Chapter 1971

The East Continent was rather desolate compared to the West Continent, where the main force of the Overgeared Guild was active. The beautiful, unique culture of the East was a barrier that prevented people from entering. This was understandable, considering that only a quarter of the 2.5 billion players were Asian.

However, the population of the East continent seemed small only when compared to the West. There were actually many people active in the East, and many of them were famous around the world.

"...This is some bullshit." Hwang Gildong sighed. "I think we're ruined."

According to the Chivalrous Robbers, a total of sixty-two Full Moon Fortresses had appeared in the East Continent. However, people couldn't do anything about any of them.

A few days ago, news arrived that hundreds or thousands of adventurers advanced like they were an army to deal with the fortresses, but they didn't stand a chance.

Old Sword Demon frowned. He looked very annoyed. "Do you have to be so pessimistic already?"

Hwang Gildong didn't care how he reacted. He made a noise in the back of his throat. "I know, I know. The Four Auspicious Beasts haven't come forward yet, and the Peach Blossom Spring won't just sit around and do nothing in this situation. However, most of the Full Moon Fortresses are guarded by Absolutes. It's unlikely that the Four Auspicious Beasts and daoist immortals will be able to do much in this situation."

Hwang Gildong paused and sighed again.

"Besides, the daoist immortals might not really help us. They have achieved their goals after dreaming of eternal life. Would they risk themselves to interfere so much in the affairs of this world? This is just the petty and wishful thinking of poor people who haven't witnessed the immortals' selfishness."

"......"

Thirty minutes passed. During this time, Old Sword Demon closed his eyes, ignoring Hwang Gildong's endless sighs. He was fascinated by the technique books he had recently looted from a group of cultivators.

He found something incredibly valuable inside one of the books that contained the spiritual root condensation method. This type of content was difficult for ordinary people to follow easily, but this was not the case for Old Sword Demon, who controlled his mana at will.

Just a little bit more...

Now, it seemed like he just needed to condense around three teaspoons of mana in the dantian to achieve a spiritual root. Sitting still for four days to concentrate on his cultivation seemed like time well spent now.

Hwang Gildong knew he had been meditating, yet he dared come and bother him. He'd always been an obnoxious individual.

Suddenly, a voice began talking to them. "Not all daoist immortals are selfish. Even after they ascend, some keep an eye on the world out of concern for their descendants. Didn't you also witness the struggle of the Sword Immortal?"

Hwang Gildong was surprised. He took a deep breath. "Hah..."

Old Sword Demon also opened his eyes.

A beautiful woman wearing a crimson robe was smiling at them. Old Sword Demon and Hwang Gildong recognized her. All three had worked together at some point, thanks to Grid.

The woman was Yeo Yulan. She was one of the strongest daoist immortals, and she was so powerful, she could even defeat Transcendents.

She descended followed by more than ten daoist immortals. "We are here to help you this time."

So Peach Blossom Spring was also taking this situation seriously.

The cultivators suddenly appeared in the world one day. The words they spoke were bizarre and alien. They ignored mental training and argued that only physical training would allow them to climb to being an Absolute.

The daoist immortals didn't get to discuss too thoroughly with them, but the cultivator's terrible intentions were expressed naturally through their behavior. They easily slaughtered others just to accumulate more power, which wasn't acceptable.

Yeo Yulan felt the need to stop them. Those who dared tarnish the names of immortals were undermining the entire value of the Peach Blossom Spring.

Immediately, Hwang Gildong had doubts.

"I thought I should raise a candle to the sky and ask for help. Thank you for being the first to take action. You seem particularly proactive. If the cultivators say they dream of ascending, you won't end up betraying us, right?"

"They can't offer us any terms. Their own techniques, talismans, and other treasures are totally different from what we have learned and cultivated on our own."

Yeo Yulan's eyes curved like a fox's. Her orange eyes examined Old Sword Demon.

"I have to confess that I am rather worried about you. I guess you have already been persuaded by the cultivators and become one of them," she stated.

Hwang Gildong told her, "Don't worry. This old man got this technique from killing the cultivators and looting their corpses, not by striking a deal with them. You don't necessarily have to take my word on this. You can ask everybody in town and they'll tell you the same thing."

"Old man...? You do know that I am hundreds of years younger than you, right?" Old Sword Demon protested.

"You look just like my grandfather."

Seeing Hwang Gildong and Old Sword Demon bickering, Yeo Yulan sighed in relief. She thought they would be valuable and that's why she came to help, but she still had some doubts. Luckily, all of her doubts were now cleared. The two people she observed were more honest than she had initially thought.

"Please tell me everything you have gathered about the Full Moon Fortresses so far. We will take care of the places where the strongest enemies are gathered."

"You will?"

"Is there a problem with us dealing with enemies that mortals can't handle?"

"Aren't you Transcendents? You aren't that different from us in terms of power level. On the other hand, there are many Absolutes swarming the Full Moon Fortresses..."

"...What?"

Hwang Gildong's bombshell remark made the daoist immortals whisper to each other. Yeo Yulan also looked shocked.

Just then, a commotion could be heard outside.

"This update is completely stupid."

"Stop the erosion ritual? Bullshit. How are we supposed to stop it?"

Those were the players who were wiped out and resurrected after going on the expedition to the Full Moon Fortresses. They were all pretty angry, but the atmosphere was unusual.

Yeo Yulan's expression became serious once the number of players returning exceeded hundreds and reached thousands.

"There are that many Absolutes among the cultivators? Are the daoist immortals they are talking about gods and not demigods, then?"

"I think so. At the very least, they won't acknowledge you as immortals."

Just then...

"Uwaaaack!"

"These crazy bastards chased us all the way here!"

Screams and profanities could be heard from outside. Hwang Gildong and the daoist immortals rushed to the windows and couldn't believe what they were seeing. Countless people were seen flying on the horizon, heading their way, each of them exuding an unusual aura.

The ground shook the moment a void refining cultivator landed in the center of the city. Powerful shockwaves burst out in tandem, causing the surrounding houses to collapse and the players at the resurrection point to scatter.

Yeo Yulan sighed. "...They really are Absolutes." She hurriedly grabbed some talismans.

A chain flew in before she could even react, but it was blocked by a talisman and trembled. Beads of sweat appeared on Yeo Yulan's forehead.

The chains moved like snakes and approached the talisman.

She chanted a spell and made the talisman explode before piercing through the ceiling and flying into the air. The void refining cultivator, who had seen her from a distance and launched the attack, snorted at the sight.

"You call that crude piece of paper a talisman?"

The cultivator took out a blue talisman. An inscription flowed out of his mouth and imprinted itself onto the talisman. He shot a huge, silver bird-shaped talisman at Yeo Yulan.

She was startled by the lightning fast attack and raised her sword to block it, but the chain, which was still intact despite the explosion from earlier, flew and wrapped around her wrist.

Yeo Yulan's beautiful face paled. "Um...!"

The other daoist immortals and Hwang Gildong couldn't help her. The number of cultivators who invaded the city were in the hundreds, and that included void refining cultivators. There were so many that it was hard for her allies to help her right away.

"Kuaack!"

The daoist immortals screamed.

"......?"

The silver bird that almost struck Yeo Yulan's face stopped and slowly dissipated. The chain on her wrist also loosened. Yeo Yulan, now safe, looked around to assess the situation.

Old Sword Demon had been sitting with his eyes closed regardless of what was happening around him. But now, he was at the center of the battlefield.

The cultivator who had attacked Yeo Yulan was bleeding. He seemed quite shocked.

Before the cultivator with the hole in his heart could say anything, Hwang Gildong intervened and ruined the atmosphere. "Did you eat something bad?" he asked Old Sword Demon. "You don't normally do this."

He was the one who reacted the loudest to what Old Sword Demon just did.

Old Sword Demon said nothing. Five invisible daggers were spinning around him. This set consisting of five daggers was a treasure he himself had smelted immediately after the update.

At first, he couldn't use it well because it was pretty weak since he didn't have his condensed spiritual root at that time. But now he could easily maneuver it. He used spiritual energy to activate it, and it seemed pretty powerful.

However, only Old Sword Demon could see it. This was because he used one of his assassin's ultimate skills, Dark World, to hide it.

The cultivator hurriedly drank an elixir and viciously glared at Old Sword Demon. "You are a qi refining cultivator. What trick did you use?"

Of course, Old Sword Demon didn't give him time to recover and immediately swung his sword, which slammed into the cultivator's protective shield and released poison.

People often forgot that Old Sword Demon was an assassin because he usually fought fairly. However, because he was an assassin, he possessed a number of traits and skills meant to lower the target's defenses.

He aimed the invisible daggers at the gaps in the cracked shield.

"Keuk!"

The cultivator was wounded once again and became furious. He counterattacked.

'Was that not enough?'

The counterattack hit Old Sword Demon at the speed of light. He grimaced.

Back when he completed the assassin's fifth class advancement, he'd unlocked the Dark World skill. However, he'd always envied the Sword Saint's Control Sword. He predicted that the Dark World and Control Sword would work very well together. He collected information every day to see if there was a way to learn Control Sword as an assassin.

However, Control Sword was a skill exclusive to Sword Saints. He could not obtain it given his current strength.

The update had occurred at a time when he was feeling kind of down. Old Sword Demon was overjoyed when he saw the contents of the update. He expected that, if he became a cultivator and made best use of certain treasures, he could create a synergy between Dark World and something that could replace Control Sword.

As expected, he'd succeeded in doing that. Still, the synergy was somewhat poor as of right now. He had just condensed a spiritual root and was unable to increase the power of the treasure to 100%. As a result, he was almost dead.

'If only I was as clever as the youths.'

Wouldn't he have quickly accumulated cultivation and destroyed the enemy in front of him?

Old Sword Demon was in danger even after a successful surprise attack. He shut his eyes and tasted regret in his mouth.

A light brighter than the sun temporarily blinded everyone. People were confused. A blaring divine voice deafened everyone.

[How dare things without any genealogy run rampant in my territory?]

No, this wasn't just a voice. Someone's will was engraved into the space. No, it wasn't just someone. It was a true Absolute.

Soon, the light cleared.

All the cultivators on the battlefield had been pierced by that light and perished.

It was Hanul, a God of the beginning. He was surrounded by a brilliant light. Everyone's eyes were on him.