The Heavenly Dao Cup concluded with a perfect finale.
As expected, Lu Ze claimed the title of "Chosen One."
In his previous life, this would have been equivalent to an FMVP.
The grand cultivation technique awarded to the champion team was meant to be shared among all members.
Yet, Lu Ze unexpectedly received an additional personal reward.
According to the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao, it was an extra boon bestowed upon the "Chosen One."
[Task Completed!]
[Host has successfully made a name for themselves and obtained an ancient treasure!]
[Reward Acquired: Heavenly Derivation Jade (can repair incomplete techniques)]
"Is this thing really a treasure capable of mending broken techniques?"
Lu Ze examined the warm, unassuming jade of chaotic hues resting in his palm with curiosity.
This was the reward from the system, though it could only be used once.
Coincidentally, it perfectly complemented the incomplete technique gifted by the Heavenly Dao remnant spirit.
The incomplete technique bestowed by the remnant spirit was called [Formless Boundary Derivation].
It was said that, when mastered to its peak, it could transform illusion into reality and reality into illusion.
This aligned remarkably well with Lu Ze's own path of illusionary cultivation.
"Insignificant ant, do you truly believe this Heavenly Dao would specially select something for you? You merely got lucky and drew something suitable by chance."
In response to Lu Ze's inquiry, the Heavenly Dao remnant spirit answered thus.
......
......
Lu Ze added the final stroke to the scroll.
Then, with a long exhale, he withdrew from the illusionary realm.
"Now, I can finally take a break for a while."
Lu Ze stretched his body.
The championship skins for the Lingxiao Sect were complete.
With an ink-wash aesthetic as the foundation, combined with the distinct features of the various immortal peaks corresponding to the disciples, the designs carried a unique charm.
Zhong Yi, the team's coach, was given a skin resembling an "Infinite Sword Saint," fulfilling his long-held dream.
With the championship skins finished and various game modes fully developed, the upcoming releases of [Infinite Firepower] and [Arena of Souls] were bound to stir a new wave of excitement.
The exhilarating combat pace and unpredictable matchups offered a fresh experience compared to the conventional canyon gameplay.
......
Time passed swiftly.
With the Heavenly Dao's rewards providing momentum, the esports industry flourished in the cultivation world.
Though here, it might be more fitting to call it "Illusionary Competition."
The player base for [Immortal-Demon Conflict] grew steadily.
The accumulation of Demon Path Points became faster and more abundant.
"At this rate, I’ll probably reach the Nascent Soul stage in about two months..."
Lu Ze nodded to himself as he observed the Demon Path Points in the system’s backend.
This speed of advancement was terrifying.
To put it bluntly, with just [Immortal-Demon Conflict] alone, Lu Ze could laze around in the sect, doing nothing, and still continue breaking through...
Of course, Lu Ze was well aware that relying solely on one game would inevitably lead to player attrition over time.
The cultivation world’s player base couldn’t compare to his previous life.
Back then, there were billions of potential players—an endless pool of fresh blood.
But the cultivation world was different.
Without consistently releasing new content and games, the player count would eventually decline.
Even so, Lu Ze still wanted to indulge in a bit of laziness.
"Anyway, [Immortal-Demon Conflict] should keep me occupied for half a year. There’s nothing else urgent..."
Before he could finish, the familiar voice of the system chimed in once more.
[The Demon Path has discovered an extreme Yin evil artifact in the northern secret realm of Xianyuan Continent. Evil entities have been strengthened! As the Demon Path’s Holy Son, the host must seize this opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the righteous factions!]
[Task: Utilize the power of evil entities to corrupt cultivators’ minds and shatter their psychological defenses.]
[Objective: Accumulate Fear Points within 30 days (Current: 0/).]
[Reward: Random high-tier technique x1.]
"..."
Reading the task details, Lu Ze’s lips twitched slightly.
Such occurrences happening back-to-back made him wonder if he’d been possessed by Senior Brother Zhong’s luck.
"Dammit, it’s the Great Dao’s Truth-Speaking Art!"
Lu Ze smacked his forehead, suddenly recalling the cultivation technique he’d obtained from Zhong Yi.
No wonder he’d been jinxing himself so often lately!
"Screw this, I’m never practicing it again!"
Lu Ze grumbled angrily.
It seemed the system wouldn’t let him slack off.
So, he had no choice but to return to being a workaholic.
"Evil entity power... Fear Points..."
Lu Ze stroked his chin, deep in thought.
This was practically nudging him toward making a horror game!
Horror games were plentiful in his previous life.
The problem was, most of the famous ones were modern or Western-themed.
Chinese-style horror games did exist, but they were few and far between—mostly puzzle-driven narrative experiences.
While such games could evoke fear, their impact was limited in both intensity and duration.
"What I need is something short, intense, and terrifying enough to leave a lasting impression..."
Lu Ze closed his eyes, murmuring to himself.
Almost instantly, a name flashed through his mind:
Phasmophobia.
The game’s mechanics revolved around investigating clues and deducing the type of ghost.
A single match lasted only about ten minutes—perfect for his current needs.
The only adjustment required was localizing it for the cultivation world.
That part was easy.
After all,
Chinese ghosts, in terms of variety and eeriness, far surpassed their Western counterparts.
Cultivators weren’t afraid of ghosts?
That was only because their cultivation base made them impervious.
But once trapped in an illusionary realm, stripped of their spiritual power, facing ghosts with nothing but their mortal bodies—well, fear would be a different story.
Even if cultivators were desensitized to evil entities after encountering so many...
That still wouldn’t be an issue.
Back when developing Demon Path Slayer, Lu Ze had obtained a formation from the system:
the Fear-Soul Binding Formation.
Using this formation as the foundation of the illusionary realm, even the most hardened cultivators—bereft of their spiritual energy—would find it impossible not to feel terror.
With this in mind, Lu Ze had made his decision.
He would create a localized version of Phasmophobia.
"Using cyber-spirits as the ghosts? That doesn’t feel right..."
Now that the goal was set, Lu Ze began pondering how to maximize the fear factor for cultivators.
"Ghosts should be played by actual ghosts!"
Having reached this conclusion, Lu Ze immediately sought out his master, Nangong Yuan.
"What? You want to go ghost hunting?"
Nangong Yuan was taken aback by Lu Ze’s request.
This lazy disciple of his had always dodged sect missions, preferring to lose himself in illusionary realms.
Why was he suddenly volunteering for a ghost-hunting task?
"Yes, exactly—the more sinister, the better!"
Lu Ze nodded vigorously.
"It’s good that you want to contribute to the sect... but isn’t a ghost-hunting mission too trivial for you?"
Nangong Yuan frowned in confusion.
In the mortal world, ghosts were indeed terrifying entities.
But to cultivators, they were nothing more than low-tier evil beings.
With sufficient spiritual energy, ghosts couldn’t even touch a cultivator, let alone corrupt their minds.
Thus, ghost-related missions were typically handled by Foundation Establishment cultivators at most.
Moreover, these missions often involved tedious investigations and were usually the last to be picked up.
Lu Ze was already at the late-stage Golden Core realm—and one of the most formidable in his tier.
Taking on such a mission—wouldn’t that be a waste of talent?
"How about I recommend something easier but with higher rewards? Maybe a Golden Core-level task or a Nascent Soul team mission where you can just tag along for the benefits?" Nangong Yuan suggested.
"No!" Lu Ze refused outright, shaking his head firmly.
"If you can’t sweep one room, how can you sweep the world? I’m willing to shed blood and sacrifice everything for the sect!"
"This…"
Nangong Yuan was stunned, even a little moved.
Since when had his lazy disciple become so devoted to the sect…?
"In that case, I’ll dig up the most sinister missions right away…"
After a moment’s thought, Nangong Yuan added,
"But stay away from any ghost-related tasks near the Xianyuan Continent lately."
"Rumors say the Yin energy there is stirring—even Nascent Soul cultivators have fallen victim…"
[Seeking ghost-related ideas (any Chinese-style horror suggestions welcome~)]
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
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.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
