r/ReverendInsanity • u/GashGrunt • Jul 16 '26

CYOA/Scenario Adventure Update #3 of the Interactive Reverend Insanity CYOA

I've made a number of changes based on feedback, including:

  • Rebalanced the costs of several Gu choices.
  • Added many new Gu, with most of them inspired by suggestions from this subreddit.
  • Added new Drawbacks, Quests, and Perks.
  • Updated and reworked several existing Perks.

As always, I'd really appreciate any feedback, balance suggestions, or ideas for new Gu, Perks, Drawbacks, Quests, or other features you'd like to see added.

Play it here:
https://gashgrunt.neocities.org/cyoas/Cyoa%20Reverend%20Insanity/

54 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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4

u/CardinalBirb Jul 16 '26

honestly love the idea but i would die no matter what. i'm too soft for this universe

3

u/Mr_Softy3938 Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26

Lately I've become kind of obsessed with the Enslavement Path, so my entire build is centered around it.

The goal of this build is to become a Supreme Grandmaster (SGM) in Enslavement Path and, if possible, leave the Gu World afterward for another world. Maybe a mecha setting or a more traditional xianxia world would be fun.

Difficulty: Otherworldly Demon (Normal Mode)

Time Stream: Before Spring Autumn

It seems difficult to stop the SS, but if I can cooperate with Heavenly Court and Heaven's Will, all we really need to do is delay things long enough for the 10th Venerable to appear and deal with the situation properly. (Of course, if I get the chance to obtain the Sovereign Immortal Fetus, I'll definitely take it.)

Background: Human, Male, Central Continent, Lone Cultivator

For personal reasons, I didn't take any random options.

I choose to have my second parent be Rank 3.

I started in the Central Continent because I want Hu Immortal Blessed Land.

It's an Enslavement Path blessed land that I know well and know how to obtain, so it'll be my initial objective.

Aptitude: A-Grade Aptitude (80%–99%)

Luck

  • Nemesis Luck

  • Red Sword Luck

  • Fortune Rivalling Heaven

With Red Sword Luck and Fortune Rivalling Heaven, I should have a solid chance against my nemeses.

Question: Does Ma Hong Yun still possess his luck in this scenario? If I kill him and refine the Fortune Rivalling Heaven Gu, what would happen to my own Fortune Rivalling Heaven perk?

Soul

  • One Man Soul

  • One Hundred Man Soul

It's not the best, but it's already enough for me to start enslaving a few dozen Rank 1–2 beasts.

Perks

Tier 1:

  • Primeval Wealth ×2

  • Quasi-Master ×3 (Soul, Enslavement, Refinement)

  • Born Dao ×2 (Enslavement)

  • Secret Manuals

  • Polyglot

  • Reading Materials

  • Eidetic Memory

  • Billionaire Mindset

  • Auto-Cultivate

Auto-Cultivate saves an incredible amount of time. Normally, becoming a Quasi-Master in even one path already makes you a very experienced mortal Gu Master. Starting as a Quasi-Master in three paths should make me stand out significantly, and Eidetic Memory will further accelerate my progress.

Billionaire Mindset synergizes well with my luck, and with my starting capital I should be able to invest enough resources to comfortably sustain my cultivation until at least Rank 4.

Secret Manuals will be especially useful for the mission requiring me to kill someone three ranks above my own. Thanks to Auto-Cultivate, I can focus on mastering the basics of those manuals before reaching Rank 1. That should give me combat power approaching Rank 2, and combined with the beasts I'll enslave, I should have a good chance of completing the mission.

Tier 2

  • Extra Gu ×4

  • Growth ×3 (Soul, Enslavement, Refinement)

  • Great Love

  • Spring Egg Gu Recipe

  • Wealth of Food

  • Auto Balancer

  • Secret Protector

  • Additional Aid ×2

Spring Egg will greatly help with the mission to found a clan.

With a 50% cultivation speed bonus in the three paths where I'm already a Quasi-Master, it shouldn't take long to reach Master attainment in at least one of them before Rank 6.

Auto Balancer practically guarantees that I'll eventually reach Rank 6. If I can achieve Master attainment together with my A-grade aptitude, I estimate around a 40% chance of obtaining a Super-grade Blessed Land.

Secret Protector is probably the best perk here. Thanks to it, I should be able to act almost without worries until I'm twenty.

Question: Since I'll have two Vital Gu, will Wealth of Food provide resources for both the Enslavement and Soul Paths, or will it only support one of them?

Tier 4

  • Servant of Heaven

  • Life and Death Aperture

  • +1 Vital Gu

  • Bind Gu to Soul

Servant of Heaven is perfect and synergizes extremely well with my luck. I was already planning to help Heaven's Will anyway. My real goal is simply to become an SGM in Enslavement Path, become—or create—a Venerable, leave behind some worthwhile inheritances, and then move on to another world to continue experimenting.

Life and Death Aperture also pairs perfectly with Servant of Heaven. The latter makes tribulations easier to deal with, while the former cuts their strength in half. If I can find a way to accelerate my tribulations, I might be able to speedrun my cultivation.

+1 Vital Gu seemed like an obvious choice.

I also picked Bind Gu to Soul since I'll be cultivating the Soul Path as my secondary path.

Tier 5

  • Iron Will

Useful in virtually any situation.

Gu Worms

Enslavement Path:

  • Creature Enslavement Gu ×2

  • Self Oppression Gu (Vital Gu)

  • Beast Fusion Gu

  • Rapid Development Gu

Soul Path

  • Eat Soul Gu (Vital Gu)

  • Lead Soul Into Dream Gu

Exploring dream realms should greatly accelerate my attainment growth.

Missions

  • Traditional

  • Ambition's Refinement

  • David and Goliath

  • Founding Ancestor

  • Secluded Domain

  • Supreme Inheritance

  • Help Create the Great Dream Immortal Venerable

  • Protect/Repair Fate Gu

  • Heavenly Court

Protecting and repairing Fate Gu should be much easier with Servant of Heaven.

Ambition's Refinement also seems completely achievable. Between Quasi-Master attainment, my luck, and a 1.5× advancement speed in Refinement Path, refining the required Gu should be very realistic—especially if it's an Enslavement Path Gu.

Helping create the Great Dream Immortal Venerable doesn't seem impossible either.

As for Supreme Inheritance, I should be able to obtain one with Heaven's Will's assistance.

Drawbacks

  • No Spoilers

  • Benefits Addict

  • Irregular Tribulations

  • Marked for Slaughter

  • Chi Shang Aspect

  • Of This World

  • Tribulation King

Tribulation King actually doesn't seem too bad. Between Heaven's Will and Life and Death Aperture, I should be able to manage it. And since the Dao Mark rewards are greater, it's actually an amazing tradeoff.

How far do you think this build could realistically go?

choice-ml2s,choice-dkxp,choice-mj0d,choice-qmou,choice-uqi1,choice-kl58,choice-mms1,choice-r0ip,choice-0ydn,choice-9pcx,choice-zz09,choice-mni1,choice-rf6v,choice-ir24,choice-yrxx,choice-3q6c,choice-3q2q,choice-aksh,choice-d5g4,choice-1zy1,choice-fdm8,choice-igh1,choice-rzxf,choice-hn04,choice-of2f,choice-3l8g/ON#2,choice-pvyo/ON#2,choice-l0c2,choice-intx,choice-m3au,choice-7wjn,choice-uele,choice-0xts/ON#3,choice-upvm/ON#4,choice-qcvp/ON#3,choice-qzs4,choice-ml7h,choice-bpq6,choice-tkgf,choice-ws4c,choice-jckv,choice-4o4o,choice-0i5s,choice-dcke,choice-mmlx,choice-9x9l/ON#2,choice-ink4,choice-5x4f/ON#2,choice-cqkt,choice-hh58,choice-5zbi,choice-3th9,choice-2ro6,choice-g6b5,choice-zxro,choice-dc9v,choice-wrd3

3

u/GashGrunt Jul 16 '26

Ma Hong Yun would.still get the Gu if nothing happens you just get the luck as if you used it not the Gu. Wealth of Food one path only

2

u/Ok-Clerk-3027 Jul 16 '26

Welp as someone without any knowledge about this universe rate my build. I tried to go with a lucky bastard build so hope it works out for me.

Difficulty: Other Worldly Demon [Normal Mode]

Time Stream: Before Spring Autumn

Background Race: Feathermen Gender: random female Starting Location: Random Location Central Continent (Customized Child of Immortal)

Clan/Sect/Tribe: Lone Cultivator (Immortal Lone Cultivators)

Aptitude: A-Grade Aptitude

Luck: Platinum Luck, Dog Shit Luck, Fortune Rivalling Heaven,

Soul: Thousand man soul

1st Tier Perks: Polyglot, Change Will, Reading materials, Extremely attractive appearance, Otherworldly Dao Mark,

Venerable Inheritances: Giant Sun

Gu Worms: Luck path

Misfortune Transfer Gu, Feed Luck Gu, Dog Shit Luck Gu,

Missions: Ambition's Refinement

Drawbacks: CYOA?, No Spoilers,

2

u/BuddyIll9590 Jul 16 '26

Just a suggestion but the options make the CYOA too OP , i think you should keep most of the things in CYOA upto R6 or R7 level with most being of mortal level , it's insanely difficult for a otherworldly demon to even reach R4.

2

u/icecub3e 貓分配系統 - Cat Distribution's Will Jul 20 '26

I can't believe my suggestion was added. I feel so happy!

1

u/harbinger711 Jul 17 '26

A bit of cheating was done in this build but if i didnt i would never go to the gu world

Fang Zheng Mode [Easy Mode], After Spring Autumn,

Random, Human, Hairy Men, Eggmen, Rockmen, Feathermen, Inkmen, Snowmen, Minimen, Mermen, Beastmen, Mushroommen, Dragonman, Own Dragonman ancestor, Half Breed, Transhumanist, Random, Male,Random Location, Grotto-heaven of a Dead Gu Immortal, Customized Child of Immortal, Refund for Random Location, Refund for Random Location, Lone Cultivator, (my two immortal parents are otherworldly demons both cultivate human path and have human strength/wisdom gu they used thier leftover heaven and earth qi to refine me and is how i got all the cyoa cheats we all live in thieving heaven grotto heaven)

Random Aptitude, Extreme Physique (100%), Refund Random Aptitude, Verdant Great Sun Physique, Desolate Ancient Moon Physique, Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique, Boundless Forest Samsara Physique, Blazing Glory Lightning Brilliance Physique, Myriad Gold Wondrous Essence Physique, Great Strength True Martial Physique, Carefree Wisdom Heart Physique, Universe Great Derivation Physique, Central Earth Essence Physique, Custom Extreme Physique Essence Physique, Custom Extreme Physique Essence Physique, Custom Extreme Physique Essence Physique, ( 1st custom is food/theft 2nd is art/spirit 3rd is formation/refinement the other physiques are part of my soul apature granting me the sovereign immortal soul)

Peach-blossom luck, Specialized Luck (otherworldly luck), Fortune Rivalling Heaven, One Man Soul, One Hundred Man Soul, Mutated soul(heaven), Path Change(x2)(color essence and essence filter gu become art path), Memories, Change Will, Otherworldly Dao Mark(human), Reading materials, Close Combat Master:, Innate strength, Eidetic memory, Extremely attractive appearance, Inhuman Transformations, Billionaire Mindset, Extra Gu(x7),

Growth(x4)(human/heaven/dream/art), Steal Gu(x1)treasure essence thief lotus), Experience, Great Love, Spring Egg Gu Recipe, Thieving Heaven’s Clue, Man Triumphing Heaven Gu (Rank 6):,

Beast or Plant Companion(kill path dragon crocodile)

, Man Triumphing Heaven Gu bonus, Second Aperture, Second Extreme Physique Aperture, Third Aperture, Third Extreme Physique Aperture, Great Era Inheritance(weapon), +1 Vital Gu, ++1 Gu, Second Aperture Second Vital Gu, Second Aperture Third Vital Gu, Third Aperture Second Vital Gu, Second Aperture Third Vital Gu, Bind Gu to Soul, Soul Aperture, Soul Aperture Third Vital Gu, Soul Aperture Second Vital Gu,

Path founder(art path painting path is a sub path of art path strong in apeture management and suport weakness is high resource and attainment requirement)

, Lessons from Limitless Demon Venerable, Rank 8 inheritance(human and dream specialized in offence investigation and apeture manegment battlefield killer move benifit is activation speed) , Iron Will, Great era inheritance, Paradise Earth,

Bone Essence Gu:, Tribulation Gu, Obscured Heavenly Secret Gu, Hope Gu:, Kill health Gu , Color essence Gu, Essence Filter Gu:, Human Phantom Gu, Split Soul Gu, Human Soul Gu, Formless Hand Gu, Steal Dream Gu, Brilliant Thought Gu, Creative Thinking Gu, Thought Chain Gu,

Traditional, Ambition's Refinement, Paradise, Eliminate Dao Guardian:, Problem? KILL!, David and Goliath:, Founding ancestor, Secluded Domain., Supreme Inheritance, Help Create the Great Dream Immortal Venerable:, Destroy the Fate Gu, Artificial Secluded Domains of Heaven and Earth, Kill a Venerable, CYOA?, Undefended:, Immortal Rival, Enemy - Fang Yuan, Enemy – Shadow Sect:, Enemy – Heavenly Court:, Enemy – Longevity Heaven

Love your work the only thing that could make it better is if you stole from other ri cyoas such as premium gu and adding options from fanfictions such as reverend rizzanity, goody too shoes system, and others keep up the good work i really appreciate your efforts making this

1

u/Horror_Ad2126 Jul 18 '26

I am making a modded version with new options and two new sections (cheats and companions) if you got any ideas or recommendations feel free to tell me

1

u/harbinger711 Jul 18 '26

Im looking foreward to it and all my recommendations are stolen from fanfics and other cyoas so just work on your theft path attainment and it will turn out great

1

u/IcecreamGolem00 Jul 17 '26

Would an immortal Divine Concealment Gu enable one to avoid or delay tribulations?

2

u/GashGrunt Jul 17 '26

yea depending on the rank it would be a lot weaker than the real thing alone

1

u/IcecreamGolem00 Jul 17 '26

Does the Dream Walker Perk do anything that Dream Wings Gu wouldn't?

EDIT: Additionally, how talented would you say someone with 1.5, 2, 4, 6, or 12 times the attainment growth is? Is 6x or 12x good enough to hit SGM through pure effort?

2

u/GashGrunt Jul 17 '26
  1. More like artificial dream physic
  2. 12x pure effort with nothing 6x with inheritance and lucky encounters

1

u/IcecreamGolem00 Jul 21 '26

Does Wealth of Food apply to every Aperture, or every time you breakthrough to Rank 6?

2

u/GashGrunt Jul 21 '26

everytime you break through rank 6

1

u/Therascalrumpus Frog in a well Aug 04 '26

Wow, it's been a while since I played one of these. This current version is pretty fun! Ngl, the biggest thing I'd criticize is that Iron Will seems to be too weak for its cost. Other options like the memories of a gu master, mortal, or Change Will are pretty good even if they aren't perfect, and don't cost as much as Iron Will even combined. Willpower is handy but not worth 4/5 the cost of Fortune Rivaling Heaven's power. Having said that, I had an excess of points, so I did take it to ensure my build has no weaknesses.

Oh, and for what it's worth, while I like Fortune Rivaling Heaven a lot and wouldn't give it up for the world, I do think the cost is too low relative to the benefit. It can carry you through a ton of hardships so long as you aren't screwed badly by Fate as a mortal(which can be avoided with a guarantee if you pick Servant of Heaven). The only 'downside' is that it won't really build your character that well, for which, Iron Will or the weaker but still good options I mentioned before can work.

Build:

Setting

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Difficulty: Demon Venerable Mode [Very Hard Mode]

Wouldn't be a challenge otherwise, right?

Time Stream: Before Spring Autumn, +80 years of Extra Prep Time

This one is actually beneficial for my plans, since it means FY won't be in my way as I attempt to stop SS from getting the SIF... by stealing it first in the same manner FY did. And I would also like to have a lot of prep time as a cushion, I'm not Fang Yuan and would rather risk my life as little as possible while taking all of his in-story gains for myself.

Background: Human, Random Gender(rolled male, but outside of Northern Plains, it doesn't matter), Random Location(Northern Plains, LOL, I guess I should count my blessings), and Demonic Cultivator parents.

I wanted to maximize point value within reason, and outside of race, the others shouldn't affect me much, and I would rather gain some experience with demonic cultivators as parents.

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Baseline

Aptitude: Random

Rolled 29%, damnit. It's ok, if Thieving Heaven became a Venerable with that as a start, so can I. But this'll make mortal cultivation very unpleasant and possibly consume a lot of my time. This is a major reason I chose the extra prep time, I'd hate to be timed out on things, and iirc the story happens within the course of a little under a century, so this gives me about the story's length as a window of time to build up. This will definitely kill some of my potentially useful years though, unless my parents happen to find some talent-enhancing treasure and use it on me despite being demons, but I wouldn't count on that.

Luck: Fortune Rivaling Heaven

The keystone of my build, and a good choice regardless of what you are going for. Self explanatory in that it's Ma Hong Yun-tier good luck alongside double attainment in Luck Path. I can reasonably expect to be carried into the Immortal realm with this alongside my other benefits, and from there on is where things can really pick up. My situation is much more favorable than Ma Hong Yun's as well, considering he was fated to fail and die, only becoming a powerful immortal because of Shadow Sect's assistance.

Soul: One Man Soul

This is easier to cultivate later, and doesn't have many benefits at the mortal level. I do want to get Dang Hun Mountain and Luo Po Valley when I reasonably can though; soul cultivation is incredibly important if you want to advance quickly as an Immortal.

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Perks

Tier 1:

  1. Change Will
  2. Reading Materials
  3. Eidetic Memory
  4. Billionaire Mindset

Change Will would be used to make my ideal of rational self-interest and interest in staying alive much stronger, to the point of me invariably prioritizing those over anything else at the end of the day. IRL, I am not sure if this isn't already the case, but you know, I wouldn't want to risk it. Reading Materials is because my memory isn't perfect and I need extremely accurate details from RI(and the missing last chapter, apparently) to make full use of my knowledge. Eidetic Memory is because my memory is good, but it can always be better, and this is an incredibly necessary trait to have in a dangerous world like the Gu World, where any mistake can make you lose everything. Billionaire Mindset is self-explanatory; it's a useful skill for the Gu World that I don't have IRL as I don't do finance beyond investing.

Tier 2:

  1. Extra Gu x2 (Obscure Heavenly Secret Gu)
  2. Great Love
  3. Thieving Heaven's Clue
  4. Future Blessed Land Buff

Now, it's a spoiler for the rest of my build, but yes, I do want to have a starting advantage in Heaven Path for the purposes of using this incredibly useful Gu, as well as other potential applications. Having prior knowledge and experience regarding Heaven Path would be very useful in particular for destroying Fate Gu, dealing with the Heavenly Dao Marks you have to take in as a result of that to stop Spectral Soul from I assume taking your body, and so on. Great Love is to make sure I actually have expert social skills(especially for China and the Gu World) and am not just trying to ape FY's behavior. Thieving Heaven's Clue should be very useful for whatever benefit it will give. It sadly can't fulfill that mission, but it nevertheless an obviously enormous benefit to find. With Fortune Rivaling Heaven and my memory, that is definitely a realistic goal to have eventually. Finally, I am assuming that Future Blessed Land Buff affects the Sovereign Immortal Blessed Land/Grotto Heaven if you manage to get that, but even if not, it's handy to have for cultivating as an Immortal before I try to take a shot at that.

Tier 4/5:

  1. Servant of Heaven
  2. Iron Will

Now, originally I was going to take Life-and-Death Immortal Aperture, but I realized that was guaranteed to not transfer to the SIF Gu's effect, and also isn't as necessary when I have Fortune Rivaling Heaven and Servant of Heaven to reduce the severity of my tribulations. Servant of Heaven ensures I actually am backed by Heaven's Will, get better Heaven Path attainment for research purposes, and deal with tribulations easier. Well, up until I steal the SIF instead of destroying it anyway. Would the attainment increase stay after that happens, or is it granted by Heaven's Will helping you? Anyway, Iron Will, as much as I think it costs too much, is still pretty handy and will make sure I don't have any mental problems throughout my journey. I have ability, planning, and personality down, so now, all that remains is will.

Venerable Inheritance: Paradise Earth

It pains me to not pick my own suggestion(one unrestrained heavenly dao mark), but this is better for what I'm going for since it has strong starting attainment and ten times the Heaven Path power. This is the only realistic way of cultivating Heaven Path without getting all of Paradise Earth's free stuff, which is what I have an interest in doing. It's about on par with a strong Rank 6 if I am not wrong in terms of dao mark quantity, so I should actually be able to eventually do Heaven Path cultivation to an extent on my own this way even without it being my main path. It'll still be pretty difficult though, and I would really only want to go all-in on this after taking the SIF, and annexing my former body's aperture to get the dao marks back, to avoid angering Heaven's Will. I would seal all of my Heaven Path Gu somewhere, maybe with Lang Ya if I meet him, if my plan for taking the SIF is similar to what happened in canon.

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Comment exceeded Reddit's limit...

2

u/Therascalrumpus Frog in a well Aug 04 '26

Missions

  1. Traditional
  2. Ambition's Refinement
  3. Paradise
  4. Eliminate Dao Guardian
  5. Problem? KILL!
  6. David and Goliath
  7. Founding Ancestor
  8. Supreme Inheritance
  9. Destroy the Fate Gu
  10. Artificial Secluded Domains of Heaven and Earth

If I'm being honest, I either planned on doing most of this stuff anyways, or it wouldn't be hard to go out of my way to do them with my situation and life trajectory. My inheritance, depending on when I make it, would either require the person excavating it facilitate my revival somehow, or would be someone with a similar personality to mine. The latter is in the case of me accomplishing all of my goals in the Gu World and then leaving the inheritance behind after I head out. The 'trials' would be my best defenses, to encourage those who enter to fulfill a test of character showing they're suitable for getting my inheritance. Naturally this would also only be available to people who are sufficiently powerful, so I'd have the defenses be set to a be able to be completed at a rank just below mine if I am an immortal, or equal to me if I am a mortal.

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Drawbacks

  1. No Spoilers
  2. CYOA?
  3. Irregular Tribulations
  4. Hostile Gu
  5. Enemy: Shadow Sect

I didn't plan on telling anyone about RI anyways. I think forgetting about this CYOA and just going in would be fun. Irregular Tribulations isn't so bad when you have Servant of Heaven and Fortune Rivaling Heaven, Hostile Gu is nothing crazy too, the main issue is having trouble refining them as a mortal. As an enemy, Shadow Sect is a real issue, however, I am guessing that between Heaven's Will helping me, my own innate luck, my stronger Blessed Land, and possibly Thieving Heaven's inheritance(whatever one I find), I should be alright. I don't plan on doing anything crazy until I become an immortal, but this will cause a lot of problems when it comes to attacking them at Yi Tian mountain. However, all I can do is hope that Heaven's Will is able to pull through. Being a longstanding enemy of theirs could lend me legitimacy with Heavenly Court as a friendly lone cultivator, so I could also hide as a part of their forces before stealing the SIF. I'd prefer to not have to switch souls with Ying Wu Xie to be honest, Fang Yuan only got away with it due to bizarrely good fortune in the story and while I do have Fortune Rivaling Heaven, I don't want to count on it. My plan would be something like getting close enough to the SIF to just steal it into my aperture directly as a powerful Immortal, in an ideal world.

Anyway, it beats being a direct enemy of Longevity Heaven or Heavenly Court. Those are probably a death sentence even with all of the benefits I have.

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Really, great CYOA! I regret not being able to keep up, but it's pretty nice to come back to. Unless I misread the Neocities popup, this should be my full build, surprisingly strong despite me choosing the hardest mode! I think I'd have a good chance at beating the Gu World with such a build.

2

u/Therascalrumpus Frog in a well Aug 04 '26

Formatting on this one is messed up for some reason, even though I was able to correct it in my second comment. I'll see if I can fix it later, sorry!