What the remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao needed and what Lu Ze sought were the same thing—
to make players die continuously and rapidly.
The remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao didn’t believe Lu Ze could achieve this.
It had already deciphered every illusion realm Lu Ze had created.
The earliest ones, like "Escape from the Demon Sect" or "Plants vs. Zombies"?
Even now, disciples still played them with unending enthusiasm.
But as everyone’s skills improved, the time it took to die once…
Became far too long!
"Be a Cultivator and Descend 100 Floors," "Four Players, One Journey," "Climb for Survival"?
These three torment-style illusion realms were all about dying relentlessly at first, but once players either cleared them or quit, they rarely returned.
Not sustainable!
"Immortal Realm Domination" had lasting appeal, sure.
But a single match took nearly half an hour, and only one death occurred per round…
Too slow!
……
The remnant spirit of the Heavenly Dao reached a conclusion:
As cultivators kept dying in these illusion realms, either their enjoyment would wane, making them unwilling to continue,
or their skills would sharpen, drastically slowing their death rate.
No matter how you looked at it, there was no way to create an illusion realm where cultivators would keep dying endlessly while still having fun.
This was why the remnant spirit had always been skeptical of Lu Ze.
As for this problem, Lu Ze had long devised a solution—
Competitive online games!
Dying too slowly?
A single match on "Transport Ship" could rack up two hundred kills in ten minutes.
Getting bored after one playthrough?
Every match was a unique experience.
Too skilled to die easily?
There would always be players stronger than you.
Not to mention mechanisms like ELO or "Chicken Claw Flow" designed to screw you over…
……
In this world, only just beginning to be corrupted by games, Lu Ze couldn’t even imagine how devastating competitive modes would be.
The remnant spirit had given him a month.
Instead of rushing to create a new illusion realm, Lu Ze decided to work with what he already had.
Right now, "My World" was at its peak.
It was foreseeable that in the coming days, countless cultivators would flock to it, drawn by the legend of Zhao Wendao comprehending the Eighth Divine Thunder here, hoping to find their own path to enlightenment.
Capitalizing on this surge, releasing a simple, easy-to-learn competitive mode would be much faster than crafting an entirely new competitive illusion realm.
The mode Lu Ze chose was one from his past life called "Bed Wars."
Its blend of fun and competitiveness made it perfect for the current player base.
Considering that this world’s "My World" was built within an illusion realm, the basic combat mechanics of characters were more intricate than in his past life.
So, Lu Ze began tweaking "Bed Wars" to accommodate these differences.
In short, he expanded the combat options.
Otherwise, if the agile combat system of the characters followed the traditional "MC" combat style, the pacing would become unbearably slow.
……
……
Just as Lu Ze had anticipated.
The death of Ding Mingcang, backed by the sect leader’s decree, caused barely a ripple.
In contrast, Zhao Wendao’s breakthrough to the Eighth Divine Thunder in "My World" and Li Moran’s ascension sent shockwaves through the cultivation world.
Lu Ze’s illusion realms had already been widely popular among disciples of various sects, but they were still seen as trivial diversions.
Now, however, everything had changed.
Everyone regarded them as a new path to immortality!
Some sects even modified their artifact halls to require cultivators to channel spiritual energy while operating the illusion towers, effectively allowing them to cultivate under the nourishment of Heavenly Dao energy—doubling their progress with half the effort!
Overnight, "My World" became a sensation.
Countless cultivators poured into the illusion realms, seeking their own immortal destinies.
And thus,
the Great Illusion Era began.
……
……
A week after Ding Mingcang’s death.
Inside Zhong Yi’s illusion realm.
"Damn it!!! The Black Screen… again with the Black Screen!!!"
Zhou Yue’s agonized wails echoed through the voice channel.
"An entire backpack’s worth of spirit stones I just mined… gone!!!"
"Old Zhou, I envy how often you run into the Black Screen…"
Zhong Yi mused.
By his calculations, only one in ten thousand cultivators ever encountered the Black Screen.
Yet Zhou Yue had faced it three times in a single week.
It was hard to say whether he was lucky or cursed.
Personally, Zhong Yi was dying to see if the Black Screen was as terrifying as the rumors claimed…
"Senior Brother Zhou, didn’t you load your Blazing Lotus mod?"
Mu Yawen asked curiously.
Lately, mod research had become a focal point for countless cultivators.
A flood of mod-making guides had appeared on the forums.
The most popular mod at the moment was the "Spirit Plant Summoning" mod created by the elder of Danqing Peak in the Lingxiao Sect.
Wood-attribute cultivators could use it to summon spirit plants, pioneering a new summoning-based playstyle.
"I did… but I still got wrecked!"
Zhou Yue sighed.
He had put some effort into modding, successfully translating his Blazing Lotus technique into the game.
Though he hadn’t experienced a sudden enlightenment like Li Moran or Zhao Wendao,
he could feel subtle improvements in his cultivation.
However,
his Blazing Lotus Spirit Body was no match for the "Black Screen."
The opponent’s Obsidian Skill mod obliterated him without breaking a sweat.
"Old Zhou, how’d you research your mod? Share some tips!"
Zhong Yi asked eagerly.
He had also tried modding, hoping to bring his Great Dao Mantra into his world.
Alas, he failed.
Of course, the main reason was that he hadn’t put in enough effort.
All his focus had gone into redstone and villagers.
"Pfft. Your ‘Crow’s Mouth’ doesn’t need modding—it’s already in the game."
Zhou Yue snorted, ruthlessly mocking him.
"Nonsense! What Crow’s Mouth? Stop blaming me for things with no causal connection!"
Zhong Yi fumed.
He didn’t know why, but ever since playing Lu Ze’s illusion realms,
his spiritual root had grown stronger,
yet its direction seemed…
a little off.
"I feel like the mods we create are fun, but they never really come together…"
Zhou Yue suddenly lamented.
While mods undeniably enriched the "My World" experience,
once they slaughtered every monster and maxed out their cultivation realms, things inevitably grew dull.
"Junior Brother Lu once said this illusion realm had infinite creativity… I wonder when he’ll show us what he meant."
Just then.
An announcement appeared before every cultivator’s eyes:
["My World" Update Notice:]
[1. New mode "Bed Wars" is now available. Participate to earn exclusive "Three Kingdoms Kill" skins.]
[2. Mod Marketplace is now live. Cultivators can share/sell their mods here.]
[3. This update removes the "Black Screen."]
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
