"Brother Li... he really ate it!"
Huang Donglai hadn't yet snapped out of his daze, but seeing this scene, he couldn't help leaning back slightly.
"How is it?" Tian Xun asked with an expectant look.
Ying Bing didn't speak, but her hand rubbed at her waist, making the big-headed doll ornament on her belt wail mournfully.
"...Mhm." Li Mo took a deep breath, his face flushed red, and finally nodded.
"Holy crap, Brother Li nodded!"
Huang Donglai's pupils trembled with shock.
"It's really delicious? Then why are you crying?"
The autumn water in Ying Bing's eyes shimmered slightly, rippling with what seemed like joy, but seeing Li Mo's expression, she tilted her head in confusion.
"You may not have heard, but there's a kind of deliciousness so good it makes you cry. Truly."
Li Mo said with a serious face, but as he spoke, his tongue seemed to grow thicker and his speech more slurred.
Huang Donglai's expression changed slightly. Brother Li, those seem like symptoms of poisoning!
It couldn't exactly be called poisoning; it shared a strange similarity with the 'Face-Disfiguring Powder'. After all, those ingredients were all rare treasures, but when mixed together, they triggered a wondrous chain reaction...
Its complexity was so profound even Huang Donglai found it mystifying!
At the same time.
Outside, watching from a distance, Shang Qinqing, Qin Yuzhi, and Tian Miao also couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath, while also barely suppressing their laughter.
The 'Wife-Fortune Little Tyrant', the unparalleled, peerless Young Master Li in the eyes of outsiders, was now speaking with a thick, slurred tongue while looking utterly serious. Those unfamiliar with him probably couldn't imagine him having this side...
"Hey, why are you all standing here?"
Murong Xiao returned from outside, his expression carrying confusion, listlessness, and contemplation about life.
"Hey, wait, don't go in yet. Li Mo is... eating."
Shang Qinqing kindly stopped him, considering he was the junior disciple of the little monk.
"Perfect, this humble monk is also hungry, I'll just..."
"It's Little Bing'er's cooking."
"Hiss..."
Murong Xiao's steps froze. He lowered his head and walked back, muttering:
"The Abbot said Brother Li possesses great courage and great perseverance. Now it seems he was absolutely right."
Murong Xiao was fortunate, called to a halt just before entering the courtyard.
Huang Donglai was already being beckoned by Tian Xun:
"You there... Young Master Li's friend, have some too."
"He's not... not hungry, hehe."
Li Mo said, shooting Huang Donglai a meaningful look.
Are you kidding? With his hundred-calamities-indestructible physique and poison-immune constitution, even his tongue was swollen now. What would happen if someone else ate it?
Strangely enough, under normal circumstances, Old Huang would have long since vanished without a trace.
"I'll eat it!"
A determined little flame burned in Huang Donglai's eyes.
Like a warrior cornered in a desperate situation, burning his boats and staking everything on one final gamble!
Young Li was deeply moved: "Old Huang! My appetite has been big lately, this pot isn't even enough for me alone. I've already prepared other dishes for you, you just need to..."
"That won't be necessary!"
Huang Donglai took the 'hodgepodge stew' Tian Xun handed over: "Fortune favors the bold! No breakthrough without destruction! I can't spend my whole life running away!!"
"Is this... the bond between you guys?"
Tian Xun scratched her head, bewildered. How did eating a meal suddenly become so inexplicably passionate?
Though it was strange, the young girl didn't dwell on it.
"Eat it while it's hot."
She promptly placed the spoon in Huang Donglai's hand.
"..."
He had spoken with passionate fervor, but truly looking at this bowl of brilliantly colorful, more dangerous-than-the-deadliest-poison-he-bought-from-the-Valley-of-Ten-Thousand-Venoms 'hodgepodge stew', he couldn't help but swallow hard.
But the atmosphere had built to this point.
He drank it down in one gulp, swallowing it all in an instant.
Then his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground, stiff as a board, his head bouncing a few times like a ping-pong ball.
Ying Bing: "?"
Li Mo: "Old Huang, oh Old Huang..."
He hurriedly took out a Five-Aura Purple Spirit Pill for detoxification from his spatial treasure, but then noticed something was off.
A dark cyan light erupted from between Huang Donglai's brows, and a scene of withering spread from around his body—an autumn wind desolate, killing all flowers and living things.
And the images forming within that dark cyan light...
"Those... aren't those the ingredients from just now?" Tian Xun was stunned, seeming to realize what had happened.
Ying Bing was momentarily puzzled: "He... broke through his Inner Realm bottleneck?"
"Sister Bing, could it be that the dish we cooked can help people break through bottlenecks and advance their cultivation in a single leap??!"
Tian Xun was excited but also somewhat uncertain.
This wasn't about being delicious or not anymore; it was practically comparable to miraculous elixirs!
Legend had it that long ago, a Culinary God made his name precisely this way, founding the once-famous Culinary Dao, though his recipes had been lost to time.
Had she accidentally stumbled upon this path?
"..."
Ying Bing narrowed her eyes slightly. It seemed that was indeed the case, but something also felt not quite right.
Just as she too was unsure.
Another intense fluctuation of Inner World energy erupted beside her!
And it was the fourth-layer Inner Realm!
Indeed, fearing this pot of hodgepodge stew might harm the innocent, and considering his grandparents would be back soon, Young Li closed his eyes, picked up the pot, and simply chugged it all down.
As everyone knows, he currently lacked Heaven and Earth spiritual energy. Though this hodgepodge stew was indescribable, its ingredients were all top-notch.
And as everyone also knows, the Eight-Nine Profound Art required tempering through trials and tribulations; calamities would make him stronger...
And so...
Second Layer of the Inner Realm!
"Young Master Li also broke through?" Tian Xun was happy but also somewhat bewildered.
She had been planning to interview him, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Insights on cultivation from a genius √
The Inner Realm phenomena of the two geniuses covered the entire Purple Sun Prefecture, lasting for a full hour. Who knows how many of their peers felt ashamed of their own inferiority, sighed with emotion, and wondered why the 'Wife-Fortune Little Tyrant' was progressing so miraculously fast.
In the suburbs, at the Happy Hotpot restaurant.
The interweaving of fourth-layer Inner Realm phenomena over the prefectural city, along with the spectacle of withering flowers and a chilling, poisonous aura, drew the attention of many.
Two people, however, remained as steady as mountains.
Yuwen Cuojin was eating hotpot. Across from him was a ruddy-faced old man who seemed to wear a perpetual smile, dressed in simple short clothes like a common cart driver, devouring slices of mutton.
This was another Vice-Leader of the Demon-Summoning Cult, Situ Ding.
"This lad Li Mo can no longer be described as just exceptionally talented and brilliant. Walking a path unprecedented in history, yet his progress is so astonishingly fast."
Yuwen Cuojin's words were full of emotion, yet his tone carried a gloomy edge. Although he escaped the battle at the Imperial Capital, he suffered heavy losses, his vitality severely injured, and even the Dao he grasped was scattered.
"Huang Donglai is also impressive. He has forged his own path too, and his temperament suits this old man's taste quite well. What a pity... he cannot be used by us."
Situ Ding was more interested in Huang Donglai.
"And the extraordinary individuals around Li Mo are hardly limited to just Huang Donglai," Yuwen Cuojin said.
Situ Ding nodded: "That's probably how it is—birds of a feather flock together. Geniuses always attract each other."
"Given time, when Li Mo and his band of companions mature and truly stand at our height in the future, I fear no one will be able to restrain them!"
"Indeed. This operation at the Shangqing Abyss Sect must not fail!"
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!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
