The second trial: the Five Elements Mountain Range.
After overcoming numerous hardships, Black Earth and He Chunqiu finally reached the summit and laid eyes on the terminal stele.
By now, the encrypted missive Fang Fan had left on it had already been obscured by Chen Yi—ensuring everyone else could see it while she remained in the dark.
This wasn’t a deliberate slight against her. Rather, as a denizen of the Divine Realm, she was an ally bound by mutual aid, not some hired talent who could be lured in with wages.
The denizens of the Immortal Realm, however, had accepted wages from the Celestial Treasury of the Purple Tenuity Immortal Court in the first trial, the Spirit Treasure Paradise. This was karma. Did they think they could freeload? Absolutely not!
Thus, Chen Yi was fully justified—everything he did was lawful and proper. Claiming the spirit treasures was tantamount to signing an employment contract, binding them to labor for the Purple Tenuity Immortal Realm!
As for Black Earth? Well, in a way, she too had signed a contract. But since she remained unaware of the details, Chen Yi could bide his time, keeping her in reserve until the day came when she’d be dragged out for a proper reckoning.
"Chen Yi, did you erase more of the stele’s contents while I was still climbing?"
Black Earth was sharp. Sensing something amiss, she immediately turned to Chen Yi, who stood nearby, gesturing at nothing in particular.
It was absurd. Despite both voluntarily wearing Seals of Spirit-Severance, he could still freely wield magic, layering himself with buffs, while she was left with nothing but her physical endurance to weather the trial.
Watching the faint shimmer of the seal flicker around him, Black Earth couldn’t help but wonder—was he even wearing it properly?
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll stall the Immortal Realm folks below. You focus on deciphering the path to the next trial."
Black Earth: "..."
You’ve been up here for so long, and you’ve done nothing productive?
What exactly have you been doing up here?
Slowing down the Immortal Realm climbers?
How shameless can you be?!
Given the oppressive pressure of the Five Elements Mountain Range, even without your interference, they’d have no chance of overtaking me at their current pace!
Ah, whatever. This freak can still use magic. Best to humor him for now...
With that thought, Black Earth set aside her doubts and strode forward, running her hands over the stele to uncover the method to proceed.
Meanwhile.
Chen Yi stood atop the peak, his hands weaving intricate patterns in the air as he conducted "onboarding examinations" and "soul integrity tests" on the second batch of captured Primordial Heart-Soul clansmen.
The first batch had all been Golden Immortals, and since he’d already calibrated for that realm, the second batch went much faster. The real challenge was the single Great Unity Immortal among them!
Beings of this realm were no trifling matter—they could forge worlds, erect countless divine kingdoms!
Though his magic was currently sealed, leaving only his physical body functional, this Great Unity cultivator’s sea of consciousness was vast beyond measure. Within it, the phantom forms of three thousand divine kingdoms stood tall, their billions upon billions of inhabitants chanting his true name, weaving a shield of faith to protect his primordial spirit!
This was the most infuriating type of mental defense mechanism. Breaking it through conventional means was near-impossible—Chen Yi wasn’t the type to counter systems with systems.
But unconventional methods risked flooding the Great Unity’s sea of consciousness, reducing him to a drooling imbecile. That would be a waste. A fully functional Great Unity talent was far more valuable than a broken one!
Worse yet, this guy wasn’t even afraid of death. If he perished, he’d simply revive—his true spirit was etched into the Immortal Realm’s River of Time. At worst, he’d lose this lifetime’s cultivation and start over. But with his memories and insights intact, it’d be but a minor setback. He had all the time and patience in the world to retrace his steps!
So, for now, Chen Yi was at a loss.
To recruit him, a soul integrity test was mandatory. But with his refusal to cooperate... what a headache.
"You’re no guardian spirit of this place! Who are you?!"
"Stay back! Stay back!"
"Even with this Seal of Spirit-Severance shackling me, sealing away my transcendent power, I, Hun Lan, remain peerless in this world!"
"Control me? Impossible!"
"Walls of Faith, arise! Three thousand divine kingdoms, trillions of devotees—those who chant my name shall glimpse eternity in the cycle of reincarnation!!!"
The Great Unity expert, Hun Lan, resisted violently.
This sea of consciousness was his domain. The Seal of Spirit-Severance only blocked external spiritual energy—within, his power remained boundless. By raising these walls and shutting the gates, that intruder would never breach his defenses!
"Ah, why must you force my hand?" Chen Yi sighed wearily.
In an instant, forty-nine Chaos Pearls encircled Hun Lan, trapping him at the center!
A single Chaos Pearl could only bear a sliver of Chen Yi’s will, but forty-nine together could channel enough to overwhelm the faith-fueled barrier forged by Hun Lan’s three thousand divine kingdoms.
"Wait! I think there might be some misunderstanding between us—"
Feeling the immense pressure of that will bearing down, Hun Lan swiftly reconsidered.
Not that he was afraid, of course. But rebuilding his cultivation from scratch after investing so many resources would be... inconvenient.
Better to negotiate. If this guy’s demands were tolerable, he’d endure. After all, what were a few hardships in the grand scheme?
"Save your breath. I’ve got strength and methods to spare. If you won’t cooperate willingly, I’ll make you."
Chen Yi shut down Hun Lan’s attempt at negotiation outright!
This man’s ties to the Immortal Realm ran too deep. The soul integrity test was meant to sever those connections, stripping him of his status as a Great Unity under the Immortal Realm’s system and reducing him to an unaffiliated rogue.
Originally, a Great Unity’s fate spanned countless lifetimes. But once captured, he’d be left with just one. The Immortal Realm would no longer hold any claim over him—effectively erasing the very foundation of his existence. There was no way he’d agree to that!
So, Chen Yi wasted no more words. In one swift motion, he seized Hun Lan and began refining him!
There was no choice. With no way to bypass Hun Lan’s mental defenses conventionally, he had to take the risk—employing a brute-force method that might leave the Great Unity a babbling fool.
If he succeeded, and Hun Lan remained intact, it’d be a valuable precedent for subjugating other Great Unity experts of the Immortal Realm’s ancient clans.
If he failed, and Hun Lan was reduced to a mindless wreck... well, that too would provide useful data for future attempts.
Still, Chen Yi hoped for success. A fully functional Great Unity was worth nearly five broken ones.
Losing even one would be a significant loss.
The Primordial Chaos had only sent eighty-one Great Unity experts this time. Every single one was precious—not a single one could be wasted!
"AAAAAHHH!!!"
Hun Lan’s primordial spirit let out a terrified scream.
"No! It burns! What are you doing to me?!"
"Brother, Dad, Grandpa... I was wrong, I was wrong! Spare my life—I'll do anything you ask..."
"Damn it, are you fucking pretending not to hear me?"
"I swear I’ll your !"
"Come at me then! It’s just one life—take it! But mark my words, this grudge is etched in blood. The karma between us runs deep, and I will settle this someday!"
"Damn it, slow down with the refining! At least have the guts to tell me your name!"
"I’ll your !"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
