Returning was out of the question. Chen Yi wasn’t afraid of danger—after all, this was just one of his external avatars. He still had forty-eight more like it. Even if this one was lost, it wouldn’t matter. At worst, he’d just spend another two and a half years nurturing a new one.
Besides, the chat group’s ability to obscure heavenly secrets was more of a restriction to him!
When it came to evading heavenly scrutiny, he was the expert—having fought against the Immortal Ascension Tribulation eighty-one times! If he could dodge the trials of the Heavenly Dao of the Immortal Realm, what was a mere pseudo-Immortal Realm’s Heavenly Dao to him?
"I choose option two—return at a later time!"
Inside the Illusion Star Grotto, Chen Yi’s true self manipulated the external avatar carrying the chat group’s core and made his decision.
[Wishing you a pleasant journey!]
At the same time.
West Sea Great World.
Chen Yi’s external avatar immediately pulled out a perception-blocking cloak, draped it over himself, and activated the inscribed runes to minimize his presence. He then began erasing traces of his earlier actions to deceive the West Sea Heavenly Dao’s perception.
But just then, the chat group’s obscuring power suddenly vanished.
BOOM!!!
The clear skies darkened in an instant. Rolling black clouds gathered, lightning flickering as an overwhelming heavenly might surged like an ocean, locking down everything within a hundred-mile radius.
"Didn’t you say two and a half minutes?!" Chen Yi’s lips twitched violently. Without hesitation, he backhanded An Lan—who was trembling beside him—sending him a thousand miles away.
This external avatar of his didn’t matter. He was used to being struck by lightning—ordinary thunder couldn’t kill him. But An Lan was different. He was too weak—even a stray shockwave would scatter his soul. He couldn’t die; otherwise, leading the team in the future would be troublesome.
After confirming An Lan had escaped the West Sea Heavenly Dao’s lock, Chen Yi finally relaxed and sat cross-legged, transforming into an utterly ordinary-looking rock.
Like he said—getting struck by lightning? He was used to it.
It wasn’t like this was the monstrous Violet Heavenly Lightning of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation. Could the West Sea Heavenly Dao’s ordinary heavenly lightning even break his defenses?
Go ahead, strike all you want. Once you’re exhausted, we’ll see who’s teaching whom a lesson!
BOOM!!!
Deafening thunder roared across the land as bolts of azure lightning poured down!
Some struck where the Demon Spirit Captain had fallen, some hit towering trees nearby, others electrocuted fish in the water, and a few even struck a dumb deer passing through the forest—yet none landed on the ordinary rock Chen Yi had become.
West Sea Heavenly Dao: Aghh! I can smell him, so why can’t I catch him?!
"Heh, I was ready to tank it, but you can’t even find me?" Chen Yi smirked.
If this were the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, he’d have been found in under two and a half seconds. But the West Sea Heavenly Dao had been randomly striking for ages without even grazing a single hair on him—how pathetic!
BOOM!!!
The dark clouds thickened further as the heavenly lightning turned into plasma. The enraged West Sea Heavenly Dao decided to carpet-bomb the area with thunder!
That day, the sky rained lightning.
Yet Chen Yi’s external avatar remained unmoved, enduring the heavenly baptism—even his true self had the leisure to chat in the group.
[Ding! The group leader has claimed the mission reward: 108 group EXP +20,000.]
[108 Group has leveled up to 3. 9,527 EXP remaining until Level 4.]
[Group welfare check-in system unlocked. Members can now claim 100 points daily.]
[The daily group red packet limit has increased to items worth 3,000 points (1 point = 10 low-grade spirit stones).]
The series of system announcements instantly excited the group members.
[Cultivation World Runner-Up: Wooo! Group leader is the best!]
[Two-Sleeved Sword Immortal: A hundred points daily just for checking in? That’s like getting a welfare stipend of a thousand spirit stones a day! Thirty thousand a month… Holy crap, we’re rich!]
[Damn Ascension Tribulation Still Chasing Me: Have some ambition. Are you satisfied with just welfare? If other groups saw this, they’d think I can’t afford to give red packets!]
[The group leader sent a 30,000 low-grade spirit stone luck-based red packet.]
[Damn Ascension Tribulation Still Chasing Me: Come on, 10,000 each. Train hard—boosting your combat power also earns group EXP!]
[‘Cultivation World Runner-Up’ grabbed 8,544 low-grade spirit stones.]
[‘Two-Sleeved Sword Immortal’ grabbed 12,138 low-grade spirit stones.]
[‘Unemployed God of Light’ grabbed 9,318 low-grade spirit stones.]
[Cultivation World Runner-Up: Thank you, group leader! (kowtow.jpg)]
[Two-Sleeved Sword Immortal: sobbing If only I’d met a boss like you in my past life—no empty promises, just throwing money at me. How could I not work hard? I swear I’ll become a true Sword Immortal!]
[Unemployed God of Light: Thank heavens the group leader is fine! Even from so far away, I could still hear that terrifying thunder. It was horrifying!]
[Cultivation World Runner-Up: Huh? Is the group leader undergoing a tribulation? Then let’s stop messaging—we shouldn’t distract him!]
[Two-Sleeved Sword Immortal: You have to win! I can’t lose you, just like a Sword Immortal can’t lose their sword!]
Seeing how concerned his members were, Chen Yi felt gratified.
Sure, they were weak now, but they wouldn’t stay that way forever. Once their combat power improved, they could take on missions alone—and he, as the group leader, could just sit back and collect the extra 50% commission.
Some items in the Multiverse Store were quite tempting—like the Immortal Origin Stones for nurturing an immortal physique, priced at 200,000 points each. Completing his first mission had only earned him 150,000.
A Tribulation Transcendent needed at least a hundred Immortal Origin Stones to refine their mortal body into an immortal physique. Even if he could nurture one by exploiting the West Sea pseudo-Immortal Realm, what about further cultivation?
Without passing the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, he couldn’t enter the true Immortal Realm—and a pseudo-Immortal Realm couldn’t sustain a true immortal’s progress. He’d regress!
So resources from the Multiverse Store were essential. Relying solely on himself to grind missions would never earn him enough points.
Numbers mattered. He couldn’t personally handle every trivial mission—like today’s, where he had to personally deal with a measly 150,000 combat power target. That was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito!
150,000 points had strong purchasing power in the Multiverse Store—a fortune for Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivators—but to Chen Yi, a Tribulation Transcendent, it was pocket change!
He needed members to work for him.
That said, having only three members was a bit too few.
With that thought, Chen Yi glanced at his avatar still enduring the West Sea Heavenly Dao’s random strikes. Since it wouldn’t end anytime soon, he cheerfully checked the methods for recruiting new members.
[New Member Recruitment Rules]
[1. System-automated search and allocation. Currently, 38 chat groups are queued for distribution.]
[2. Trade members with other group leaders in the public regional channel. Unlocks when the chat group reaches Level 5.]
【3. In the free channel, if a member is removed from the group chat by the group owner for certain reasons and no other chat group is willing to accept them, the group owner may choose whether to take them in. This feature becomes available once the chat group reaches Level 3.】
"Hiss~ Why does this feel oddly familiar?" Chen Yi's expression turned rather peculiar.
Wasn't this just the same old capitalist playbook?
Once a chat group hits Level 3, there are benefits to claim—100 points daily, essentially a basic salary.
Members taking on tasks is like closing deals at work, while the group owner reaps dividends without lifting a finger.
If a member steps out of line, they get kicked out of the group—equivalent to being fired.
Members outside the chat group are like the unemployed, left with no security whatsoever...
Oh no, have I become a capitalist?!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
