"Ahhh!!! Ghost, it's a ghost!!!"
Zhou Qiaoling screamed and turned to flee.
Just moments ago, a ghost had breathed down her neck, sending the trio scrambling in panic into the basement.
They had just found the box of matches when they heard a frantic "thump-thump" sound—like a heart pounding wildly.
Then, a female ghost in white suddenly appeared beside them.
"What demon dares—? I am of the Pure Yang—"
"Run!!!"
Before Mu Yawen could finish his declaration, Zhou Yue grabbed him and dragged him up the stairs.
Lu Ze's illusionary realm had been tested by countless mighty cultivators, proving one universal truth:
No matter how strong you are, within this realm, all are equal!
Even Zhong Yi had been taken without a trace—how could Mu Yawen's Pure Yang Spirit possibly work here?
Zhong Yi was already gone. Zhou Yue couldn't just watch his reckless junior brother become the ghost's next meal!
The female ghost hung her head, her long hair cascading down as she leisurely climbed the stairs.
"Tap…"
"Tap…"
Each footstep was like a death knell, sending tremors of terror through their hearts.
"Ahhh!!! Lu Ze, you demon, you're inhuman!!!"
Zhou Qiaoling shrieked, her voice raw with fear, dignity as a Nascent Soul cultivator long forgotten.
The basement entrance lay at the top of a long staircase.
The entire haunted mansion was plunged in darkness, the only light coming from the spirit lantern Mu Yawen carried at the rear.
In the dim glow, Zhou Qiaoling suddenly saw it—
A writhing shadow on the stairs ahead.
"Ahhh!!! Another one! There's another ghost!!!"
She screamed again.
In horror games, one person's panic often spreads to the rest.
The illusionary realm was no different.
The trio's sanity had already dropped below 60.
Under the influence of the Fear-Soul Binding Array, their nerves were frayed to the limit.
"No choice—charge through! Don't let it grab you!"
"Get out, get out now!!! I'll hold it off if I have to!"
Zhou Yue and Mu Yawen roared in unison.
Zhou Qiaoling clenched her teeth, shut her eyes, and bolted forward.
With a "squelch," her foot landed on something soft.
Zhou Yue followed, stomping on the "ghost" on the stairs as he sprinted upward.
Mu Yawen, the boldest of them, leaped over the shadow—but not before glancing back.
The shadowy figure's head hung low, muttering incoherently as it reached out toward him.
Mu Yawen's face paled, and he kicked the "ghost" down the stairs.
"Hah! You think you can catch me?"
With the second "ghost" gone, the three fled the basement like their lives depended on it, slamming the iron door shut behind them.
Only then did they collapse, gasping for breath, their hearts still racing.
"Did anyone else… think that voice sounded familiar?"
"Voice? What voice?"
"That thing tried to grab me! Good thing I reacted fast and kicked it down!"
They exchanged shaky accounts of their narrow escape.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the stairs, Zhong Yi lay in a dazed heap, having tumbled down in a bruised and battered mess.
After struggling through endless supernatural barriers, he'd finally broken free…
Only to have his own teammates fail to recognize him.
As he pushed himself up, a bone-chilling cold crept up his spine.
He turned—and locked eyes with the grotesque, rotting face of the female ghost.
No.
Not "eyes."
Her sockets were hollow, the eyeballs gouged out, leaving only squirming maggots in their place.
"Guh… guh…"
Zhong Yi's chest heaved violently.
A terror unlike anything he'd ever known exploded in his mind.
His limbs turned to jelly, but he forced himself up, staggering blindly toward the stairs.
The iron door above was shut tight.
He slammed his palms against it, his voice tearing from his throat:
"Ghost… there's a ghost!!"
"Open the door! OPEN IT!!"
"LET ME OUT!!!"
Upstairs, the three had barely caught their breath when the violent banging on the door sent their nerves into overdrive again.
The muffled voice from below made Zhou Qiaoling's lips tremble.
"That… that sounds like Zhong Yi…"
"Damn cunning demon! Now it's impersonating Old Zhong?!"
Zhou Yue gritted his teeth, pounding the floor in frustration. "Little sis, help me hold this door down!!"
……
In the basement, on the stairs—
Zhong Yi's teeth chattered uncontrollably.
His sanity had plummeted below 30.
Every second near the ghost drained it further.
Desperation etched on his face, he battered the door with everything he had.
Then, an icy breath grazed the back of his neck:
"Debts must be paid…"
"Blood must be shed…"
The ghost's mundane whisper was laced with unspeakable horror.
Zhong Yi lost all control.
He punched, kicked, threw his body—even his head—against the door in mindless frenzy.
……
"Damn it! It's getting stronger—this ghost is relentless!!"
Zhou Yue strained to keep the door pinned, Zhou Qiaoling beside him pushing with all her might.
"Let me handle this!!!"
Mu Yawen bellowed, leaping into the air—
THUD.
His massive frame crashed onto the door like a boulder.
The noise from below ceased entirely.
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!
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!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
] [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!"
