The heavy jade coffin was shoved open with a BANG!

Three corpses, twisted into unnatural poses, clawed at the coffin’s edge. They struggled ceaselessly, trying to climb out!

But Soul-locking Chains materialized on the coffin walls, trapping them firmly. They could only stretch out their withered arms, scratching futilely, trying to grab onto anything that could help them escape the coffin.

Like, for instance, Su Ling’er.

’Oh my god!’

’I’m almost out, can’t you just stay put in there!’

’Don’t pull on me!’

The ghoulish hands kept grabbing at her skirt, her shoes, and her ankles, all while roaring at her.

"Get back in the coffin! Who said you could come out?"

Seeing this, Lin Qingfeng unceremoniously kicked the ghost bride and the two old, dried-up corpses back into the coffin.

"You haven’t even gone through thought and labor reform yet! All of you, just stay put!"

As he kicked, he reached in and hauled out the disheveled Su Ling’er.

With her hair in a mess, Su Ling’er could feel the three pairs of eyes behind her now burning with even more venomous hatred!

’Come on!’

’Eldest Brother is the one who locked you in there!’

’Why do you keep staring at me?!’

’Don’t tell me you’re only targeting me because you think I’m the weakest one here?!’

’You’re just picking on the weakest link, aren’t you?!’

Taking advantage of the moment when the three wraiths were kicked back into the coffin, just before the lid closed, she shot a quick, civilized gesture at the three roaring corpses inside.

’This is outrageous!’

’Talk about how the mighty have fallen. Here I am, Su Ling’er, reduced to being bullied even by ghosts!’

’Okay, it’s not like I was ever that mighty to begin with. So what should I call it?’

’A mutt stranded on flat ground getting bullied by other mutts?’

GASP... GASP... GASP...

She gulped down the fresh air, finally feeling like she was alive again.

However, when she looked up, she found herself surrounded by her martial brothers. Twisted smiles were plastered on every face as they hemmed her in.

WHACK!

Lin Qingfeng slapped her on the shoulder, sending her staggering.

"Welcome back, little Junior Sister!"

"Seeing you finally recovered and full of life again, your big brother is truly gratified!"

His tone was filled with "sincere" joy.

"Your Dao heart must be much more resilient now, having gone through this test of life and death, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, Holy Daughter, you’re finally well!"

"All the Spirit Grass in the Hundred Herbs Valley is waiting for you to till the soil!"

"And the demon beasts in the Demon-Locking Tower are waiting for you to harvest their kidneys!"

"Hurry up and accept your tasks! You need to get a move on; you haven’t done a single thing today!"

These "heartfelt" greetings instantly washed away every last bit of Su Ling’er’s joy at having survived.

Lin Qingfeng gently rapped on Su Ling’er’s not-so-bright little head.

"Little Junior Sister, you’d better work hard.

Otherwise, the next time you get sick, I really will give you a proper funeral.

After all, we’re familiar with the whole process now. The next time will be even more efficient. I guarantee we’ll send you off in greater style, with even more dignity!"

Su Ling’er looked at the smiling faces all around her, urging her to get to work. Recalling the day’s events, a wave of misery and frustration washed over her.

’Is this what it means to be the Holy Daughter of the Guixi Sect?’

’Being the Holy Daughter is so damn frustrating!’

’This is... being the cherished pillar of the sect?!’

’More efficient next time?!’

’You’re already planning to send me off again, aren’t you?!’

’In greater style and with more dignity?!’

’I think we’d be better off running a legitimate business. We could start our own funeral service!’

’Can’t we just turn over a new leaf and stop being evil?!’

’Oh... right, there’s probably not much profit in the funeral business. No wonder you professionals ended up as Evil Cultivators.’

’I suffered so much, took such a huge risk, and in the end, I accomplished nothing. I didn’t even get the message out. And what do I get for it... a super-sized workload!’

’Wang Xiedi!’

’How could you fail?!’

’I drew the attention of these fiends for you for nothing!’

’Being this Holy Daughter is just too damn frustrating!’

...

Meanwhile, the disciples of the Beast Taming House approached the slumbering Wang Xiedi.

Each grabbing an ankle, they dragged the unconscious Wang Xiedi out of the Beast Taming House like a dead dog.

"Hurry, hurry!

Don’t let Wang Xiedi wake up!

If he wakes up and triggers some kind of unspeakable gag on us, it’ll be terrifying!"

Then, they dragged Wang Xiedi to a medicine field outside the Beast Taming House, tossed him onto a ridge between the plots, and left without a second glance.

The two of them scattered, leaving Wang Xiedi lying in the dirt, accompanied only by Spirit Plants, insects, and birds, to continue his lazy slumber.

And his face even wore a hint of contentment, enjoying the feeling of lying flat.

...

Night had deepened, and the moon hung high in the sky. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Wang Xiedi finally, slowly, awoke from his endless dreamland.

He had slept soundly.

He didn’t dream of his senior sister, nor of the Jade-faced Mantis. He didn’t even dream of responsibility and duty, of some terrifying old man, or of the truth hidden behind it all.

It was a pure, dreamless sleep, one he was reluctant to wake from.

’So comfortable...’

’So pleasant...’

He rubbed his drowsy eyes and looked at his surroundings, which were completely different from before he fell unconscious.

The cool moonlight spilled onto the medicine field. The air was filled with the chirping of unknown insects and the distant sounds of spirit beasts toiling in the fields.

He stared blankly at his surroundings, then looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

’This kind of life... feels so good...’

He even felt a mistaken sense of peaceful tranquility.

’Wait... how did I get here?’

’What was I... trying to do before?’

He remembered that he wasn’t in this place before he fell asleep.

Then, he tried hard to remember.

The Thunder Beast’s electric shock...

The young beast named "Anti-Inflammatory" and its "Spirit Power: Level Three" assessment...

The shattered remains of the Jade-faced Mantis...

And the Heart-Connected Fruit, so close, yet ultimately swallowed in one gulp by the Grievance Beast!

Scene after scene of failure replayed in his mind.

’No... Don’t...’

’I really don’t want to remember this...’

He remembered his heroic fantasies before the infiltration, how he would finally take responsibility and become a man. But comparing that to his current miserable state of utter failure, he was instantly overwhelmed by immense sorrow and shame!

’What the hell have I been doing?!’

’Before I snuck in, I was dreaming of being the hero who saves the damsel in distress. And the result?!’

’I can’t even save myself!’

’Not only did I fail to save the Jade-faced Mantis, but I also lost the only hope my senior sister entrusted to me!’

’I’m such a waste!’

’Even my snark feels powerless!’

’I’ve betrayed my senior sister’s trust!’

’I have no sense of duty! I haven’t shouldered any responsibility!!!’

’I... I can’t do anything!!!’

...

[Real World]

[News Archive]

The renowned scientific journal *Cell* published a paper led by the Nirvana Corporation. The paper proposed, for the first time, a brand-new drug development model called "virtual molecule screening."

The paper mentioned that the structural inspiration for a key peptide chain, capable of significantly delaying cellular senescence, was derived from a virtual plant in the game *Ashen Heaven*.

The theory was dubbed "fantastical" by the academic community, but it also sparked intense debate within small circles.