"Oh."
Yao Ranran nodded, glanced once at Jiang Shengxiang and the other two, then turned her head toward the frightened Spirit Realm cultivators in the distance.
"Was it them bullying you? Why does it look like just a bunch of scattered stragglers… are you the leader?"
She casually pointed to a burly male cultivator.
The man instantly collapsed in fear, rolling on the ground. "Not me, not me!"
"Then was it you?"
Her finger shifted toward a thin man beside him.
"No no no, it's not me—"
Before he finished, the thin man's eyes rolled back and he fainted directly into his companion's arms.
In the blink of an eye, every Spirit Realm cultivator fled in panic, scattering like frightened rats. Birds and beasts burst out from the mountain forest, and the rolling dust blended into the surging black clouds above.
Nie Rong muttered in a daze, "They didn't even need Master to strike. Just the presence of the great formation alone was enough to send them fleeing in terror. Since when did Spirit Realm cultivators become so weak?"
"Yeah, and since when did Boss become this powerful? I remember when I first met Boss, she wasn't anywhere near this strong!"
Xiao Rong echoed his sigh.
Nie Rong suddenly froze, then corrected himself, "You're right. It's not that Spirit Realm cultivators became weak, it's that Master has become too strong!"
Jiang Shengxiang mumbled, "Why did I even ask Miss Tang to rescue the villagers just now? They couldn't even break the formation. By doing that, haven't I just lost my authority in front of the villagers?"
He paced in circles for a moment, then clapped his hands. "No, I must bring Miss Tang back immediately!"
Talking to himself, he hurriedly turned and ran back toward the village.
Meanwhile, Xiao Rong produced two brightly colored, juicy spiritual fruits from somewhere, bit into one until sweet juice spilled down, and puffed out his cheeks.
"After today, Village Chief Jiang will definitely have good fortune. From now on, he can drink Miss Tang's freshly brewed spiritual tea every day."
Nie Rong smiled knowingly. "Yes, he truly is blessed."
To be able to establish a village under Master's protection—how could such a man be considered unfortunate? He couldn't help feeling a pang of envy toward Jiang Shengxiang.
But… fortunately, he himself was Master's personally accepted first disciple.
"Hahaha, hahaha! Who could be more blessed than me?"
Nie Rong couldn't hold back his laughter and tilted his head back, laughing to the sky.
Xiao Rong puffed his cheeks, glanced at him, and mumbled, "Did this guy go crazy from being too scared of how strong Boss is?"
Watching their subordinates scatter with only a few words, Nan Huoyu and Nan Yingying were left utterly hopeless.
"Fairy, before we die, can you tell us your true identity?"
Nan Huoyu spoke bitterly.
Yao Ranran flew out of the swirling dust, her eyes resting on Nan Huoyu's fading soul. After a long pause, she said,
"If my biological father is not Yu Weifeng, then I should be… half human, half demon."
Nan Huoyu sucked in a sharp breath. "So you are a child of human and demon blood… But what is so special about that? At most it just means a little demonic qi. How could that alone make you this powerful?"
He was utterly unconvinced, certain she was hiding her real truth.
In the Spirit Realm, he had seen plenty of half-human, half-demon cultivators, yet none of them came close to even one percent of her strength.
"Yes, even if we're about to die, can Fairy still not reveal her real identity?"
Nan Yingying was unwilling to die to an unknown person. She was a princess of a great empire, blessed with peerless talent. If she must die, she should only die at the hands of a true powerhouse.
Yao Ranran blinked. "I already told you I'm half human, half demon. Isn't that true enough?"
She tilted her head, then suddenly leaned closer, surprise flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"Wait… don't tell me you've figured out that even I'm not sure whether I really am half human, half demon? How did you see through that? Do you have some kind of innate divine ability?"
Nan Huoyu and Nan Yingying: "..."
"Ah, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I understand. A divine ability is the most precious secret of a cultivator. I won't force you."
Yao Ranran sighed and shook her head. "Then… now you can die."
Nan Huoyu and Nan Yingying: "... Fairy, wait!"
Above their heads, the Nine-Lotus Ring spun playfully, hovering only an inch away.
Their terrified breathing echoed loudly as their eyes stared at her, full of desperate curiosity.
"Fairy…"
"I understand!"
Before they finished, Yao Ranran nodded knowingly.
"You want to know my true identity before you die, don't you?"
"Yes…" Nan Huoyu and Nan Yingying looked at her with all their hope.
Yao Ranran grew solemn, her gaze sweeping over Longyin Village.
Her ethereal voice slowly descended.
"My true identity is… nothing more than an ordinary villager of this humble village."
She turned her head back, facing two pairs of eyes that were full of disbelief, sweeping between her and the pile of radiant immortal artifacts scattered about. She fell silent for a breath.
"An ordinary villager richer than the imperial treasury of the Southern Domain?" Nan Huoyu said flatly.
Nan Yingying gave a bitter laugh. "Kill me now. This princess would rather fall as a cultivator than watch a so-called 'ordinary villager' possess more treasures than my nation's vaults."
Yao Ranran's pupils and nostrils flared wide. "So you two are from the Southern Domain dynasty!"
Nan Huoyu and Nan Yingying: "... After talking for so long, you only just realized?"
It was the first time in their lives they had been ignored to such an extent, and they had no power to resist.
Yao Ranran looked at the two fading souls. "Since you both seek death, then I will grant it. I only hope the ruler of the Southern Domain will not hold it against me."
"Heh, a monster like you… you still fear the Southern Domain?"
Nan Huoyu scoffed weakly.
Yao Ranran flicked her fingers and the Nine-Lotus Ring unfurled.
"Of course I don't fear them. I just don't want their ruler to die and leave me with yet another domain to govern. That would be far too exhausting. All I want is to live in peace, raise myself to immortality, and grow old in leisure."
Nan Huoyu stared at the descending lotus petal in disbelief. Was this what he heard in his final moments?
Again?
Did this woman already rule over lands beyond the Eastern Wilderness?
Nan Yingying's eyes widened as the lotus brushed through her soul. The sensation was strangely soft, her consciousness dissolving as the outside world faded away.
"You mean… this entire lower realm already belongs to you?" she gasped with her final thought.
"No," Yao Ranran's airy voice echoed in their fading awareness. "The lower realm isn't mine. A cultivator shouldn't be that selfish."
The lofty voice was the last sound they heard as their souls were sent into reincarnation.
Nie Rong sighed from the side. "It's only because Master lacks ambition. If she wanted, this entire realm would already belong to her."
Xiao Rong's big eyes blinked. "So that's what Boss really thinks. If everyone stopped fighting for territory, then my Banyan clan and all other tree spirits could thrive and flourish."
The two gray mists dissolved completely among the pure lotus petals.
Just then, Lu Ziqian arrived on his flying boat, bristling with demon soldiers.
"Master, do you need your disciple to do anything?"
Yao Ranran lifted her chin with a smile. "Perfect timing, disciple. Those Spirit Realm cultivators who ran away—I'll leave them to you."
===
Hi everyone! Just a quick announcement: I've hit the 20-novel limit on my Webnovel account, so I won't be able to upload any new projects here for now. To keep sharing my translations with everyone, I've decided to migrate my new uploads to AO3!
For my completed novels, I'll also be making them available in .epub format on Google Drive or TeraBox, so you can read them offline whenever you want. I'll put the links in the comment section. If you're reading on the app, it can be tricky to copy or open links there. In that case, please use your browser to access the web version at https://www.webnovel.com and, if needed, switch to desktop mode in your browser settings to copy/paste or access the links properly.
I've already started a new project there: "My VR Games Terrify the World"—I hope you'll enjoy it! Don't worry—all ongoing/serializing projects on Webnovel will continue here. I won't be abandoning anything you're currently following!
For extra safety, I'm also putting my translations on Royal Road (username: Reiya_Alberich) so they're accessible in multiple places.
If you'd like to follow my AO3 account, my pseud is Rikhi and you can find my profile here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikhi/pseuds/Rikhi
Or just search 'Rikhi' on it's search bar.
Thanks so much for your support, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy all the translations—both old and new—no matter the platform! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
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Meng Shu never expected to wake up in a parallel world where VR technology is everywhere, but horror games are painfully primitive. His saving grace? A game development system that's incredibly easy to use, with a unique currency: player fear.
Every scream, every jolt, every moment of pure dread his players experience fuels his progress. With this terror tax, he can unlock the blueprints for every classic horror game from his past world. While everyone else ignores the genre, Meng Shu sees a golden opportunity.
He begins to unleash a series of VR horror experiences that leave players traumatized. Outlast has them pleading for mercy. Visage keeps them perpetually on edge, jumping at the slightest sound. SOMA plunges them into deep existential dread, and Alien: Isolation teaches them the true meaning of helpless fear.
From Silent Hill to Resident Evil and Five Nights at Freddy's, Meng Shu's growing library of nightmares has one simple goal: to become the undisputed master of fear and make the entire gaming world scream.