"Left swing, right swing..."
"ARGH!!!"
For the eighth time, Shen Yan slipped off the water bucket, his frustration boiling over.
The path up was clear, but this damned bucket was nearly impossible to hook.
The main issue was that the bucket hung from a rope.
If his grappling position was slightly off or the force of his hammer swing wasn't just right, the bucket would sway unpredictably.
Shen Yan took a deep breath. "Steady... stay calm..."
He aimed his hammer at the ground and thrust it down sharply.
With practiced ease, he swung his arm and successfully latched onto the bucket.
Swing.
Another swing...
This time, everything went smoothly.
As the platform drew closer, hope swelled in Shen Yan's chest.
Beyond this, the summit was within reach.
Victory was right there!
"Now!"
Shen Yan roared, seizing the perfect moment.
This was his best chance to swing up!
Just as he prepared to launch himself with the hammer—
The hammer suddenly shrank into a needle.
"???"
Shen Yan plummeted uncontrollably.
The snowy ground was slippery, and each fall sent him sliding a few steps.
This time, the angle was so awkward that he tumbled twice.
As he teetered on the brink of rolling down the rocky slope, cold sweat drenched him. Instinctively, he swung the hammer again.
His plan was simple—
Plant the hammer into the ground to halt his slide.
But the moment the hammer struck—
The head suddenly expanded!
Bigger than before!
And, of all things, it landed right on the outstretched hand of a pleading woman.
"Save me, Daoist!"
The woman cackled madly as she gripped the hammerhead.
By the time Shen Yan realized what was happening, it was too late.
This trap was just like that infuriating "snake" from the game in his past life.
Once triggered, there was only one outcome—
The wooden beam seemed to suck him in, dragging him down relentlessly.
"No... no no no!"
Shen Yan gasped, shaking his head desperately.
He yanked back with all his might, but it was futile!
Following the twisted wooden path, Shen Yan hurtled downward at breakneck speed.
If he'd just fallen down the mountain, he'd have respawned at the ancient pagoda.
But this wooden path was a separate nightmare!
"Stop! STOP!!!"
Shen Yan screamed in despair.
The snowy peaks, the alchemy furnace, the ancient pagoda, Tianxuan Mountain, the slide, the Farewell Pine, the Homesick Stone...
One after another, familiar landmarks flashed before his eyes like a macabre slideshow.
"Ah..."
Shen Yan felt like he couldn't breathe.
"GAIA—!!!"
A raw, guttural scream tore from his throat.
Finally, the fall ended.
He was back at the beginning.
Not just the valley below the Homesick Stone.
But the very start—before he'd even crossed the withered tree.
Crack.
In the haze, Shen Yan heard something shatter with a crisp sound.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
He grabbed the hammer and, without hesitation, hurled himself into the pond behind him.
[Demonic Path Value +1.5]
This was the only way to die in the game.
The screen flashed, and Shen Yan respawned.
"WHY!?"
He howled at the sky before leaping into the pond again.
"KILL ME!! JUST KILL ME!!!"
[Demonic Path Value +1.5]
Shen Yan could no longer contain his despair.
A violent, feral rage surged through him.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion.
With a burst of spiritual energy, Shen Yan shattered the illusion's suppression, severing his consciousness from the realm.
"What the—!?"
Nangong Yuan rushed over, stunned by the scene.
Behind Shen Yan loomed two ghastly shadows—one black, one red.
The black figure wielded a hammer; the red one, a sword.
Both phantoms lunged at Shen Yan!
"Demonic Heart!!?"
Nangong Yuan paled, his hands flying into formation.
Eighteen colossal talismans erupted, sealing the entire room...
......
With Nangong Yuan holding the line, Shen Yan's inner demons were swiftly subdued.
Soon, Shen Yan's master, Chi Shengtian, arrived to retrieve him.
Before leaving, he gave Nangong Yuan and Lu Ze a grave look.
"Elder Nangong, Young Lu..."
Chi Shengtian's voice was heavy.
"Until my foolish disciple awakens, I must ask you both to remain at Tianxuan Sect."
"Understood," Nangong Yuan sighed, then glared at Lu Ze.
"Today, I'll beat this troublemaker until he spawns a demon too!"
With that, his spiritual energy flared.
Lu Ze promptly clasped his hands in mock surrender. "Spare me, Master! I repent!"
He channeled energy into the "Beg for Mercy" jade pendant Nangong Yuan had just gifted him.
[HA HA] lit up in bold letters before him.
Lu Ze: "..."
Nangong Yuan: "..."
Nangong Yuan's fists clenched tighter...
"Rest assured, gentlemen," Chi Shengtian interjected. "I’m not detaining you to assign blame."
He hesitated, his gaze lingering on Lu Ze.
"Young Lu’s... disruption of Shen Yan’s Dao Heart today may align with an old prophecy in our sect."
"Ah, never mind. We’ll know by tomorrow."
For the sake of sabotaging the righteous path, I had no choice but to create this game.
"Please, stay at Tianxuan Sect one more day!"
......
After Chi Shengtian left:
"Look at the mess you’ve made!" Nangong Yuan scowled.
The Tianxuan elders had invited Lu Ze to temper their Saint’s swordsmanship.
Instead, he’d shattered the man’s Dao Heart.
Was this a joke?
"Ahem, I didn’t expect it to go this far..." Lu Ze averted his eyes.
He hadn’t imagined things would escalate to demonic possession.
"Tch. Lucky I was here to clean up your mess!"
"Master, don’t overreact. Elder Chi still called me ‘Young Lu.’ Maybe it’s fine?"
"Oh, you’ll be fine," Nangong Yuan said flatly.
At least physically.
"A thousand years ago, I wouldn’t have been so sure."
"But now? With the Lingxiao Sect’s reputation—and me here—they won’t dare touch you."
Lu Ze nodded. That made sense.
Tianxuan Sect might be ancient, but its influence had waned in recent years.
"But Elder Chi seemed... cryptic. Did you catch his meaning?"
"Tianxuan’s lot love speaking in riddles. Don’t overthink it. Still, I’ll prepare some contingencies..."
......
Nangong Yuan retreated to his quarters.
Lu Ze guessed the old man was crafting emergency talismans or artifacts.
Then, the system chimed:
[Quest Complete!]
[You successfully destabilized the Righteous Path’s Saint, spawning his inner demon and hindering their progress!]
[System upgraded. New feature unlocked: "Tilt Engine."]
[When you provoke negative emotions in righteous cultivators, you will gain additional Demonic Path points.]
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
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."
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
