Chapter 1: 1. The Demon Cultivator Who Received a Mysterious Invitation
Tan Shuchang’s Cultivation Diary One:
Today, my two senior brothers had an argument, but no matter how I tried to persuade them, they refused to kill each other.
Demon Cultivators are indeed hypocritical.
Tan Shuchang’s Cultivation Diary Two:
The junior sister from the neighboring peak kept crying because her childhood sweetheart, to whom she was betrothed, had married the rich girl from their town after she started cultivating on the mountain. After I learned about it, I comforted her, saying that although she hadn’t lived a glamorous life, having been made a cuckold, she should be somewhat content.
Yet, the junior sister wouldn’t listen and even drew her sword to chop at me. Demon Cultivators truly have no sympathy or righteousness, and are fickle in their emotions.
Tan Shuchang’s Cultivation Diary Three:
It’s the junior sister from the neighboring peak again, she attempted to seek death to escape from her troubles and ran up to the Cliff of Reflection. Therefore, I immediately told her that jumping off the Cliff of Reflection wouldn’t kill a person, let alone a Demon Cultivator.
But she didn’t believe me and once again drew her sword to chop at me.
A dog bites Lu Dongbin; it knows not the heart of a kind soul.
Demon Cultivators are indeed brutal and tyrannical.
…
Having just picked up his Cultivation Diary and tossed it aside, Tan Shuchang wasn’t very concerned about the fact that someone devilishly had copied his diary hundreds of times and spread it throughout Black Heart Mountain.
Because at the moment, there was something else giving him a headache.
After Tan Shuchang’s repeated observations and tests, as well as the "Bliss" message that his second senior brother passed to him through a secret treasure before his death, Tan Shuchang had now confirmed one thing—he was expendable.
And not just him, but also the dozens of brothers and sisters who joined the sect with him, they were all expendable.
It’s just that among the fellow disciples, his cultivation was more outstanding, which meant he would be the third expendable one to be consumed by their master, the Heartless Old Man!
The first two were his eldest sister, who was a rare find with a once-in-a-millennium talent and stunning brilliance, and his second senior brother, who had above-average talent but cultivated with extreme dedication and ruthlessness.
Both had already been refined by the master, the Heartless Old Man.
One could only say that this old demon truly practiced gender equality and treated everyone equally without discrimination.
This Black Heart Mountain is a branch of the demonic faction, and thus the ranking of the disciples is based on cultivation level.
The two ranked before Tan Shuchang were one with unrivaled talent, unmatched among the young generations of the Jiawu Realm, and the other who was so determined that it made Tan Shuchang’s scalp tingle.
Coupled with Tan Shuchang’s reluctance to kill the innocent—as they had no grudges with him—he could only manage to rank third among his fellow disciples, doing it half-heartedly and just getting by.
"How can I... kill my master, the Heartless Old Man?"
Tan Shuchang wore a look of worry.
Because with his current strength, facing the Heartless Old Man, his chances of winning were less than fifty percent.
"What a pity I’ve never found a ghost filled with an overwhelming malevolence..." Tan Shuchang couldn’t help but sigh.
Although one could make such a ghost through human intervention, such actions would be immensely harmful to the natural order, and even if undertaken, the success rates were abysmally low. It would be better to wait for his fellow disciples to try it...
Unfortunately, he didn’t wait for his fellow disciples to make a move, but instead received the news that the Heartless Old Man was about to make his move on him.
At that moment, a strange attribute frame appeared in front of Tan Shuchang, which made him pause, as it was the first time he had ever seen such a thing throughout the years since his transmigration.
Player: Tan Shuchang.
Level: Ding Nine (Unified initial level).
Malevolence Resistance: Jiawu One (Highest level for game players).
Pollution Resistance: Jiawu One.
Destruction Resistance: Jiawu One.
Transcendence Resistance: Jiawu One.
Comprehensive Assessment: ???
Loading Error...
Patch Addition...
Addition Failed...
Failed to Report Loading Error...
Initiate Emergency Measures...
Cancel the adaptation period and enter the game directly!
"Congratulations, you have been chosen to become a player in this bizarre game." After a jumble of data streams, accompanied by an indifferent voice that was neither male nor female, Tan Shuchang found that the scene before his eyes twisted for a moment and then underwent a huge change.
Gone was Black Heart Mountain, where it was perennially dark with relentless black winds blowing; although the surrounding environment was still somewhat gloomy, it was much more pleasing to the eye than the weirdly shaped rocks and the scattered bones all over Black Heart Mountain.
Most crucially, Tan Shuchang actually saw a dormitory building!
And it was a girls’ dormitory at that.
Tan Shuchang couldn’t help but look around and deduced that this place was most likely a school. However, strangely enough, there was black fog lingering around which had obstructing powers. Even Tan Shuchang could only barely see through some of the fog with his eyesight, making out some blurry architectural outlines within.
At this moment, Tan Shuchang couldn’t help but show a look of astonishment, for he actually saw several people appearing out of thin air.
And before this, there had been no sign whatsoever!
Tan Shuchang instantly became alert.
However, as he got a clearer look at these few people’s attire, his expression started to become a bit odd.
For he found their clothing both strange and familiar, with short sleeves, bermudas, sandals, sneakers, suits, long skirts, and high heels...
Combining this with the voice he had heard at the start, Tan Shuchang could now confirm, barring any unexpected events, that due to some data error, he had been selected across realms by this eerie game...
After realizing this, a thought suddenly struck Tan Shuchang’s mind.
"There must be some really ferocious ghosts in this eerie game, right?"
Thoughts raced through Tan Shuchang’s mind.
While Tan Shuchang was observing these people, those who appeared later were also examining the others around them. When they caught sight of Tan Shuchang, they simultaneously stiffened in surprise.
Clothed in splendid garments, with a face like warm jade, sharp brows, bright eyes, and an aura of both wealth and sharpness, it hit them squarely in the face.
Among these people, there were also those who were doing quite well outside of the eerie game, but where had they ever seen someone dressed in such attire and with such an imposing presence!
Just then, lines of blood-red text emerged on the ground before them.
[You have come to a place you shouldn’t have, a deserted girls’ dormitory; but it is also a forbidden zone for the living. Atrocious things happened here once, which led to even worse events subsequently.]
[Find out the truth of the incident, awaken her last bit of humanity, and you will earn the only way out.]
[Beware, there are ghosts here!]
[There really are ghosts!!!]
As these lines of blood-red text appeared, the people on the scene inevitably showed fearful expressions. They had been psychologically prepared before coming and had trained for a long time during the adaptation period, but upon actually arriving, they couldn’t help but feel fear, with some even having weak knees and wanting to go to the bathroom.
After all, those were ghosts!
"We..." Eventually, a young man dressed in a fine suit, obviously doing quite well outside of the eerie game, took the initiative to speak, wanting to discuss with his few teammates.
However, as soon as he began to speak, he saw that the young woman in a long dress and high heels among them extended a hand in shock and said, "He... he went in!"
She was pointing to the girls’ dormitory right in front of everyone.
The others were initially distracted by the suited young man but turned to look immediately upon hearing that, and then they saw the girls’ dormitory with its door forced open.
In the dim environment, the entrance to the girls’ dormitory seemed like the gaping maw of a ferocious beast, chilling to the core.
At that moment, the remaining shoe prints on the dormitory door slightly disrupted the atmosphere.
The group exchanged glances, wondering about their teammate, dressed in ancient attire, who didn’t seem to be playing dress-up, but rather like an ancient noble. Was he really that brave?
Kicking in the door of a fierce ghost?
And at that moment, more blood-red text appeared before them.
[Game over.]
[Detection of ghost disappearance, instance will be permanently closed shortly, players please note, there will be adverse reactions upon exiting, drinking more hot water may aid recovery.]
Huh?
It’s over just like that?
The group had no idea what had happened, but they soon began to feel excited and overjoyed.
It was the joy of surviving a calamity.
And at this very moment, Tan Shuchang was also very happy.