At the bottom of the valley.
The array patterns on the bluestone platform emitted a low hum as Gu Yan poured his spiritual energy into them.
The light of the seal flickered, clearly on the verge of collapse.
Gu Yan was covered in sweat, his face pale.
The spiritual energy of his ninth level of Qi Condensation had been mostly drained, but the fanaticism in his eyes only grew stronger.
"Disciple, the final step!"
The voice of the Old Grandpa rang out urgently in his sea of consciousness.
"Inject your spiritual energy into the Kan position, and the array will be broken!"
Gu Yan gritted his teeth and thrust his hands forward violently.
Just at the moment he was about to complete the final step.
"Whoosh!"
A fierce sword aura shot out from the thick fog without any warning!
Aiming straight for the back of Gu Yan's heart!
"Not good! Dodge!"
The Old Grandpa's warning saved Gu Yan's life.
Gu Yan forcefully interrupted his array-breaking, his body rolling to the right in a miserable posture.
"Boom!"
The sword aura slashed against the bluestone platform, sending crushed stones flying.
Gu Yan broke out in a cold sweat and abruptly turned his head.
The thick fog was torn apart by the sword aura.
Four disciples wearing the uniforms of the Mystic Sword Sect, holding long swords, walked out from the shadows.
The leader was a young man at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, his eyes staring greedily at the soon-to-be-opened cave dwelling.
"A handyman from the Blood Fiend Sect?"
The young man sneered, pointing his long sword at Gu Yan.
"Get lost. The Mystic Sword Sect is taking over this place."
Gu Yan's face turned livid.
He had worked so hard to break the array and was on the verge of obtaining the fortunate encounter; how could he just hand it over to someone else?
"I found this first!" Gu Yan roared, clenching his fists.
"You found it first?"
Another sneer came from the other side.
Three female cultivators from Sunset Valley, holding staffs, landed lightly on a massive boulder.
"For such an ancient ruin, everyone who sees it gets a share. If the Mystic Sword Sect wants to swallow it all alone, your appetite is a bit too big."
Immediately after.
Five inner sect elites from the Blood Fiend Sect also emerged from the mist.
Seeing Gu Yan, they were first stunned, then revealed undisguised killing intent.
"Gu Yan? A mere handyman like you dares to lay hands on this kind of fortunate encounter? Hurry up and get your ass over here to help us seize the treasure!"
Three factions.
Twelve elite disciples.
Tightly surrounded Gu Yan and that bluestone platform.
The atmosphere instantly dropped to the freezing point.
Tensions were at a breaking point.
Gu Yan leaned his back against the bluestone platform, his heart pounding wildly.
Although he had the Old Grandpa as his trump card, facing so many experts at the Foundation Establishment stage and the peak of Qi Condensation, fighting head-on would only lead to a dead end.
"Disciple, don't panic."
The Old Grandpa's voice steadied, carrying a hint of calculating slyness.
"They are suspicious of each other; no one dares to make the first move. Use this to your advantage and provoke them."
"As long as you can stall for half an incense stick of time, I will teach you a secret technique to instantly break the final seal. We will charge straight in!"
Gu Yan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Looking at the young man from the Mystic Sword Sect, he suddenly shouted loudly:
"I have already broken ninety percent of the array outside this cave dwelling! But the final step requires the cooperation of the Blood Fiend Sect's exclusive mental cultivation method!"
He turned to look at the inner sect disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect.
"Senior brothers! The Mystic Sword Sect and Sunset Valley outnumber us. Let's join forces, kill them first, and we will split the treasures in the cave dwelling equally!"
As soon as these words came out.
The expressions of the disciples from the Mystic Sword Sect and Sunset Valley changed drastically.
Although the disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect looked down on Gu Yan, in the face of such benefits, they immediately made a decision.
"Do it!"
The leading disciple of the Blood Fiend Sect roared, taking the initiative to summon his magical artifact and smash it toward the young man of the Mystic Sword Sect.
"Courting death!"
The young man from the Mystic Sword Sect was furious. With a wave of his long sword, he met the attack head-on.
Seeing this, the female cultivators of Sunset Valley were not to be outdone. Unleashing their spells all at once, they joined the chaotic battle.
The valley instantly fell into chaos.
Spells roared, and sword auras ran rampant.
Screams and angry curses intertwined.
No one noticed that the Blood Fiend Sect handyman who had provoked the melee was quietly turning around, pressing his hands against the bluestone platform.
"Now!"
The Old Grandpa shouted loudly.
Gu Yan bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of lifeblood onto the Kan position of the array patterns.
The remaining spiritual energy in his body poured out without reservation.
"Rumble!!!"
A loud bang.
The bluestone platform split down the middle, and a blinding pillar of golden light shot into the sky!
An ancient, desolate aura instantly filled the entire valley.
A deep underground cave entrance appeared beneath the stone platform.
Floating in the center of the entrance was a jade slip emitting an archaic light, along with a completely emerald-green spiritual herb that exuded intense vitality.
The Nine Nether Yellow Spring Grass!
"An inheritance! It's an ancient inheritance!"
The disciples of the three sects who were in the midst of the chaotic battle stopped at the same time. Their eyes red with madness, they rushed frantically toward the cave entrance.
But they were a step too late.
Gu Yan was the closest to the entrance.
Without hesitation, he leaped and jumped into the cave dwelling.
"Hahahaha! The fortunate encounter is mine!"
Gu Yan was ecstatic, grabbing the Nine Nether Yellow Spring Grass in one hand while reaching out for the inheritance jade slip with the other.
The Old Grandpa's voice trembled with excitement in his mind.
"Disciple! Hurry! Absorb the cultivation method in the jade slip! With it, your master can rebuild his physical body!"
Gu Yan's fingers touched the jade slip.
A massive stream of information instantly flooded into his sea of consciousness.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the thrill of being about to defy the heavens and change his fate.
Right at this moment.
A calm, indifferent voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Behind him.
Abruptly sounded.
"Thanks for leading the way."
Gu Yan's eyes snapped open.
All the hairs on his body stood on end instantly.
He turned his head in horror.
A man wearing a gray rogue cultivator's robe and a bamboo hat had, at some unknown point, stood behind him.
Less than half a step away from him.
Like a ghost that had appeared out of thin air.
"You..."
Before Gu Yan could finish his words.
Shen Fei's right hand shot out like lightning.
Without using any spells.
Pure physical strength, combined with the eruption of Heavenly Demon spiritual energy.
"Bang!"
Shen Fei landed a solid palm strike right on the crown of Gu Yan's head!
Gu Yan's pupils instantly dilated.
His proud ninth level of Qi Condensation cultivation was worse than paper paste in the face of this terrifying power.
His skull shattered.
But Shen Fei didn't kill him directly.
A deep black vortex erupted from his palm.
Heavenly Demon Devour!
However, the target of the devour this time was not Gu Yan's cultivation.
But rather.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, that remnant soul of the Old Grandpa who was preparing to absorb the inheritance!
"Ah!!!"
An incredibly shrill scream, audible only on the soul level, exploded in Gu Yan's sea of consciousness.
The remnant soul struggled desperately, trying to escape this terrifying black vortex.
But the domineering nature of the Heavenly Demon Devour didn't give it any chance at all.
Like a giant whale sucking up water.
The remnant soul was forcefully ripped out of Gu Yan's sea of consciousness, instantly vanishing into Shen Fei's palm.
Chewed up by the Heavenly Demon spiritual energy, it was devoured completely clean.
"No... Teacher..."
Bleeding from his seven orifices, Gu Yan's eyes were filled with despair and disbelief.
His greatest trump card, his capital for a counterattack.
Had just been eaten in one bite by someone.
Shen Fei withdrew his hand.
Casually, he pulled the Nine Nether Yellow Spring Grass and the inheritance jade slip from Gu Yan's stiff fingers.
"Not bad."
Shen Fei glanced at the spoils in his hand and casually tossed them into his system inventory.
He looked at Gu Yan, who was slumped on the ground.
The Heavenly Demon Devour activated once more.
This time, it was aimed at the A-rank Destiny Origin within Gu Yan's body.
The golden light of destiny was forcibly stripped away and surged into Shen Fei's body.
[Ding!]
[Devoured the origin of an A-rank Child of Destiny!]
[Law Barrier loosened: 35%!]
Feeling the suppression within his body loosen once again, Shen Fei nodded in satisfaction.
He didn't spare another glance at Gu Yan, who had now been reduced to a cripple.
Turning around, he walked out of the cave dwelling.
Outside the cave.
The disciples of the three sects had already rushed to the front of the bluestone platform.
They saw an independent cultivator wearing a bamboo hat walk out from inside, his hands completely empty.
"Halt! Hand over the inheritance!"
A young man from the Profound Sword Sect roared, his longsword thrusting straight toward Shen Fei's throat.
Shen Fei did not stop walking.
He didn't even look up.
Only, in the exact moment he brushed past the young man...
He casually waved his left hand.
Bang!
The young man's head violently exploded like a watermelon.
The headless corpse fell to the ground, blood spurting wildly.
The entire scene fell dead silent.
The remaining eleven elite disciples stared at this grey-robed independent cultivator in sheer terror.
Instantly killing an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in a single move!
What kind of monster was this?!
Shen Fei paid no mind to their fear.
As if taking a leisurely stroll, he passed through the crowd and walked out of the valley.
No one dared to stop him.
No one dared to make a sound.
It wasn't until Shen Fei's figure completely vanished into the thick fog.
That they woke up as if from a dream and frantically rushed into the cave dwelling.
Only to find Gu Yan slumped on the ground, reduced to a babbling idiot, and an entirely empty stone platform.
...
Deep within the Secret Realm.
Shen Fei walked through the dense forest.
He took off his bamboo hat and tossed it by the side of the road.
On the system panel, that pillar of destiny light, carrying an ancient aura, was still flickering on the western side of the Secret Realm.
"My guide has outlived his usefulness."
Shen Fei looked in that direction, his gaze profound and distant.
"Next up."
"It's time to go harvest the rest of the crop."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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?!
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.”
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)
