Over the next three days,
the curriculum at the Lingxiao Sect suddenly became much more demanding than before.
Disciples, already exhausted from a day of cultivation, returned to their dormitories only to face the relentless torment of the survival mode’s brutal difficulty.
Yet, under this double-layered suffering, instead of breaking down, the disciples grew increasingly exhilarated.
New cards required them to grind spirit stones to unlock.
Different zombie combinations demanded unique strategies.
Plants, once casually arranged, now required careful consideration of spiritual energy, combat power, and defensive resource allocation…
…
The more they suffered, the more addicted they became—and the stronger they grew.
Many disciples, pressed for time, even mastered the art of splitting their focus while walking to operate the Illusion Tower.
Across the sect, the overall proficiency in divine sense manipulation advanced at a staggering pace.
……
……
Ding Mingcang’s mood had stabilized considerably lately.
According to intelligence gathered by Qian Yutang, the trial stage Lu Ze recently introduced was impossibly difficult.
So difficult that the forums were flooded with complaints, all lamenting how clearing it was outright impossible.
A stark contrast to the cheerful discussions of days past.
Ding Mingcang thought—
This was it!
In his mind, why had Lu Ze’s "Escape from the Demon Sect" succeeded?
Precisely because it was lighthearted and entertaining.
Now, by adopting a polar opposite approach of extreme difficulty to block disciples from clearing it, Lu Ze was doomed to fail.
On top of that, the major spiritual peaks had all ramped up their teaching intensity, leaving disciples far less idle than before.
Busy from dawn till dusk, only to return and face the grueling trials of the Illusion Tower?
Even if the Lingxiao Sect disciples were known for their relentless drive, surely this would be too much!
With this thought, Ding Mingcang’s spirits lifted, and he decided to personally inspect the sect’s atmosphere, eager to witness the return of serene academic discipline.
His first stop was the Sword Inquiry Peak.
Back then, the peak’s elder had vehemently opposed "Plants vs. Zombies,"
claiming that practicing swordplay by slicing fruit was a disgrace to the way of the sword.
True to his expectations, the Sword Inquiry Peak had swiftly complied, drastically increasing disciples’ workload.
From afar, Ding Mingcang saw the lecture hall packed with students, all attentively listening to the instructor’s teachings.
"Excellent… This is the Lingxiao Sect I know,"
he mused inwardly, thoroughly pleased.
Inside, every disciple was diligently taking notes.
At particularly riveting moments, many even mimicked the motions, utterly engrossed.
But as he drew closer, his brow furrowed.
The projection displayed in the air by the instructor…
was a sky filled with fruit and scattered plants??
Listening carefully,
the lesson was actually about how to plant the right spiritual flora in the designated spots in the shortest time possible??
From the sword swing needed to cleave useless fruit mid-air to the subtle adjustments of the blade’s flat to reposition plants—each movement was meticulously broken down to teach disciples the fundamentals of swordplay.
According to the instructor,
what seemed like a simple slash actually required flawless precision and speed to plant the required flora in an instant.
Some disciples even speculated that Lu Ze’s mastery of the sword must be profound, bordering on unfathomable.
Otherwise, how could he have designed something so ingeniously demanding…?
……
Ding Mingcang listened on, his scalp tingling with disbelief, yet he could hardly voice any objections.
After all, this wasn’t his territory, and while the lecture content did have some connection to Plants vs. Zombies, it was actually useful material.
He left straight away, turning instead toward Danqing Peak.
Upon arriving at Danqing Peak, the scene at the Lecture Hall made him want to spit blood.
Danqing Peak was also holding a class, with the lecture topic floating prominently in midair, visible from afar—
[Using the Snow Pea as an Example: How to Cultivate an Excellent Mutant Ice-Type Spirit Plant]
The lecturer, shockingly, was none other than Danqing Peak’s Third Elder, Lin Qingxuan, who was enthusiastically explaining his ambition to cultivate all the spirit plants from Plants vs. Zombies within the sect…
“Tsk—!”
Ding Mingcang took a deep breath.
His headache grew worse!
He changed direction again, heading for the notoriously strict body-tempering disciples of Cuijin Peak.
In the Body-Tempering Valley, Mu Yawen, his skin bronzed from training, was leading a group of junior disciples in punching the massive brown boulders before them.
Their fists cut through the air with force, striking the brown rocks in front of them with a rhythmic, dull thud.
Ding Mingcang recognized those rocks—they were the specialized Body-Tempering Stones used by Cuijin Peak disciples to refine their physiques, known for their extraordinary hardness.
“Finally, something reliable…”
Ding Mingcang sighed in relief.
It made sense.
Mu Yawen was the most straightforward and earnest of them all, while Plants vs. Zombies required a great deal of strategic thinking.
He remembered that day in the square when Mu Yawen had died countless times even in the beginner levels.
It was only natural he wouldn’t like it.
With such a senior brother leading them, the training atmosphere at Cuijin Peak was something Ding Mingcang could trust.
“Wait… these Body-Tempering Stones look a bit strange…”
Ding Mingcang frowned, scrutinizing them closely.
The brown rocks were all carved with round, beady little eyes—exactly like the Tall-Nut from Plants vs. Zombies!
From below came a chorus of passionate shouts:
“Keep pushing, everyone! Hone your bodies to protect your comrades, just like the Tall-Nut Daoist!”
“If the Tall-Nut Daoist can do it, how can we fall behind?”
“Yesterday, my strength was lacking, and I lost eight Tall-Nut brothers! Today, I’ll punish myself by smashing eight Body-Tempering Stones with my bare hands!”
…
Ding Mingcang was dumbfounded.
How could even these hardcore body-tempering disciples get sucked into this madness???
…
Ding Mingcang wandered through several more peaks, his expression growing darker by the minute.
Within Lingxiao Sect, the number of classes had skyrocketed, and disciples were more eager than ever to attend.
But without fail, the course content always circled back to Plants vs. Zombies.
If this continued,
Wouldn’t Lu Ze’s reputation only grow stronger?
A sense of foreboding settled in Ding Mingcang’s heart.
In a foul mood, he returned to Linxian Peak.
On his way back, he noticed that even the sect’s central square had someone giving a lecture.
The square was an open, unregulated space—clearly, some disciple had spontaneously set up an impromptu private lesson.
Ding Mingcang narrowed his eyes and spotted the topic floating in the air—
[Using Survival Mode as an Example: Key Principles of Formation Arrangement]
Already irritated, the sight of yet another class framed around Plants vs. Zombies sent him into a rage.
What’s more, formation studies were Linxian Peak’s specialty—someone teaching formations here was nothing short of a slap in his face!
“Who dares hold an unauthorized private lecture in the sect square?! And on Linxian Peak’s formation studies, no less!”
Ding Mingcang bellowed, leaping down from the sky.
Upon recognizing the face before him, Ding Mingcang froze instantly.
The one giving the lecture was none other than Elder Zhao Wendao.
"What, is the sect square no longer a place for teaching now?"
Zhao Wendao, his mood soured by the interruption, scowled darkly.
"No, no, of course not..."
"Then do you think my lecturing on formations is an amateur's folly?"
"I wouldn’t dare..."
……
……
Returning to Linxian Peak, Ding Mingcang sensed the gravity of the situation.
The elders, who had previously shown disdain for "Spiritual Plants vs. Zombies," now seemed to adopt ambiguous stances.
Ding Mingcang’s heart pounded with panic.
He had no desire to face the walls of Reflection Valley.
In the history of the Lingxiao Sect, no elder had ever been confined there for losing a bet to a disciple.
"This won’t do. I must find a way..."
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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.
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."
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.
