This is a cultivation game, but the operation is bad

Jiang Liu was still considering how to accept the mission to protect the main city when a system notification sounded in his mind.

The content, in particular, surprised and delighted him.

[System forced trigger: Player Jiang Liu has been detected as a council member of the Taiyi Immortal Alliance, unlocking the exclusive mission for the Central Plains Hegemony War - Responsibility to Guard the Main City]

[Task Nature: Mandatory binding, cannot be abandoned, cannot be transferred, and cannot have its target changed]

[Core Requirements: Lead the defense of the designated main city until the end of the Central Plains Hegemony War. The main city must be successfully preserved, and the array's core must not be damaged.]

[Task Rewards: City Lord Exclusive Buff - All Attributes +200%, Damage to Demonic Units +30%, Immortal-Rank Material Selection Box x3, Immortal Weapon Selection Box x1]

[Failure Penalty: If the main city is lost, all existing merit points will be cleared, the cultivation level will drop by two major levels, the Haoran Demon Suppressing Armor will be sealed for 30 days (during which time there will be no attribute bonuses), the attributes of the Immortal Sword Breaking the Sky jewelry set will be halved, and the Taiyi Immortal Alliance council member status will be permanently revoked]

Jiang Liu: “.”

The mission is good, but the punishment is a bit too cruel.

"I boil it!"

Jiang Liu's face darkened slightly. He wanted to be a protector of the main city, but he didn't want such a severe punishment.

Although he was confident he could succeed, what if he failed?

Merit points are cleared, realm is reduced by 1, the Haoran Demon Suppressing Armor is sealed for 30 days, the attributes of the Immortal Sword Breaking the Sky jewelry set are halved, and the Taiyi Immortal Alliance director status is revoked.

Good heavens, if this fails, it's like going back to square one!
However, whether he returns or not is not important; what is important is that this is a mandatory task, meaning he has to do it and has no choice.

Moreover, the rewards are incredibly tempting: a city lord buff, a choice of immortal-grade materials, and a choice of immortal artifacts—how could anyone resist?

Of course, the rewards and punishments are somewhat disproportionate.

All I can say is, it's like they're planning to trick him.

A slight sense of vigilance rose in Jiang Liu's heart, and then he looked at the task interface that popped up in front of him.

[Designated Main City to be Defended: Demon Suppression City (5-Star Defense Difficulty)]

[Exclusive Adaptation Bonus: Because you possess the Haoran Demon-Suppressing Armor, all stats of this equipment are increased by 100% during the protection period, and the damage against demons in Demon-Suppressing City is additionally increased by 20%, with double bonuses taking effect]

"Take off from Wuhu!"

Upon seeing the exclusive compatibility bonus, Jiang Liu couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, his face beaming with joy.

During the protection period, all attributes of the Haoran Demon Suppressing Armor will be doubled!
The already incredibly tanky Haoran Demon Suppressing Armor is now even tankier!

Which other NPC from the Demonic Path could possibly kill him?
Please, please, let me try my luck with the Mahayana and Dzogchen teachings.

"I must reach the Great Perfection of the Integration Realm within one month!"

Jiang Liu set a goal in his mind. There were still 30 days before the start of the Central Plains Hegemony Battle. Time was not very generous, but fortunately he had a treasure land for upgrading.

Overseas Demonic Cultivation!

The overseas magic map is vast and numerous, with a high density of magic NPCs and monsters, and the experience gained is relatively high, making it an excellent place to level up quickly.

As long as he reaches the Great Perfection of the Integration Realm or even breaks through to the early stage of the Tribulation Realm before the start of the battle for supremacy, once he receives the reward of +2 to his realm, he can directly advance to the late stage of the Tribulation Realm!

Late stage of tribulation!

I'm about to ascend to immortality! (Rounded down)
Shouldn't we take advantage of this month to level up aggressively?

Without delay, Jiang Liu's feet surged with spiritual light, and golden sword energy swirled around him. He transformed into a streak of light and headed straight for the overseas border of Zhongzhou, several times faster than when he went to Tianming Island last time.

Sorry, overseas demonic cultivators, but who told you to have higher cultivation levels and more experience?
[System Notification: The Haoran Demon Suppressing Armor has triggered its passive effect. All demonic NPCs in the sea area now have increased aggression towards you by 100%, and you gain an additional 50% cultivation points upon defeating them.]

Ok?
Wearing the Haoran Demon-Suppressing Armor has this effect?

What you want!

As soon as Jiang Liu stepped into the overseas territory, he immediately began to stealthily explore at full speed, specifically targeting the areas with the densest demonic energy in search of a large demonic island.

I don't know if it's because the outpost missions are over and the developers have started grinding monsters again. Once you go overseas, there are demon islands everywhere, but they're too small for them to be interested in.

Soon, after searching overseas for about half an hour, he located a super-large demon island that was even larger than Tianming Island—Blood Demon Island.

The island was shrouded in black mist and filled with demonic energy. Even from tens of thousands of miles away, one could feel the chilling pressure. It was clearly more dangerous than Tianming Island, and the quality of the NPCs was also better.

[System Notification: A massive demonic island, Blood Fiend Island, has been discovered. Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous. The demonic NPCs on the island range from the mid-stage of the Fusion Realm to the Great Perfection of the Tribulation Transcending Realm. Defeating them will greatly increase experience and merit points.]

[System Notification: Demon Island debuff - Demonic Energy Erosion has been triggered, causing a 5% loss of spiritual energy per hour. This debuff can be mitigated by obtaining Demon Cores from defeating Demonic NPCs.]

"This is it!"

Jiang Liu didn't take the demonic energy erosion debuff seriously at all. With the blessing of the Immortal Sword Breaking the Sky Necklace, his spiritual energy limit increased by 1000%, and his spiritual energy recovery speed also increased by 100%. This bit of erosion was completely insignificant.

As soon as they stepped into the black forest of Blood Fiend Island, countless dark figures darted out from all directions. They were all Blood Fiend Guards at the mid-stage of the Integration Realm, each wielding a blood-red demonic blade and their bodies surging with demonic energy.

They roared and rushed towards the river, chanting the familiar phrase, "Righteous cultivators, you will die without a burial place."

"Experience pack arrived!"

Jiang Liu's eyes lit up, and the Righteous Qi Sword in his hand shone with golden light. The attributes of the Immortal Sword Breaking the Sky jewelry set were instantly activated, and the golden sword energy flowing on the sword carried a sharp whistling sound that tore through space.

"The Tenth Heaven of the Soaring Clouds!"

Without any unnecessary words, ten golden sword beams poured out like a waterfall. Combined with the jewelry set's 50% ignore defense and 50% final damage, wherever the sword beams passed, the demonic energy was instantly torn apart. Those Blood Fiend Guards in the mid-stage of the Fusion Realm didn't even have time to react before they were cut into pieces, leaving not even a trace.

[You have killed the Blood Fiend Guard, a mid-stage Fusion-level Demonic NPC]

[You have killed the Blood Fiend Guard, a mid-stage Fusion-level Demonic NPC]

[You have killed the Blood Fiend Guard, a mid-stage Fusion-level Demonic NPC]

A series of system notifications flooded the screen, and Jiang Liu's cultivation level bar slowly increased at a tiny pace.

He kept moving, his figure darting through the forest like a ghost. With each swing of his Righteous Qi Sword, golden sword light crisscrossed, and wherever he passed, demonic NPCs fell one after another.

He wiped out most of the mid-stage Fusion Realm Blood Fiend Guards in the Black Forest, but their cultivation level didn't even reach 0.5%.

Well, at this level, even for him, leveling up once a month is considered fast; the leveling speed of other ordinary players is unimaginable.

Jiang Liu stopped and headed straight for the Blood Demon Palace deep in the forest.

That's where high-level NPCs congregate, and it's also the key to leveling up quickly.

Just as they approached the gate of the Blood Fiend Demon Palace, four burly figures blocked the way. Each of them was a Blood Fiend gatekeeper at the late stage of the Integration Realm. Their demonic energy was several times denser than that of the Blood Fiend Guards, and their blood-red longswords gleamed with a cold light. They were clearly not to be trifled with.

"You audacious madman, how dare you trespass into the Blood Demon Palace! You're courting death!"

The leading gatekeeper roared, and four blood-red longswords slashed out simultaneously. Dense demonic energy, carrying the wind from the blades, swept towards the river, corroding even the air in its path.

"Is that all you have?"

Jiang Liu sneered, and the Haoran Demon-Suppressing Armor was activated instantly, boosting his defense and maximum health by 1000%, and providing 20% ​​final damage reduction plus an additional 20% damage reduction against demonic units. The four blood-red blade beams that struck him only caused a few sparks to fly, without even breaking his skin. Instead, the passive effect of the Demon-Suppressing Guardian was triggered, directly ignoring most of the damage.

"Ten Heavens Soaring High! Three consecutive shots!"

Jiang Liu's hand speed was at its maximum. The Righteous Qi Sword danced in his hand, leaving a golden afterimage. Three sets of ten sword beams were slashed out in succession, instantly tearing apart the four blood-red blade beams. Then the sword beams landed on the four late-stage Integration Realm gatekeepers. Even though they were much stronger than the Blood Fiend Guards, they were still no match for them.

With four soft "plop plop plop plop" sounds, the four gatekeepers fell instantly, without even having time to scream. [You have killed a late-stage Fusion Realm Demonic NPC - Blood Fiend Gatekeeper]

[You have defeated the Blood Fiend Gatekeeper, a late-stage Demonic NPC.]

[You have defeated the Blood Fiend Gatekeeper, a late-stage Demonic NPC.]

After casually slaying the gatekeeper monster, Jiang Liu stepped straight into the BOSS room. The palace was even more gloomy and terrifying than Tianming Palace. Dark red blood flowed on the walls, and the floor was covered with dense magic patterns.

The NPCs inside the Demon Palace were indeed of a higher level. As soon as they entered the main hall, they encountered eight Blood Fiend Guardians at the early stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm. Each of them held a blood-red staff and seemed to be performing some kind of large-scale demonic art, trying to trap Jiang Liu inside the hall.

"The Tenth Heaven of the Soaring Clouds!"

Jiang Liu didn't give them a chance to cast a spell. The golden sword light burst forth instantly, and with a single strike, the eight early-stage Tribulation Transcending Guardians perished.

[You have killed the Blood Fiend Elder, a demonic NPC in the early stages of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.]

[You have killed the Blood Fiend Elder, a demonic NPC in the early stages of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.]

[You have killed the Blood Fiend Elder, a demonic NPC in the early stages of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.]

He sped along, and soon, the Lord of Blood Demon Island appeared before him.

"Unbelievable! A righteous cultivator actually dares to trespass on my Blood Fiend Demon Island!"

Before the Blood Demon Island Lord could finish speaking, a sword beam had already slashed over.

"Stop talking nonsense, Lingxiao Ten Heavens!"

You have killed the Lord of Blood Fiend Island.

Cultivation points +0.08%!

Damn, isn't that far too little?

In the days that followed, Jiang Liu spent his time gaining experience overseas.

On the first day, cultivation points increased by 3.54%.

The next day, cultivation points increased by 3.11%.

On the third day, cultivation points increased by 2.98%.

Day four, day five, day six.
You gain about 3% of your cultivation points every day. If this continues, you could very well go from the late stage of the Fusion Realm to the Great Perfection of the Fusion Realm in thirty days!

well.

Thirty days later.

Cultivation points: 97.11%!

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

Jiang Liu looked at his cultivation points, which were about to be full, and couldn't help but let out a strange cry.

hateful!

I'm less than 3% away from breaking through to the Great Perfection of the Integration Realm!

Damn it, is it still not working?

"No, not necessarily. The Central Plains Hegemony Battle is said to start in thirty days, but it hasn't been confirmed that it will be thirty days. What if it doesn't start until the thirty-first day?"

Jiang Liu muttered to himself, feeling quite uneasy if he didn't max out his cultivation points.

While there's still time, just keep grinding for a little while longer and you can break through to the Great Perfection of the Fusion Realm!

Keep going!

next second.

[System Notification: Only 1 minute remains until the start of the Central Plains Conquest. Players, please gather your personal resources and prepare for forced teleportation.]

[System Notification: All players participating in the main city defense will be teleported to the designated main city after the countdown ends.]

Jiang Liu: “.”

Jiang Liu stared at the glaring "97.11%" on the panel, sighed heavily, and looked full of regret.

Even if it's just half a day, I could reach the Great Perfection of the Fusion Realm!

"Oh well, it's just a little bit short. I can probably kill a few hundred or a thousand demonic NPCs when I go to the battle for supremacy."

Jiang Liu sighed and sat there waiting for the forced teleportation.

One minute later, his body disappeared from the spot.

Simultaneously.

Throughout the Central Continent and the overseas Demonic Seas, earth-shattering system announcements resounded, with golden text covering the panels of all players, announcing the official start of the second phase of the war between good and evil!
[System Announcement: The Second Phase of the Cultivation Era: The War Between Good and Evil - The Battle for Central Plains, has officially begun.]

[System Announcement: All players of the Righteous Path faction have been forcibly teleported to their respective guardian cities. Please proceed to your defensive positions immediately.]

[System Announcement: All overseas demonic NPCs have returned to Zhongzhou; the siege of the nine main cities is about to begin]

[System Announcement: As the first line of defense in the northern border of Zhongzhou, Zhenmo City has been besieged by the main force of the demonic forces. Players are urged to quickly reach the city walls to defend against the enemy.]

next second.

The river flowed steadily onto a majestic black city wall, and the entire city came into view at a glance.

The thousand-foot-high city wall was entirely constructed from rare demon-suppressing stones, making it incredibly sturdy. The wall surface was engraved with dense demon-suppressing patterns, with a faint golden light flowing within the patterns, constantly suppressing the demonic energy outside the city.

At the city gate stood a towering demon-suppressing pillar, its body engraved with ancient runes and radiating golden light, effectively blocking the demonic energy outside the city.

Looking outside the city, the scene was already one of dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it.

From Nascent Soul stage demon soldiers to Tribulation stage demon generals, a massive, dark demonic army stretched as far as the eye could see, its crimson demonic energy soaring into the sky and obscuring half the heavens.

Countless demonic blades, bullets, and spells rained down on the city walls, creating a deafening roar that caused the walls to tremble slightly.

The righteous NPC cultivators on the city wall are fighting hard. Golden sword energy, spells and blood-red demonic energy collide and explode into a rain of light. The battle has reached a fever pitch.

Jiang Liu: “????”

Jiang Liu stared at the battlefield, now embroiled in fierce fighting, his face full of questions.

what's the situation?
The battle for supremacy in Zhongzhou has only just begun, but it seems like it's been going on for a long time!
Moreover, how come there are still so many Warri Demons?

Jiang Liu was completely baffled. He had already killed so many demonic NPCs and demonic monsters, so why were there so many more in each city?
Did you just improvise this, planner?

[System notification: You have successfully teleported to the designated guardian city, Demon Suppression City]

[System notification: As the lead player in protecting Demon Suppression City, you have activated the City Lord's privileges and can now go to the City Lord's Mansion to mobilize defensive equipment and war supplies.]

[System Notification: The Haoran Demon-Suppressing Armor adaptation bonus and the Demon-Suppressing City exclusive bonus are now active. All attribute effects are increased by 100%, and damage to demonic units is increased by an additional 20%]

[System Notification: The Demon-Suppressing Pillar's blessing is in effect. Within the Demon-Suppressing City area, your spiritual energy consumption is reduced by 50%, and your sword damage is increased by an additional 100%.] (End of Chapter)