Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 50 - Recruitment of Soldiers

Dugu Zhuo readily agreed and reached out his hand to Ye Jian, saying, “Show me the scroll.”

Ye Jian retrieved the scroll, and Dugu Zhuo, fearing that it might be some sinister magic item that could harm any passerby NPC who accidentally saw it, didn’t immediately open it. Instead, he found a private room in Jiu Chuan City, and then cautiously unfurled the scroll.

Ye Zhou leaned over to take a look and saw numerous beautifully dressed men and women in ancient attire depicted on the scroll. They were lightly dressed but not revealing, sitting by the lake drinking.

The people in the painting were indeed beautiful, but Ye Zhou glanced at Dugu Zhuo’s profile and felt that none of them compared to Dugu Zhuo.

Dugu Zhuo asked, “Do you know what these people in the painting are doing?”

“These…ancient people seem to be having an outing or picnic by the lake,” Ye Jian said. “Our company often organizes team building activities like this.”

Ye Zhou lightly nudged Ye Jian’s arm and said, “Brother, um… in this game, there’s a harmony mechanism. Any violent, erotic, or bloody scenes are all pixelated. Why do you think you would see a pixelated image if you entered the painting?”

Ye Jian: “…”

Dugu Zhuo added, “When people hear about yin-yang cultivation, they assume that those who practice such methods are evil cultivators. They think that men use women as cauldrons and women find men to be cauldrons. But in reality, the harmonization of yin and yang is the correct path. Only focusing on one aspect will lead to an excess of either yang or yin. Therefore, most cultivators who practice yin-yang cultivation are open to both men and women.”

“Pfft!” Ye Zhou, who was drinking tea, sprayed water everywhere.

Ye Jian rarely read cultivation or martial arts novels, so he only half understood what Dugu Zhuo was saying. Words like “cauldron” and “cultivation” were somewhat foreign to him.

But he could guess Dugu Zhuo’s meaning from the context. His composed smile froze on his face, and he awkwardly asked, “So, when the system prompts me that I’ve cultivated one person or two people, it means…”

Dugu Zhuo nodded heavily. “It naturally refers to the number of people you’ve cultivated.”

Ye Jian asked, “Both men and women?”

Dugu Zhuo gestured for Ye Jian to extend his hand, and with his fingertips resting on Ye Jian’s wrist, a stream of true qi flowed into Ye Jian’s body. After circulating once, Dugu Zhuo nodded and said, “The harmony of yin and yang is achieved, without the occurrence of excess yin or excess yang. Your cultivation technique is very balanced.”

Ye Jian’s expression flashed with a hint of embarrassment. He decisively changed the subject, “Let’s not talk about men for now. Why did the NPCs in the Eternal Day and Eternal Night regions throw eggs at me?”

“Because you hadn’t reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet and couldn’t restrain your aura. Your yin energy involuntarily leaked out, which was annoying to others. Now that you’ve reached Foundation Establishment, your aura is restrained, and you can disguise yourself as a righteous person,” Dugu Zhuo explained.

Ye Zhou suddenly stood up and slammed the table, “What do you mean ‘disguise as a righteous person’? I am a righteous person! What kind of game is this? I’ve been clean and upright for so many years, why all of a sudden… not only cultivating women but also cultivating… men?”

“Practicing such forbidden techniques isn’t without its benefits,” Dugu Zhuo said. “The reason you have time to travel between the Eternal Day and Eternal Night regions to sell goods is because cultivating evil techniques is simple. Just a few clicks on the scroll to cultivate a few people, saving time from doing quests and fighting monsters. It’s very efficient.”

Upon hearing the word “efficient,” Ye Jian miraculously calmed down.

Ye Zhou was also afraid that his cousin would be too shocked to continue playing the game. He comforted him, “Cousin, try to look at it positively. Nothing has really happened, it’s just a bunch of pixels. There are players who specifically play evil paths in this game, just to experience being pixelated. If you really can’t accept it… you can delete your account and start over, but don’t give up playing the game in a moment of impulse.”

Dugu Zhuo’s efforts to make thousands of taels of silver moved Ye Zhou, who couldn’t help but worry about the large sum of money. Seeing his cousin’s ability to make money, he suddenly felt that his cousin could abandon this “tainted” account, but he must join their sect. That’s the talent they lacked the most!

“Let me calm down for a moment,” Ye Jian sat at the table, picked up a jar of wine, and drank directly from it, “glug glug.”

In this game, drinking doesn’t really get you drunk; it just gives you a slight tipsy feeling, which is quite suitable for drowning sorrows.

After downing two jars of wine, Ye Jian heard Dugu Zhuo say, “Before Foundation Establishment, your appearance may seem particularly greasy. But after Foundation Establishment, your appearance will tend to be handsome, more and more resembling the dashing scholars of the Wei and Jin Dynasties described in ancient texts.”

Ye Jian asked, “Really?”

Chapter 50 Recruitment of Soldiers

Dugu Zhuo summoned the shop assistant to bring a mirror, and the assistant quickly brought a half-body mirror. Although the game was set in ancient times, since it was a cultivation game, it didn’t stick to the blurry settings of ancient bronze mirrors. The mirror brought by the shop assistant was refined by cultivators, and its material was unknown, but it reflected people very clearly.

Standing in front of the mirror, Ye Jian looked left and right and found that his posture had indeed become more graceful. It was feminine but not effeminate, and every movement exuded a kind of elegance, making him much more attractive than before.

After Ye Jian had looked enough, Dugu Zhuo ordered the assistant to take down the mirror and poured a glass of wine for Ye Jian. “Even if you practice yin-yang cultivation, there’s a difference between being elegant and being vulgar.”

“How do you explain that?” Ye Jian knew full well that he had entered the painting countless times to cultivate, and even if he deleted his account, he couldn’t erase the fact that he had done it—wait, he hadn’t done anything at all—so he might as well listen to Dugu Zhuo’s explanation.

Dugu Zhuo said, “When both parties are willing, and afterward they reciprocate with true energy, it’s elegant. But if you use your technique to deceive ordinary NPCs, causing the victims to lose their life essence and die within a few days, that’s vulgar.”

“Which category do I belong to?” Ye Jian asked.

“This painting should be a secret technique left behind by some evil cultivator, and the beautiful people in the painting don’t actually exist. Cultivating inside it is just a fleeting dream and doesn’t count as vulgar. But if you use this technique to deceive NPCs or players, then it’s vulgar,” Dugu Zhuo explained.

“I haven’t, I haven’t! I’ve always been honest and cultivated in the scroll, so that’s fine,” Ye Jian hastily denied.

Ye Zhou also said, “If it’s just treated as a dream, and waking up to find it all pixelated, it’s actually not that bad, right?”

Dugu Zhuo nodded slightly, and Ye Jian gradually accepted the deceptive nature of the game.

After Ye Jian’s emotions calmed down, Dugu Zhuo continued, “But your choice of sect will also be a big problem. You’ve already joined the evil path, so the orthodox human sect Xuantian Sect won’t accept you. If you join the human evil sect Blood Flame Alliance, they might accept you, but in the future, while cultivating in that sect, you may encounter more pixelation, and they’ll also force you to harm NPCs or players, tarnishing your reputation and increasing your sin value.”

“Does that mean I have to start over with a new account?” Ye Jian thought of his posture in the mirror and felt a bit reluctant.

“It’s not necessary,” Dugu Zhuo said, “Neither I nor Ye Zhou intend to join a sect. We are actually planning to establish our own sect. In your situation, you could also create your own technique and become an independent evil cultivator. Other evil cultivators commit numerous evil deeds and have countless sin values, but you, as a dashing gentleman, never do anything to be ashamed of.”

“Establishing a sect sounds interesting,” Ye Jian followed Dugu Zhuo’s lead, “But creating my own technique… I haven’t read cultivation novels, and I rarely watch TV dramas. How do I create one?”

“You can use your talent for making money to think of a suitable dual-cultivation technique,” Dugu Zhuo said. “Although the people in this painting are just illusions, once they’ve been cultivated for over level 40, they can no longer assist you in cultivation. If they can cultivate in return, they’ll gain enough true energy in the future, and they might even briefly step out of this painting to become your means of attack.”

“…”

He pulled his cousin over and whispered in Ye Zhou’s ear, “Little Zhou, don’t you think this guy’s brainwashing skills are quite strong? I can’t believe he convinced me!”

Ye Zhou looked at Ye Jian with a skeptical expression. “Are you feeling tempted because Dugu Zhuo said the beauties in the painting can come out? If I were a paper person enthusiast and saw the beautiful men and women in the painting come to life, I would definitely continue playing the game.”

“Of course not! Am I that kind of person?!” Ye Jian protested, “And lower your voice, he’ll hear you.”

“You haven’t opened a private chat, so even if you speak softly, he can still hear you,” Ye Zhou said in a low voice.

“…”

Since Dugu Zhuo had already heard them, Ye Jian could only straighten his clothes, stand up straight, and say, “I just think that starting over with a new account is not efficient and would waste resources. Since the loss has already occurred, it’s better to think about how to make up for it. So… what are the requirements for establishing a sect, and how can I create my own skills?”

Only a novice player like Ye Jian would ask such a question. Veteran players like Ye Zhou knew very well how difficult it was to create a new cultivation technique and didn’t harbor any hope of creating one themselves.

Perhaps this was what they called “ignorance is bliss.”

Dugu Zhuo said, “I have a set of yin-yang harmony dual-cultivation techniques here. I’ve inscribed them on a jade slip. Take it and study it. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask me… No, I wouldn’t know either. I can explain some of the difficulties in cultivation to you, but you’ll need to communicate with the people in the painting for specifics. As for establishing a sect, you don’t need to worry about anything else. With this ten million taels of silver, it’s giving me a headache.”

“Ten million… Although it’s a lot, it seems not impossible to earn considering the prices in Jiu Chuan City. This game has serious inflation, so making money isn’t difficult,” Ye Jian said.

“In that case, let’s make a deal. I believe that you, sir, are a gentleman and the elder brother admired by Ye Zhou. Naturally, you won’t go back on your word, right?” Dugu Zhuo asked.

Ye Jian extended his hand. “I know you’re trying to use Little Zhou to encourage me not to give up easily. But it’s okay. I’m very satisfied with the pie you’ve painted for me. You’re better at brainwashing people than our company’s HR manager. You’ve sparked my interest and challenge-seeking spirit, so I’m willing to cooperate with you.”

Imitating him, Dugu Zhuo shook hands and smiled. “Brother Jian’s ability to make money is something Dugu Zhuo admires. With you joining our sect, I believe it won’t be long before we succeed. Oh, I have some pills here. Brother Jian… let’s call you Brother Yuanhang, shall we? Brother Yuanhang, take a look at the usage of these pills and how to sell them for the most silver taels. It’s all up to you.”

After saying that, he threw all the pills to Ye Jian, not afraid that he would run away with them.