Go and get Lu Ze quickly

Thunderpeak Mountain, Hall of Spirit Convergence.

"Old Li, Old Li!! The Demonic Path's Soul-Devouring Bone Dragon is here… hurry up and bring your Sword Immortal squad over!!!"

"I'm on my way, stop rushing me!!"

"Watch out for the Demonic Path's Illusionists!! They're trying to control your Sword Immortals… where’s Old Zhao? Don’t hold back with your Lingxiao Sect’s Violet Sky Divine Thunder Formation!!"

"Damn it, that thing’s too expensive! If we use it, our Lingxiao Sect will lose its foundation! Let me intercept them first!"

"Why are there a few Gluttonous Kuns here too?"

"Forget the Kuns, they don’t deal damage—get to the main battlefield!"

"Holy… the Kun beasts hid a bellyful of Blood Assassins!! My Tianxuan Gate base can’t hold out!!"

……

No one could have imagined that the elders of several major sects would gather in a single room to challenge the Demonic Path together.

And yet, they were getting utterly crushed.

"My Profound Sword Sect won’t take the blame for this! My Sword Immortals did everything they could—the Soul-Devouring Bone Dragon was entirely held back by us!"

Li Jiujian crossed his arms, speaking with absolute conviction.

"Ha! You dare say that… My Cloud Fairy Palace’s laborers hauled mountains of spirit stones just for you to forge those Sword Immortals. Are you blaming me now?"

Wen Lingwu trembled with rage.

Cloud Fairy Palace disciples naturally moved faster than others, making them the most efficient at transporting resources.

In war, aerial combat was crucial.

The Profound Sword Sect’s unique unit, the Sword Immortals, could fly on their swords with unmatched speed.

So she had reluctantly handed over spirit stones to Li Jiujian, allowing him to build an aerial force.

"Old Zhao, why were you hoarding those spirit stones? If you’d unleashed the Violet Sky Divine Thunder Formation earlier, we could’ve held the line!"

Lin Anzai shot Zhao Wendao a glare, clearly displeased.

"You old fool, don’t even start! My Violet Sky Divine Thunder Formation deals extra damage to structures—it’s meant for assaulting enemy strongholds! Shouldn’t your Tianxuan Gate’s Earthfire Sky Star Formation be better suited for defense?"

Zhao Wendao’s neck flushed red as he snapped back.

……

After a heated debate, the conclusion was simple:

The enemy was just too overwhelming.

Their schemes were too cunning—they even hid troops inside Kun beasts for sneak attacks.

And this was after Lu Ze had already lowered the difficulty.

Originally, to prevent players from overwhelming the Demonic Path’s AI with sheer numbers, he had restricted the game from adding AI opponents in maps designed for four or more players.

But after completing his mission last night, he had lifted that restriction.

That was how these elders ended up fighting the Demonic Path together.

"The Demonic Path is just too absurd. If even the four of us can’t defeat them, then no one in this world stands a chance!"

Li Jiujian sighed, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Still, we fought well enough. Tonight, I’ll pass on some lessons to my Tianxuan Gate disciples…"

Lin Anzai leisurely picked up his teacup.

"Wait—I just saw a forum post where some disciples claimed they beat it with a four-man team?"

Zhao Wendao’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he read the post.

"Hah, another prodigy from the inner sect? Being outpaced by these geniuses isn’t surprising."

"They’re outer sect disciples from my sect."

Bang!

Lin Anzai’s teacup shattered in his grip.

"And it seems there’s more than one group…"

Zhao Wendao added salt to the wound.

The elders exchanged awkward glances.

Li Jiujian took a deep breath. "Quick!! Summon Lu Ze here!!!"

……

……

Half an hour later.

"Elder Zhao, you know me!"

Lu Ze shook his head with righteous conviction.

"I would never tolerate any form of cheating!"

"This…"

Zhao Wendao stood frozen, at a loss for words.

This wasn’t right.

Back then, Nangong Yuan had pried plenty of tricks for Cultivator’s Descent out of him.

This wasn’t how he usually acted!

Ahem, "Who said anything about cheating? We just wanted to… exchange some insights."

"I’m a man of principle!"

"If you’re willing to help, I’ll owe you a favor in the future…"

"You said it!"

"???"

Zhao Wendao’s eyes widened as Lu Ze cut him off.

Why did it feel like…

This kid had been waiting for him to say that all along??

"Heh, what an interesting youngster. I, for one, never leave debts unpaid. Speak—what do you want? Techniques? Treasures? As long as it doesn’t involve my sect’s secrets, name it."

Lin Anzai, who had taken a liking to Lu Ze, was the first to offer.

"Haha, so it’s rewards you’re after! Just say the word!"

Li Jiujian was in high spirits—largely because he was pleased with how overpowered Lu Ze had made the Sword Immortals.

"Since everyone’s agreed, I’ll join in the fun as well."

Wen Lingwu nodded.

"No need to hold back with me! Pick any technique or treasure from the Lingxiao Sect!"

Zhao Wendao thumped his chest, putting on a grand show of generosity.

"I have no interest in such things."

Lu Ze smiled warmly as he shook his head.

"I only wish to delve deeper into the art of illusions, but one goal has always eluded me."

"What is it?"

"I want illusions to transcend spatial limitations—so cultivators can stand together against threats, no matter where they are."

Lu Ze had the game, the players, and the terminals.

What he lacked was a server.

Right now, cultivators could only team up if they were physically together or gathered at large illusion towers.

In short, they were stuck in a local network.

This was bad for the future of gaming.

"That is indeed a troublesome matter… If it were a formation, I might have been able to help. But I’m not well-versed in illusion-based formations, so I’m afraid I can’t do much."

After some thought, Lin Anzai sighed regretfully.

"Elder Nangong has already arranged the formation for me. The problem is, the energy cost is too high—he alone can’t sustain it."

Lu Ze quickly clarified.

Of course, he left out Nangong Yuan’s exact words—

"Just give up, you brat! Even if all seven elders of the Lingxiao Sect worked together, they’d be bedridden for weeks after powering this formation… Who’d go to such lengths for your silly illusions?"

"……"

Lin Anzai took a deep breath.

A formation even a Void Refinement elder couldn’t handle alone?

Even with multiple elders working together, this wasn’t something they could just casually power.

It dawned on him—he might have just walked right into Lu Ze’s trap.

"Don’t worry, Elder Nangong said it’s fine as long as five elders contribute just a tiny bit of their strength…"

Lu Ze’s smile grew even brighter.