She sent a voice transmission to Su Ji: "Senior Brother, what exactly was the great terror you saw earlier?"
Su Jiu had intended to get a clear idea in advance and prepare a countermeasure.
The problem was, all of it had been fabricated by Su Ji.
Su Ji could only shrug with feigned nonchalance, his gaze fixed on the lifeless city gate.
"It's hard to explain. Let’s follow them first."
With that, he strode forward, heading toward the crowd.
Su Jiu watched his retreating figure, biting her lower lip lightly before finally following.
The two of them trailed leisurely behind the rogue cultivators.
As they drew closer, Su Ji realized things weren’t quite as he had imagined.
The Blood Fiend Sect disciples who had rushed ahead earlier, along with the Joyful Union Sect members who followed afterward, had all stopped a few zhang away from the city gate, not daring to advance further.
Each of them wore grave expressions, as if wary of something.
"Why aren’t they going in?"
Su Jiu also noticed the anomaly, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
Su Ji didn’t answer, merely narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized the ancient city gate.
Soon, he spotted the clue.
An extremely faint, almost imperceptible crimson barrier, blending seamlessly with the air, enveloped the entire Anyang City.
If one didn’t look carefully, it would be impossible to detect.
No wonder those rogue cultivators had been so obediently waiting outside earlier.
Turns out it wasn’t that they didn’t want to enter—they simply couldn’t.
Just then, the man from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land finally moved.
With each step he took, an invisible pressure forced the surrounding rogue cultivators to instinctively retreat to either side.
Late-stage Golden Core.
A chill ran down Su Ji’s spine—this was the first time he had felt the oppressive aura of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator so vividly.
It was nothing like that fraud Wang Hu.
The man stopped before the crimson barrier, his face etched with disdain, as if the barrier before him was beneath his notice.
"Pathetic trick."
He uttered the words coolly, then slowly raised his right hand and casually struck out with his palm.
No dazzling spiritual light, no surging shockwaves.
A massive handprint, condensed from spiritual energy, materialized out of thin air and slammed heavily into the crimson barrier.
"Hum—"
The barrier trembled violently, ripples spreading outward in concentric circles.
And then…
Nothing.
The seemingly fragile crimson barrier, after enduring a full-force strike from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, merely swayed before settling back into stillness.
The air instantly turned deathly silent.
The rogue cultivators around them gaped in disbelief.
Even the Blood Fiend Sect and Joyful Union Sect members wore stunned expressions.
The Puppet Heaven Holy Land man’s face froze completely.
He slowly retracted his hand, his complexion visibly darkening with fury.
To be humiliated in front of everyone—this was a massive blow to his pride.
From somewhere in the crowd came a faint, barely suppressed snicker—someone had clearly failed to hold back.
Though the sound was soft, it struck the man’s face like a resounding slap.
"You dare?!"
The man whirled around, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd as a terrifying killing intent erupted.
The rogue cultivator who had laughed didn’t even have time to scream before his body exploded into a mist of blood.
The surrounding rogue cultivators recoiled in terror, not daring to make another sound.
Only then did the man snort coldly and turn his attention back to the crimson barrier.
This time, there was no trace of contempt in his eyes—only solemnity.
"Interesting."
He murmured the words, and the large wooden box behind him emitted a soft click.
The lid slowly opened.
A cold, lifeless figure floated out from within.
It was a female puppet.
Unlike the green-scaled woman on the city wall, this puppet was carved from an unknown type of white jade, with delicate features and a graceful figure, almost indistinguishable from a real person.
Only its eyes—empty and devoid of life—betrayed its true nature.
The puppet hovered silently beside the man, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
The man raised his right hand again, and the puppet mirrored his movement.
"Break!"
He barked the command, and both he and the puppet struck out simultaneously.
Two palms—one after the other—landed on the crimson barrier almost at the same instant.
This time, it was anything but silent.
"BOOM—!"
A deafening explosion tore through the air.
A devastating shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping outward in all directions.
Rogue cultivators standing too close were caught off guard, flung aside like leaves in a storm.
Su Ji’s pupils constricted.
Reacting swiftly, he wrapped an arm around Su Jiu’s slender waist, planting his feet firmly to resist the force.
Su Jiu stiffened instantly, a warm sensation spreading from her waist as a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
She wanted to pull away, but the overwhelming force left her no room to struggle.
The gale whipped their robes violently, the fabric snapping like banners in the wind.
Su Ji could even catch the faint fragrance drifting from Su Jiu’s hair.
"CRACK—"
A crisp shattering sound pierced through the chaos, reaching everyone’s ears.
All eyes turned toward the source.
On the supposedly indestructible crimson barrier, a fine crack had appeared.
Then a second.
A third.
Like a spider’s web, the fractures spread at an almost imperceptible speed, rapidly covering the entire barrier.
"BANG!"
With a final explosive burst, the barrier shielding Anyang City shattered completely.
Dissolving into countless motes of light that vanished into the air.
The wind died down.
The dust settled.
The lifeless city gate crumbled in tandem, revealing what lay beyond without reservation.
Inside, silence reigned.
The broad streets were empty, the shops lining them wide open but devoid of any living soul.
Yet, eerily, the entire city was unnaturally clean.
No corpses.
No bloodstains.
Not even a speck of dust.
As if someone had meticulously scrubbed the place clean not long ago.
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."
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
