"Master, are we really going to let him... extort us like this?"
Watching the smug grin on Nine Nether Venerable's face as he strutted away, Lu Ze couldn't help but feel irritated.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? Can't tell the old fox is just trying to squeeze more money out of us?"
Nangong Yuan shot Lu Ze a glare.
Earlier, Nine Nether Venerable had put on a show, pretending to leave under the pretense that "Lu Ze's illusion realm wasn't worthy of testing him."
The Lingxiao Sect had paid a hefty sum to hire him, only for him to bail halfway.
Not only would the disciples be left without a teacher, but the sect's reputation would also take a hit if word got out.
Nangong Yuan had no choice but to swallow his pride and sweeten the deal.
"Is he really the only one in the world who can do this?"
Lu Ze was skeptical.
"You don't understand, you rebellious disciple... This ghost calamity is far more unusual than before."
Nangong Yuan shook his head.
"The ghost calamity in the northern part of Xianyuan Continent—the spirits can easily pierce through the spiritual defenses of cultivators of the same rank, directly affecting their minds..."
"At best, it causes trembling legs and overwhelming fear. At worst, it drives them mad, turning them into prey for the ghosts."
"Those above the Nascent Soul stage aren't at risk... since there aren't any ghosts that powerful. But for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples, we can't afford to be careless!"
At this point, Nangong Yuan sighed.
For elders like them, dealing with ghosts was a matter of brute force.
Psychological torment?
Just slap it away.
But such methods couldn't be taught to low-level disciples.
Nine Nether Venerable, however, was different.
He had started his path by hunting ghosts as a mortal, so he had genuine expertise in dealing with spirits.
The Lingxiao Sect had specifically hired him because of his ability to face ghosts fearlessly, even as a mortal.
At the very least, their disciples wouldn't be paralyzed by terror when encountering those special ghosts.
"So... we hired him to make the disciples unafraid of ghosts?"
Lu Ze mused.
Nangong Yuan nodded. "Exactly."
"Well then..."
A sly grin spread across Lu Ze's face.
"The illusion realm I made might be able to do the same."
He thought back to his past life.
The newbies who had once trembled at the thought of entering a haunted house had ended up throwing dance parties inside one.
"Really?"
Nangong Yuan was surprised.
He had full faith in Lu Ze's illusion realms, which were always full of devious tricks.
"Really."
Seeing Lu Ze's confirmation, Nangong Yuan gazed thoughtfully at the door.
"In that case... Nine Nether Venerable's payment terms might need some adjustments..."
......
......
Nine Nether Venerable began his lectures at the Lingxiao Sect.
With the ghost calamity spreading panic across Xianyuan, the disciples' enthusiasm for learning ghost-related techniques was unusually high.
As more and more cultivators flocked to his classes, Nine Nether Venerable grew smug.
'So much for a prestigious sect. Pathetic.'
He recalled the two payment options Nangong Yuan had recently presented him.
The first was the original lump sum they had agreed upon.
The second was a performance-based model—payment scaled according to the number of attending disciples and the curriculum completed.
Nine Nether Venerable hadn't hesitated to choose the latter.
At the rates Nangong Yuan offered, he could easily double his original earnings!
"Heh, if I just split the original course into smaller parts... I could even triple it!"
Nine Nether Venerable gleefully calculated.
The practical combat training he had prepared was now stashed away.
Instead, he only summoned a few weak, harmless ghosts for the students to observe.
The real malevolent spirits?
He was saving those for the final exam, to squeeze more money out of the Lingxiao Sect.
The second payment plan had an additional clause:
At the end of the course, he would administer a ghost-related examination.
If the pass rate fell below 50%, it would mean the students hadn't learned enough—and the Lingxiao Sect would have to pay the maximum fee!
Those terrifying ghosts were his trump card to ensure failure.
......
......
At the same time, Lu Ze's new illusion realm went live.
A massive pop-up ad appeared in the most popular game, Immortal-Demon War:
[New Illusion Realm: Ghost Fear Village Released!]
[A cursed hamlet, plagued by death. Ghosts and demons lurk in every shadow...]
"As a cultivator... are you afraid of ghosts?"
The brief description instantly sparked the cultivators' competitive spirit.
On the Lingxiao Sect forums, discussions about Ghost Fear Village erupted.
[A ghost-themed illusion realm? Lu the Trickster really stays on top of trends.]
[Hah! After three lessons with Master Nine Nether, Junior Lu's illusion won't even faze me.]
[Seriously? You're asking a Nascent Soul cultivator if they're scared of ghosts??]
[What if your spiritual power is sealed?]
[No way I'd be scared...]
[Even if you break my legs and throw me into a ghost den, you won't hear me say "scared" today!]
[Maybe it's just to help us get used to ghosts? Master Nine Nether's course has an exam, right?]
[I have a feeling Lu the Trickster isn't that benevolent...]
......
......
Thunder Peak, Qingyun Pavilion.
As a die-hard fan of illusion realm games, Zhong Yi gathered his squad the moment Lu Ze's new release dropped.
A year ago, Qingyun Pavilion had been filled with cultivation manuals, scriptures, talismans, and magical artifacts...
Now?
The moment you stepped inside, you were greeted by a massive illusion tower.
Rumored to have been custom-built by Elder Nangong at great expense, it offered an unparalleled immersive experience.
It had practically become a pilgrimage site for illusion realm enthusiasts.
"A ghost-themed illusion realm? Sounds kinda boring."
Zhou Yue scoffed.
He was in the middle of a ranked match in Immortal-Demon War, riding a hot streak and reluctant to stop.
"But playing ten rounds gives you a free skin..."
Zhou Qiaoling's eyes sparkled as she read the fine print—Immortal-Demon War and Ghost Fear Village were running a crossover event.
Ten games, and you could pick any skin from the Phantom Haunt series—including her favorite, Zyra.
The first hundred players to unlock the Ghostbuster achievement would even get an exclusive limited-edition skin!
"Old Zhou, do you really think Junior Lu's illusion realms could be boring?"
Zhong Yi patted Zhou Yue's shoulder with a knowing grin.
"Unless... you're scared of ghosts?"
"Me? Scared? Fine! Let’s go in right now, and we’ll see who’s scared!"
Zhou Yue instantly flared up.
Zhou Qiaoling: "Big bro, I’m scared of you being a sore loser..."
"..."
"I’m playing! Junior Lu actually thinks I’d be scared of ghosts? Unacceptable!!"
Mu Yawen was the most eager, diving straight into the illusion realm with her spiritual sense.
The other three followed without another word.
Inside the illusion, darkness enveloped them.
Then—
A grotesque, blood-red eye suddenly snapped open in the void.
"...Is Junior Lu really resorting to cheap mortal tricks like this?"
Zhong Yi was utterly unimpressed.
The eye blinked shut, and the words Ghost Fear Village flashed across the darkness.
Then, Zhong Yi found himself standing in a cozy little cottage.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
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."
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.
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!
