Shen Family Village.
Shen Yanzhou gazed at the broken walls and ruins before him, his expression somber.
Demons devoured humans to cultivate and took pleasure in torture and slaughter.
Ten days ago, the Great Demon had massacred all the villagers and destroyed the entire village. Shen Yanzhou was the only one who had survived by sheer luck.
Stumbling and staggering, he made his way to the wooden hut at the easternmost edge of the village, then knelt in the ashes of the fire-ravaged ruins.
His tears fell to the ground.
As Chi Yu approached, she heard the young man’s choked voice: “Grandfather…”
Recalling the plot, she sighed inwardly.
Shen Yanzhou had lost his parents at a young age. The villagers called him a jinx and avoided him at all costs.
Only Shen’s grandfather, disregarding everyone’s warnings, had taken him in.
For sixteen years, the grandfather and grandson had lived peacefully and happily together.
Until the Great Demon arrived. In the blink of an eye, Shen Yanzhou had lost everything.
He choked back sobs: “It’s my fault, it’s all my fault…”
He blamed himself for everything.
System: “Host, based on feedback from previous hosts’ data, if you comfort and console Shen Yanzhou now, telling him that none of this is his fault and that he shouldn’t blame himself, you can increase his Favorability Level by 1 point.”
Chi Yu immediately followed the advice. She gently patted his back: “This isn’t your fault. The demons were too cruel. And you’ve already avenged them. Don’t cry.”
Shen Yanzhou turned to look at her: “I don’t have a grandfather anymore.”
His eyes were red and brimming with tears, yet beneath the surface, there was no ripple of emotion.
After experiencing five cycles of this world, he felt no real sorrow over Shen’s grandfather’s death—only boredom.
After all, this world was fake, and these sufferings were merely settings imposed on him by others.
Her comfort was something he didn’t need at all.
But for now, he’d play along with her.
Chi Yu reassured him: “How could that be? From now on, I’ll be your grandfather.”
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
System: “…”
Host, do you even hear what you’re saying?
“Ahem,” Chi Yu quickly corrected herself, “What I meant was, from now on, I’ll be your family.”
Shen Yanzhou’s mouth twitched, but he continued the act: “I’m a jinx. I bring misfortune to everyone around me. You should stay away from me.”
His eyes were filled with grief, as if he feared she, too, would meet with disaster.
Chi Yu said: “How could that be? Even though you really are quite the jinx, I’m pretty resilient.”
“…”
For a moment, he was at a loss for words, feeling only a profound sense of absurdity welling up from deep within.
How could someone like this become a Task Executor?
Wasn’t she afraid her mouth would get her killed?
In the end, he couldn’t keep up the crying act. He decisively wiped away his tears and moved the plot along: “I want to build a cenotaph for my grandfather.”
Chi Yu, however, was puzzled: “System, I comforted him, but why didn’t the Favorability Level increase?”
System: She actually had the nerve to ask.
It replied irritably: “It means your comfort wasn’t effective enough.”
Chi Yu sighed.
Men were so hard to please.
Watching Shen Yanzhou busy himself, she stepped in to help.
Soon, the ruins were cleared, and in the spot where the wooden hut once stood, a Grave Mound now rose.
Just as Chi Yu was about to search for a decent piece of wood to serve as a tombstone, she stumbled over something.
Looking down, she saw a box on the ground.
Shen Yanzhou’s expression turned cool. Inside this box were clues left by Shen’s grandfather about his origins.
In the original plot, he would open the box, discover that his parents might still be alive, and thus embark on a journey to uncover his past.
He waited quietly for Chi Yu to find the contents inside and open it.
Then he saw her kick it aside with a flying foot: “What kind of junk is this? It nearly killed me.”
She hadn’t noticed the clue inside at all.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
He wanted to curse.
But he held back, got up himself, picked up the box, and opened it, advancing the plot for Chi Yu: “What is this?”
Only then did she curiously walk over.
Inside was a jade token and a letter.
The token was engraved with the words “Taixu Sect,” and the letter was written by Grandpa Shen.
He had recorded in detail how the villagers had found Shen Yanzhou by the water and discovered this jade token.
A childless couple in the village adopted Shen Yanzhou.
But less than three months later, the couple fell seriously ill and died.
Because of this, others said Shen Yanzhou was a jinx who had brought misfortune to his parents.
Pretending not to know any of this, Shen Yanzhou feigned shock: “So I was found.”
Chi Yu couldn’t help but say to the System: “Not just found—he’s also half-human, half-demon.”
But according to the plot, Shen Yanzhou didn’t know his origins, so even though she had a god’s-eye view, she couldn’t tell him this.
Chi Yu coughed twice and followed the plot: “What do you plan to do now?”
Shen Yanzhou gripped the jade token tightly: “I’ve decided to go to Taixu Sect to uncover my origins.”
“Alright, then I’ll go with you.”
Hearing this, Shen Yanzhou gave her a seemingly grateful glance.
After packing up a few things, the two set off for Taixu Sect together.
The System gave Chi Yu a map and explained Taixu Sect in detail.
The Cultivation World had many sects, but Taixu Sect was the number one major sect.
Their disciples were all meticulously selected, and the sect’s resources—Spirit Veins, Magical Artifacts, spirit beasts, and more—were incredibly abundant.
If you became a disciple of Taixu Sect, not only could you enjoy the best cultivation resources, but you could also strut around in front of other Cultivators.
Precisely because of this, it was a place Cultivators flocked to.
“This sect has such high standards,” Chi Yu couldn’t help but exclaim.
System: “Of course. The Taixu Sect’s leader is the only one in this realm who has reached the True Immortal Stage. He’s just one step away from ascension to godhood.”
And precisely because of its high standards, Taixu Sect’s recruitment criteria were different from other sects.
Besides requiring good aptitude, it also had a strict rule:
It only accepted disciples at Qi Refining Fifth Stage or above.
System: “Please complete the task [Help Shen Yanzhou achieve Qi Refining Fifth Stage or above Cultivation Base]. Reward: 3 points.”
“Host, on the fifth day of next month, there will be a sect selection event in Canglang City, hundreds of miles from here. You have one month.”
Chi Yu nodded. Although advancing was as difficult as ascending to heaven for ordinary people, she had confidence in Shen Yanzhou.
After all, he was the male lead of a cultivation novel.
But as they walked, Chi Yu encountered another problem.
Her Cultivation Base was too low to fly on a sword, and she didn’t even have a sword. The two were relying purely on walking.
At this rate, it would take forever to reach Canglang City.
She did have Spirit Stones on her, but they were in the middle of a desolate wilderness—even if she wanted to buy a carriage, there was no one to sell it to.
Noon, on the mountain path.
Chi Yu swung her arm and plopped down on the ground: “No, I can’t walk anymore.”
Shen Yanzhou frowned slightly.
Useless, can’t even walk this much.
He handed her the water flask, pretending to be obedient: “Have some water.”
She took it, drank a few sips, and finally felt a bit better.
“Gurgle.”
The sound of Chi Yu’s stomach growling was especially loud in the quiet surroundings.
She looked at the person beside her. “You’re hungry.”
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
So she’s turning the tables on him, huh.
Perhaps sensing his speechlessness, Chi Yu sighed. “Fine, it’s me.”
It had been a long time since she last ate.
Although the Spiritual Elixirs she carried could sustain their lives, the craving for food never truly faded.
Shen Yanzhou feigned gentleness. “Let’s walk a bit further and see if we can find something to eat.”
Chi Yu suddenly said, “Do you smell roasted chicken?”
Shen Yanzhou shook his head. “No.”
There wasn’t even a bird in sight here, let alone roasted chicken.
“No, I definitely smell it.”
Chi Yu stood up briskly, sniffed around, and her eyes lit up. “Found it.”
She dashed off in one direction, and Shen Yanzhou had no choice but to follow. Moments later, Chi Yu stopped in her tracks. “See, I told you there was!”
He looked up and, to his surprise, saw a roasted chicken skewered over a fire by a tree not far away.
System: “Host, you really are like a dog.”
From such a distance, she actually managed to smell the roasted chicken.
There was no one around, and the chicken didn’t seem to have an owner.
Chi Yu, dizzy with hunger, quickly walked over, picked it up, and was about to take a bite.
But after a moment’s thought, she stopped.
Seeing this, Shen Yanzhou asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chi Yu didn’t answer. Instead, she tore off a drumstick and handed it to him. “You eat first.”
His brow twitched slightly, thinking she was finally showing some sense.
After walking for so long, he was also a bit hungry, so he didn’t refuse. He took the drumstick and took a bite.
System was pleased. “Host, you finally know how to treat Shen Yanzhou well. This is the right way to go about winning him over.”
Chi Yu: “A roasted chicken appearing out of nowhere in this wilderness might be poisoned. I’m letting him test it first.”
She was still quite cautious.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
His hand holding the drumstick paused.
System: “Be a decent person, will you?”
Chi Yu ignored it. Seeing that Shen Yanzhou showed no signs of poisoning, she finally relaxed and devoured the roasted chicken.
As she ate, a few leaves suddenly fell onto the chicken. She casually brushed them away, but more kept falling, sticking to her clothes.
Shen Yanzhou instinctively felt something was off and looked up.
Hanging from a silk ribbon tied high on a branch was a figure in white, their neck caught in the ribbon, seemingly struggling.
His expression changed slightly, and he gestured to Chi Yu. “There’s someone.”
Chi Yu glanced over and went back to eating. “They’re just swinging. Leave them be.”
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
Jiang Jiuming in the tree: “…H-help!!”