Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Seems the Same, Yet Different

Of the fifty players recruited this time.

A large portion of them had seen Han Tian’s livestream.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so eager to grab a spot and get their equipment ready.

So, some of them knew what was going on. Han Tian had already mentioned a demon beast attack during his livestream today.

Lian Yueqiao was on-site, instructing them not to go outside. After all fifty had logged on, they heard a system message.

[Ding! Welcome, players, to the game. The rules for Disciples of the Longevity Sect are as follows.]

[1. At present, all disciples are Outer Disciples. Upon accumulating 200 Sect Points, you will become an Inner Sect Disciple and unlock the Sect’s item exchange function.]

[2. Novice quests are divided into tending the Spirit Fields or venturing out to gain experience. Players may choose for themselves.]

[3. Beyond that, players are free to explore.]

In reality, there was no difference between Inner Sect Disciples and Outer Disciples.

The 200 points were just a formality for the players. Song Jiulai didn’t even restrict how players could acquire them.

For example, a wealthy player could just buy the points directly...

She set it up this way because she didn’t want to have to personally hand out Elixir Pills every time new players arrived.

She had to maintain her mystique.

This laid the groundwork for future players, giving them a reason why they wouldn’t be able to meet the Sect Master.

After all, you couldn’t have a situation where the earlier players got to meet her, but the new ones didn’t.

By dividing disciples into Inner and Outer Sects, new players would find the situation more acceptable.

It was their own fault for joining late.

Of course, the first hundred players who joined and became Inner Sect Disciples received special treatment.

Some of the new players knew about the demon beast invasion, but their desire for Cultivation was overwhelming. As soon as the system assigned their Spirit Root and formed their inner core, they were logged off.

Only a small minority, like Zhan Sheng, keenly sensed that this was likely a major event. They realized that logging off now meant missing all the action, so they didn’t immediately activate their Spirit Roots, deciding to wait and see what would happen.

There was no time to worry about the new players; the veteran players were already making frantic arrangements.

Given the emergency, they asked the system if they could be teleported back directly. But the point cost was too high. ’Couldn’t it be free?’

But the system refused.

There was nothing the system could do.

"The Energy Pool is nearly depleted. What’s left is the emergency reserve. No matter how urgent the situation, I can’t teleport everyone back."

The energy it consumed was completely different from what the players assumed.

The points were essentially created by Song Jiulai as a free giveaway for the players; they were of little use to the Energy Pool.

Furthermore, opening fifty new slots had already caused a massive drain on the Energy Pool.

Song Jiulai rubbed her forehead. "We’ll have to leave it to fate."

She herself had no intention of being teleported back directly.

That feature was reserved for true emergencies.

They hadn’t reached the point of complete desperation yet. She planned to find the source of the demon beasts first.

’Who would have known a demon beast invasion would suddenly occur while I was considering the new player slots? And I couldn’t just suspend the process midway through.’

Even if things got truly desperate, she would ask the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect for help rather than expend the system’s energy.

She still had a Sect Token, after all.

Song Jiulai knew how to prioritize. The system was her final trump card, and it could only be played after all her other cards had been exhausted.

After all, her life was tied to the system.

Meanwhile, there were new developments on the players’ front.

The vanguard, Zhen Weida and Lin Yuyu, discovered that the demon beast forces were on the move.

The first wave consisted of First-rank Demon Beasts; the Second-tier ones still hadn’t moved. This was a bit of good news amid the disaster. At least the First-rank beasts would be good practice for them.

However, as Zhen Weida watched the dark swarm of Flame Birds surge across the sky, his scalp still tingled with dread.

It was the first time he truly understood the meaning of the phrase "blanketing the sky and covering the earth."

Demon beasts were large to begin with, but the sheer, dense mass of Flame Birds flying through the sky was terrifyingly oppressive.

On the ground, First-rank Toad Snakes and other First-rank demon beasts were also on the move.

They trampled over the fields as they advanced. The Spirit Grass along their path withered and died instantly upon contact with their venom.

A Flame Bird spat a blast of fire, and the heat washed over half the sky.

"Damn it! So uncivilized! This is our Sect’s property!"

Zhen Weida’s heart bled as he watched.

Do you have any idea how hard they’d worked to cultivate these Spirit Fields at the foot of the mountain?

Zhen Weida raised a hand, and a ball of water shot out toward a Flame Bird.

The water ball carried immense force, and combined with Zhen Weida’s Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivation, it dragged a Flame Bird right out of the sky.

He then cast Palm Thunder. The attack could hit a wide area, but its power was dispersed. The Flame Birds shrieked as the lightning struck them, but it wasn’t enough to kill them. Instead, it only enraged them.

Countless Flame Birds charged toward Zhen Weida and his companions.

Zhen Weida, along with Lin Yuyu and her sister, felt their scalps crawl with fear as they fought and retreated.

They hurled out Palm Thunder attacks as if they were free.

Similar scenes were playing out where other players were stationed.

The First-rank Demon Beasts attacked from several directions, but the main host clustered together for a concentrated assault on Wang’an County.

Looking at their approach, they weren’t deviously surrounding the county from all sides, but the sheer density of their assault was more than any ordinary person could handle.

Zhan Sheng could finally see the dark, oppressive mass of invading demon beasts in the distance.

Just standing there watching them, the sense of pressure was immense.

The demon beasts drew closer and closer. A clear look at their faces was enough to give you a week’s worth of nightmares.

Zhan Sheng watched the horde, suppressing the shock in his heart. At the same time, he turned his gaze to the players who were fighting back, carefully observing their abilities.

At the same time, the commotion from the demon beast invasion filled the mortals in the county town with fear and unease.

The mortals were both fortunate and unfortunate.

They were unfortunate in that they would likely spend their entire lives in one place, unable to ever leave this small corner of the world.

But they had full bellies and warm clothes.

Demon beasts were the one thing they truly feared.

If the Cultivators couldn’t hold them back, the mortals would die too.

"Grandma—"

Little Ya hid in her room, with only her grandmother to keep her company.

She couldn’t hear the sounds of the demon beast invasion outside, only the occasional explosion.

Lightning flashed and fire illuminated the sky outside her window. Little Ya watched the powers wielded by the Immortals, feeling a mixture of envy and fear.

"Grandma, do you think the Immortals can hold them back?"

Her grandmother was old and had taken a job making tofu for the Longevity Sect. Her days were still monotonous, but Little Ya felt life was much more interesting than before.

Because she was going to start school.

Those Immortals had said that once the schoolhouse was built, all the mortal children would have to attend.

They would learn things like "mathematics" and "physics," concepts she didn’t understand at all.

Brother Hao Kan had told her that if she learned these things, even if she wasn’t an Immortal, she could build things that flew in the sky, just like the Immortals.

Little Ya found it hard to believe, but she was full of anticipation.

But this demon beast invasion filled everyone with dread.

The grandmother hugged Little Ya, her eyes already somewhat cloudy with age. She held the girl close and said softly, "Little Ya, don’t be afraid. They’ll hold them back, they’ll hold them back..."

Decades ago, a demon beast invasion had also occurred in Wang’an County.

Though the outcome was tragic, they had managed to repel them.

But her grandmother didn’t mention that during that invasion, the first to die had been the defenseless mortals.

Some Immortals had even thrown mortals out as bait.

This time, however, those Immortals had told them to stay put and not go anywhere.

’It seems the same, and yet... something is different.’