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Chapter 364 - Ghosts of the Mine (X)

Haah.

I guess that the stitch is up, eh? Oh well. Seeing as they didn't attack us immediately, or even questioned us as we moved onward (only commenting that the carcasses were so damaged they were rendered unusable), it should be fine. Maybe they'll imagine we have some huge backing and that crossing us would be a foolish little thing?

... yeah. Let's hope so.

The road slow...

Chapter 363 - Ghosts of the Mine (IX)

Shuren hadn't really thought much of the strange group of kids since meeting them, save for the little cook that she grew to appreciate quite a bit. Though their talents might be decent for this corner of the world, in her eyes, they were simply destined to never make much of themselves.

As such, when she saw the kids head over to the Demonic Wolves, she recalled One through Five as she ...

Chapter 362 - Ghosts of the Mine (VIII)

... right.

System, hah. I could weep.

I don't know whether to be flattered that it thinks so highly of me it'd give me a quest whose FIRST leg of the journey is interacting with the most powerful man in the world, or whether to be utterly stupefied by its seeming insistence that I just fucking die.

I'm going to go with the former just for my own sanity's sake, but I ...

Chapter 361 - Ghosts of the Mine (VII)

... this is it, right? The place Long Tao mentioned when we departed for this place, no? He explicitly mentioned that there was a Spirit Mine here once, but that a fight between cultivators buried it somewhere in the mountains.

But... why do I have a tingling sensation that the entire story of the place isn't quite so simple? That last reward, Yin Qi Pills, it... worries me. Even if I kn...

Chapter 360 - Ghosts of the Mine (VI)

One thing that immediately jumped out about this place was that the night... was freakin' loud. Like, seriously, even through the tent's sound-isolating arrays that I could finally power up since I had some Spirit Stones, it couldn't block off even half--no, not even a quarter--of sounds.

Howls of countless beasts, sounds of the winds snapping branches and signing, and o...

Chapter 359 - Ghosts of the Mine (V)

The path up the mountain started ordinary, but I immediately recognized that it wasn't going to be a quick or an easy one; the mountain itself was layered in how steep it was, going from almost near flat to sheer drops in the span of twenty yards, with varying degree of trees and vegetation occupying the space.

As I suspected, we made our strides along the path that curved far out and th...

Chapter 358 - Ghosts of the Mine (IV)

Our days hadn't changed much with the joining of the strange six; besides the kids not being able to train and spar properly, and having to put on little plays every time they did, the days remained the same.

We'd meditate through the night, eat the early morning breakfast (which they never skipped), after which the kid 'exercised' for a bit, and then we'd hit the road. In fairne...

Chapter 357 - Ghosts of the Mine (III)

I'm actually surprised they chose to join us.

Ever since we met them earlier today, I've been sitting on a bed of nails, worried. After all, it cost me 500 points just to glean parts of that woman's status window, and seeing those parts hardly settled my nerves.

Anyone pretending to be far weaker than they are worries me. And yes, I'm deeply aware of the hypocrisy, but I ...

Chapter 356 - Ghosts of the Mine (II)

"Three, are you done?"

"Just about, Boss."

"I told you not to call me that! He he."

"Haah. What's wrong with calling Boss a Boss?"

"Just listen to me for once."

"Pipe down, you two. Somebody's coming," a woman's irate voice broke the tension as the six figures shuffled their gazes from the caravan to the south, where silhouettes broke through the haze. There were q...

Chapter 355 - Ghosts of the Mine (I)

I've rarely seen Light smile, let alone laugh.

For a seven-year-old girl, she was this strange dichotomy; stern, boulder-ish stoicism, sarcastic beyond her years, drably apathetic... yet, anyone who spends more than a day with her will quickly realize that she really is just a seven-year-old girl. There are things that no amount of early, gnarly experiences can hide, and she seld...

Chapter 354 - Changes (XI)

There's something I've been curious about ever since I learned the existence of 'Demonic Qi'. As I recall Elder Qin explaining it, it almost sounded like antimatter to matter, anti Qi to Qi. Not evil, just reversed.

Which made me further curious about their relationship. I've seen Wan Lan fight quite a few times, and even when she's not actively concealing Demonic Qi (pretty muc...

Chapter 353 - Changes (X)

All else aside, I'm a bit worried about achieving the 'perfect path'.

Though the system made it sound simple--prep these few innocent things, go to this totally normally-sounding place, and soak in a nice, warm bath... I have the sensibilities of a cynic, and those sensibilities are currently screaming at me.

Even if the system mentioned that, in consideration of my circumstances,...

Chapter 352 - Changes (IX)

[Congratulations, Host, on creating the 'Heavenly Speed Steps' Movement Art]

... hmm.

Why does it sound kind of weird now that I'm reading it back? Are my naming sensibilities out of whack?

... nah. I'm overthinking it.

[...]

[Heavenly Speed Steps]

[Type: Movement Art]

[Rank: peak-Heaven]

[Host Comprehension: Initial]

[...]

[An extreme...

Chapter 351 - Changes (VIII)

My first focus was on the movement art that Dai Xiu asked for.

I've watched her fight quite a few times now (quite a few times), and I can kind of understand what she means when she says Shadows Steps aren't suitable for her. For me, the art is practically indispensable, even before it evolved. It's kind of like an 'Undo' button, where I can quickly reposition because I...

Chapter 350 - Changes (VII)

It looked like a stew, smelled like a stew, and tasted like a stew.

It was... beautiful.

Oh my God.

We have a cook! We have a proper, middle-of-the-road, nothing-special-but-very-edible sort of a cook! The meat is a bit chewy, sure, and veggies are a bit undercooked, okay, but the combo is... beautiful. Spoonful after spoonful, I... I can't stop until I've finished.

I w...

Chapter 349 - Changes (VI)

The new day started explosively--literally.

I rushed out of the tent as quickly as I could, thinking we were being attacked, only to be met by a sky-high plume of smoke, a charred face and seared hair.

Lao Shun state was in equal measure pathetic as it was comedic--he started to cough yet, despite that, the look in his eyes was one of excitement rather than despondence. 2025-12-11 21:26:11 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 348 - Changes (V)

"Can, can the queen move like this?" while everyone dispersed to do whatever it is that they wanted to, I chose to teach Xing Feng how to play chess.

"Yes, she can," I said. "But why shouldn't you have put her there?"

"Uhm..."

"Just look at the board. Look at what other pieces can also move to that square."

"... a-ah! Master's bishop!"

"Ha ha, good job!" I tousled...

Chapter 347 - Changes (IV)

Long Tao was more flabbergasted at the moment than he had ever been before in his life. He poked and prodded the extra core with all his might, thinking that it was the Heaven's doing, but there was no trace of Dao. No trace of any trace arrays.

No trace of, well, anything besides what he expected to find in a core.

For all intents and purposes, it was as though someone h...

Chapter 346 - Changes (III)

Darkness swelled around him as he stepped out onto the lake, his feet glancing against the unmoving water as he made his stride away from the shore.

The moon above was crescent, fading in and out against the carpet of ashen clouds, as he came to a stop about a hundred yards or so away from the shore.

Long Tao could have broken through into the Revolving Core Realm months ago. No, h...

Chapter 345 - Changes (II)

Lao Shun left the tent and made some distance between himself and it before pouring a touch of Qi into the small, toy-sized thing in his hands.

It abruptly flew out and turned suspended midair, about ten feet up, spinning in place as a golden halo of light emerged from behind it, shooting out jets of amber-colored flames that washed over the cauldron.

Within yet another flash of it...

Chapter 344 - Changes (I)

The journey along the lake's shores has been... dull, to say the least. Every day felt the same--so much so that I've been going a bit bad, to be honest.

It wasn't just the days that felt the same--it was the landscape, too. It never changed.

To our right extended the lake, to our front just dirt and sand and mud, and to our left were mostly hills and trees beyond them. No matter ho...

Chapter 343 - World Awakens (II)

Fire roared in vermilion colors, raging in sixteen concentric circles on top of a ashen-cast platform. At its highest, it rose up to nearly forty feet, like a towering blanket of death, yet it never seemed to leave the rather strict confinement of the broad shape.

At the very center of it all, within the smallest circle that was just barely large enough to fit a person within, was a young...

Chapter 342 - World Awakens (I)

Volume 5

Flames and Ashes

Water dripped rhythmically, almost like a song.

One by one, like notes of a melody weaving together a symphony--one that never stopped.

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue and slashed sideways with the sword; an invisible current of the air streamed to the right and cut through something, ending the song.

Taking a deep brea...

Chapter 341 - Truths and Lies (XXVII)

She took the charge and led us to the city's outskirts, its northernmost end and beyond, where plains extended into a distant haze. The lake's water had calmed down, soft glimmer of the rising moonlight bouncing against its surface.

She stopped, at last, once we came upon a rather inconspicuous stone, shaped oddly and unnaturally.

"This is where I buried my son," she said rather su...

Chapter 340 - Truths and Lies (XXVI)

... I'm a bit stumped. Well, not a bit--a lot stumped. As there was nothing for me to do when I came out, I decided to simply sit and go through the rewards once again, slowly inspecting them a bit closer.

The first one I took a gander at was the 'Writ of the Eras'--it really was a singular parchment with crude letters drawn across its surface in black ink, quickly and haphazardl...

Chapter 339 - Truths and Lies (XXV)

There were more windows to sort through, but I paused for a moment as I saw a reward that only I can use--a true rarity.

I took out the Blossoming Eternity from one of the spatial rings, spawning it in front of myself--it was a flat blade about thirteen inches long, perfectly symmetrical, with a gemmed-out center of the blade where, from the handle to the tip. there were exactly...

Chapter 338 - Truths and Lies (XXIV)

[--congratulations, Host. Your Disciples have achieved generational feats. Extra rewards have been generated]

[Congratulations, Host, on slaying the Heavenly Chosen. Extra rewards have been generated]

[...]

[Your Disciples Dai Xiu, Wan Lan, Light, Rayce, and Xi Zhao have successfully fended off an assault of dozens of martial artists of higher realms. Though not an unprecedent...

Chapter 337 - Truths and Lies (XXIII)

I stared down at the harshly mangled corpse of Lu Yawen, yet, despite missing both her arms, having both her knees bend in odd directions, and not one facial feature that wasn't utterly destroyed... she was alive.

Deeply unconscious, but alive.

"We have a few more here!!" that was Rayce, prompting me to look back and see him drag out two bodies from a nearby, demolished house. "On...

Chapter 336 - Truths and Lies (XXII)

The sound of a chess piece hitting against the gilded board was quiet, yet the world around it was quieter still, causing it to echo.

It rippled outwards, as though tossing a pebble into a lake, causing a slight gust of wind.

The two men sitting on opposite ends of the chessboard, however, didn't seem to register it. Pressed against the side and by the window, their focus was entir...

Chapter 335 - Truths and Lies (XXI)

Long Tao watched the light fade from the Sage's eyes, eyes shorn of grudge, hate, or anger. It was someone who accepted their demise, and willingly submitted to the darkness.

A rather rare epiphany to achieve, especially if someone had touched Nirvana.

But he hardly had the time to focus on the man--though they 'won', his body was currently being annihilated from within. Even with ...