Chen Chang'an leaped into the Heavenly Pool and discovered that the space below was far more expansive than above.
Moreover, the depth exceeded his expectations. After diving nearly a hundred meters, he still hadn’t reached the bottom.
Though Chen Chang'an’s cultivation was only at the first level of the True Qi Realm, his true strength was far greater.
Additionally, his unique physique rendered the water pressure completely ineffective against him.
He continued his descent and, after nearly a thousand meters, finally noticed something unusual.
At the bottom of the Heavenly Pool, there was another barrier—one that merely separated the water from a cave entrance below.
"Interesting."
Chen Chang'an smirked before flashing forward and slipping into the cave.
Inside, the surroundings were pitch-black. The tunnel was narrow and winding but still allowed him to walk upright.
With a flick of his finger, a golden sword energy shot forward, illuminating the tunnel clearly.
The passage wasn’t long—only about a hundred meters—and at its end stood a stone door.
To his surprise, the door opened with a simple push.
Beyond the door, darkness still reigned, but Chen Chang'an’s senses told him the space wasn’t large.
Most importantly… there was warmth.
Not the natural kind, but the warmth of human habitation.
Someone was here!
"I know you’re here. I mean no harm—just passing through and found this place peculiar, so I decided to investigate," Chen Chang'an said calmly.
The other party’s strength was formidable; Chen Chang'an couldn’t sense their aura or pinpoint their presence.
Yet he was certain they were here.
"Chen… Chen Chang'an?"
A tentative voice echoed from the darkness.
The words stunned Chen Chang'an.
Another damn acquaintance?
What was going on? Were all his old friends gathering in Langya for a reunion?
"You know me?" Chen Chang'an asked, puzzled.
After receiving confirmation, the oil lamps in the chamber suddenly ignited, bathing the stone room in light.
The furnishings were sparse—a stone bed, a stone table, and a stone chair.
As Chen Chang'an surveyed the room, a figure emerged from behind a stone wall.
Recognizing the man, Chen Chang'an froze momentarily before recalling his name.
"Lie Zhankuang? How is it you?"
"You’re still alive?"
The revelation genuinely shocked Chen Chang'an. After all, Lie Zhankuang was someone he’d known seven or eight thousand years ago.
Having heard nothing of him in all that time, Chen Chang'an had assumed the man was long dead. Yet here he was, hiding at the bottom of the Heavenly Pool? What kind of hobby was that?
Lie Zhankuang sat on the stone bed and gestured for Chen Chang'an to take the chair.
"I never expected to see you alive after all these years, let alone meet you here."
"Fate plays cruel tricks."
"To be honest, I haven’t seen a familiar face in over six thousand years."
"It’s suffocating. Damn suffocating," Lie Zhankuang grumbled.
Six thousand years living here?
Seriously?
"Did you offend someone?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
Back in the day, Lie Zhankuang had been a prodigious genius, even more talented than Xuan Wudao and notoriously arrogant.
He’d been the type to pick fights with anyone who so much as glanced at him wrong.
That he’d ended up like this didn’t surprise Chen Chang'an—the man had always been a troublemaker.
"Yeah, I pissed off a Great Emperor. Had no choice but to hide. I haven’t dared leave this place since."
"Luckily, it’s secluded enough that no one else can get in."
"Wait… how did you get in here?"
Lie Zhankuang suddenly realized the oddity of Chen Chang'an’s presence.
"Walked right in. The barrier doesn’t stop me."
"Though I must say, you’ve grown stronger. That barrier even kept Da Huang out," Chen Chang'an remarked with a chuckle.
"Da Huang’s here too? Of course, you two are inseparable."
"After all these years, that dog’s still alive? What breed is it anyway?"
"How the hell is it so freakishly long-lived?" Lie Zhankuang asked, baffled.
"The Dog King."
"Dog King? At this point, it’s practically the Dog Emperor."
"Enough about him. Tell me—which Great Emperor did you cross? There aren’t many in the Tai Xuan Realm," Chen Chang'an pressed.
"Who else? That old bastard Long Wuqi."
"All I said was, ‘This bastard’s ugly as sin,’ and he sent ten Undying Realm experts after me."
"Bro, I was only at the Sovereign Realm back then. Was it necessary to send ten Undying Realm killers?"
"My old man made it worse—he disowned me on the spot to avoid dragging the family down."
"Ah, such touching father-son affection," Lie Zhankuang sighed bitterly.
Long Wuqi?
The founder of the Dragon Emperor Palace and one of the few Great Emperors in the Tai Xuan Realm.
The Dragon Emperor Palace was a formidable force, and Chen Chang'an knew a thing or two about Long Wuqi—mostly from Mu Yunyao.
Long Wuqi and Mu Yunyao were peers, both at the peak of the Great Emperor Realm.
Lie Zhankuang had it coming. Long Wuqi’s biggest taboo was being called ugly, and he’d gone out of his way to provoke the man. No wonder he’d been marked for death.
"Did you set up the barrier around the Heavenly Pool too?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"No way. I’m not that capable."
"Even though I’ve reached the Undying Realm now, I couldn’t create a barrier like that."
"It was already here when I arrived. That’s why I chose this spot," Lie Zhankuang admitted with a wry smile.
It predated him?
"Then how did you get in? Da Huang couldn’t even enter," Chen Chang'an pressed.
Lie Zhankuang shrugged. "Pure luck, I guess. The Heavenly Pool atop Cloud Snow Ridge has existed for ages, and so has this barrier."
"But the barrier has a flaw—it briefly weakens at regular intervals."
"I stumbled upon that quirk and used it to slip inside."
"Waited a year for the pool’s barrier to weaken, then another year for the cave’s barrier."
"Such a hassle, so I rarely leave."
Now Chen Chang'an understood—the barrier had a loophole.
But what about the villagers and the Snow Demon outside?
"Are the villagers and the Snow Demon connected to you?"
"Are they worshipping you?"
"Well… yes and no. It’s complicated."
"Then give me the short version."
"Fine."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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)
