As soon as Li Yingling finished speaking, a beam of light arrived in the blink of an eye.
Before San Dong could react, it saw four humans. Though their faces seemed friendly, it nervously retreated behind Li Yingling.
Li Yingling stood up, her tone brimming with pride. "Master, a major discovery!"
Chu Xingchen chuckled softly, not particularly surprised. After all, Li Yingling had been the main force behind this operation.
He patted her shoulder approvingly. "Well done."
Cui Hao's gaze swept across the sea of flowers, feeling a sense of serenity, before quickly locking onto San Dong, who was hiding behind their senior sister.
No surprise there—Cui Hao had never seen a flower spirit before and was curious.
Under Cui Hao's direct stare, San Dong immediately lowered its head, shrinking entirely behind Li Yingling.
"Is that a demon?" Cui Hao asked curiously.
Li Yingling glared at him. "What demon? Can’t you speak properly?"
Cui Hao quickly flashed an apologetic smile.
Chen Baiqing, who could now be considered well-read, had never seen a flower spirit in person before, but that didn’t stop her from identifying it.
She spoke up to enlighten the book-averse Cui Hao:
"This is a flower spirit, not a demon. In the cultivation world, it’s classified as a fairy creature."
Li Yingling nodded in satisfaction before admonishing Cui Hao:
"Learn more from your Third Senior Sister in the future. Read more books instead of fooling around and causing trouble all day."
Cui Hao hastily clasped his hands and replied with a grin:
"As Senior Sister commands."
Xie Lingyu, having heard the commotion, had already approached. She looked at Chu Xingchen, who wore a faint smile, and said:
"The situation over there is unclear. I only recognize that it’s an ancient ritual formation, and it doesn’t seem simple."
Chu Xingchen nodded agreeably. "Then we’ll trouble Lady Lingyu to lead the way."
Xie Lingyu shot Chu Xingchen a look for his playful tone, but with so many people around, she refrained from punching him. Pretending nothing had happened, she led the group toward the ritual formation carved into the cliff.
San Dong followed closely behind Li Yingling as they all proceeded.
Its gaze swept over the others, but when it landed on Chen Baiqing, an inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in its heart.
San Dong was certain it had never met Chen Baiqing before, and it generally felt wary of humans.
Yet… why did it feel such warmth when looking at Chen Baiqing?
Noticing San Dong’s cautious glance, Chen Baiqing offered a polite smile and a slight nod in greeting.
San Dong quickly responded with an ingratiating smile of its own.
Chu Xingchen’s eyes flicked sideways, observing San Dong.
[Target: San Dong]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining, Fifth Layer]
[Blue Trait: Spirit of Flora]
[Blue Trait: Moonlight Baptism]
[White Trait: Kind and Orderly]
[Black Trait: Naively Simple]
[Does not meet disciple criteria]
In terms of traits alone, this little flower spirit was unproblematic.
Had his senior disciple picked it up?
Chu Xingchen didn’t dwell on it. Once he confirmed San Dong posed no threat, he shifted his gaze back to Li Yingling, who was clearly waiting for praise.
So he lavished her with compliments. Though there were no tangible rewards, Li Yingling visibly reveled in her master’s approval.
The Ten-Thousand Flower Ridge was vast for ordinary humans—a stretch of over a dozen interconnected peaks.
But for cultivators, crossing it was as easy as a casual stroll.
Before the cliffside ritual formation, Chu Xingchen examined it carefully and quickly concluded—he had never seen this before and genuinely didn’t know how to handle it.
However, before setting out, he had asked the Tianyan Sect’s leader, Lv Xuan, whether this place was dangerous.
Lv Xuan’s reply had been cryptic—danger was relative, but he knew Chu Xingchen would be fine.
Chu Xingchen wasn’t fond of people who spoke in riddles.
Even though Lv Xuan’s eyes and expression seemed to say—Young man, I’ve already seen through you.
Chu Xingchen bluntly demanded—Out with it, you riddle-monger!
Under pressure, Lv Xuan could only explain that he truly didn’t know more than what he’d said.
No matter how Chu Xingchen tried to pry, Lv Xuan repeated the same helpless line.
Seeing Lv Xuan stubbornly clinging to his enigmatic act, Chu Xingchen had no choice but to drop it.
But if Lv Xuan claimed he wouldn’t be in danger… surely he wasn’t lying?
Chu Xingchen lightly traced the ritual formation with his hand before calmly declaring:
"I happen to know a bit about this formation. What’s inside is indeed hazardous. All of you, retreat to the town. Leave this to me alone."
Chen Baiqing’s expression turned worried as she looked at Chu Xingchen and softly suggested:
"Master, going alone is too dangerous. Let Baiqing stay with you."
"If I can’t handle it, your presence won’t help," Chu Xingchen replied with a smile, shaking his head. He then shot Li Yingling a meaningful glance.
Li Yingling recognized it as her master’s signal to cover for him, though she too felt uneasy.
But… it was true. If her master couldn’t resolve this, her Golden Core cultivation would be useless.
She might even become a liability.
Li Yingling hesitated, considering suggesting they call for Senior Bai’s help—but her master’s confident expression stopped her.
Her master wasn’t one to take reckless risks. He must have a plan.
Otherwise, he would’ve already called for backup.
Besides, Li Yingling trusted her master.
"Trust Master," she said, patting Chen Baiqing’s head reassuringly.
With the two most senior figures in the sect speaking, Chen Baiqing pressed her lips together but eventually nodded.
Xie Lingyu spoke calmly. "I’m at the Nascent Soul stage. I’ll stand guard. The rest of you, return."
Chu Xingchen tried to dismiss her too:
"No need for a guard—"
Before he could finish, Xie Lingyu’s voice transmission cut in:
"You don’t even know where to start drawing this formation, do you? You can fool your disciples, but not me. Who always fixed your ritual formation problems in the past?"
Chu Xingchen froze mid-sentence.
His disciples trusted him blindly, making them easy to fool.
But Xie Lingyu knew him too well.
Seizing the advantage, Xie Lingyu pressed on:
"I have protective treasures. Instead of worrying about me, worry about yourself. If things go wrong, I can call for help."
Chu Xingchen met Xie Lingyu’s gaze and found her expression unyielding.
"Fine…" He relented, turning to Li Yingling. "You all withdraw first. As senior sister, keep an eye on your juniors."
Li Yingling nodded solemnly and led the group away.
Caught in the strange atmosphere—perhaps out of timidity—San Dong didn’t dare speak and was swept along by Li Yingling.
Watching their retreating figures, Chu Xingchen turned back to the ritual formation and asked:
"Can you unravel this? If not, I’ll just smash it."
Xie Lingyu sighed faintly as spiritual energy surged around her, activating the formation.
As the formation shifted, wisps of spiritual energy began to seep out.
A set of ritual apparatus glowing in deep blue light was revealed.
Beyond the ritual array lay what seemed like another world.
Xie Lingyu frowned slightly and spoke, "It's a secret..."
"So it's a burial mound..."
Chu Xingchen stroked his chin and nodded.
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)
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."
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.
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.”
