The Great Luo Patriarch of the Taixu Star God Ancient Clan was named Gaia.
For him, ever since his connection to the Immortal Realm was severed by that great halberd, he was already dead.
His true destiny was stripped from the cycle of reincarnation, and the traces of him throughout the ages were also interfered with by a strange power. He clearly existed yet could not return, utterly unable to cross that pitch-black great halberd that blocked the river of time!
Therefore, everything in the Immortal Realm was no longer related to him. In the eyes of his clan in the Immortal Realm, he had already died in the lower realm, his traces erased by a supreme powerhouse.
But in reality?
Gaia was still alive.
Only, he had been captured and brought to the Ziwei Celestial Court, becoming a top-tier "human resource" in the Materials Department!
He had no right to decide his own fate, because his fate had long been predetermined, written by that Tribulation Sovereign to end with him dedicating everything to the Ziwei Celestial Court!
He could not struggle. The Great Luo Dao Fruit of this lifetime would be utterly exhausted—this was his destined fate!
Logically speaking, after dedicating this Great Luo Dao Fruit to the Ziwei Immortal Realm, once the Ziwei Immortal Realm soared, Gaia should at least receive a karmic feedback, because the Ziwei Immortal Realm owed him.
But hateful is that Tribulation Sovereign! He is tyrannical and merciless, forcibly imposing karma with no regard for Heaven, plundering and seizing without repaying debts. If you dare confront him, you'll be miserably flattened by a halberd!
Hundreds of clansmen are driven, tossed about to fill variables, their bodies covered in karmic marks, used a hundred times, a hundred times!
......
Simply put, their fates were already clenched in the Tribulation Sovereign's hand. Even after giving everything, they could not receive any reward. Moreover, after losing all their usefulness, there was absolutely no chance of returning to the Immortal Realm!
Because they had participated in the foundational construction of the Ziwei Immortal Realm and knew too many secrets!
Knowing too much was instead a crime!
That Tribulation Sovereign would rather bear all kinds of karma upon himself than ever let them go!
How could one possibly play under such circumstances?
Of course, by actively cooperating with the work and striving to obtain a legal identity within the Ziwei Immortal Realm!
Gaia had discussed this with the patriarchs of the other great ancient immortal clans.
Since they couldn't return to the Immortal Realm, they would take root in Ziwei!
Judging by Ziwei Realm's rapid and vigorous development momentum, even if it couldn't surpass the current Immortal Realm, it would at least reach the level of the former Divine Realm!
And most importantly, in the Immortal Realm with its multitude of races, unless you were part of the Celestial Court faction, you were basically no different from the bottom tier!
Unfortunately, none of the six great ancient immortal clans that descended this time were particularly well-regarded by the Wuji Celestial Court!
It wasn't until that great halberd struck them, and the Wuji Immortal Emperor forcibly refined the Dao Fruits of the Great Luo patriarchs from the Azure Lotus Ancient Clan and the Timeflow Dragon Clan to fight the enemy, that they clearly realized they had been utterly and completely sold out!
So, since the Immortal Realm showed no tolerance, they would establish another stronghold, make it big and strong, and rebuild their ancient clans!
By then, perhaps the Ziwei Immortal Realm branch might even surpass the headquarters in the Immortal Realm!
No, it definitely would surpass the Immortal Realm headquarters!
They had complete confidence in this!
After all, although the Immortal Realm was powerful, its classes were rigid. No matter how big the pie was, marginal ancient clans like theirs, no matter how hard they tried, were only fit to get some scraps.
But the Ziwei Realm was different!
Although this emerging world had plenty of talent, they were all too green, lacking the experience of operating a great clan for hundreds of millions of years!
The methods of these young minor celestial officials seemed utterly childish and excessive in the eyes of these Great Luo patriarchs!
Therefore, as long as they could secure a legal identity as Ziwei citizens, they would have the opportunity to establish an immortal ancient clan holding original shares!
So the question arose: as otherworldly prisoners of war, how could they obtain a legal identity in the Ziwei Realm?
Asking the Tribulation Sovereign directly was obviously unrealistic. He was extremely busy and simply had no time to manage affairs below. As long as they didn't cross the bottom line, the Tribulation Sovereign wouldn't inquire about details.
The patriarch of the Primordial Source Ancient Clan was quite qualified to speak on this point.
Because he didn't cooperate with the Materials Department's work, slacked off all day, often put on airs ignoring superiors' warnings, and whenever he had time, he would flirt with passing female celestial officials. In the end, Bai Yujing, unable to bear it any longer, complained to the Illusory Star Cave Heaven... and only received a non-fatal halberd strike in return...
From this round of probing, it was clear that the Tribulation Sovereign was lenient, to some extent tacitly permitting their little schemes, with the prerequisite being that they made sufficient contributions!
So what more was there to say?
They must seize this opportunity to get along well with the other celestial officials and strive for more favorable conditions!
And bullying Bai Yujing was their unspoken tacit understanding with the other celestial officials of the Ziwei Celestial Court.
As everyone knew, the former Bai Yujing was inhumane, messing around with those few lousy fate-red threads, causing immense resentment in the fledgling Ziwei Celestial Court!
And the significance of the celestial officials from the Ziwei Celestial Court's founding era goes without saying—they were basically the leaders of various departments!
So, Bai Yujing, ah Bai Yujing, don't blame this patriarch. If you must blame someone, blame your former self!
Thinking of this, the Great Luo Patriarch of the Taixu Star God Ancient Clan sighed softly in his heart and slowly stated his condition:
“Little Jingzi, this patriarch is feeling quite unwell all over. To settle that ninth-level variable is possible, it's just that I'm particularly craving a taste of the Sacred Spirit Fruit by the side of the Heavenly River Immortal Pond. This Ziwei specialty is so good, this patriarch is craving for it...”
Hearing this, the professional fake smile on Bai Yujing's face finally couldn't hold.
Other conditions were manageable, but this one was truly hard to talk about!
What kind of place was the Heavenly River Pond?
That was the domain of one of the directly-administered immortals under the Heavenly Dao, the master of the Heavenly River Transport Department, the second-rank principal court-level Water Virtue Star Lord, Ao Burang!
And who was Ao Burang?
The sworn elder brother of the Four Seas Hall Master, whose parents once had a life-saving grace towards Ao Burang!
And who was the Four Seas Hall Master?
He was the biological elder brother of the former Rain Goddess!
The Rain Goddess, Yuan Qiyue, originally had a bright future ahead. If not for unforeseen events, by today she would have at least reached the rank of a fourth-rank true immortal-level celestial official!
But she was fated to have a tribulation, and of all things, it was one he had personally handled...
She was still reflecting in the Falling Rain Mountain by the Eastern Sea shore. How could he possibly have the face to ask Ao Burang for fruit?
Her elder brother being a sister-obsessed maniac was one thing, but even his sworn elder brother Ao Burang, due to the life-saving grace, doted on this little sister immensely.
This, this, this... going there would definitely mean no good outcome for him!
Bai Yujing's face fell: "Star God Patriarch, can you change this request for something else?"
Gaia remained silent, just silently gazing towards the direction of the Heavenly River Pond and licking his lips.
"Fine, fine, fine, fine!" Bai Yujing finally understood, saying indignantly: "Gaia, you're something else. You're using me to trade for favors. What's so great about that Ao Burang? Am I not also a directly-administered immortal? Why are you all, one after another, willing to help them rather than me?!"
Gaia was silent for a moment, then sighed faintly: "You were the former Master of the Marriage Department, and also the epitome of being inhumane. As everyone knows, you cannot be trusted!"
Bai Yujing: ...
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!" "......"
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?"
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...
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
