The Quest for Immortality - Chapter 13: The Oil Lamp

Here, only those with spiritual roots can cultivate while those with mortal roots are destined to stay mortal.

Mo Wuji only has mortal roots, but will he only remain as a mortal?

- Description from Novelupdates

After waking up, a strange app was installed on Lin Bai’s phone.

The news on the app came from the future.

And as long as Lin Bai participated in the events and changed the future, he would be rewarded.

[World News: Pfizer US announces that it had developed the first-ever Corona Virus vaccine, stock prices shot up 500% in one day.]

[World News: Three days later, Elon Musk declares himself the godfather of DogeCoin on Twitter, forcefully manipulating DogeCoin prices.]

[Regional News: New developments on the old man car accident, son of old man offers 10million dollars for clues of the culprit.]

[Local News: Hard work won’t disappoint you, S City old lottery buyer who had been buying the same number for 30 years finally won 1st prize!]

[Local News: Daughter of the richest man in S city was kidnapped, violated, and murdered, the culprit is......]

Wait！

Lin Bai looked at the obituary photo in black-and-white on the latest message.

That person in the photo, isn’t that the school belle Yu Jinmo who’s chasing me?

Kaito was summoned as a hero... and discarded as trash.No magic. No blessings. Just intelligence and a mysterious deck of cards that summon legendary villainesses—women so dangerous the gods themselves sealed them away.Now, with three (soon four) villain queens at his side, Kaito will build a kingdom from the ashes of his humiliation. Not through strength, but through strategy. Not through destiny, but through choice.But every summoned queen has her own agenda. Every ally hides secrets. And the kingdom that abandoned him? They're coming with armies.[WARNING: R-18 | Explicit content, graphic violence, and adult scenes]→ Anti-Hero MC (Strategic, Morally Gray, No Beta Behavior)→ Four Villain Queens (Competitive Harem, Slow Burn)→ Kingdom Building (Economic, Military, Political)→ Tactical Warfare (Army Battles, No Plot Armor)→ Ancient Technology + Magic Coexistence→ Character Development (MC & Queens Evolve)→ No NTR | No Dumb Decisions | No Forced Drama

Elara’s first life crashed hard. Cruel tricks ruined her name, broke her dreams, and turned the whole entertainment world against her. Friends betrayed her. Lovers sold her out. Everyone she trusted stabbed her in the back. The pain piled up until she felt trapped with no way out. One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to the river and ended it all in the cold, quiet water.Later, proof came out. Messages. Recordings. Everything showed she had been framed. People posted apologies online. But it was too late. She was already gone.The universe, though, clearly has a twisted sense of humor.Because somehow, Elara came back. She woke up in her own past, every awful memory still sharp in her head. Right then she made a promise she would never break: protect her gentle grandfather no matter what, and never let anyone push her to that dark place again.This time she steps into the entertainment world with her head high. She trains harder, sings better, fights smarter. The same people who once crushed her? Now they get to feel the pressure.Love? Not happening. Her heart is locked tight. But why is it that as she rises and shines brighter, handsome, powerful men start circling her—guys who never even glanced at her in her previous life were now hovering around her.The actor smiled at her during a press interview, leaned closer, and said softly, “We should have dinner sometime.”The footballer sent flowers so big they blocked her room door.The surgeon she met at a charity event checked her pulse and then forgot to let go of her wrist.The singer she collaborated with kept calling her name during rehearsals, as if the mic could not hear him well enough.Elara stared at the ceiling that night and sighed.She only wanted to sing. Why did everyone look like they wanted to adopt her, date her, or both?But the worst one came after the concert.The lights had just gone off. Her ears were still ringing. Sweat clung to her neck. She had barely stepped backstage when a shadow blocked her path.She looked up.The CEO of the greatest company in Aurelia stood there. The same man who once said her voice was “not worth investing in.” The same man who did not even know her name before rebirth.Now he held her wrist lightly, but firmly.“Let’s talk,” he said.Elara blinked. “About… sponsorship?”“No,” he replied calmly. “About marriage.”Her brain froze.“…What?”“I will give you everything,” he continued, as if asking for a glass of water. “Resources. Protection. Freedom to sing. Become my wife.”Elara stared at him, her mouth open, her thoughts running in circles.This was not how it was supposed to be.Why was the world now skipping steps?NB:This story takes place in a fictional world. Aurelia is a country. Solmere, Veston, and Starfall City are the three capital cities of Aurelia. Other cities, such as Lorien and Crelou, are smaller cities.