Within the Shang Mausoleum, sunlight and moonlight were absent, yet faint starlight shimmered faintly on the ceiling, its weak glow unable to pierce the layers of gloom.
Ahead stood a stone bridge, beneath which lay a portion of the Clear Abyss.
Through the mist, an eerie intent seemed to probe, as if spectral souls were scrutinizing those who crossed the bridge. Their gaze was far colder than when Li Mo and Ying Bing had once ventured to retrieve the Phoenix Aura.
This suggested the souls had been far more formidable in life.
Were it not for the Southern Bright Luminous Flame burning around Shang Wu, illuminating their surroundings, the sea of mist would have already churned violently.
Thud—
A footstep echoed in the emptiness.
"So, not all these spirits perished in the Clear Abyss because of the Primordial Phoenix’s legacy."
Ying Bing had always found it strange—how could an elusive treasure lure so many to leap into the abyss?
Now, it seemed likely that the ancestors of the Qingyuan Sect, upon reaching the end of their lifespans, chose to meditate within the Clear Abyss, their lingering wills continuing to guard the mausoleum.
The Shang Mausoleum housed the nation’s fortune and the legacy of the Nine-Colored Primordial Phoenix, while the Qingyuan Sect remained fully intact.
Could it also be that they were waiting for the day the Great Yu would collapse, allowing the Great Shang to rise again?
And now, the legacy had fallen to her, while the nation’s fortune was soon to be his...
After another half-hour of walking, they encountered no disturbances—thanks to Shang Wu’s presence.
Ying Bing finally saw the main burial chamber.
Lanterns flickered outside the chamber, their dimming and brightening forming a strange array that made the chamber seem to shift between distance and proximity, as if straddling the boundary between life and death.
The door to the chamber stood open.
Years ago, a princess of a fallen kingdom had awakened, carried out of her coffin by the Grand Elder.
Yet another coffin remained inside.
"The Cycle of Life and Death Array—it obscures the heavens’ designs. Only this could allow one to endure the passage of ages without exhausting their lifespan. The Darkwood alone wouldn’t suffice."
"This array also holds the power to reverse life and death."
Ying Bing studied it intently, his eyes gleaming with realization.
Xue Jing nodded slowly.
As the eldest present, he felt compelled to comment on the array—lest his years seem wasted.
"Shang Wu, did the Grand Elder return your coffin here afterward?"
Through the open door, a coffin of Darkwood could be seen, its surface jade-like and of the finest quality.
"No," Shang Wu answered without hesitation.
"Eh?" Xue Jing was taken aback.
"The Cycle of Life and Death requires both a Yin and Yang focal point. I was the Yang, so naturally, there must be a Yin. Didn’t you know?"
"......"
Xue Jing truly hadn’t. After a pause, he ventured, "So, inside is your..."
"My brother."
Shang Wu gazed at the coffin, a shadow flickering across her expression.
"Ah, yes. That’s what I thought too."
Xue Jing was speechless.
Shang Wu was clearly female, yet she had been the Yang focal point—wasn’t that a complete inversion of Yin and Yang?
"Enough. The timing is right—let’s begin."
Following Shang Wu’s instructions, Tang Xiaobao placed Li Mo upon the Yang focal point.
"Little Bing, I’ll connect the nation’s fortune. You maintain the array."
"I’ll assist with the nation’s fortune as well."
A cold, silvery moonlight ignited an ancient lantern within the chamber that had remained unlit.
Simultaneously, the mist rising from the Clear Abyss shimmered with threads of auspicious radiance, piercing through the endless gloom.
Rua!
A cry reverberated through the abyss, soaring straight into the heavens.
......
"What in the world just happened?"
The assembly in the grand hall had been on high alert, braced for any disturbance. Then—
Rua!~~
Elder Xu jolted upright, tea spilling onto his lap once more, though he paid it no mind.
"The cry of the Primordial Phoenix?"
Shang Qinqing rushed to the entrance, staring toward the Clear Abyss.
Every demon present felt their blood surge with a strange fervor, rising to their feet in unison.
The Primordial Phoenix?
The name, ancient yet radiant, echoed in their minds. Though relieved it wasn’t an enemy attack, they couldn’t help but watch intently.
Shangguan Wencang let out a long sigh.
"It has begun."
The old sect master’s heart was conflicted. The Qingyuan Sect’s purpose for generations had been to guard the tomb—what meaning would it hold hereafter?
At that moment, the world darkened.
Not because the sunlight had dimmed, but because a resplendent phoenix silhouette had manifested in the sky.
This was no physical form of the Nine-Colored Primordial Phoenix.
Rather, the nation’s fortune, forged from the collective will of the people, had naturally assumed the most sublime existence—the one and only in countless hearts.
The true phoenix from millennia ago now cast its radiance upon the present world.
Its eyes seemed to survey the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, reflecting the summer cicadas breaking free from the soil below and the blazing sun high above.
Then, it plunged downward, diving straight into the abyss.
Back to where it had come!
The celestial phoenix submerged into the depths.
"This..." Whether martial artists or demons, all were entranced, unable to tear their gaze away for a long while.
Yet none noticed the first chirp of a summer cicada from the forest—
Singing of rebirth!
Hum—
Alongside the cicada’s song came a star from beyond the heavens.
The star burned brilliantly, tearing through the firmament, turning dusk into dawn.
"Inner Scenery!"
"Someone in the Clear Abyss is breaking through!"
A voice cried out, plunging the crowd into silence.
Elder Xu muttered in disbelief,
"We were just making excuses, but he’s actually doing it?"
A meteor from beyond, dispelling the long night—the First Phenomenon!
Yet the vast power surging from the Clear Abyss showed no signs of waning, churning the primordial chaos and saturating the world with spiritual energy.
"Hm? What’s wrong with you?"
Shang Qinqing turned in surprise, steadying Qin Yuzhi as she slumped against her.
"Someone is watching us," Qin Yuzhi whispered, her face pale.
"Is it someone from the Imperial Capital?" Shang Qinqing frowned.
As a former leader of the Divine Calling Sect, Qin Yuzhi had once touched the Eighth Realm and now wielded mastery over a Great Dao.
Moreover, she had once faced a true Celestial Immortal—albeit only a wisp of their will.
How could she be overwhelmed by mere observation?
"I don’t know, but I sense no malice."
Qin Yuzhi clutched her head, shaking it weakly.
"You’re like this, and you say there’s no malice?"
"Their gaze wasn’t even directed at me! Otherwise..."
"They...?"
Shang Qinqing’s scalp prickled as she looked skyward.
That celestial fire was no martial technique.
What did this phenomenon truly signify?
It certainly wasn’t a falling star!
Boom—
Before Shang Qinqing could ponder further, purifying flames erupted.
A lotus of fire bloomed in the void, cycling through creation and destruction.
The Purifying World Lotus—the Second Phenomenon!
"I’ve seen Young Hero Li’s Karmic Flames before. He likely cultivates the Heart-Fire Lotus technique, but how could a mere high-tier martial art manifest such wonders?"
"No, when Shang Wu condensed her Inner Scenery, it was nothing like this."
Not only were the gathered martial artists baffled, but even the Qingyuan Sect members were at a loss.
Yet the convergence of phenomena within the Inner World left no time for contemplation.
A corner of twilight descended.
Countless stars ignited across the sky, their seemingly chaotic movements following profound and inscrutable trajectories.
These stars...
Did not belong to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths!
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.
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?"
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.”
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
