In the 73,000th year of the new Immortal Calendar.
The Fuyao Immortal Sect announced its seclusion for 6,000 years, meaning it would not participate in any external conflicts henceforth.
A few days before the seclusion, Xu Zhen received a summons signed by one person.
The Ninth Mountain, Huang Qingyue.
She raised an eyebrow slightly, knowing this person and aware of Chen Xia's connection to her. Without hesitation, she went alone.
The Ninth Mountain was considered an established sect in the Immortal Realm, much older than the Fuyao Immortal Sect. It had existed almost since the birth of the Immortal Realm and was now at its peak, with a Great Emperor presiding.
Huang Qingyue's reputation in the Ninth Mountain was not small either. Known as Qingyue Immortal, she was said to have been designated as the next leader of the Ninth Mountain, with a broad path ahead.
Located at the edge of the Immortal Realm, the Ninth Mountain was known as the guardian mountain. Countless battles had been fought there throughout history, leaving many scars on its massive, galaxy-like body.
At the peak, there were even traces of Great Emperor blood that had never faded for eons. Legend had it that the body of a Great Emperor was suspended in the mountain's core, but outsiders had never seen it, so it remained just a legend.
Xu Zhen observed the Ninth Mountain from afar. Its murderous aura was indeed impressive, but that was all.
With Huang Qingyue's summons, no cultivator dared to stop her. They even led her to the VIP room at the mountaintop to wait.
After a moment.
A figure appeared, not elaborately dressed, but simply walking over in a light cyan skirt. With pretty eyes and brows, she smiled gently at Xu Zhen and said,
"I've long heard of your reputation. Looking at you, you indeed seem quite formidable."
"I've heard of your reputation too," Xu Zhen replied.
"From the Immortal Realm?"
"No."
"Hehe." Huang Qingyue suddenly laughed, "Then it must be from Brother Chen."
"The same for you?" Xu Zhen asked in return.
"When I first arrived in the Imperial City, Brother Chen often mentioned you. I thought then that you must be very important to him."
Huang Qingyue chuckled as she reminisced, then sat down in a chair and continued,
"It's been 30,000 years since I last saw him. How about you?"
"I saw him just a few days ago," Xu Zhen said, folding her arms and raising her spirited eyebrows slightly.
"I'm really envious of you then." Huang Qingyue rested her head on one hand, pouting slightly.
"I thought that by entering the path of immortal cultivation and becoming a mountain dweller, I would get closer to Brother Chen. Who knew it would actually make us grow further apart? Strange, isn't it?"
"These things are a matter of fate," Xu Zhen said, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
Huang Qingyue glanced at her sideways and asked, "Are you saying my fate with Brother Chen isn't good enough?"
"That's just how it is," Xu Zhen shrugged, speaking plainly.
The two women stared at each other, at a loss for words.
"Hmph." Huang Qingyue shook her head, muttering to herself, "How could our fate not be good enough? If it weren't, I wouldn't have met Brother Chen, nor would I have entered the Immortal Realm and cultivated for so many years for his sake."
She suddenly clenched her fist and quietly encouraged herself,
"All these years of cultivation have been for a better reunion. After the bitterness comes sweetness. We're a match made in heaven. Huang Qingyue, you can do it."
It was somewhat of a self-hypnosis.
Xu Zhen rolled her eyes and shook her head, saying, "Then I wish you failure."
Huang Qingyue shook her head indifferently, then smiled mischievously.
"Do you know why I wanted to meet you?"
"Because you hadn't met me before," Xu Zhen replied, having learned Chen Xia's sincerity quite well.
"Uh..." This response left Huang Qingyue a bit stunned. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then smiled again.
"I just wanted to see what was so special about you, and well..."
She smirked and said,
"Your talent and appearance are about the same as mine, nothing special. And..."
Huang Qingyue paused, her eyes roaming over Xu Zhen's face, then suddenly glancing downward before turning to look at herself. She lowered her head but couldn't see her own feet.
The difference in size was visible to the naked eye.
She then confidently smiled at Xu Zhen and said,
"You're nothing special after all."
Perhaps feeling it was inappropriate, she added a cold "Hehe."
Xu Zhen was momentarily flustered and even put her thumb in her mouth, biting her fingernail.
Huang Qingyue was very satisfied with this result. She stood up and smiled again,
"This meeting is over then. Goodbye."
Just before leaving, Huang Qingyue suddenly lifted her cyan skirt and chuckled at Xu Zhen.
"We're matching, you know."
It was obvious who they were matching with - naturally, it was Chen Xia, who always wore cyan robes.
Xu Zhen's cheeks puffed out, full of anger. She never expected to be at a disadvantage in comparison with Huang Qingyue.
Especially that final difference in size, which was a crushing blow.
Since ancient times, it seemed that bigger had always been considered better.
Xu Zhen frowned, still not understanding.
Just because it had always been so, did that make it right?
The long-silent Great Death Realm showed signs of activity today.
Wu Xi Great Emperor's divine sense entered the Great Death Realm, a rare occurrence. He searched for Chen Xia's figure within.
He remembered that this senior had promised him some benefits, and now that the time had come, he should fulfill that promise, right?
As his divine sense traveled far, he became increasingly shocked. The Great Death Realm had changed from its previous dilapidated state to one of completeness, and even had several new celestial bodies within it.
What amazed him even more was that cultivators had appeared on these celestial bodies, with sects established, and the highest cultivator had even reached the peak of the Mountain-Moving realm.
To transform from a broken, dying realm to its current state in such a short time was impossible even for several Great Emperors.
Wu Xi Great Emperor pondered, thinking of Chen Xia.
This senior's divine abilities seemed too earth-shattering, almost touching upon the root of the Way of Heaven!
As he was thinking, he had already found Chen Xia's figure.
"Senior!" Wu Xi Great Emperor's divine sense called out loudly, rushing towards Chen Xia's seed body.
He was already close, but there was no response.
Chen Xia was sitting motionless, his eyes closed.
"Senior?" Wu Xi Great Emperor cautiously asked again.
Still no reply.
Could he be in closed-door cultivation to the death?
Wu Xi Great Emperor wondered, but then felt it wasn't right. A being capable of restoring realms would never engage in such cultivation. He should be able to sense his arrival.
In other words, he just didn't want to acknowledge him?
Wu Xi Great Emperor's heart sank. He raised his voice a bit and transmitted through his divine sense again.
"Senior?!"
The universe remained silent, still with no response.
Wu Xi Great Emperor's thoughts grew heavy. He remembered Chen Xia saying he would reward him with an opportunity. Now that the time had come, why wasn't he keeping his word? Could it be that he had other intentions, with no real plan for cooperation, just using him?
He felt increasingly uneasy. His divine sense surged as he made a final, desperate call.
"Senior!"
...
"What's all the noise about?" An impatient voice suddenly rang out.
In the dim starry sky.
A pair of crimson eyes opened.
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…
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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.”
