Back to the Old Trade

Looking at the mission rewards, Lu Ze's eyes lit up.

Others wouldn't be able to detect his demonic cultivation identity?

This was exactly what he needed right now!

Otherwise, the moment he used spiritual energy, his abnormality would be exposed, and he wouldn’t be able to stay here at all!

As for the mission’s content—

No killing required, just making it impossible for the sect disciples to focus on their cultivation?

This kind of thing…

He might actually be able to pull it off!

Lu Ze was delighted.

As a former game designer in his past life, he immediately came up with a bold idea.

He would return to his old profession—in the world of cultivation!

Game development!

The artifact-forging techniques of the Heavenly Profound Continent were highly advanced.

As one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, the Lingxiao Sect was a leader in this field.

The inner sect disciples had a trial known as the "Tower Climbing Challenge," where they would enter a special artifact with their divine consciousness to engage in combat.

During the trial, the scenes could even be projected outward for other disciples to observe.

Lu Ze had witnessed a few senior brothers attempting the challenge before, and even back then, he had thought it looked strikingly similar to the games from his past life.

The visuals and details were impeccable—but when it came to gameplay, there was almost nothing.

Just pure monster-slashing.

At the time, he had already felt that this technology could be used to create games.

For the past three years, he had been quietly studying its intricacies.

Now, the mission assigned by the system seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Though the Lingxiao Sect was martial to the core, its members still needed entertainment.

Sports like spirit-ball and kickball were quite popular among the younger disciples, while games like mahjong and Go were pastimes favored by the elders.

Compared to these traditional forms of amusement, video games would be nothing short of a dimensional downgrade.

If they got addicted to games, how could they possibly focus on cultivation?

Makes perfect sense!

With his mind made up, Lu Ze began considering which game to start with to get his fellow disciples hooked.

"Lu Ze, have you prepared the equipment for the outer sect disciples’ body-refinement class in three days?"

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

He looked up.

It was Wang Tai, the second senior brother of the Artifact Forging Pavilion.

His tone was as unfriendly as ever.

"The Illusion Tower has already been calibrated," Lu Ze replied calmly, not bothered by the attitude. "But I don’t know where the illusion crystals for practicing outer sect movement techniques are."

"Figure it out yourself."

Wang Tai sneered and walked away without another glance.

He had always resented the fact that Lu Ze had been accepted as a nominal disciple by the elders.

"Got it."

Lu Ze responded cheerfully.

Wasn’t this a golden opportunity?

He had been worrying about making a game but having no one to play it!

Lu Ze knew Wang Tai disliked him—over the past three years, he had faced no shortage of suppression from him.

Now that the elder overseeing the Artifact Forging Pavilion was away on a journey, the guy had become even more brazen.

The illusion crystals definitely existed; they were probably just hidden away to make things difficult for him.

No crystals?

Fine, he’d make his own!

"Since it’s for movement training, I’ll start with a parkour game."

Lu Ze nodded to himself, deep in thought.

The more he considered it, the more suitable the genre seemed.

In his past life, there had been no shortage of wildly popular parkour games—

"Temple Run," "Subway Surfers," "Ski Safari"...

Too many to list.

When had parkour games first taken off?

Back when mobile gaming was just starting to rise.

And that bore a striking resemblance to this world, still untouched by the influence of electronic games.

Once he settled on his goal, Lu Ze wasted no time and got to work.

Thanks to the Illusion Tower, constructing the game environment was incredibly simple.

Lu Ze’s cultivation was only at the Qi Refinement stage, so his divine consciousness wasn’t strong enough to create vast, grandiose illusionary worlds.

Fortunately, parkour games had relatively small environments—even at his level, he could manage it.

As for level design—

With his exceptional memory and past experience as a game designer, that wasn’t a problem either.

The only real challenge was the music.

The importance of music in a game was undeniable.

Not just background tracks to set the mood, but also sound effects to enhance the impact of actions and the thrill of rewards—these were crucial to making a great game.

Luckily, this was the Lingxiao Sect, where all sorts of strange and wondrous artifacts could be found.

The sect had a tool called the "Manifestation Device," which could extract images or sounds from a person’s mind.

It was typically used by witnesses to reconstruct scenes during investigations.

Figuring he’d need it often in the future, Lu Ze decided to buy one outright.

No big deal.

He had taken a wrong path the past couple of years—he had plenty of spirit stones to spare.

---

Three days later.

Training grounds outside the Artifact Forging Pavilion.

Early in the morning, outer sect disciples began gathering in small groups.

"Hey, they say illusion training is a privilege for inner sect disciples—who’d have thought we’d get to try it too?"

Wang Ming looked around curiously, marveling at the various instruments.

As an outer sect disciple with unremarkable talent, opportunities to enter the Artifact Forging Pavilion were rare.

Let alone experiencing the illusion trials reserved for inner sect disciples.

Rumor had it that the elder overseeing the outer sect had performed exceptionally well recently and had specially secured this chance for them.

"I wonder what kind of challenge awaits us in the illusion…"

Wang Ming was brimming with anticipation.

"Country bumpkin, you don’t even know about illusions?"

A fellow disciple scoffed beside him.

"What’s so special about a movement-training illusion? It’s just higher and farther spaces, with a few sticks of incense to time you."

Wang Ming recognized this disciple—Wang Ba.

He had an older brother in the inner sect, so naturally, he had seen more.

"Illusion training only gets interesting at higher levels—with trap designs, battles against demonic creatures… For outer sect disciples like you, even getting this chance is a waste. You’d be better off cultivating on your own."

Wang Ba didn’t bother hiding his disdain.

The others didn’t react much.

Wang Ba had connections—his brother in the inner sect, his cultivation nearing Foundation Establishment, and his family’s wealth…

His entry into the inner sect was practically guaranteed, so a little arrogance was expected.

"I might as well tell you—I’ve already cleared the beginner-level movement illusion for the 'Scattered Cloud Steps.' This trial? I’ll take first place without a doubt."

Wang Ba smirked confidently.

The key difference between illusion trials and regular training was the scoring system.

Disciples were ranked based on their performance.

According to outer sect rules, the bottom five would be marked as failures and required to retake the class the following year.

Ever since hearing about the illusion trial for outer sect disciples, Wang Ba had been scheming.

Failure was out of the question.

What he was after was first place—maybe even surpassing the average inner sect disciple.

Would that be enough to earn him a special promotion?

To prepare, he had begged his brother for a chance to experience the illusion trial early, familiarizing himself with the beginner movement illusion.

Even if his movement techniques weren’t outstanding, it didn’t matter—he already knew every step by heart.

Standing out was a given.

Just as he was basking in his own arrogance, a figure stepped onto the platform above.

Lu Ze, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes, let out a yawn before inserting the illusion core into the Illusion Tower.

"The illusion is ready. The tokens for entry are already in your possession… You may begin whenever you’re prepared."

Murmurs rose among the disciples below.

"So that’s Lu Ze, the one the elder took in as a nominal disciple?"

"I heard he’s still at the early Qi Refinement stage after three years, but he’s got some talent in artifact forging…"

"What’s the use of talent? The formations in true immortal artifacts require at least Golden Core cultivation to refine."

"At least he’s training within the peak—right now, he’s far stronger than either of us."

...

Wang Ba sneered in disdain: "Trash is trash. Even dressed in inner sect robes, he’s still trash."

Beside him, Zhang Ming couldn’t help but frown. "If someone has earned the elders’ favor, there’s a reason for it. If you’re so dissatisfied, Brother Wang, why not challenge him in the inner sect and settle it?"

Seeing Wang Ba’s furious, impotent rage, Zhang Ming simply ignored him.

He took out his token and channeled his spiritual sense.

His consciousness sank into endless darkness.

"What exactly is illusionary cultivation like…?"

Zhang Ming rubbed his hands in anticipation.

Then, he froze at the sight of the enormous words before him.

"‘Escape from the Demon Sect’??? What the hell is this???"