Chapter 276: Someone from the Taohua Sect
Due to the Demon Cultivator incident, Mu Qiu, Honghuang, An Xiu, and their group returned to Xuanwu City to rest.
Along the way, they saw a Water Mirror displaying a wanted poster for Song Abao.
The image in the Water Mirror made the three of them trade glances.
It was simply too abstract. Yet, despite its surreal quality, the image sparked a strange sense of familiarity in them.
And that name, Song Abao...
How very peculiar.
It sounded both perfunctory and yet carried an air of being perfectly natural.
However, the System was still active, so the three of them didn’t discuss it.
They just kept their suspicions to themselves.
They also did some digging on Song Abao, and were shocked to learn what this person had done.
They had actually killed someone from a Major Sect.
’Is this Song Abao really that powerful?’
Now, even with their suspicions, they definitely didn’t dare discuss it.
Meanwhile, an unexpected situation arose among the players.
A player heading to the Liuyun Sect was confessed to by a female cultivator.
Of course, by "confession," it meant the woman had unabashedly expressed her desire for them to become Dao companions.
The players all knew what "Dao companions" implied.
The player on the receiving end of the confession, [Ye Xuan], was stunned on the spot.
Since starting the game, it wasn’t as if the male players hadn’t fantasized about conquering the world and having beautiful women in their arms.
But the harsh reality check of the Longevity Sect’s weakness and their own status as complete noobs had forced them to face facts.
They also had very little interaction with the local cultivators.
This was the first time any of them had been confessed to by a local cultivator.
As a man, once the initial shock wore off, Ye Xuan felt his ego swell uncontrollably.
But he still had his wits about him. "I... I... I already have someone I like."
He could only refuse, though it pained him to do so.
Leaving aside the question of whether they even had... certain human functions, even if he wanted to—
The System would just coldly display a notification: "Inappropriate scenes are strictly forbidden in this game."
Ye Xuan: "..."
Upon hearing this, the female cultivator, though disappointed, knew better than to force the issue and regretfully departed.
And so, Ye Xuan could only watch helplessly as the female cultivator walked away.
With tears welling in his eyes, he fought the urge to reach out his hand in a dramatic, soap-opera gesture and beg her not to leave.
After his moment of grief, Ye Xuan sent a message in the world chat.
[Ye Xuan: Are we not allowed to date the local cultivators?]
[Wu Dahu: If this was a dating sim, maybe.]
[Yang Meimei: Right? This game is so realistic. It feels like we’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn’t have at least one romance.]
[Ma Xiaoniao: Get real. Forget about whether you could even make them happy. What happens when you have a messy breakup? In this world, that could literally end in murder.]
At the line about "making them happy"...
All the male players collectively went silent.
[Lin Baobao: But what if you actually fall for someone? They’re so real. I think it’s only human.]
"It is indeed only human," the System said, relaying the situation to Song Jiulai. "Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it’s impossible."
They’re all human; how could they not develop feelings?
The relationship between the players and the locals was, to put it mildly, complicated.
Song Jiulai certainly didn’t want something like that to happen, but she knew preventing it was impossible.
At least, not right now.
Song Jiulai thought for a moment. ’I should issue a mandatory order about this. No dating the locals!’
Song Jiulai didn’t want to see anything bad happen down the line.
It would be harmful to both the players and the locals.
Unless.
Unless the System had the ability to pull all the players’ physical bodies over.
The System had told her when she first summoned the players that it was only summoning their souls because it currently lacked the energy to do otherwise.
Otherwise, it could have pulled their entire bodies over.
For the players, it would be a true transmigration.
This also proved that once her power grew, there would come a day when the players could truly meet the local cultivators in person.
But that was all contingent on that day actually arriving.
For now, she had to impose restrictions.
And if people still violated the rules under these restraints, well, that was truly beyond Song Jiulai’s control.
As long as they didn’t violate the game’s core principles, such uncontrollable factors hidden beneath the layers of rules were something even gods couldn’t manage.
-
Chen Miaomiao emerged from a building within the Feique Sect.
Disciples who passed by all greeted her, "Hello, Senior Sister Chen."
"Greetings, Senior Sister Chen."
Chen Miaomiao would nod to each of them in return.
A closer look would reveal that all those greeting her were disciples of the Feique Sect.
Although she was a disciple of the Longevity Sect, Chen Miaomiao was clearly considered one of their own by the disciples of the Feique Sect.
She had managed to research something as heaven-defying as the cultivation of Third-tier spiritual grass, and had even made everyone sign a contract about it.
What difference did it make if she was from the Longevity Sect?
On top of that, she had also reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Now, aside from the two members in closed-door cultivation, Chen Miaomiao was the only Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator left in the sect.
If they didn’t respect her, who would they respect?
"Manager Chen."
The steward in charge of the Feique Sect’s Artifact Hall walked over. He was at the Late-stage Qi Refining, and due to his advanced age, Chen Miaomiao had insisted he not call her Senior Sister Chen, but simply address her as Manager Chen.
Seeing him, Chen Miaomiao nodded. "What is it, Steward Tang?"
Steward Tang replied respectfully, "Well, three months ago, the Taohua Sect ordered a batch of Xuan Grade and Mortal Item Flying Magical Treasures from us. We have now completed the crafting, and the time for them to come pick up the goods has arrived. Taohua Sect will likely send a group over to get them."
Chen Miaomiao understood immediately.
With such drastic changes at the foot of the mountain, the people from the Taohua Sect were bound to notice when they arrived.
Steward Tang was giving her a heads-up.
Chen Miaomiao nodded. "I understand."
Chen Miaomiao sent a few messages on the sect channel, telling the players to be mindful.
That evening, Lin Qian from the Taohua Sect arrived in Wang’an County along with several other disciples.
The immense changes to Wang’an County did indeed startle them.
A change in architectural style would have been normal enough, but the style of Wang’an County’s buildings was unlike anything they had ever seen before.
When she saw the giant statue, Lin Qian froze.
The stone statue was so well-carved that she recognized Song Jiulai’s face in a single glance.
Lin Qian was the first female cultivator Song Jiulai had met when she was out traveling.
Back then, Song Jiulai had still been very "naive"—or perhaps, simply unable to put on a disguise—so Lin Qian was the only one who knew her true appearance.
That was why she was so surprised to see a statue of Song Jiulai. After recovering from her shock, she went to ask a bystander.
"What is the meaning of this statue here?"
The other disciples didn’t know, of course. Only the Feique Sect disciple who had come to greet them was able to explain.
"Oh, that’s Song Jiulai, the Sect Master of the Longevity Sect."
Despite this, very few people had actually met Song Jiulai.
As for Song Jiulai, she wasn’t afraid of people seeing her true face; after all, some Feique Sect disciples and players had already met her.
She was well aware that she had enemies out in the world, so she never traveled using her real face. The descriptions would never match.