Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 39 - Willow Tree Demon

In Penglai Town and Jiuchuan City, there are herb shops and treasure shops where you can purchase items with low-grade spirit stones. Jiuchuan City even has a spirit stone exchange, where 100 low-grade spirit stones can be exchanged for 1 medium-grade spirit stone. Currently, there are no places selling high-grade spirit stones on the open maps.

For the current player level, low-grade spirit stones are sufficient. As levels increase, not only medium-grade but even high-grade spirit stones become insufficient, requiring immortal-grade spirit stones.

Building Foundation Pill ingredients are available in the pharmacy in Jiuchuan City, and it doesn’t cost too many spirit stones.

Due to a windfall from raiding bandit camps, Dugu Zhuo has so many spirit stones in his storage belt that it’s almost full. He generously buys all the herbs in the shop, totaling one hundred portions.

Remembering that there are a few herbs in Penglai Town not found in Jiuchuan City, he returns to Penglai Town to purchase those.

Although the storage belt has fewer spirit stones now, it’s filled with numerous herbs. Unable to fit them, Dugu Zhuo goes to a clothing store and buys an ordinary level 10 storage bracelet, reluctantly squeezing in the herbs.

In alchemy, besides herbs, one needs an alchemy furnace. Dugu Zhuo visits the blacksmith’s shop, but they don’t sell or customize alchemy furnaces; they only forge weapons below level 10.

While Dugu Zhuo is skilled in refining, he struggles to find materials for crafting an alchemy furnace. Hesitating, he opens the system panel and selects “Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission.”

Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission is similar to the world channel in old keyboard-based online games. Players can see messages broadcasted by others. After the recent update, it no longer pops up suddenly; instead, each player’s storage artifact contains a scroll. If there’s something important, players can input keywords to filter relevant content.

Dugu Zhuo broadcasts through Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission: “Does anyone know where to buy an alchemy furnace or good-quality brass for crafting one?”

Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission deducts a symbolic amount of spiritual energy, easily recovered through meditation. Dugu Zhuo doesn’t mind the energy cost and sends three messages in a row.

The world channel displays players’ in-game names. Due to Dugu Zhuo’s previous appearances in system announcements, many players have set “Dugu Zhuo” as a keyword. When he broadcasts through Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission, the game community erupts.

“Zhuo God? Is this Zhuo God’s first time speaking in the world channel?”

“Zhuo God, what Zhuo God? He’s not first in any game rankings, not even within the sect leaderboards with his name.”

“We do have a first—wealthiest in the mortal realm, with 100,000 silver! Enough for many feasts at the tavern, slurp.”

“Who cares about silver in this game? Everyone uses spirit stones! Even in the spirit stone rankings, he’s not first. The top has… 10 million spirit stones? That’s like a million-dollar recharge, so rich!”

“Why does Zhuo God need an alchemy furnace? Is he planning to start alchemy? Can I reserve a spot for a system-announced pill? I want to experience being mentioned by the system.”

“He’s created his own formations, sword techniques, and footwork. Does he still need alchemy? Sorry, haven’t seen an alchemy system in the game, but I did see a furnace in the Eternal Night Zone dungeon.”

“I’ve done the Eternal Night Zone dungeon too. Where is the furnace?”

“That big copper cauldron over the fire. If you dare, go snatch it, hahaha!”

Ignoring the players’ sarcastic tones, Dugu Zhuo nods in satisfaction after seeing the reply about the large copper cauldron. He rolls up the scroll, deciding to head to the Eternal Night Zone dungeon.

Upon arriving at the entrance, he receives a private message from Black Cat: “Zhuo God, you’re not really planning to go to the Eternal Night Zone dungeon to snatch the large copper cauldron, are you?”

After more than 10 hours of teaming up, you can see a friend’s online status. Both Light Moon Proud Sky and Lingzhi Doll are currently offline, only Black Cat is shown as online. Apparently, he noticed Dugu Zhuo’s question in the world channel.

“That’s right,” Dugu Zhuo replies briefly.

He originally wanted to wait for Ye Zhou to come online before tackling the Eternal Night Zone dungeon. However, when they visited the Soul Return to the Netherworld a few days ago, Ye Zhou seemed visibly disturbed by the Eternal Night Zone scenery. Although his face didn’t change much, Dugu Zhuo sensed irregularities in Ye Zhou’s pulse, indicating a reaction to fear.

Knowing about the potential presence of the Illusion Heart Bead in the dungeon’s hard mode today, Ye Zhou didn’t suggest going ahead with the difficult mode. It’s clear he has reservations about the Eternal Night Zone dungeon.

Dugu Zhuo won’t let Ye Zhou face discomfort, so he plans to quietly clear the dungeon while Ye Zhou is away at night. Despite his current strength, soloing the Eternal Night Zone dungeon is challenging, so he decides to bring more ghost-repelling talismans.

“Zhuo God, I’m setting out. My master instructed me to descend the mountain and help souls pass on. I originally planned to go to the Eternal Night Zone, and I’ll be there soon!” Black Cat says.

Having a helper wouldn’t be bad; at least, Dugu Zhuo silently thought, it could serve as a shield during attacks. However, he regretted that unlike White Tiger, Black Cat’s body was small, and it could only block vital areas from attacks. Dugu Zhuo felt some disappointment.

Waiting near the giant stone, where many players entered and exited, Dugu Zhuo’s distinctive appearance attracted attention. Considering this, he decided to go to a clothing store before Black Cat arrived and bought a bamboo hat to cover his face.

Interestingly, the in-game bamboo hat served other purposes. Dugu Zhuo received a prompt that players below level 25 could hide their names while wearing it, even when sending messages in the world channel.

After realizing the hat’s functionality, Dugu Zhuo regretted not buying it earlier. If he had known about this effect, he would have purchased it sooner.

Holding his steel sword, he waited by the giant stone for a while but didn’t see Black Cat.

Black Cat: “Zhuo God, I’ve been waiting for you at the entrance for 5 minutes. Weren’t you already here? Why didn’t I see you?”

Dugu Zhuo: “I’m right by the giant stone. Didn’t you see me?”

Black Cat: “Strange. You’re so conspicuous. How come I can’t find you? I’ll wave my hand; you come find me.”

Dugu Zhuo looked around and saw a young monk in a gray robe, with a large string of prayer beads around his neck and a staff in hand, waving at him.

Dugu Zhuo: “…”

He walked up to the monk, who had long hair under the hood. Dugu Zhuo slightly lifted the bamboo hat to reveal his jaw and said, “Black Cat?”

The monk with long hair looked puzzled. “This disdainful tone… Zhuo God?”

After half a month, Black Cat’s transformation was remarkable.

Dugu Zhuo, not one to dwell on the past, nodded and said nothing, ready to enter the Eternal Night Zone.

Black Cat, with a more talkative nature, approached Dugu Zhuo, pointing to himself. “We haven’t seen each other for so long. Aren’t you surprised by my big changes? Aren’t you curious about where I got this monk’s robe? Don’t you want to know the story behind this staff and string of beads? Aren’t you interested in what martial arts I learned at the Infinite Temple?”

Dugu Zhuo succinctly responded, “Not really.”

Black Cat, looking defeated, lowered his head. “You really make people feel unaccomplished.”

The two teamed up to enter the Eternal Night Zone. Black Cat, now acting like a real monk, holding a staff and prayer beads, wore a serious expression, resembling an actual monk.

An unusually tall man with long limbs but surprisingly soft and slender body intercepted them. His hostile gaze focused on Black Cat as he touched his chin. “Why is a monk entering the Eternal Night Zone? Planning to deliver yourself from suffering?”

This man in the Eternal Night Zone seems to be quite famous, with extremely pale skin and a physique that combines both toughness and softness. It’s hard to tell whether he’s a player or an NPC based on his appearance.

Black Cat, not knowing what he learned at the Infinite Temple, playfully said, “Amitabha, this humble monk, if not going to hell, who will?”

“Oh?” The man laughed, “Why doesn’t the monk shave his head? Could it be a monk with worldly desires? If you don’t shave your head, I can’t call you Little Bald Donkey.”

“Please refrain from baseless remarks.” Black Cat lowered his eyelids, his long eyelashes giving him a serene and peaceful expression.

Dugu Zhuo pressed down the bamboo hat, warning, “Don’t create unnecessary trouble; let’s focus on the task at hand.”

After consuming the Foundation-Building Pill and gaining 50,000 experience points, Dugu Zhuo wanted to test if the pills he refined had the same effect. If they did, he planned to feed as many to Ye Zhou as possible to quickly raise his experience and reach level 40, enabling them to tackle the Demon Spirit Tiger Fang dungeon together.

The man, unaware of his own limits, stopped Dugu Zhuo, a hint of green light flashing in his eyes. He chuckled with a soft voice, “Wait a moment. Why is there another one hiding their face? Are you players or NPCs?”

With this statement, it became clear that he was a player. His voice was peculiar, each word sounded like a tender leaf in spring, brushing against people’s hearts, causing a tingling sensation. Looking at him now, one would suddenly find his appearance remarkably handsome.

It was the innate skill of the Yao race—Charm.

Dugu Zhuo, seeing the insignificant demon daring to act insolently in his presence, transformed his hand into a spell, a myriad of ways to eliminate demons flashing through his mind.

At this moment, the monk Black Cat took a step forward, standing in front of Dugu Zhuo. He fingered the prayer beads, compassionately saying, “All phenomena are like a dream, an illusion. Sir, deluding sentient beings, you fail to realize you’re just a smelly bag of skin.”

As he finished speaking, a golden light emanated from Black Cat. The slender man hastily retreated a few steps, but his arm was still touched by the golden light, transforming into long willow branches.

Dugu Zhuo could tell this person was a plant-based Yao, but he couldn’t discern exactly what kind. Seeing the transformed arm, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had heard about this type of Yao before.

The willow tree Yao held onto the branch arm, tried several times to restore it with Qi, but failed. Eventually, he had to take out some herbs and swallow them, gradually turning the branch back into an arm.

“The monk has some skills. I’ve never encountered a monk from Tan Ye Monastery. I heard their monks don’t allow Yao to enter; on the first day of the public test, they even killed a level 0 Black Cat twice. Monks seem to have a grudge against us Yao. How about we have a little fight?” the willow tree Yao suggested.

This completely irritated Black Cat. Unable to maintain his monk appearance, he mimicked the senior brothers, raising his staff and said, “Darn! Demon, who told you about Black Cat’s matters?”

This word “darn” still appeared as characters above Black Cat’s head, seemingly unfiltered when monks used this word.

The willow tree Yao proudly patted his chest. “My two bros, do you remember the IDs of the five people who first cleared the mainline plot? LightMoonLove and Dragon@ProudSky are my brothers. Both the Eternal Day and Eternal Night zones belong to them. What, are you looking to settle a score with them? They are big shots you can’t beat.”

Black Cat: “…”

He raised his staff towards the head of the willow tree Yao, originally intending to use the techniques taught by the senior brothers to transform him back with a single strike. However, upon hearing these words, he began to wonder whether he should actually strike with the staff.

At this moment, Dugu Zhuo spoke up, “Yimeng Xiaoyao?”

“Have you heard of this Demon King?” Willow Tree Yao Xiaoyao asked arrogantly, “Did I absorb your essence before?”

He proudly swayed his waist left and right, displaying an extraordinarily soft waist.

Dugu Zhuo sighed inwardly and instructed Black Cat, “You can attack.”

That meant, for now, forget about the relationship with LightMoon and ProudSky. Deal with the fight first; they could reconcile later. Black Cat thought cunningly.

Friends of friends may not necessarily be friends.

So he swung the staff, creating a gust of wind, and heavily struck Yimeng Xiaoyao’s head. Being a member of the cat family, Black Cat’s agility was something a willow tree couldn’t evade!

However, Willow Tree Yao had naturally thick blood. He couldn’t be killed by lightning, burned, and even rooted in the earth to automatically regenerate. No matter how severe the injury, as long as a root remained in the soil, he wouldn’t die.

With one strike, Black Cat split Willow Tree Yao’s head in half. Although the move was brutal, there was no need to censor the scene as Willow Tree Yao’s head transformed into wood at the moment of impact, only breaking one of his thicker branches.

Yimeng Xiaoyao knew his speed wasn’t enough. He hadn’t planned to avoid Black Cat’s attack but waited until Black Cat got close to him to strike.

His hands transformed into countless branches that grew wildly, tightly entwining the young monk. Dozens of branches fiercely lashed towards the monk, forming a technique that could both attack a group and focus on an individual.

With dozens of lashes, Black Cat would lose at least half of his life even if he didn’t die. Dugu Zhuo’s fingers subtly moved, and he suddenly realized something, retracting his fingers.

The dense willow branches obstructed everyone’s view. Yimeng Xiaoyao laughed heartily, “Hahaha! With so many branches, I can’t even see your remaining health. I’m truly amazing. Let me see…”

Eyes grew on his branches, and before he could carefully observe, a small black shadow flew out from the branches. Four sharp claws tore through Willow Tree Yao’s eyes.

A black cat’s claws gently stepped on Willow Tree Yao’s branches, leaping into the air. Rolling in the air, it transformed back into the handsome young monk. In mid-air, he took off the string of prayer beads and threw it onto Willow Tree Yao.

Muttering Buddhist scriptures, Black Cat was sweating on his forehead, feeling extremely nervous. This move wasn’t easy to execute; the Buddhist scriptures had to be recited flawlessly. Hopefully, he wouldn’t make a mistake in reciting the characters.

Just when Black Cat was nervously struggling to remember the content of the Buddhist scriptures, Dugu Zhuo used a private chat to send a voice message, helping him with the part where he got stuck.

Although Black Cat’s chanting was very soft, Dugu Zhuo still heard the content and knew what sutra he was reciting. He had spent several days reading Buddhist scriptures in the scripture pavilion during sparring with the monks. With his divine consciousness, he naturally memorized them with just a glance, and now, he could put it to good use.

With Dugu Zhuo’s assistance, Black Cat smoothly completed the recitation of the Buddhist scriptures. The prayer beads emitted a Buddhist light, forcing Willow Tree Yao to transform back into his human form, floating in the air. Struggling several times, he was suppressed by the Buddhist sect’s techniques. The tighter the prayer beads, the more Willow Tree Yao’s health decreased. Elevated in the air, he couldn’t absorb the spiritual veins underground to replenish his health.

In the end, the prayer beads strangled Willow Tree Yao into countless segments of wood, and Yimeng Xiaoyao’s health reached its limit.

Black Cat retrieved the prayer beads, picked up the staff, and said to Willow Tree Yao’s corpse, “Amitabha, this humble monk, black as ink, once teamed up with LightMoonLove and Dragon@ProudSky to clear the main storyline. Speaking of it, we are friends of friends.”

Yimeng Xiaoyao: “…”

At this moment, he really wanted to imitate the monk, shouting a loud “darn,” but unfortunately, the system censored it, and he couldn’t say it out loud. 

Author’s note: Black Cat: In the Infinite Temple, my senior brothers taught me a lot.

Everyone: They just taught you to say “darn,” right?