Han Qianxue was only pretending to be an automaton, but she wasn’t truly one.
Meanwhile, the real automaton, Shen Lingxi, subconsciously believed Han Qianxue was her ally, so she let her guard down completely. Just as she was about to initiate a conversation, Han Qianxue swiftly closed the distance, slamming into her with a crushing shoulder strike and sending her toppling. Without missing a beat, Han Qianxue then pulled Shen Lingxi’s arm around herself, putting on a flawless act of sisterly affection!
This illogical sequence of actions instantly caused Shen Lingxi—who was in standby mode for free movement—to crash.
If she had been thinking normally, she would’ve reacted immediately. But unfortunately, her true consciousness was suppressed, and her rigid, foundational spiritual logic couldn’t formulate an effective response.
Still, she was, after all, a Mystic Immortal. The computational power of her spirit was terrifying. She had only been using the most basic spiritual logic to reduce activity and avoid excessive feedback while in standby mode. The moment an anomaly occurred, her primary agile form would activate instantly for analysis and action, and Wuji, operating behind the scenes, would also respond!
But alas, Chen Yi wasn’t about to give them the chance—he was exploiting the latency gap!
Wuji was merely a projected will, separated by a layer of spacetime as a safety measure, so its feedback wasn’t sharp or timely enough.
Thus, the instant Han Qianxue’s shoulder strike sent Shen Lingxi crashing, Chen Yi deployed eighty-one Chaos-Colored Pearls to form a barrier array, supplemented by two Dao Ancestor-level treasures—the Primordial Chaos Creation Brush and the Chrono-Alteration Disk—to distort the surrounding field and deceive the heavens!
His movements were lightning-fast.
It was over in an instant.
Though some anomalous fluctuations leaked out, drawing the attention of nearby NPCs…
Well, it was just Han Qianxue and Shen Lingxi being overly affectionate—perfectly reasonable for sisters who were subconsciously close!
So, the NPCs merely glanced over briefly before turning back to their tasks—some pretending to be birds perched on trees, others chopping wood beneath them...
The scene showed no abnormalities. Meanwhile, Wuji was distracted, its attention entirely on the Little Golden Dragon, completely oblivious to the momentary lag and subsequent recovery of a lively figure’s silhouette in the corner of the Heaven-Gazing Mirror.
Only Shen Lingxi, forced into an embrace with Han Qianxue, stared blankly, her pupils faintly reflecting a towering figure deep within.
"The River of Forgetfulness has no water—only my reflection..."
"I am... I am Shen Lingxi. A sinister force has transformed my spirit into this undying illusion, trapping myself... Do not ascend. Do not ascend. The celestial realm is tainted... Do not forget. Stay awake. Repeat it!"
"The River of Forgetfulness has no water—only my reflection..."
A vast, winding river stretched endlessly, its surface not of water but of an unfathomably deep mirror, like an abyss without end.
Shen Lingxi walked barefoot upon this frozen "mirror," her toes sending ripples across the icy surface, perfectly reflecting her flawless face.
The space was deathly silent, oppressively empty, echoing only with her whispered murmurs.
Here, time was imperceptible—a blink could feel like an instant or an eternity.
"The River of Forgetfulness has no water—only my reflection..."
"I am... Who am I? Where is this? Where am I going? Right... I am Shen Lingxi. A sinister force has turned my spirit into a prison. Do not forget. Repeat it once more..."
Her beautiful eyes were clouded with confusion, her dwindling rationality slowly eroding.
Yet, through sheer obsession, she repeated the words over and over, clinging to the knowledge that this was her prison—an eternal illusion fueled by her own spirit!
No enemies. No torture. Only this river of forgetfulness, forged from her own spiritual power.
She tread upon it, never stopping, for the moment she paused, she would sink, drowning in the vortex of solidified malevolence, becoming nothing more than a puppet!
Step by precarious step, she forced herself forward, her sluggish mind screaming at her—move, move, keep moving! She had to find something!
"What... what was I looking for?"
She knew she had forgotten too much. But if she couldn’t even recall the most crucial thing...
Oh no.
I’m doomed.
"Shen Lingxi~~~"
Suddenly!
A voice—both foreign and familiar—pierced the silence, its echoes sending ripples across the frozen river.
Shen Lingxi turned numbly, startled to find a figure standing on the distant shore.
The man wore deep indigo Daoist robes, his aura transcendent, a faint glow around him starkly contrasting the desolate gray of the illusion.
He carried no overwhelming majesty, no reality-warping phenomena. Like a drop of water merging into the sea, his presence was natural—yet undeniably intrusive, shattering the eternal stillness and breathing life into the void.
Who was he?
How did he get in?
What did he want?
Her spirit tensed instinctively, her gaze wary.
Her intuition screamed—this man... was no good!
Though her memories were fragmented, she was certain she had met him before, and the impression was far from favorable. She had kept her distance!
Otherwise, why would she fear such an unremarkable, almost frail-looking man?
Chen Yi, however, didn’t care. Once he had her attention, he took a bold step forward, crossing the vast mirror in quick strides to close the distance!
"No!"
Shen Lingxi recoiled, her foot sinking slightly into the mirror’s surface.
Yet the expected attack never came. Instead, the man seized her wrist and yanked her skyward, breaking through layers of darkness until they beheld a radiant full moon.
"Pfft—"
A soft sound, crisp in the silence.
Shen Lingxi stared blankly as the man produced a vividly colored flower in one smooth motion. Her muddled mind felt as if struck by lightning.
This...
This was the Lycoris radiata (Lycoris radiata: Lycoris radiata)—the very thing she had been searching for!
Why did he have it?
What was he planning?!
Her head snapped up, her gaze sharp as she demanded, "Who are you?"
"Don’t remember me?" Chen Yi smiled warmly, his voice deep and steady—reassuring, even.
Something stirred in her heart. Fragments of forgotten memories resurfaced, and her eyes only grew more guarded. "It’s you! What do you want with me?"
Chen Yi: "..."
Seriously? Am I some kind of villain?
Before remembering, she was just wary. Now it’s like I’m a predator to avoid?
Come on, I’m here to save you!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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.”
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
