine ranks and sent back into the mortal world to endure trials. It’ll take them decades, if not centuries, to return.
The truth is, native immortals are already scarce, and Zi Wei’s rapid expansion only exacerbates the shortage. The local supply can’t keep up with the demand!
Thus, external talent must be brought in.
And the Divine Land’s corrupt, misbehaving incense gods are perfect candidates—no guilt in using them to fill the gaps!
Moreover, by removing these old, tainted incense gods, the younger ones will finally have room to rise.
One position, one replacement. So what if they eventually become the very gods they once despised?
They’ll just be used to fill the gaps again!
Through this cycle, the stagnant waters of the Divine Land will be revitalized. The corruption will eventually be purged, the blocked springs will flow anew, and fresh blood will surge forth endlessly.
If this plan succeeds, it’ll kill three birds with one stone!
The ailing Divine Land will be set back on the right path.
The understaffed Zi Wei Immortal Realm will solve its urgent needs.
And the corrupt incense gods will find new purpose.
Perfect!
Having settled his calculations, Chen Yi smiled amiably. "Don’t worry, I won’t send overseers to monitor you. This is your home—how could outsiders overstay their welcome?"
Hearing this, the Heavenly Dao’s chubby cat bristled.
Since when was this bandit so kind?
What a joke!
If he isn’t sending overseers, it must mean he isn’t afraid of half-hearted efforts or negligence...
Which begs the question: Under what circumstances would the Heavenly Dao become irrelevant?
Exactly!
He plans to stick a suction tube directly into the Divine Land!
That way, whether the Heavenly Dao does its job or not, it won’t matter. Once he drains away the tainted essence, the Divine Land will naturally recover.
But!
Tainted essence is still essence. If too much is drained, even the Heavenly Dao will weaken!
All the reserves painstakingly accumulated over millennia—even if somewhat corrupted—are the capital needed to resist external threats!
"Meow!!!"
"No, you can’t do this!"
The Divine Land’s Heavenly Dao cat sternly refused.
"Oh?" Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. "I haven’t even said anything, and you’ve already guessed?"
The Heavenly Dao cat shifted into its spiked-back dragon form, glaring fiercely. "I can supply your world with resources, but only within my limits—say, sending a set number of people per year!"
"But you want to insert a direct pipeline into the Divine Land? How is that any different from the Immortal Realm’s domineering ascension path?"
"What makes you think you’re on the same level as the Immortal Realm?!"
"If I’m going to be drained either way, why not choose the Immortal Realm? At least it’s powerful enough to shield the Divine Land from evil!"
"But the Immortal Realm isn’t draining you anymore, is it? And when has it ever truly protected you from evil? Has it ever helped you fend off the abyssal horrors lurking beyond the void?" Chen Yi countered calmly.
The chubby cat fell silent.
It had to admit—the Immortal Realm did offer protection, but only the bare minimum.
As long as the world wasn’t on the brink of destruction, it wouldn’t lift a finger.
This left the Divine Land constantly harassed by abyssal horrors. They never pushed to the brink—just came periodically to extort tribute.
Thankfully, the Divine Land was wealthy enough to appease them each time, buying peace with generous offerings.
But for the last ten thousand years, the Immortal Realm had stopped both draining and protecting. As a result, the abyssal horrors grew bolder, demanding ever-larger tributes.
Though the Divine Land’s reserves were vast, the endless extortion was taking its toll.
Yet, what could it do?
The incense god system was inherently weak. Beneath its veneer of prosperity lay a rotten core, incapable of mustering a proper defense force against the horrors.
The weak are beaten—today’s peace is only because the enemy chooses not to strike.
If only it hadn’t chosen the incense god path back then. Fast ascension, yes—but at the cost of true strength...
"Still clinging to false prosperity?"
Chen Yi stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on the cat’s head. His voice was warm, almost soothing.
"It will hurt, but how else can you grow strong? Dignity lies at the edge of a sword; truth is veiled behind power. If your fists aren’t hard enough, even the greatest prosperity is just meat on another’s chopping block."
For a fleeting moment, the Heavenly Dao almost believed him.
He stood bathed in light, making it easy to mistake him for a savior.
But a bandit is still a bandit—no pretty words can hide the fact that he intends to drain its blood.
The Heavenly Dao cat shook its head, leaning back defensively. "No matter what, you can’t just siphon my essence directly. Unless... you can protect me from those damned abyssal horrors!"
If this bandit was determined to drain it, resistance was futile. But it couldn’t possibly endure both the bloodletting and the extortion from the horrors.
Who could withstand that?
"Pathetic!" Chen Yi chuckled, shaking his head. "Draining your essence is a last resort—a necessary evil to accumulate the initial capital. But you’ll only have to endure me!"
"Just wait. The head of the abyssal horror’s progenitor will be my first gift to you!"
With that, his figure vanished.
"Meow~"
The Heavenly Dao cat let out a soft murmur, its gaze growing distant.
This bandit... so domineering.
Somehow, it made the cat feel safe.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
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.
【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.)
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
