He walked straight up to Fang Zhiyi. Fang Zhiyi felt a pungent odor mixed with blood and dirt rushing toward him, and then the old Taoist reached out and grabbed Xu Xiaoya.
At this point, Fang Zhiyi could no longer afford to hesitate. The money on him had been taken by the bandits the day before, but they hadn’t even glanced at the talismans he had drawn. He pulled a lightning-inducing talisman from his waist and slapped it directly onto the old Taoist.
“By my command!”
The old Taoist’s outstretched hand froze in place, and his gaze slowly shifted downward. Fang Zhiyi’s heart sank. Sure enough, in the next moment, the old Taoist grabbed his arm. Fang Zhiyi stumbled back two steps, but the old Taoist stayed right on him. His arm was seized tightly, the old Taoist’s hand clamped around it like iron pliers, causing sharp pain.
“Damn it!” Fang Zhiyi cursed.
To his surprise, the old Taoist suddenly said, “You know sorcery? Who sent you?”
Fang Zhiyi was stunned.
The old Taoist shook his head and muttered to himself, “No, your talisman is wrong.” He tore the talisman off his own chest, glanced at it, and said, “Your talisman has no primer.”
Fang Zhiyi was stunned again.
Primer?
Seeing Fang Zhiyi frown, the old Taoist continued, “Drawing talismans requires balancing the five elemental energies… Though your talisman is drawn correctly, it lacks the metal-element energy.”
“Master, may I ask what metal-element energy is?”
The old Taoist froze for a moment, as if suddenly remembering that he was supposed to be this young man’s master. He let out a couple of harsh laughs. “It’s metal-element shards. The power of the metal element within them is extremely strong—the perfect material for summoning lightning!” He paused. “Too bad I’ve never seen one.”
Fang Zhiyi was momentarily speechless. You’ve never seen one, so why are you talking nonsense?
He also realized that the logic governing the operations of this world was extremely meticulous. His talismans were empty shells, and his hopes seemed dashed again.
The old Taoist suddenly slapped his head, as if remembering something.
He turned to look at Xu Xiaoya. “Disciple, help your master concoct the elixir!” Without caring whether Xu Xiaoya agreed, he grabbed her by the neck like a chicken and started walking. After a few steps, he turned back.
“You seem to know a bit about cultivation techniques, don’t you?”
Fang Zhiyi nodded.
“You come along too!”
Watching him drag Xu Xiaoya away, Fang Zhiyi gritted his teeth and followed.
This was the first time he had encountered such a hellish difficulty, but it seemed he had no choice now.
The old Taoist led him through the main hall and straight to the backyard. On both sides of the yard stood low, squat buildings with doors tightly shut and windows nailed shut with wooden planks. But even so, Fang Zhiyi could see eyes staring out through the cracks in the planks.
“Master, what’s in these houses…” Fang Zhiyi knew this madman liked being called “Master.”
Sure enough, the old Taoist didn’t stop walking but replied, “Just failed experiments. I kindly tried to help them ascend to immortality, but they were unworthy! Don’t you end up like them—neither human nor ghost, those wretched things.”
As he spoke, they left the yard. Beyond the wall was a cliff face. The old Taoist headed straight for a pitch-black cave.
Fang Zhiyi had already imagined countless ambush tactics, but he realized each one was almost suicidal.
After walking through the cave passage, the space suddenly opened up. A deep pool appeared before Fang Zhiyi, with two natural paths on either side. Stone steps led to the far side of the pool, where a massive elixir furnace stood.
At that moment, Xiaoxiaohei came online again: “Host, danger warning. You can escape now—escape success rate is thirty percent…”
Fang Zhiyi was furious. “Shut up!”
But the old Taoist suddenly paused and slowly turned to face Fang Zhiyi. “Disciple, who are you talking to?”
Fang Zhiyi’s back was drenched in cold sweat. Could this old bastard hear him communicating with Xiaoxiaohei?
He tried to look confused. “No one, Master.”
The old Taoist seemed doubtful. “Oh? Then I must have misheard.”
A moment later, he suddenly started asking questions: “Disciple, do you know how to refine elixirs?”
Without hesitation, Fang Zhiyi recited: “The yang of the sky as primer, the yin of the earth follows; the spirit flame ignites in the furnace, the Big Dipper sets the position; the wind of Xun blows gently, momentum like a dragon; celestial herbs and spirit flowers added in order, yin and yang merge in deep intent; dragon and tiger intertwine, chaos gives birth to auspicious vapors.”
This was a mantra he had once seen on a certain alchemy peak’s secret manual, and he had no choice but to spout it now.
The old Taoist blinked. Clearly, he hadn’t understood it, but since he was the master, he stroked his ragged beard. “Good, good, good! I never thought I, Xuan Jizi, could take on such a fine disciple! Ha ha ha! You shall be the one to refine the elixir for your master!”
Fang Zhiyi glanced at Xu Xiaoya, who was too scared to speak. “Master, refining the elixir… why did you grab her?”
Xuan Jizi looked at the little girl in his hand. “This girl has the appearance of pure yin. Using her as the elixir primer will surely produce an immortal pill!”
A flash of murderous intent crossed Fang Zhiyi’s face.
This old bastard really plans to use a living person for his alchemy? So twisted?
When he got closer to the furnace, he noticed it was covered in all sorts of alchemy chants—but they were all in plain, colloquial language.
Things like “Two taels of cinnabar, slow fire for seventy-two hours,” “One high-grade demon core, high fire for a month.” Fang Zhiyi frowned. What kind of nonsense was this?
As if sensing Fang Zhiyi’s disdain, Xuan Jizi let go of the little girl and looked at him seriously. “Disciple, in your opinion, what should be the proper steps to refine an immortal pill?”
“Since it’s an immortal pill, naturally it requires patience. If you use a living person as the primer, wouldn’t that…” Fang Zhiyi suddenly stopped. He noticed the bulging veins on the back of the old Taoist’s hand. This lunatic was temperamental and disturbed—say one wrong word, and he’d be dead.
“What I mean is, using someone like her so recklessly would be too wasteful…” Fang Zhiyi quickly shifted his tone.
Xuan Jizi looked at him with some surprise. He had expected the boy to denounce his cruelty, but it turned out he had such thoughts instead?
“So, what are you suggesting?”
Fang Zhiyi said, “We should run experiments first. In an ancient text, I read that using a pure yin body for alchemy requires auxiliary materials also rich in yin energy.” As he spoke, Fang Zhiyi suddenly cupped his fists. “Disciple is willing to seek out those other materials for Master, to help you complete the immortal pill!”
Xuan Jizi was stunned, then burst into laughter. “Good, good, good! Fine disciple!”
But in the next instant, he suddenly grabbed Fang Zhiyi by the throat. “Do you really think I’m insane?”
Fang Zhiyi’s heart pounded wildly. Xiaoxiaohei’s warnings kept flashing in his mind.
The old Taoist sneered and pointed to a wall nearby. “Those who tried to be clever like you are all dead.”
Fang Zhiyi looked at the wall. Carved into it was a chemical formula!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
