The Alluring Immortal Venerable Only Wants to Ascend

Di Yunze is the archetypal aloof master in a cultivation novel, devoted to his training and single-mindedly pursuing the path to immortality.

He has three disciples.

His eldest disciple, Shen Qiubai, is diligent and conscientious, and cares for his fellow disciples.

His second disciple, Long Hao, is exceptionally gifted and arrogant about his talents.

His third disciple, Feng Qingchen, is obedient and considerate, and respects his master.

He has one nemesis.

The Demon Lord, Yan Jiangli, loves stirring up trouble and making sure everyone knows he's around.

He also has a younger brother.

An elder of the Hehuan Sect, with a mysterious background and strange behavior.

One day, Di Yunze wakes up and finds a book beside his bed: The World-Destroying Divine Venerable.

He scans it with his spiritual sense and learns that he is a minor sacrificial character in a fictional world.

His second disciple, Long Hao, is the red-flag male protagonist. He has a tragic past and astonishing luck, and seeks revenge, growing stronger until he destroys the world. In the end, he sacrifices the entire cultivation world to become a god.

He, his other disciples, his nemesis, and his unrelated younger brother are all sacrificial stepping stones on Long Hao's path to godhood.

Di Yunze decides to try to save things.

In the process, he discovers that his eldest disciple, Shen Qiubai, still lives up to the fine tradition of a chief disciple who cares for his fellow disciples, regularly checking in on his second martial brother, though sometimes they seem a little too close.

Di Yunze is puzzled, until he finds a second book: After Reincarnating as the Darkened Male Lead's Eldest Disciple, I Won Him Over with Absurdity.

So there isn't just one book...

His eldest disciple, Shen Qiubai, is a Green River protagonist gong. He has a redemption System and works hard to win over and reform his protagonist shou. He takes his second martial brother, who was just about to drag the entire cultivation world down with him, and forces him into the Green River System the next moment, where they make peace and love.

Di Yunze thinks it over. Oh, he scared himself for nothing. If their stories are a pair, then there's nothing to worry about, right?

So he leaves them alone and goes back to ignoring worldly affairs, devoting himself to the Dao and striving to ascend.

But then certain people start acting up again.

His usually well-behaved third disciple, Feng Qingchen, inexplicably turns dark, puts a curse in Di Yunze's medicine, and shouts about unifying the cultivation world while imprisoning his master by his side.

The Demon Lord, Yan Jiangli, leads his followers in an attack on the Xuantian Sect, declaring that Di Yunze must either marry him and enter into a political union, or he'll raze the place to the ground.

The Hehuan Sect elder, Di Jinghong, climbs into Di Yunze's bed in the middle of the night and whispers against his ear, "A Yun, it's me, Jinghong. I am you, hahaha..."

Di Yunze: ...Don't get in the way of my ascension.

*I haven't decided on the male lead. It may have an open ending, with one extra story for each: the third disciple, the Hehuan Sect elder, and the Demon Lord.

*Secondary couple: the eldest and second disciples.

Premise: Breaking free from the shackles of fate.