Xu Mu watched the old man charging toward them. Before he could utter a word, Chen Xuan, standing beside him, charged forward brandishing his woodchopping knife.
"You have a death wish!"
The Sky Demon Clan elder sneered, raising a withered palm wreathed in black mist.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, his five fingers extended into half-meter-long black spikes.
*Boom!*
Chen Xuan’s woodchopping knife collided with the spikes.
The massive shockwave blasted apart the ground beneath their feet.
"Holy crap! Don't wreck the crops!" Xu Mu shouted from behind.
"Don't worry, Brother Mu! I can't afford to pay for other things, but I can handle crops—they're cheap enough!"
Golden lightning suddenly flickered along Chen Xuan’s blade. "Isn't that ironic? Mountain Cleaver!"
*Crack!*
The golden lightning surged forward instantly.
The Sky Demon elder felt his entire body go numb and was instantly sent flying backward.
"Interesting. I took you for trash, but your cultivation realm isn't low."
The elder retreated a dozen meters and let out a sinister cackle.
High above.
Fu Cheng looked down at Xu Mu with a cruel smile. "Fu Jinyu, we are both in the middle stage of Transcendence. I admit I can't defeat you, but you can't defeat me either."
"What is your point?" Fu Jinyu asked sharply.
"I'm just saying, killing is easier than saving. I want to kill him, and you can't stop me," Fu Cheng said methodically. "If you don't want him to die, cripple your own meridians and step aside. Then you two lovebirds can finally be together."
"Lovebirds my ass!"
Fu Jinyu clenched her fists, her power surging once more. "Unseal!"
*Whoosh!*
The wings on her back solidified, transforming into six sword-like shapes. The black Qi releasing from her body gathered above her head, finally forming a black crown.
"You think only you know the Sky Demon Unsealing? I am also Sky Demon Royalty. I studied alongside your father back in the day!"
Fu Cheng also unleashed his power. "Unseal!"
*Whoosh!*
The two now looked nearly identical: wings like blades on their backs and black crowns suspended above their heads.
The Qi pouring from them completely enveloped their bodies.
*Swish!*
They transformed into streaks of black light, colliding repeatedly high in the air.
Their wings became weapons of war; every collision thundered like a lightning strike, echoing through the sky.
Suddenly, one of the black shadows dove straight for Xu Mu.
The other shadow followed close behind, but the battle kept drifting closer to him.
Fu Jinyu couldn't stop it. As Fu Cheng had said, he was trying to kill, while she was trying to save.
Fu Cheng only needed to keep getting closer to Xu Mu, while Fu Jinyu was forced to follow passively.
"Xu Mu! Are you stupid? What are you staring at? Run!" Fu Jinyu shouted at the top of her lungs as she neared him.
"Too late!"
Fu Cheng’s figure suddenly flashed, appearing directly above Xu Mu. "Sky Demon Sun Piercer!"
*Rumble!*
A sickle-shaped beam of black light smashed down toward Xu Mu.
Fu Jinyu rushed to intercept, but to her shock, Xu Mu didn't dodge. Instead, he leaped up, deliberately catching the attack.
"You brat! Do you want to die early?"
If Xu Mu had run toward her, she might have made it in time.
But not only did he not run, he jumped up to meet the attack even sooner.
Fu Cheng wore a look of disdain. Did this kid have brain damage?
But a moment later, his expression froze.
His attack suddenly vanished.
The terrifying black energy was just... gone.
Fu Jinyu, who was rushing over with all her might, hovered in the air, bewildered by the sight.
"Old Chen! Fall back!"
Xu Mu suddenly sprinted toward Chen Xuan.
Hearing this, Chen Xuan, who was still fighting the elder, retreated rapidly.
"What? Want to switch opponents? Come on then!"
The Sky Demon elder curled his finger at Xu Mu provocatively.
But suddenly, he felt the sky darken. He looked up to see terrifying black energy manifesting directly above his head.
"What the—?"
The elder tried to dodge, but it was too late. He was instantly blasted away by the terrifying force.
*Bang!*
His body flew uncontrollably for dozens of meters before crashing into the field, knocking him unconscious.
Seeing this, a glint of delight flashed in Fu Jinyu's eyes.
It seemed this Xu Mu knew more than just medical skills; his combat ability was equally impressive.
"What kind of cultivation technique is that?"
Fu Cheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. He could transfer attacks?
*Swish!*
Before he could ponder it further, Fu Jinyu was already charging at him to kill.
"I don't believe this!"
Fu Cheng roared, quickly dodging Fu Jinyu's strike before diving toward Xu Mu again.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
He waved his hands continuously, sending over a dozen blades of black wind slashing toward Xu Mu.
*Hum!*
Before the wind blades could even touch Xu Mu, they all vanished once again.
"Hahaha! Fu Cheng! Did you think my man would die that eas—"
Fu Jinyu crossed her arms and sneered, but her smile vanished instantly. The black wind blades Fu Cheng had unleashed were now hurtling straight at her.
"Holy shit! Xu Mu! Are you trying to kill me?!"
Fu Jinyu shot up toward the sky to dodge the barrage.
"Sorry! You can handle it anyway."
Xu Mu felt the move was a bit restrictive; he couldn't redirect the attack back to the caster.
And among the people nearby, he certainly couldn't dump the attacks on Chen Xuan.
"I don't believe I can't take you down in close combat!"
Just as Fu Cheng prepared to continue his assault, he suddenly looked toward the distant sky. Two military helicopters were approaching the location.
Fu Cheng hesitated for a split second before immediately flying into the distance, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"The energy fluctuations from the battle must have alerted the Cleaners nearby. Xu Mu, I'm retreating. Call me."
Fu Jinyu turned and fled toward the village.
Xu Mu and Chen Xuan stood their ground, waiting quietly.
Before long, the helicopters hovered overhead.
Several people dressed in "Cleaner" uniforms jumped down from the height.
The leader was a middle-aged man with two white stripes on his uniform.
Xu Mu and Chen Xuan were both surprised when they saw him.
They had encountered this man before at the Nine Li Tribe tomb.
He had been with Ren Sangsang at the time. Xu Mu remembered his name: Sun Ziqiang.
"It's you two?"
Sun Ziqiang was equally surprised to see the pair in front of him. "What are you doing here?"
"We ran into the Sky Demon Clan here. A few ran away, but Old Chen and I teamed up to take care of one."
Xu Mu pointed to the elder lying face down in the dirt nearby.
Sun Ziqiang approached cautiously.
He turned the man over with his foot, noting the blood around his mouth.
Squatting down, Sun Ziqiang pried open the man's eyelids, revealing red irises and black sclera.
"It really is a Sky Demon."
Sun Ziqiang nodded heavily.
"Old Chen..."
Xu Mu intended to tell Chen Xuan to leave with him, only to find Chen Xuan staring intently at a female intermediate Cleaner nearby.
"Brother Mu, following you really does bring good luck. That’s my fiancée."
Chen Xuan walked over to the cleaner.

his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…

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!"

uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.

to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”