Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 135 – The battle between righteousness and evil begins

Just as Zhao Baige was feeling utterly dejected, it was Jiang Luoyu's Moon Shadow Guild that discovered her and invested heavily in her training.

Two years into the game, the Moon Shadow Guild disbanded, and Zhao Baige was forced to quit.

By then, she had already become a fifth-grade Alchemy Master, and many people were trying to recruit her.

But Zhao Baige was a loyal person, stubbornly sticking to her principles.

She refused to go anywhere else, choosing instead to practice alchemy alone in the Tale of Immortal, saying she would wait for the Moon Shadow Guild to return.

She waited for over two years, but the Moon Shadow Guild never came back.

Instead, she received devastating news!

A few months before the game was set to merge with reality, Zhao Baige was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer.

With her spirit crushed, she decided to write a book about her gaming experiences and memories, hoping to leave something behind for the world.

She published it under the name: "Bai Ge with Terminal Stomach Cancer."

In the final days of her life, as she lay on her deathbed, the world merger happened.

Zhao Baige managed to cure herself using the cultivation and alchemy knowledge transferred from the game, along with the spiritual herbs from the game.

When Lin Jichen heard about it, he was amazed. This person truly had an indomitable fate, catching the last train to the new era.

After the world merger, Zhao Baige not only cured her illness but also grew step by step into a top-tier Alchemy Master. Any elixir she casually refined would be snatched up by countless cultivators.

By the time Lin Jichen died, she had already reached the peak of the eighth grade in alchemy, just one step away from becoming a grandmaster.

Such a talent had now appeared before Lin Jichen.

Did he even need to think about it? He had to recruit her!

Even if she was Jiang Luoyu's person, he had to recruit her!

Lin Jichen wasn't in a hurry. He first reviewed other recruitment notices to see if he could find more talent.

But after going through almost all the notices, he didn't find anyone else he recognized.

Lin Jichen wasn't discouraged, though. Meeting Zhao Baige was already like a pie falling from the sky.

He entered the game and immediately added Zhao Baige as a friend.

But after waiting for a while, there was no response from her.

Lin Jichen guessed she might not be online. He was just a bit worried that Zhao Baige might have already been recruited by the Moon Shadow Guild.

If she had been recruited, Lin Jichen would feel awkward asking Jiang Luoyu for her.

Forget it, he thought. Lin Jichen closed the friend interface and went to check on his shop's business.

The newly reopened shop was still packed with people. This time, Lin Jichen had gotten smarter and raised the prices, causing many players to balk at the cost.

He also followed Jiang Luoyu's advice, instructing the staff not to close deals too quickly.

For example, if a player wanted to buy a piece of equipment during the day, they would say it was out of stock or already reserved. If the player wanted it, they had to pay a deposit and come back in the evening to pick it up.

This way, he could use limited stock to create a lasting flow of customers.

It also attracted more players to rush into the store.

Lin Jichen couldn't help but exclaim at the professionalism. As a business novice, he didn't understand any of this.

In his previous life, he was called a business genius, but he had nothing to do with business. His only talent was getting discounts when buying things (facepalm).

Seeing the bustling scene, Lin Jichen nodded in satisfaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Having an expert's guidance really made a difference. If he had used his old methods, the three thousand items would have sold out in ten minutes, and he would have had to close the shop again.

Now, with the same three thousand items, he could keep the players' interest piqued and the shop open continuously.

Jiang Luoyu's family becoming the world's richest was no accident.

It seemed he could consult her more in the future.

Using his... ahem, game knowledge to trade with Jiang Luoyu.

Mutual exploration, deep exchanges, each getting what they needed, hmm~

With the shop running smoothly, he only needed to refresh the Secret Realm daily to restock.

Lin Jichen prepared to return to his sect to report the good news to his master. He had been delayed for several days, and he hoped his master wouldn't be angry.

After all, he had promised to take Leng Feiyan on a date to Everwinter City.

Just as Lin Jichen stepped out of Fengqu City, ready to use the teleportation array to return to his sect, a large number of heavily armored, stern-faced guards poured out of the city in waves, numbering in the tens of thousands.

The surrounding players were stunned, completely unaware of what was happening.

Lin Jichen frowned, sensing something was amiss.

He had already noticed an increase in the city's guards and heightened security.

It seemed something big was indeed happening this time.

At that moment, a game announcement rang out.

"The major storyline opportunity of Tale of Immortal has begun! Battle against the Demonic Sect! Emperor Ji Hongyue of Hidden Dragon, in alliance with the royal families of the three major provinces, will simultaneously launch an attack to eradicate the demonic cultivators. Players can head to the main cities of each province and join the army in one hour to earn substantial cultivation, reputation, and equipment!"

The announcement caused a frenzy in Tale of Immortal.

Almost everyone started rushing to the main cities at the same time.

Ren Lan sent a message: "Little Lin, did you see the announcement? Should I go? Is it a trap?"

Lin Jichen hadn't yet reacted, standing there in a daze.

He had thought that after saving the Hidden Dragon Princess, the war between the righteous and demonic factions would be postponed for a while.

He hadn't expected it to come so soon.

It seemed Ji Hongyue was truly hot-tempered. Even though his daughter hadn't been harmed, he still wanted to settle the score with the demonic cultivators.

Lin Jichen could only smile wryly. Whether it was the game's first update or the war between the righteous and demonic factions, everything seemed to be happening much earlier than in his previous life.

He wondered if this would also accelerate the process of the two worlds merging.

For now, all he could do was follow the game's progression, striving not to fall behind while accelerating his own cultivation.

Lin Jichen immediately replied to Ren Lan: "You can go. Teleport over here and join me."

Since they were all fighting against the demonic sect, any province would do.

It would just cost a few hundred spirit stones for the teleportation fee.

Ren Lan had no objections and agreed decisively, heading for the teleportation array.

Lin Jichen waited for her at the city gate.

At the gate, soldiers were already registering the players who wanted to enlist.

Only those who registered and became temporary soldiers, following orders, could join the army in the campaign against the demonic sect.

They could then exchange their enemy kills for reputation, elixirs, equipment, and even official positions from the royal family.

The number of people signing up was overwhelming, with players constantly appearing from the teleportation array, coming from all over Mu Xian Province to enlist.

Many guild leaders were also rushing over with large groups of their members, some even abandoning their Secret Realm runs to ensure they secured a spot.

Lin Jichen wasn't in a hurry. There was still an hour left, and there would be enough spots for everyone.

His only concern was whether they could win the battle.

Most players' cultivation levels were still at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages.

Although there were many Foundation Establishment players now, fighting against the demonic sect wouldn't be easy.

In his previous life, during the first campaign against the demonic sect, the average player cultivation was around the Crystal Formation stage. They fought against demonic sect members who were generally at the Crystal Formation, Golden Elixir, and even Gathering Spirit stages.

This time, with the average cultivation only at Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, facing such high-level demonic sect members would likely result in a crushing defeat.

"Little Chen, are you planning to join the campaign too?"

Jiang Luoyu, leading a large group of Moon Shadow Guild members, had just emerged from the teleportation array and spotted Lin Jichen at the city gate.

Lin Jichen was about to respond with a smile when another voice came from the teleportation array.

"Little Lin! I'm here!"

Lin Jichen turned around to see Ren Lan arriving.

Ren Lan and Jiang Luoyu had run into each other.