"Miss!"
Hongyu yelled sharply from the outside. "You filthy beggar, let go of my miss!"
Although she shouted so, she didn't step inside.
Xu Mu reached out his hand, extending it into the area marked by the red line, and felt carefully.
He discovered that it wasn't an illusion formation inside, but a real place, just with an extra, thick layer of a defensive formation.
From the moment his hand touched the formation here, he could sense some information.
First, it was at least a level-eight formation.
Second, the formation here only allowed entry but not exit, and its defensive power was extremely strong.
Xu Mu immediately used the Eye of God to examine the messy-haired old man in front of him.
Fu Jinyu was the dignified Empress of the Heavenly Demon Race, a cultivator at the mid-stage of the Mortal Shedding Realm.
Who exactly was this old man? He had actually taken down Fu Jinyu in just two moves.
Name: Hao Yang
Identity: Farmer
Favorability: 1
Destiny Level: 6 (Max Level: 10)
Seeing this name, Xu Mu's face was filled with disbelief. It was actually Hao Yang.
He knew this name very well; it belonged to the "Madman" among the "One Madman, Two Cripples," and his strength was unfathomable.
According to the plot records, he seemed to have suffered some kind of trauma in the past, causing him to be delirious all day long.
However, it didn't explicitly state what he had suffered, nor did it mention his origins.
It only said that he loved to fight, and once he got excited, he acted like a lunatic.
He had a hobby: drinking, specifically strong liquor.
He liked taking in godsons, and he liked to have his sons call him "Stepdad."
When introducing himself, he often stated his full title.
Which was Stepdad, Hao Yang.
Previously, when Xu Mu saw this title, he had burst out laughing.
However, this just proved that he was crazy and not quite right in the head.
"Boy, I didn't expect you to be a coward. In that case, I'll enjoy this beauty myself."
Hao Yang glanced at Xu Mu and laughed loudly.
"You think you can?"
Fu Jinyu sneered, and the black aura all over her body suddenly erupted.
Seeing this, Hao Yang immediately jumped away.
He brushed aside his messy hair, revealing his slender eyes. "An alien beauty?"
Fu Jinyu clenched her fists. "I just wasn't ready earlier."
"Hahaha! Alright! Then get yourself ready. I'll wait right here."
Hao Yang threw his head back and laughed.
But suddenly, his laughter came to an abrupt halt, as he noticed that Xu Mu had actually stepped inside the red line.
Meng Wanyue, who was standing to the side, saw Xu Mu walk in and followed without any hesitation.
"What are you doing here? Do you think I can't beat him?"
Fu Jinyu shouted coldly, but black text appeared above her head.
[Favorability +10]
However, her gaze then shifted to Hongyu over there.
Hongyu also noticed Fu Jinyu's gaze, but for a moment, she didn't know what to do.
If this was a certain-death situation, she definitely wouldn't want to go in.
But if Fu Jinyu ended up coming out alive, then she would be the one to die.
She didn't know how to place her bet.
Hongyu took a deep breath. Indeed, paper couldn't wrap a fire. No matter how deeply she hid, there would always be a moment of exposure.
In the end, she still took a step forward and crossed the red line.
"Empress, I deserve to die."
Hongyu knew very well that the moment she hesitated earlier had allowed Fu Jinyu to see her true colors.
If she begged for mercy now, Fu Jinyu might spare her life.
If she chose to run away, given Fu Jinyu's personality, she would undoubtedly be dead once the Empress got out.
"Empress? You're the Empress of the Heavenly Demon Race?"
Hao Yang scoffed. "If I get my hands on you, doesn't that make me the King of the Heavenly Demon Race?"
"Hongyu! Stand up. We'll deal with your matter later. Let's resolve the current situation first."
Fu Jinyu took off her broken sunglasses, threw them to the ground, and stared at Hao Yang with icy eyes.
"Are you planning to deal with me?"
Hao Yang smiled as he scanned the people in front of him. "Let me tell you, just the few of you, even if there were twice as many, you still wouldn't be my match."
"I don't need twice as many. I can kill you by myself."
Fu Jinyu snorted coldly.
"Alright, stop provoking him."
Xu Mu tried to smooth things over. This Hao Yang had mental issues, and who knew what the consequences would be if he was pushed too far.
As for this old man, it was better to coax him a little; perhaps he could even be of use to him.
"Senior, if I'm not mistaken, you're trapped here, right?"
Xu Mu walked up to Hao Yang with a smile, but he also elevated his body to its optimal state.
At the slightest sign of trouble, he would dodge immediately.
"No, I came here to play. To be exact, I'm playing hide-and-seek with someone. Hehehe, as long as that person can't find me, I win."
Hao Yang covered his mouth and giggled.
"How long have you been hiding here, Senior? I think, haven't you already won?"
Xu Mu played along with his words.
"I've been here..."
Hao Yang counted on his fingers, then paused. "Right! I've already won, so what am I still hiding here for? Boy! Thanks for reminding me."
"Don't mention it. Do you know how to get out, Senior?"
Xu Mu continued to ask.
"I don't know, I can't get out. I can't get past the formation here."
Hao Yang scratched his head vigorously with both hands.
Xu Mu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll study the formation here, and maybe I can take you out."
"Xu Mu, why are you wasting your breath on this damn lunatic?"
Fu Jinyu shouted from afar. The other party had stepped on her and humiliated her in front of Xu Mu earlier; she absolutely could not swallow this insult.
"You dare call me a damn lunatic? I'll kill you!"
Hao Yang was still scratching his hair vigorously, but upon hearing this, he immediately glared at Fu Jinyu fiercely.
"Senior, give me some face and don't bicker with a woman like her."
Xu Mu suddenly paused, then opened his storage space and took out the liquor Chen Xuan had given him last time.
He only had a bottle and a half here. The full bottle was given later, and there was also a little less than half a mineral water bottle left over from what they drank last time.
He took out the mineral water bottle and handed it to Hao Yang. "Senior, this is the liquor brewed by my master. Have a taste."
"What? Liquor?"
Hao Yang's face filled with wild joy. He immediately took the mineral water bottle, unscrewed it, and tilted his head back to take a big gulp.
Xu Mu shook his head slightly. The man's brain was indeed problematic; he had no guard against him at all.
"Holy crap!"
Hao Yang's eyes widened in disbelief. "Good liquor, what good liquor!"
"Senior, sit here and rest for a while. I'll study the surrounding formations first."
Xu Mu squatted down and pressed his hand against the ground.
"You're not bad, kid. Be my son."
Hao Yang reached out his hand to Xu Mu, his eyes full of admiration.
Xu Mu smiled awkwardly. "Senior, this matter requires my dad's approval. I can't make the decision."
"You still have a father? That makes sense. I'll find some time to go see him."
At this point, Hao Yang took another gulp of liquor, then looked at the few people over there. "Child, which of those three women have you taken a fancy to? I'll catch her right now and make her sleep with you."

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'!"

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!

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?!