Chapter 1 Stepping Out

Stepping out of his home, Ye Chuxiao, disguised as Li Xiaoyao, quickly vanished from the vicinity of his original residence.

This world had nations, sects, and aristocratic families – quite 'ordinary' in that respect.

But this world also possessed its own unique characteristics.

Due to the scarcity of large landmasses, consisting instead of countless islands scattered across an infinite sea, there were virtually no true large-scale cities.

Even places like Cloud Top Immortal City or Undersea Ghost City, while unconventional, weren't truly massive in size.

Ordinary people lived in villages.

As for cultivators, those from families or sects mostly resided in family estates or sect headquarters.

Many rogue cultivators would choose portable cave dwellings, traveling around to seek out cultivation resources.

The emergence of the rune network had virtually stitched together this 'fragmented' world, allowing cultivators scattered across different islands to communicate with each other.

This demonstrated that in the world of cultivation, the direction of technological development was often linked to practical needs.

While super-large cities hadn't appeared, there were still many medium-sized cities that had sprung up around bustling markets.

'Dinghai City', where Wang Shirui lived, was one such city.

The city's style wasn't modern. There weren't towering skyscrapers or overly congested traffic.

However, due to the rapid spread of information via the rune network, the city's overall aesthetic was diverse.

On the same street, one could see several completely different architectural styles.

Various colors intersected and combined, and different styles of buildings rose and fell in a haphazard manner.

This gave the city a fairytale-like quality.

Ye Chuxiao sat down in a teahouse near his former residence, quietly drinking tea and enjoying this small afternoon respite.

Less than half an hour later, dozens of figures descended upon Ye Chuxiao's former residence, brutally demolishing the entire building.

His public release of the Kongxiang Linggen (Imaginary Spiritual Root) creation method had ultimately cut into the profits of many people.

Of course, their goal also included the 'sequel' that he hadn't yet revealed.

That was the most crucial part.

"Right now, many cultivators online should have realized what's going on."

"Although I imparted the Spiritual Grafting Method, telling everyone is the same as telling no one."

"When everyone knows the trick, who will take the lead in creating the original framework of the spiritual root? Spiritual root sharing is a huge untapped market. Anyone with a brain will think of using this method to gather the strength of the masses to imagine a superior spiritual root."

"Even within a sect or aristocratic family, it's difficult to achieve complete unity, to expend one's own time and energy to benefit others."

"Therefore, many people should be urgently seeking the 'sequel', wanting to find a way out from it."

Ye Chuxiao didn't need to look at the various messages online to know that it must be a scene of uproar right now.

Naturally, according to the flag that 'Wang Shirui' had set due to his chuunibyou outbreak, there were already many people online shamelessly calling him 'father' and apologizing to him.

In the virtual world, the bottom line was always lower.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A clear, melodious female voice interrupted Ye Chuxiao's thoughts.

Ye Chuxiao glanced around. There were still many empty seats in the teahouse.

This emptiness was somewhat different from what he 'remembered'.

At this moment, the performer on stage was a woman in a long dress, holding a pipa.

The pipa music was very pleasant, but it was less captivating than story-telling or comic dialogues. Ye Chuxiao had found the reason for the discrepancy.

"Of course! Please, sit!" Ye Chuxiao said, looking at the woman who had approached him.

Only now did Ye Chuxiao notice the appearance of the voice's owner. Even though he had spent his previous life on the fringes of the entertainment industry and had a well-tested aesthetic sense, he couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.

The woman's eyes were long and narrow, filled with a seductive charm, as if constantly alluring. The rose-red beauty mark at the corner of her eye shattered the vulgarity associated with her gorgeous face, adding a hint of pitiful allure.

Her red lips were slightly upturned, as if she were smiling, or perhaps that was just her natural expression.

But mature men didn't just look at faces.

She wore a pure white sweatshirt that covered her wrists, but the hidden tumultuous waves beneath the sweatshirt aroused endless speculation.

Even small movements caused the sweatshirt to deform several times.

While her upper body was tightly wrapped, she wore shorts that weren't too short.

Her legs were straight, but not slender. Looking up, one could only describe her with a vulgar saying: 'Breasts bigger than the shoulders, a living immortal'. Clearly, this was an actual case in point.

Ye Chuxiao didn't look any further, even though his heart was itching like it was being tickled by a feather.

After all, it would be impolite to continue staring.

He couldn't just crawl under the table.

"You're also here for the Kongxiang Linggen method, right?" the woman said to Ye Chuxiao.

Ye Chuxiao was stunned, then nodded.

"But you don't seem anxious. You didn't rush in, nor did you rush away to search," the woman added.

Hearing this, Ye Chuxiao lowered his head, smiled, and played with the teacup in his hand, then said, "You didn't go either, did you?"

"I arrived a bit earlier. I saw that Wang Shirui's door was already broken. If someone hadn't beaten me to it, then the Wang family must have taken him away."

"I just want to save some effort, waiting here for the rabbit to come to me."

The woman looked at Ye Chuxiao, seeming to carefully examine and ponder him.

Then, she confessed frankly, "I raised a Lingji Gu (spiritual insight insect). It guided me to you. Can you tell me why?"

Hearing this, Ye Chuxiao was slightly shocked, then secretly said, "Careless."

The Nine Deaths Demonic Art was certainly magical, but it wasn't unique in the myriad realms, and it certainly couldn't completely deceive or ignore the bizarre means of cultivators.

No matter how sharp the Nine Deaths Demonic Art's disguise method was, there were always some methods that could completely ignore some superficial things and directly target the more essential core.

This was also a reminder to Ye Chuxiao that he couldn't rely on some of the Nine Deaths Demonic Art's methods and think he could rest easy.

"Maybe it's because I know more of the inside story," Ye Chuxiao said with a reserved smile.

The woman's eyes were bright, and the alluring smile on her lips became even more obvious.

"My name is Wei Zhou, and you are?" The woman introduced herself.

"Li Xiaoyao!" Ye Chuxiao said.

"Li Xiaoyao... that doesn't sound like a real name. You wouldn't happen to be surnamed Wang, would you!" Wei Zhou looked at Ye Chuxiao with a smile. Her expression was even more alluring, and this seemingly smiling yet proud expression always made people want to do some very excessive things to her.

"That's my name. You're overthinking it," Ye Chuxiao said, reciting the Ice Heart Incantation, his tone calm.

Then he continued, "You're looking for me because you want to know Wang Shirui's whereabouts from me. I do know, but what price are you willing to pay to get that information?"

After saying that, his gaze swept over Wei Zhou like a ruler, measuring her wantonly.