I Said I'd Be a Charlatan! Why Is Everything I Do the Real Deal?

Urban fantasy + spiritual qi revival + charlatan + the last true cultivator

Spiritual qi revives, and monsters and evil spirits run rampant. A grand era woven from mystery and science has begun. Others cultivate immortality through talent, resources, or pills. As for me, Gu Xuan, I cultivate through nothing but my silver tongue... and getting cursed out.

I possess an unparalleled cultivation manual, the ancient and peerless Scripture of True Essence. Its central principle is summed up in eight characters: “Believe in me, and my Dao falls apart; doubt me, and my Dao succeeds.”

So, just to survive, I am forced down the one-way road to becoming the greatest charlatan under heaven. I livestream so the whole internet can curse me. I tell fortunes and read faces so my customers can berate me. Even when I vanquish demons, I have to disguise it as an absurd scam, then stir up public opinion so people will despise me afterward.

A famous star sees me as her savior, so I have to find a way to make her lose interest in me. The official organization treats me as a secret weapon, so I have to work hard to prove I'm just a fraud from the streets.

I, Gu Xuan, the world's only true cultivator, keep going further down the road to becoming the enemy of all humanity. Don't believe me, I'm begging you! I really just want to ascend in peace!