The whispers inside and outside the Hall of Lingering Spirits naturally did not escape the ears of the elders from various sects.
"Heh, the disciples seem quite enthusiastic about the rankings, don't they?" Zhao Wendao stroked his beard with a chuckle.
"They're just a bunch of youngsters who haven't seen much of the world. It's normal for them to enjoy a bit of excitement," said Lin Anzai, the elder of the Tianxuan Sect, shaking his head with a smile as he fiddled with two dull prayer beads in his hand.
"Surely none of you elders are thinking of competing with Elder Yang for supremacy like these disciples, are you?" Li Jiujian, the elder of the Infinite Sword Sect, narrowed his eyes and glanced meaningfully at the others.
"Pah! At our age, why would we care about such vain reputations? If it weren't for the fact that this martial exchange is a century-old tradition, my Cloud Immortal Palace wouldn't have bothered making the journey here," Wen Lingwu, the elder of the Cloud Immortal Palace, scoffed disdainfully.
"It's all my rebellious disciple's fault for stirring up trouble… I'll discipline him properly when we return!" Nangong Yuan said sternly.
"That would be for the best. No need for things to escalate and ruin the harmony between us," Zhao Wendao sighed in relief before pulling out a stack of tokens and distributing them among the elders.
"These are the Lingxiao Sect's illusion tokens. Since the upcoming martial exchange will use illusions instead of secret realms, you may take these days to familiarize your disciples with the various illusionary trials."
After some more casual conversation, the elders dispersed with their disciples in tow.
……
The Moonlit Pavilion—
A temporary residence for the Tianxuan Sect disciples.
"Elder Lin, what are your orders?"
"I just performed a divination. Today, the Tianxuan Sect's aura is at its peak, making it the perfect time for competition… Quick! Gather the disciples and head to the Hall of Lingering Spirits immediately. Our Tianxuan Sect must claim the top spot!"
"As you command!"
"Oh, and keep it quiet. No unnecessary commotion!"
"Understood!"
……
The Raincloud Tower—
A temporary residence for the Infinite Sword Sect disciples.
"Elder Li, the disciples are eager to try 'A Cultivator’s Descent of 100 Floors' and bring glory to our sect…"
"Oh? That’s exactly why I summoned you! Rumor has it that our Infinite Sword Sect is only good for swordplay and nothing else… Today, we’ll prove them wrong—at the very least, we’ll outperform that Qingshan Sect, which only cleared two floors!"
"I couldn’t agree more! I’ve memorized all the tricks of those trials. We’ll make everyone take notice!"
"Good… But remember, keep it under wraps. Catch them off guard!"
"Don’t worry, our disciples’ concealment techniques won’t disappoint you!"
……
The Shattered Rain Pavilion—
A temporary residence for the Cloud Immortal Palace disciples.
"Have you understood my instructions?"
"Perfectly! The Cloud Immortal Palace excels in movement techniques. If we can’t stand out in this kind of trial, wouldn’t it disgrace our sect’s reputation?"
"Precisely my point. Let those brute-force fighters see what our Cloud Immortal Palace is truly capable of… Oh, and keep this operation confidential. No outsiders should know."
"Understood!"
……
The Hall of Lingering Spirits—
"Heh, the heavens truly favor our Lingxiao Sect! Since the disciples are so eager, why not ride this wave?" Zhao Wendao’s eyes gleamed with excitement, his face flushed.
"Indeed! I’ll return at once and have that rebellious disciple of mine work overnight to duplicate the illusion crystals!" Nangong Yuan immediately caught on.
"Yes—produce as many crystals as possible! Give them out for free, no charge! Deduct the material costs from the sect’s treasury!" Zhao Wendao clapped his hands in exhilaration.
The Lingxiao Sect boasted a vast number of disciples, granting them an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Now that Yang Zhengxin had performed poorly in 'A Cultivator’s Descent of 100 Floors,' many were eager to prove themselves—and by extension, their sect.
Thus, inter-sect rivalry was inevitable.
After traveling so far to gather here, every sect was vying for prestige and supremacy.
With a ready-made trial illusion at their disposal, none would let the opportunity slip.
The rankings on the leaderboard represented the face of every major sect!
And the Lingxiao Sect, with home-field advantage, was determined to claim the top spot.
"Zhong Yi!"
"Your disciple is here!"
"Put your cultivation aside for today and focus on conquering the trial… You are the Lingxiao Sect’s hope!"
"This disciple will not fail you!"
……
……
[Demonic Path Value +1.2]
[Demonic Path Value +7]
[Demonic Path Value +8.3]
[Demonic Path Value +10]
[Demonic Path Value +1.2]
……
The system’s notifications chimed incessantly.
Lu Ze couldn’t stop grinning.
"One old fool leaves, and a whole bunch of old fools arrive… Oh, and let’s not forget that gem of a senior brother, Zhong Yi."
Lu Ze chuckled to himself.
The elders had clearly suffered greatly in 'A Cultivator’s Descent of 100 Floors,' showering him with Demonic Path Value in the process.
But the most diligent contributor was Zhong Yi.
That recurring +1.2 was impossible to miss, popping up at an absurdly high frequency.
Undoubtedly the work of the all-talk-no-skill Zhong Yi…
When Yang Zhengxin shamelessly quit halfway that morning, Lu Ze had felt a twinge of regret.
Fortunately, he’d been quick-witted enough to add a [Leaderboard] feature and [Sect] tags, successfully igniting the disciples’ competitive spirit.
Now, it wasn’t just Yang Zhengxin supplying him with Demonic Path Value.
An entire sect,
Along with a host of elite cultivators,
Were fueling him with an endless stream of Demonic Path Value!
Once a cultivator's defenses are completely shattered, they even trigger an extra critical hit of Demon Path Points—truly a point-farming cheat!
In just one night, he had harvested ten thousand Demon Path Points.
This directly propelled him to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.
And the Demon Path Points kept pouring into his system nonstop!
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he advanced to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment.
Thinking about it, the Golden Core realm wasn’t far off either!
The thought filled Lu Ze with excitement.
The creation of illusions had a slight connection to one’s cultivation level.
But the main factor was the size of the area.
With Lu Ze’s current Foundation Establishment cultivation, the range of his illusions only spanned a few hundred meters in radius.
And that was with the amplification of his Ten Thousand Phantoms Demonic Immortal Body.
If he reached the Golden Core realm…
The range would expand to a full kilometer.
That would unlock even more game possibilities!
By then, the speed of milking Demon Path Points would skyrocket!
The thought made Lu Ze’s lips curl into a smirk.
He reopened the backend of "Cultivator’s Descent: 100 Floors" and began editing new maps.
That morning, he had only uploaded 500 pre-made maps.
But it wasn’t enough.
He needed to be even more ruthless…
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.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
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."
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
