The moment the Wild Bull Demon saw that familiar thicket, the image of Old Pig’s head being lopped off by a single sword stroke flashed through his mind once more.
Like a nightmare, it flickered before his eyes again.
Now, which side was the dream?
Had he just been dreaming, or was he still trapped in one?
But whether it was a dream or not, the Wild Bull Demon still chose to reach out and grab the Weasel Demon, who was mid-sentence.
His tone was grave: “Captain! There’s an ambush ahead in that grass!”
The Weasel Demon, cut off mid-speech, stared blankly at the Wild Bull Demon, while the other lesser demons also turned to him with puzzled looks.
The Weasel Demon didn’t immediately dismiss him. It studied Bull Two for a moment.
Finally, it gave a slight nod and turned to the Rat Demon carrying the crossbow, barking an order: “Ready the crossbows!”
“No!” The Wild Bull Demon tightened his grip, making the Weasel Demon wince in pain.
His voice was urgent: “Run! We need to run now!”
The Weasel Demon gritted its teeth through the pain. “Bull Two! What’s gotten into you? Are the ambushers that strong?”
“There’s one who’s terrifying! Old Pig lost his head in a single strike!”
The Boar Demon’s eyes widened as it glared at the Wild Bull Demon.
“What nonsense are you spouting?! You think this brawn is just for show?”
Ignoring the Boar Demon’s protest, the Weasel Demon calmly asked,
“Bull Two, are you still half-asleep from a nightmare?”
The Wild Bull Demon insisted, “It’s not a nightmare. It’s real. Not only can’t we win, but if we engage, a ridiculously powerful Golden Core cultivator will swoop in and slaughter our entire outpost.”
After listening silently, the Dwarf Lizard finally spoke up:
“Bull Two, ever since you woke up, you’ve looked like you lost your parents. You’ve been spouting creepy nonsense during training, even going on about some ‘ridiculously strong Golden Core.’ If you’re not feeling well, just go back to sleep—”
“Enough!”
The Weasel Demon suddenly raised a hand, cutting off their argument. Its eyes locked onto the thicket as it hissed, “Trouble!”
“Fire?!”
“Volley!”
Before Bull Two could even try to stop them, the crossbow bolts were already loosed.
Two vaguely familiar figures darted out again.
Once more, a sword swept aside the bolts.
And once more, the Weasel Demon barked the same order: “Bull Two, Old Pig, Stinky Lizard, form the Triad Formation and charge!”
“Got it!”
The Boar Demon and the Dwarf Lizard charged forward as before—only this time, one of them stayed behind.
The Wild Bull Demon stood frozen in place.
This was exactly like the dream.
The man said the same line: “Told you. Why would there be an ambush here?”
The woman replied just as before: “Kill first, ask later!”
The Wild Bull Demon snapped back to reality and roared:
“Danger! Danger!”
But it was no use. He wasn’t the Weasel Demon, and the Boar Demon didn’t listen to him.
The Boar Demon’s head went flying once more!
“Danger!!”
The Weasel Demon’s furious shout echoed through the night again—its words carried weight.
The same escape route unfolded.
Though unharmed, the Wild Bull Demon felt agony wrack his body as if death were imminent. Gritting his teeth, he sprinted, bellowing:
“I told you! We can’t win against an ambush!”
The Weasel Demon didn’t dwell on it, snapping back:
“Fall back first! Warn the outpost—”
Remembering the terrifying Golden Core cultivator, the Wild Bull Demon shouted:
“We can’t go back! A Golden Core is tailing us! We can’t return!”
The Dwarf Lizard, though short-legged, ran on all fours and kept pace.
It shot the Wild Bull Demon a glare and snarled, “Cut the crap! If there really was a Golden Core, none of us would make it out alive!”
The Wild Bull Demon tried to argue, but nothing changed.
Maybe he was bad with words. Maybe he was powerless to change anything.
The patrol squad still dashed straight back to the outpost.
The moment they stepped inside, before anyone could react,
the Wild Bull Demon roared in desperation: “Run! The Golden Core cultivator is coming!”
But the reply wasn’t from his comrades. Instead, a chilling voice filled the air.
“No need to run. I’m already here.”
The Wild Bull Demon whirled around to see the absurdly powerful Golden Core cultivator hovering mid-air, eyes icy, a radiant sword unsheathed in hand.
His vision blurred with rage as the Golden Core cultivator raised his blade.
A single, effortless swing.
A flash of azure spiritual energy.
Then—silence.
“Run!”
The Wild Bull Demon’s eyes snapped open again.
“Bull Two, bad dream?”
The teasing voice of the Weasel Demon reached his ears. He turned to see it smirking at him.
“Old Pig was sleeping just fine till you scared the hell out of me with that shout.”
The Wild Bull Demon shifted his gaze to the disgruntled Boar Demon.
Its head was still firmly attached.
What was this… a dream within a dream?!
The Wild Bull Demon was drenched in cold sweat. He’d now witnessed that human girl’s earth-shattering sword strike twice.
Each time, he was left with nothing but overwhelming helplessness.
The Weasel Demon stood up, hand resting on the hilt of its blade, and said calmly:
"Alright, it's about time to patrol the eastern plains."
The Wild Bull Demon shuddered violently. "No! You can't go! There's an ambush set up by humans there!"
The Dwarf Lizard sneered mockingly, "Second Bull, you're so useless. Look at you, scared by a nightmare."
"Enough!" The Weasel Demon's expression turned cold as he snapped, then his voice softened as he looked at the Wild Bull Demon.
"Lately, the pressure has been getting to you. Skip patrol tonight and get some proper rest."
The Wild Bull Demon grew frantic. "We really can't go! Our entire outpost camp should relocate!"
But none of the demons paid him any heed.
The Weasel Demon said nothing more, simply calling the others to prepare for the patrol.
After waking this time, the Wild Bull Demon felt the tearing pain in his body grow unbearable, yet he forced himself to follow the patrol squad.
Teahouse.
A watery screen displayed the Wild Bull Demon's every move in the dream in real time.
This was one of Chen Baiqing's mystical techniques—Mirror Blossom, Water Moon.
The abilities granted to Chen Baiqing by the system hardly sounded like mystical arts at first glance, nor did they carry the seductive, alluring names one might expect.
Chen Baiqing's technique was called—Veil of Heaven.
Its name boasted the highest grandeur so far.
And its effects, at times, were absurdly formidable.
Chu Xingchen didn’t possess Chen Baiqing’s [Heaven-Swaying Enchantress] trait, yet his execution of it was remarkably effective.
Those watching weren’t just Chu Xingchen and his companions—the surviving Weasel Demon and the skinned Snake Demon were also observing.
Chu Xingchen took a slow sip of tea.
"I know this dumb ox has already revealed everything in just one dream. It truly knows nothing."
"But the rest of you aren’t fools."
"Is it really just this dumb ox that’s trapped?"
Chu Xingchen lifted the silencing spell from the two demons’ throats.
A brief silence fell.
The Snake Demon glanced at the Mirror Blossom, Water Moon, where the Wild Bull Demon, now on its fourth cycle, was descending into madness. Its mental defenses crumbled instantly.
"I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything I can!"
Damn it all, death would’ve been easier!
Chu Xingchen immediately re-silenced the Weasel Demon, who hadn’t spoken, then nodded lightly. "Yingling, take notes."
Setting down his teacup, Chu Xingchen walked to the window, gazing at the ordinary mortals still hauling supplies at the frontlines despite the heavy rain.
No matter the scale of the conflict, mortals were always dragged into it without a choice.
But sometimes, being dragged in was the choice they wanted to make.
He had no interest in listening closely to the interrogation behind him.
Leaning against the windowsill, he waited quietly.
After a while, Li Yingling finished the questioning and hurried to Chu Xingchen’s side to report.
"Master—"
Before she could speak, a letter appeared in Chu Xingchen’s hand. He cut her off.
"Read this first."
Puzzled, Li Yingling took the letter and unfolded it.
Soon… she realized that the intelligence she had painstakingly extracted through interrogation was already written in far greater detail within this letter.
And in this letter, those details were but a trivial fraction of the information provided.
Chu Xingchen chuckled softly.
"Let me teach you another lesson—leave specialized tasks to the professionals."
"Even if you're a genius."
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
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."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
