This Immortal Venerable Is a Little Cold

[Your Majesty! Come show this story some love~ (seductively)]

[↓ Slow-burn, long-form plot ↓ Lots of twists ↓ Wild imagination ↓]

[↓ Story Synopsis ↓]

Five hundred years ago, a cataclysm struck the cultivation world. A great savior stepped forward, saw the crisis through, then retired to live in seclusion.

Tang Yu chose a quiet life.

Like a needle holding the sea in place, he secluded himself in the Demon Cult, located on the ruins of an ancient battlefield, and never again took part in the conflicts of the cultivation world.

So long passed that, five hundred years later, the world forgot there had ever been such a powerful figure.

Tang, the Peak of Power, Yu: I don't care. Whatever.

He had only two worries: first, his disciples had grown up and weren't fun anymore; second, life was boring.

Then he saw the future in the Mirror of Rebirth: Bai Qiehei, a personal disciple of a prestigious cultivation sect, would risk his life to open the seal on the Demon Realm...

Tang Yu: ?

He'd just finished fighting the demon race. What, did the demon realm want to throw punches too?

Before he could come up with a plan, Tang Yu opened and closed his eyes, his soul leaving his body and entering another. Just like that, he landed the role of life mentor to Ling Ge, the "Bai Qiehei personal disciple."

Good news: His new body's from a great sect, and he's universally recognized as the light of the righteous path, a revered Immortal Venerable!

Bad news: His new body is all outward show, a beast in fine clothes, beautiful on the outside and rotten within. He's the source of Ling Ge's corruption and world-ending rampage.

Good news: He hasn't taken a disciple yet, so there's still room to turn things around!

Bad news: Bai Qiehei is reborn.

Tang Yu kicked over the table in a fury.

I've been minding my own business in the Demon Cult. Who the hell set me up?!

*

The Mirror of Rebirth fell silent. Like the end of a young man's story, it left no trace as the wind passed. Perhaps in hundreds or thousands of years, a few uncertain rumors would drift through the world.

Tang Yu sat in his high seat, taking in the people and scenery around him, honing his state of mind. He came to realize that all things have countless aspects, and that all of life is cultivation.

[Reader's Guide]

1. [Invincible hero, shameless slacker, fiercely protective king, righteous and unrighteous troublemaker, Tang Yu x dark-minded, two-faced, big puppy, Ling Ge]

2. A slow burn in my style, with a broad world, mountains of original worldbuilding, foreshadowing everywhere, and tons of twists. I just hope readers feel involved. The top and bottom aren't traditional good guys, and the master is mildly adored by everyone.

3. Both are pure in body and mind. Ling Ge had no improper relationship with his former-life master.

4. The Demon Cult leader transmigrates into the light of the righteous path and is forced to besiege the Demon Cult. The Demon Cult being besieged is a fake. The real one went into hiding many years ago, and someone else established a new one without his knowledge and is doing evil.

[Coming soon in my collection: Don't Ping Me, Cultivation Beats Romance, and Oh No, I've Met a True Dragon-Aura Protagonist! If you're interested, jump in here↓]

==Coming Soon: Don't Ping Me, Cultivation Beats Romance. Please add it to your favorites==

[Charming, carefree, gorgeous disciple VS "Everyone I see is an idiot," fake aloof, secretly unhinged master]

Nobody goes to the flower market to follow the plot.

To protect the last shred of his dignity, Zhou Du rammed his head into the corner of a table and ended his run.

Then he transmigrated into a story first published on a certain flower site, where he was lucky enough to play the protagonist gong, the eldest disciple who forcefully takes his master and does unspeakable things to him.

??? What kind of story? What flower?

His advisor's silent, sarcastic voice rang faintly in his ears, along with the glowing review, "A tailor who can farm..."

Lingzhou Du's vision went black.

Reply 1 to switch to the male-oriented genre. TD, I want to get off.

First, the diploma he'd just earned was gone.

Second, he'd transmigrated into an undernourished, explicit story.

Third, the System was a stupid AI.

Finally, he failed to keep his real-world reputation clean...

Lingzhou Du had an epiphany and kicked the table over in a rage!

He's strong! Let him be strong!

In the cultivation world, I'm my own king!

*

Zhu Kongqing was an unlucky shou. In his previous life, he was exhausted in body and mind. When things reached the point of no return, he turned dark and went completely mad, making the whole cultivation world pay for it.

Reborn on the day of the apprenticeship ceremony, with his spiritual meridians intact and overwhelming strength, he hadn't even had a chance to flip the table when he noticed that bastard of an eldest disciple had started keeping his distance and treating him with great respect.

He looked at the people who had followed him back after the ceremony. A cold smile tugged at his lips, murder in his eyes. His sword had barely cleared its sheath by three inches when Lingzhou Du suddenly dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

"Master! Once a master, a father for life. From now on, your disciple will study hard and work to make it in the cultivation world. I won't let down your standing in education and cultivation, and I won't bring shame on our sect!"

Lingzhou Du was sincere, and his kneeling posture was perfect.

The master's silence was deafening.

"...The cultivation world? Education?"

Lingzhou Du: ...I'm genuinely traumatized.

Zhu Kongqing: ...Is this part of your play, too?

==Coming Soon: Oh No, I've Met a True Dragon-Aura Protagonist! Please add it to your favorites==

[The weak man everyone agrees is the strongest: Duan Zhaoyan]

[The invincible fellow traveler pretending to be weak: Yang Jin]

As a star agent in the Space-Time Administration's Commission Department, Duan Zhaoyan traveled to various planes and diligently completed missions until he finally earned enough to retire early.

He eyed the immortal-hero world he'd booked long ago and made a grand gesture, spending money like a little god of wealth on a pile of buffs.

[Invincible] [Rich] [Protagonist]...

Duan Zhaoyan was pleased with himself. "System, see you later. Your dad's setting sail tonight~"

*

Yang Jin's life had been full of twists and turns. He was fated to be alone: his friends and family died, his lover betrayed him... He settled all his scores one by one when he reached the pinnacle of power.

Having seen too much of the world's cruelty and corruption, he was utterly disillusioned. He sealed himself in the Demon-Burning Abyss and slept for five hundred years.

Until some guy appeared out of thin air and woke him up. Thinking Yang Jin was badly injured, the guy volunteered to treat him and unilaterally took him on as a sidekick.

The present-day number one in the cultivation world, ruthless and so powerful that even being buried in "soil" couldn't keep him from being dug up, Yang Jin: ?

And so:

When powerful cultivators in the cultivation world took advantage of a crisis to attack.

Yang Jin (kills and buries them): Found an old acquaintance. As a public enemy of the cultivation world, I can't expose my identity, so I'll secretly take care of him and stage an accident with no trace left behind.

Duan Zhaoyan (smug): I knew it. As the child of destiny, I'm used to villains bringing about their own downfall and getting punished for it.

When they found a lucky opportunity in a secret realm.

Yang Jin (pockets it): I need this spirit medicine to repair the abyss. It just happened to land in my lap.

Duan Zhaoyan (pleased): It's good if my sidekick gets a chance to grow stronger. Even a dragon-aura protagonist needs a sidekick to look impressive. Heaven has rewarded my hard work!

When a powerful enemy blocked their path, flames spread, lightning was summoned, and the heavens changed!

Yang Jin (panicking): Oh no, I can't make it over there in time!!

Duan Zhaoyan (spinning around): Soaking in hot springs~ Taking a sauna~ I'm invincible, with heaven's destiny and a soul~

How the hell can you fail to die after all that?

Yang Jin: ...Could he actually be a master?

Duan Zhaoyan: Retirement time. Let's keep the peace.

*

After learning the truth, Duan Zhaoyan summoned the System back and kicked open the door to its home.

"System, are you messing with me? Where's my invincibility?!"

The System scratched its head. "Could anyone kill you? If no one can kill you, doesn't that count as invincibility?"

Duan Zhaoyan gasped for air. "Not dying and being invincible are the same thing? This is a scam!"

"And where's my wealth?!"

"In your retirement, haven't you come across lots of heavenly treasures?"

Duan Zhaoyan counted on his fingers, gritting his teeth. "You mean Yang Jin's storage ring, the spoils Yang Jin got by killing his enemies, and every heavenly, spiritual, earthly treasure that passed right by me and willingly jumped into Yang Jin's hands?!"

"That's not quite fair..."

Duan Zhaoyan blew up. "Am I not the protagonist? Where's my protagonist buff?!"

The System declared righteously:

"The protagonist shou is still a protagonist."

Theme: Love isn't a weakness, but armor. Learn to be open-hearted.