With a "thud," Nine Nether Venerable felt his knees give way, collapsing to the ground.
It was an overwhelming pressure—one that brooked no refusal. Far surpassing even the two ghostly leaders he had encountered earlier in the Red-White Collision of Misfortune.
Black death energy, thick as substance, erupted from the Ghost Buddha's body. In his centuries of traversing the soul path, he had never witnessed such terrifying death energy.
Since you’ve seen the future, why not bow?
Nine Nether Venerable couldn’t help but recall the vision he had glimpsed mere seconds ago—himself trembling on his knees before the Ghost Buddha, forehead pressed to the ground, begging for a sliver of life.
Was this truly his future?
Was he going to die?
Was this the only way to survive?
Countless thoughts swirled in Nine Nether Venerable’s mind. At this moment, he nearly forgot he was trapped in an illusion, his mind consumed by a single word—
Survive.
Driven by instinct, he slowly bent forward, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His sanity plummeted rapidly.
30…
20…
10…
0!
The moment it hit zero, the barrage of comments reappeared—but in an eerily sinister manner.
Whispers, ghostly and mournful, echoed incessantly in his ears.
[He knelt! The old man actually knelt!]
[Is he submitting to the Ghost Buddha?]
[Heavens… this illusion is driving people mad!!]
[What an embarrassment!]
[Will anyone dare attempt the Ghost Immortal difficulty after this?]
……
These hallucinatory murmurs, paradoxically, jolted Nine Nether Venerable back to clarity.
His half-bent posture froze mid-motion.
"This is an illusion… I’m in an illusion!"
Like waking from a dream, Nine Nether Venerable fought to suppress his terror.
"It’s all fake… all fake! You’re trying to deceive me!!!"
He raised his voice, as if shouting could dispel his fear.
"This immortal… has no need to deceive you."
The Ghost Buddha narrowed its eyes, lifting a palm mockingly.
"You can’t kill me! This is all that brat’s trickery… trying to ruin my reputation! Hah, hahaha! I’ve seen through it!!!"
Nine Nether Venerable laughed hysterically, his expression bordering on madness.
The Ghost Buddha’s lips stretched to its ears in a sinister grin.
Its body suddenly expanded to monstrous proportions, seizing Nine Nether Venerable in its palm.
No matter how he struggled, escape was impossible.
With the cruel amusement of a predator toying with prey, the Ghost Buddha crushed Nine Nether Venerable’s limbs one by one.
The latter howled in agony, yet still roared:
"Kill me! Just kill me!! You’re nothing but a phantom in this illusion!!!"
"Hahaha… I get it now! You’re not the drowned ghost, not the ghost bride…"
"You’re a vengeful spirit! You must be a vengeful spirit!!"
"I’ve found the answer… I’ve won, I’ve won!"
"You can’t kill me, you can’t kill me!!"
……
Hearing Nine Nether Venerable—now reduced to just a head—still defiant, the Ghost Buddha’s smile grew even more grotesque.
"What if…"
"I can kill you?"
The next instant, beneath Nine Nether Venerable’s despairing gaze, colossal fingers crushed his skull.
……
[Round Summary:]
[Entity Type: Vengeful Spirit (+1000)]
[Evade a ghostly hunt (Failed)]
[Witness a supernatural perspective and survive (Failed)]
……
Nine Nether Venerable stared at the summary screen, then at the brightly lit safe room around him, tears streaming down his aged face.
At last, the long-absent barrage of comments flooded his vision.
[Nine Nether Venerable is a legend!]
[This master is incredible!]
[As expected of the top soul cultivator!]
[My apologies, I take back my words]
[Lu Ze! Come out and apologize to Elder Liu!]
[Too strong, truly worthy of a Venerable!]
……
The tone was a far cry from when the stream began.
The flood of praise filled Nine Nether Venerable with pride.
"Hah, hahaha! This old man has walked the soul path for centuries—how could such an illusion possibly confound me?"
"What does it matter if I misjudged the ghost? I know these malevolent entities like the back of my hand!"
"That shameless brat better come out and grovel for forgiveness!"
The memory of the torment in the illusion made his teeth itch with fury.
Hands clasped behind his back, he exited the illusion with haughty dignity.
Nine Nether Venerable slowly opened his eyes, shuddering as he examined his hands before circulating his spiritual energy.
The comforting surge of qi finally eased his nerves.
Despite his bold words, he had been utterly terrified.
Several times, he had even tried to forcibly break the illusion tower’s restraints with his cultivation—though for some reason, it hadn’t worked.
Just then, a strange sensation prickled at him.
The air…
Was thick with the scent of blood.
Though he stood within the Lingxiao Sect, an eerie and familiar death energy permeated the space.
Bang.
His door burst open.
Nangong Yuan staggered in, his expression hollow, body riddled with wounds.
"Elder Nangong? What’s…?"
Nine Nether Venerable’s heart lurched.
"Run…"
Nangong Yuan stretched out a trembling hand, his voice thick with despair.
The next moment,
He was pulverized into gory fragments by the death energy looming behind him.
"!!!"
Nine Nether Venerable’s breath froze.
Drip…
Drip…
Drip…
Footsteps, wet with blood, drew nearer.
Nine Nether Venerable’s teeth chattered violently, his widened eyes streaming tears.
Because…
The figure emerging from the doorway was none other than the Ghost Buddha from the illusion!
Here and now, despite possessing his full cultivation—unlike his powerless state in the illusion—
He felt more afraid than ever.
This was an oppressive force that shattered reason.
He didn’t understand how the Ghost Buddha had escaped the illusion to reach the Lingxiao Sect…
But he had no doubt it was possible.
Because this pressure…
Was too vast! Too overwhelming!
Nine Nether Venerable suddenly realized.
What he had seen beneath the ancestral hall wasn’t an illusion…
But the future.
A real, unalterable future!
No wonder he had knelt amidst the carnage, prostrating before the Ghost Buddha…
It was real!
All of it was real!
The Ghost Buddha’s grin widened, its crimson eyes gleaming with malice.
Its lips parted.
Uttering the same haunting line:
"Since you’ve seen the future…"
"Why not bow?"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
