“the strange path of destiny” has taken off.
Lux didn’t know at first; while the book was very popular in her original world, who knew how it would fare in this one?
Besides, after learning some basic information about this world, Lux had made some changes to the book’s content.
Speaking of which, I have to mention how embarrassed Lux felt after learning what Aeons and Emanators were.
She finally understood why the renovation crew looked at her the way they did when she said she wanted to punch Jing Yuan.
Nobody had told her that this world had already reached the level where Emanators could destroy stars and Aeons could destroy universes.
On the morning of the fourth day, she opened the author’s dashboard and froze.
Followers: 12,000.
“What’s going on?”
She rubbed her eyes, thinking her jade abacus was broken.
She refreshed the page, and the follower count became 12,325.
The comment section had also exploded.
“Damn, is this book toxic?
I stayed up all night reading it!”
“Is the author mentally ill?
Otherwise, how could they write this…”
“Has the author become Mara-Struck?
It’s too divine!”
“Huo Wang, wake up!!!”
“Why did I click on this book?
I haven’t slept for two days.”
Lux looked at these comments, the corners of her mouth slowly curling up, and the tip of her tail gently hooked behind the chair.
She flipped to the Potential New Book Ranking; her book had already jumped to 17th place.
“Hehe.”
Her tail wagged.
Over the next few days, followers and comments soared like a rocket.
On the seventh day, “the strange path of destiny” climbed to 9th place on the Potential New Book Ranking.
On the tenth day, it reached 1st place.
Lux was now walking on the streets of Exalting Sanctum, and she could often hear people talking about the book.
“Have you read that book, ‘the strange path of destiny’?”
“Read it, read it.
Has Huo Wang become Mara-Struck?”
“He’s not a Xianzhou native, how could he be Mara-Struck…”
Lux walked by with her head down, ears standing straight up, unable to suppress the smile on her face.
Her tail swayed behind her like a proud little flag.
[Excitement from readers, Emotion Points +0.02]
[Surprise from readers, Emotion Points +0.02]
Even the storyteller at the teahouse had started telling this book.
The storyteller stood on the stage, unfolding his folding fan, his voice booming.
“Last time, we mentioned that Huo Wang, in order to kill Dan Yinzi, used poison to refine pills.
You could see flames churning in the alchemy furnace, the heat overbearing, and Dan Yinzi paced around the furnace for seven days and seven nights, his eyes reddened from exhaustion—”
The storyteller paused and lowered his voice.
“Finally, the pill was refined.”
He mimicked the gesture of opening the furnace.
“The pill flew out of the furnace, its surface cracked, and dark red light shone through the cracks.
The most bizarre part was—the moment the pill hit the ground, it actually squirmed, as if it were a living thing!”
Someone in the audience gasped.
A few people drinking tea also shuddered, their teacups wobbling, spilling a few drops of tea.
“Seeing this, Huo Wang was overjoyed.
As long as he tricked Dan Yinzi into eating this pill, he would be poisoned to death, and his mission would be accomplished.
However, that old fox Dan Yinzi stared at the pill for a long time, then suddenly laughed.”
The storyteller changed to a sinister tone.
“‘Huo Wang, we have been master and disciple for some time.
Since you refined this pill, it is only right that we attain immortality together.
You eat this pill first and try it.'”
The storyteller closed his fan and tapped it on the table.
“Knowing he couldn’t escape, Huo Wang gritted his teeth, took the pill, and swallowed it in one gulp!”
The audience was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Lux unconsciously put down her teacup, her body leaning forward slightly.
“He sat cross-legged and assumed a meditative posture.
A moment later, white smoke rose from the top of his head, and the expression on his face changed from pain to distortion, and from distortion to—”
…
The signing process went smoother than she had imagined.
An editor from Fandian Novel Network reached out to her: “Dear user WasteDog GoldRepair, hello!
Your work ‘the strange path of destiny’ has met the conditions for signing.
If you are interested, please add the following contact information…”
Lux stared at the words “Dear user WasteDog GoldRepair,” unable to help but laugh out loud, her tail flicking behind her.
She added the editor, who was a crisp and efficient young woman with the screen name “Celadon.” The two chatted for less than half an hour, and the contract was finalized.
Four weeks after signing, her first royalty payment arrived.
Lux looked at the arrival notification on her jade abacus.
The amount wasn’t large—2,300 stellar jades—but it was enough for her expenses, and it would surely be more in the future.
With the royalty, life was much easier.
She no longer had to calculate every expense; she could eat whatever she wanted.
Now, Lux could even reward herself with a small cake every day.
Plus, the progress of purchasing some items could be moved forward.
Emotion Points were also rising.
The system notification sound chimed non-stop.
Lux went from initial excitement to anticipation.
She checked her Emotion Points every night before bed, mentally calculating how long it would take to reach 100,000.
“Tomorrow…
at the latest, the day after.”
That night, after showering, Lux sat on the edge of the bed in her pajamas, wiping her wet hair with a towel.
The fluff on her ears was damp and hung in wisps.
Every time she wiped, her ears would twitch; she’d wipe again, and they’d twitch again.
Guinaifen’s voice came from the living room.
“Lux—we’re going to sleep—did you lock the doors and windows—”
“Locked, locked.” Lux shouted toward the door.
Sushang’s voice drifted over from next door, muffled, as if she were yawning: “Goodnight, little egg…
ah no, Lux…”
Lux’s hand wiping her hair paused, her face flushing slightly.
“…Goodnight.”
She heard the sound of the door closing next door, then the “click” of Guinaifen locking her door, and then the corridor fell silent.
Lux put down the towel and combed her wet hair back, revealing her two ears, which were still dripping with water.
She took a deep breath and opened the system panel.
Emotion Points: 99,999.99
Just 0.01 away.
Lux sat cross-legged on the bed, pulling her tail into her arms, staring at the number, muttering to herself.
“Just a little, the last bit, anyone will do.”
[Resentment from Fu Xuan, Emotion Points +0.01]
Emotion Points: 100,000.00
Lux froze for a moment, then abruptly covered her mouth, swallowing the scream that was about to escape.
She rolled half a turn on the bed while hugging her tail, her hair getting even messier, and her pajamas bunching up.
After calming down, she sat cross-legged again, rested her tail on her knees, and stared at the system panel.
Below the draw button, a new option appeared—
Ten-pull.
“There really is a ten-pull?”
Lux rubbed her hands, pinched the tip of her tail between her fingers and kneaded it, taking a deep breath.
“Lux, you can do it.
May the luck of the gods be with you, one shot and it’s done—”
She reached out her finger and tapped the ten-pull in the void.
The interface changed abruptly.
Ten lucky blocks hovered before her eyes, arranged in a row.
Each block was translucent, with golden patterns flowing on the surface.
Faint, blurry patterns could be seen in the center of the blocks, but it was impossible to see exactly what they were.
A huge wheel appeared above the blocks, the pointer spinning rapidly.
Lux stared at the wheel, hands pressed together, tail tucked between her arms, muttering to herself.
“Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Supreme Lord Lao, act quickly as requested…
Buddha bless…
God bless…
God of Wealth bless…
Wenchang Wang bless…
Martial God bless…
Three Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity bless…
Jesus bless…
Goddess of Luck bless.”
The pointer spun slower and slower.
The first block lit up.
The pointer stopped.
The golden patterns on the block’s surface exploded, and blinding golden light shot out from the cracks, illuminating the entire room as bright as day.
Lux squinted, hugging her tail to block the light.
[Ding—Obtained Mod: JEI Items Manager]
[Function Supplement Successful—Recipe lookup, item usage lookup unlocked]
Lux peeked with one eye through her fingers.
“JEI?”
Before she could think about it, the second block lit up.
[Ding—Obtained Mod: Sophisticated Backpacks]
[Function Supplement Successful—Backpack crafting, backpack upgrades, backpack functions, etc.
unlocked]
The third one.
[Ding—Obtained Mod: Farmer’s Delight]
[Function Supplement Successful—New crop planting, new dishes, kitchenware, etc.
unlocked]
The fourth one.
Lux’s heartbeat began to accelerate, her hands hugging her tail tightening unconsciously.
[Ding—Obtained Mod: Ice and Fire: Dragons]
[Function Supplement Successful—Legendary creatures, new weapons, new armor, new materials, etc.
unlocked]
“Ice and Fire: Dragons?!”
Lux’s eyes widened, her mouth forming an ‘O’ shape.
Before she could think more, the remaining six blocks lit up one after another, golden light exploding one after another, making her dizzy.
[Ding—Obtained Item: Enchanted Book (Sharpness III) x 1]
[Ding—Obtained Item: Totem of Undying x 1]
[Ding—Obtained Item: Iron Block x 1]
[Ding—Obtained Item: enchanted golden apple x 1]
[Ding—Obtained Item: Lava Bucket x 10]
[All items have been automatically stored in the inventory]
The golden light dissipated.
The room returned to normal lighting.
Lux sat on the bed, mouth slightly agape, eyes wide and round, her tail frozen in mid-air, motionless, like a fox that had been paralyzed.
After about five seconds, her ears twitched first.
Then her tail slowly, slowly lowered.
Then she took a sharp breath.
“No way?!”
She opened her inventory; the row of newly acquired items lay neatly in the slots.
The small doll of the Totem of Undying was spinning inside, the enchanted golden apple radiated a golden luster, and the lava in the lava buckets was still bubbling.
She opened the system panel again and found a new icon—a workbench pattern with “JEI Items Manager” written next to it.
She clicked it, and a huge crafting interface popped up, the dense list of recipes making her dizzy.
“It really is JEI…”
Lux’s voice trembled slightly, and the tip of her tail curled up unconsciously.
She muttered “Sophisticated Backpacks” in her heart, and the crafting methods for several types of backpacks immediately appeared before her eyes—ordinary, iron, diamond, and various upgrade modules.
“This system…
is for drawing mods?”
Lux blinked.
“Wait, can I draw any mod?”
Her brain began to race, and her tail began to sway slowly, one beat at a time.
If she could draw any mod, what if she drew Equivalent Exchange, Avaritia…
“Wouldn’t that mean I’d take off directly?!”
Lux’s tail shot up, light appearing in her eyes, and her ears perked up like two little flags.
“With this, do I have hope again to punch the white-haired general and kick the Elation Aeon?”
But she quickly calmed down, her ears slowly drooping back.
Drawing mods was random; heaven knows what she could draw next time.
And this mod, Ice and Fire: Dragons…
Lux’s expression became subtle.
She had been fighting dragons day and night just to make the Dread armor, only to die suddenly and transmigrate.
After coming to this world, the first combat mod she drew was actually Ice and Fire: Dragons again.
“Sigh, truly, one is defeated by the Dread armor and succeeds by the Dread armor.”
She sighed, but the corners of her mouth were curled up, and her tail swayed gently behind her.
Ice and Fire: Dragons was a good mod.
Dragon scales, dragon blood, dragon bones, dragon hearts…
The ultimate equipment and weapons made from these things could be used until graduation in typical adventure modpacks.
But were there dragons in this world?
She seemed to have only heard of the Vidyadhara; did they count as dragons?
Just as Lux was thinking, her peripheral vision swept over a few items in the inventory, and her eyes lit up again.
“Totem of Undying and enchanted golden apple—life-saving artifacts!”
She took the Totem of Undying out of the inventory; the small doll landed in her palm, heavy, with golden patterns flowing on its surface.
Lux looked at it back and forth, unable to resist poking its face with her finger.
“With these two, at least I don’t have to worry about sudden death…
No, wait, I seem to have already died suddenly once.”
She scratched her head and put the Totem of Undying back into the inventory.
“And this lava bucket—”
Lux took out the lava bucket; the lava in the bucket bubbled, and the warm yellow light illuminated her face.
She quickly put it away, afraid of accidentally spilling it on the bed.
“With this, I can make a Nether portal!”
Lux hugged her quilt and fell backward, rolled a turn on the bed, then rolled another, her tail turning with her body like a fluffy propeller.
“Nether!
Blaze rods!
Brewing stand!
Potions!”
She rolled again, her hair completely turning into a bird’s nest, the fluff on her ears exploding like a dandelion.
As she rolled, she suddenly stopped, lying flat on her back on the bed, hair spread out on the pillow, ears tilted to one side, her white feet dangling off the edge of the bed, swinging back and forth.
“Wait…
does this world have a Nether?”
She stared at the ceiling for a moment.
“Whatever, let’s make the portal first.
If I can go, I go; if I can’t, I’ll just use it as decoration.”
She nodded in satisfaction, pulled the quilt up to her chin, and curled her tail up onto her stomach like a fluffy blanket.
“As for this Sharpness III…
I’ll enchant it after I make a Dragonbone sword.”
Sharpness III, this enchantment level is normally neither high nor low, but it should be enough when enchanted on a Dragonbone sword.
“I wonder how to gain experience; do I still have to fight monsters?”
She muttered, and her eyelids began to fight.
The system panel was still jumping, and Emotion Points were still rising, but she no longer had the strength to look.
“Tomorrow…
tomorrow I’ll prepare and try the Nether portal…”
Lux buried her face in the quilt, her ears drooping completely, covering her eyes.
Her tail curled on her stomach, like a cat sleeping while hugging itself.
The moonlight outside the window spilled in through the gap in the curtains, falling on her messy hair and fluffy ears.
She moved, pulled the quilt up to her face, revealing only two ears and a small tip of her tail.
Her breathing gradually steadied.
There was still a smile on the corner of her mouth.
Who knows what she dreamed about.