Chapter 2: The Rise Begins
“This? Is this what I’ll go through in the future?”
Gu Yunfei’s body trembled.
“But I’m not even five months old yet, am I?”
“System, did you mess up? How old am I right now?”
[Checking host’s age.]
[Current age: 4 months, 29 days.]
“Then what did you just say my age was?”
[Fifty-five years old.]
“Huh? No mistake?”
[No mistake!]
“No way!”
Gu Yunfei took a deep breath.
“Fine, since you’re here, System, I won’t argue too much.”
His current situation didn’t allow for much debate.
“System, I’m ready! I’m going to rise up!”
Though Gu Yunfei wasn’t sure if a four-month-old could “rise up,” the System said it, so he’d start his comeback!
It reminded him of a joke from his hometown: a parent placed their baby on a bed, next to a piece of paper that read, “6,500 days until the college entrance exam,” with a tutor’s video playing nearby.
At your age, how can you sleep so soundly?
Rise up! Starting from birth!
[On the day you turn fifty-five, the Rise-Up System arrives. Your body trembles with excitement, and the dungeon echoes with your unrestrained laughter. You swear to make everyone feel your pain!]
[You gain the cultivation of the Mahayana Stage. With a wave of your hand, you overturn the entire dungeon.]
[You slowly rise into the air, murmuring softly.]
[Feel the pain. Think about the pain.]
[Accept the pain. Understand the pain.]
[Those who don’t know pain can never understand true peace.]
[From now on, let the world feel pain!]
[Your spiritual energy surges wildly, ravaging everything within a hundred miles. Moments later, no life remains in the area.]
[Yet this doesn’t bring you joy, because you know who caused your pain—Leng Ningbing of Tianxiang Pavilion!]
[You plan to head alone to Tianxuan Immortal Sect, find Tianxiang Pavilion, and take revenge on Leng Ningbing!]
[But before you find Leng Ningbing, you encounter Liu Hongmei. Now, you must take revenge on her.]
[Task triggered: Make Liu Hongmei feel pain and regret abandoning you.]
[Task reward: Heavenly Spirit Root.]
[Current favorability with Liu Hongmei: 50.]
[First female character favorability reached 50. Reward: Favorability Critical Hit Coupon (next favorability increase for the target will be doubled).]
At this moment, Liu Hongmei carried Gu Yunfei to a spot a hundred miles outside Tianxiang Pavilion, under a pine tree.
She held him with both hands, a tear glistening in the corner of her eye, and slowly placed him under the tree.
“Poor child, blame your bad luck. After all, I’m not your family.”
Seeing this, Gu Yunfei mustered all his strength and let out a loud cry.
“Mommy—”
The childish voice of a baby sounded especially piercing at that moment.
Liu Hongmei’s hands froze midair.
“You? What did you call me?”
Liu Hongmei looked down at the pitiful little one in her hands.
“Mommy—Mommy—”
Gu Yunfei, seeing it worked, called out a few more times.
[Liu Hongmei’s current favorability: 60.]
Liu Hongmei closed her eyes, steeled her heart, and placed Gu Yunfei under the tree, walking away without looking back.
“As expected of Master. A child this young already knows how to manipulate hearts. You truly can’t be kept!”
Liu Hongmei muttered to herself as she walked, reassuring herself.
“What? Sister, didn’t your favorability just go up? Why are you abandoning me even faster?”
Gu Yunfei was at a loss, unable to understand Liu Hongmei’s logic.
“No, I can’t let her leave. If she goes, won’t my task fail?”
[Liu Hongmei’s current favorability: 65.]
“?”
Gu Yunfei’s tiny head was full of big question marks.
What was up with this woman? Why was her favorability still rising after she left?
The only thing Gu Yunfei could do at this stage was to keep calling out.
“Mommy—”
The baby’s cries rang out again, each “Mommy” piercing straight into Liu Hongmei’s heart.
Liu Hongmei walked faster, trying to escape the sound, completely forgetting she could fly.
“What’s the use of calling me Mommy? I’m not your mother. Go find your real mom.”
Liu Hongmei hurried along.
“So annoying. Master was right. There’s something off about you. I’ve already abandoned you, and you’re still affecting me. You’re truly a demon child!”
Liu Hongmei covered her ears and ran back to Tianxiang Pavilion.
…
[Liu Hongmei’s current favorability: 70.]
“This?”
Gu Yunfei stared at Liu Hongmei’s disappearing figure, lost in thought.
But only for a moment, as his head grew heavy.
A baby’s strength was limited, and after such exertion, he soon fell asleep.
Before drifting off, Gu Yunfei used the Favorability Critical Hit Coupon.
Maybe a miracle would happen.
[Liu Hongmei’s current favorability: 90.]
…
Inside Tianxiang Pavilion, Liu Hongmei sat cross-legged in the cultivation room, trying to meditate.
But her mind kept replaying the scene from earlier.
A baby, smaller than her hand, was abandoned by her own hands. How was that different from killing him?
Though he wasn’t her child, she had held him in her hands, and she couldn’t bear it.
Unable to meditate, Liu Hongmei lay down, staring blankly at the ceiling, forcing herself to think of nothing.
Under the pine tree, a woman covered in wounds, her clothes tattered and revealing, passed by.
She cast a spell to conceal her aura and pulled out a mask, placing it on her face.
In an instant, the woman transformed into an old man!
“Good thing they didn’t catch up.”
The woman—no, the old man—patted his chest.
“I, the grand Demon Empress, reduced to this! How hateful! Damn Tianxuan Immortal Sect!”
“Luckily, I have this human mask, or they would’ve found me.”
The human mask allowed its wearer to perfectly mimic a living person. She had just stolen it from Tianxuan Immortal Sect’s treasury.
Now, disguised as an old man—a familiar one, an enemy—she could pin any misdeeds on him.
Le Yushang pinched her slim waist.
‘Aren’t I clever?’
Her steps were slow, like an old turtle, each one seeming to drain all her strength, yet carrying a stubborn determination.
Her nose twitched, catching a scent, and her shuffling steps suddenly quickened.
“A baby? Four months old! No one around!”
Le Yushang, leaning on a cane, hurried toward the scent.
“Oh my! What kind of beastly parents abandon a child like this?”
Le Yushang tucked Gu Yunfei into her arms, cursing.
“What kind of monsters? If you don’t want to raise him, fine, give him to someone else! Why toss him out in the wilderness?”
“Abandon him if you must, but at least wrap him in a blanket!”
“Damn it! If I catch them, I’ll beat them to death!”
Le Yushang held Gu Yunfei protectively in one arm, leaning on her cane with the other, and walked purposefully forward.
Not long after Le Yushang and Gu Yunfei left, a figure suddenly appeared.
“Where’s the child?”
Liu Hongmei looked around anxiously.
“I left him right here! Where did he go?”
She searched frantically, tears streaming down her face, wiping them with her sleeve as she looked.
After a long, fruitless search, Liu Hongmei collapsed to her knees, sobbing.
Just as she was at a loss, a spark of realization hit her.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Why am I crying like this?”
“How did I become like this?”
“I’m an immortal cultivator! How did I end up like this?”
Liu Hongmei closed her eyes, her expression turning serious.
She rose into the air, forming a hand seal, and murmured, “Seeking Spell.”
“This is more like it. I’m a cultivator. I should use my techniques to find him.”
When she opened her eyes, a vibrant green glow appeared where Gu Yunfei had been, and next to it, a faint yellow aura, aged and weary.
“He’s been taken!”
Far from relieved, Liu Hongmei chased after them.