"Junior Sister... if you don't get up soon, I'll be crushed into a corpse..."
For some reason, every word from Su Ji's voice sounded strained.
"...Stop talking nonsense!"
Su Jiu was both embarrassed and flustered.
"I'm not even heavy..."
It was clear that every girl cared deeply about her weight.
"Eh?! Don't blow air like that—I'm getting up now!"
Faced with Su Ji's silent protest, Su Jiu scrambled clumsily to rise.
But the more frantic she became, the more awkward her movements.
Her hand pressed against Su Ji's chest, the firmness beneath her palm sending another wave of disarray through her, leaving her limbs weak.
Gritting her teeth, Su Jiu stopped overthinking and rolled off Su Ji with all four limbs.
She turned her back to him, staring down at the molten lava, not daring to lift her head.
Finally able to breathe, Su Ji gasped heavily, inhaling the scorching air as he pushed himself up from the ground.
His gaze fell on Su Jiu, who, like him moments ago, seemed desperate to bury her head in the earth.
The corners of his lips twitched upward uncontrollably, but he quickly forced them back down.
Clearing his throat, he prepared to say something to break the unbearably awkward silence.
Yet, before he could, the familiar options appeared before his eyes.
[Conversation with Su Jiu triggered—target meets aesthetic preferences, romance options unlocked.]
[Option 1: Scold Su Jiu for her recklessness and tell her to be more careful next time. (Reward: Su Jiu’s favorability +1, green destiny ‘The Dao is Merciless’)]
[Option 2: Pretend to be severely injured, claiming she crushed your Dao foundation and must take responsibility. (Reward: Su Jiu’s favorability +1, special storyline)]
[Option 3: Say nothing about what just happened. Feign panic and ask Su Jiu if she encountered any trouble or was hurt. (Reward: Su Jiu’s favorability +1, partial intel gained.)]
Su Ji’s mind raced.
The first option was outright ridiculous.
"Be more careful next time"?
He’d prefer if she didn’t be careful at all next time.
The second option aligned with his usual antics.
But...
"A special storyline"?
Did he have a death wish?
Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s body wasn’t made of iron.
Everything required balance and gradual progress.
Su Ji made his decision in an instant.
Dropping all playful thoughts, he adopted a perfectly measured look of concern.
His eyes settled on the white-haired figure whose ears were burning red.
"Junior Sister, you vanished earlier—did you run into trouble?"
His voice was soft, laced with a barely detectable tension.
"I searched for you for so long. Are you hurt?"
Su Jiu’s body trembled almost imperceptibly.
She slowly raised her head, her clear fox-like eyes wide with disbelief.
She had expected questioning, or demands to explain her earlier blunder.
Instead, she was met with... concern?
A surge of warmth rose abruptly from her heart, dispelling all her embarrassment and frustration.
Staring at Su Ji’s face, she felt her heartbeat skip.
"I... I’m fine."
Her voice wavered slightly, but she avoided his gaze as she murmured,
"Earlier... I was taken to a strange realm by a senior."
"And I gained some opportunities."
Opportunities?
Su Ji raised a brow.
He studied Su Jiu closely. Though she tried to suppress it, the vast, newfound aura around her was impossible to hide.
"Congratulations, Junior Sister, on forging your Golden Core."
A genuine smile graced his lips.
And why not?
Su Jiu reaching the Golden Core stage meant the Love-Longing Sect’s days under its current name were numbered.
Su Jiu’s head snapped up, her fox eyes filled with shock.
Su Ji had seen through it at a glance?
She nodded faintly in acknowledgment.
Then, the clarity in her eyes dimmed, replaced by an indescribable sorrow.
"Senior Brother, I..."
She trailed off, hesitating.
Today’s events had shaken her too deeply.
The secrets buried for a hundred thousand years weighed on her like mountains, suffocating her.
Su Ji didn’t press her. Instead, he instinctively sat down, about to pat the space beside him.
"Sit... OW!"
Ah, the perks of Foundation Establishment—leaping three meters in one bound.
After yelping, Su Ji finally learned his lesson.
He retreated to the spot where he had broken through earlier.
"Sit and talk?"
Su Jiu hesitated briefly before obediently walking over and settling beside him.
The two sat side by side on the scorching rocks, surrounded by churning lava, yet the atmosphere was strangely peaceful.
"That senior... was a true dragon. She was incredibly powerful."
Su Jiu chose her words carefully.
"She has lived for an unfathomably long time."
"She told me... the cultivation method of our Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox lineage is flawed."
Her voice was quiet, tinged with bitter self-mockery.
"The technique I took pride in—the one that guaranteed a ninth-grade Golden Core—was, in her words, nothing but a ‘dead core’ that severs the path forward."
"True greatness lies in forging a Heavenly Palace Golden Core."
Su Ji’s heart stirred.
He had seen the term "Heavenly Palace Golden Core" in the [Fallen Dragon’s Desolate Decree].
"She helped you rebuild your foundation?" Su Ji asked.
"Yes." Su Jiu nodded lightly. "With her supreme power, she summoned heavenly lightning and earthly flames to temper my Dao platform, allowing me to barely condense a Heavenly Palace Golden Core."
"Senior Brother, do you know why Great Xia has no path beyond Nascent Soul, why our legacies are severed?"
Su Ji shook his head, listening intently.
"Because a hundred thousand years ago, this world endured a cataclysm."
"Countless ancient sects and mighty races perished in that calamity."
Su Jiu’s fingers unconsciously tightened around the hem of her robe.
"My clan’s sacred land... was reduced to ashes overnight in that disaster. Not a single soul survived."
Her voice trembled slightly on the last few words.
After steadying herself, she continued, "Great Xia is a severed fragment of that world, its Dao incomplete, cutting off the path to Nascent Soul."
"Some of my clansmen who were outside by chance survived and chose to retreat into seclusion..."
"You know the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Foxes are not known for combat."
"Without strong allies to rely on, and bound by the limits of cultivation lifespans, each generation grew weaker. Some even compromised to preserve the bloodline, diluting it until many regressed into mere Nine-Tailed Fox Spirits."
"Now, compared to ordinary demonic beasts, our only advantages are early intelligence, human forms, and intact ancient legacies."
"And I... am the first Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox in nearly ten thousand years to experience a bloodline reversion."
"One day, the clan elders sought me out, saying a great era approaches. They even sacrificed their lives to divine a glimpse of the ‘future’ for me..."
"I was supposed to shoulder the responsibility of restoring my clan’s glory..."
"But now... a senior tells me even our legacy is wrong..."
"I’m lost..."
"Can I truly leave Great Xia...?"
"Fulfill my duty... revive my clan’s honor."
Su Ji fell silent.
He hadn’t realized Su Jiu carried such a heavy burden.
He reached out, intending to pat her shoulder in comfort, but halfway through the motion, he hesitated, sensing it might be inappropriate. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Su Jiu's cold fingers wrapped around his, guiding it gently to rest upon her shoulder.
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)
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
[Dao Companion Rental System]. By renting himself out as a temporary dao companion to daughters of destiny, Qin Hao could obtain generous rewards. His service philosophy was simple: play the role of the devoted lover, resolve their troubles, depart without a trace once the matter was settled, and absolutely avoid entangling karma. However, those daughters of destiny didn't see it that way. That night, all the major powers across the Three Realms and Nine Heavens jointly besieged the Qin Clan, plunging it into an unprecedented crisis. "It's Su Qingyue! The peerless sword immortal who attained the Dao and became an Immortal Emperor in a thousand years, the one who severed the River of Time with a single sword strike! When... when did our Qin Clan make an enemy of her?" Qin Hao stepped forward, clearing his throat lightly: "Ahem, Ancestors, don't panic. She's here for me. To be honest... she's my ex-girlfriend." From another direction, the newly ascended Empress of the Demon Realm arrived with ten thousand demons pressing on the border: "Qin Hao! Today, the entire Qin Clan shall be buried with you!" Hearing this, the Qin Clan ancestors all turned their eyes sharply towards Qin Hao. Qin Hao scratched his head somewhat sheepishly: "The Demon Empress... she's also my ex-girlfriend." Before the Qin ancestors could process this, an aloof figure traversed the River of Time: "The Qin Clan deserves annihilation!" Recognizing the newcomer, the Qin ancestors paled in terror: "It's her! Liu Ruyan, the Extinction Empress who ventured alone into the alien realm and suppressed it for an entire epoch! Didn't she vanish into the River of Time long ago? Why would she cross it just to target our clan?" Qin Hao scratched his head again, looking even more embarrassed: "My fault, my fault. She's an ex-girlfriend too." Watching countless celestial maidens descend, the Qin Clan ancestors were utterly astounded: "You scoundrel! Just... just how many women have you gotten involved with over the years?"
