Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 38: Are you dead now?

As is widely known, the game world of "Ten Continents Chronicles" is touted as a completely AI-driven, self-actualized world.

In other words, unless it's a mindless being like an undead, other intelligent beings, even bosses, can think.

Of course, whether the demons can be considered living beings is still up for debate, but they certainly possess intelligence.

For example, in the current situation: after three players were sacrificed, a large group of player dogs were crouching not far away, locked in a stalemate with the BOSS.

No matter how the players try to lure them, even if they go dancing by the pool where the BOSS lives, the BOSS is determined not to come out—after all, even the dumbest person… well, or a demon, will learn their lesson after being hurt by the same methods three times.

However, what the players don't know is that the reason why the Demon refuses to come out is because it has realized that it has been eating people in vain!

Although the physical bodies containing the players' consciousness are puppets created by Fang Xianyu, these puppets, created using system energy, are not ordinary products of weapon crafting; they are real human bodies, only lacking a soul. Furthermore, whether it's the energy infusion and meridian cleansing (players leveling up and upgrading skills) or the spiritual power they contain (the "blue bars" that Fang Xianyu creates for players using fake pills), it means that even without a soul, such things are a "great tonic" for the Demon King.

But—that is, assuming it actually eats and digests it.

The problem lies in the fact that it did not digest—that is, Fang Xianyu's resurrection of the players.

The so-called resurrection is certainly not about creating a new puppet and modifying it to the state it was in when the player died—that would take too much effort. In reality, "resurrection" is simply Fang Xianyu performing a "time-space rewind" on the physical body of a deceased player. This "rewind" can only rewind the state of the physical body itself, without changing the state of its interaction with other things.

Simply put, every time the Demon swallows a player, you feel something go into your stomach, but after a short while, that thing "disappears".

I ate nothing!
Especially for demons like Xi Mo, who rely on devouring to "cultivate," "grow," and even heal themselves, not only did they get nothing in three consecutive attempts but they also suffered three strange "beatings." Anyone would learn a lesson from this.
In short, compared to the Yin Corpse, the Xi Demon, who is quite intelligent, refused to emerge from the Cold Pool even after suffering three losses, even though the creatures bouncing on its head were a bunch of tiny insects that hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Brother Dog, what do we do now?"

Seeing that a player who volunteered had stripped down to his underwear by the cold pool and performed a series of dances, including a driving test, a horse-riding dance, and an impromptu seductive dance, but still failed to lure out the BOSS, the Jade Emperor finally couldn't help but suggest: "If all else fails, let's use our ultimate move?"

Other players chimed in, "Yeah, Dog Bro, my Thunder Rune is itching to be used!"

Wang Ergou was getting impatient, so he nodded and skillfully began to give instructions in the group microphone: "Alright, let's go with Plan B. Team one, strip naked, bring your lightning talismans and come forward. I'll count you down and you'll all use them in the water! Team two, get ready, wait for my call before you go! Come on! All of you, get in position!"

Upon hearing the commands in the group microphone, the players began to run around doing their respective tasks. Five players took the lead in taking off their clothes, holding thunder talismans in their hands, and ran to the side of the cold pool, nervously preparing.

Wang Ergou shouted passionately in the group microphone: "Come on! Get ready to count down! Three! Two! One! Release the Thunder Talisman!"

"boom--"

Several near-simultaneous loud bangs were followed by five bolts of blue-purple lightning striking the water's surface. The water splashed everywhere, with some jets rising more than ten meters high. The entire dark surface of the water was ablaze with blue-purple electric light, causing the players to gasp in astonishment.

Then, huge plumes of black mist burst forth from the water's surface, churning the entire pool as if stirred by a giant stick. A terrifying whirlpool formed in the very center, and some players nearby were even uncontrollably swept into it. Even Wang Ergou was stunned for a moment by the scene, but he was the first to react, shouting in the group chat, "What are you all standing there for! Run! The BOSS's health bar is empty! We beat it!"

Everyone then seemed to wake up from a dream and ran outside as fast as they could.

The red-named players' health bars on the map were empty. This "battle" was completely unexpected by all the players—if it could even be called a battle.

Players were discussing in the team chat: "They died already?"

"That's it? That's it?"

It's like everyone has made thorough preparations, intending to grind down a boss through multiple wipes, only for a bizarre and inexplicable move to instantly become MVP and end the game on the spot, leaving everyone with a surreal feeling.

But Fang Xianyu, who had concealed his presence, became even more serious.

Because the vortex created by the lightning talisman is swallowing the water of the icy pool, and the passage leading to the Nine Netherworld hidden beneath the icy pool is also opening. This means that all kinds of inferior demons in the Nine Netherworld can invade here through this passage!
The reason it is called a lower-level demon is because this passage is relatively fragile and can only accommodate the passage of a lower-level demon. If it were a true demon, the passage would be destroyed in an instant because it could not withstand the impact of the demonic energy.

Even so, it's still a headache—although Foundation Establishment cultivators can easily kill lower-level demons, these things appear in hordes, and they don't care about martial ethics or attack one by one.

The lower-level demons in the Nine Netherworlds are like rice on the grasslands, everywhere in the Nine Netherworlds. As long as there is a passage, they are like cats smelling fish or moths fluttering at the sight of fire, instinctively squeezing out through the passage! And yet, a group of these things can be a devastating blow to villages and towns inhabited by mortals!

How to do?
Fang Xianyu's mind raced as he analyzed possible solutions.

If she had been at her previous level of cultivation as a Taiyin Golden Immortal, she could have easily solved the problem by sealing or destroying the passage.

However, she is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and even though she is much stronger than the average Foundation Establishment cultivator, she is still quite helpless when faced with this passage connecting to the Nine Netherworlds.

Or perhaps we could use the scales of the Star Lord of Horned Wood? A dignified Star Lord surely has a way to solve this problem!

But Fang Xianyu was a little reluctant to part with it. This scale, which housed a wisp of the divine consciousness of the Star Lord of Horned Wood, was a rare and precious treasure!
Or... we could just set up daily tasks and let players actively fight monsters and level up?
At the same time, the merit power gained from killing inferior demons can also replenish the system energy that has been declining for so long, so it can be considered a win-win situation.

But leaving this passage unattended is not a good idea either, as it's easy for a few Nine Nether Demons to escape. If even one or two manage to get away, things could get really serious.

However, this problem is not entirely unsolvable. If her cultivation level is high enough, she can create a small world and get stuck here, making it a special instance.

However, her cultivation level is currently limited, so for the time being she can only set up an illusion to trap the demons that come out of the passage in the illusion. This way, players can also enter the illusion to kill the demons, which can temporarily disguise the function of the dungeon.

Moreover, compared to creating a small world, while illusions are somewhat vulnerable to breach, multiple illusions can exist simultaneously. In other words, many players can enter different illusion "cooldowns" at the same time, which can be considered a perfect disguise for game instances.

Dear readers, please don't try to "grow" this book without reading it; it'll die! Waaaaa!
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(End of this chapter)