Chapter 3: Has the System Gone Mad?

"Achoo."
Atop the lonely mountain, Chu Feng, rejuvenated with newfound vitality, began sneezing uncontrollably.
He was elated. "Could it be that some beauty is thinking of me? After all, I am a Nascent Soul Patriarch. There must be no shortage of women wishing to slip under my covers. I'm not the original body—I'm willing and able, and I don't refuse anyone."
He chuckled.
Indeed, that's what makes a goddess—a truly remarkable woman.
The original host was a real fool.
A wife who followed him for over a hundred years, and he never managed to win her over.
Now, I can say with conviction to my predecessor: you lived your thousand years in vain.
Chu Feng remained oblivious to the fact that it wasn't a beauty thinking of him. Rather, it was Lin Xiyue cursing him. If she hadn't thought he might already be dead and lost her chance at the Supreme Mystery Realm, Lin Xiyue might have risked everything to come after him.
Chu Feng gazed at his reflection—his young features restored.
A sudden thought flashed through his mind.
Everyone in the world knew his lifespan was at its end. If he were to appear before them now looking so young, wouldn't that mean his life had been extended?
After all, the original body had made many enemies.
If he still possessed the cultivation of a late-stage Nascent Soul Patriarch, there’d be nothing to fear.
The key was—now he was only at the tenth level of Qi Refinement.
Clearly, he needed to disguise himself.
The next moment, Chu Feng reverted to his previous, dying state—hair white as snow, aged and frail, skin withered as if he might collapse at the slightest breeze.
But that was the least of his worries. For Chu Feng, the greatest challenge now was to find the Child of Fortune, whether male or female.
How could he venture out to seek them in a body teetering on the brink of death? That would give him away instantly.
At that moment, a gentle, charming voice drifted in from outside the courtyard.
"Immortal Chu Feng, I've come."
A young, lovely outer-sect disciple appeared.
Her aptitude was ordinary, but she possessed a delicate beauty, not much inferior to Lin Xiyue.
She had joined the Primordial Immortal Sect a year ago.
Since Lin Xiyue's departure, she often visited his lonely mountain. Her intentions were plain enough—knowing his days were numbered, she hoped to inherit all he would leave behind.
If Lin Xiyue hadn't sought to break her slave seal and enter the Supreme Mystery Realm, she likely wouldn’t have divorced him either.
Having lived nearly a thousand years, Chu Feng easily saw through the little schemes, though he hadn’t exposed her.

Since Lin Xiyue had left, he indeed lacked someone to care for his daily needs. He let this young woman come and go as she pleased, occasionally granting her small favors that delighted her endlessly.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, nothing more.
[Alert! Host, run! A Soul Transformation Patriarch has been detected nearby, harboring greedy intentions toward you. Escape at once!]
A Soul Transformation Patriarch?
Are you talking about Shen Qianxue?
Chu Feng froze.
"System, have you lost your mind?"
"Shen Qianxue, a Soul Transformation Patriarch? You might as well say I’m about to die right now."
If Chu Feng didn’t know Shen Qianxue well, he might have believed it.
If she truly were a Soul Transformation Patriarch, would she covet the inheritance of a dying man? After all her flattery, what could she possibly want?
After a year since joining, even with his occasional gifts of pills and pointers in cultivation, she had only reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement.
Cultivation was no simple matter.
Clearly, the system was displeased by his stubborn disbelief and accusations. A system panel appeared before Chu Feng.
[Ding! Detection: Soul Transformation Patriarch, Shen Qianxue, Child of Fortune.]
[Age: 1018 years.]
[Realm: Mid-stage Soul Transformation.]
[Constitution: Beauty's Sacred Body. This physique is innately enchanting, every gesture capable of captivating the heart, especially of men, who instinctively feel a closeness and willingness to die for her. Status: Unawakened.]
[Identity: Sect Master of the Supreme Dao Sect.]
Something was amiss.
When Chu Feng saw the age and cultivation noted by the system, he almost believed it.
But when he saw her physique was still unawakened, and her supposed identity, he realized the issue.
As one of the five Nascent Soul Elders of the Supreme Dao Sect, he knew very well who the sect master was.
It was definitely not Shen Qianxue.
"Damn it, the system really is malfunctioning."
[Host, the Soul Transformation Patriarch is approaching, harboring immense greed. To avoid inciting her murderous intent, leave quickly.]
The system urged him again.
"Shut up! Are you teaching me how to act now?"
Chu Feng rebuked it.
Why was his fate so wretched, to have received a faulty system?
Upon hearing his reprimand, the system simply gave up.
[This system has repeatedly warned the host. Since you insist on courting death, this system is preparing to select a new host. Be advised: this time, death will be permanent.]
Chu Feng couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Instead, he fixed his gaze on Shen Qianxue.
So she had the Beauty's Sacred Body—no wonder he’d taken a liking to her at first sight.
If that body ever awakened, it would be even more astonishing.
But she was the Child of Fortune.
For such individuals, the system always presented two options: suppress or make them submit.
Suppressing a beauty like her? Only a madman would do that.
Making her submit was obviously the way.
Now, he looked to be about thirty, in the prime of his life—how could he not seize the moment when such a beauty stood before him?
As for the system’s warnings about Soul Transformation, sect master, and so forth, Chu Feng simply ignored them.
Shen Qianxue approached him joyfully, holding a plate of pastries. She handed them to him with a smile. "Immortal, I made these myself. Please try them."
Her happiness wasn’t from baking pastries; rather, it was because she’d heard that Immortal Chu Feng was on the verge of death—and had divorced his wife.
From childhood, Shen Qianxue had noticed her uniqueness: nearly all men adored her. As she grew older, that affection deepened, and her words were heeded without question.
Upon entering the Supreme Dao Sect, her aptitude was so poor she almost couldn’t get in.
But her special charm worked—just a hint of coquettishness, and she was admitted as an outer disciple.
Now, with a bit of effort, she could remain by Chu Feng’s side. He was alone, with no wife and no disciples—surely, once he died, she could inherit all his resources.
Then, wouldn’t she soar to greatness?
The original host had seen through this as well.
But as the saying goes, you can’t take anything with you.
Once dead, what do treasures matter? Whoever gets them, gets them.
So, he let things be.
It must be said, things were unfolding just as Shen Qianxue had calculated.
Unfortunately for her, Chu Feng was no longer the same.
Who was playing whom was not yet clear.
Chu Feng did not eat the pastries, but instead smiled and said, "Qianxue, come sit."
Shen Qianxue looked around, puzzled. "Immortal, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to sit here."
Chu Feng replied, "How could there not be?"
"Isn’t there still space in my arms?"