At the entrance of the secret realm.
With Zhao Wendao at the center of the formation, dozens of elders channeled their spiritual energy frantically into the barriers surrounding the secret realm.
After all, this was a Heavenly Dao secret realm—breaking its barriers was no easy feat.
By now, half of the barriers had already been shattered.
Once the barriers were fully dismantled, they could enter the realm to rescue the surviving disciples!
The death hexagram divined by Chi Shengtian had everyone’s hearts clenched in fear.
Especially the masters of the four disciples, who poured their life’s energy into the effort without restraint.
The elite disciples who had accompanied the elders stood by anxiously, unable to assist directly due to the impurity of their spiritual energy—they could only guard the elders as they worked.
Just then, Chi Shengtian’s body suddenly stiffened. Li Moran, stationed at the outermost edge of the formation, instantly opened her eyes and looked over with anticipation.
The other elders quickly inquired.
"Elder Chi, what’s wrong?"
"Did you divine something else?"
"Could they have…?"
Judging by Chi Shengtian’s expression, they could already guess it wasn’t good news. Their brows furrowed in unison.
Li Moran and Zhong Yi exchanged glances, their faces turning cold simultaneously.
Chi Shengtian shook his head mournfully, revealing another "death" hexagram in his palm.
"Another one… has perished."
……
……
Inside the illusion.
"BANG!!"
A deafening gunshot rang out.
Blood sprayed from Xu Hao’s temple as he was the first to be eliminated.
"Damn it!!! How did Brother Lu see through me again?!"
Xu Hao’s corpse let out a resentful roar.
"Brother Xu, you’re just too inexperienced with illusions… too honest."
Lu Ze chuckled.
Xu Hao was, after all, an honest man—far too green when it came to deception.
He was practically transparent, making it easy for Lu Ze to take him down.
"So this is what illusions are really like…"
Xu Hao nodded thoughtfully, his rigid perception of illusions now shattered.
"Alright then, I’ll make sure to train in illusions more often from now on!"
"By the way, Brother Xu, do you ever run short on spirit stones?"
Lu Ze asked.
"Hah, my favorite pastimes are exploring secret realms and slaying demons… how could I ever lack spirit stones?"
Xu Hao declared proudly.
"Then let me recommend an illusion to you—you can start with my 'Three Kingdoms Kill,' a card-based game."
Lu Ze quickly suggested with a smile.
Xu Hao didn’t suspect a thing. "Sounds good!"
Nearby, Wang Tianjing and Chen Yiyun held their breaths, exchanging uneasy glances.
"It really is the Demon Lu…"
"No wonder he’s so good at lying…"
……
……
At the entrance of the secret realm.
"Stop… stop hitting us!!! Please, spare us!!!"
"We don’t know anything!!"
Two battered and bruised Nascent Soul demonic cultivators—one tall, one stout—pleaded desperately.
Zhong Yi and Mu Yawen stood coldly, their hands stained with blood.
Upon learning that two disciples had already perished inside the secret realm, their fury burned uncontrollably—they needed an outlet!
If not for the fact that these two demonic cultivators still held valuable intelligence, they would have slaughtered them without hesitation.
"It’s over!"
Suddenly, among the elders, Chi Shengtian let out a horrified gasp.
Tears welled in his aged eyes.
The divination concerning the fate of the disciples in the secret realm had yielded an ominous result—
Death by a shot to the head!
"You beasts, DIE!!"
Zhong Yi, known for his gentle demeanor, now had bloodshot eyes, his rage erupting like a volcano as his spiritual energy surged skyward.
Mu Yawen’s lips trembled, his muscles swelling dozens of times in size. Intricate golden runes spread across his fists and forearms, making him resemble a war god descended from the heavens.
Yet before either could strike—
The tall demonic cultivator’s head was already obliterated by Li Moran’s sword.
Her strike was so fast that even Zhong Yi could barely follow it.
So fast that the tall demonic cultivator’s body seemed unaware its head was gone.
Not a single drop of blood sprayed from the severed neck—only a mist of crimson where the skull had shattered.
Li Moran’s icy gaze shifted to the remaining demonic cultivator.
"N-no, don’t kill me… I have valuable intelligence! If you kill me, you’ll—"
The stout demonic cultivator shook his head frantically, terror etched on his face.
"If I punch you with my full strength, your head will feel like it’s exploding… but you won’t die. Do you believe me?"
Zhong Yi spoke slowly.
His golden Sage’s Spirit Root radiated blinding light.
With a darkened expression, Zhong Yi drove his fist toward the stout demonic cultivator’s head at terrifying speed, his strike carrying overwhelming force—
"BANG!"
A crossbow bolt pierced Chen Yiyun’s skull, sending her collapsing to the ground.
"AAAH!! I swear, in my next life, I’m never sitting between you two again!!!"
Chen Yiyun wanted to cry but had no tears left.
This was the worst gaming experience imaginable.
Her upper seat, Lu Ze, was a seasoned liar—utterly unpredictable.
Every time she questioned him, she ate a bolt.
Her lower seat, Wang Tianjing, was no saint either—out of the four times she bluffed, he caught her twice.
In the end, Chen Yiyun met her demise on her fourth trigger pull.
"I’m really looking forward to seeing which of these two master liars comes out on top!"
Xu Hao remarked with great interest.
By now, they had completely forgotten that they had entered this illusion to compete for the secret realm’s treasure.
"Brother Lu, I finally get to face you head-on."
Wang Tianjing rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
Lu Ze responded with his usual calm smile. "I’m ready whenever."
At this point, Wang Tianjing had already pulled the trigger once—caught bluffing by Xu Hao’s intuition.
Lu Ze, however, hadn’t pulled the trigger even once.
His undefeated streak remained unbroken.
In a bluffing game like this, courage and luck played significant roles.
But when skill reached a certain level, a master facing a novice was a one-sided slaughter—barring the slim chance of dying on the first shot.
Lu Ze had no intention of gambling on that small probability, no matter how unlikely.
Against newcomers like Xu Hao and Chen Yiyun, Lu Ze still had moments of uncertainty.
But against a logical opponent like Wang Tianjing, Lu Ze felt only one thing—
Victory was assured.
The secret realm’s treasure and the mission rewards—he would claim them all.
[This round’s target card: Human.]
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!
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."
] [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!"
