The atmosphere in the room was heavy with silence.
Ye Qun began observing his surroundings.
The space was eerily quiet, broken only by the ragged breaths of those around him.
The darkness was suffocating, thick like ink, pressing in on them from all sides. Vision was reduced to almost nothing—even when Ye Qun strained his eyes, he could barely make out the faint outlines of the people beside him.
The ground beneath their feet was icy, seeping with dampness.
Every step they took squelched against the wet floor, the sound of moisture squeezing out from under their shoes echoing softly.
Occasionally, a faint glimmer of light would flicker in the darkness, only to be swallowed almost instantly by the endless black.
The walls seemed both close and impossibly distant. When Ye Qun reached out, his fingers brushed against nothing but cold, clammy mist.
The mist felt alive, slithering up his arm like a living thing, sending a shiver down his spine.
The howling wind in his ears didn’t sound natural—it was more like the wails of tormented spirits, their cries shifting between distant and near, unsettling everyone’s already frayed nerves.
This place is… unnatural.
Ye Qun’s heart sank. He silently asked in his mind, "Master, where are we?"
After a moment of silence, a voice responded:
[Little Ye… it seems we’ve entered a hidden passage…]
[This is still the ruins of the Taigu Xuan Sect…]
A hidden passage?
Ye Qun withdrew his hand discreetly, his brow furrowed as he turned to the others and spoke in a low voice, "Everyone, this place is sinister. We can’t even tell which way is which. If we don’t work together, escaping will be impossible."
As he spoke, he pulled out a small, faintly glowing stone from his robes.
It was a trinket he usually carried for emergencies, but now, it was their only source of light.
The dim glow slowly brightened, barely illuminating their immediate surroundings, but it was enough to ease some of the tension.
Ye Qun clasped his hands together and introduced himself, "My name is Ye Qun. I came here seeking opportunities, but now we’re stuck in this mess."
His gaze swept over the group before lingering on Chu Yu. For some reason, the way she looked at him felt… deliberate.
Chu Yu snapped out of her thoughts and replied coolly, "Chu Yu. From the Taichu Holy Land."
She took a subtle step closer to Su Bailian, who seemed to notice and shrank further into the corner.
What is this wretch doing, getting so close to me?
Don’t tell me… she’s planning to make a move on me here?!
Su Bailian gulped, then put on a pitiful expression as she glanced at the others. "I-I’m Xiao Lian…"
"Also from the Taichu Holy Land."
Chu Yu’s eye twitched.
Didn’t she just say her name was Su Bailian?
Taichu Holy Land?!
The three Qingyan Sect disciples exchanged shocked looks—they hadn’t expected members of the Taichu Holy Land to be here.
Perfect.
Now we might actually have a chance to survive.
They quickly introduced themselves. The eldest was Lin Yue, and the other two were his juniors, Song Hao and Chen Feng.
Lin Yue sighed. "Our Qingyan Sect is quite far from here. We came hoping for a windfall, but now we’re trapped, and even our spiritual energy is unusable."
The others tried channeling their own spiritual energy, but no matter what method they used—whether circulating it through their meridians or attempting the simplest spells—it was like throwing a stone into the sea. Nothing responded.
Chu Yu attempted to summon her spiritual energy, but it was futile. Her expression darkened as she explained, drawing from her past life’s knowledge, "This place must have a restriction seal."
Lin Yue blinked. "A restriction seal?"
"Exactly." Chu Yu nodded seriously. "Some ruins suppress cultivation, while others seal spiritual energy. I think we’ve stumbled into a Demon-Sealing Restriction."
Demon-Sealing Restriction?!
The three Qingyan Sect disciples swallowed hard.
Without their spiritual energy, they were little more than slightly stronger ordinary people.
It was only then that they realized one person still hadn’t spoken.
All eyes turned to the lone masked figure.
Ye Qun cupped his hands and asked, "Brother, you are…?"
One second. Two. Three.
The masked man remained silent.
Chu Yu frowned.
This person’s aura is strange…
Tch. The restriction makes it impossible to sense his true strength.
Ye Qun was naturally annoyed, but he let it go.
As long as they were still within the ruins of the Taigu Xuan Sect, it didn’t matter.
After all…
His master would guide him.
As for the others…
Ye Qun weighed his options.
If I lead them out, I’ll earn the favor of both the Taichu Holy Land and the Qingyan Sect.
This is a win-win.
With that in mind, he proposed, "Time is of the essence. While my glowstone still works, we should move quickly and find an exit."
Chu Yu nodded. "Staying here won’t help. I agree."
Seeing her approval, the others had no objections.
Ye Qun turned to the masked man. "And you?"
The masked man said nothing—but he took a step forward.
Silent consent.
With that…
Ye Qun took a deep breath and declared, "Let's move out!"
...
...
Inside the Hall of Inheritance.
"Boring, boring, so boring!"
After the initial novelty wore off.
Su Muwan had lost interest.
She sprawled across a floating stone table, shouting at Qin Luo, who was watching the projected scenes, "Luo Luo Luo Luo Luo!!!"
"I wanna go home and play games!"
"I wanna watch TV!"
"I wanna eat snacks!"
"I don’t wanna stay here anymore, aaaaaah!"
Qin Luo rubbed his temples helplessly.
He glanced at the scattered potato chip bags on the floor.
Who knew her patience would run out so quickly...
No choice now.
With the snack stash depleted, the only way to appease the young mistress was...
This.
With a thought, he flicked his wrist, summoning a faintly glowing screen that floated smoothly in front of Su Muwan.
On the screen were the martial artists trapped in various corners of the ruins, cautiously exploring their surroundings with tense vigilance.
"Young Mistress, see the controller?"
Qin Luo pointed to a protruding, gamepad-like device at the bottom of the screen, grinning. "Think of it as a fighting game."
With a tap of his finger, the image of a shadowy creature appeared in one corner.
The creature exuded a dark aura, its crimson eyes gleaming, its agile form lurking in the shadows, awaiting commands.
Su Muwan blinked, curiosity instantly piqued. She grabbed the controller, flipping onto her knees. "What do I do with this?"
Qin Luo chuckled. "You can control this shadow creature, Young Mistress. Play however you like."
"First-person or third-person view, your call."
"Oh, and..."
He snapped his fingers.
In an instant, health bars and cultivation levels appeared above each martial artist on the screen.
With that done, Qin Luo smiled. "Go wild, Young Mistress."
!!!
"Wooow!!"
Su Muwan’s eyes sparkled, her lips curling into a grin as she sprang to her feet.
She turned to Qin Luo, who was watching her with amusement.
No way!
You can play it like this?!
Even in my past life, I wasn’t this creative?!
"Hehe..."
With that, Su Muwan picked a "lucky" target—though "lucky" was...
Well.
"Let’s go with you guys!"
She zeroed in on Su Bailian’s team and clicked into battle mode.
Little Bailian~ Big sis is coming to play with you~
Qin Luo watched Su Muwan’s excitement with a faint smile.
So she chose Ye Qun’s team, huh.
Typical of the Young Mistress—never forgetting their main objective was to target the T0s.
But...
This was unexpected.
His gaze lingered on Su Bailian’s team with intrigue.
Heh...
Three T0s gathered in one place...
He glanced at Su Muwan, now fully immersed in her game.
So it’s... three T0s versus Su Muwan, huh?
In that case,
He’d have to speed things up on his end.
With that thought,
Qin Luo sent a command to someone.
[Begin the operation.]
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
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."
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.
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?"
