The sky was clear and boundless.
The architecture within the inner city each had its own distinct character. For instance, the House of Moonlit Pleasures resembled an exquisite porcelain vase, while the Everbloom Pavilion maintained a perpetual spring, with flowers of every kind competing in brilliance.
Through its intricate latticework, one could faintly glimpse blossoms suspended mid-air, each displaying its own unique charm.
Even the night-soil collector couldn’t help but lift his head with pride at the thought of working in such a refined and high-class establishment.
"Esteemed guest, you—ah, Young Master Li Mo!"
The servant lowered his proud chest, his face instantly shifting into a perfectly practiced expression of sycophantic flattery, a testament to his impeccable professionalism.
"The proprietor is waiting for you upstairs. Please, this way."
"Thanks."
"Oh no, no! You’ll shorten my lifespan with such words! Guiding you is this humble one’s greatest honor..."
The servant hastily slapped his own cheek, his expression tinged with panic.
In his experience, when guests uttered words like "thanks," it was usually a sign of displeasure.
"...Let’s just go."
Li Mo glanced to the side, where a familiar scene from the House of Moonlit Pleasures played out—beautiful women treated as mere ornaments.
He said nothing more, slipping the servant a silver note as they ascended.
Word must have spread, for as he passed, the workers of Everbloom Pavilion cast uneasy glances his way.
If the ownership changed hands, where would they go?
Would this premier establishment of the imperial capital still provide them a livelihood?
At the top floor, in the Peony Chamber.
Pushing the door open, the mess from last night’s revelry had vanished, replaced instead with fresh fruits and delicacies.
A middle-aged beauty sat alone, her eyes appraising the young man who entered.
"Fading charm" didn’t suit her—her allure was a perfect blend of seduction and maturity, with a vermilion beauty mark at the corner of her lips serving as the dangerous yet enchanting finishing touch.
A truly wicked woman!
"Young Master Li Mo, what skillful maneuvering. Several high-ranking officials have written to me—a group of grown men bullying a lone, helpless woman like me, is that the act of heroes?"
The beauty took a slow drag from her pipe, exhaling a wisp of smoke that veiled her face in a hazy mist.
The smoke wasn’t acrid but carried a faint scent of roses—the kind with thorns and poison.
[Name: Luo Ji (alias Su Yao)]
[Age: 39]
[Constitution: Venomous Allure Physique]
[Cultivation: Late-stage Dharma Body]
[Fate: Gold tinged with Gray]
[Evaluation: Fifth Heavenly Slayer of the Misty Rain Tower, branch master of the imperial capital, ranked tenth on the Hundred Flowers List. Entered the capital fifteen years ago, married a wealthy merchant, then slowly poisoned him to death over the years, inheriting his assets and renaming the establishment Everbloom Pavilion, turning it into a crucial node in the Misty Rain Tower’s intelligence network. Beneath her beguiling charm lies a venomous thorn...]
[Recent Events: Received letters from court officials demanding she relinquish her business. Plans to collaborate with Yin Mianmian to ensnare the instigator, Li Mo, as her latest conquest...]
"......"
Li Mo leaned back slightly.
It was pure instinct that made him activate his Heaven’s Eye to assess her.
He hadn’t expected to uncover something so explosive.
Could he now just say—"Never mind, I don’t want Everbloom Pavilion anymore, it was all drunken nonsense"—and expect her to let him walk away?
Obviously not.
Late-stage Dharma Body—he stood no chance in a direct confrontation. Even escaping into his pocket dimension would require her not keeping her full attention on him...
How to handle this?
"Enough with the petty tricks, Su Yao."
Li Mo plopped down across from her, pouring himself tea with an air of icy nonchalance.
The Qingyuan Sect’s best actor had silently taken the stage.
The transition was seamless—enough to make seasoned thespians break into a cold sweat.
"Or should I say... Luo Ji?"
"?"
Luo Ji’s expression froze for a split second before she chuckled.
"Young Master Li Mo, you jest. Do I resemble some woman you fancy? But I don’t recall any..."
Li Mo shook his head. "This poison won’t work on me."
The moment the words left his lips, the atmosphere in the chamber turned glacial, leaving only the faint strains of string and wind instruments in the background.
Li Mo realized the beauty across from him had vanished.
In the silence, vibrant flowers bloomed one after another, their fragrance intoxicating, lulling the senses into a sweet, eternal slumber...
A bottomless abyss of sweetness unfolded as vines crept up Li Mo’s limbs, sprouting buds that soon blossomed.
"......"
Li Mo frowned slightly, as if displeased, yet made no move to resist—clearly allowing her to proceed.
Luo Ji, now merged with her external manifestation, narrowed her eyes.
His demeanor suggested he was unafraid of her poison, as if he had a countermeasure prepared.
"What method in this world could allow a mere Spectator-stage cultivator to resist my external manifestation?"
Had someone told Luo Ji this before, she would have scoffed.
But the man before her was currently the brightest rising star across the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.
Moreover, if he hadn’t come prepared, how could he have so casually revealed her true identity?
She hesitated to act recklessly now.
This was the imperial capital, and they were near the royal palace.
If exposed, she’d be lucky to escape with her life intact.
But—
Rustle—
The first flower on the vines entwining Li Mo finally bloomed.
This poison didn’t target the body—it targeted the heart.
It lulled its victims into an eternal slumber by exploiting the deepest malice in their hearts.
The Divine Hammer Young Tyrant, the Prosperous Wife’s Battle Soul—what darkness lurked in his heart?
The flower fully unfurled.
The scene within showed a young Li Mo tossing a firecracker into an outhouse, followed by the shrill, outraged shriek of the elderly gentleman inside...
Luo Ji: "?"
This was the deepest malice in his heart?
What in the world?!
But soon, Luo Ji relaxed slightly.
Rustle—
Another flower bloomed.
"He must have more..."
Her smirk hadn’t even fully formed before it stiffened again.
In this vision, Li Mo was massaging a slender, jade-like foot—its owner none other than the Frost Fairy.
This seemed to trigger a chain reaction.
One after another, the flowers burst into full bloom.
Each petal bore the same face—a flawless, celestial beauty that put even the most splendid blossoms to shame.
To be fair.
The slightly blurred visage appearing on the flowers made the surrounding splendor seem dull in comparison.
Luo Ji: "......"
After a long silence.
Li Mo, who had been growing increasingly tense, suddenly felt the pressure lift.
When he opened his eyes, the Peony Chamber had returned to normal, and Luo Ji sat across from him, her expression a mix of deep contemplation and disbelief.
"See? I told you..."
"I believe you came prepared."
Luo Ji narrowed her eyes, her husky voice still laced with danger. "Young Master Li Mo, ah, Young Master Li Mo... I’ve truly witnessed your prowess today. No wonder you’ve managed to sway even court officials to your side. I’ve learned much."
This had to be some kind of trick! And Li Mo had undoubtedly done it on purpose!
Who in their right mind had their deepest malice revolve around throwing firecrackers into outhouses, massaging the Frost Fairy’s feet, or wanting to nibble her ears?!
The latter scenes were too much for her to even look at!
This Prosperous Wife’s Battle Soul was downright bizarre!
......
PS: Please consider supporting with a power-up (charging), mwah! -3-

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?!

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.”

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"