Ten years later.
The Central Region of the Western Continent, the Cangming Sea.
This was the largest ocean in the Central Region of the Western Continent.
A thin layer of mist shrouded the sea all year round. Sunlight filtered through the haze, dyeing the entire ocean in a pale golden hue.
The gentle sea breeze, carrying a salty and damp scent, rustled the vegetation on the scattered islands dotting the water.
It was quiet and peaceful.
Suddenly—
Boom!
The entire Cangming Sea shuddered violently.
The tremor erupted from the very depths of the ocean.
It was as if something that had slumbered for millions of years was awakening at this very moment.
On the surface, the calm water was instantly torn apart.
The shockwave threw fishing boats and cultivators above the sea off balance, causing the entire ocean to churn endlessly and kicking up monstrous waves dozens of feet high.
The crashing waves pounded against the island reefs, emitting deafening roars.
Then, a whirlpool appeared in the center of the sea.
At first, the whirlpool was not large, merely a few dozen feet in diameter.
But it was expanding, growing at an astonishing speed.
The seawater spun madly. At the center of the vortex lay a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.
Immediately after, a palace slowly rose from the depths of the whirlpool.
The entire palace was constructed from a dark blue jade, gleaming with a faint, cold light under the sun.
The structure was massive, its walls carved with intricate patterns. These were no ordinary decorations, but ancient formations.
Layered and interlocked, they exuded a heart-palpitating aura.
Surrounding the palace were nine colossal stone pillars.
Lifelike statues of divine dragons coiled around the pillars, their heads facing outward and eyes wide open, as if guarding this palace that had slept for ten thousand years.
The moment the palace appeared, a formidable aura instantly swept across the entire Cangming Sea.
The aura was ancient, desolate, and domineering, carrying a majestic disdain for the world, as if announcing its return to the entire realm.
A pillar of light shot up from the top of the palace, piercing straight into the clouds.
The beam, several dozen feet thick and entirely golden, was dazzlingly bright, illuminating the sky for hundreds of miles around as if it were broad daylight.
When the pillar of light reached its apex, it violently exploded—
Golden ripples of light spread outward like waves—one ring, two rings, three rings... Wherever the light passed, the clouds in the sky were torn apart, revealing a clear blue canopy.
The ripples of light continued to expand, crossing the coastline of the Cangming Sea and sweeping over the mountains and rivers of the Western Continent.
Countless cultivators looked up at the sky, watching the golden light sweep past the horizon, feeling an inexplicable shock in their hearts.
Those old monsters who had been in secluded cultivation for years opened their eyes one after another, casting their gazes westward, their eyes full of suspicion and bewilderment.
Those ancient factions that had stood for ten thousand years sounded their alarm bells, summoning their clansmen to discuss countermeasures.
The entire Nine Heavens Realm was shaken by this palace rising from the bottom of the sea.
Immortal Emperor's Secret Realm.
These words simultaneously surfaced in the minds of countless cultivators.
...
Demon Realm, Heavenly Demon Sect.
Early morning.
Gu Changyuan opened his eyes.
Meeting his gaze were two exquisite faces, staring at him intently.
The sisters, Mo Yingluo and Mo Yingyue, were lying on their sides to his left and right, resting their cheeks on their hands, their eyes filled with smiles.
Seeing their master awake, the two girls spoke simultaneously in crisp voices:
"Good morning, Master."
Gu Changyuan sat up and casually replied:
"Morning."
Ever since the incident with Mo Yingluo and Mo Yingyue in the Outer Realm City years ago, coupled with the matters concerning Luo Qingchen and Tushan Youyao, the girls had become much bolder than before.
After repeatedly testing the limits of what Gu Changyuan would accept, they became increasingly unbridled, wanting to sleep together with him and cling to his side every so often.
At first, Gu Changyuan was a bit at a loss.
But as more and more disciples made the same request—not just Mo Yingluo and Mo Yingyue, but Ye Qingxue, Bai Ling'er, and Yue Lingxi also joined in the fun.
They all looked at him with such expectant eyes, as if his refusal would be an unforgivable sin.
Looking into their eyes, Gu Changyuan couldn't bear to refuse.
Ultimately, he chose to agree.
Anyway, it was just sleeping, nothing else.
Moreover, these girls truly just wanted to be closer to him.
Thinking that he had stayed in the Heavenly Demon Sect for quite some time, Gu Changyuan bid farewell to Mo Yingluo and Mo Yingyue, and returned to the Celestial Holy Land.
In ten years, the Holy Land had undergone significant changes.
Halfway up the mountain, five brand-new pavilions had risen from the ground, standing side by side with the Falling Star Pavilion. They were the strongholds of the Zhuge, Shangguan, Dugu, Xuanyuan, and Gongsun families.
The pavilions each had a different style, yet all were grand and imposing, blending seamlessly with the overall landscape of the Holy Land.
The Celestial City at the foot of the mountain had also expanded to more than double its size from ten years ago. The streets were bustling with people coming and going, exceptionally lively.
All three factions were developing steadily.
During these ten years, they hadn't encountered any major incidents; it was very peaceful.
Gu Changyuan took a deep breath of the fresh air at the mountain peak, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
Then, he saw the ancient tree.
The ancient tree at the peak of Mount Tianyuan, which had lived for an unknown number of years, had lush branches and leaves, its canopy like a massive umbrella.
On a thick branch sat a small figure.
Gu Xing'er.
She sat on the branch, her legs dangling and swinging gently, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.
With a flash of his figure, Gu Changyuan arrived beside her and sat down on the branch next to hers.
"Little girl, what are you thinking about?"
His voice was not loud, but in the quiet morning, it sounded exceptionally clear.
Gu Xing'er was startled by the sudden voice, trembling all over as her shoulders jerked.
The next moment, recognizing the voice, she relaxed her tense shoulders, turned her head, and looked at him with a trace of resentment:
"Brother, can you not appear beside me so stealthily? It's really scary."
Gu Changyuan smiled, raising his hand to rub her head:
"As an assassin, unable to even react to sudden situations, your Master is very disappointed."
Gu Xing'er said indignantly, "This is the Holy Land! Who stays on high alert all the time at home?"
She paused, then added:
"If I were outside, I would definitely react in the first instance, escape, and then scout the situation from the shadows."
"Is that so?" Gu Changyuan's smile did not fade. "Then it seems I've wrongly blamed Little Xing'er."
It had been ten years.
Gu Xing'er still hadn't grown any taller.
It was as if she was completely frozen at this height, never changing again.
However, as time went by, Gu Xing'er didn't care much about her height anymore.
Instead, she wholeheartedly delved into the path of the assassin that Gu Changyuan had laid out for her.
Her movement techniques became increasingly swift, and her concealment arts grew ever more exquisite.
"Right," Gu Changyuan pulled back his thoughts. "You haven't answered me yet. What were you thinking about just now?"
"Nothing much, just spacing out."
Gu Xing'er's eyes flickered, and she quickly replied, her cheeks flushing slightly.
She would never admit that she was staring blankly at the sea of clouds because she hadn't seen her brother in a long time and was wondering when he would return.
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…
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.
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.”
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'!"
