The middle path at the fork in the road... dim, silent, devoid of any dazzling treasures or alluring aura, only rough, icy walls winding endlessly into the distance.
Compared to the resplendent and radiant passages on either side, this shabby middle path resembled an abandoned mine tunnel, as if on the verge of collapse at any moment, instinctively urging one to avoid it.
"Will you choose the guaranteed treasures, or gamble on an uncertain future?"
"A friendly reminder—the road ahead will be arduous, with no turning back. If you falter, your path ends here, and your body perishes. Choosing either side still offers a chance of survival."
The mysterious voice echoed once more.
"Heh..." Fang Fan chuckled softly, his gaze unwavering as he stepped forward resolutely. "What retreat do I even have left? Those who entered behind me are far stronger than I am."
"If I retreat, they’ll overtake me and crush me like an ant!"
"So I can only move forward—no retreat!"
"Even if the path ahead seems certain death, have you not heard that heaven never seals off all exits?"
"As long as I choose to walk, the path lies beneath my feet!"
As his words faded, Fang Fan strode boldly into the narrow, shadowy passage.
At first, it was so tight it barely fit a person, but after dozens of steps, it suddenly opened into a vast expanse!
The end of the path was a cliff, beyond which lay an abyss of terrifying nothingness.
Before the cliff stood a stone stele inscribed with the patterns of the Great Dao.
It read: Abyss of the Heavenly Scales.
Fang Fan habitually carved an encrypted proclamation onto the stele, declaring himself the first to claim this place and asserting all resources here as the private property of the Treasury Department of the Purple Star Immortal Court, further layering the threads of karma!
Even if he ultimately failed and perished here, as long as the Calamity-Sovereign arrived, they could rightfully challenge any being who dared lay hands on these resources, based on his declaration!
His heroic sacrifice would earn him a dedicated page in the Purple Star Immortal Court’s annals of history, while also adding a halo of honor to his father—a high-ranking official—freeing him to pursue his ambitions without reservation!
With this in mind, what did he have to fear?
Full speed ahead!
Buzz—!
Fang Fan stepped off the cliff and plunged headfirst into the terrifying void.
There was no solid ground here. He floated in an absolute, silent darkness—no light, no warmth, no matter, only pure, oppressive "nothingness" that seemed to devour all perception.
The absolute silence weighed on his mind, and he could even hear the sound of his own blood flowing.
Was he falling? Or rising? Time lost meaning.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he saw light—and an enormous, tangible structure.
It was a pair of scales!
Its body was forged from a material neither metal nor jade, dark gray and colossal, like pillars holding up the heavens.
Two immense arms stretched endlessly into the distance, beyond sight, with suns, moons, stars, black holes—even entire universes—hanging from them, as if being measured or kept in balance.
At this moment, the scales hovered at the center of the void in perfect equilibrium, exuding an aura of cold, absolute, and unyielding rule.
As Fang Fan approached, two landmasses—no, two weighing pans—manifested on either side of the scales. Chains of rules descended from the sky above each land, their ends hooked onto the arms of the scales.
The left pan depicted a tragic scene: a backward mortal world with lowly thatched huts, barren fields, marauding armies, and bandits running rampant. The people wore tattered clothes, their faces gaunt, eyes hollow, like lambs awaiting slaughter, devoid of hope.
Fang Fan’s pupils constricted as he spotted a little girl with braided pigtails, tear-streaked face, clutching her mother’s leg in desperate pleading—only to be traded away for another family’s child.
In stark contrast, the right pan held ten flawless immortal pills suspended in the air, their surfaces shimmering with iridescent light. Within them surged dense spiritual essence, manifesting wondrous phenomena and radiating boundless vitality and the essence of the Dao!
Pills of Ascension—consuming just one would instantly elevate a cultivator to the Profound Immortal realm. With all ten, one could forge an unparalleled immortal foundation, ascending directly to the Taiyi Sovereign realm!
This was a once-in-an-era opportunity that would drive any cultivator to madness.
Yet Fang Fan barely glanced at the pills, his gaze instead locking onto what lay beneath them—a vast, pale-white expanse. No, not an expanse—upon closer inspection, it was a sea of countless bleached bones!
"Scales, a mortal world, immortal pills... Is this a test of choice?"
Fang Fan frowned deeply.
Just then, a thunderous voice boomed in his mind.
[Make your choice within thirty seconds. You will be scored. Your current score is one hundred. When it reaches zero, you will slumber here forever.]
[Friendly reminder: both sides of the scales are real. Choosing the pills means the death of the masses; choosing the masses means forfeiting the pills. Whether you value the pills or the lives of mortals rests entirely on your decision.]
Without hesitation, Fang Fan declared, "I refuse pills forged from the suffering of mortals. They reek. They sicken me. I choose the masses!"
To enter the Purple Star Immortal Court, one’s character had to be beyond reproach—the Purple Star Heavenly Dao cherished all life, and its officials abhorred the suffering of mortals.
Moreover, his instincts told him this was the right choice. Following his heart could not be wrong.
Yet the outcome defied all expectations.
The voice seemed furious.
[What is the purpose of your cultivation? To forsake such an opportunity for mere mortals—do you think this makes you noble?]
[Deduct twenty points. Sever the left arm.]
[This is the price of playing the hero.]
As the words faded, the immortal pills vanished into the void, while the mortal world was blessed with heavenly favor, saving countless lives.
Only Fang Fan remained, his left arm disintegrating into dust in an instant, the pain searing into his soul. Even his consciousness of the arm was erased—meaning no regeneration, no restoration, no matter his abilities.
[Well? You saved them, yet they offer no gratitude. Do you regret your choice?]
"Hiss—"
Fang Fan gasped through the pain, but his resolve never wavered. "A mere arm in exchange for countless lives? I seek only clarity of mind. I regret nothing. Come—I still have eighty points left!"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
