Just as Wang Ye walked out of the passage, before he could take a look around, a ripple of energy fluctuation emerged in the air.
"Wang Ye, die for me!"
Luo Ping's roar rang out as he swung a knife towards the figure that looked just like Wang Ye, slashing at his neck.
The figure seemed to be completely unaware as the long knife slashed at his neck. It was as if the knife had slashed into a pile of mud. Under Luo Ping's astonished gaze, the long knife sank in.
Very quickly, the knife turned red hot, as if it had encountered high temperatures. Luo Ping instinctively loosened his grip on the knife hilt.
But it was already too late. His hand was severely burned, with twisted flesh and blood.
The long knife liquefied into molten iron, continuously dripping onto the ground. The wound on his neck instantly healed.
Standing behind, the real Wang Ye saw this scene and silently took note of this figure's ability.
At this moment, Luo Ping was also filled with shock. Disregarding the pain transmitting from his hand, he looked at the figure in disbelief.
"Wang Ye, when did you become so powerful? Could it be that you've awakened some other ability?"
Noticing that Wang Ye didn't respond at all, Luo Ping's eyes flickered as he cautiously retreated to the side. In this unclear situation, he didn't dare to make another move.
Hidden behind, the real Wang Ye saw this scene and inwardly sentenced Luo Ping to death, although it wasn't yet time for him to make a move.
No longer paying attention to Luo Ping, Wang Ye smelled the thick bloody odor and looked around.
The layout was similar to a basement. Not far away were several skeletons, dressed in monks' robes, sitting in a circle.
At the very center was the corpse of an old monk, seemingly dead for a very long time.
Unlike the other skeletons, his body still had a layer of skin and desiccated flesh and blood, vaguely revealing his facial features.
But there was no longer any energy fluctuation within his body.
Many lines were carved into the ground, as if some kind of sacrificial rite had been performed.
Within the circle formed by the skeletons was a pool of blood, filled to the brim, seemingly boiling and continuously bubbling.
Iron chains pierced through the monks' chests, extending deep into the blood pool.
Most eye-catching of all, the corpse-like old monk held an ancient tome in his hands, with slightly yellowed pages.
Lin Nan's eyes were now filled with excitement as he recalled the records he had read about this scene in the Buddhist texts during his time at the Buddhist sect.
The old man's eyes also contained greed, though his gaze was fixed on the blood pool.
After his unsuccessful attack, Luo Ping had swiftly retreated to a corner, adopting a stance of non-participation.
Hidden hostility permeated the air, originating from the impending confrontation between them. It seemed the skirmish had already begun.
The old man was the first to lose patience. He rushed to the blood pool, kicked a skeleton aside, and pulled the iron chains out from the skeleton's body, tugging incessantly.
All the iron chains shook, emitting clear sounds.
But something heavy seemed to be tied at the bottom, as no matter how hard the old man pulled, the chains didn't budge one bit.
It was as if a signal had been fired.
Lin Nan followed closely behind, but his target was the ancient tome in the old monk's hands. His eyes radiated scorching ardour.
If this was a lost incomplete Buddhist art, obtaining it would absolutely allow him to surpass the other candidates from the Buddhist sect. His chances of success would also be greater.
Wang Ye paid no attention to these two. He was still observing Luo Ping.
Although the old man and this Buddhist cultivator were equally unfathomable, Wang Ye felt that Luo Ping was slightly more crafty.
Perhaps it was because he had nearly died by Luo Ping's hand.
But what surprised Wang Ye was that Luo Ping showed no intention of taking action. He continued to stand calmly at the edge, coolly watching this scene, allowing the other two free rein.
One could hardly believe that he had been bursting with murderous aura just a moment ago.
The iron chains continued to shake violently, seemingly lifting up slightly higher with the old man's efforts compared to before.
On the other side, Lin Nan passed through the old monk's body in an uncanny manner, as if the old monk was merely an illusion rather than a real existence.
Lin Nan froze in place, looking at the old monk beside him in disbelief. He stubbornly grabbed at the monk once more.
Like an illusion, the old monk's form turned vague in the air. After Lin Nan's hand moved away, he reverted to his original appearance.
A projection?
Wang Ye watched this scene, constantly analyzing in his mind.
No, it couldn't be a projection.
Wang Ye could clearly sense that this old monk's desiccated corpse truly existed right before his eyes.
A bizarre ability of the Buddhist sect? Also similar to spatial abilities?
"Is this place really free of any danger?" Wang Ye had been standing guard at the passage entrance. Seeing that no strange occurrences had happened no matter what the old man and Lin Nan did, he became even more vigilant.
If the ambushes above were lethal enough, they were likely meant to shield this so-called basement to some extent. He didn't believe there were no contingencies within the basement.
At this moment, the motionless figure finally moved.
Wang Ye's gaze instantly focused on the figure. He was rather curious what this doppelganger would do next.
Under everyone's watching eyes, the figure slowly walked to the edge of the blood pool and lightly crouched down.
Next, a cut appeared on his wrist with a flick of his finger.
Bizarrely, no blood flowed from the wound, as if his body contained no blood at all.
The figure stretched his entire arm into the blood pool and silently waited.
The blood pool quieted down for a moment before seemingly boiling even more intensely, visibly decreasing at a rapid pace.
Did this ghost need fresh blood to piece together its body?
Wang Ye's pupils slightly contracted as he closely observed.
Finally, when the blood pool had decreased by about one third, the figure satisfyingly retracted his hand.
By now, blood had started oozing from the wound on his wrist.
The wound healed at an extremely swift pace, as if nothing had ever happened.
But the figure's facial expressions and gaze had become discernibly more vivid.
As the blood pool lowered, words faintly emerged at its edges, deeply carved into it.
However, the words were too ancient to make out their meaning.
But Lin Nan's eyes instantly lit up. Somewhat crazed, he rushed to the pool's edge and lay prone on the ground, excitedly looking at the words, continuously chanting some abstruse phrases.
He could understand them?
Perhaps he could be spared to serve as a translator.
That old man also seemed to know what was under the blood pool. He could be asked as well.
In that case, Luo Ping no longer had any use.
Wang Ye continuously analyzed the situation. In his mind, Luo Ping was now one step closer to death.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
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.
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!
