The Immortal Venerable Was Tortured into a Villain

[Complete] The full novel is now complete. My next entertainment-industry rom-com, Hot Search, Reserved, is open for advance collection. The blurb is at the end. If you like it, please add it to your favorites!

One-sentence blurb: A story about someone who completes seven cycles of reincarnation and wins herself a darkened Immortal Venerable... (just kidding)

After the war between gods and demons, the divine fruit Kong Ming miraculously survived. After a thousand years of cultivation, she became the only fruit spirit in the Three Realms who could throw her weight around wherever she went.

Today she tears apart the Immortal Court, tomorrow she tours the Divine Palace, and all the while she carries a mountain of debts from the trouble she stirred up in the Demon Realm.

Kong Ming thought she had nothing to fear in this life, until the day she was punished with reincarnation trials for overstepping her bounds with Immortal Venerable Cang Yan.

With heavenly tribulation approaching, Cang Yan stepped into everyone's line of sight and took the lightning strike meant for Kong Ming.

Beneath the thunderbolts, Cang Yan's immortal robes were in tatters and his immortal body was utterly ruined. Yet he turned back and smiled at Kong Ming without reservation. "Don't be afraid. Your master is here."

Many years later, as Kong Ming and Cang Yan passed by the River of Oblivion, a sudden feeling came over her. "Master, actually, I liked you even back when we were in the Celestial Realm."

Cang Yan replied calmly, "I know."

Kong Ming: "Y-You knew? How?"

Cang Yan chuckled softly. "You and that Fate Immortal were chattering behind my palace every day. How could I not hear you?"

Kong Ming: "Then why... didn't you ever react?"

Cang Yan: "Do you think these seven cycles of reincarnation were really a tribulation I couldn't escape?"

A taciturn, devoted, slightly unhinged Immortal (Demon) Venerable VS a noisy, lazy little spirit fruit

One-on-one romance + happy ending + happy ending + happy ending! Even if the journey is angsty, he still gets his happy ending!

------------------- Blurb for the upcoming novel Hot Search, Reserved (Entertainment Industry) -------------------

[Looks rebellious but is actually softhearted and sensitive, stubbornly devoted VS looks smooth and worldly but is actually sharp-tongued, clever, and self-serving]

Cheng Ye, a top-tier star in the entertainment industry, is embroiled in one scandal after another.

Ji Chen, a crisis PR specialist, has rescued countless celebrities.

So the scandal-plagued top-tier star confesses to the top PR expert...

Ji Chen: Six figures to hire an online army, seven figures to bury a hot search, eight figures in breach-of-contract fees. Other PR expenses are calculated separately.

Cheng Ye: ...

Ji Chen: Dear, be cautious about dating. Better stay away if you don't need the trouble. (smiles)

The heroine's side:

When Ji Chen joined Cheng Ye's team, she told a lie.

She claimed to have been Cheng Ye's fan for seven years.

But the word "fan" came with the qualifier "anti-fan."

Ji Chen had been a hater since childhood and had worked her way up to become the head of the anti-fan community. She had even earned enough seniority that people chased after her every day, eager to emulate her.

Especially one little hater named [@ChiveYe].

Everything seemed perfectly fine. The little hater was rather cute, too, until...

Until she was urgently tasked with looking after a sick Cheng Ye, and saw a message notification pop up on his phone.

[From Weibo direct messages:

@HasChengYeRetiredYet: Does Cheng Ye eat CEO romance novels with his meals every day? How can he be so confident and full of himself?]

Ji Chen:

-Wait...

-Why is a direct message I sent to that little hater popping up as a notification on his phone...?

The hero's side:

Cheng Ye is one of the industry's most notorious problem stars, someone who has beaten every rival in the business.

Time and again, his handsome face and acting skills have propelled him back into the ranks of the top-tier stars, only for him to punch his way right back out of the competition.

Until Ji Chen told him:

-Cheng Ye, you're the first project I've ever completed independently since entering this industry.

-I want you to stand as close to the top of the tower as possible, so they can see every mark I've carved into you.

So Cheng Ye chose to put his fists away, pull out his phone, and casually capture a juicy scoop to give his little artist.

Cheng Ye:

-Six figures to buy the scoop outright, seven figures to provide cover. Resource swaps are open for discussion.

-But don't even think about going after my PR team. They're my private property.

Reader's guide:

1. Entertainment industry + both leads have secret identities (the heroine has one for her career and one in her love life) + sweet romance + mutual salvation.

2. The hero has no romantic entanglements while working as an idol. He has excellent idol ethics, so feel free to enjoy.

3. One-on-one romance throughout, no melodrama, both leads are romantically inexperienced.

Theme: Devotion is the key to a happy ending.