Half a month had passed since the incident at the martial hall.
The deeds of the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit—suppressing the sect master of the Limitless Sword Sect and shattering an illusion with a single thought—had become the talk of the land.
After lying low for a few days, the Illusion Alliance became active once more.
And this time, they made no effort to hide it.
The reason was simple—the landscape of the illusion realm had changed.
Following Jiang Lingfeng’s "bold declaration," the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit had fully opened the spiritual energy permissions of the illusion realm.
In simpler terms, the network server was now accessible to everyone.
But this privilege wasn’t unconditional.
If the illusions crafted by cultivators failed to meet the standards of the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit, the illusion crystals would shatter on the spot.
And in turn, the cultivators responsible for those illusions would face consequences.
Take Du Cheng, the creator of Heavenly Dao Secret Realm, for example—not only did he fall gravely ill, but his cultivation also regressed by half a realm.
In other words, crafting illusions had become a high-stakes gamble.
Win, and one would gain the favor of the Heavenly Dao, their illusions revered by countless, and spirit stones flowing in endlessly.
Lose, and one’s cultivation would regress, with misfortunes piling up.
But what cultivator would willingly settle for mediocrity?
Every one of them was eager to prove their worth in the illusion realm.
Rumors even spread that within the Lingxiao Sect and the Heavenly Profound Sect, some had begun secretly studying illusions…
After all, no one wanted to miss such a monumental opportunity.
A lucrative field like the Dao of Illusions couldn’t possibly be monopolized by Lu Ze alone—others would never allow it.
For a time, undercurrents surged across the Heavenly Profound Continent.
……
……
Within the main server space of the illusion realm.
"Look at you, acting all high and mighty for that old fool—it’s not worth it, really."
Lu Ze chuckled as he tried to console the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit.
"The Heavenly Dao shall not be disgraced… And I am not human."
The Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit snorted coldly in response.
That day, it had nearly descended upon Jiang Lingfeng in person, only to be stopped by Lu Ze at the last moment.
Lu Ze hadn’t intervened out of pity.
He knew the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit’s circumstances all too well.
First, every act of aggression drained its Dao power—a resource that was excruciatingly slow to replenish.
Long ago, in a fit of rage, the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit had slain Ding Mingcang from thousands of miles away, causing a portion of the runic rings around its spirit form to crumble.
Only after recuperating within the illusion realm all this time had it barely managed to restore itself.
Second, the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit was, after all, a fragment of the Heavenly Dao’s will.
Indulging in slaughter would entangle it further in karma, even risking backlash from the Heavenly Dao itself.
If it lost the power of the Heavenly Dao’s will, not only would Lu Ze’s illusion server vanish, but the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit itself might be erased from existence.
Thus, Lu Ze had no choice but to intervene.
Even so, Jiang Lingfeng had only narrowly escaped death.
His cultivation had plummeted from the Void Refinement stage all the way to Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual roots had been crippled…
For all intents and purposes, he was no different from a dead man.
"Honestly, after living for thousands of years, you’re still this impulsive…"
Lu Ze sighed.
"Now that the illusion permissions are open, my illusion realm might not have as many people for you to toy with…"
"Then that just proves you’re no different from the ants… Serves you right."
The Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit shot Lu Ze a disdainful look.
Its single decree had flooded Lu Ze with countless competitors—a headache-inducing development.
Though Lu Ze doubted these old-fashioned cultivators could steal too many players from him, it was still a loss.
He missed the days when the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit was his private server…
But deep down, Lu Ze knew this day was inevitable.
As those cultivators had said, the Heavenly Dao could never belong to a single person.
If the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit defied the natural order, it would surely face divine retribution.
So, as more and more cultivators joined the illusion realm, opening the spiritual energy permissions was only a matter of time.
"Still, this isn’t entirely bad news for you…"
The Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit explained the reasoning.
The efficiency of spiritual energy supply in illusions was tied to their quality.
The more exceptional an illusion, the purer the Heavenly Dao spiritual energy it received.
For subpar illusions, the creators would lose cultivation and spiritual energy—resources the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit disdained, so they would instead bolster the Heavenly Dao spiritual energy granted to other illusions.
In short, most illusions crafted by ordinary cultivators would fail to meet the standard.
Even if they barely qualified, the spiritual nourishment cultivators gained within them would be mediocre at best.
But as long as Lu Ze maintained his usual standards, his illusions would receive Heavenly Dao spiritual energy even purer than before!
And purer Heavenly Dao spiritual energy meant cultivators would invest more time in his illusions.
Lu Ze would harvest even more demonic path value!
"Those ants… are no match for you."
With those final words, the Heavenly Dao Remnant Spirit vanished from the illusion realm.
Reassured, Lu Ze withdrew from the illusion as well.
Just then, his master, Nangong Yuan, arrived at the Spirit Jade Pavilion.
"Cheap master, looking for me?"
Lu Ze grinned cheekily.
"So you still remember I’m your master…"
Nangong Yuan glared at him, his beard bristling with irritation.
In the past, what reputation did Nangong Yuan hold?
A master artificer, a paragon of virtue, a mentor whose disciples spanned the world…
And now?
Lu the Demon Sovereign’s personal master.
"Of course I know—all thanks to your teachings, Master!"
The master and disciple had long grown accustomed to such banter. After exchanging a few lighthearted jests, Nangong Yuan got down to business.
"Here’s the matter."
"A month from now marks the righteous path’s decennial ‘Demon-Slaying Day.’"
"As per tradition, aside from each sect organizing their own demon-extermination campaigns, there will also be other displays of strength."
"Given the recent uproar you caused with that Heavenly Dao, everyone now aspires to be a Realm Master..."
"So this time, the focus will likely be on illusion realms."
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.”
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."
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.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
