Qin Ran was truly frightened by Su Changqing. He fled in panic by forcefully dissolving into the fog and sacrificing his cultivation.
After escaping into the forest outside, he didn't relax and continued running with his head down for a very long time before his fearful heart finally calmed down a little. Only then did he have the mind to look around at his surroundings. This was a primeval forest, with tall trees, low bushes, insects, small animals, demonic beasts, and cultivators...
Wait, cultivators?
Qin Ran suddenly realized something was wrong. Why were there so many cultivators deep inside the Hengduan Mountains? !
In the time he took to survey his surroundings, several cultivators had already flown over his head.
For example, at this moment, two cultivators were carefully riding on clouds toward the fog, passing over his head. They were talking.
One cultivator said, "That Devouring Demon Willow is a level nine demonic beast, extremely powerful, not something that can be easily subdued. There will definitely be a big battle, we just need to hide behind and keep our distance. Wait until they are both badly injured before going up to pick up some scraps."
The other cultivator agreed, "It is said that the Devouring Demon Willow bears not only one but many fruits. We need to be careful, who knows we may even pick up some fruits."
"Indeed, indeed!"
Qin Ran watched their figures disappear into the distance, stunned in place.
Are they crazy?!!
Can't they see that all the high-level demonic beasts in the depths of the Hengduan Mountains have disappeared, whether dead, escaped or controlled?
Don't they know the horror of a level nine demonic beast, Yuanying stage seniors and Unity stage seniors? With a wave of their hands they can destroy heaven and earth. They can't escape just by keeping their distance!
Are they unaware of the legends of the Devouring Demon Willow while they are in the Hengduan Mountains? Do they have such poor memory that they've forgotten the Willow Catkins Explosion that happens once every thousand years?
How dare they go pick up the scraps?!
Qin Ran really could not understand it.
"Do you see? This is what cultivators are like..." Su Changqing's voice came as he saw that Qin Ran was looking in his direction. Standing on a nearby tree branch, he was also watching the cultivators flying off toward the fog. He gently said,
"We only need to spread the news that there are fruits of the Tao in the Land of Immortal Legacy and they will keep coming in an endless stream to deliver themselves to their deaths. We don't need any sinister plots or conspiracies. The Devouring Demon Willow naturally has ample nourishment."
Qin Ran understood very well what cultivators were like. He just couldn't comprehend why they would be so stupid when driven by greed.
Greed is intrinsic to cultivators, but when they are blinded by greed, why would their intelligence be so low?
This is obviously a trap, but because the trap contains a sweet treat, they jump in heedlessly. This is not greed, it is foolishness.
In the main square of Dao Sword Sect, Li Shiyin noticed that those people were not only talking about the Devouring Demon Willow, they were also taking action.
Gradually, some cultivators flew out of the protective array by riding their swords or using magic techniques.
One by one, the crowd in the square diminished.
"What are these people trying to do?" Li Shiyin didn't understand. "Isn't the Devouring Demon Willow very dangerous?" She vaguely remembered her master mentioning it.
"Dad..." Suddenly Chasing the Wind said in a low voice.
"What?" Li Shiyin looked over at Chasing the Wind and saw him staring at the cultivators flying out of the sect, with his little cat head seemingly lost in thought about something.
"Where's your dad?" she asked.
"Dad!"
Suddenly, Chasing the Wind became agitated. Wind gathered under his feet as he pounced forward into the air, chasing after those cultivators.
"Chasing the Wind!"
Caught off guard by Chasing the Wind's actions, Li Shiyin quickly summoned her sword to ride. She grabbed Long Qiqi and chased after Chasing the Wind.
But when it came to running away, Chasing the Wind had inherited his father's skill. Despite his usual clumsiness, running was his number one talent. Riding the wind, he sped away swiftly. Li Shiyin couldn't keep up with him for a while.
As one chased and the other ran, they slowly left Dao Sword Sect and headed towards the Hengduan Mountains and the Land of Immortal Legacy.
Qin Ran looked up at the sky and found that the cultivators flying over were all low level, with few even at the Golden Core stage. He suddenly realized something...
"How long have we been in the Land of Immortal Legacy?" he asked Su Changqing.
"Three days," Su Changqing replied.
"So Elder Ning and the others have already entered the Land of Immortal Legacy?" Qin Ran continued asking.
In fact, Qin Ran had previously fallen into a misunderstanding. He thought that communication and positioning magic artifacts like Su Changqing's Ten Thousand Mile Tracking Disk and Mother & Child Spirit Stones could only be given to the few people entering the Land of Immortal Legacy, when actually an extra Spirit Stone could be given to Elder Ning beforehand. Also, the Tracking Disk didn't need to be activated right in front of the Demonic Willow, it could be kept activated the whole time.
It could then be inferred that Elder Ning and the others did not necessarily have to wait until Qin Ran gave them the Demonic Willow's exact location before taking action. With the Spirit Stone sensing the Tracking Disk, they could trail behind them and move together.
Perhaps - Qin Ran then realized - at the same moment they found the valley where the Demonic Willow was located, Elder Ning might have already led people to that valley as well.
"They went in long ago," Su Changqing replied. "When I turned back to hunt all of you down, Elder Ning had already taken over control of those seven demon kings."
Qin Ran's heart sank into gloom!
He had imagined that after escaping from Su Changqing's hands, before fleeing far away with the three foolish children, he would find the sect leader and explain everything clearly, hoping to save as many lives as possible.
After all, he wasn't a native of this world. He came from a civilized world.
But now there was no need.
"It's too late," he murmured.
"Yes, too late!" Su Changqing sighed.
As Su Changqing's words fell, Qin Ran sensed something.
He looked up at the sky through the dense foliage of the towering trees in the primeval forest. Above the fog in the depths of the Hengduan Mountains, beneath the blue sky and white clouds, one after another delicate and tender wisps of white willow catkins swayed in the wind, rising with the breeze.
The sky was filled with floating white willow fluff, freely drifting in the wind against the blue sky, a scene of ethereal beauty and romance.
"How beautiful!" Standing next to Su Changqing, Bai Ruoxi looked at the willow catkins in the sky, then at Su Changqing's profile. She exclaimed in admiration.
At the same time, in the valley at the deepest part of the Land of Immortal Legacy, dozens of scattered cultivators were in the sky and on the ground. They fled, resisted, battled, shouted, screamed, and cursed.
Because in addition to them, the air was also filled with willow catkins. Those wisps of white willow fluff landed on them, penetrating their protective barriers, piercing their defensive artifacts and clothes, sinking into their flesh and merging into their skin.
Before long, their bodies began to wither and shrivel...
In addition to the willow fluff, there were also countless whiplike willow branches from the Devouring Demon Willow moving to attack all the cultivators in the valley, lashing like iron chains, binding like ropes, and piercing like spears...
A single tree battled dozens of cultivators!
Watching the ethereal scene in the sky, Su Changqing suddenly laughed. He turned back to look at Qin Ran, who was still on the ground gazing at the willow catkins in the sky.
Su Changqing slashed out a sword aura, tearing that Qin Ran to shreds, and shook his head with a sigh:
"Such a strong will to survive, truly stubborn!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
] [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!"
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...
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)
