Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 60 - Ascending to Qingtian

Dugu Zhuo noticed Ye Zhou’s sleeve trembling slightly. In a past life, Dugu Zhuo might have thought it was the wind or Ye Zhou’s true qi causing it.

But now, knowing Ye Zhou well, Dugu Zhuo was sure Ye Zhou was using all his strength to suppress his laughter.

Ye Zhou knew they weren’t Xiaobao’s family. They also knew that Ye Zhou knew, but the play had to go on.

After all, Ye Zhou was now a special NPC, and the main storyline NPCs had very low discernment ability for players. Some members of their team had indeed completed the first phase of the main storyline and had interacted with Xiaobao, so pretending to be Xiaobao’s family wasn’t difficult.

Ye Zhou barely suppressed his laughter and said calmly, “Follow me, perhaps we’ll make it in time.”

He floated directly into a room in the inn. Xiaobao’s “family,” from the eldest uncle to the cousin, hurriedly followed. Upon entering the room, they found it empty, with a few spirit stones on the floor.

Dugu Zhuo sensed the spiritual energy in the room and said, “They teleported away.”

Ye Zhou also said, “They ran quite fast.”

Dugu Zhuo forced himself to regard Ye Zhou as an important NPC and asked, “Immortal, where did they go?”

Ye Zhou replied, “Naturally, they went back to the Qingtian Sword Sect.”

Ye Jian cooperated and said, “We must see Xiaobao. We want to visit the Qingtian Sword Sect.”

Ye Zhou said, “For mortals to go to the Qingtian Sword Sect, they need to find a sect introducer in Jiuchuan City.”

After speaking, he casually tossed a few spirit stones, activated his true energy, and disappeared in front of them.

The players’ task scrolls now included a mission to “find the sect introducer to inquire about the location and entry method for the Qingtian Sword Sect.” Above Dugu Zhuo and the others’ heads appeared titles: Xiaobao’s eldest uncle, Xiaobao’s second uncle, Xiaobao’s third uncle, Xiaobao’s little aunt, Xiaobao’s monk cousin, and Xiaobao’s cousin.

Everyone was speechless.

The system actually turned the relationships they made up into titles and displayed them above their heads!

“What is this?” Dugu Zhuo asked, as he hadn’t seen this before in the game.

Aotian explained, “It’s a title. In the old keyboard MMORPG days, you’d get titles for completing special tasks or killing certain rare monsters. A player could have many titles and could choose to display or hide them, but during special tasks, the title couldn’t be changed. It looks like I’m stuck being Xiaobao’s third uncle until the main quest is done.”

Black Cat added, “I tried turning back into my original form, but I couldn’t. I guess Xiaobao’s cousin can’t be a cat.”

Qingyue said, “The countdown for the Face Changing Pill has stopped. I can’t give up its effects. It seems we have to stay in disguise until the task is completed.”

Lingzhi Doll immediately regretted, “Why didn’t I turn into a tall, long-legged adult? At least I could grow taller for a few days!”

He was now a four- or five-year-old girl with two pigtails and a red cotton jacket, not much better than before.

While everyone was discussing titles and appearances, Ye Jian asked, “What about the main quest? Where’s Xiaozhou? Where did he go?”

It was already 9 PM. Ye Zhou should have logged off. He couldn’t stay up all night for the main quest, right?

Dugu Zhuo checked the online status and said to Ye Jian, “He logged off. Do you want to contact him?”

Dugu Zhuo was also worried about Ye Zhou, so he urged Ye Jian to check on Ye Zhou in real life.

“Alright, I’ll log off and check on him. I’ll also ask if he has any clues about the main quest. Wait for me.” Ye Jian logged off after speaking.

About 20 minutes later, Ye Jian logged back in and said in a relaxed tone, “Xiaozhou is fine. He said the storyline timeline won’t move until we get to the Qingtian Sword Sect.”

“This game is quite considerate. Does Pianzhou know what Lian Haokong is doing with the Stealth Scale?” Aotian asked.

Ye Jian replied, “He doesn’t know either. He only said what the system prompted him to say during the auction. It seems we have to figure out the plot step by step.”

“What’s his status in the game now?” Dugu Zhuo asked.

“He’s at a place called Xing-something Peak. He can move freely in that map, but he can’t return to being a player until the storyline ends,” Ye Jian said. “He said the peak is deserted, high, and cold. He urged us to hurry to the Qingtian Sword Sect.”

Ye Jian added, “By the way, our private chat function should be restored since he logged off. Check if everything is working.”

Everyone checked their chat interfaces and confirmed that private chat was fully restored.

Dugu Zhuo said, “Ye Zhou will be online at 9 AM tomorrow. Let’s complete the task tonight and head to the Qingtian Sword Sect tomorrow.”

Aotian said, “OK, I’m off tomorrow. I can stay up late tonight.”

Qingyue said, “My dark circles… but I don’t want to wander around the game with this generic face. Let’s get this task done quickly.”

**Black Cat:** “Not being able to turn into a cat makes me anxious. I also agree to finish this tonight.”

**Lingzhi Doll:** “Tomorrow is the weekend, I’m off too.”

**Ye Jian:** “I have an international meeting at noon tomorrow…”

Everyone turned to look at Ye Jian, who quickly said, “But to help my cousin get out of this state as soon as possible, I can stay up all night occasionally.”

Only then did the teammates nod in satisfaction.

Ye Jian wiped his sweat. Faced with the stares of his teammates just now, he suddenly felt a strong sense of honor and shame. It was as if he would let down his teammates if they didn’t complete the task tonight. The last time he felt this way was in elementary school when his team represented their local school in an out-of-province knowledge competition. Games really can bring you back to those youthful, passionate times.

To execute the task more efficiently and quickly, Ye Jian handed the captain position to Dugu Zhuo. Dugu Zhuo was recognized as the strongest and smartest in the team, so having him make key decisions was the most efficient.

Dugu Zhuo led the team, using lightness skills to swiftly reach the sect introducer.

Unlike Penglai Town, Jiuchuan City didn’t have a curfew. It was a large city that could accommodate multiple races, and all NPCs worked 24/7, very dedicated.

Dugu Zhuo and the others arrived at a tavern near the city gate of Jiuchuan City, where the sect introducer was located.

Generally, when players sought the sect introducer, it was either to join a sect or to be taken to a sect’s teleportation point. The sect introducer wouldn’t say anything extra to players.

But facing Xiaobao’s family squad with titles above their heads, the sect introducer’s attitude changed. He stroked his long beard and impatiently said to Dugu Zhuo and the others, “Where did these poor-looking folks come from, bringing the whole family? Get them out of here!”

Immediately, a bunch of burly cooks with kitchen knives, rolling pins, iron pots, and other tools ran out of the kitchen, rushing toward Xiaobao’s family team.

“Are we supposed to fight them?” Qingyue asked.

Dugu Zhuo shook his head, “They are NPCs who haven’t even reached the Qi Refining stage. We shouldn’t fight them.”

“How about giving them some money?” Ye Jian suggested. “You see, he mentioned the word ‘poor,’ clearly disdaining our poverty.”

Dugu Zhuo nodded in agreement. Ye Jian immediately took out a pile of silver pieces from his storage belt and threw them at the burly men. Seeing the silver, the NPCs decisively dropped their tools and started picking up the silver pieces.

The sect introducer’s eyes lit up too, but he still said, “This isn’t something money can solve.”

Dugu Zhuo asked, “You know what we want to ask?”

The sect introducer replied, “Looking at you, I can tell. Earlier today, Immortal Lian came looking for me, asking me to find a quiet inn to settle a child. I see you resemble that child; you must be his family.”

Dugu Zhuo said, “Exactly, we are worried about Xiaobao and want to visit the Qingtian Sword Sect to check on him. Could you please make an exception for us?”

Ye Jian timely took out some spirit stones and a thousand-tael silver note, handing them to the sect introducer. Not knowing which currency he preferred, Ye Jian gave him both.

The sect introducer accepted the spirit stones and silver, his expression softened considerably. He said in a low voice, “It’s not that I don’t want to help, but the Qingtian Sword Sect is the largest sect in the cultivation world, with strict rules. Other sects widely recruit disciples, and I have teleportation points for various sects here, but there’s no teleportation point for the Qingtian Sword Sect. I can’t send you in.”

Dugu Zhuo said, “But Immortal Lian still contacts you, which means you have some connection with the Qingtian Sword Sect.”

“Ah, it’s just miscellaneous errands. The Qingtian Sword Sect still has some low-level disciples who haven’t started fasting and need to eat grains and wear cotton clothes to keep warm. Disciples from the Qingtian Sword Sect’s Deacon Hall regularly ask me to purchase some necessities, but I don’t deliver them. They are handed over to their disciples,” the sect introducer explained.

Dugu Zhuo said, “How about we go purchase the necessities this time? We only need you to introduce us.”

**Sect Introducer:** “This… it’s not impossible. Coincidentally, something big is about to happen at the Qingtian Sword Sect, and they’ve instructed me to purchase some things. Here’s the list. Buy everything on it and store it in this storage bracelet. Once you’ve got everything, come find me.”

After receiving the list, Aotian wearily said, “Of course the main storyline involves a fetch quest. Let’s see what we need to buy. A pair of dragon and phoenix candles one meter high, embroidered mandarin duck patterns from an embroidery shop, red gauze curtains made of ice silk from the fabric store… Is someone getting married? Does the cultivation world need this many things for a wedding too?”

**Getting married?** Dugu Zhuo looked at the items on the list, deeply puzzled.

If they needed wedding items now, it would coincide with when he joined the Qingtian Sword Sect and a fellow disciple might have gotten married. But in his memory, no one held a wedding ceremony when he first arrived at the Qingtian Sword Sect.

**Ye Jian:** “It’s really not easy to get married. This list is making my head spin. Why don’t we split up to buy these things?”

Lingzhi Doll hesitantly glanced at Ye Jian before bursting his bubble, “These things can’t just be bought. They need to be fought for.

“Take the dragon and phoenix candles, for example. They require wax from the Red Rock Mountain, located in the eastern suburbs of Jiuchuan City, where all the rocks are red monsters. It’s a leveling area for levels 25-35. You have to defeat 100 rock monsters to get a piece of wax, and it takes at least 20 pieces to make these one-meter-high candles, which means 2,000 rock monsters.”

**Black Cat:** “The fabric for the embroidered mandarin duck patterns is made from the feathers of the Zhu Yu bird. These birds live in the southern forests of Jiuchuan City. You get one feather per bird, and this set requires four pieces—bedspread, quilt cover, pillowcase… How many feathers do you think we’ll need?”

**Aotian:** “The red gauze curtains made of gold silkworm silk… The gold silkworms don’t need to be fought, but they’re all kept by Zhenian Zhenren in the northern suburbs of Jiuchuan City. To get the gold silkworm silk, you have to help him fight tree demons. Gathering enough silk for a whole curtain… It’s too difficult.”

**Qingyue:** “There are six of us, and even if we fought until we bled, it would take at least a week to gather everything on this list.”

Ye Jian didn’t despair like the others. After a moment of thought, he said, “Six people need a week, but forty-two people need only a day. Eighty-four people would take only half a day.”

He immediately broadcast a message:

**Sailing and Far Voyage:** “Buying 20 pieces of wax, 300 spirit stones per piece, hurry before I stop buying!”

Everyone: “…”

Very efficient.

Dugu Zhuo also opened his contacts and sent messages to Yi Meng Xiaoyao and Jueshi Shenjiang: “Buying Zhu Yu bird feathers and gold silkworm silk. Will trade Mingguang talismans and Wakeful talismans.”

**Yi Meng Xiaoyao:** “Five feathers for one Wakeful talisman, no bargaining!”

**Jueshi Shenjiang:** “I don’t want Mingguang talismans anymore. Two gold silkworm silks for one Foundation Establishment pill.”

**Dugu Zhuo:** “Deal.”

Having spent time with Ye Jian, Dugu Zhuo was starting to adopt Ye Jian’s methods.

They left the bulkier items, which needed time to be collected, to other players who they would pay for. The smaller quantities with higher requirements, like a pair of jade toads and a pair of live geese, they would handle themselves.

The team was very efficient and gathered all the materials before 1 AM.

They took the materials to the sect introducer, who checked everything and said, “You guys are impressive, gathering everything so quickly. The Qingtian Sword Sect will be very pleased and might even reward us. I’ll take you to see the immortals now.”

The sect introducer led Xiaobao’s family squad to a large mansion in Jiuchuan City, a private property of the Qingtian Sword Sect. They had several such residences in every city for disciples to rest while handling tasks.

After knocking on the door, a man arrogantly asked the sect introducer, “Here so soon? Have you found everything we need?”

The sect introducer replied, “It’s all here for your inspection, Immortal.”

He motioned for Dugu Zhuo, who held the storage bracelet, to step forward. But Dugu Zhuo stared at the man’s face in shock.

He recognized this person, Liang Qiushan, his father Dugu Yue’s senior disciple. Because of his admiration for Dugu Yue, Liang Qiushan even changed his name to resemble being Dugu Yue’s son.

Liang Qiushan managed all affairs under Dugu Yue. If Liang Qiushan was handling this wedding, it meant the person getting married was Dugu Yue?