"I told you, I would kill you."
The voice was icy and clear, like shattering jade, spoken at a leisurely pace.
Torrential rain poured down as dark clouds churned in the void. Lightning illuminated the gloomy horizon, and the ground was already littered with corpses, the blood thick and viscous.
Mo Zhu stepped leisurely through the blood-soaked earth, his movements unhurried, until he reached the foot of the Four Slaughter Stele. He tilted his chin slightly, his cold gaze fixed on the woman pinned high above by soul-piercing nails.
Her long hair hung disheveled, her head drooping low. Blood dripped steadily, staining her dark crimson robes, now fused with the gore.
Hearing Mo Zhu’s words, she struggled to lift her head, her eyes dim, her voice hoarse: "Wretched... fiend."
Mo Zhu showed no anger. The young man’s expression remained indifferent.
"You should have died long ago."
Thousands of soul-piercing nails blazed with light, illuminating the darkened Four Slaughter Realm, their oppressive force enough to flatten everything for miles.
Immortal Lord Zhuoyu’s soul scattered to the winds.
Mo Zhu retreated to the edge of the Four Slaughter Realm.
He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
Then, he leaned back—and fell into the Abyss of Demons.
He had embraced demonhood.
—End of main text, Autumn Eternal.
When the system mechanically recited the last line, Yu Zhiling tried to smile.
"So this is... the novel I transmigrated into? And the author never even wrote an epilogue to fix this?"
The system responded coldly: [Correct.]
Yu Zhiling didn’t want to speak.
Outside, voices rose.
"Immortal Lord—"
"Outrageous! Immortal Lord Zhuoyu is in seclusion—who dares disturb her?!"
Soon, the commotion outside was suppressed, as if afraid of disturbing the person within the cave abode.
Meanwhile, inside the cave, Yu Zhiling sat expressionless, her mind in chaos.
One moment, she had been in the harmonious modern world, having just scheduled her next medical check-up—then she put on a bracelet, and the next second, she was here.
She sat for a long time, trying to convince herself this was just a dream.
But the merit system in her mind, the flickering spiritual flames in the cave’s night pearls, and her own lotus-pink cross-collared robes—all of it screamed that this was no dream.
[Host, please begin your mission.]
Yu Zhiling said, "Please go to hell."
The system didn’t leave, but it did shut up.
If heaven had given her a chance, Yu Zhiling would never have opened Autumn Eternal, that half-baked male protagonist power fantasy.
Why "half-baked"?
Because Autumn Eternal was only half satisfying. The protagonist, Mo Zhu, suffered endless torment at the hands of his villainous master in the early chapters—beaten, humiliated, even stripped of his bones and tendons.
But he was resilient. He taught himself cultivation, leveled up through trials and battles, and ascended from demonic origins into the immortal path, gaining countless opportunities along the way.
This part of the story was exhilarating, and the comment section buzzed with excitement. It was all leading to the climax promised in the synopsis—
Mo Zhu would defect from the Yingshan Sect, kill his tyrannical master, overcome his tribulations, and walk the righteous path, eventually rising to become the ruler of the Central Continent.
But just as the story reached its peak, the author derailed the character!
Mo Zhu was supposed to be aloof and taciturn, but never a bloodthirsty killer.
The Yingshan Sect hadn’t ostracized him—in fact, many disciples treated him well, and the new recruits were entirely innocent. Yet the original text described this scene:
[Torrential rain poured down as Mo Zhu walked away from the Yingshan Sect, sword in hand. He descended the green stone steps, his pristine robes stained by the blood washing down from above. Behind him, the sect grounds were already a sea of corpses.]
The comment section exploded.
—Seriously?! The Yingshan Sect never wronged you! What about the new disciples?!
—Mo Zhu is the protagonist! How could he be a mass murderer?! Author, give us back the Mo Zhu we know!
—Author, open the door.
Some readers speculated it was a plot twist—Yu Zhiling had been one of them. But then the author updated the next few chapters and slapped her in the face.
After annihilating the Yingshan Sect, Mo Zhu hunted down the fleeing Immortal Lord Zhuoyu. Instead of continuing his immortal path, he killed his master and chose to fall into the Abyss of Demons, embracing demonic cultivation.
The protagonist had become the antagonist.
A power fantasy—but only half of it. The first half was brutal suffering, the second half was thrilling ascension, and then came an ending that left readers furious.
Yu Zhiling was livid. She had planned to rant in the comments, but before she could, she opened her door to receive a package!
According to transmigration novel logic, you either wrote a thousand-word essay criticizing the book, or you shared a name with a character. But Yu Zhiling hadn’t written any essays, and she didn’t share a name with Immortal Lord Zhuoyu—
Wait. No.
Yu Zhiling spoke flatly: "System, you said my current identity is Immortal Lord Zhuoyu. Did the book ever mention her name?"
[The book did not, but Immortal Lord Zhuoyu’s surname was Yu, and her full name was Yu Zhiling.]
Yu Zhiling: "..."
Perfect. Just perfect.
She had found her reason for transmigrating.
Yu Zhiling touched the snake bracelet on her wrist. The jade was deep emerald, its surface segmented like bamboo, but the raised openwork carving coiled around it was a...
Snake.
An ouroboros—a serpent biting its own tail, its body winding around the bracelet.
Yu Zhiling had seen glazed jade snake bracelets online, a trendy traditional-style accessory, but never one like this. The jade was exquisite, black as ink yet shimmering with a hint of jade green under light.
Though carved from stone, the snake’s scales had a lifelike luster, its head so vivid that staring into its vertical pupils almost revealed the patterns within.
The night before, she had just returned home from the hospital and received a package—her address and name clearly printed on it. Assuming it was a birthday gift from her online friend Gui, she opened it, put on the bracelet, and then—
Her heart seized, and she blacked out.
Now awake in another world, she realized: This wasn’t a package. It was a one-way ticket from the System Bureau!
Yu Zhiling asked, "This bracelet is how you dragged me here, right? I want to go back."
[The snake bracelet belonged to Immortal Lord Zhuoyu. It was a one-time-use tool and is now just an ordinary accessory.]
Yu Zhiling: "...Fantastic."
[Also, your original body died of cardiac arrest. Your soul was summoned to this world. Completing the mission will allow you to keep living.]
Yu Zhiling: "Can I go back after finishing the mission?"
[No. By now, your corpse has likely been discovered by your landlord and buried.]
Yu Zhiling scoffed.
An hour had passed since she woke up. Her initial panic had long subsided—she had learned to control her emotions early in life. Her fragile health never allowed for excessive excitement, so her adaptability was exceptional.
Yu Zhiling adjusted her collar. "What happened to the original owner of this body?"
[Due to a world anomaly, the original soul has already vanished from the cycle of reincarnation.]
Yu Zhiling frowned. The villainous master was supposed to survive until the finale—how could she be dead already?
"Then why was I brought here?"
[The protagonist’s fall into demonic cultivation caused the world’s fate to collapse. The Heavenly Dao rewound time to change this outcome. Since the protagonist’s greatest trauma stems from his master’s cruelty, you—as the one who influenced him the most—are the only one who can alter the original ending.]
Yu Zhiling knew exactly what Immortal Lord Zhuoyu had done.
From the time Mo Zhu was just a six- or seven-year-old child, he had been picked up by Immortal Lord Zhuoyu and brought back. Yet, this master never taught him cultivation. Instead, she subjected little Mo Zhu to frequent beatings and scoldings, made him serve tea and water, and refused to guide him in his training—this went on for six whole years.
Later, Immortal Lord Zhuoyu grew increasingly deranged. On multiple occasions, she wounded young Mo Zhu with her sword, secretly assigned him dangerous missions on behalf of the Yingshan Sect, and nearly got him killed several times.
At her most unhinged, she once attempted to sever his meridians and destroy his path of the sword. But for some reason, she stopped mid-action. At the time, the thirteen-year-old Mo Zhu endured half a month on the brink of death, forcibly reconnecting his half-severed meridians through sheer willpower—only then did he preserve his immortal path.
Eventually, fearing her actions would be discovered by the sect, Immortal Lord Zhuoyu sent Mo Zhu away to exterminate evil spirits. To prevent him from escaping, she even planted a curse within him.
And so, in the end, the villainous master met her demise—soul scattered, body destroyed.
Now, Yu Zhiling was that very villainous master.
Yu Zhiling: "Friend, did you summon me here just to let me die again?"
The system sensed her despair and quickly explained: The male lead won’t harm you in the early stages.
Yu Zhiling immediately spotted the loophole in its phrasing.
"So you’re saying he’ll still kill me later? What if I refuse to play along?"
The Yu Zhiling of the modern world has already been laid to rest, and the Immortal Lord Zhuoyu of this world is also dead. Right now, you’re just a wandering spirit. Surviving in this world requires the support of virtue points—one point lets you live for a year, while five thousand will grant you the maximum lifespan before ascension.
This was a threat. It had to be.
If the host accumulates five thousand virtue points before the story’s conclusion, the system will offer an additional reward—helping you escape, breaking free from the plot’s constraints, and allowing you to continue living in this world using virtue points. The male lead won’t find you, let alone kill you.
Yu Zhiling suddenly felt motivated again. "What are these virtue points?"
Your task is to prevent the male lead from falling into darkness. Guide him to cultivate diligently, ascend as soon as possible, and never neglect his training. Only by strengthening his protagonist aura will the Heavenly Dao reward you with virtue points to sustain your life.
Yu Zhiling thought it over and pieced it together. "Got it. So I just need to mold him into a righteous workaholic? No problem!"
She didn’t want to grind herself, but she had no issue making someone else do it!
Seeing her agreement, the system sighed in relief.
The current timeline is the six-hundredth year of the Xiqing Era. Immortal Lord Zhuoyu, Yu Zhiling, has been in seclusion to break through her cultivation realm. Meanwhile, the male lead, Mo Zhu, was sent to exterminate evil spirits and has been away for over three years. He is now at the Golden Core stage.
In a world where most cultivators lived for thousands of years, Mo Zhu forming his Golden Core in his teens was absurdly fast. But that was the joy of protagonists—no one would complain about an overpowered golden finger.
"Where is Mo Zhu now?"
"Immortal Lord, forgive the intrusion, but the Sect Leader has summoned you."
A voice from outside the door interrupted Yu Zhiling’s thoughts.
Right—someone had been speaking outside for a while now.
Hearing no response, the disciple gathered his courage and repeated, "Immortal Lord, the Sect Leader requests your presence. Please grant us your mercy."
Yu Zhiling didn’t recognize this part of the plot. The novel rarely depicted the villainous master’s perspective—she only appeared when needed to play her role opposite the male lead.
She cleared her throat. "Mm, understood. Wait a moment."
The disciples outside froze.
The Immortal Lord had said…
Wait a moment?
They exchanged glances, panic flickering in their eyes. Immortal Lord Zhuoyu was known for her cold arrogance—since when did she speak so politely to disciples?
But the next second—
The stone door, sealed for three years, groaned open with a deafening creak, startling the spirit birds nesting in the ancient tree beside it.
The disciples slowly lifted their gazes and saw a woman clad in luxurious lotus-patterned robes, three golden hairpins adorning her coiled hair, a delicate floral mark gracing her forehead.
Her attire was opulent and intricate, unlike the ethereal simplicity of the other Yingshan Sect elders. Immortal Lord Zhuoyu possessed a face as aloof as a celestial being’s, yet she favored flamboyant adornments, resembling a blooming hibiscus.
The oppressive aura of a Great Ascension cultivator was overwhelming. As Yu Zhiling glanced their way, the disciples dropped to their knees in unison.
"We greet the Immortal Lord!"
Yu Zhiling: "…"
Yu Zhiling was horrified. She hid her trembling hands in her sleeves. "St-stand up."
The disciples: "We dare not! The Immortal Lord decreed that none may look upon you directly!"
Yu Zhiling: "?"
Had the original owner been this tyrannical?
Well, now she understood why not a single soul had helped Immortal Lord Zhuoyu when Mo Zhu hunted her down. Being this universally disliked wasn’t without reason.
As a modern person, Yu Zhiling could only steady her weak knees and force out a terse command: "Rise. From now on, no kneeling. Are you defying me?"
The disciples scrambled to their feet.
The lead disciple—likely the messenger—wore deep blue sect robes and bowed respectfully. "Immortal Lord, the Sect Leader summons you. We apologize for the disturbance and beg your forgiveness."
Seeing how the poor disciple was shaking like a leaf, Yu Zhiling had no choice but to forgive. "Speak. Don’t be afraid."
The disciple hesitated, baffled by the Immortal Lord’s uncharacteristic leniency. But he knew the safest course was to deliver his message and leave.
Lowering his head, he said, "The Four Slaughter Realm’s barrier is unstable. The Immortal Alliance demands your presence this time. In the past, you… you…"
Yu Zhiling knew what he meant.
As a Great Ascension cultivator and one of the Immortal Alliance’s three Immortal Lords—the Yingshan Sect’s strongest combatant—the original owner had once joined the other two lords in suppressing the Four Slaughter Realm. But ten years ago, after returning from the realm, she underwent a drastic change in temperament and never participated again, leaving the work to the other two.
In short, she held the title but shirked the duties.
The other two lords had finally had enough. They were all Immortal Lords—why should she reap the benefits without lifting a finger?
So this was likely their ultimatum: Immortal Lord Zhuoyu would help suppress the Four Slaughter Realm this time.
After all, the realm sealed away the Abyss of Demons.
If the demons broke free, the world would drown in blood.
Yu Zhiling nodded and was about to follow when a thought struck her.
She turned back. "Where is Mo Zhu?"
The disciple stiffened before stammering, "M-Mo Zhu is… still exterminating evil spirits. Since you forbade his return, he has remained outside…"
"Call him back. I need to speak with him."
Only after Yu Zhiling left did the disciples—who had been holding their breaths—finally exhale.
The suffocating pressure of the Great Ascension realm faded. This time, the Immortal Lord emerged from seclusion…
Even more formidable than before.
They exchanged glances, seeing the same bewilderment reflected in each other’s eyes.
The Immortal Lord was different.
She had always despised Mo Zhu—yet now, she was summoning him back.
Northern Frontier, Central Continent.
Dark clouds churned, thunder rumbling.
Amidst the ruins of a shattered city wall, a slender hand suddenly pressed against the ground. Veins stood out as the fingers tensed, and in one fluid motion, a young man vaulted onto the broken rampart.
Clad in a simple black narrow-sleeved robe, a dark jade token hanging from his waist, his posture was straight as a blade.
His long hair was tied high into a ponytail, the hollowed-out jade crown letting a strand of hair ribbon dangle beneath, fluttering and curling in the wind.
A thunderclap erupted, illuminating his refined and handsome face.
With lowered eyes, he gazed at the blood fiends writhing beneath the city walls. His features were as exquisitely carved as an immortal banished from the heavens, framed by long, delicate lashes that veiled calm, translucent black eyes. His expression was indifferent, devoid of any warmth, his entire presence cold and subdued.
The jade token at his waist chimed: "Mo Zhu, three blood fiends have been spotted heading southeast, straight toward you. Be careful!"
"Understood. I see them."
He ended the transmission.
On the rooftops, three grotesque blood fiends with twisted features sprinted toward him, leaping and bounding across the buildings.
Mo Zhu formed a hand seal, golden light coalescing into intricate patterns in his palms. The sigils rapidly swirled, faster and faster, until a hundred-zhang-wide talisman materialized in the void.
"Leave none alive. Go."
The Annihilation Seal shot forth, colliding with the three blood fiends. For a brief moment, the two forces struggled against each other—then, in an instant, the golden light expanded a hundredfold, engulfing the creatures.
Blood fiends that would normally require three Golden Core cultivators to subdue were utterly annihilated by the long-lost Annihilation Seal.
Mo Zhu turned to leave, heading toward the next area overrun by blood fiends, when his jade token chimed once more.
This time, it was a message from the Yingshan Sect.
"Junior Brother Mo, Immortal Lord Zhuoyu summons you back to the sect."
Mo Zhu's dark pupils dilated for a fleeting moment, shifting into golden, slit-like irises. The previously calm and detached aura around him instantly turned murderous, and the Shan Gui Sword at his waist hummed with restless energy.
"Junior Brother Mo, Junior Brother Mo, do you hear me?"
In the blink of an eye, Mo Zhu reined in his emotions, and the slit pupils vanished.
He replied coolly, "Yes, I heard."
The other side of the transmission ended without further words.
Mo Zhu lifted his gaze toward the distance, where lightning weaved through the brooding storm clouds. A few sparse raindrops fell, soon followed by a torrential downpour.
A thousand miles east lay the Yingshan Sect. He hadn’t returned in three years, yet the parasitic insects inside him still writhed, the wounds she had carved into him still seemed to bleed—as if nothing had truly passed.
A long while later, thunder rumbled across the land, and the rain grew heavier.
Mo Zhu’s eyes curved slightly, as if smiling, yet his voice was as icy as frost.
"Master... have you been well?"
