Chapter 3

In a dark and damp dungeon, Yan Bujian was suspended in mid-air by chains. Half of his body was naked and bloodstained, his black hair was disheveled, but his back remained straight, like a sharp sword that would rather break than bend.

Seeing her walking towards him, those ink-black eyes were still as calm as a lake, without a trace of fear in them.

Lin Yibai stepped closer, and for the first time, she got a close look at his features. Her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously exclaimed in her head, "Fuck! System! I don't remember the original novel saying he was this eye-catching!"

[Host, please focus on the task]

Lin Yibai pouted, and at that moment, footsteps sounded behind him: "Young Sect Master, I brought the insect cauldron."

Lin Yibai nodded, and the moment he took the bowl, the system prompt sounded again:

[The mission begins. Host, please complete the "Ten Thousand Insects Attraction" implantation according to the original description.]

She slowly walked towards Yan Bujian, her heart pounding in her chest, silently saying to herself: I'm sorry, little boss, future Immortal Venerable, I don't want to leave this shitty plot! The Ten Thousand Insect Attraction is torture, but it can also transform you. Although the process is simply unbearable... Please hold on. I don't ask you to remember my kindness when you ascend to heaven in the future, as long as you can forget me...

Perhaps he noticed the conflict that flashed across her face, a hint of sarcasm passed through the boy's eyes, and a cold and disdainful arc appeared on his pale lips.

But the next moment, a loud slapping sound was heard in the dungeon.

Luoluo's face was filled with rage, her raised hand still hanging in the air. "What's with that expression, you daring slave?! It seems you haven't learned enough from yesterday's lesson, and you still dare to disrespect our Young Master!"

Lin Yibai was so frightened by the sudden attack that her hands trembled, nearly dropping the medicine bowl. Seeing those dark eyes grow colder, she remembered her original plan. Finally, she steeled herself, pulled Luoluo back, and ordered the guards on either side, "Loosen the chains." She feigned indifference, her words cold, "I need to check his wound to see if it's large enough for the Gu to enter."

The guard quickly stepped forward to partially undo the chains, and Yan Bujian's body suddenly leaned forward. Lin Yibai saw his chance, took the opportunity to move closer, and said in a mosquito-like voice, "...Bear with it, I'll try to be gentle."

The boy's pupils shrank, and he was about to look at the person in front of him in confusion, but the next moment -

"Yes, that's enough."

But the next moment, Lin Yibai's expression suddenly changed. He took a step back abruptly, a domineering sneer appeared on his face, and he raised his hand to pour the dark liquid in the bowl onto the largest whip wound on his back!

The moment the liquid in the bowl touched the wound, the originally dormant insect eggs immediately came alive and scrambled to drill into the warm flesh and blood!

“Hmm!”

Yan Bujian's entire body trembled violently, every muscle instantly tensed as hard as iron! He bit his lower lip, blood immediately gushing out from between his teeth, but he managed to swallow back the painful roar that rushed into his throat, only a broken groan squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

Lin Yibai, the instigator, was horrified and his wrists trembled slightly, but he didn't dare to stop. He just quietly adjusted the tilt angle of the bowl to the minimum to slow down the flow of the terrible liquid - this way the speed of the insect eggs invading would be much slower, and the pain might... be dispersed a little?

"Young Sect Master, this is too slow." Luoluo pouted, "The Myriad Insect Attractor must enter the body quickly to maximize the activation of the mother insect's toxicity."

"When did it become your turn to tell me what to do?!" Lin Yibai, feeling extremely guilty, stiffened his neck and shouted in a timid tone, "If you keep saying anything more, I'll give you another bowl of Myriad Insect Attractant!"

Green ivy was immediately frightened and turned pale, and retreated tremblingly.

Seeing this, Lin Yibai breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Sure enough, being rude has its advantages. With just a shout like that, I've saved myself a lot of trouble—Huh? Why is he looking at me?!"

Yan Bujian suddenly looked up, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and there was a kind of inquiry in his eyes as he stared at her.

[Warning: The host's behavior deviates from the original novel, causing the male protagonist to be suspicious, and there is an OOC tendency! ]

The system's cold warning sounded like a needle piercing into Lin Yibai's mind. He was so frightened that he almost lost his soul. He hurriedly looked away and subconsciously shook his hand, splashing all the remaining liquid in the bowl onto it!

"ah--!"

Yan Bujian finally let out a suppressed roar of pain. Veins bulged all over his body, and upon closer inspection, countless tiny protrusions could be seen moving beneath his skin.

Those were the insect eggs that had successfully implanted and were traveling through the meridians!

It’s over.

Lin Yibai felt guilty and almost dared not look at it anymore. He turned around and wanted to escape from this suffocating place. But before he took a few steps, he heard the hoarse and painful voice of the young man behind him: "You..."

She paused, a trace of confusion on her face. Finally, she gritted her teeth, put two fingers of her right hand together, and threw something backwards at high speed.

[The host's OOC value has exceeded 20% and a penalty will be implemented soon! ]

The next moment, she felt a familiar sharp pain, her vision suddenly went black, and she lost her balance and fell forward!

Fortunately, this time Luluo, who was standing by, was quick-eyed and reached out to support her, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"Young Master, you again..." Seeing her like this again, Luoluo was extremely anxious. With a fierce look in her eyes, she was about to vent her anger on the guards and kill the young man on the rack. However, at this moment, she heard the girl in her arms weakly say -

"No, it's okay. Help me back to my room. That drugged man...it takes time for the poison to take effect. Send someone to observe him carefully. No one is allowed to touch him."

......

Original place.

The young man was tied to the rack in silence. Seeing the two men walking away, his expression was a little dazed.

There was still a faint trace of gold on his lips.

——The pill she shot at him and swallowed into his throat was not a poison that could penetrate his intestines, but a magic medicine that could relieve his pain?

What tricks is this witch playing?

Thinking of this, he clenched his fists gradually and looked with all his strength at the figure that was gradually moving away.

But she never looked back.

*

[Mission Completed! Reward: 100 achievement points, 10% physical function improvement - Due to the host's OOC behavior, this reward has been reduced by 50%, to 50 achievement points; the physical function improvement reward has been eliminated and replaced with a penalty pain reduction.]

As soon as he was helped out of the dungeon, the system's broadcast sounded in Lin Yibai's mind.

As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle warm current flowed into his limbs and bones, slightly dispelling the tingling pain in his mind.

——Oh my god, she finally completed her first mission alive! Even though her reward was deducted in half, at least she completed it!

Even though she had poisoned him with such a terrible poison, she had sent him the medicine despite taking the punishment. Now... although they are not even on the same page, at least the guilt can be alleviated a little bit, right?

The relief of surviving the disaster made her almost want to jump up with Luoluo in her arms, if she wasn't still dizzy.

[The system store has been unlocked, the host can check it at any time]

"Oh, yes, the store!" Lin Yibai's spirits lifted, and he couldn't wait to open the panel to see what life-saving items he could buy.

But at this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded from afar. Looking up, he saw a disciple running towards him in a panic: "Young Sect Master! The Sect Master is calling you urgently!"

The smile on Lin Yibai's face froze instantly, and his heart skipped a beat.

Summoning her at this time... Could it be that Lin Wuya is explaining the key plot of the "Yunshan Grand Sacrifice" in the original novel?

But this time...how could it be so much earlier?

*

Glazed tower, the main hall of Bodeng Sect.

Though it was bright and clear outside, the hall was shrouded in curtains, completely blocking out the daylight and creating a deadly darkness. The only source of light came from the eerie blue lamps lining the steps. Their dancing, cold light illuminated the vast space like a ghostly haunted realm.

The moment Lin Yibai stepped into the palace, his eyes were fixed on the figure on the main seat.

Lin Yibai's biological father, Lin Wuya, was dressed in a dark robe with dark patterns. He sat on a throne carved from a single block of black jade, a faint black mist swirling around him. He had a handsome face, like a young man. To the uninitiated, one might mistake him for Lin Yibai's older brother.

Lin Yibai looked at him silently, but when his eyes finally caught sight of something, his heart skipped a beat—

His eyes!

At the deepest part of Lin Wuya's eyes, his pupils actually showed a strange dark red color, as if sticky blood was flowing in it!

Lin Yibai broke out in a cold sweat as the plot of the original novel flashed through his mind: The Bo Deng Sect was originally a famous and upright sect. Three hundred years ago, the ladder to heaven was cut off, demons were rampant, and they slaughtered the immortal sects. In order to survive, the Bo Deng Sect had to turn to the magic path, and used its unique auxiliary magic "Jin Tian Jue" to help the demon cultivators wreak havoc on the world, and finally, under the protection of the demon cultivators, they became the top sect of the demon path.

However, the sins committed by "Jintian Jue" were too serious, and eventually it incurred punishment from heaven. After the sect's disciples reached the Nascent Soul stage, it was difficult to make any further progress.

In "The Immortal Emerges from the Fallen Mountain," there are nine levels of cultivation: Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, Golden Elixir, Nascent Soul, Out-of-Body, Qi Integration, Spirit Transformation, Return to Void, and Heavenly Transcendence. Upon reaching Heavenly Transcendence, a cultivator can ascend to the ethereal realm of the immortals.

Lin Wuya was once a rare genius in the Bo Deng Sect, and was expected to become an immortal. However, due to this heavenly punishment, he was trapped at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage for two hundred years. Finally, not long after Lin Yibai was born, the devil was deeply planted in his heart, and he completely fell into the path of evil.

This also laid the seeds for his crazy act of sacrificing his own daughter in the future.

"Yibai, come here." The person in the hall waved at her, his voice gentle and almost loving.

Lin Yibai suppressed the fear that surged in his heart, took a few steps forward, and bowed politely: "Father."

"I heard about what happened in the dungeon yesterday." Lin Wuya slowly walked down the stairs, his cold fingers stroking the top of her hair. The touch was like the slithering of a venomous snake, causing goose bumps all over her body. "A mere medicine man, is it worth your personal effort? If you damage his vitality, wouldn't it be more harm than good?"

The man's tone was gentle, but his palms were as cold as ice. Wherever his palms touched, countless goose bumps appeared on her skin.

"My daughter knows she was wrong." She quickly lowered her head, trying to hide the rejection and fear in her eyes by acting coquettishly.

Lin Wuya nodded with satisfaction: "I called you here today because I have something important to ask of you."

He waved his sleeves, and the light and shadow in the hall changed, condensing into a vivid map in front of the two of them.

"This is a fishing village on the west coast of Yunzhou. Within three days, you will lead your men there and find a young man born at midnight on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Jiazi year."

A gleam of brilliance flashed across Lin Yibai's eyes—as expected! This was the innocent young man chosen as the sacrificial lamb in the original novel!

But she showed a look of puzzlement on her face at the right moment, and pouted her lips and said, "Father, why are you mobilizing so many troops to look for a mortal boy?"

A hint of hidden madness flashed across Lin Wuya's eyes, but his voice remained calm: "He is no ordinary mortal, but a 'Supreme Yin Mysterious Body' born on a Yin year, Yin month, and Yin day... The sacrifice for our sect's Yunshan Grand Ceremony this time is precisely this child."

"My daughter doesn't understand," she said, frowning. "The Yunshan Grand Festival is held every five years. In the past, we only offered pigs and sheep. Why do you attach so much importance to it this time, even requiring a human sacrifice?"

"This grand sacrifice is different from the previous ones. It will coincide with the reopening of the 'Secret Realm of Yunshan' which has not been opened for a hundred years! This sacrifice was divined by my father using the secret treasure 'Heavenly Secret Disk' - if it can be successfully delivered to Yunshan and the secret treasure can be obtained, it may be able to solve the century-old dilemma of our sect." After he finished speaking, Lin Wuya took out an ancient bronze compass from his robe. It was engraved with obscure runes, and a blood-red pointer was suspended in the center, pointing towards the village on the map.

Lin Yibai stared at the compass intently, and couldn't help but sneer in his heart: What's the secret compass, what's the divination, it's nothing but self-deceiving imagination after going astray!

It's obvious that your mind has been devoured by evil thoughts for a long time, and the Yunshan Secret Realm restricts entry to cultivators under the age of 25 and under the Nascent Soul Realm. That's why you are so crazy as to want to use human sacrifices in exchange for the "mercy" of the so-called demon god in the mountains!

In the end, it was nothing but a mirage, which cost countless lives in vain.

Even your own daughter.

Seeing her shocked expression, Lin Wuya nodded with satisfaction and whispered, "Yibai, do you know why no one in my Bo Deng Sect has been able to break through to the Nascent Soul stage in the past five hundred years?"

Lin Yibai shook his head.

"Because... 'Heaven's Punishment.'" Lin Wuya's eyes suddenly darkened, a surging rage faintly visible. "Back then, when the Heavenly Ladder was severed, our sect turned to the devil's ways to protect itself. Because the 'Ember Heaven Art' had committed too much bloodshed, we were punished by Heaven. No one in our sect's bloodline will ever again be able to glimpse the realms above the Nascent Soul stage."

"But this shouldn't be the case!" He grabbed Lin Yibai's wrist fiercely. "What crime has the Boyeng Sect committed in order to protect itself? The path to immortality is blocked, and this world is inherently unkind. Why should we adhere to those useless moral principles? Those fools who cling to the rules have already become food for the demons!"

"...This Yunshan Grand Ceremony is different! The Heavenly Secret Disk indicates that the Mountain God is about to awaken. He is not bound by the laws of Heaven. If we can gain his favor, he may grant us the secret treasures of our sect, breaking free from these shackles and achieving immortality!"

Lin Yibai was frightened by the almost crazy obsession and hatred in his eyes, and for a moment he forgot to react.

It wasn't until she felt a sharp pain in her wrist that she snapped back to her senses. She replied in a trembling voice, "Daughter, I understand..."

As soon as the words fell, the force that was clamping her wrist disappeared instantly.

"Go down and prepare. We'll set off tomorrow. I'll send two He Qi elders to accompany you and protect you. I believe everything will be safe." Lin Wuya turned around and walked back to the high black jade throne. His voice returned to normal, but it was filled with unquestionable pressure. "Yibai, this matter concerns the fate of the sect. Please don't let your father down."

"Yes." Lin Yibai responded again, then turned and walked out of the hall.

As she walked, she counted silently in her heart.

one two three......

"Wait." Sure enough, just as she counted to three and was about to step out of the palace, the man's deep voice came from behind her again, "This time you will pass through the 'Forbidden Demon Sea'."

Her heart tightened - the key plot point was coming!

"The medicine man in the dungeon has become quite familiar with us now. Since we're on the way, let's take some new rations to the adults." He paused briefly before adding, "...and take the kid who caused you to faint with us, too. I'll just take my revenge on you."

Lin Yibai was stunned: Yan is missing?

It’s true that he was taken to the Forbidden Demon Sea in the original novel, but... was it because Lin Wuya also mentioned him specifically?

She can't remember.

So she just replied respectfully, "Yes."

Finally stepping out of the palace gate, the setting sun was sinking slowly into the west, dyeing the clouds in the sky blood red.

Looking at the bloody sun, Lin Yibai's heart sank as if a lead block was weighing on him.

She knew that she was doomed to fail in this mission. It was this failure that completely enraged Lin Wuya, causing him to cruelly push her, his own daughter, out to be the sacrifice.

But now, what she is most worried about is not this...

【bite--】

[Mission Release: Host, please personally throw Yan Bujian from the Forbidden Demon Sea within five days according to the original plot]

[Completion Reward: 300 achievement points, host's physical function increased by 10%; Failure Penalty: Soul Obliteration]

really!

When Lin Yibai heard the familiar mechanical sound, he tripped and almost fell flat on his face.

She looked at the setting sun that was slowly sinking in the sky like a salted egg yolk, and felt that her mood was even heavier than the coming night.

A surge of grief and indignation rushed straight to her head, causing her to curse in her heart—

"Again?! Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't dare be ordered around like this! I just poisoned him, and now I want to throw him to the sea monster with my own hands! In the original novel, this torturous scene didn't happen until a full week later. Is he on a rocket or a shot of chicken blood? Is he in a rush to reincarnate?!"

"What do you mean by escaping death? Are you sure Lin Yibai really doesn't have to die?! - Stop playing dead and answer me!"

However, no matter how much she cursed the system in her heart, the cold mechanical voice did not respond at all.

She was left standing alone in the rising dusk, looking at the blood-red sky with a look of despair on her face.