[Luo Feng: "???"]

Luo Feng was utterly confused watching Li Changshou and Shi Jian's remarks.

Wasn't it just that his opponent in the PK was a bit strange? Why did those two look so surprised?

[Luo Feng: "The Myriad Heavens Projection is for challenging Myriad Heavens experts, what else could it be for?"]

[Shi Jian: "The problem is, are you challenging a normal Myriad Heavens expert? That's a Mother Yao Beast King! That thing can't be defeated by ordinary means..."]

[Li Changshou: "Exactly. That thing... conventional attacks don't work. You can't beat it to death. The only way to kill it is to... well, 'penetrate' it to death. Exhaust its very essence through... that act."]

[Luo Feng: "??? The more you two talk, the more confused I get..."]

[Li Changshou uploaded 'Qin Di']

[Li Changshou: "No more talk, just read the ending..."]

[Luo Feng downloaded 'Qin Di']

[Xiao Yan downloaded 'Qin Di']

...

The other group members, hearing how mysterious Shi Jian and Li Changshou were being, also downloaded 'Qin Di' out of curiosity.

In less than a few seconds, everyone had finished reading 'Qin Di'... including its infamous ending.

The chat group fell into a strange, heavy silence.

After a long while, someone finally spoke.

[Xiao Yan: "Breathtaking!"]

[Lin Dong: "Eye-opening!"]

[Meng Qi: "Bizarre!"]

[Lin Feng: "Terrifying! I've heard of this book, but never read it. I can't believe it's so explosive..."]

[Fang Han: "Theoretically, killing an enemy by extracting their Yin essence to supplement one's Yang is feasible. Cultivation inherently has the concept of a 'Cauldron'. Dual Cultivation, if taken to an unrestrained extreme, can certainly drain a partner to death... However, that's usually from a complete Yin-Yang imbalance. To literally fuck something to death from sheer, overwhelming pleasure... that's a new one. Truly unprecedented."]

[Inorin's Note: A 'Cauldron' (or Ding) in cultivation often refers to a person, usually female, used by another cultivator to absorb their essence (Yin, vitality, or cultivation base) to boost their own power, often harming or killing the Cauldron in the process.]

[Li Qiye: "Is our chat group... serious?"]

The most speechless one, however, was Luo Feng.

He stared blankly at the text file he had just closed. His mind was racing, replaying his fight. The Mother Yao Beast King had indeed been... strange. It hadn't attacked with overwhelming force, but with bizarre, binding laws.

It had tried to wrap him in tentacles of energy, its aura feeling less 'violent' and more 'hungry' in a deeply unsettling way.

He shuddered. He had felt the pull of the abyss she manifested, a force that didn't just attack his body, but seemed to want to... drain him. Drain his vitality, his spirit, his genetic energy, his very essence.

He was just glad his 'Law Cleansing' was a pure, conceptual-level attack that simply erased her existence from a distance. He hadn't even gotten close.

He quickly typed in the group, a cold sweat on his brow.

[Luo Feng: "I... I killed her normally. I just used Law cleansing from a distance! (speechless emoji) (terrified emoji)"]

[Luo Feng: "You're telling me... if I had tried to fight it in close combat... I would have been...?"]

[Li Changshou: "You'd be a dried-up husk by now, Brother Luo. Count your blessings."]

...

[Xu Que: "The Myriad Heavens Projection can even match such an exciting opponent? Interesting... I have a bold idea!"]

[Xu Que: "I've heard about the ending of 'Qin Di' as well, and it feels a bit unreasonable. Dying from extracting Yin to supplement Yang is normal... but dying from pleasure... Practice makes perfect. I need to verify this!"]

[Shi Jian: "???"]

[Meng Qi: "???"]

[Xiao Yan: "???"]

[Li Changshou: "As expected of the leader of the Exploding Heavens Faction, his words are indeed bold..."]

[Xu Que uploaded an image]

[Xu Que: "I have infiltrated the enemy's ranks. This beauty is an empress from one of their Imperial Clans. She's already mine."]

[Xu Que: "Tonight, I'm preparing to 'brutally interrogate' her. I'll get all their secrets... even if I have to fuck them out of her between her screams of pleasure."]

Xu Que uploaded an image. It depicted a man with an arrogant and overbearing expression, clearly one of Xu Que's disguises.

He was seated on a lavish, dark-golden throne. Draped across his lap, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her face flushed with a mix of wine and infatuation, was a peerless beauty in revealing silken robes.

Her ample chest was pressed against his, and her eyes were half-lidded as she gazed at him.

This man's face was different from Xu Que's. He had simply changed his appearance.

In other words... he was using a 'sub-account'. The name displayed was: Exploding Heavens Faction - Ye Liangchen.

[Shi Jian: "??? No, how long have you been in the Foreign Realm? You've already hooked up with someone so quickly?"]

[Xiao Yan: "How... how do you even do it? You just arrived there! Are the women of the Foreign Realm that... easy?"]

[Xu Que: "It's not that they're easy, Brother Xiao. It's just that I, Xu Que, am overwhelmingly outstanding. My handsome face is like a beacon in the dark, a firefly in the night."]

[Xu Que: "This empress met me, and after three sentences, she was convinced I was the only man worthy of her. She practically begged me to take her."]

[Shi Jian: "Six."]

[Shi Hao: "Six!"]

[Meng Qi: "@Xu Que, you are truly a role model for our generation. Your shamelessness knows no bounds. (thumbs up emoji)"]

[Lin Dong: "I'm... speechless. Truly."]

Shi Jian already understood Xu Que's capabilities. The man seemed to have put all his skill points into showing off and seducing women.

He wouldn't even be surprised if Xu Que ended up becoming the kept man of a female Immortal King.

However, Shi Hao was genuinely a bit surprised.

He really didn't expect this Xu Que to be so 'six'.

How long had he been in the Foreign Realm? A few days? And he immediately hooked up with an empress of the Imperial Clan?

Shi Hao knew what the Imperial Clan of the Foreign Realm represented. They were the royalty of their world, second only to the true Immortal Kings.

An empress from an Imperial Clan was a person who combined talent, status, and intelligence.

To be so quickly nestled in Xu Que's arms, looking completely smitten?

Simply outrageous.

[Li Changshou: "As expected of the leader of the Exploding Heavens Faction, he effortlessly achieved what we couldn't..."]

[Meng Qi: "Awesome!"]

[Fang Han: "Heaven-Defying..."]

...

[Congratulations to the host for successfully showing off in front of the Son of Destiny, gaining showing-off points...]

Hearing the voice in his ear, Xu Que smiled slightly.

Micro-management. Just micro-management.

He absolutely loved this Foreign Realm. Strong cultivators were everywhere, and they all revered the strong...

Gaining showing-off points in such a place was like child's play.

Two days ago, because he favored the chat group too much, the Strongest Showing Off and Face Slapping System even had a small conflict with him.

Now, the Strongest Showing Off and Face Slapping System didn't dare to throw a tantrum anymore.

Because... it was already... full.

Xu Que looked at the substantial showing-off points he had just gained from the group members.

As expected of protagonists who were as handsome and dashing as himself. They generated so many points.

Xu Que waved his hand. The massive influx of points was instantly converted. He didn't bother with pills or techniques.

Instead, he exchanged for crates of 'Exploding Heavens Faction Special Supply' cigarettes, bottles of 'Forget Your Sorrows' spirit wine, and boxes of 'Cultivator's' spicy sticks and snacks.

All were produced by the System, infused with trace amounts of spiritual energy. While not elixirs, they were excellent for relaxing the mind and spirit, which was a form of cultivation in itself.

He then bundled them all up and sent them out as a series of red packets to the group.

What was this called?

Taken from the group members, used for the group members. The Exploding Heavens Faction never took a single thread from its comrades! (Except for the showing-off points they generated, of course).

[Li Changshou: "Leader is generous..."]

[Shi Hao: "I don't want spicy sticks, I want milk tea. Thank you, Brother Xu..."]

[Shi Jian: "Leader is generous..."]

...

Xu Que chuckled as he looked at the messages in the group. They still had to thank him.

...

Seeing Xu Que hook up with someone from the Foreign Realm so quickly, Shi Jian knew he had made the right move.

Xu Que, with his troublemaking nature, should be thrown behind enemy lines.

Shi Jian believed this guy would definitely bring him even greater surprises.

Foreign Realm invasion? Imperial Pass resisting? What was that?

[Inorin's Note: 'Imperial Pass' is the last major fortress of the 'Nine Heavens and Ten Lands' (Shi Hao's home universe) defending against invasion from the 'Foreign Realm', a powerful and hostile universe.]

With a cheat, with the chat group, with the help of the people in the group...

Shi Jian wanted more than just to resist the Foreign Realm. He wanted to conquer it.

He had always displayed a tough, unyielding attitude. His philosophy was simple: Fight!

The moment he arrived at Imperial Pass, he launched a great purge. He annihilated millions of Foreign Realm troops single-handedly, all to build momentum and display an attitude.

He needed to break the pervasive mentality of fear and defense that had plagued Imperial Pass for eons.

Engaging in infighting? Kill!

Invaders? Kill!

He didn't care about the loss of a single soldier, nor did he care about the so-called bigger picture.

What if they were Supreme? What if they were Crippled Immortals?

As long as they stood in his way, they would die.

Imperial Pass had been weak for millions of years, repeatedly defeated, leading to a decline in morale and the complete loss of prestige for the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.

Shi Jian's arrival with an absolute killing stance was to declare one thing: From now on, the situation would be completely reversed.

He wanted to clearly tell the people of Imperial Pass, and the people of the Foreign Realm:

From now on, the offense and defense had switched.

If the invaders could come, then he too could go!

If the Foreign Realm could invade the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, then he could lead people into the Foreign Realm in the future.

Not just the Foreign Realm. The future strange plateau would be the same.

[Inorin's Note: The 'Strange Plateau' is the origin source of the darkness and the 'Great Ancestors' (or 'Ancestral Beings') are the ultimate antagonists of the Perfect World era, beings of immense power.]

If I bring this bunch of protagonists from the group to fight on the plateau, how will your plateau respond?

The plateau had ten great ancestors.

And now, the protagonists in the chat group... already exceeded ten.

...

After closing the chat group, Shi Jian began to ponder his own path.

After his battle with Emperor Ye Tian, Shi Jian had basically determined his path to Immortal Ascension in the future.

That was the Battle Immortal. Proving the Dao through battle.

He already had a clear idea for his own path, but he didn't know what Shi Hao's situation was like now.

Shi Hao was also not far from Immortal Ascension.

After thinking for a moment, he called Shi Hao over.

"Brother," Shi Hao greeted him, his energy stable and powerful.

Shi Jian nodded and got straight to the point, telling Shi Hao about his intention to walk the Battle Immortal path.

Shi Hao's eyes lit up at the words.

The Battle Immortal path. This also sounded quite suitable for his taste.

Becoming Immortal through a hundred battles...

"Brother, I also want to walk this Battle Immortal path!" Shi Hao stated his thoughts.

"I called you here to discuss your path to Immortal Ascension..." Shi Jian spoke slowly, his tone serious. "The Battle Immortal path is good. It's direct, powerful, and suits your spirit."

"But, Little Hao, I've been thinking. Compared to the Battle Immortal path, I believe you are uniquely suited for another, perhaps even more profound path: the Mortal World Immortal."

Shi Hao looked curious. "Mortal World Immortal?"

"Yes." Shi Jian nodded. "A Mortal World Immortal doesn't ascend. They achieve immortality in the mortal realm. They reverse life nine times, untouched by the flow of time, only then can one become Immortal... It's an arduous, lonely path, requiring one to experience the decay and rebirth of the mortal world again and again."

"Once one achieves Mortal World Immortal," Shi Jian continued, his eyes intense, "one can directly rival a quasi-Immortal King. Their foundation is incomparably solid."

[Inorin's Note: 'Battle Immortal' (Zhan Xian) is a path to immortality achieved through constant, extreme combat. 'Mortal World Immortal' (Hongchen Xian) is a path where one becomes immortal within the mortal realm, often by living out multiple lifetimes or 'reversing life' (Huanfan) without relying on the Immortal Realm's energies.]

"A Mortal World Immortal doesn't need the recognition of heaven and earth. They just live on, generation after generation, their Dao Heart tempered by the dust of the world. They would be absolutely no weaker than any Immortal Dao being..."

Shi Hao processed this. "Stronger than a Battle Immortal?"

"In terms of raw combat strength at the beginning, they should not be far apart," Shi Jian clarified. "However, the Mortal World Immortal Dao is more aligned with the concept of... 'rising from ruin.' This, Little Hao, is why I think it's perfect for you. This will be far more beneficial for your cultivation after becoming an Immortal King, especially when you reach for the realms beyond."

Shi Jian himself was determined not to walk the Sacrificial Dao path.

[Inorin's Note: The 'Sacrificial Dao' realm is an extremely high level of cultivation, above Immortal Emperor, where one must 'sacrifice' their own Dao, body, and spirit, only to be reborn from the ashes.]

The Sacrificial Dao Realm, and the realm above it, requires sacrificing everything... rising from absolute ruin.

Shi Jian admitted to himself that he didn't have that kind of resolve. He wasn't willing to sacrifice everything, especially not his connections and his own identity.

If he forced himself to walk that path, his ultimate end might be similar to the Flower Pollen Emperor—powerful, but tragic and incomplete.

But Shi Hao was different.

"Rising from ruin..." Shi Jian said, looking at his younger brother. "This has been the Dao that runs through your entire life of cultivation, even if you didn't realize it."

"Think about it. Your Supreme Bone was dug out, forcing you into decline. But you were reborn from that decline, ushering in a new life and an even stronger bone..."

"And then when you achieve Mortal World Immortal, it will be the same. Decline after decline. Reversal of life and Rebirth, generation after generation..."

"When you eventually achieve Sacrificial Dao, you will sacrifice your Dao fruit, breaking and then establishing anew. When you aim for the realm above Sacrificial Dao, you will sacrifice everything."

"In extreme weakness, moving towards extreme recovery! All of this follows the same pattern. Your initial cultivation has already secretly aligned with this ultimate path."

Shi Jian paused, letting his words sink in.

"The Battle Immortal path is also suitable for you. You are the Wasteland Emperor, born for battle. But it is definitely not as perfectly suitable for your ultimate destiny as the Mortal World Immortal path."

After understanding the profound implications of the Mortal World Immortal, Shi Hao fell into deep contemplation.

He valued his future path to Immortal Ascension greatly. The path of the Battle Immortal resonated with his blood, but the path of the Mortal World Immortal resonated with his soul and his life's story.

He weighed the options, the fiery path of war against the profound, lonely path of worldly reincarnation.

However, he only hesitated for a moment. A bright, confident grin—the one that defined the Wasteland Emperor—spread across his face.

"Brother... Only children make choices," Shi Hao declared, his voice ringing with absolute confidence. "I'll walk both paths!"

Shi Jian's eyes widened slightly.

Shi Hao elaborated, "The Battle Immortal path and the Mortal World Immortal path aren't in conflict, are they? The Battle Immortal path, becoming Immortal through battle... this path is indeed too masculine, too unyielding, and easily broken, as you said."

"The Mortal World Immortal path involves heading towards decline and then ushering in new life."

"So," Shi Hao concluded, punching his fist into his palm, "Couldn't I just reverse my life while continuously battling? I will fight my way through each life, using the world's strongest as my whetstones, and then be reborn from the ashes of those battles, stronger every time! I will be a Battle Immortal in every life of my Mortal World Immortal journey!"

Shi Jian was momentarily dumbfounded. Then he laughed.

Indeed. Only children make choices; adults want everything.

Hearing Shi Hao say that, he also felt a bit dazed. In the blink of an eye, so much time had actually passed.

Shi Hao had also grown to such an extent...

Recalling the past, the scene of him giving the little guy medicinal baths and flicking his... little bird... felt as if it were right before his eyes.

Shi Jian suddenly felt a bit sentimental, and more importantly, he remembered another thing.

Only children make choices, adults want everything... But the problem was, Shi Hao was an adult now...

And he, Shi Jian, still hadn't reached adulthood!

Thinking of this fact, Shi Jian couldn't help but feel a bit strained.

Outrageous...

When Shi Hao had previously achieved Breakthrough to Supreme, he had stayed in the Immortal Ancient for several decades.

Now, Shi Hao was even older than him... This was too Hellish.

...

After the two brothers determined their future Immortal Dao paths, they further discussed matters of cultivation.

Shi Hao's current path of using his body as a seed was already showing its initial signs.

[Inorin's Note: 'Using his body as a seed' (Yi Shen Wei Zhong) is the unique cultivation system Shi Hao created. It involves cultivating inner 'seeds' (potential) within one's own body to unlock divine power, rather than relying on the external world's laws.]

Shi Jian recommended that he also challenge Ye Fan in the Myriad Heavens Projection. After all, Ye Fan's cultivation system was originally created by Shi Hao.

If Shi Hao could fight Ye Fan, he would surely gain more insights.

The two brothers discussed the Dao with each other while diligently cultivating, and their cultivation levels were steadily advancing...

Although there were major movements on the Foreign Realm side, since the Immortal King had not yet returned from the Burial Ground, they had not yet launched a full-scale attack...

On the other hand, Xu Que was thriving in the Foreign Realm.

Through conversation, Shi Jian learned that this guy had pulled off quite a few outrageous stunts.

He had created a... 'curse letter'.

When he posted the contents in the chat group, everyone was stunned for a second before bursting out laughing.

[Xu Que: "Behold, my masterpiece! It's spreading through the Foreign Realm's communication networks like wildfire."]

He shared the text:

"I am Immortal King Duan De, who perished in the ancient Immortal-Devil War. After my death, my lingering spirit gathered millions of years of resentment to form this letter. If you see this letter, please transcribe it and send it to four other people. If you don't send it out, your mother will die in thirty days, your father will be devoured by a Yao Beast, and your cultivation will regress..."

[Inorin's Note: 'Immortal King Duan De' is a name combining 'Immortal King' (a high realm) with 'Duan De' (the name of a notoriously unscrupulous gravedigging character from the Shrouding the Heavens trilogy, who is a reincarnation of Shi Hao's friend, Cao Yusheng).]

"If you do as instructed, the person you like will also like you, you will have your wishes fulfilled, and your cultivation will make rapid progress... Sorry, I am not an Immortal King, but this message is too venomous, I had no choice but to forward it to you! You must forward it, or the curse will fall upon you!"

This was a classic curse letter trick, a relic from Earth's early internet days.

Any smart or strong-willed person would find it boring at a glance. Whoever believed it was an idiot.

But human hearts are unpredictable. Even on Earth, people had frantically forwarded such nonsense in various QQ groups and spaces, just in case.

Moreover, that cunning fellow Xu Que actually attached a genuine, albeit weak, curse to the letter's template.

The curse was very weak, barely noticeable to a Supreme, but for those below that realm who first came into contact with the curse letter... they would indeed be affected. They might feel a chill, a sudden dip in their cultivation speed, or a bout of bad luck.

Once someone was actually affected, the panic became real.

Others became afraid. And then they all forwarded it...

This thing was like a computer virus; insignificant at first, but once it started spreading... it could instantly form a psychological natural disaster!

Xu Que's weak curse was just the catalyst needed to ensure the initial circulation.

Once the curse letter started circulating wildly, the remaining people—even if they weren't affected by the curse, even if they didn't truly believe it—would still feel uneasy in their hearts...

"What if... what if it's real? What does it cost me to forward it?"

And then, a larger, unstoppable circulation spread out.

A ridiculous, childish curse letter... was hard-pressed to create a genuine atmosphere of fear in the mighty Foreign Realm. It was making the populace panic.

Coupled with the previous great defeat at Imperial Pass, the Foreign Realm's morale suddenly plummeted.

Even Immortals personally came forward to investigate. The content of this curse letter was a bit childish... but an Immortal King could indeed do what was written in the letter.

For a time, countless people in the Foreign Realm cursed the name of Immortal King Duan De, even though they had never heard of such an Immortal King.

...

After witnessing Xu Que's series of operations, Shi Jian was even more glad that he had thrown him into the Foreign Realm.

If he had kept that menace at Imperial Pass, the people of Imperial Pass wouldn't have been able to withstand his antics... They'd probably be fighting each other over curse letters instead of the enemy.

Everyone continued to cultivate, their days punctuated by Xu Que's 'daily enemy reports' detailing his latest shenanigans.

Time flowed by. Shi Jian and Shi Hao entered deep seclusion, refining their understanding of their chosen Dao paths.

After some time passed, just as a new, tense quiet fell over the border...

A change occurred. Two pings echoed in the chat group, not from a person, but from the system itself.

A major change.

Xiao Yan and Lin Dong were about to Ascend!

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