He took a breath, his tone gradually turning solemn:
"But that is fine. Your cultivation base is not high, yet for some unknown reason, your spiritual energy is incredibly abundant. By maintaining this disposition, you might be able to go further in this Ruin of Chaos."
He paused for a moment and struggled to raise his right hand. A purple box appeared in his palm, which he held out to Gu Changyuan.
"If possible, should you ever encounter members of the Star Clan in the future, I hope you can help me deliver this to them."
His voice was weak, yet it carried a trace of pleading.
"Also, if one day the Star Clan faces an apocalyptic crisis, I hope you can step forward and protect them just once.
Of course, if you do not wish to, it is fine—if things truly reach that point, perhaps it is simply the fate of my Star Clan."
Although Gu Changyuan's cultivation was not high, he could tell that the other party's talent and potential were immense. It probably wouldn't be long before he surpassed him.
Looking at the plea in his eyes, Gu Changyuan remained silent for a moment before reaching out to accept the jade box. His tone was as flat as ever, yet it held an imperceptible hint of a promise:
"If I meet them, I will pass it on. As for protecting the Star Clan once, if that day truly comes, I will consider it."
"Then, thank you, Brother Gu..."
A relieved smile appeared on Xing Zixu's face as he slowly closed his eyes. The stellar aura surrounding him completely dissipated, leaving behind not a single trace of vitality.
Later, Gu Changyuan found a quiet place for him in the starry ruins. He buried him with his own hands and erected a simple tombstone, carving the three words Xing Zixu upon it.
Even later, due to a sudden spatial turbulence in the starry sky, he was forced to leave that area and had never returned since.
Over six hundred years passed, and he never encountered anyone from the Star Clan again. The memories of Xing Zixu and the promise regarding this purple jade box were gradually sealed away at the bottom of his heart.
If he hadn't seen the stellar patterns surrounding Xing Yan and the other six today, and if he hadn't touched this jade box, he might have continued to let this memory gather dust.
Gu Changyuan held the purple jade box at his fingertips. The moment he raised his hand, Xing Yan and the others instantly shuddered.
A majestic, vast, and incomparably pure stellar power quietly drifted out from around the jade box, carrying an ancient and profound aura.
Gu Changyuan's gaze lightly swept over the seven shocked individuals below as he spoke slowly:
"You call yourselves the Star Vault Clan, but do you recognize the name Star Clan?"
Hearing the words Star Clan, the pupils of Xing Yan and the other six abruptly shrank. Their bodies stiffened sharply, and the shock on their faces deepened.
Xing Yan hastily bowed, his tone even more respectful than before:
"To answer Senior, we are indeed members of the Star Clan.
Star Clan is the collective name for our race in the upper realms. In the lower worlds, each branch of our clan adds an extra word after Star to distinguish themselves.
We are the branch of the Nine Heavens Realm, the Star Vault Clan."
Gu Changyuan nodded slightly, the doubt in his eyes fading a bit:
"I see. This item was entrusted to me by a friend in the past. He said that if I ever met members of the Star Clan in the future, I should pass it on to them.
Since you are here now, this item can be considered returned to its rightful owners."
As he spoke, his fingertips gently rubbed the stellar patterns on the surface of the jade box, and a trace of curiosity couldn't help but rise in his heart.
Even with his current cultivation, his divine sense was unable to pierce through the barriers of this jade box to see what was stored inside.
It was evident that the jade box itself was by no means an ordinary treasure.
With a thought, a spiritual light flashed at Gu Changyuan's fingertips, and the purple jade box slowly opened without the slightest resistance.
The moment the jade box fully opened, a vast stellar power erupted with a boom, instantly breaking through the confines of the box and sweeping across the entire world.
The originally clear and cloudless day was instantly shrouded by this power. Daylight faded, and night descended.
The entire Celestial Holy Land, along with the surrounding airspace spanning tens of thousands of miles, was covered in endless darkness.
Countless dazzling stars quietly emerged in the dark, densely dotting the firmament.
Every star emitted a dazzling starlight. The starlight wove into a net, continuously extending and spreading outward.
This stellar power was not fierce or overbearing, yet it carried an ancient majesty that originated from the depths of the bloodline.
Feeling this familiar and powerful stellar force, extreme horror instantly appeared on the faces of Xing Yan and the other six. Their eyes widened perfectly round, and the blood in their bodies seemed to freeze.
This aura was too powerful, but what shocked them even more was—this aura was too familiar!
This stellar power was purer and stronger than the stellar origin their Star Vault Clan elders had cultivated for a lifetime.
It made the stellar power within their bodies restlessly stir, faintly showing signs of resonance.
A sense of intimacy and belonging from the depths of their bloodline instantly swept over the seven of them, making their eyes redden uncontrollably.
The stellar power within their bodies stirred madly, yearning to resonate with this force.
Gu Changyuan was similarly shocked by this majestic stellar power for a moment. Then, his gaze fell into the jade box, and he saw the object inside clearly.
The interior of the jade box was lined with a layer of snow-white star velvet, gleaming faintly under the illumination of the starlight.
Right in the center of the jade box, a crystal-purple dagger lay quietly.
The dagger was only about the length of a palm, entirely crystal-purple.
On the blade were countless fine stellar patterns that shimmered slightly under the starlight, as if a galaxy were flowing within them.
A dark purple gemstone was inlaid in the hilt. Within the gemstone, a miniature swirling nebula could faintly be seen, exuding a majestic stellar origin power.
The moment the dagger appeared in the world, the countless stars in the firmament seemed to be drawn in, pouring their starlight down.
It flowed endlessly into the dagger, making its radiance ever more dazzling and the stellar power surrounding it even more majestic.
And just as Gu Changyuan got a clear look at the dagger, dazzling starlight suddenly lit up simultaneously within Xing Yan and the other six, bursting out from their bodies.
The starlight connected and intertwined in the air, instantly forming a massive and ancient starlight array.
As the starlight array activated, the starlight surged. Countless stellar patterns flowed within the array, and ancient incantations quietly echoed in the void.
At the core of the array, a blurry figure slowly gathered and manifested.
It was an old man.
He had a lean figure and a quaint visage. His silver hair cascaded down to his waist, bound by a stellar crown.
He wore a dark purple robe, the hem embroidered with stellar patterns identical to those on the box.
His eyes were extraordinarily bright, like two stars that remained unextinguished even after millions of years.
Seeing the newcomer, Xing Yan and the other six immediately bowed in salute, their posture several times more respectful than when they faced Gu Changyuan earlier:
"Grand Ancestor!"
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!"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
] [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!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
