The White Bone Old Monster said weakly,
“I have only my bone fire left.”
“At most, I can hold out for one breath.”
Wang Hao said,
“One breath is still a contribution.”
The White Bone Old Monster asked,
“How many times?”
Wang Hao said solemnly,
“Ten times.”
The White Bone Old Monster’s spirits lifted.
“What about the deduction?”
Wang Hao glanced at him.
“You’re down to nothing but fire, Senior. I can’t bring myself to deduct anything.”
The White Bone Old Monster was moved.
“You finally sound like a human being.”
Wang Hao added,
“But the bone-ash disposal fee is separate.”
The White Bone Old Monster roared,
“Wang Hao!”
Everyone suddenly laughed.
It was a laugh born of desperation.
A laugh steeped in sorrow.
When the laughter faded, everyone turned toward the Dark Immortal Gate.
Ten breaths.
They would use their battered bodies to buy Wang Hao ten breaths.
The Taiyin Old Matriarch stepped forward first.
The two Taiyin Martial Gods beside her were already tottering on their feet.
Yet they still followed her.
“Taiyin Sacred Land.”
“Demon-Sealing Abyss.”
The three of them burned the last of their origins at the same time.
The waning moon rose once more.
This time, the waning moon did not crash into the Demon Lord.
Instead, it stretched across the front of the immortal gate.
The black aura of the Demon Abyss slammed into the waning moon, producing a sizzling sound as it corroded the light.
The bodies of the Taiyin Old Matriarch and the other two visibly aged.
The first breath.
The Yellow Springs Ancestor followed close behind.
He tore open the center of his brow and cast the fire of his soul into the Netherworld Portal.
“The Yellow Springs ferry no living man.”
“But today, it shall ferry demons!”
The Yellow Springs River reversed its flow and surged upward, blocking the path behind the Taiyin waning moon.
Countless souls from the Yellow Springs wailed as they threw themselves at the black aura of the Demon Abyss.
The second breath.
A powerhouse from the Blood Prison Demon Sect rose to his feet.
He no longer had a heart.
But people from the Blood Prison Demon Sect could go mad even without one.
He laughed loudly as he charged toward the immortal gate.
“Wang Hao!”
“Remember this!”
“I’m not doing this for you!”
“I’m doing it for the half-immortal blood!”
Wang Hao shouted,
“Understood!”
“The inscription will read: Senior Blood Prison fought for the half-immortal blood and remained greedy even in death!”
The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse nearly fell from the sky.
“Dare to write that, and I’ll rise from the dead and bite you!”
His battered body exploded, transforming into a barrier of blood prison.
The third breath.
The White Bone Old Monster’s pale bone fire drifted upward.
“All my life, I’ve deceived people, eaten people, and refined bones.”
“I never thought that in the end, I’d have to save people.”
“What rotten luck.”
The bone fire transformed into a ghastly white wall of flames, blocking a tentacle of the Demon Abyss that had forced its way out.
The fourth breath.
The surviving Martial Gods of the Golden Palace Sacred Land roared and lifted the phantom of the shattered golden palace.
The fifth breath.
The Blood Lotus Valkyrie burned away half of her black hair, and the ninth-grade Blood Lotus bloomed once more.
The sixth breath.
The Martial Gods of the Myriad Manifestations Sacred Land manifested mountains, rivers, and all the phenomena of creation, only to watch them be devoured inch by inch by the black aura of the Demon Abyss.
The seventh breath.
The Yellow Springs Ancestor’s Netherworld Portal cracked apart.
The Taiyin waning moon shattered into three pieces.
The blood-prison barrier was corroded through in several places.
The White Bone Old Monster’s wall of flames was nearly extinguished.
The Martial Gods had all reached their limits.
At last, Wang Hao began to act.
In his left hand was the Half-Immortal Blood Tax Decree.
In his right was the incomplete asset map of Blackheaven City.
Above his head hovered the Myriad Contracts Aligned as One Seal.
All three objects began to shine at once.
The Martial God ninth-level blood and qi within Wang Hao’s body suddenly ignited.
The phantom of an emperor emerged.
At that very moment, the willpower of the countless citizens began to boil as well.
Throughout Great Xia,
countless commoners suddenly felt something stir within their hearts.
They had no idea what was happening amid the ruins of Blackheaven City.
They only felt a heavy weight in their chests, as if someone far away were holding up a piece of heaven for them.
Within the imperial palace of Great Xia,
officials raised their heads.
Border soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons.
Farmers in the fields stopped their hoes.
Children in the streets gazed toward the sky.
Strands of willpower crossed mountains and rivers, converging upon Wang Hao.
The recovery speed of the people’s willpower increased, finally displaying its true purpose at this moment.
Golden light began to gather around Wang Hao once more.
Although it was still insufficient to form a complete shield, it was enough to strengthen his imperial authority.
Wang Hao unfolded the asset map.
Every mark on it lit up at the same time.
The dying embers of the Myriad Contracts Platform.
The broken traces of the earth-vein demon pillars.
The remaining source of the Skin Human Lake.
Old Man Heitian’s hidden treasury.
The Demon Lord’s substitute palace.
The underground blood vault.
In the end, all the lines of light converged upon the Dark Immortal Gate.
Dense columns of accounts appeared across the immortal gate.
Every demonic rune was a crime.
Every strand of black aura represented a life.
Every fragment of the immortal gate was stained with the skin stripped from people, the blood drained from them, and the souls refined by Blackheaven City over eight hundred years.
Wang Hao’s gaze turned cold.
“So that’s how it is.”
“You refined all living beings into accounts.”
“Then I’ll settle those accounts for you.”
The voice of the Demon Lord came from within the immortal gate, carrying boundless hatred.
“Wang Hao!”
“Don’t even think about it!”
The immortal gate trembled.
The power of the Demon Abyss surged wildly against the Martial Gods’ defensive line.
The eighth breath.
The Taiyin Old Matriarch spat out her final mouthful of silver blood.
The two Taiyin Martial Gods were sent flying, their fates unknown.
Half of the Yellow Springs Ancestor’s soul was swallowed by the Demon Abyss, and he let out a muffled groan.
Three petals of the Blood Lotus Valkyrie’s ninth-grade Blood Lotus shattered.
Everyone was close to collapse.
Wang Hao suddenly pressed the Half-Immortal Blood Tax Decree against the Myriad Contracts Aligned as One Seal.
Dark gold and gray-gold light intertwined.
“By the authority of the Myriad Contracts.”
“By the decree of the blood tax.”
“With the illegal asset map of Blackheaven City as evidence.”
“I, Emperor of Great Xia, Wang Hao—”
His voice suddenly rose, descending like the law of heaven.
“Hereby declare—”
“The Dark Immortal Gate is the master ledger of Blackheaven City’s illegal assets!”
“The evidence is conclusive!”
“Seized immediately!”
Boom!
The heavens and earth shook.
The Myriad Contracts Aligned as One Seal erupted with unprecedented light.
All the half-immortal blood accumulated within the Half-Immortal Blood Tax Decree burned away, transforming into a dark-gold chain.
The asset map rose into the air and covered the immortal gate.
The countless accounts on the map transformed into runes and branded themselves onto the Dark Immortal Gate.
The immortal gate shook violently.
The demonic shadow behind it let out a furious roar.
The Demon Lord’s voice became sharp enough to distort.
“No!”
“My immortal gate!”
Blood spilled from Wang Hao’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
The backlash from sealing the immortal gate was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
This was not the seizure of an ordinary treasury.
He was wrestling simultaneously with the Demon Lord’s remaining Dao fruit, eight hundred years of crimes committed by Blackheaven City, and the will of the Demon Abyss behind the gate.
His bones cracked loudly.
His meridians felt as though they were being torn apart.
The blood and qi of the Martial God ninth level were being consumed at a frantic rate.
The New Emperor Sword grew anxious.
“Master!”
“You won’t be able to hold on much longer!”
Wang Hao clenched his teeth.
“Shut up!”
“I’m collecting the debt!”
The ninth breath.
Most of the Martial Gods’ defensive line collapsed.
The black aura of the Demon Abyss broke through the waning moon and the Yellow Springs.
A gigantic tentacle of the Demon Abyss emerged through the crack in the gate and reached for Wang Hao.
Wang Hao could not move.
He was in the middle of sealing the immortal gate. If he let go, all his previous efforts would be wasted.
The New Emperor Sword roared,
“How dare you touch my master?”
It transformed into the humanoid form of a sword spirit.
With silver hair, black eyes, and a phantom of its true sword in hand, it charged directly at the tentacle of the Demon Abyss.
Although it possessed only the strength of a seventh-level Martial Artist,
although it was practically no match for the tentacle of the Demon Abyss,
it still charged forward.
“Only I’m allowed to insult my master!”
“Only I’m allowed to dislike him!”
“Only I’m allowed to secretly wish for a new master in my heart!”
“What do you think you are?”
Boom!
The sword spirit was sent flying by the tentacle.
Its humanoid form shattered on the spot, transforming back into a sword that crashed heavily to the ground in front of Wang Hao.
Cracks spread across the blade.
But the tentacle had also been slashed open.
Immediately afterward, the White Bone Old Monster’s final bone fire slammed into the tentacle.
“Wang Hao!”
“Ten times the contribution!”
The bone fire exploded.
The tentacle paused.
The Blood Lotus Valkyrie dragged her battered body forward and struck down with her blade.
The Taiyin Old Matriarch used her final wisp of cold energy to seal the tentacle in place.
The Yellow Springs Ancestor knelt halfway in the void, gritting his teeth as he pulled out the final chain of the Yellow Springs.
With their lives, everyone managed to hold on through the ninth breath.
The tenth breath.
Golden light surged within Wang Hao’s eyes.
Behind him, the willpower of the countless citizens condensed into a hazy landscape of mountains and rivers.
He seemed to see the people of Great Xia.
He saw the beacon fires along the border.
He saw smoke rising from the fields.
He saw the lights of the imperial city.
Seeing those who did not know they were being protected, yet still lived earnestly,
Wang Hao suddenly smiled.
He was indeed no saint.
Greedy.
Scheming.
Vindictive.
And fond of taking advantage of others.
But he was the emperor.
His realm could not become a lake of human skin.
His people could not become food for the Demon Abyss.
“Demon Lord.”
Wang Hao raised his head, his voice hoarse but resolute.
“You want to bury the world.”
“I disagree.”
He suddenly pressed both hands downward.
“Seal!”
Boom!
The dark-gold chains completely wrapped around the Dark Immortal Gate.
The asset map transformed into a gigantic sealing strip and stretched across the gate.
The Myriad Contracts Sharing One Source Seal came crashing down.
A massive “Seal” character was branded into the center of the Immortal Gate.
The Dark Immortal Gate let out a shrill wail.
The gap in the gate began to close.
The demonic shadows behind it slammed against the barrier in a frenzy.
The Demon Lord’s remnant consciousness roared.
“No!”
“This lord refuses to accept this!”
“This lord has already become a half-immortal!”
“This lord should never have lost to a bunch of ants!”
Wang Hao coughed up blood and said coldly:
“You didn’t lose to ants.”
“You lost because your accounts didn’t balance.”
The Martial Gods: “……”
At a time like this,
he still had to twist the knife.
And yet, for some reason, those words were immensely satisfying.
Cracks spread rapidly across the Immortal Gate.
Once the power of the sealing had been imposed, it could no longer maintain its sacrificial state.
The Demon Lord’s remaining Dao Fruit was forcibly squeezed out of the Immortal Gate.
The black Dao Fruit, covered in cracks, hovered in midair and shook violently.
The eyes of the Martial Gods changed instantly.
The Immortal Gate was sealed.
The Demon Lord’s Dao Fruit was exposed.
This was their final chance!
Wang Hao forced himself to remain standing and raised the New Emperor Sword.
The sword was already cracked.
He could barely stay on his feet.
Yet he still lifted the sword and pointed it at the Dao Fruit.
“Senior cultivators.”
“The accounts are sealed.”
“Now, it’s time to collect the debt.”
Taiyin Old Matriarch raised her head.
Yellow Springs Ancestor rose to his feet.
Blood Lotus Valkyrie gripped her blade.
The surviving blood shadows of the Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse began to condense once more.
The faint bone-fire of the White Bone Old Monster, nearly extinguished, flickered weakly back to life.
Every Martial God who was still alive turned their gaze toward the Demon Lord’s Dao Fruit.
The half-immortal no longer had an Immortal Gate.
The Dao Fruit was already cracked.
If they did not kill him now, when would they get another chance?
Wang Hao grinned, his mouth filled with blood, smiling like a foolish emperor who had just discovered the key to the imperial treasury.
“Kill him.”
“Half-immortal inheritance.”
“Settle the accounts on the spot.”
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.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
