A world without glitz
Luo'an, a small town located thousands of miles from Taixu Gate, lies quietly hidden within the vast and mysterious forest to the southwest. The town is home to the Yu people, an ancient ethnic group with a thousand-year-old heritage. The town is frequented by horse caravans resting and outsiders who stray into the area.
Here, the dazzling warm sun penetrated the layers of foliage, casting a golden thread on the slender branches that had just sprouted. Perhaps it was precisely because this land was so lush and vibrant that the originally peaceful and tranquil atmosphere was quietly disrupted by these two sudden uninvited guests, casting a lingering shadow over the flowers and plants here.
Compared with the scene conjured by the water mirror magic, the real Luoan Town is even more intoxicating like a fairyland. However, this overly strong illusory beauty gives people an indescribable sense of vanity, which makes passers-by stay away.
In this seemingly virtual world, every flower, plant and tree seems to have become an NPC (non-player character) among NPCs. Although they look alive, they seem to lack a real aura of vitality.
At this moment, a voice sounded in Chen Ye's mind.
System: Congratulations to the host for successfully opening the Luoan Town dungeon and triggering the related dungeon mission - assisting Saint Meimei to win the top spot.
After hearing this prompt tone, Chen Ye couldn't help but mutter to himself, "System, do you really think this Saint Lady needs my help? Me? Am I a relative? Or a paid player? I don't think so! Given her strength and status, I'd be lucky if I didn't drag her down!"
Chen Ye's mind was as clear as a mirror. She knew her role in this drama: that of a lackey clinging to Meimei's thigh. Given the closeness of her relationship with Meimei, she figured she could secure the title of "Fourth Female Lead." As long as she clung to Meimei's sturdy thigh and unwaveringly guarded her heart, preventing her from being tempted by any other man, and diligently fulfilled her duties as a cult spy, wouldn't the golden coins fall into her pocket like snowflakes?
At this moment, Meimei looked at the little burden she had brought in with her, who was still standing there in a daze. She was so angry and anxious that she even wanted to immediately send a message to her master: "Put the plan on hold for now, the personnel situation has changed!"
In fact, long before stepping into this mysterious water mirror, everyone already knew the rules of this trial - the bracelet held by each immortal friend participating in the trial can display the personal ranking status in real time, and only those ranked in the top ten can successfully advance to the second level of the trial.
Meimei stared at the bracelet on her hand for a long time. It looked ordinary, just a delicate weave of bodhi seeds, which are commonly found everywhere. She checked the time again. Two or three minutes had already passed since they entered the water mirror, but the number displayed on the bracelet was still the same large, eye-catching zero, completely unchanged.
Meimei wasn't entirely sure she could guess the hidden rule. However, this was, after all, a Xiuxian Conference! Moreover, she knew every exam question from the past thousands of years. For example, the previous one, for example, had focused on the art of trapping—who could first escape the mysterious water mirror? And the one before that, the contestants had to search for the hidden sect leader. Each of these exams required the contestants to infer the true meaning based on subtle fluctuations in their bracelet scores.
Speaking of this Immortal Cultivation Conference, Meimei's master had already predicted the exam questions for her. According to her master, the exam questions would most likely be related to ferocious and unusually fierce monsters. This would truly present a golden opportunity, like divine intervention, for those demonic cultivators. After all, due to their unique physical constitutions, demonic cultivators possess an exceptionally keen perception of spiritual energy, surpassing that of spiritual cultivators.
There are only two ways for practitioners in the Wuhua world to practice: one is spiritual practice, using oneself as a carrier to carry the spiritual power of the world, borrowing spirits to use, and returning spirits to give. The other is demonic practice, using oneself as the main body to absorb the spiritual power of all things, snatching spirits to dominate, and dispersing spirits to kill.
Meimei gracefully leaped onto a high branch, perching there gracefully like a blossoming flower. Squinting her eyes slightly, she gazed far into the distance, as if taking in everything before her. She gently opened her red lips and slowly mobilized the spiritual power her master had stored within the Xiangyu jade, muttering to herself, "The Nine-Bright Prajna Mantra is vast, and it is the Great Bright Mantra that can unleash..."
Although the area was deserted save for the burden, Meimei knew she couldn't afford to let her guard down. If she revealed the secret technique, her identity would be exposed before she even entered. Therefore, she hesitated to launch a large-scale search for the demonic beast. After all, judging by the average strength of the people here, to claim first place in this competition, she would need to successfully hunt down two powerful demonic beasts of Rank 2 or higher. However, for the burden, if she wanted to successfully advance to the top, she would probably need to find a relatively weaker Rank 5 demonic beast. Thinking of this, Meimei pondered, silently calculating.
As we all know, all things possess spirituality. By absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, these beasts gradually awaken their spirits and transform into human forms. However, if their spiritual energy becomes disturbed, they lose their sanity and become the ferocious and terrifying monsters that people speak of.
At that moment, the charming young girl beneath the tree looked around in bewilderment, as if she had mistakenly believed herself to be a pitiful little white rabbit, heartlessly abandoned by her owner. Her large, watery eyes shifted restlessly, anxiously searching for a familiar figure. Suddenly, the girl murmured softly, "System, where on earth has my heroine gone? And this place shouldn't just be me and the Saint, why is there no sign of anyone else?"
"Host, if you have trouble seeing, don't forget to buy some eye drops with your gold coins. Also, if you feel you're not tall enough, look up at the sky." Chen Ye raised his chin slightly, his searching gaze inadvertently meeting Meimei's. In that moment, disgust and shame collided fiercely, but Chen Ye subtly defied this by quietly extending his hand to shield his face.
"What are you daydreaming about?" She leaned forward, a few strands of red silk thread hidden in her black hair falling, and a cold glint flashed in her phoenix eyes. Seeing Chen Ye still staring blankly up, she suddenly leaped from a tree branch three meters high. The red gauze spread out like a waterfall, startling the ground with a phosphorus-like glow of spores, but the moment it landed, it transformed into a straight line like a sharp blade.
Meimei walked quickly ahead, Chen Ye following closely behind her fluttering dress. Meimei's pace was so hurried, her expression so urgent, that the hem of her skirt only occasionally revealed a corner to Chen Ye. With such a corner, how could Chen Ye possibly keep up? "Hurry up!" Meimei, unable to contain her impatience, urged her repeatedly. You have to remember, this was the outskirts of Luoan Town, surrounded by dense jungle. The weeds grew wildly, almost reaching waist height. With Chen Ye's height, there was no advantage at all here.
The already distracted little rabbit, upon hearing the slightly impatient old fox's scolding, quickly huddled up, hopping forward like a frightened rabbit. Chen Ye even grabbed Meimei's sleeve tightly with both hands, practically pressing his entire body against her. "Don't you have long legs? Why are you getting so close?" Meimei frowned slightly and complained again. Without warning, Meimei stopped in her tracks, turned around and looked at this useless person with connections, gritted her teeth, and threatened in a low voice.
"I...will follow the boss's orders." Chen Ye lowered his voice, knowing full well that the woman before him had fought her way through the demonic sect whose very name suggested a ferociousness. So, he could only hide his courage and vent his grievances to the system. Even though this wicked system had just been mocking him.
However, at this moment, the system's cold reminder sounded suddenly: "Host, please be careful with your words. Due to inappropriate remarks, your account will be deducted three points as a warning!"
“It’s my honor to have such a boss!”
Upon hearing this, Meimei immediately responded, "Who's your boss? No! Who exactly is your boss?" She had never heard of such a person before. Could this person be the powerful backer behind this relative? Although she had known this relative for a long time, she was still unaware of her identity, and even her master was unwilling to reveal it. Or was this guy actually playing the game of double agent? Meimei knew this kind of person, and the more foolish they seemed, the more likely they would reveal their true identity in unintentional words.
Chen Ye explained with a flattering look on his face: "Of course the boss is you, the Saint! Look, aren't you in charge of all this money? To me, this money is more important than my life, so you are my boss." After hearing this, Meimei nodded thoughtfully, but there was still some doubt in her eyes.
Then, as if struck by a thought, Meimei decisively waved her hand and shouted, "All under the Boss's command? In that case, let's head southwest." It turned out that just moments ago, Meimei had keenly sensed a surge of spiritual energy emanating from the southwest. She secretly decided that this operation must be a success. And so, the two of them marched forward in a mighty force, heading southwest.
Instead of heading into the crowded town, the two walked in opposite directions, towards the dense forest. Light waves penetrated the gaps between them, and the warm sunlight poured through their hair, warming their hearts.
Chen Ye looked at the woman in front of him. She seemed to be the heroine of a novel as soon as she appeared. There were red threads hidden between her disguised black hair, and her pair of upturned phoenix eyes were always filled with complete disdain when she looked at Chen Ye. Even though she had the capital to be so confident and arrogant, Chen Ye still felt secretly aggrieved in his heart.
A strong person like her would naturally be attracted to Qi Yiwen, who is also a strong person. However, Chen Ye couldn't figure out whether her mission was more important or the person in front of her was more important. Why did they fall in love? Chen Ye didn't have the soul to travel through the male and female protagonists' script, so naturally she couldn't understand it. However, she had already planned this journey, three strategies to ruin true love.
Strategy 1: Create an extremely bad first impression (excluding the quick glance between the two in front of Taixu Gate).
Strategy 2: Prevent alone time and destroy ambiguous moments.
Strategy three: Deepen existing contradictions, uncover hidden contradictions, and recommend better options.
Chen Ye firmly believes that as long as he thoroughly implements the three strategies of ruining true love, he will be able to achieve success in his career.
Amidst the unadorned landscape lies a mountain called Hexu, born from the sun and moon. The divine bird Bifang resides on a side peak, while spirit beasts garrison the twelve other main peaks. This is the seat of the Shanhai Order, a power independent of the Immortal Sect Alliance.
Bifang sighed inwardly; these past few hundred years had indeed been the most peaceful period of his sleep. For spirit beasts, a century was but the blink of an eye, but for humans, it was an eternity. In this Hexu land, a powerful barrier had been established. On ordinary days, it was impossible to witness the falling of stars; only the alternation of sun and moon continued in an endless cycle.
However, just today, Bifang glimpsed a meteor streaking across the night sky in his sleep. This was no ordinary meteor; it was a special signal, unique to them! This discovery thrilled Bifang, and he immediately abandoned his usual sleepy life and hurried to the main peak island closest to Mount E.
This main island peak is where the fox clan's Yousu clan lives. As Bifang hurried on, he pondered, "That old fox is truly cold-blooded! I wonder how he'll interpret this signal?"
Finally, Bifang arrived at the gate of Yousu Clan. He stood in front of the door, hesitant, not knowing whether to go in. After all, the relationship between him and Yousuxi had always been a little delicate.
"There's the Su family! That's the boss's signal. He's escaped, he's finally escaped!" Bifang paced anxiously at the door, muttering non-stop. To make himself look more like he'd rushed in, he took a few deep breaths and then suddenly jumped up, as if he'd just come running.
However, none of this escaped You Suxi's eyes. He just symbolically closed his eyes, completely uninterested in Bifang's performance. You Suxi secretly laughed in his heart: "This silly bird, has it forgotten that it can fly? It's still pretending here."
"If you want to see him, go see him yourself. First of all, I don't want to," You Suxi said indifferently, as if the meteor had nothing to do with him. In fact, he didn't have any deep connection with the meteor, and he didn't want to get involved and cause trouble. His purpose in life was to cleanse his sins. Over the years, he had carefully followed the guidance of the gods, and cultivating his character was what he believed to be the right path.
Do we have to add to our troubles for no reason?
"Old fox, how heartless!" Bi Fang cursed indignantly. Although he knew that this trip would definitely be in vain, when he thought about the remaining targets that were even more difficult to deal with than the Su family, he felt overwhelmed and immediately decided that it would be more reliable to go and meet the boss himself.
However, just as Bifang was about to slip away, a plan suddenly occurred to him. He curled his lips slightly, revealing a sly smile, and then he casually burned off the few remaining fur on the old fox's body. Su Shi, watching the blazing tail, remained calm and focused on meditation. After all, the fire would eventually die out, and it would just take time for the people to leave. After all, the old fox was aging and prone to balding, so this could be considered a small lesson for him.
Hearing the Bifang's cries, he lazily opened half his eyelids, revealing his amber pupils. It wasn't until the tip of his tail was ignited by a spark that he slowly swung it to extinguish the flames, his gesture like he was shaking off insignificant willow catkins.
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