Chapter 1 The Dreamlike City

Harem City, a dreamlike city known throughout the entire Holy Yuan World.

A place that makes one forget about home.

Heroes, beauties, love, hate, passion… it's like a vortex of desire, constantly swallowing people.

And those who are deeply trapped within… die without regret.

In the fifty-second year of the Holy Yuan calendar, the Qilin era, this city appeared as if descending from the sky, on the coast of Manghai.

Legend has it that the origin of Harem City is related to a "Supreme Treasure," and only Ji Fenglong herself knows what that magical treasure is.

There are also rumors that… Ji Fenglong's cultivation progress is so rapid because of the assistance of that "magical treasure."

Although these unsubstantiated words cannot be entirely believed, one thing is certain: there is indeed a town treasure in Harem City. It is the power of this treasure that maintains the city's barrier.

…………

Holy Yuan calendar, seventy-second year of the Qilin era. Two uninvited guests entered the city through the south gate of Harem City.

Even they themselves didn't know that their arrival would bring about a major change…

"This street is unexpectedly lively…" Brother Jue said to Lute as he walked down the street, looking around.

It was normal for him to be surprised. Who would have thought that… under such strict entry conditions, the city would still be bustling with people.

"That's not strange," Lute replied. "In the Holy Yuan World, the lifespan of cultivators increases with their realm. In other words… leaving aside appearance and intelligence, as long as a woman has a certain level of talent and the conditions for cultivation, she will eventually reach the Zhenyuan Wuji realm… once she does, she can enter."

"Hmm… no wonder I've seen so many dinosaurs along the way," Feng Bujue mused.

"Listening to your tone… it's as if your appearance is up to par," Lute retorted sharply to Brother Jue's detestable words.

"Didn't you hear what people said… I'm just a little bit off~" Feng Bujue argued.

Lute sneered, "Heh… although I don't fully understand the various hypocritical behaviors in your human interactions, according to the analysis of the database… there's a 67% chance that the other party was just being polite when they said 'a little bit off'."

"Can we change the subject? Can't we be friends anymore!" Feng Bujue said, narrowing his eyes. "Let's talk about worldviews or something!"

"Okay." Lute was, after all, a program, and since Brother Jue made the request, she wouldn't be coy. She changed the subject immediately. "Let's start with what we just mentioned…" She transitioned and began explaining directly, "The average lifespan of ordinary people in this world is very short, usually only about forty years. Of course, this is not due to their physical condition. If nothing unexpected happens, they can live to be over seventy years old before dying of natural causes. Unfortunately… this is a world full of disasters. The wars between various forces, unpredictable natural disasters, backward medical standards, and a social structure that respects the strong… all determine that the weak are very likely to die prematurely."

"Let me guess… the only way to escape a tragic fate is—cultivation?" Feng Bujue interjected.

"Yes." Lute nodded in response. "However, not everyone can cultivate…" she explained, "If ordinary people want to cultivate, they have to join a sect or become a disciple of someone; and those sects or individuals will naturally set certain thresholds for accepting disciples. Generally speaking, the conditions for major sects to accept disciples are very harsh, requiring certain qualifications, character, and even background and appearance; while the conditions for second- and third-rate sects to accept apprentices are relatively lenient, but not too casual."

"In other words, in the Holy Yuan World, becoming a cultivator is already a remarkable thing in itself," Feng Bujue said.

"That's true for ordinary people," Lute responded. "Even cultivators with very low qualifications, those who can only reach the ninth level of Fanti Youji and cannot improve any further… their strength is equivalent to first-class experts in those wuxia novels. As long as they don't get sick or suffer from disasters, living to be one hundred and twenty years old is not a problem." She paused for a moment and continued, "And cultivators with mediocre qualifications can generally reach the Fanti Wuji or Zhenyuan Youji realms. The former is roughly equivalent to a top expert of the Five Greats level, with a lifespan of over one hundred and eighty years; while the latter… has successfully transformed internal energy into zhenyuan, can control qi to perform spells, and doesn't need to sleep or eat. It's as if they have transcended the 'martial artist' realm and truly entered the realm of immortals. These people have no problem living for three hundred years."

"Oh…" Feng Bujue thoughtfully interjected, "So… being able to cultivate to Zhenyuan Wuji above this is considered quite talented?"

"That's right." Lute glanced around. "This city is full of such people." She brushed a strand of hair that had been blown to her forehead by the wind, and continued, "People in the Zhenyuan Wuji realm can generally live for over four hundred years, and a small number of them can fly with swords and release zhenyuan externally."

"Then… what about the Holy Yuan realm?" Feng Bujue asked again.

"Ren Bufan, who you killed earlier, was at the fourth level of the Holy Yuan Youji," Lute replied. "You observed the intensity of his data at close range during the battle, so you should already have a relatively intuitive understanding of his strength. As for his lifespan… those in the Holy Yuan realm can live from five hundred to a thousand years, depending on their cultivation good fortune."

"Good fortune?" Feng Bujue asked doubtfully. "That concept is a bit mysterious, isn't it?"

"Well… I don't really understand this theory either. Fortunately, my database also contains content related to religious beliefs, and combining it with the settings given by the system…" Lute seemed a little embarrassed when she said this, as if she didn't know what words to use to explain it. "...in this world, there is such a thing as 'karma and good and evil.' In the dark, there exists a force similar to a 'supreme will.' This force will exert influence on those life forms in the universe that have lived too long or have committed too much evil…

When a life form's 'evil karma' accumulates to a certain degree, the 'supreme will' will determine that he, she, or it is a threat to the entire world. From that moment on, that life form is as if walking on an increasingly narrow tightrope… all kinds of bizarre inducements will appear frequently, then trigger a butterfly effect, and finally lead it to death…"

Feng Bujue smiled when he heard this. "Heh… could it be that Ren Bufan met me today because he had done too much evil in his life, and today he is reaping the consequences of his karma?"

Lute replied, "I don't know about that. I follow probability, so… I prefer to believe this was a random event."

"Hehe… okay." Feng Bujue shrugged and smiled. "Oh, right, you haven't mentioned the 'Holy Yuan Wuji realm' yet."

"Huo Wei is a strongman at the third level of Holy Yuan Wuji," Lute said. "When he fought you, he had internal injuries, and… under the influence of [Naughty Child's Leg Sweep], his attacks were relatively reckless and didn't exert his best power."

"I feel like… even if he had exerted his full strength, he wouldn't have been very good…" Feng Bujue replied in a relaxed tone. "In my opinion, the strength of a level two derivative is definitely better than him. Based on this, Ji Fenglong, who is at the ninth level of Holy Yuan Wuji, isn't that amazing, is she?"

"Don't be too careless," Lute shook her head. "No matter what realm or level, with each level increase, the amount of internal energy, zhenyuan, or Holy Yuan within the body will double. You can imagine… how much difference there is between the fourth and fifth levels, and how much difference there is between that and the ninth level."

Before Feng Bujue could reply, Lute quickly added, "In addition… Ji Fenglong reached the 'ninth level of Holy Yuan Wuji' when she was three hundred years old. And now it is the seventy-second year of the Qilin era in the Holy Yuan calendar, and she is already three hundred and thirty-nine years old. Five years ago, she had already transcended the 'Holy Yuan Wuji' realm…"

"What?" Feng Bujue was immediately shocked. "Is there another level above Holy Yuan Wuji?"

"Yes," Lute said. "And there is only one." She looked at Feng Bujue and said in a deep voice, "People call those who have broken through the ninth level of the Holy Yuan Wuji realm 'Yuansheng'. In the entire Holy Yuan World, there are currently no more than fifty Yuansheng alive, and Ji Fenglong is one of them.

The strength of a Yuansheng cannot be measured by fixed levels, because their power has broken through the upper limit of the entire cultivation system. They have reached the peak of all the cultivation techniques they have practiced before and have integrated them into a unique set of personal techniques. Therefore, the abilities of each Yuansheng are unique. In terms of data intensity alone… the strength of a Yuansheng is comparable to that of a level one derivative."

"Hey… according to what you're saying…" A bad premonition immediately rose in Feng Bujue's heart. "If Ji Fenglong is the final boss of the main quest, can we still clear the game happily?"

"I have a lot of confidence in you," Lute replied. "With my assistance, I believe you can defeat all level one derivatives except for v1-God of War."

"I feel like you're confident in yourself…" Feng Bujue said with a twitch of his mouth.

"Eh?" At that moment, Lute suddenly showed a surprised expression.

"What's going on?" Brother Jue immediately became nervous. He knew that… when Lute reacted like this, something big must have happened.

"There's actually… someone of my kind here?" Lute regained her composure in two seconds and turned to look at one side of the street.

"Huh? A derivative?" Feng Bujue asked strangely, "Didn't you create this sandbox? How could there be…"

"It's coming," Lute interrupted Brother Jue, looking in that direction with a solemn expression. "It's fifty meters away from us… forty-five meters… forty meters…"

"Hey… what's going on… are you reciting the script from some episode of *Parasyte*?" Feng Bujue said, "Instead of reporting the distance, why don't you hurry up and tell me the countermeasures…"

Lute ignored him and continued counting down.

About fifteen seconds later, a familiar figure came into Feng Bujue's view.

It was a woman with snow-white skin and a beautiful face. She was wearing black ancient costume, with long black hair draped over her shoulders; black and white… formed a beautiful contrast on her body.

And at this moment, the look in her eyes as she looked at Feng Bujue also revealed many unspeakable, complex, and contradictory emotions…