Half an hour later.
【YOUDIE】
"Ah....."
"Ah!!!!"
Su Muwan stood up in shock, shaking the screen as she shouted, "What kind of joke is this?!"
"I can still fight!! I haven't lost yet!!"
"Useless Shadow!! Get up right now!!"
"N-no... I can't..."
Su Muwan turned to Qin Luo, clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth. "I'm flying over there right now for round two—Wah!"
Before she could finish, Qin Luo pressed a hand on her head and chuckled helplessly. "Don’t do that, young miss."
"The fact that you managed to hold your own against three T0 opponents with just one Shadow creature is already insane."
Su Muwan, now subdued by Qin Luo’s hand, pouted and grumbled, "B-but I still didn’t win! My skills aren’t the problem—it’s the character!"
Qin Luo smiled faintly at her stubbornness. "I’ll admit that much."
"After all, my power level is what it is, so naturally, the Shadow’s strength has its limits."
"There’ll be plenty of chances for you to fight personally later."
Hearing this, Su Muwan quieted down as she saw Qin Luo patiently explaining.
Wait...
He... He only gave me this gaming device to cheer me up.
And yet, here I am, acting so spoiled...
Ugh, Su Muwan, you’re the worst...
With that thought, she bit her lip guiltily and tugged at Qin Luo’s sleeve. "I’m sorry, Luo... I insulted the Shadow creature you made..."
"And got him killed."
Qin Luo blinked, looking amused. "Oh, no worries. Shadow creatures are immortal."
"As long as I’m alive, they won’t die."
Su Muwan: ?
Hey! Give me back my emotional moment!
"Then..."
Su Muwan instantly snapped out of her gloom and turned to Qin Luo with sparkling eyes. "Qin Luo, Qin Luo!"
"Do you have any other Shadow creatures that are easy to control like this?"
Qin Luo snapped his fingers with a grin. "Of course, young miss."
"There are exactly eighty-one more where that came from."
As he spoke, the screen in front of Su Muwan flickered.
In an instant, the display changed to a character selection screen, where rows of newly crafted, ferocious-looking Shadow creatures appeared.
"Wah!!"
Qin Luo watched Su Muwan’s delighted expression with satisfaction.
A young miss who loves real-life combat games—utterly adorable.
...
...
A short while later.
Unlike Su Muwan’s exhilaration, the factions that had entered the ruins were suffering immensely.
First, an inexplicable black fog separated them, followed by waves of Shadow creatures of varying strength attacking them.
Even when they finally found an opportunity and defeated a guardian of inheritance...
Upon opening the jade slip, they were met with:
【Congratulations. The experience from this battle is the greatest reward.】
Bullsht!!!
Damn ancients, I&%&￥￥%@
In a muddy bog, several members of the loose cultivator alliance were trapped, unable to escape.
The bog reeked of decay, its dark-brown sludge bubbling and churning like a pot of thick, boiling gruel.
Zhao Feng of the Mystic Wind Sect was already waist-deep in the muck. He struggled desperately, using his longsword as a support to push himself up.
But every effort only sank him deeper. The sludge soon reached his chest, its revolting stench flooding his nostrils.
"Damn it, what kind of cursed bog is this?!"
Veins bulged on his forehead as sweat and mud dripped down his face.
A younger female disciple was in even worse shape—her weaker cultivation meant the sludge had nearly swallowed her whole, leaving only her head exposed. Panic filled her eyes as she flailed. "Brother Zhao! Elder Liu! Help me!"
Her frantic splashes sprayed mud onto the others.
Elder Liu remained composed, though his expression was grim.
Suppressing the urge to gag, he narrowed his eyes and scanned their surroundings for a way out. "Stop struggling—the more you move, the faster you sink! This might look like a natural trap, but it’s likely man-made. Stay calm and look for clues."
As he spoke, he cautiously released a faint pulse of spiritual energy to probe the area—only to sink a few millimeters deeper.
Wait...
Elder Liu relaxed his body and withdrew his energy.
He could move again?!
His eyes lit up as he shouted, "Everyone, stop using spiritual energy!!"
The others quickly obeyed.
Once they felt the sinking halt, they scrambled out of the deadly bog with all their might.
Moments later...
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"This is torture... Elder Liu, let’s just leave."
"Whatever reward’s here isn’t worth it!"
Drenched in foul-smelling sludge, they panted like drowned rats.
Just as Elder Liu was about to speak—
"Ah—!!"
"There’s a dead person!!!"
The young female disciple’s bloodcurdling scream shattered the brief respite.
Everyone whipped around to see a shriveled human skin slumped against a boulder nearby.
The skin clung tightly to the skeletal frame, its hollow eye sockets like bottomless pits staring straight at them.
Then—
Splash!!
The skin dissolved into a pool of black blood on the ground.
The horrifying sight sent chills down everyone’s spines.
"W-what the hell is this?!"
Zhao Feng’s teeth chattered—even he had never seen anything like this.
But Elder Liu, after a moment of recollection—
Suddenly!
His pupils shrank, his mouth falling open in shock. "Th-this... This is the work of a Devouring Spirit Demonic Cultivator!!"
His voice trembled as he recognized the gruesome signature.
A Devouring Spirit Demonic Cultivator?!
Zhao Feng and the others paled.
They remembered now.
The alliance had previously distributed information on the signs of a Devouring Spirit Demonic Cultivator’s attacks.
The most distinctive? This very pool of black blood!
But... why did it suddenly turn to blood?
Unless—?!
Elder Liu leaped to his feet, whirling toward the group. "We’re in danger!!"
"Run!!!"
"The Devouring Spirit Demonic Cultivator is right—"
Squelch!
His voice cut off abruptly.
The sound of something sharp piercing flesh echoed sickeningly.
Elder Liu’s eyes widened as he looked down.
A skeletal, iron-hard hand had burst through his chest, blood gushing down the arm and merging with the black pool below.
He choked on the metallic taste flooding his throat, still trying to force out his warning.
But then—
"Rip—!!"
With a brutal yank, the hand withdrew.
Elder Liu collapsed forward, blood erupting from the gaping wound in his back like a crimson fountain.
His body convulsed a few times before falling still.
Zhao Feng and the others witnessed this scene, their souls nearly fleeing their bodies in terror. Their feet seemed nailed to the ground, their minds blank, frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
They stared dumbly at the one who had struck.
Then—
The figure slowly pulled back his hood, revealing...
A face marred by frostbite.
Ling Yu, his features concealed by shadows, gazed coldly at the group and spoke indifferently, "Though you're nothing but trash."
"You'll do well enough to replenish my blood essence."
"Remember this."
"The one who kills you is called..."
"Ye Qun."
Ye... Ye Qun?!
Before Zhao Feng could even process who this person was, he screamed in terror, "RUN!!!"
......
......
Inside the Heritage Hall.
Qin Luo watched the scene unfold in the projection, a faint smile on his lips.
Good. The hunt... has begun.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
iving with nine beautiful women. [Ding! Welcome back to the Joyous Sect, Host…] Lin Yu: ??? I’m clearly in a shared rental, but you’re saying I’m in the Joyous Sect? Watering plants is now [Tending to Spiritual Flora]? Cooking becomes [Researching Elixirs]? Making the bed turns into [Setting Up Formations]? A gentle and innocent auntie, twin classmates, a mysterious hacker girl on leave, a severely socially anxious artist, an elementary school Chinese teacher, a community hospital nurse, a pet shop owner, an antique clock restorer… This system… is kinda interesting.
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
