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.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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?
