Chapter 1 The Flamboyant Continent The Flamboyant Continent has existed for 1,500 years…
Since the great war between immortals and demons 1,500 years ago, the continent of Zhaoyao has been divided into three races: immortals, demons, and humans.
The demon race suffered heavy losses in this war and had no one left to fight. The human and immortal races took the opportunity to distort the truth and slander the demon race as the culprit of the war. The demon race became a heretic that everyone hated and forced them to retreat to the underworld to live and die on their own for thousands of years.
The Underworld is a place rife with malevolent energy on the continent of Zhaoyao. It is a desolate and treacherous land where the demon people live in poverty, but they are not inherently bad and are content with their lot, living a life of peace and tranquility in their small world. However, the corruption of malevolent energy has turned many demons into monsters that are neither human nor ghost, with distorted appearances, violent tempers, and a bloodthirsty nature.
Demon Lord Qinwenxue dispatched the Left Protector Yun Jin with three thousand guards to guard the borders of the Demon Clan, protect the demons, and guard the walls of the Ten Directions City. It was called imprisonment, but in reality, it was for protection.
Qin Wenxue was known within the three races as a brutal, bloodthirsty, and ruthless demon. He was known for his willingness to destroy the world and massacre any dangerous individuals who dared to swagger about, even at the slightest provocation. The immortal and human races were quite wary of him, and even his own people avoided him like the plague, filled with resentment. Therefore, the Celestial Lord of the Nine Heavens and the four great immortal sects of the human race joined forces to suppress the resurgence of the demon race, trapping them in the netherworld and the underworld for eternity.
For a thousand years, the demon race has not seen green mountains and clear waters. Their malevolent energy has corrupted their minds, and more and more of their people are dying tragically. Gradually, the people of Shifang City have become increasingly dissatisfied with the Demon Lord, filled with boundless hatred, and wish that he would be torn to pieces and destroyed by heaven and earth.
Shifang City, daytime, yellow sand fills the sky.
The city's long street was in chaos, with people shoving and cursing. The few people who had just had time to chat were all running away in panic. In an instant, the long street was empty, without a trace of human life.
A malevolent aura rose from the ground like wisps of black mist, carried by an invisible force towards the Hundred Flower Garden in the east of Shifang City. Yellow sand swirled in the air, and a fierce wind rose, causing the long skirts of the women standing on the city wall to flutter loudly.
Holding a fiery red longsword, Yun Jin turned her head and saw that the Hundred Flower Garden was filled with a fierce aura, with black mist swirling around it, instantly covering the sky and the sun.
Strange phenomena appeared in the sky; the clouds surged and rolled, as if about to tear open a hole from which an unknown disaster would fall, washing away the Yellow Springs and the Azure Heaven with blood. Her brows furrowed, the knuckles of her fingers gripping the sword turned white, and her eyes were full of worry. However, the gates of Shifang City needed someone to guard them, and she could not leave without permission.
Shi Wenzhe, female, 24 years old, an orphan with no parents, has a withdrawn personality but a heart full of love and an overflowing saintly heart. After graduating from university, she returned to her hometown to raise twenty-five pigs and cultivate twenty-five acres of land. She is neither poor nor rich, but lives a carefree life, relying on her neighbor's little white dog for survival. She considers herself to be without desires or wants in life, unable to bear the burden of KPIs and PUA, and a first-rate candidate for living a life of leisure and waiting to die.
It was because of her overflowing compassion that, while driving her five- or six-times-used van home, she crashed into a deep abyss while trying to make way for a flock of low-flying sparrows.
Images kept flashing before her eyes. She saw herself driving a car and crashing into rocks on the edge of a cliff. Then the world spun around, and everything went quiet. Outside the window, the sky was just a line between the inside and outside of the car. All she could hear was the crackling sound of tree branches breaking. Rocks flew up and hit the car window, then hurtled towards her face.
In the last second before losing consciousness, she seemed to hear the cracking sound of her neck breaking. The pain was so intense that Shi Wenzhe didn't have time to react before losing consciousness again.
"Ding—" A bell suddenly rang out, the sound ethereal and elusive, as if crossing the river of time and passing through the barriers of space, ringing continuously like a call to a soul.
Shi Wenzhe was furious. That lousy voice was like a mosquito's buzz, disturbing her sleep. She muttered a few words, turned over, and tried to go back to sleep.
Just then, a powerful electric current struck him, and Shi Wenzhe sat up abruptly, his hair standing on end, his eyes silent, and he exhaled a thick cloud of black smoke.
She groaned in pain, "Who...who attacked me..."
She groped around, somewhat bewildered: "Why can't I see anything?" This place should have been very open, but she could hear her own voice echoing endlessly, like a ghost calling back, which was quite terrifying.
"Crack... Crack crack crack, bang—" The sound of the explosion suddenly rang in her mind, making her eyes lose focus. The chaotic electronic sounds crackled and rang, and the electronic sounds of the despicable map were a bit intoxicating.
Shi Wenzhe wondered if something was wrong with his brain. Just as he was wondering, the electric current that had just disappeared suddenly struck again. Shi Wenzhe was hit by 100,000 volts, and his whole body trembled as he was shocked, and he exhaled black smoke.
"Who... wants to hurt me?" She trembled all over, like a wilted little white flower.
"Buzz buzz buzz... Sizzle... Sizzle! Strong host intent detected, Sizzle... Binding in progress... Please wait! Sizzle buzz buzz..."
"Click! Connection successful."
"Hello host, because you emitted a strong sense of resentment and unwillingness before your death, you were detected by the 'Half-Dead' main system. You are now bound to the 'Half-Dead' system. This is the Xianxia world of Zhaoyao Continent. I am the system's Gold Medal Dream Fulfiller 001."
Shi Wenzhe's eyes widened, and she murmured, "I'm dead..." Her tone was regretful, "What about my twenty-five piglets? I still have five thousand yuan in my bag, that's money I used to buy fertilizer to make up for lost time. I was planning to dig up crabs from the river to fry and eat. What if my little dog starves to death without my special treats... Waaaaah!" She cried bitterly, choking back sobs, "Are you lying to me? Just kill me. I don't want to come to Zhaoyao Continent. Let me go back, waaaaah."
001 said ruthlessly, "Your body has been reduced to dust."
Shi Wenzhe said, "Then what should we do?"
001:“.”
001: "Isn't surviving here the same?"
Shi Wenzhe burst into tears: "How can that be the same? I went blind as soon as I arrived! I can't see, and I've lost the happiest thing in my life. I still want to eat fried crabs. Do they have them on Zhaoyao Continent? Is this some primitive and desolate place? Are you here to mess with me?"
001: "...", "You're not blind."
Shi Wenzhe retorted, "How could that be? I'm not blind, how come I didn't see anything?"
001 paused for a moment, seemingly angered by the man's unreasonable argument, and then several bolts of lightning crackled down from the sky, striking Shi Wenzhe's feet with perfect accuracy. Shi Wenzhe seemed to have lost his soul, unable to speak for a long time, only trembling as he softened his tone and said gently, "Good brother, don't be angry."
"Let's take this lightning guy back to heaven."
001:“.”
"Host, you are in the Mustard Seed Space. Once you have absorbed the memories from this body, I will release you back to the Zhaoyao Continent."
Shi Wenzhe chuckled, "You should have said so earlier... I thought I was blind, turns out this place is just this dark..."
Memories that didn't belong to her surfaced in her mind. She saw a small white flower transform into a human, working from sunrise to sunset, carrying a hoe and digging the ground with great effort. Then she scattered seeds all over the ground. The ground wasn't very good; no plants grew there. The seeds she scattered would wither and die, and she would scatter seeds again. When it got dark, she would turn into a small white flower, find a spot anywhere, stick it in the ground, and begin to rest. Day after day, year after year, she never tired.
The memory was so real that Shi Wenzhe seemed to sense the other person's subtle emotional fluctuations. In the instant the plant sprouted and withered, joy and loneliness were vividly present. Shi Wenzhe suddenly felt empty inside, somewhat lost and bewildered.
"This memory is a bit short. What's her name? Where does she live? What are her interpersonal relationships like? What's her temperament like? What if I give myself away in front of her acquaintances?" Shi Wen started rambling on and on.
001 interrupted, "She is you, and you are her."
Shi Wenzhe asked, "What do you mean?"
001 said emotionlessly, "Please wake up immediately, host. Your life is in imminent danger, triggering the 'Life or Death' mission. Please complete the following requirements: 1. Prevent the wolf demon from obtaining the Pure Lotus Seed. 2. Survive!!!"
Shi Wenzhe stared wide-eyed again, this time without even a hint of anger, and said weakly, "What do you mean...?"
But 001 didn't give her time to react. Shi Wenzhe was struck by lightning three times in a row, so hard that her soul began to crumble. Her body convulsed for a moment, and pain spread throughout her body. Instantly, the air was filled with the sweet fragrance of grass and trees.
The wolf demon looked at the lifeless woman in the distance, moved his fingertips, and felt an immense joy welling up in his chest.
He shouted excitedly, "Little fool! Little fool, wake up!" He even picked up a stone and threw it at Shi Wenzhe's head.
Shi Wen sat up like a corpse, her mind still a bit fuzzy. In the distance, there was a little figure jumping around excitedly, seemingly happy to see her awake. However, the stones were incredibly accurate, hitting her squarely on the forehead every time.
"It hurts a lot, big brother." Shi Wenzhe was speechless.
This was a desolate and dimly lit place, with nothing but pebbles on the ground. However, a hundred meters away from Shi Wenzhe, a huge white lotus was in full bloom. The white lotus was very abrupt, without roots, stems, branches, or leaves, only a huge bud, which hung in mid-air and rotated silently. It emitted a gentle white light, which could only illuminate the small plot of land in front of Shi Wenzhe, and was the only light in this area.
Shi Wenzhe subconsciously sniffed and smelled that refreshing fragrance again. This fragrance overwhelmed Shi Wenzhe when he looked at the white lotus, almost making him dizzy.
She raised her hand and rubbed her nose, only then noticing her strange attire.
The white flowing dress had very wide sleeves, revealing a section of her flawless white wrist. Unfortunately, Shi Wen's fingers were covered with a dense array of small wounds. The wounds weren't deep, but looked as if they had been corroded drop by drop by sulfuric acid, which was rather gruesome.
Shi Wenzhe curiously touched it, only to find his hand covered in blood and a belated pain.
She opened her mouth wide and looked around, hoping to see something unusual. Finally, she could only vent her anger on 001, saying, "001, is this your doing again?"
001: "..."
The system completely ignored Shi Wenzhe and said expressionlessly, "The main principle of the 'Half-Dead' System is 'Better to live a wretched life than to die a good death.' Please keep your mission in mind when completing tasks. In this other world, live a life of ignoring others and prolonging your life, just getting by, giving up on yourself and harming others for your own benefit... In short! No matter what method you use, survive."
"Only by surviving can anything be possible."
001 quickly logged off as if avoiding an enemy, leaving Shi Wenzhe standing there like a fool, looking completely bewildered. Amidst a series of busy signals in her mind, she frantically performed a set of calisthenics. The wolf demon looked at her in confusion, suspecting that she had started having another episode.
He shouted, "You little fool, are you possessed?"
Shi Wenzhe's mind was completely blank. He slowly looked toward the source of the sound and saw a tall figure standing there. Shi Wenzhe blinked and carefully examined him.
He looked like a savage... covered in gray hair, yet his eyes were green and gleaming. His arms were thick and strong, covered with dense veins like thorns crawling all over his body. Sometimes you could even see the blood flowing in his veins, with a layer of black mist clinging to it, like steam rising from boiling water, making him look like a demon crawling out of hell.
The demon bared its sharp canine teeth, blood still stained its mouth as if it had just devoured a person. Its smile was ferocious and terrifying. The wounds on its body were deep enough to expose bone, and blood dripped down its fur and clothes, forming a pool of blood. Its fingernails were reddish-black, sharp and long, as if they were just waiting for Shi Wen to close her eyes so that it could silently take her life.
Shi Wenzhe trembled like a leaf, like a quail with its neck tucked in. He gasped under the gaze of the beast's blue-faced, fanged head, and uttered a barely audible, defiant cry: "Ghost...ghost!"
The wolf demon stepped forward; "What are you saying, you little fool?"
Hearing that Shi Wen had broken his leg and taken three steps back, he raised his hand to stop him: "Brave warrior, you should stay here."
The wolf demon was furious. This person hadn't done any of the things he promised, and had only said some ambiguous things. Was he stalling for time and preparing to escape?
He thought of his dying brother at home, and a nameless anger welled up inside him.
The wolf demon gave Shi Wenzhe a threatening look, growled in a low voice, bared its sharp fangs, and its green eyes were like ghostly fire, so eerily that Shi Wenzhe almost fainted.
She was almost crying, her eyes rolled back, and she screamed, clutching her head, "Aaaaaaah...a ghost! Aaaaaaah!"
"I'm not a ghost, I'm a wolf demon." The wolf demon said in a low voice with a stern face, "The Pure Lotus has bloomed. You promised to get me the lotus seeds, you little fool." He paused for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, "You mustn't break your promise."
Shi Wenzhe gasped, her head nearly flying off her chest. She stammered, "What oath?" She was on the verge of tears.
"Heh." The wolf demon said coldly, "You really don't remember?"
Shi Wenzhe hugged himself, trembling. "No, I was just confirming what you said." Looking into the other person's bright green eyes, Shi Wenzhe pleaded anxiously, "Stop looking! Say it again!"
"Brave warrior, don't scare me. I'm the kind of person who responds better to gentle persuasion than force. If you push me, I'll jump off here right now. At worst, we'll both die."
The wolf demon sneered, "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you know where this is?" He clearly remembered that he had tricked this little fool into coming here with flower and grass seeds. She had no memory of anything, believed whatever he was told, and was mute. All she knew was to dig and dig in Yunmeng Marsh all day long, like a diligent old ox. He had never seen her raise her head in her entire life.
He scrutinized her for a moment. He had never seen the little fool's face before and was surprised to find that she was so beautiful. People in the demon realm were corrupted by malevolent energy and most of them were ugly, including him. His eyes dimmed as he recalled how his parents often praised his appearance when he was young. Unfortunately, as he grew older, he was inevitably affected by malevolent energy and turned into a monster that was neither demon nor human.
The wolf demon sighed deeply, swallowing back the frustration and resentment in his heart. He said softly, "I'm not trying to scare you. You promised to get me the lotus seeds of the Pure World Lotus. I'll give you flower and grass seeds. Those flower and grass seeds are ones I brought back from the human world. No one in Shifang City can leave the city except me. Have you thought it through? Do you want them or not?"
He didn't explain clearly that most of the demons in Shifang City were law-abiding citizens who only cared about their own daily lives, but there were also many powerful demons whose hands were unstained with blood. Therefore, when they left Chang'an, they would not be blocked by the Forest of Good and Evil. As long as they could avoid Yun Jin's control, they could smoothly leave the Yellow Springs and the Azure Heaven.
Demons are like rats that everyone in the Three Realms hates. After leaving the city, they wish they could even tear their souls apart, wash them clean, cover their appearance, and act cautiously. When they come to the human world, they are just looking for a way to survive and have more food to eat.
A note from the author:
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I'm completely drained! Wish me luck!
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