"Already heading back?"
Lu Ze frowned.
The Supreme Soul Crystal that had been practically delivered to his door had slipped away, which was unacceptable to him.
"Sect Leader He said he didn't know if the Beast Taming Sect could hold out any longer... Perhaps the situation has grown even more severe."
Nangong Yuan shook his head and explained to Lu Ze.
"Elder Zhao promised that the Spirit Firmament Sect could send an elder over to help the Beast Taming Sect through their crisis. But Sect Leader He said the matter couldn't be resolved through cultivation level alone."
"If that's the case, it seems the Beast Taming Sect has indeed posted an Illusory Realm commission... with a Supreme Soul Crystal as the reward."
Zhong Yi chimed in upon hearing Nangong Yuan's description.
"No wonder there have been so many illusion realms concerning beast taming lately."
"A commission? What are the requirements for the illusion realm?"
Lu Ze's eyes lit up as he quickly asked.
"Unknown. It seems it requires a face-to-face discussion... Probably a confidentiality spirit contract was signed. No one has publicly disclosed what the Beast Taming Sect is asking for."
Zhong Yi shook his head, then added.
"But the commission still has less than a month left, and the Illusion Alliance has also made a move... That beast-taming illusion realm of theirs came out quite well."
At the words, Lu Ze's brow tightened, his face turning serious.
"It seems the situation for our allied sect is indeed urgent... Master, you should accompany your disciple on a trip to the Beast Taming Sect!"
The corner of Nangong Yuan's mouth twitched violently.
"...Just who is the master here between the two of us?"
\---
On the way to the Beast Taming Sect, Lu Ze gained a general understanding of the sect's situation from Nangong Yuan.
During the era of the ancient war between the righteous and demonic paths, the Beast Taming Sect had an extraordinary standing, not far below the Five Sects of the time.
Ever since that war, the Beast Taming Sect's fortune had declined day by day.
The main problem was that the spiritual beasts of the world were in decline.
The Beast Taming Sect's rise and fall was bound to that of these beasts.
In the ancient era, divine beasts roamed, great demons abounded, and so the Beast Taming Sect thrived.
But in the present age, the legends of those divine beasts existed only in history. Even the number and rank of spiritual beasts were visibly shrinking.
As early as over a hundred years ago, the Beast Taming Sect had lost its former glory, fading to the level of an ordinary sect.
"Spiritual beasts are in decline? Gradually going extinct?"
Lu Ze keenly caught the key information, then frowned.
"Problems like this... can't be solved just through an illusion realm, can they?"
Though he had accomplished many earth-shaking feats through illusion realms, that didn't mean illusion realms were a cure-all.
He could make cultivators comprehend the Dao within an illusion, or make the elders of the Heartless Sect weep in one, but bringing the dead back to life for spiritual beasts was clearly beyond the scope of an illusion realm's abilities.
"Who knows? Sect Leader He is adamant that only an illusion realm can save his sect."
Nangong Yuan sighed helplessly.
"Come on, we're here."
\---
Inside the Hall of Myriad Spirits at the Beast Taming Sect.
"Sect Leader He, my 'King of a Thousand Beasts' was made entirely to your Beast Taming Sect's specifications. You've seen the cultivators' feedback yourself. What's with this attitude now? Don't tell me you're thinking of backing out!?"
Elder White Crane coldly demanded, with total disregard for being on the Beast Taming Sect's turf.
After all, even the Beast Taming Sect's leader was only at the early stage of the Hollow Void realm.
Add to that the fact that the line of spiritual beasts in the Heaven Abyss Continent was gradually weakening. That was why he could act so arrogantly.
"Elder Baihe, please don't be impatient... This old man has no intention of going back on his word. But your illusion realm does not meet my sect's requirements."
He Muye sighed and shook his head.
"How does it not meet the requirements? Your sect made the unreasonable demand of creating a new species of spiritual beast! My 'King of a Thousand Beasts' is full of beasts that have never been seen before!"
As Elder Baihe spoke, he opened the illusion realm and projected the sights outward.
Row after row of savage beasts and great demons materialized around Elder Baihe.
"Tell me... which of these beasts have you ever laid eyes on!?"
Seeing this, He Muye smiled bitterly.
"Elder Baihe... you've misunderstood my sect's requirements."
His gaze swept over those bizarre spiritual beasts—combinations formed by random arrangements of the elements—and he shook his head helplessly.
"It's true that our sect requires new species of spiritual beasts. But the premise is that they are spiritual beasts inside."
"These things have only bodies, completely lacking the soul of a spiritual beast."
"Furthermore..."
"They're just odd-looking. In terms of qualities, they aren't any different from the spiritual beasts of the Heaven Abyss Continent."
He sighed again.
"The illusion realm of your 'King of a Thousand Beasts' is not what our sect needs... It didn't create a new world."
"Sect Leader He, you're playing me."
Elder Baihe's face immediately turned cold, his aura swelling noticeably as a clear sign of threat.
"Elder Baihe, you flatter me. How could this old man possibly be one to break his word? It's only that the illusion realm truly fails to meet my sect's standards."
He Muye's tone was somewhat meek, but he still showed no intention of backing down.
"Hmph!"
Elder Baihe snorted coldly, dispersing his spiritual qi around him, though his voice remained harsh.
"Don't forget... There's less than a month left on this mission of yours. Once the time's up, no matter what you say, that Supreme Soul Crystal will return to my hands!"
"Unless..."
He Muye's pupils suddenly dilated, and a trace of joy appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Someone surpasses you."
"Surpass me? Hah, don't tell me Sect Leader He is still waiting for the Spirit Firmament Sect to come pick up your illusion realm commission?"
Elder Baihe sneered.
Everyone knew that even after He Muye had spent nearly a month at the Spirit Firmament Sect, he had only returned to the Beast Taming Sect and immediately posted the commission.
That obviously meant Lu Ze was still in secluded cultivation, and had no other choice.
Others might not understand, but Elder Baihe knew very well.
That Lu Ze was in secluded cultivation trying to refine the Supreme Soul Crystal—he must have been devoured by the backlash of the Supreme Soul Crystal and died! Otherwise, why would there be no news for three full months?
So, Lu Ze was never coming out!
The era of the Illusory Realm was about to change!
"I'll tell you—Lu Ze will never—"
"Oh, would you look at that! Is this not Elder Baihe himself? I've heard so much about you!"
Before Elder Baihe finished his sentence, a youthful voice came from behind him.
"Lu... Ze!? How can you—"
Elder Baihe spun around, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
"What's the matter, Elder Baihe? Surely you didn't think I'd died while refining the Supreme Soul Crystal?"
Lu Ze smiled ambiguously at Elder Baihe, then pointed in surprise at the cloud of beast-shaped projections behind him.
"Oh my, Elder Baihe seems an expert at crossbreeding. You've actually come up with so many mongrels! Impressive, impressive!"
"You—!"
Elder Baihe choked on his words, only capable of glaring back spitefully.
"If there's nothing else, Elder Baihe, please take your leave... I have a distinguished guest visiting."
He Muye smiled as he showed the gate.
Through the adept's spirit birds, he had already seen Nangong Yuan and Lu Ze approaching, which was why he was so cheerful.
"Sect Leader He, don't be too quick to judge."
Elder Baihe put away the Illusion Realm Crystal Stone, still visibly unconvinced as he looked at Lu Ze.
"According to your Illusion Alliance's standards—a new species, a whole new world..."
"There's less than a month left."
"I'm dying to see how he can possibly pull it off!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
] [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!"
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!
