Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Shocked
The new voice chat feature was the final proof that this was, in fact, a game.
Players who were still a bit skeptical eagerly started using the new feature.
Han Tian, being the whale that he was, immediately sent a private message to Zhou Xiao: "Hey, hey, hey, Zhou Nvzi, what’s the status of the battle?"
Zhou Xiao snapped back irritably, "It’ll all be over by the time you get back!"
Han Tian was devastated. "There’s nothing I can do! At my current Realm, this is my top speed. I was already heading to the Liuyun Sect, which is super far from the Taohua Sect. It’s obviously going to take time for me to rush back!"
At least he had donated money for the players to buy potions.
The logistics were covered, at least.
And once the Sect chat channel was activated, every player—whether they were in the thick of battle or not—could open it up and take a look.
Sending a single message cost ten points, which was quite expensive, but there were always those with cash to burn.
Sect Channel.
[Fan Guzhou: Hang in there, everyone! The Sect Master is back!]
[Zhen Weida: Someone’s got money to burn...]
[Zhou Xiao: Ten points just to send five words? You’re the extravagant one!]
[Gu Yunxi: The Feique Sect’s combat strength has been severely weakened by this assault. Almost their entire Sect has been deployed, leaving only the old and weak behind. Aside from one cultivator at Late-stage Foundation Establishment in seclusion and a Golden Core Stage True Man who’s out traveling, their other five Mid-stage Foundation Establishment experts are all in Demon Cave Valley. So, should we get ready to backdoor their base?]
[An Xiu: Damn, that’s impressive. You have the presence of mind to analyze all this in the middle of a battle?]
[Qi Dazuo: Scheming against them the second the fight is over... Isn’t that in poor taste?]
[Yue Yuzhu: It’s definitely possible. A Feique Sect Outer Disciple just asked me where we get our Palm Thunder. I told him the Sect rewards it to you as long as you earn enough money. He said he wants to join our Sect now.]
[An Xiu: ...The Feique Sect’s disciples have zero loyalty.]
[Gu Yunxi: That’s perfectly normal. It’s not like joining a Sect is signing an indenture contract. It’s like joining a company—you go wherever the benefits are best.]
[Han Tian: Have you guys ever thought about the fact that we’re players? Our system is different from theirs. Recruiting their Outer Disciples is bound to cause problems, right? The Sect Master must have thought about this, hasn’t she?]
Song Jiulai raised an eyebrow.
She had indeed considered it and had already worked out a solution with the system.
It wasn’t surprising that the players had figured it out on their own.
’But could everyone please pay attention to the battle!’
’We’re still fighting here!’
There were simply too many Second-tier Demon Beasts. Even after the Yin Sha Deer retreated, Song Jiulai had single-handedly wiped out a huge wave of them.
It was a mystery how the fissure that had allowed so many demon beasts to emerge had even formed.
And where exactly had they come from?
Only when the entire battlefield had stabilized did Su Huanli fly up to Song Jiulai. "These demon beasts aren’t from Demon Cave Valley," she said. "I heard from Shui Ping that there’s no activity on that end."
Song Jiulai asked, "Senior Sister Shui Ping knows what’s happening? Is she on her way back?"
Su Huanli nodded. "They’re on their way."
They had their own ways of notifying the Feique Sect disciples, but they were nothing as fast or direct as the system.
Demon Cave Valley was too far away. By the time they got back, the most they could do was help with the cleanup.
Thankfully, everyone had managed to hold on through this wave.
Su Huanli’s expression was complicated as she looked out at the corpses and inhaled the overwhelming stench of dead demon beasts that choked the air outside Wang’an County. "If it weren’t for your Longevity Sect this time, I’m afraid we really wouldn’t have been able to hold them off."
It was the truth. If the Longevity Sect disciples hadn’t just thrown money at the problem, the Feique Sect’s disciples would never have been able to stop so many demon beasts.
They would have been wiped out long ago.
And yet, Su Huanli’s first impression of the Longevity Sect was of a group of disciples at the Early Stage of Qi Refining.
In truth, the moment she saw a few familiar faces among those disciples, she had begun to have her suspicions.
She wasn’t unobservant.
But she was a smart girl. With her cultivation only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, she chose not to ask too many questions when faced with Song Jiulai, a woman of mysterious origins who was clearly advancing much faster than herself.
As for the disciples of her own sect, it was impossible for them not to be envious seeing that practically every disciple from the Longevity Sect had a Palm Thunder Technique.
Even if the Palm Thunder Technique could be passed on to others, one first had to fully master it themselves.
It would take a normal disciple one or two years to fully comprehend it, yet nearly every member of the Longevity Sect had it. And that technique wasn’t easy to come by.
Palm Thunder wasn’t something with a wide distribution network; this could only mean they had some internal method of acquiring it.
Su Huanli asked herself honestly: her Feique Sect couldn’t possibly muster that kind of financial power.
She remembered that just two or three months ago, the Longevity Sect had been appallingly poor.
Song Jiulai had even bought puppets from Shui Ping on credit.
Once this battle was over, morale within the Feique Sect would surely be shaken. Su Huanli couldn’t imagine any of her disciples not wanting to join the Longevity Sect.
But what would the Feique Sect do then?
The Longevity Sect, which was supposed to be a subordinate power, was now stronger than the Feique Sect itself.
Was Song Jiulai herself aware of this?
At that moment, Song Jiulai was still smiling. "Not at all. Protecting Wang’an County is our responsibility, too. This is our home, so of course we have to protect it."
"...Ah."
Homeland. That was a novel concept.
Su Huanli had a home. Her home was in Wang’an County.
But for cultivators like them, the concept of home was a faint one.
The Sect was their home, and yet, it wasn’t.
A Sect Disciple’s duty was to protect the Sect, but in doing so, they were also protecting its honor.
Not a "homeland," as she had called it.
After a long moment, Su Huanli nodded gently. "Yes. To protect our home."
After she and Song Jiulai dealt with the Nine Netherworld Spider, they continued clearing out Second-tier Demon Beasts, and Su Huanli was once again stunned by Song Jiulai’s cultivation.
She was certain that Song Jiulai was no longer at the Qi Refining Middle Stage.
Her casting speed and the abundance of her Spiritual Energy were nothing like before. She had progressed again!
The other Third-stage Demon Beasts were kept busy by the players and Feique Sect disciples using Magic Treasures. Mu Qiu herself had teamed up with some Feique Sect disciples to take one down.
She had already reached Late-stage Qi Refining.
Ever since quitting her job to immerse herself in the game full-time, her progress had been incredibly fast.
Now equipped with a Magic Treasure Flying Sword, her combat prowess was not to be underestimated.
They continued clearing the area until noon, at which point the battlefield on the outskirts of Wang’an County was finally clean.
Due to the pervasive stench of death, the Spirit Fields on the outskirts were certainly all ruined.
This included the fields Fan Guzhou had rented, as well as the Sect’s own.
Fan Guzhou himself wasn’t too bothered; as long as no major accidents happened during a demon beast invasion, it was a win.
Song Jiulai, on the other hand, felt her heart bleed. It felt like she had lost a massive fortune.
Of course, it wasn’t as if no one got injured in the battle.
When the non-combat players went out to clean the battlefield, they were inevitably splashed with venom. Fortunately, they chugged their potions in time and were resupplied by the support team. The worst of it was just crying out in pain at the moment; they were fine once it was over.
Several Feique Sect disciples, on the other hand, had been severely injured after completely depleting their Spiritual Energy.
The players had even managed to save two Feique Sect disciples with their quick reflexes.
But compared to other demon beast invasions, this was undoubtedly the best possible outcome.
Not a single person had died!
The players weren’t particularly surprised, but someone else was utterly shocked.
This person was none other than Lu Yao from the Spirit Fox Sect.
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