The Nine Nether Venerable was passionately arguing with netizens in a forum.
At first, countless users respected his status as a master of soul cultivation and engaged with him politely.
But no matter what others said, the Nine Nether Venerable stubbornly insisted that illusions were worthless in his presence, and those who chose illusions over his teachings were nothing but ignorant fools.
His words angered many.
If he had criticized the principles or techniques of cultivation, perhaps the game Phantom Ghost Town wouldn’t have been relevant.
But to dismiss overcoming fear?
His laughable test barrier was proof enough of his incompetence.
Not only did he attack the illusion itself, but he also insulted its players. The netizens immediately unleashed a torrent of verbal assaults.
[Nine Nether Venerable: Do you even know who I am?? I am the foremost authority on soul cultivation! No one has more say in this than me!]
[Elegant and Refined Ancestral Light: Then do you know who I am?]
[Nine Nether Venerable: No.]
[Elegant and Refined Ancestral Light: Good. Keep an eye on your family, old bastard, lest they mysteriously vanish.]
[Nine Nether Venerable: ???]
...
The Nine Nether Venerable was fuming.
Just as he was busy trading insults, Lu Ze himself appeared.
[Illusion Master Lu Ze: Very well, you shall have your wish.]
The moment Lu Ze showed up, the forum erupted.
Hundreds of replies flooded the thread in seconds.
[Holy shit, Old Demon Lu is here?!]
[No way, even Old Demon Lu wouldn’t dare play this illusion himself!!]
[First time I’m rooting for Old Demon Lu—punish this arrogant geezer!]
[Never seen the highest difficulty before—dying to watch!]
[Livestream! It has to be a livestream!]
[This old bastard’s gonna piss himself in fear.]
...
Seeing Lu Ze’s arrival, the Nine Nether Venerable’s eyes lit up.
This was his chance to prove his teachings were superior to illusions.
Since his previous test had failed, the only way left was to demonstrate his own strength—by surpassing the illusion itself.
Without hesitation, he accepted the challenge.
[Nine Nether Venerable: Fine, livestream it! Give me the highest difficulty—if my legs so much as tremble, I’ll renounce my title as Venerable!]
...
...
Lu Ze moved swiftly, ensuring the Nine Nether Venerable couldn’t back out.
He set up a dedicated livestream for him, prominently displayed at the top of the illusion game’s broadcast section.
The Nine Nether Venerable wasted no time, entering the illusion and activating the livestream.
Instantly, hordes of curious netizens flooded in.
"Hmph, it seems my reputation still draws quite the crowd."
The Nine Nether Venerable smirked in satisfaction.
His livestream title read: [Nine Nether Venerable Conquers the Highest Difficulty—Phantom Ghost Town].
Unbeknownst to him, the recommended title across all platforms was:
[Centenarian Geezer Gets Terrified—Click to Watch the Suffering Live.]
This was the Nine Nether Venerable’s first time in the illusion, and he looked utterly bewildered by the safe house’s mechanics.
Lu Ze, appearing as an administrator, stood beside him.
"Elder, are you certain you wish to challenge the highest [Ghost Immortal] difficulty? Perhaps you’d like to try a lower setting first?"
Lu Ze asked with a faint smile.
"Hah! What [Ghost Immortal] or [Earth Fiend] nonsense—just mortals exaggerating spirits! You, a cultivator, actually believe this?"
The Nine Nether Venerable scoffed, glaring disdainfully at Lu Ze.
"Isn’t this illusion just about scaring people? I fear nothing! Give me the highest difficulty—let’s see what dares call itself a Ghost Immortal. I’ll scatter its soul to the winds!"
"Elder, such words are unwise!"
Lu Ze hastily waved his hands, then set the difficulty to [Ghost Immortal].
"Elder... well, good luck."
Struggling to suppress his laughter, Lu Ze vanished into thin air.
"Good luck? Save it for your so-called Ghost Immortal!"
The Nine Nether Venerable strode confidently into the activation circle.
In the next moment, he was transported to a desolate village.
[Map: Sealed Gate Village]
[Difficulty: Ghost Immortal ★★★★★]
[Random Conditions Applied:]
[Initial Sanity: 60]
[Sanity Drain Rate: Fast]
[Discoverable Evidence: 0]
[Movement Speed: Slow]
[Paranormal Event Frequency: High]
[Ghost Movement Speed: Extremely Fast]
[Ghost Room Change Rate: Fast]
[Soul Cage: Disabled]
...
[Overall Difficulty Coefficient: 100]
[Optional Objectives:]
[1. Identify the Ghost Type]
[2. Survive One Hunt]
[3. Witness a Paranormal Event and Live]
[4. Capture a Ghost Photo]
The moment the difficulty settings appeared, the livestream audience was stunned.
[Holy hell—zero evidence to ID the ghost?!]
[Missing one piece of evidence already drives me insane... ZERO?!]
[Starting with 60 sanity... if you’re unlucky and meet a vengeful spirit, you’re dead on spawn.]
[No wonder it’s ‘Ghost Immortal’ difficulty... glad I never tried it! It’s suicide!]
[Ghost speed is max, player speed is snail... Old Demon Lu, you did this on purpose!]
[The scariest part? Soul Cage is disabled—no hiding!]
[Wonder what the paranormal events are like at this difficulty...]
[I think the closet just moved...]
...
"Pathetic tricks."
The Nine Nether Venerable ignored the floating comments, stepping off the carriage without a single tool.
Exiting the carriage meant leaving the safe zone.
With only 60 sanity, the Fear Resonance Array’s effects hit hard.
He shuddered uncontrollably—a primal, physiological terror.
After a brief hesitation, he turned back and carefully selected a few high-tier tools from the carriage’s stash.
Lu Ze had been generous, stocking only the best equipment.
He had full confidence in the Heavenly Fragment Spirit’s power—if the Nine Nether Venerable didn’t wet himself, it’d be a miracle.
Better to give him some gear... so the Heavenly Fragment Spirit could toy with him longer.
After all,
once this livestream blew over, no one would dare challenge [Ghost Immortal] difficulty for a while...
[Ghost Immortal] was a unique difficulty, separate from the original game’s design.
Beyond the randomized conditions, the paranormal events alone were enough to break players.
But the most terrifying part?
In [Ghost Immortal] mode, players couldn’t easily trigger their real-world spiritual energy to disconnect from fear.
If other difficulties set the fear threshold for involuntary disconnection at 50,
here, it was 100.
No escape.
This was true, unrelenting horror.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
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.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
