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.
mance] After transmigrating for eighteen years, Lin Qi lived as an utterly ordinary herbalist in the countryside. One day, he kindly brought home a sickly, beautiful girl covered in blood. They married in a flash and began their blissful, intimate life together. Right then, his long-delayed system finally activated. [Warning! Host detected in contact with the "Crimson Calamity," the world-ending witch!] Lin Qi looked at the adorable wife currently curled in his arms, who couldn't even open a jar lid and trembled at the sight of a mouse. Lin Qi: "System, are you insane? This is clearly just a weak and delicate sickly girl!" Thus, Lin Qi treated the system as a "Contrast System," where taking care of his wife made him stronger. Combing his wife's hair rewarded him with [Free Attribute Points]. Taking his wife out for sunshine rewarded him with [Forbidden Spell: Arcane Explosion]. Lin Qi: "This soft life tastes so good!" ... Yet, in the eyes of outsiders: The strongest Beastkin Assassin: "That man dissected a Beast King with a common skinning knife! That was a show of force towards the powerful!" The Holy Son of the Radiant Church: "I infiltrated his home as a tutor, but he had me babysit the children... He must have seen through my disguise!" The World-Ending Witch, Felucia: "I hid all the way in the countryside. How is it that the husband I married on a whim is stronger than I was at my peak?"
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)
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
