At this moment, Wang Yulan’s heart felt as if it had been struck violently by an invisible hammer.
Why... why did it have to be like this...?
Wang Yulan stared at the lifeless body on the ground, her hands trembling faintly.
Truth be told, she had already come to regard Tao Ying as a friend—after all, it was Tao Ying who had led her into this world of martial artists, granting her the power to seek vengeance against Xiao Lin.
But why... why had Tao Ying died so easily right before her eyes?
Her shaking hands seemed to grasp at something, yet... all they could clutch was the despair slowly creeping in around her. Wang Yulan’s vision blurred with anguish, and self-blame surged like a tidal wave, drowning all reason within her.
[Am I a bearer of misfortune? Why must everyone around me suffer such a fate?]
Her innermost heart trembled, her breaths turning ragged—each inhale felt like it was devouring her sanity.
And yet...
For some inexplicable reason, the image of Gu Yan surfaced in Wang Yulan’s mind.
"Yulan-jie... Yulan-jie..."
His voice seemed to echo in her thoughts.
That’s right. I must take revenge on Xiao Lin!
And then... I’ll see Gu Yan one last time!
So... until then, I must—survive!
With that resolve, Wang Yulan’s will to live surged to the forefront.
Hummm!
A wave of vibrant energy pulsed from her body.
In an instant, the walls and floor of the chamber became coated in verdant strands of qi, coalescing into blossoms of radiant light that bloomed across the newly formed green expanse.
Wang Yulan’s figure was now wreathed in a faint aura—the Flower Deity’s Qi—her final trump card.
Gu Yan observed Wang Yulan’s sudden burst of power, particularly the ethereal Flower Deity’s silhouette behind her, and the corners of his lips curled slightly.
Perfect. Just as I anticipated.
Is this the standard fare for the original heroine’s supporting cast?
A routine power surge?
Gu Yan let out a soft chuckle. "The Flower Deity’s projection? For a mere side character, you’ve done surprisingly well."
"What’s this? Are you angry because I killed your friend?"
"But... hmm. Why do I sense that the hatred in your heart is directed at someone else entirely?"
Wang Yulan’s hair now resembled vines, adorned with emerald petals, while tear stains marked the corners of her eyes. His words only stoked her fury further.
"Shut up!"
"You’re no different from that person!"
With a sweep of her hand, she aimed at Gu Yan.
Hummm—hummm—hummm!!
Emerald vines surged from all directions, their thorny tendrils bristling with venomous spikes.
At the same time—
Thwip! Thwip!
Vines erupted from beneath Gu Yan’s feet, binding him instantly and rendering him immobile.
He glanced down, then smirked at Wang Yulan. "Oh? You’ve mastered the Flower Deity’s Qi already?"
His mocking tone—so dismissive of life—only fueled her rage.
"Enough talk! Die, you monster!"
BOOM!
The vines lunged toward Gu Yan like frenzied spears.
From Wang Yulan’s perspective, since Gu Yan was ensnared, there was no way he could evade her strongest attack.
The vines pierced his body relentlessly.
Squelch! Squelch!!
Blood and gore splattered in all directions.
Seizing the moment, Wang Yulan used the vines to drag Tao Ying’s corpse away, retreating to a safe distance.
She raised an arm to shield herself from the violent gusts stirred by the assault.
Smoke and dust swirled in the air.
Her voice wavered as she stared at the gruesome aftermath. "Did... did I succeed?"
The next instant—
"Amusing."
A voice, cold as death itself, whispered beside her ear.
!!!
"No—!"
Before she could react, an iron grip seized her throat, hoisting her into the air.
Gasping in pain, she forced her eyes open to see the shadowy figure now standing before her, its clawed hand crushing her windpipe.
"Bastard...!"
She clawed at its arm, struggling futilely to break free.
How...? Why?
When did it get here?
Wang Yulan’s gaze darted back to the smoke-filled spot—but there was nothing there.
"Why...?"
She stared in disbelief at the faceless silhouette before her. How did it escape my vines?
Gu Yan tightened his grip, his voice dripping with amusement. "What gave you the delusion that you could kill me?"
"Originally, I intended to simply take the Flower Deity’s Qi from you."
"But in light of your... spirited resistance—"
"I’ll grant you a choice."
Thud!
He tossed Wang Yulan aside like discarded trash.
Cough! Cough!!
Clutching her throat, she glared up at him with venom in her eyes. "What do you want?"
"Simple."
Gu Yan extended a clawed finger and flicked it toward Tao Ying’s body.
The corpse levitated slowly before Wang Yulan’s horrified gaze.
His next words struck her like a bolt of lightning.
"Accept my blessing and join the Netherborn."
"In return, I will resurrect your friend."
The offer lingered in the air.
Wang Yulan wondered if she had misheard.
Resurrection?
This monster... can bring back the dead?
That’s impossible... right?
"You... can bring her back?"
"You have that kind of power?"
She looked up at him, incredulous.
Gu Yan smirked. "To humans, resurrection must seem like a myth."
"But for the Netherborn, communing with souls is second nature."
"Tell me, little human..."
He pressed a claw to her chest, his voice a silken whisper.
"I can hear your heart whispering to me."
"There’s someone else you wish to revive, isn’t there?"
"Someone... precious to you."
"To ensure your loyalty, why don’t I...?"
Withdrawing his finger, he suddenly drove it into Tao Ying’s forehead.
Hummm!
A miracle unfolded.
A surge of otherworldly energy flooded Tao Ying’s lifeless form.
One second. Two. Three...
"Ghk—!!"
Tao Ying’s eyes flew open, her chest heaving violently.
She collapsed onto the ground with a thud, her voice trembling with terror. "Wh-what just happened...?"
Meanwhile—
Wang Yulan had stopped breathing altogether.
Alive...?
She’s alive?!
She stared at Tao Ying, who had clearly died before her eyes but now stood alive once more.
A single thought took root in her mind.
[Mom... could she be brought back like this too?]
Once the idea surfaced, it spread like a virus, consuming her thoughts until nothing else remained.
“Well, have you made your decision?”
The voice, a dissonant blend of countless tones, echoed once more in Wang Yulan’s ears.
With great effort, she raised her head and met the gaze of the spectral creature before her. “If... if I join you, can you bring someone back for me?”
“Of course. Though your friend here has already been revived,” it replied smoothly. “If you wish to resurrect another, then... that depends on your performance after joining us.”
Gu Yan’s lips curled into a faint smile as he extended a clawed hand, one elongated fingertip hovering before her.
Wang Yulan hesitated, her mind racing.
The means to revive her mother was right in front of her.
If she let this chance slip, she might never get another.
But the price... was becoming a monster herself.
Then again...
She fell into silence.
Seconds ticked by.
Finally, the desperate longing to see her mother again overwhelmed her.
She reached out and grasped the claw, pressing her forehead against it with unwavering resolve.
“Deal,” she declared.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
] [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!"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
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.”
