Xuan Zheng Has an Epiphany! The Enemy's Fear? No, It's My ATM!

Inside the lavish stone house, temporarily constructed from giant rocks and the skeletons of ferocious beasts, atop Buzhou Mountain.

Xuanzheng sprawled on a soft couch made of the pure white fur of an unknown ancient giant beast, a smirk playing on his lips, half mockery and half amusement. He was "appreciating" the "action movie" unfolding in the [Script Mirror] in his right hand with great interest.

On the mirror's surface, light and shadow flickered rapidly.

Several figures, ragged and terrified, were fleeing for their lives, crying out to their parents, wishing they had more legs.

Behind them was a blurred silhouette, yet it emanated an aura of destruction and rebirth capable of crushing eternity – the "Pangu Father God Phantom" special effect.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Xuanzheng clicked his tongue, gesturing as if directing a play to the air, acting like a harsh critic who had just watched a low-budget special effects movie and was determined to find fault.

"The professionalism of these extra actors still needs improvement!"

"Look at those expressions, so exaggerated! Their screams aren't heart-wrenching enough, they lack soul!"

He flicked his ear with his little finger, a look of haughty dissatisfaction on his face, as if he were a director who wasn't pleased.

"However, the Father God special effects team's budget this time was quite generous. The 'One Glance, Ten Thousand Years, Heaven-Opening Pressure' PLUS Supreme Limited Edition they created has a decent effect."

"I estimate that this group of young demons under Bai Ze, that old fox, will be scared out of their wits, suffering nightmares and wetting the bed for several nights!"

Xuanzheng lazily shifted into a more comfortable position, resting one hand behind his head. A flicker of regret, understood only by the truly cunning, flashed in his eyes.

"What a shame, what a shame!" he sighed, as if he had missed out on a deal worth billions. "These cowards are too easily scared! They ran faster than rabbits with their tails stepped on!"

"They didn't even leave this seat any decent 'mental damages' to collect, a total failure!"

Just as Xuanzheng was about to close the [Script Mirror] and ponder how to arrange the "actors" for his next "script" to send him some warmth—

His body stiffened abruptly!

Those eyes, usually half-closed with a hint of "naivety," snapped open, shooting out sharp beams of light!

He saw, at the edge of the [Script Mirror]'s screen, near a small "surprise" trap he had casually set up to "increase the dramatic effect" – a simulated small spatial rift.

A wisp of demonic energy, thinner than a strand of hair, almost imperceptible, yet stubbornly clinging to a trace of primordial imprint, was slowly dissipating like a candle in the wind.

That was the trace of life left behind by an unlucky demon scout, who, in his panicked flight, had accidentally been lightly "caressed" by the energy fluctuations at the edge of the spatial rift, leaving behind a tiny bit of himself.

"Huh?!"

Xuanzheng's brow shot up, and a wild thought began to grow in his mind!

"Holy crap!"

He sprang up from the beast fur couch, his left hand reflexively grasping at empty air!

Hummm—!

The ancient, intricately patterned [Karma Scale], exuding an aura of eternal vicissitude, appeared and hovered silently in his palm!

"My little treasure! My little scale weight!"

Xuanzheng's breathing became heavy, his eyes gleaming. He carefully extended a finger and lightly tapped the profound scale pan of the [Karma Scale].

"Weigh it for me... No, weigh it for this seat!"

"This wisp of dissipating, broken demonic energy, the thick 'karma of failed missions and retreat' it carries, and the 'karma of being scared shitless by Father God's pressure' that goes bone-deep... Let's see... let's see how much it's worth!"

Boom!

The beam of the [Karma Scale] trembled violently! A dark, deep bronze light, like a living thing, rapidly flowed between the beam and the scale pan!

On the scale pan, the wisp of demonic energy, which had been as faint as smoke and almost dissipated, seemed to be forcibly summoned and bound by some mysterious power. It was violently pulled from the void, condensed, and compressed!

In just an instant!

The [Karma Scale] burst into brilliant light!

[Warning! Detected extremely trace amount of negative karma aggregate!]
[Component Analysis: A wisp of 'Dao Rhyme of Demise' originating from the 'Black Wind Squad' demon scout's failed reconnaissance mission, a strand of 'Extreme Terror Obsession' generated by the squad members suffering 'Pseudo-Pangu True Spirit Pressure', and a pinch of 'Shameful Remnants of Utter Discomfiture' produced during their escape...]
[Overall Value Assessment: Grade D- (Barely worth mentioning, host, how desperate are you to even look at this scrap?)]

Xuanzheng's mouth twitched violently.

Grade D-? And "barely worth mentioning"? This broken scale is learning to complain now?!

"Shut up! Show me the exchange options!" Xuanzheng roared inwardly, annoyed.

[Exchange Option One: Extract a tiny bit of 'Primordial Nameless Malevolent Qi' (approximately the size of a booger).]

"Get lost!" Xuanzheng almost spat out a mouthful of blood. "With my current vast resources, my standards are very high!"

[Exchange Option Two: Condense a sliver of 'Pure Heart Cleansing Soul Merit' (0.00001 units, host, why don't you choose the first one? This one is even more pathetic).]

"You...!" Xuanzheng's forehead veins bulged.

[Exchange Option Three: Impose a friendly 'Lucky Blessing' on the surviving member(s) of the 'Black Wind Squad' (aura locked) – a 'Future Forty-Nine Days, Stepping in Dog Poop Every Time You Go Out (literal meaning), Choking on Water Every Sip, and Precise Bird Dropping Aerial Bombardment When Looking Up' package.]

Xuanzheng looked at the third option, his eye sockets twitching again.

The [Karma Scale]'s sense of humor was truly becoming more and more shameless!

However... this "blessing" package sounded rather interesting?

"Cough, cough, although it's pitifully little, even a mosquito's leg is meat, and even a skinny fly has oil!"

Xuanzheng suppressed the urge to complain and made his choice: "I'll... I'll choose the second one! Exchange that sliver of merit for me!"

Buzz!

A speck of light, smaller than dust and almost invisible, slowly floated out from the [Karma Scale] and wafted into the Ancestral Witch Mark between Xuanzheng's brows.

The merit was indeed stingily small, outrageously so.

But the moment that merit, finer than a strand of hair, merged into him!

Rumble!!!

In Xuanzheng's mind, it was as if an invisible shackle was smashed open by a force!

It was like a sudden enlightenment!

"Wait... wait a moment!"

Xuanzheng's eyes snapped wide open!

Defeated karma!

Terrified karma!

Shameful karma!

These "energies," born from the enemy's failures, fear, despair, and pathetic states – originally ethereal and considered "trash" – could actually be precisely quantified, extracted, and transformed into tangible benefits by the [Karma Scale]?!

This! Doesn't this mean...

Before, he had always limited the awesome functions of the [Karma Scale] to things like pawning the future, trading opportunities, or even "borrowing" from the Heavenly Dao for basic construction – relatively "proper" and "macro" operations.

Short-sighted! He was incredibly short-sighted!

It was like begging for food while holding a golden bowl!

Now, it seemed, the true potential of the [Karma Scale], the terrifying power of this "Father God's legacy," he hadn't even touched the tip of the iceberg!

"Everything has its price, all thoughts can be weighed!"

"Every enemy's failure is a sacrifice to me!"

"Every enemy's fear is dew that nourishes me!"

"Every enemy's despair will become the ladder for me to reach the summit!"

"These intangible 'emotional trash,' these 'negative assets' produced by failures, can all become glittering merit with the [Karma Scale]! They can become resources to defy fate! They can become capital for me to do as I please!"

An incredibly bold, incredibly insane thought exploded in his mind, growing wildly and instantly consuming all his thoughts!

What if...

What if he could proactively "manufacture" these massive, endless streams of negative karma?

For example, on the future Witch-Demon battlefield, he could wield the [Script Mirror] and give the billions of Demon Clan soldiers an epic, "immersive, hellish, terrifying, sensory overload experience"!

Like seas of blood! Like falling stars! Like saints falling and the heavens and earth grieving! Like the Demon Emperor and Demon Lords being torn apart and ground to dust by countless witches!

All sorts of world-ending, imagination-defying terrifying illusions, played out twenty-four hours a day without interruption!

Then, combined with the [Karma Scale] acting as an "emotional value automatic recycling station" nearby, madly "harvesting" the vast, ocean-like negative karma generated by their extreme fear and boundless despair...

Hiss--!

Xuanzheng gasped, his scalp tingling, and goosebumps erupted all over his body from the sheer thrill!

Wouldn't that be a true "emotional value" feast?!

Profit from little?

No! No! No!

This was damnably profit from nothing! It was the grandmaster-level operation of getting something for nothing!

He could even go further, using the [Script Mirror] to meticulously design various "suicidal scripts" and "failure packages," luring those clueless enemies step by step into the despair traps he laid!

Every wrong decision the enemy made!

Every futile struggle!

Every surge of anger and unwillingness born from a failed plan!

Would all become the purest "nutrients" for the [Karma Scale], becoming the sustenance for Xuanzheng to grow stronger!

"Brilliant! Simply brilliantly conceived! Inconceivably brilliant!"

The more Xuanzheng thought about it, the more excited he became. A new, glorious career image filled with infinite "monetary potential" gradually took shape in his mind--

[The Primordial Universe's Number One Emotional Value Harvester Master]!

Also serving as [The Myriad Realms Battlefield's Chief Psychological Trauma Counselor (Ultimate Reverse Edition)]!

"Excellent! Excellent! This is feasible! This is a must-have!"

Xuanzheng slapped his thigh, his "honest and simple" smile now appearing exceptionally "sincere and friendly," though deep within that smile, a glint shone brighter than a thousand-year-old fox.

From today onwards, his small life goals, besides leading the Witch Clan to dominate the Primordial World and fixing the Heavenly Dao BUG, would include one more item--

Let the entire Primordial World contribute to his "Emotional KPI"!

Next time, if any blind fool, like those feathered beasts from the Demon Clan, or those two professional beggars from the West, dares to come knocking and ask for trouble...

Hmph!

He'll make sure they experience "feeling right at home," "unforgettable," "five-star VIP supreme service"!

Not only will they be "bankrupt and utterly destroyed" on a material level!

On a spiritual level, he'll make sure they "contribute" clearly, squeezing out every last drop of "emotional value"!

What Demon Emperor, what Heavenly Court demons! What future Saints!

From now on, they will all be "quality cash cows" and "key targets for sustainable exploitation" under the great god Xuanzheng!

He even started excitedly planning whether he could divide these "exclusive custom services" into several tiers.

For example:

"Standard Scare Experience Package (with a free three-day psychological shadow)!"

"Deep Terror Deluxe Package (guaranteed Dao heart collapse and cultivation regression)!"

"Calamity-Level Epic Despair Package (buy one get one free, soul scattered, true spirit eternally extinguished, interested?)!"

There's always one that suits them! And suits this seat's wallet too!

Xuanzheng picked up an unknown Innate Spiritual Fruit from the stone table and took a big bite. Sweet juice overflowed, trickling down the corner of his mouth.

He licked his lips, his eyes gleaming like a hungry wolf.

"A new era... has begun!"

"The 'Super Cash Cow Machine' belonging to me, Xuanzheng, and my Witch Clan's money-printing... no, merit-printing, destiny-printing, resource-printing super cash cow machine, is officially online!"

"Old thief Hongjun, are you ready to welcome the 'Heavenly Dao BUG Repair Engineer' and 'Calamity Plot Overhaul Director'?"

"Kekekekeke..."

A chilling low laugh echoed through the stone room.