Swallowing the Stars: The cheat system only comes when I'm almost a god?

As for Qian Chen standing to the side?

His face turned deathly pale. Knowing that things had come to this point and there was no way to turn back, he could only get up dejectedly and stagger toward the main hall.

A moment later, Qian Chen came out carrying a heavy cloth bag, inside which was the small yellow croaker that he had given when he became an apprentice.

He dared not look at Uncle Jiu again, lowered his head, and moved unsteadily toward the courtyard gate.

Watching Qian Chen disappear dejectedly at the end of the path leading to the town, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai exchanged a glance, quietly slipped out of the mortuary gate, and chased after him.

"Junior Brother Qian! Junior Brother Qian! Wait!" The two men caught up with Qian Chen, panting, and took his arms on either side.

Wen Cai, with an "I understand" look on his face, patted Qian Chen's shoulder: "Junior brother, don't be sad! Master must have been so angry with Master Ren today! He wasn't targeting you! He'll be fine in a couple of days once he calms down! Don't take it to heart!"

He seemed to be comforting his junior brother, but after a few words he changed the subject and asked with a forced smile, "Um... about the matchmaking... what about your father..."

Qiu Sheng quickly assured him, "Yes, yes, yes! Don't worry, Junior Brother! Wen Cai and I will definitely put in a good word for you with Master! We'll make sure he changes his mind! Just wait for the good news!"

He rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Um... about the deputy captain of the security team, what do you think..."

Although Qian Chen hadn't been in this world for long, he had already figured out the two senior brothers' nature of "betraying their master without hesitation and putting themselves first" while watching the movie.

Looking at their eager yet anxious faces, he sneered inwardly, but his face remained contorted with a look of utter despair, sighing repeatedly.

"Sigh... Senior Brother Wencai, Senior Brother Qiusheng, I appreciate your kindness."

But... but now my master has expelled me from the sect!

I had already arranged with my father to find a few girls from good families for my senior brother Wencai to meet, and I had also spoken to Mr. Wang, the local gentry in charge of security affairs. All that was left was for my senior brother Qiusheng to report for duty.

But now… I'm not Master's disciple anymore. If I go to my father about these things again, how… how could I possibly have the face to ask? My father definitely wouldn't agree…

"Sigh, it's all my fault. I've ruined everything for my two senior brothers..."

"What?!" Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng were struck dumb!

My new clothes are gone! My wife is gone! And my vice-captain is gone too?! This is outrageous!

The two selfish individuals instantly sprang to life like cats whose tails had been stepped on, or as if they'd been injected with ten pounds of chicken blood. They grabbed Qian Chen's arms tightly on either side, their eyes wide and their voices rising eight octaves:

"Junior brother! You must not give up!" Wencai shouted anxiously.

"Yes, yes, yes! Don't worry, junior brother!" Qiu Sheng patted his chest, making a solemn promise.

"Leave Master's problem to us! Even if we have to wear our lips out and kneel on the floor of the mortuary until we break, we will definitely beg Master to rescind his order!"

Your problem is our problem! You wait, we'll go back and figure something out! We'll make sure you're back!

The two of them talked back and forth, making oaths and vows, as if they wanted to tear their hearts out and show them to Qian Chen. The sound of them patting their chests was deafening, as if they weren't the ones who had just cowered in front of their master.

Driven by the prospect of immediate gains, the "grand plan" of defying their master instantly took shape in their minds, becoming an inescapable duty.

Qian Chen looked at their assurances, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips, which quickly replaced with an expression of overwhelming gratitude: "Really...really? Then...then I'll have to rely entirely on you two senior brothers!"

"Don't worry! We've got this covered!" Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai patted their chests, full of bravado.

Wencai seemed to already see the arrival of his new clothes and the day he got married, while Qiusheng drooled as he looked forward to the glorious days after becoming the vice captain.

The two reassured Qian Chen a few more times before turning back every few steps, running towards the mortuary with high spirits, ready to carry out their "plan to persuade the troops."

Behind the three, in the shadow of the canopy of an ancient tree dozens of feet away.

Uncle Nine stood expressionlessly on a suspended copper coin sword, the night wind ruffling the hem of his Taoist robe.

Of course, it's impossible to fully recover all the cultivation accumulated through hundreds of reincarnations in a short time, but even this small amount of recovery is enough to make him the strongest person below the current Celestial Master, and he can easily fly on a sword.

With his extraordinary hearing, Uncle Nine heard every word of Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai's assurances to Qian Chen and their boast that they would "be in charge of the master."

Moonlight filtered through the leaves and shone on his face, and the last trace of warmth in his usually dignified eyes completely vanished, leaving only a chilling coldness.

One is Wencai, who grew up under his care since childhood and was treated like his own son; the other is Qiusheng, who went to great lengths to help him recognize the judge as his godfather in order to change his fate...

Now, for the sake of a wife he has not yet met and a nominal position to be someone's dog, he has easily thrown his master's strict orders to the back of his mind and even plotted how to disobey.

The moonlight, like a cold blade, cut through the swaying shadows of the ancient trees, and also through Uncle Nine's heart.

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai's promise to disobey their master's orders without hesitation for personal gain was like a poisoned ice pick piercing his heart, which was riddled with holes due to his memories of reincarnation.

Fragments of memories from hundreds of reincarnations surged up uncontrollably:

During the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival), hundreds of ghosts roam the night.

Wencai, being playful, went to see a ghost play and was bewitched. Qiusheng, in an attempt to pull him out, also fell into the midst of the ghosts.

The two eventually became so obsessed with lust that they dared to join forces to suppress the ghost guards escorting the ghosts!

That night, a hundred ghosts broke free and wreaked havoc in the region.

His ninth uncle had no choice but to swallow his pride and issue a Maoshan aid summons, asking all the fellow practitioners within a hundred miles to come and help.

In that incident, he not only spent a lot of money to appease the two underworld officials, but was also publicly reprimanded by his senior brother who rushed over after hearing the news for "failing to discipline them properly" and "disgracing the Maoshan sect"!

In the end, he lost the position of the head of the underworld bank that he had worked so hard to obtain, even using his master's connections!

That was an important way for him to accumulate good karma, but it was ruined by his two good-for-nothing disciples!

And what will happen next...?

Qiu Sheng was so infatuated with Dong Xiaoyu that he dared to raise his fist against his mentor for the sake of that female ghost!

When the other person sobered up afterwards, they still blurted out things like "it felt pretty good"...

At that moment, the pain and disappointment in Uncle Nine's heart far outweighed the beatings he received.

The most serious incident was the death of the eldest disciple!

Shi Shaojian is the only son of the eldest brother Shi Jian. You can tell from the name that the eldest brother never deliberately hid it, and most of the elders on the mountain also knew it.

The eldest brother is the true pillar of Maoshan in this era. He is proficient in Taoist magic and has reached the heavens in cultivation. He is the only one who can be compared with the supreme figures such as Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain and Daoist Mi Jingzi of Quanzhen Longmen School. He is the greatest reliance for Maoshan to maintain its dignity and influence in the Dharma-ending Age!

But what about Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai?

Shi Shaojian did something wrong. They should have informed their master first, and then reported it to the Maoshan Discipline Hall for handling.

But they actually dared to destroy his physical body!

This move thoroughly enraged Shi Jian, eliminating any possibility of reconciliation between the two sides.

Ultimately, he was forced into a life-or-death struggle with his senior brother, who was also his mentor...

After a brutal infighting among fellow disciples, Maoshan lost its only top expert and suffered a severe blow. Lin Jiu was also burdened with the sin of personally killing his senior brother.

The trigger for all of this was those two wicked disciples!

Scenes flashed through his mind. In each cycle of reincarnation, these two disciples were like a curse of fate, dragging him into the abyss time and time again, bringing shame and damage to Maoshan.

And yet, they always manage to admit their mistakes afterwards, either with feigned ignorance or a flippant smile, and then...

In the next cycle of reincarnation, or the cycle after that, they will continue to repeat the same mistakes, for women, money, or even for a moment of impulse, without hesitation throwing their master's warnings to the back of their minds and putting the safety of Maoshan in danger.

"Oh……"

A sneer escaped from Uncle Nine's throat. Under the shadow of the tree, his eyes had become firm, without the slightest wavering.

No longer looking at his two disciples who were only thinking about how to persuade their master to salvage the benefits, he moved slightly, turned the copper coin sword under his feet, and silently disappeared into the deeper night.

……

Instead of returning to the mortuary, Uncle Jiu flew on his sword to a secluded and deserted hillside outside the town.

After landing, he sat down cross-legged and his mind sank into the multiverse chat group in his mind.

[Maoshan Lin Jiu: @All members, fellow Daoists, I have encountered a thorny issue and need to consult you all.]

(Attached is a screenshot of the chat group detection notification that Qian Chen possesses a "passive growth auxiliary system," as well as a brief description of his lazy and perfunctory yet strangely successful efforts.)

Meng Qi: Wow! ()

Meng Qi: Here we go again! Here we go again! Uncle Jiu! Your title of Master of All Realms is truly well-deserved!

How long has it been? Another transmigrator with a built-in system has come knocking on our door to become our apprentice? This physique is incredible!

Uncle Nine smiled bitterly. He didn't want this kind of physique either, because it attracted all sorts of ungrateful people.

[Lin Yuan: These extraterrestrial demons are a menace if left unchecked. Now that their existence has been confirmed and a target has been identified, I suggest we destroy them physically to eliminate them once and for all.]

Lin Yuan: After Qian Chen is killed, the system's true form may appear. We can study it then.

If Fellow Daoist Lin Jiu is unable to act, I can send a divine power clone to handle it, guaranteeing a clean and thorough resolution.

It's common for fellow countrymen to stab each other in the back, especially since Lin Yuan has been nurtured in the Devouring Star World for millions of years. He's the most ruthless when it comes to dealing with these extraterrestrial demons.

"This fellow Daoist Lin Yuan has a great bloodthirstiness!" Even Uncle Nine was somewhat surprised, as he himself hadn't even considered killing the other party directly.

[Maoshan Lin Jiu: Fellow Daoist Lin, excessive killing may harm the harmony of Heaven.]

This person hasn't committed any major evils yet. I only wish to remove the system from his body and then... send him back to his original world to live the rest of his life as an ordinary person.

Ye Fan: Ninth Uncle, have mercy.

Ye Fan: But as far as I know, once such a system binds to a host, it often penetrates deep into the host's soul and is extremely difficult to safely detach from.

If forcibly separated, the host's soul will most likely suffer irreversible damage, ranging from mental impairment to complete annihilation, tantamount to outright destruction.

[Maoshan Lin Jiu: This...]

Upon seeing Ye Fan's analysis, Uncle Nine frowned, his compassion being challenged by reality.

"If the risks of separating the system are so great... then... should I give up now?"

"I have already expelled him from my sect, and his current entry into this group is an immense stroke of luck. His future path may not necessarily require reliance on this evil system."

Thinking about the help the chat group could provide, he felt somewhat at ease and began to consider backing down in his handling of Qian Chen.