Sky Capital Underground Research Institute, Dispersing Spirit Space.
After midnight, the noises here were completely smoothed by the wind of Spiritual Energy. "Soundless" suppressed all minor vibrations and external noise transmitted through solid media—this spell, originally suitable for stealth and noiseless actions, could also serve as a sound barrier when extended to cover the entirety of the Dispersing Spirit Space.
Li Dan once asked the man, who could only perpetually stay in this underground space, how he solved the problem of being unable to sleep due to his acute hearing. The man gave two answers: either not sleep or eliminate noise.
Li Dan could only accomplish the former; the man could do the latter.
Moreover, the area next to the Dispersing Spirit Iron Throne was already enveloped in a blackout of Spiritual Energy. The spell "Behind the Scenes" blocked all observational methods, at least for now. Sound, light, scent, even the ’Prophetic System’ spells from the Supernatural Ability category could not penetrate the veil he had set up for himself.
This was a spell that only third-turn Cultivators could learn, with its full effects manifesting at the fourth transformation, and its effectiveness was proportional to the Cultivator’s ability. With his skills, Ren Zuo was confident in the curtain he cast. He believed it could not be spied upon by anyone, unless it was by reclusive beings like the residents of Fairy Palace or the World Tree.
The only issue was that computers couldn’t be shielded. However, his browsing history was classified information. Viewing it required the signatures of three directors, so Ren Zuo was not worried.
Having prepared everything and ensuring no one could observe him, Ren Zuo turned on his computer for entertainment. This computer contained nothing work-related, only games and movies, and of course, it was connected to the internet.
From midnight to 6 a.m. was his rest time, during which Ren Zuo could do whatever he liked. However, because he could not leave the Dispersing Spirit Iron Throne casually, this faster, better, and more powerful computer was his best form of entertainment.
Unlike Li Dan, who still needed to sleep, Ren Zuo could already practice Fasting and meditation. This allowed him to manage without sleep, nor needing to relieve himself. He could dramatically digest any consumed food, with harmful substances directly forced out through his fingertips.
He hadn’t bathed in dozens of days. However, by employing the Third-Tier Magic "Clear Mirror"—originally intended for combat and medical fields and able to cleanse any filth according to the spell caster’s will—he managed to keep himself clean.
And since his body had undergone complete marrow cleansing, he no longer needed to worry about health issues—other than potential self-combustion, his body had no other problems. Drinking calorie-rich sago and coconut jelly milk tea, with chips, braised chicken wings, spicy duck neck, and even spicy crabs and crayfish by his side, Ren Zuo began his day of rest.
Since he didn’t need to engage in cultivation, Ren Zuo actually had more leisure time than ordinary Cultivators. However, he didn’t play many games. Shooting and competitive games were his mainstream choices. With Ren Zuo’s Physical Condition and reflexes, deriving pleasure from these games was simply a breeze—he had already been banned from several accounts for being too strong, truly surpassing any cheat.
Ren Zuo didn’t mind being banned and wouldn’t expose his identity because of it. If banned, he would just move on to the next game.
A new game about fighting giant monsters had recently launched. Although it involved fighting computer-controlled creatures, it required good skill, and there was virtually no risk of being banned. Ren Zuo was ready to play and see if he could produce some fastest-kill videos to show off.
He had bought the game but still needed to download it. Ren Zuo’s internet connection was undoubtedly excellent, but the game platform’s download speed was limited. He couldn’t do anything about that, so he moved on to other things.
In addition to gaming, Ren Zuo also casually watched movies, TV series, animations, and novels. Currently, he particularly enjoyed fantasy novels about the Three Kingdoms. Because of "Over My Dead Body," any modern Three Kingdoms fantasy novel had to feature an Immortal of the Ren Surname; otherwise, it was considered unauthentic and lacking flavor.
The most popular ongoing historical alternate-history novel was a sequel to "Over My Dead Body," telling the glory of the Ren Family during the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was exceptionally well-written and emotionally moving, with the characters staying true to their established personalities (avoiding OOC), which compelled Ren Zuo to repeatedly buy Monthly Tickets and send rewards.
Furthermore, Ren Zuo also read novels relevant to his current situation, focusing on the ’Resurgence of Spiritual Energy.’ For example, one story depicted this resurgence leading to human extinction. Consequently, human elites did everything to guide a past protagonist to save humanity’s future. This made Ren Zuo ponder: if someone in the future could prevent the Resurgence of Spiritual Energy, he himself might just be leading an ordinary life as a wealthy heir by now.
Shaking his head, Ren Zuo opened a video streaming site to see if there were any silly videos to pass the time, noticing an MMD video at number one in the animation section.
Ren Zuo was slightly surprised, as second place was held by a high-popularity video blogger’s anime talk video.
Since sitting on the Dispersing Spirit Iron Throne and watching only computer screens all day, he had become a senior user of this site over the past dozens of days, naturally aware of its quirks. High-popularity bloggers’ talk videos could almost instantly reign supreme upon upload.
Modern people were too lazy to spend time watching movies and anime, preferring to quickly understand film and television works through review videos. Plus, the bloggers spoke with captivating and witty delivery, leading to this phenomenon.
Moreover, this top-ranked MMD video was related to the Nine-Tailed Fox, so naturally, Ren Zuo had to click on it to see what content could be so powerful—was it trending with thousands of concurrent viewers?
After examining the video, Ren Zuo was quickly disappointed. From a regular person’s perspective, the Nine-Tailed Fox in the video was indeed seductive and provocatively dressed. However, Ren Zuo, who could distinguish between 4K and 2K resolutions with his naked eye, found this material—1080P at best—utterly unwatchable.
Moreover, the Nine-Tailed Fox’s movements weren’t smooth enough, appearing to be merely a novice’s work. Yet, Ren Zuo saw comments in the bullet comments section:
"Here for the godlike comments"
"Legendary comments!"
"Comments you can’t even block, truly impressive!"
"Comments that can break out of the video page restrictions, this uploader is defying the heavens!"
Is it so popular because of the godlike comments?
Godlike comments were made by users exploiting certain site features to create beautiful, generally text-based, insertions in videos. Although Ren Zuo felt that godlike comments were just colorful text, he still patiently continued watching—the game wasn’t finished downloading yet.
As the video approached its midpoint, with the Nine-Tailed Fox’s movements getting more provocative, the comments increasingly featured phrases like ’High Energy Ahead.’
Ren Zuo picked up his sago and coconut jelly milk tea and took a sip. The next second, a Nine-Tailed Fox that occupied his entire screen suddenly appeared on the video page playing in the small window!
Her nine fluffy, snow-white tails completely blocked the Nine-Tailed Fox in the video, and her sharp gaze fixed on the sleazebag outside the screen as she spoke in a cold voice,
"You really think I don’t go online?"
Ren Zuo sprayed out a mouthful of milk tea, but in the next second, he casually flicked his hand. The floating liquid was caught by an invisible hand and thrown into the nearby trash can.
After the Nine-Tailed Fox finished speaking, she disappeared. Ren Zuo watched again, pausing immediately when the Nine-Tailed Fox appeared, but she still did as she pleased, said her piece, and left.
Ren Zuo had no choice but to watch it over and over—seven, eight, nine, ten times—as the smile on his face slowly faded.
He couldn’t spot any flaws at all!
The white fur on the tails, the wrinkles on the clothes, the fingerprints on the fingers, the flawless skin on her face, the smooth movements, the lively pupils, and the voice that Ren Zuo had heard thousands of times...
It was as if the Nine-Tailed Fox had entered the digital world and then left behind this video!
You, you’re also an anime fan?
Ren Zuo murmured softly, a look of shock on his face.
The battle started suddenly, but the adventurer didn’t panic.
"Flame Overlord," "Mysterious Sovereign’s Secret Records," and "Advanced Countermeasure Vest" allowed the adventurer, even when initially restrained by the Treeman, to simply burst into flames and completely break free from the Treeman’s grasp, and then—
"Riffraff like you dares to be arrogant? My Unparalleled Flames will tear you into shreds!"
"I turned around and found that besides the Treeman, Nut Warriors, Pea Shooter Creatures, and Carnivorous Plant Creatures were appearing throughout the garden."
"But having undergone years of harsh cultivation, how could I fear these bizarre powers and chaotic spirits, these Demons and Monsters? The Flame Emperor descends! A single strike of incinerating fire will scorch heaven and earth!"
On the phone screen, the adventurer, engulfed in fiery flames, charged into the crowd of creatures!
After a thunderous, fiery clash, the adventurer was sent flying back.
"I didn’t expect these creatures to have some tricks up their sleeves; they’re all soaking wet, and my Unparalleled Flames can’t annihilate them. This doesn’t bode well..."
The creatures stepped closer and closer. The adventurer seemed to want to move, but the strong suppression from the Pea Shooters forced him to expend all his energy on defense.
"If this continues, I’m going to be surrounded!"
With the hint being so obvious, Ren Suo could only click on the screen and choose "Retrieve an item from the backpack."
""But the so-called brave ones are those who overcome insurmountable barriers; the so-called strong ones are those who defeat undefeatable enemies.
"Guided by the dice’s fickle Destiny, I came to this unknown place, encountered unknown creatures, and faced an unknown death—this is nothing more than a common dead end.
"To hell with Destiny.
"Demons and Monsters, Immortals, Gods, and Buddhas dare to make me bow my head? Pah!
"My fate is mine to control, not dictated by heaven!""