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.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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?!
