At the same time.
Across Great Xia, those ancient Golden Core experts who had just awakened from their self-imposed seals—
before they could even fully step back into their coffins—
once again turned their shocked and suspicious gazes toward the direction of Qihuang Gorge.
Again?
That aura of heavenly tribulation has reappeared?!
Could it be... that the path of Dao in Great Xia has truly reopened?
Ultimately, some could no longer suppress the greed and longing in their hearts.
Love-Longing Sect.
The withered, white-haired Grand Elder stood above the sect, forcibly halting his retreat to the forbidden mountains in the rear.
His eyes burned with struggle and fervor.
Qihuang Gorge was guarded by a true dragon—if he went again, he would only humiliate himself. There was no other outcome.
But this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity...
Should he order his subordinates to investigate?
To track down that duo who had left as Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators but returned as Foundation Establishment and Golden Core?
He shook his head almost immediately.
Male disciples of the Love-Longing Sect were required to undergo castration upon entry—a rule established five hundred years ago.
He had been in seclusion when it was enacted, but he knew the reason behind it.
So how could there possibly be a "well-endowed" Foundation Establishment cultivator in the sect?
Utterly spear-less nonsense.
Investigating would be a waste of effort.
And yet...
To return to his coffin and sleep again...
He couldn’t bear it.
Not only had breaking free from the coffin already cost him dearly...
Even if he went back, he had only a few years left to live.
What if the path forward for Great Xia had truly opened?
He had been trapped at the peak of Golden Core for too long—so long that his lifespan was nearly exhausted.
Rather than withering away here... why not gamble?
"Boom!"
A surge of spiritual energy, far surpassing that of an ordinary Golden Core great perfection cultivator, erupted from his withered body.
The skies above the Love-Longing Sect churned violently.
"Unworthy disciples! Activate the sect-protecting formation at once!" he roared toward the sect master’s location.
In moments, beams of light shot up from the peaks of the Love-Longing Sect, weaving into a vast, radiant net in the sky. The formation exuded an overwhelming pressure as it enveloped the entire sect.
The Grand Elder took a deep breath, savoring the unprecedented power surging within him. He focused his entire being into his dantian, channeling all his strength to break through the invisible barrier that had confined him for nearly a thousand years.
Back in the day...
He had been a peerless genius...
Unrivaled since his debut, forging a seventh-grade Golden Core in just thirty years!
Yet the path to Nascent Soul had been severed...
Break!
Break for me!
The spiritual energy within the Grand Elder cycled at an unprecedented speed. His Golden Core buzzed violently in his dantian, radiating a blinding light—brighter than ever before, like a miniature sun.
He could feel it—the barrier was loosening!
Just a little more!
Just a little more!
And yet...
"The Grand Elder is breaking through!"
"Heaven blesses the Love-Longing Sect! Our sect will soon have a Nascent Soul mighty one!"
Countless disciples and elders rushed out of their caves, gazing up at the figure atop the mountain peak, stirring the heavens. Their faces were alight with excitement and reverence.
And then...
There was no "then."
The dazzling Golden Core, upon reaching its limit, suddenly dimmed.
No heavenly tribulation descended to temper his body.
The rampaging spiritual energy, like wild horses freed from their reins, surged chaotically through his meridians in reverse.
"No..."
"Why?!"
A desperate roar tore from the Grand Elder’s throat.
His shriveled skin cracked inch by inch, blood seeping from every pore.
Under the horrified gazes of the Love-Longing Sect’s disciples, the once-indomitable figure atop the peak swelled like an overinflated balloon—
"Pop!"
A muffled explosion.
A brilliant mist of blood blossomed under the midday sun.
Body and soul—annihilated.
The Love-Longing Sect fell into dead silence.
After what felt like an eternity, a heart-wrenching wail shattered the stillness.
"Sect Master! The Grand Elder... he exploded!"
——
Su Jiu felt like she was about to explode.
Her Dao Platform, tempered by the heavenly lightning, did not shatter. Instead, it grew more solid and translucent, gleaming like polished crystal.
Then, the red-haired little girl gave another soft command.
"Fire!"
"Come!"
The earthfire of Qihuang Gorge was forcibly ripped from the ground against its nature.
A strand of pure, condensed flame pierced through space, landing precisely on Su Jiu’s Dao Platform.
Thunder and fire intertwined—yin and yang in harmony.
Su Jiu’s Dao Platform began undergoing an unimaginable transformation.
Within her dantian, the phantom of an exquisitely crafted celestial palace slowly took form.
Above it, mist swirled, and cranes cried, as if a miniature world had been born.
Heavenly Palace Golden Core!
As the last wisp of thunderfire merged into the palace, Su Jiu’s aura peaked.
Her eyes snapped open—a flash of golden light flickered in their depths.
Golden Core—success.
Su Jiu savored the unprecedented power surging within her.
Suppressing the excitement in her heart, she rose slowly and bowed deeply toward the red-haired figure lounging lazily on a rock.
"Many thanks for your guardianship, Senior."
The red-haired little girl merely waved a hand dismissively, not even bothering to lift her eyelids.
"Unnecessary."
"If you have time, go to Qingqiu and ask Jiu Yue for me."
She paused, her tone laced with unmistakable disdain.
"Ask her if this is how she treats her descendants now?"
"Did she forget about her clan after running off with that bastard? Too busy rolling around to care?"
"Tch. Even I’m more generous than her."
Su Jiu hesitated, then spoke carefully.
"Senior... I am not a direct descendant of Ancestor Jiu Yue."
"And... Ancestor Jiu Yue... she passed away long ago."
The air froze.
A deafening explosion.
The red-haired girl’s lazy posture stiffened violently.
The chains that had bound her for countless millennia—unchained even by heavenly punishment—shattered under her force.
In the next instant, she leaped down from the rock.
Her golden draconic pupils locked onto Su Jiu, her voice trembling faintly with something even she didn’t recognize.
"What did you say?"
The broken chains crashed to the ground with earth-shaking force, causing the entire space to quake.
"She’s dead?"
Her voice was soft, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness.
"That vixen... died well."
She murmured, yet there was no joy on her face.
"No..."
Her head snapped up, golden pupils blazing with madness.
"Who allowed her to die?!"
"If she’s dead, why hasn’t Feng come to see me?"
"Have you met him?"
"A man who loves wearing green robes, pretentious to the core—you’d remember if you’d seen him."
"That heartless bastard."
"He actually asked me if I liked sleeping with women!"
"Wanted me and Jiu Yue to share a bed and serve him together? Dream on. I told him I’d rather die than sleep with a woman, so he locked me here. And now, after all these years..."
"Did he forget about me?"
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
n Our Village Many years later, Xiushui Village had transformed from a remote, impoverished hamlet into the renowned and flourishing Xiushui City of the Shifang Continent. All of this, solely because it was the birthplace of the Shifang Continent's number one sect—the Lingxian Sect. This is the story of a group of village youths, family, and friends, building a sect and growing together. Lin Xiao: As the sect master, my days are filled with countless tasks. Cultivating really gets in the way of building the sect. System: Received. Understood. Arranging it immediately. [Ding—Congratulations, Host, on successfully activating the Auto-Cultivation Function] Lin Xiao: Oh no, we're out of spirit stones. System: Received. Understood. Arranging it immediately. [Ding—Sect Mission issued. Mission Reward: Spirit Stones xN] No one loves their host more profoundly than this System!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
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)
