The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 458 Martial Luck
While the players were observing Wu Chang and his two companions, An Rong was also observing the group of players.

The players' ability systems are diverse. Apart from Cold Mountain, Sword Star, and God Tongue, whose source power is not concealed and can be seen as grandmaster-level, the other players are not noteworthy in An Rong's eyes.

He asked in a low voice:
"Sect Leader Tang, are these Celestials reliable?"

Wu Chang replied in his true form:

"According to Alliance Leader Lü, the three immortal mansions of Tianji, Tianquan, and Yaoguang were destroyed by the three leaders among them, who were extremely powerful."

"As for the Celestials behind them, I heard from the cultivators in the alliance that they all just entered Zhenyue City today, and their specific strength is unknown. But since they were chosen by those three, their abilities must be quite good."

An Rong's expression softened upon hearing this. Being able to complete the five tests of the Immortal Abode meant that even if their compatibility was perfect, their raw strength would still be among the strongest of the Grandmasters.

With these three people, that's enough. Even if the other Celestials are just top-tier experts, it's fine for them to be responsible for transporting supplies and doing odd jobs.

This exploration of the Demon Realm was led by Wu Chang himself, with An Rong only assisting from the side. As the leader, Wu Chang approached the players and said:

"You celestial beings have come from the immortal mountains overseas to help us subdue demons and protect the righteous path. On behalf of the Human Alliance, I, Tang, thank you all for your noble deeds."

"The root of the demon race's calamity lies in the demon realm. To subdue the demons, we must first destroy the demon realm. To destroy the demon realm, we must first explore the true nature of the demon realm."

As Wu Chang spoke, he led everyone to the sand table inside the main hall.

The sand table is a map of Tianlan Province, with miniature models representing all the important cities and regions within the province.

The most striking features are undoubtedly the three giant cities of Tianlan Province, and the seven immortal mansions where the Seven Star Array Eyes are located.

Wu Chang introduced the sand table to the players. Centered on Zhenyue City, one-third of the area in the sand table was blue, and the seven star array eyes were all located within the blue area.

He pointed to the blue area and said:
"The blue area represents the area currently controlled by the Human Alliance. There is no demonic energy in this area. Demon Guard-level demons, which are equivalent to top-tier human cultivators, can only exert less than 70% of their strength in this area."

"Besides the direct impact on combat strength, the demon race is extremely averse to spiritual energy. As long as you don't provoke the demon king or a powerful demon general, you can be safe if you escape back to this area when being chased by demons."

He pointed to the other side of the sand table, where nearly half of the sand table, centered on Liuyun City, was dyed red.

"This red area is the demon realm we are about to enter. The red area only occupies half of the area on the sand table. In reality, the demon realm occupies a larger area than shown on the sand table."

"Looking across the entire Tianlan Province, demons are flourishing while humans are declining, and demonic energy will inevitably spread to the surrounding areas."

As he spoke, he moved his finger, pointing to the gray transition area between blue and red.

The area was unfamiliar to the newcomers, such as Ma Jia, but it looked very familiar to Leng Shan and Jian Xing. It was the area where the demonic energy needed to be expelled during the Demon-Slaying Army's trial.

Wu Chang said:

"This area is the line that our Demon-Slaying Army must hold before the Ziwei Exorcism Array begins."

"If the red demonic energy completely encroaches on this area and begins to erode the existing Human Alliance territory, the fortune of humanity will further decline, which may cause the Ziwei Exorcising Array to fail to activate."

"If we cannot break through the demon realm with the Ziwei Exorcism Array, we cannot truly defeat the demon race."

The rules of the instance plane are that humans and demons cannot coexist. This rule not only represents the mutual repulsion between demonic energy and spiritual energy, but also the struggle between the fortunes of humanity and the fortunes of demons.

The function of the Ziwei Exorcising Array is to break through the demon realm and dissipate the demonic fortune.

If the demon realm is not broken, the demon race will continue to regenerate endlessly under the nourishment of demonic energy.

Just like the scene Wu Chang saw in Kaiyang Immortal Fate, in ancient times, before the master of the Seven Star Immortal Mansion suppressed the demon race, demigod-level demons could appear in batches. Even though the master of Kaiyang Immortal Mansion killed them in batches, they were still endless.

After Wu Chang finished introducing the current situation in Tianlan Province to everyone, he swiped his finger down along the gray area and stopped at the third megacity in Tianlan Province—Shuanghu City.

Shuanghu City is named after the two large lakes located on its east and west sides.

Shuanghu City is located at the boundary between spiritual energy and demonic energy. The city is protected by cultivators from the Human Alliance and has not yet been corrupted by demonic energy, but Dongshan Lake on the demonic side has been completely corrupted by demonic energy.

"As one of the three great cities, Shuanghu City is equipped with the highest-level defensive formations, which can be used for both offense and defense, making it the most suitable gateway to and from the Demon Realm."

"When we enter the Demon Realm this time, we will start from Shuanghu City, cross Dongshan Lake to enter the Demon Realm, and then go to the territory of the Wind Demon King to conduct a probe."

Wu Chang paused for a moment and said:
"The Demon Realm is fraught with danger. Even a Grandmaster could perish there if he is not careful. You Celestials have come to my Great Xuan out of a sense of righteousness. I, Tang, have no right to make any decisions for you."

"If you have other plans, you may leave now. If you are willing to go to the Demon Realm with me, please write your names on the register."

"If we die in the demon realm, we can leave a few words in the world and have our names recorded on a monument, so that we can have more incense offerings in the afterlife during festivals."

As they were speaking, a notification popped up in front of everyone's eyes.

"Hidden side quest: Follow the Earth Immortal of the Human Alliance to explore the Demon Realm and test the Wind Demon King's true strength."

"Once a mission is accepted, abandoning or deserting it midway will be considered desertion, your current Humanitarian Alliance contribution will be reset to zero, and your rank in the Demon-Slaying Army will be reduced by at least one level. In serious cases, you may be expelled from the Demon-Slaying Army or even be wanted by the Humanitarian Alliance."

"Accept the mission?"

Although it was Wu Chang himself who issued the mission, the exploration of the demon realm was arranged by Lü Changgeng, and the mission reward was settled by the Human Alliance. Therefore, even though it was Wu Chang who was speaking at this moment, the hidden mission was still triggered.

Upon seeing the mission notification, everyone's faces lit up with joy. Just as they were about to accept the mission, Wu Chang suddenly changed the subject.

"However, let me make this clear from the start: if you join the Demon Realm Exploration Team, you will be under my command."

"During the exploration of the demon realm, I have only one requirement: orders must be obeyed without question. The task of exorcising demons cannot tolerate the slightest slackness or carelessness. If anyone disobeys orders and brings disaster upon themselves, do not blame me for showing no mercy."

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

Wu Chang's true form obtained the Kaiyang Immortal Fate, possessing the power of martial fortune within his body. With a single glance, he caused everyone, including Leng Shan and Jian Xing, to shudder, their bodies instinctively stiffening as if they were elementary school students encountering the gaze of the headmaster.

Wu Chang withdrew his gaze and slowly said:
"You have half an incense stick's time to prepare. We will depart after half an incense stick's time."

Without the pressure of being stared at, everyone felt a sense of relief. They exchanged glances, and the same thought flashed through their minds.

That's what a world instance is all about; even a high-ranking member of a random plane's natives possesses such oppressive power.

If the native inhabitants of the human plane are like this, one can only imagine how strong the demon race must be.

However, as top-tier players, no one can resist hidden side quests, especially since this time they're not the only ones involved; Peace is also with them.

The group immediately accepted the hidden side quest and then registered with the monks in the main hall.

After registering their names, everyone walked out of the hall. Jianxing whispered to Wu Chang, "That Sect Leader Tang who just spoke, are you confident you can beat him?"

After a moment's thought, Wu Chang said, "It's hard to say. Judging from our aura, our strengths are about the same."

Jianxing's expression instantly turned serious; he could sense that Heping was telling the truth.

If even peace is not guaranteed, then unless absolutely necessary, never provoke that Sect Leader Tang.

Leng Shan asked, "I noticed that Sect Leader Tang's style of doing things is serious, not like a casual person. Yet he didn't even conduct a basic assessment before getting so many of us to join the exploration team. How did you manage that?"

Compared to Master Tang's strength, Leng Shan was more concerned about what methods Wu Chang used to establish a connection with Master Tang.

In the Steampunk dungeon, while other players were still struggling to integrate into the dungeon and desperately vying for invitations to the Extraordinary Gathering, Peace had already easily become the vice-commander of the Arcane Knights.

The same goes for the current world instance; they haven't truly integrated into the Demon-Slaying Army yet, but Peace can so openly and legitimately stuff people into the exploration team.

Could this guy possess some special ability that allows him to make deals with higher-ups in other planes?
Wu Chang didn't hold back and directly revealed his relationship with Emperor Zhaoning, stating that Emperor Zhaoning wanted to obtain information about the Humanity Alliance through him, so he helped him establish the relationship.

Upon hearing about the side quests related to factions, everyone immediately perked up, and Leng Shan inquired:

"Should we also choose to join the Great Xuan Royal Family's camp, just like you?"

Wu Chang said, "You can join, but when you encounter side quests that require a price to complete, I suggest you observe for a while first."

"After all, we are players. We should be fought over by various forces, not actually work for them. As long as we control our spending, we won't suffer much loss if we switch to another faction when we encounter a better one."

After hearing this, everyone silently made a mental note of it.

The fact that He Ping said such things shows that he doesn't think highly of the Great Xuan royal family and is prepared to become a traitor.

They wanted to join the Great Xuan royal family only for Peace's sake. If they were to become deeply entangled with the Great Xuan royal family, and Peace turned against them, things would get really messy. After explaining the whole story to the players, just as the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed, the demon realm exploration team prepared to set off.

This exploration of the Demon Realm is very time-sensitive. After returning from the exploration, he still needs to make sure that the cattle and horses around him complete the Twelve Earthly Branches Immortal Fate quests before the Ziwei Exorcising Array is activated.

Therefore, he did not bring any burdens. Apart from the players, the Demon Realm Exploration Team consisted of only the main body, Eileen, and An Rong.

Even if everyone were given a flying mount, it would still take a whole day to reach Twin Lakes City by normal means.

Due to the urgency of the situation, Lü Changgeng utilized the resources of the Humanitarian Alliance to activate the teleportation array for them.

The world instance plane was once located in the Realm of Reason. It was capable of building celestial mansions, something even Wu Chang couldn't do. It had thoroughly researched the technology of manipulating space through formations.

Even a few left over would be enough to complete a large teleportation array.

However, due to limited resources, since the revival of spiritual energy, teleportation arrays have only been built between major cities in the various states of Da Xuan.

Before they knew it, they had arrived in Twin Lakes City.

Before this exploration of the Demon Realm, the Human Alliance had already notified Shuanghu City. The cultivators in Shuanghu City were exceptionally enthusiastic when they saw Wu Chang and his group, insisting on extending hospitality by letting them rest for a while in the city during lunch.

Wu Chang did not stay, citing being in a hurry.

The city's guardian cultivators dared not forcefully persuade them, and escorted them all the way to a large ship docked at the edge of the demon realm before leaving.

The ships prepared by Shuanghu City have been modified so that they can be started simply by injecting energy. Wu Chang started the ship and slowly sailed into the Dongshan Lake area.

Unlike the gray area where Dongshan Lake and the Demon-Slaying Army's trial took place, this is the true demon realm, where the demonic energy is much denser and cannot be easily dispelled by human fortune.

As soon as they entered, everyone sensed something was wrong, including Leng Shan and Jian Xing, who had conquered the immortal abode, and were greatly affected by the demonic energy.

Ma Jia's face turned pale. He clutched his chest, trying to calm his rapidly trembling body, and said:
“No, the demonic energy here is more troublesome than the steam in Stellan. Not only is my source power suppressed, but the demonic energy is also eroding my flesh and blood and consuming my energy.”

The clay figure, with its keen sense of energy, echoed:
"Not only that, the energy consumption of all my skills below B rank has more than doubled, and the skill effects have also been weakened in many ways."

Sword Star made a sword incantation with his hands, and the flying sword soared into the air, but it became somewhat weak after flying a short distance and was recalled to his side.

"The demonic energy here is too strong. Even with the blessing of the immortal abode, it can only ensure that the source power is not affected. Energy consumption and skill limitations still exist."

Looking at the crowd who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, Wu Chang was momentarily puzzled. Was it really necessary to be so tense? He felt that apart from the air becoming a little stuffy, there was no other difference.

Oh, his immortal abode has double the blessings, and with the "Violator" effect, he's 100% immune to demonic influences. Then it's alright.

Although An Rong didn't understand the terms "skills" and "source power" the players were using, he roughly understood what they meant and took the initiative to defend the Celestials:

"Sect Leader Tang, it's no wonder the Celestials are in a panic. The demonic energy in the Demon Realm is much stronger than when we explored it before. Even with my affinity for immortality, I am finding it difficult to resist the influence of the demonic energy."

"Does the immortal destiny of Kaiyang Immortal Mansion contain a method to resist demonic energy? If not, I can use the immortal techniques I have comprehended."

Wu Chang did not reply, but closed his eyes and let the boat continue to move.

The closer they got to the center of the lake, the denser the demonic aura became. A subtle hostility began to lock onto them, and demonic creatures started to lurk around them, making a battle seem imminent.

An Rong wasn't as composed as Wu Chang. Just as he was about to ask Wu Chang again, he saw Wu Chang suddenly open his eyes.

Then he saw Wu Chang draw a long sword from his waist and throw it into the water.

The longsword, thrown with tremendous force, emitted a piercing shriek that tore through the air and a thunderous boom. The moment it plunged into the water, it exploded into a huge spray, and the resulting waves caused the boat carrying everyone to rock violently. Fortunately, the boat was stable enough that it was not capsized by the waves.

As the spray subsided and the waves calmed, everyone saw seven or eight water monsters rising from the surface.

Among them were humanoid, fish-shaped, and ghost-like creatures, each no less than three meters in size, and none of them looked like harmless beings.

Their only commonality is that they are all lying belly up, lifeless.

An Rong stared blankly at Wu Chang and asked:

"Sect Leader Tang, could this be the Tang Clan's method of using hidden weapons?"

Wu Chang nodded slightly, reached out and retrieved the flying sword from the water, and said:
"This is precisely the Tang Clan's flying sword technique. The Tang Clan's flying sword never misses its target."

After obtaining the Kaiyang Immortal Fate, Wu Chang's understanding of the use of cold weapons has reached a new level. Now he not only fights with cold weapons, but also has mastered the art of throwing weapons.

To maintain his image as a master of hidden weapons in the Tang Clan, he bought a batch of longswords from Jinlin Pavilion before setting off. The quality didn't need to be too good; they just needed to be heavy and sharp enough.

Even without the Sea Giant transformation bonus, his true form has 300 points of strength. With that strength, wouldn't a flying sword be more lethal than a hidden weapon?

If it weren't for the inconvenience of revealing his personal space, and the fact that large hidden weapons are inconvenient to carry, he would have liked to bring the stone lions at the entrance of Lidi Temple with him.

That one is heavy and powerful.

An Rong looked at the longsword that Wu Chang had returned. The longsword had just been plunged into the bottom of the lake, and the blade, made of black iron, had broken into several pieces, making it obviously unusable.

He hissed, "Is this the Tang Clan's hidden weapon technique?"

He always thought that Chi Yuan was a genius who was able to comprehend the cultivation method at the very beginning of the spiritual energy revival. His defeat to Sect Leader Tang was just bad luck.

In retrospect, Uncle Yuan's loss was not unjust.

Not only was An Rong shocked, but even Jian Xing and the others were stunned by Tang Zhangmen's move.

Although it differed from their understanding of hidden weapons, Master Tang's technique, strength, and power were all impeccable.

No wonder He Ping had such a high opinion of Master Tang. Even a swordsman with the power of the sword's origin could not have launched that sword so easily.

Wu Changlu did this not simply to establish his authority, but more importantly, to activate his martial luck state.

Status Name: Military Games

"Status effect: When you use martial arts attacks, the damage dealt to demonic and evil targets is increased by 50%. Killing a demon can provide a group-wide martial luck effect to nearby cultivators, increase the damage dealt to demonic and evil targets by 20%, and reduce the impact of demonic energy by 30%."

An invisible force spread out, and everyone immediately felt lighter, as the effects of the demonic energy were greatly reduced.

The combined effects of martial prowess and good fortune are even more pronounced on An Rong, Leng Shan, and Jian Xing, who already possess some resistance to demonic energy.

An Rong, in particular, under the blessing of martial fortune, also became like Wu Chang, completely resistant to demonic energy.

Feeling the effects of martial energy emanating from his body, Ma Jia was envious. According to An Rong, this ability was obtained from the Kaiyang Immortal Mansion.

If he could have entered the world instance earlier, he could have had this ability too. Thinking of this, he looked at Leng Shan and Jian Xing with a wistful expression.

But to his surprise, Leng Shan and Jian Xing seemed even more unwilling than he was.

The two did indeed conquer the Immortal Abode and gained a great deal from it, but why didn't they obtain any group buff skills?

Although they were unsure of the specific effects of the immortal technique used by Sect Leader Tang, the suppression of demonic energy stemmed from the dimensional rules that humans and demons could not coexist. If it could withstand the rules, it must be a rule-based skill, at the very least a power of origin.

What do you mean? Is this discriminatory treatment? The rewards for the native inhabitants of the dungeon to conquer the Immortal Abode are different from those for other players.
They came to Wu Changzhenwo's side, wanting to drag him into complaining, but Jianxing said:

"Peace, in the Tianquan Immortal Mansion you conquered, did it have the immortal opportunity that the Earth Immortal mentioned earlier, or the kind of area-of-effect immortal technique that Sect Leader Tang used just now?"

Zhenwo nodded and said, "Yes."

Jianxing nodded in agreement, saying, "Look, none of us have..."

"Wait, what did you just say?"

I asked, puzzled, "I said the Tianquan Immortal Mansion that I conquered also had immortal opportunities and immortal techniques. Didn't the immortal mansions that you two conquered have them?"

Lengshan, Jianxing: ...

The two fell silent instantly, quietly leaving the side of the true self and coming to Ma Jia's side, where they both stared at Wu Chang's true form and true self with lemon-like eyes.

(End of this chapter)