He still remembered how that fellow disciple, Baizhu, had reacted when He Yi expressed his surprise at the time.
“Spiritual roots? What are those?”
To He Yi, this was utterly absurd!
A cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining had no idea what spiritual roots were.
After obtaining Baizhu’s permission, He Yi personally examined his spiritual roots, only to discover that he had none!
This fellow disciple, who had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining after entering the sect for only a few months, actually possessed no spiritual roots at all—not even mixed spiritual roots! Yet despite having no spiritual roots, his cultivation speed was astonishingly fast.
He Yi felt that his understanding of the world, built over more than twenty years, had once again been shattered by reality.
After standing there in a daze for a while, he finally came back to his senses, let out a long breath, and began eating the dinner in front of him.
Who would have thought that, by a twist of fate, he would end up joining such a deeply hidden sect in the mortal world?
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Are you there? It’s me.”
He Yi recognized the voice immediately. Who else could it be but Lin Xiao? He promptly released the restriction at the entrance and called out:
“Come in.”
The moment Lin Xiao entered, he saw the meal in front of He Yi, who had only just taken two bites.
“Oh, you’re eating. I came at just the right time.”
He Yi: “?”
While he was still wondering what Lin Xiao meant by “the right time,” Lin Xiao walked straight over to the table and sat down beside him. He then pulled out a food container identical to the one in front of He Yi and opened it. Inside was the exact same assortment of dishes.
After returning to the sect earlier, Lin Xiao had sent a voice transmission to Liu Yunan, who had delivered the meal to him via the food-delivery flying basket.
Lin Xiao took out a pair of chopsticks. When he noticed that He Yi was still sitting motionless, he called out:
“What are you waiting for? Eat.”
With that, he lowered his head and started digging in.
He Yi was left speechless.
This Sect Master Lin really did love to eat.
That said, the spirit food prepared by the sect’s spirit-food hall was indeed delicious. He Yi obediently picked up his chopsticks and began eating alongside Lin Xiao.
Of course, eating did not interfere with conversation.
After all, cultivators would not choke or have food go down the wrong way.
“How have you decided, Sect Master?” He Yi asked.
Lin Xiao did not even look up. “Decided what?”
“Whether to activate the Binding-Ji Treasure Formation,” He Yi explained.
“What exactly is the situation?” Lin Xiao continued to bury his head in his food.
He Yi did not mind. He simply explained in detail:
“Recently, many Ji cultivators have been captured across the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms. Their forces have been greatly weakened, so they will likely lie low and bide their time for a while. There is no immediate rush.”
“You may not know this, but the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms are relatively close to the mortal world and have thin spiritual energy. In the cultivation world, they are considered a rather desolate region. In reality, the so-called Southern and Northern Spirit Realms are merely one enormous seventh region, apart from the other six realms. Because this area is far larger than the other six realms, the people living here gradually divided it according to direction, calling the two sections the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms.”
“The realm bordering the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms is called the Profound Extremity Realm. After an extensive search for Ji cultivators had been carried out in the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms for some time, traces of them began appearing there as well.”
At the mention of the Profound Extremity Realm, Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow.
A new map had appeared.
He had never heard of it before.
Senior Liao had said that he rarely visited the other realms and did not know much about them. In any case, they had little contact with the other realms, so there was no need to mention them. For that reason, he had never told Lin Xiao and the others much about those places.
Thus, although Lin Xiao knew that there were other realms beyond the Southern and Northern Spirit Realms, he truly knew nothing about what they were like.
Beside him, He Yi continued:
“The Profound Extremity Realm is home to a renowned auction. Held once every hundred years, it accepts only priceless treasures for bidding. In the ancient Chengyuan Sect, which lies next to the Profound Extremity Realm in the Red Mountain Realm, a Black Moon Ji Crystal is sealed away. To those Ji cultivators, that Black Moon Ji Crystal is an absolutely priceless treasure.”
“The Profound Extremity Realm has already decided to take the lead and persuade the Chengyuan Sect to put the Black Moon Ji Crystal up for auction, using it to lure the Ji cultivators out of hiding. When the time comes, we will need to deploy the Binding-Ji Treasure Formation near the auction in order to catch all the fish that take the bait.”
After listening, Lin Xiao understood.
He did not immediately agree or refuse. Instead, he asked:
“When will this auction be held?”
“Fifteen years from now,” He Yi replied.
Upon hearing that, Lin Xiao sighed inwardly.
As expected of the cultivation world—plans were made in units of years.
He lowered his eyes and fell into thought.
In other words, if he agreed to this matter, their sect still had fifteen years.
They would need to develop to the point where, even if the true state of their sect were exposed, they would no longer need to fear anyone harboring malicious intentions.
As for what level that meant, there was clearly no upper limit. The stronger they were, the better.
After thinking for a moment, he asked the system in his mind:
“Sys, how strong is our sect’s mountain-protecting formation? What is the strongest attack it can withstand?”
[Products made by the system are guaranteed to be excellent. The mountain-protecting formation formed in accordance with the sect established by the host is, in essence, the power of this world’s laws. As long as they are within the formation’s defensive range, they will be immune to all external attacks. Please rest assured, Host.]
Excellent.
Lin Xiao felt greatly reassured by the system’s answer.
With the mountain-protecting formation in place, even if they encountered a genuine crisis, they would have a solid shield backing them. Even if the outside world grew envious and a whole crowd came looking for trouble, they would still have protection.
The only problem was that Splendid Water Village at the foot of the mountain was not part of the sect’s territory, so it could not be covered by the sect’s mountain-protecting formation.
At the thought of this, Lin Xiao felt another headache coming on.
[Ding—the host’s sect has now begun to take shape. Though small, it possesses all the necessary departments and functions. Next comes the stage of rapid, all-around development. Congratulations, Host, on successfully unlocking Sect Development 2.0.]
[To launch the new version, the system will undergo a comprehensive update. The update will take twenty-four hours. During the update, all functions except the private storage will remain in their current operating state but cannot be used. Please wait patiently.]
[Update countdown: 3, 2, 1. Update commencing. Beep—]
The system’s sudden update notification left Lin Xiao completely dumbfounded.
Why had it suddenly decided to update out of nowhere?
He had been in the middle of thinking!
However, no matter how Lin Xiao called out to the system in his mind, it did not make a sound.
Forget it, forget it. This system was rather willful, and he was used to it by now.
It would only take a day anyway. He could wait and see what the system managed to add in version 2.0.
Thus, Lin Xiao said to He Yi:
“Let me think about it.”
He Yi: “...”
He was putting it off again.
Knowing that Lin Xiao would not agree so easily, He Yi silently sighed.
Still, he was not discouraged. He would simply continue doing his best.
The plan had originally been intended to proceed even without Lin Xiao’s agreement. It was just that without the assistance of the Binding-Ji Treasure Formation, they would probably be unable to catch them all in one sweep.
That had always been accounted for in the plan.
It was only because He Yi had suddenly realized that Lin Xiao might possess the ability to cultivate primordial energy that he wanted to make another attempt to win him over.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
