Chapter 494: Preparation

"I never thought you'd be such a Baixiaosheng!"

Xu Zhi was utterly speechless. Baixiaosheng's intellect was terrifying; as a game planner, he was truly top-tier. MMORPGs, with their modern-sounding terminology, were surprisingly well-suited to the Demon World's alchemical, medieval steam-era style! Despite the harsh environment of the entire Demon World, societal infrastructure had reached an exceptionally high level, thanks to the protection offered to its people by various churches. As a "foundation-building fanatic," the widespread use of civilian alchemical technology, including subways, buses, cars, and steam airships, had already surpassed that of China on Earth!

" 'Use the Guixu and the void world you built to develop your MMORPG system... Contaminating the Demon World is acceptable, but if you contaminate the Mortal World or the Immortal World, I'll kill you,' " Xu Zhi muttered to himself.

In reality, it would be difficult to spread it to the other two worlds. This was a unique mortal system exclusive to the Demon World: the Evil Race. Because the Mortal World was already occupied by the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Shu Mountain system, and the Martial Arts system—three major mortal cultivation systems—there simply weren't enough mortals left to cultivate another system; it was already saturated.

" 'The Western Demon World, mortals, cultivating through MMORPGs?' "

The cold wind was biting. Xu Zhi quietly looked up at a tall building on the cross street, adorned with a magnificent deep blue poster, dazzlingly illuminated by a circle of colorful lights. It was another new advertisement: "Conquer territories, join the Evil Faction, build cities, establish guilds, embark on your legendary reign, and realize your grand ambitions!"

He was speechless at the slogan. Had the widespread bombardment already begun? Nearby, at a bus stop, students on their way to and from school gasped in astonishment.

Originally, Xu Zhi had judged that before the impending cold snap and torrential rains, and with the two major righteous and evil factions showing no signs of stopping their mutual slaughter or preparing for the natural disaster, the Demon World should have been heading for a major catastrophe. However, at this very moment, the Evil Race's main quest was: "Heroes from another world, please save us from the great disaster ten years from now!" It had jarringly merged completely incompatible events. It was so bizarre, it made his scalp tingle!

He glanced at the external game forums; the netizens were already exclaiming in droves.

"Damn it!""Damn it!""Damn it!"

Everyone was stunned. They cheered for Mengmei with "666" (internet slang for 'awesome'), because truly, this move was the "flashiest" in history. This game offered infinite possibilities; if you could imagine it, it could be done! There were all sorts of comments:

" 'I'm playing a game within a game?' "" 'Bringing modern online games and 'pay-to-win' culture to a world with simple customs?' "" 'So this is truly a cultivation system where you get stronger by playing an MMORPG! You can bring upgraded characters, equipment, and skills from the game into reality? Isn't this a common trope in some fantasy MMORPGs?' "" 'Speaking of which, to accommodate so many people, this game's server must be far more powerful than what 'Mr. Potato' from a certain company makes!' "" 'Bro, are you talking about the one where you play bugs and get free games?' "" 'Cough, cough! Mengmei, this character, probably got the idea from Qiuming Mountain Racing Speed—the Interconnected Demonic Web. She might not build an online royal casino, but an MMORPG is still a huge source of 'pay-to-win' consumption!' "

But the most frequent comment was, " 'Mengniang, you're trying to get kickbacks again!' " Everyone already knew this person's personality: completely "salted fish" (slang for lazy/unambitious) and a fanatic for farming and infrastructure.

Xu Zhi scrolled through the comments page by page. Some replies were amusing, while others were mindlessly repeating, filling the screen with '1's, all awkwardly praising and sycophantically flattering. These people had absolutely no integrity. Back when Qiuming Mountain Racing Speed made similarly flashy moves, there were no "bootlickers." That was the difference between people.

From Xu Zhi's perspective, his feelings were complex. " 'Before, I couldn't create an online game where players could revive. After all, this is reality; I merely deployed spores. How could there be levels? Experience? Rebirth after death? Yet Mengmei, right before me, managed it—creating an online game within Guixu, luring natives to cultivate, fight monsters, and level up...' "

He hadn't expected the Evil Race's ritual deployment to turn out this way. He quietly toured the Demon World—the Orc, Half-Orc, Human, and Undead Empires—and was surprised to find that the response was uniformly positive. What was going on?

" 'As expected of the Earth Mother Goddess!' "" 'MMORPGs... this cultivation method is truly brilliant!' "

The major professional churches, and even Baixiaosheng's Ghost Night Palace, were all utterly astonished.

" 'This is simply a vulgar prank! Why are they so excited... Wait!' " Xu Zhi thought for a moment, feeling a headache coming on, and instantly understood why they felt that way. For Earthlings who had experienced the internet boom era, this was a common, even vulgar and silly, cliché; MMORPGs were dime a dozen. But for the Saints and top Heavenly Emperors of the Three Realms—these powerful beings—it was mysterious, inconceivable, and exceedingly grand. Even terms like "level," "NPC," and "quest"—which turned every aspect of cultivation advancement into a quantifiable noun—added an air of sophistication! The more they researched and pondered it, the more they felt this system was mature, perfectly structured, and refined through countless trials, having undergone innumerable explorations. It was hard to imagine it as a product of such a short time.

In the Mortal World:

" 'The Earth Mother Goddess is indeed a compassionate great Saint, unmatched through the ages.' "" 'Back then, she pioneered the path of Dragon Vein incense-faith—it is said that those who absorb this spiritual energy become gods of incense-faith, without harming the creatures of heaven and earth. This was already inconceivable, with sentient beings having endured endless eons, and now, this MMORPG system....' "

Deep within the emerald green mountains, beneath a ginseng fruit tree, a white-bearded, immortal-like elder, holding a whisk, lectured his disciples in a Taoist temple:

" 'Wonderful! By refining a "Supreme Void" from the thoughts of incense-faith beings, it exists not in matter, but in the heart of man! It can be as minuscule as a grain of sand, or as vast as the heavens! With infinite transformations, it conceals countless opportunities, seizing the very fortune of heaven and earth!' "

At the Demon World's Professional Churches, Monarch Emperors gathered:

" 'The Evil Race is essentially a mercenary force. Those of us outside the Evil Race are collectively referred to as—NPCs. We can issue quests to them, setting various time limits and conditions, and then provide different rewards... A quest is equivalent to signing a contract that neither party can violate. Even if we are Heavenly Emperors or even deities, if we issue a quest to a player, we must abide by it and provide the agreed-upon remuneration.' "

" 'So, the Earth Mother Goddess's previous Void Contracts were laid as a foundation for the Evil Race's quest system?' " someone exclaimed in wonder.

" 'This system is truly astonishing!' "" 'Indeed, currently the Evil Race is generally weak; it's only been a few days, and not even a First-tier individual has appeared. But what about the future? Once they grow to a certain level, Third-tier, Fourth-tier, and we issue quests, this immortal player group can already do things for us.' "" 'Issuing quests to an immortal mercenary legion... perhaps they can be called—Calamities!' "

Ancient Saints conversed with each other.

" 'In the Demon World, the immortal legionaries can revive infinitely! In the future, they will be a sharp weapon for our Three Realms, serving as vanguards to advance into the myriad worlds and expand our territories!' "" 'Has the Earth Mother Goddess already laid the foundation for the future?' "

The Saints couldn't help but sigh with emotion. For them, who had achieved union with the Dao, what truly lay ahead was the unknown, boundless chaos beyond the Three Realms—the myriad worlds. In their eyes, the Demon World's MMORPG system was incredibly novel, mysterious, and even powerful! It was an exceptionally noble, elegant, and top-tier mysterious school of thought, a historical precedent.

" 'There's no other way,' " Mengmei quietly looked at the Saints, taking a deep breath. " 'I once thought that the only way I could be finished was through a world invasion. What then? The Ancient Lava World is the most likely...' "

" 'According to what everyone says, the feud between the two Ninth-tier beings might involve two worlds. As a multiversal world, the Lava World's Three Pillar Gods' zombie-infecting virus is truly terrifying. It's definitely their ultimate weapon for invading other worlds! Undefeatable! If war breaks out, they will undoubtedly deploy the Three Pillar Gods' virus first. Under such an invasive virus, our Three Realms would be utterly defenseless. Terrifying calamities would erupt: zombie Shu Mountain Sword Immortals, zombie Ancestor Shamans, zombie Martial Arts heroes... growing demon cores and turning into their kind. This is the terrifying characteristic of their world—the Grand Unification Virus! Therefore, we must also create a vanguard army belonging to our Three Realms. And in the Demon World, this immortal Calamity Legion... is fundamentally unafraid of viral infection. Moreover, their various evil god characteristics almost touch upon the hidden laws of nature. Once they combine and join forces, even we find them formidable. Even if the Demon Core lineage is terrifyingly powerful, the immortal Guixu World mercenary army can still fight!' "