“Whoo!”

Han shot up from bed, gasping for air, his hands quickly running over his face and body.

“I wasn’t hit by a car?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than his head exploded with a barrage of memories.

“Qi Dynasty, Black Cloud Town, Han…”

The flood of fragmented memories gave Han a glimpse into the life of another “Han.”

The conflicting memories collided in Han’s mind, leaving him momentarily dazed.

“Did I… cross over?”

The surroundings were completely different from his previous world, and the influx of foreign memories made the reality undeniable.

[This Month's Cheat Code: The Heavenly Money Bank (A place where wealth gathers, and by communicating with it, money will continuously flow into your hands)]

Suddenly, glowing text appeared before Han’s eyes. He froze for a second, then quickly understood the meaning.

“Is this my cheat as a traveler?”

Every traveler had their own cheat code, a basic feature of crossing over.

After understanding the purpose of the Heavenly Money Bank, Han couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement.

He wouldn’t have to give up anything, and he could continually withdraw money from this bank.

Copper coins, silver, gold…

As long as he was alive, money would keep coming.

Han opened his hand, and in the blink of an eye, ten copper coins appeared in his palm.

This was basically a carbon copy of the "godlike rich system"!

Han could already envision his future luxurious life, and just the thought of it made him chuckle aloud.

But wait—what does “This Month's Cheat Code” mean? Will the cheat change next month?

Han threw off the covers and groggily got out of bed. But as soon as his feet hit the floor, his legs buckled, and if he hadn’t grabbed onto the edge of the bed for support, he would have collapsed to the ground.

“This body is way too weak.”

Right now, Han felt as though his energy had been completely drained. He had no strength left.

Lighting a candle, Han surveyed the room before slowly making his way to the mirror.

The mirror reflected a young face in his twenties, but every feature on this face screamed “unhealthy.”

Han’s eye sockets were sunken, his dark circles were deep, his eyes were hollow and lifeless, his face was as pale as snow, and he was extremely emaciated with messy hair hanging loose.

Anyone who looked at the person in the mirror would think they were on the brink of death.

The original owner had no bad habits and wasn’t a reckless or immoral person. In fact, he could be described as someone with a solid moral character.

The memories Han received from the original self explained why he had become like this. Because “Han” had…

Collided with a ghost.

Wait, what?

He collided with a ghost?

Han suddenly realized.

“Han” had collided with a ghost, and now, since he was Han, didn’t that mean he had collided with a ghost too?

“Whoa!”

Just then, a chill swept through the room, and the flickering candlelight cast strange shadows. Han quickly scanned the room. Although he saw nothing, his nerves were on edge.

In his two lifetimes, he had never experienced anything like this.

When he turned back to the mirror, he saw something new.

As the candlelight flickered, a woman's ghostly face had appeared on Han's shoulder in the mirror!

Han felt a shiver run down his neck, his skin crawling as the ghost’s hair slowly began to wrap itself around his neck!

This was the thing that had been haunting Han, as he learned from the original memories, the thing that had caused his body to become so weak.

“Holy sh*t!”

A wave of intense fear exploded in Han’s chest. His heart was racing as if it would leap out of his body. He slapped at the mirror, but instead of hitting the ghost’s face, his force caused him to fall backward, adding more strain to his already fragile body.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Smash!”

The mirror shattered. Han missed the ghost’s face but hurt himself by falling, worsening his already weakened condition.

Han quickly scanned both shoulders and the entire room. There was nothing—everything seemed to be a figment of his imagination.

But Han knew.

There was a ghost in the room.

Han backed into a corner, eyes wide open, fixated on the entire room. His body tensed, his eyes red from fear, and he could feel an icy chill all over him.

Wait, the cheat code! I have the cheat code, the Heavenly Money Bank!

Han suddenly recalled his cheat, and it gave him a fleeting sense of hope.

Is the Heavenly Money Bank powerful?

Of course, it is. It gives him an endless stream of money, and as long as he keeps doing nothing, he would eventually become the richest person in the world.

But at this moment, what use is this Heavenly Money Bank to me?

“Clink!”

A couple of silver coins fell from thin air beside Han, as if to remind him of its presence.

Is this cheat a joke?

I don’t care about money! I have no interest in wealth! Go away, I want to switch cheats!

Han wanted to cry, desperately wishing he could change cheats. Right now, he only wanted to know one thing: Can money really drive away ghosts?

He didn’t care about money—he just wanted the ghost to leave!

Time dragged on, and the air seemed to freeze.

“DONG! DONG! DONG!”

Suddenly, the sound of a town crier echoed outside, along with their announcement.

“Midnight, all is calm!”

“Whoo!”

As the crier's voice rang out, the oppressive, cold atmosphere fractured. Han let out a relieved sigh, feeling warmth spreading through his body as if the eerie presence had been scared off by the sound of the bell.

“Three o'clock? It’s already eleven?”

“No, something’s wrong. This world rings the bells every half hour, and this is the second time it's struck three o'clock. That means it’s already midnight.”

“And it’s the seventh day since I started encountering ghosts…”

A wave of unease washed over Han. The number seven held significant meaning in many cultures, particularly in ghostly tales where it was seen as especially important.

Had it been a while ago, Han would have dismissed this as mere superstition. But after what he had personally experienced, there was no longer any room for doubt.

It was crucial to note—this night was far from over. The bells could break the silence for a while, but they couldn't keep the terror at bay forever.

Just then, a line of glowing text appeared in front of Han, floating in mid-air and demanding attention.

[You have received a refresh of your cheat code. Starting refresh now.]

[Last Month's Cheat: The Heavenly Money Bank]

[Refreshing...]

[Refresh Complete]

[This Month's Cheat: The Great Immortal Tree (A game-like secret realm)]

The cheat had refreshed? The Heavenly Money Bank was replaced by the Great Immortal Tree?

As Han read these words, he felt a strange sense of revelation.

"So this is what the cheat means—every month it refreshes! And this month, my cheat is the Great Immortal Tree!"

After grasping the basics of the Great Immortal Tree, Han wasted no time and activated his cheat.

With the evil ghost lurking and ready to strike at any moment, there was no time to hesitate. A little more delay, and he’d be a goner!

In an instant, the world around him flickered between light and dark, and Han found himself standing in a boundless, empty space.

Before him stood a tree, about the height of two men.

At first glance, the tree seemed unremarkable, nothing special. Its trunk and leaves were shrouded in a faint, ethereal glow.

Realizing that he had left the haunted house behind, the oppressive chill no longer lingered. Han let out a deep sigh of relief.

For the moment, he was safe.

After escaping danger, Han had the chance to reflect on the events. He finally understood what his cheat code really was.

His cheat was... multiple cheats.

According to the information provided by the cheat, it refreshed every month—old ones disappeared, and new ones appeared.

When Han crossed into this world, it was the evening of April 30th, and after the bell rang, it was already May 1st—just in time for the refresh of the cheat.

The Heavenly Money Bank, after briefly making its presence known, was replaced by the Great Immortal Tree.

“You didn’t last long, Money Bank!” Han muttered with a smirk.

“The first cheat was actually pretty good, but it came at the wrong time,” Han thought, still shaken. He had nearly died at the hands of the vengeful ghost—an experience too intense to forget.

To be precise, "Han" had already died on the sixth night.

The second cheat that had been refreshed, the Great Immortal Tree, was a game-like secret realm.

When activated, Han would find himself transported into the Great Immortal Tree realm.

According to the cheat’s details, the realm contained an ancient and mysterious tree—the Great Immortal Tree.

And his objective was simple: chop down the tree using a special axe.

The Great Immortal Tree would then reward Han with treasures based on his level, strength, vitality, and the damage he dealt.

The tree’s power could manifest into various forms—anything from mundane items to divine treasures—depending on the strength of the person wielding the axe.

The stronger you were, the better your loot. The weaker you were…

It was very similar to a game Han had played in his previous life called The Path to the Great Immortal, a simple, yet engaging cultivation game.

The tree in front of Han was, in fact, the Great Immortal Tree.

He studied it closely, taking in its full size, but then Han felt a sense of confusion.

Where was the axe? How was he supposed to chop it down?

Just then, Han was inexplicably drawn toward the tree. He felt as though he had pierced through a membrane.

The dark space vanished, and Han found himself standing in a vast, sunlit world, filled with endless green.

And before him stood an enormous tree that seemed to stretch on forever—its top lost in the clouds, its sides out of sight.

This was the true Great Immortal Tree realm. Moments ago, Han had been outside it.

"This is massive!" Han exclaimed. No wonder it was called the Immortal Tree—its size seemed limitless.

Han took a few steps to the left, but the scene remained unchanged—he still couldn’t see the tree’s end.

Around the tree, there was a river—about three meters wide and impossibly deep. It had no clear beginning or end.

Han was positioned between the tree and the river.

“This is different from the game I played on Earth,” Han noted inwardly.

Beside the tree was a stone trough, and inside it lay an axe. Han picked it up. It seemed ordinary enough, nothing special about it at first glance.

Han then opened his personal stats panel.

Since this was a game-like secret realm, there had to be a data panel.

But once he left the realm, or when the cheat refreshed again in a month, this panel would disappear.

The data panel was only there to summarize Han’s personal information and make it easier for him to understand his stats. It served no other purpose.

[Player: Han]

[Life: Acquired]

[Realm: Mortal (Body weakened, source damaged, spirit injured)]

[Stamina: 1/1 (First chop of the Great Immortal Tree grants bonus rewards)]

[Items: None]

Han’s face darkened as he looked at the panel.

Each stat was straightforward and easy to understand, no need for much explanation.

However, the one thing that stood out was the realm description.

"Body weakened, source damaged, spirit injured!"

To put it simply: "You’re about to die!"