This is a cultivation game, but the operation is bad

Just as Jiang Liu was wondering if he was the only one defending the city in the entire Central Continent, the system gave him the answer.

[System Notification: The defenses of the six main cities in Zhongzhou are under full pressure. Six main cities, including Xuanshui City and Luoxian City, have breached their defenses. The casualty rate of cultivators exceeds 60%. Emergency support mission triggered - Zhongzhou Guardian Plan]

[Mission Requirements: Player Jiang Liu must arrive at Xuan Shui City within 6 hours, take over the defense command, hold Xuan Shui City for at least 12 hours, and wait for the arrival of the Immortal Alliance reinforcements.]

[Task Rewards: 150000 Guardian Merit Points, Realm Advancement of 0.5 to the Tribulation Stage (cumulative 1.0), 3 random mid-grade Immortal Artifact Fragments, 500 million Spirit Stones]

[Failure Penalty: All existing merit points will be deducted, the Haoran Demon-Suppressing Sword will be downgraded to a low-grade immortal artifact, and the cultivation level will drop by one small realm]

Jiang Liu: “.”

Listen to this, look at this, is the reward proportional to the punishment?

Mission complete. You'll receive some merit points, half a minor cultivation level, a few fragments of broken immortal artifacts, and 500 trillion spirit stones.

If the mission fails, all merit points will be deducted, the Righteous Qi Sword will be downgraded, and the cultivation level will be downgraded.

Is this reasonable?

There's nothing he can do about it, since the mission has already been assigned; he can't just refuse it.

Anyway, as long as we don't fail, that's fine, isn't it?
At this time.

Ling Xuan Zhenren, the NPC who had reached the Great Perfection of the Tribulation Transcending Realm, came up again, handed over a golden teleportation talisman, and said anxiously, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, something has happened. I just received news that the cultivators in Xuan Shui City have suffered too many casualties and are in imminent danger. Please go and provide assistance as soon as possible!"

"This is a teleportation talisman. It can instantly transport you to Xuan Shui City. Fellow Daoist Jiang, please take it. I won't charge you."

"Don't worry about Demon Suppression City. With me here, we will definitely not let the demonic path take it away!"

Jiang Liu: “.”

You're really well-prepared, aren't you? You even pulled out a teleportation talisman.

Still want money?

If you dare ask for money, believe me, I'll betray you on the spot.
Jiang Liu rolled his eyes, said nothing, took the teleportation talisman and activated it. With a flash of white light, he instantly disappeared from the spot.

When I opened my eyes again, the pungent smell of blood and the dense demonic energy hit me, making the situation several times worse than what I had experienced in the Demon Suppression City.

He was all too familiar with that smell; he'd been smelling it every day for the past few dozen days.

After Jiang Liu teleported to Xuan Shui City, he looked around and saw that most of the city walls had collapsed. The ruins were filled with the corpses of cultivators, and black demonic blood flowed down the city walls, forming a foul-smelling river of blood on the ground.

Less than a hundred cultivators remained on the city wall, all of them covered in wounds and weak, yet they were still desperately resisting the surging tide of demonic soldiers.

In the sky, an old man with white hair, wearing a blood-red Taoist robe, was holding a long sword and resisting the siege of three Great Perfection Tribulation Demon Generals. He was the city lord of Xuanshui City.

His Taoist robe was already soaked in blood, his left arm hung limply, clearly broken, and blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth, indicating that he was at his last gasp.

[System Notification: Player Jiang Liu has taken over command of the defense of Xuan Shui City. He must oversee operations from the City Lord's Mansion and is prohibited from directly participating in combat.]

Jiang Liu: “.”

OK, I understand.

Just then, Master Mochen also saw Jiang Liu. His eyes instantly lit up with wild joy. He used all his strength to force back the three demon generals and sent a telepathic message in Jiang Liu's direction.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang! You've finally arrived! Xuan Shui City is about to fall! Please use the arrow tower formation from Zhenmo City to save this city!"

The surrounding cultivators also heard this and turned to look at Jiang Liu, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Although it's unclear how they found out Jiang Liu could build arrow towers and formations, it's obvious that the NPCs wanted Jiang Liu to do so.

If you tell me to build it, I'll build it. Wouldn't that make me lose face?
No, this isn't about saving face anymore; the key issue is that he has no money!

All the spirit stones I had saved up for so long were spent on the Demon Suppression City. Where would I find any spirit stones left?

Do you really think he's an unlimited ATM?

Building arrow towers and formations isn't like buying a gift pack; there's no 0.1% discount available.

Jiang Liu was stunned and speechless. He spread his hands and said helplessly, "Check the information. You're Master Mo Chen, right? It's not that I don't want to build it, it's that I don't have any spirit stones!"

"No spirit stones?"

Master Mo Chen was taken aback, clearly not expecting this answer, and asked in confusion, "Fellow Daoist Jiang is joking. How could you lack spirit stones if you can build so many arrow towers in Demon Suppression City?"

"That was all my own money!"

Jiang Liu said speechlessly, "That's several hundred million spirit stones! After defending Demon Suppression City, we'll only have a little left. We can't even build a third-tier arrow tower. How are we supposed to defend it?"

Mo Chen Zhenren's smile froze instantly, and the hope in his eyes dimmed slightly.

One billion spirit stones is no small sum; even the entire reserves of Xuan Shui City might not be enough to raise that amount.

However, for the sake of Xuan Shui City, we have to scrape together what we can!

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, how many spirit stones do you need to protect it?"

Master Mo Chen gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and asked, "As long as you can defend Xuan Shui City, I will find a way to raise as much as you need!"

Ok?
What do you mean?
You want to pay?

You, the NPC, are going to pay me, the player?
If you pay me, won't the planner get angry?

Jiang Liu was first surprised, then overjoyed, and pondered, "It won't cost much, you can just give me a billion spirit stones."

Master Mo Chen: "."

"Ten, ten billion?!"

Master Mo Chen gasped, staggering slightly, clearly shocked by the number.

The surrounding cultivators gasped in shock.

One billion spirit stones—that's the entire reserve of Xuan Shui City, plus the funding from the Immortal Alliance in recent years, just to barely scrape together the sum.

Once depleted, Xuan Shui City's subsequent cultivation resources and city defense repairs will be in dire straits.

"What? Can't you produce it?"

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow, already prepared to haggle.

He actually knew that Xuan Shui City could raise the money; after all, it was one of the eight cities in Zhongzhou, and even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

Come, Master Mo Chen, let me see your resolve!
Master Mo Chen's face alternated between pale and flushed as he watched the demonic soldiers approaching the city and the cultivators falling around him. He abruptly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were filled with determination. He said in a deep voice, "Fine! Ten billion it is! I'll give it to you!"

Before he could finish speaking, Master Mo Chen tossed out a jet-black storage ring that flew toward Jiang Liu, his face contorted with pain as he said, "This contains 1.083 billion spirit stones, the entire fortune of Xuan Shui City, and some of my personal savings. Fellow Daoist Jiang, I beg you, you must protect Xuan Shui City!"

Worthy!

They actually took it!

I knew it! The righteous cultivators in Zhongzhou are all rolling in money, how could they not even be able to come up with a billion spirit stones?

Great, now we can use NPCs' money to do quests!
I hope the planner won't be angry.

Jiang Liu caught the storage ring and almost burst out laughing.

One billion eighty-three million, more than he had expected. If he could save a little this time, the spirit stones he spent in Zhenmo City would be back to normal.

"Don't worry, Master Mo Chen!"

Jiang Liu put away his storage ring, patted his chest, and confidently declared, "With these ten billion spirit stones, let alone three Great Perfection Tribulation Demon Generals, even if a Great Ascension Demon Commander came, I'd blast him back!"

After saying that, he immediately brought up the defense control panel, his fingers flying across the screen, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips.

[System notification: Player has been detected to possess one billion spirit stones. Level 5 defensive fortification access has been unlocked.]

[Tier 5 Demon-Slaying Arrow Tower: Priced at 50 million spirit stones, each arrow can gather billions of golden rays, ignoring 80% of the defense of demonic units, dealing 70% damage to demonic units below the Great Ascension stage, and comes with the "Demon-Slaying" special effect, capable of tearing through demonic energy shields]

[Fifth-Tier Myriad Immortals Grand Formation: Priced at 80 million spirit stones, covering an area of ​​10,000 meters, all attributes of righteous cultivators within the formation are increased by 100%, the power of arrow towers is increased by 80%, and it can purify a large area of ​​demonic energy]

Jiang Liu: “.”

I am!

Another Tier 5 arrow tower and Tier 5 formation have been unlocked?!
I just got a billion spirit stones, and you want me to spend them?

You can unlock it, but I won't buy it, right?
"5000 million for a tower, 8000 million for an array, sorry, I can't afford it." Jiang Liu's face darkened, and he began to make arrangements.

"Around the core array base, build 20 fourth-tier Immortal Slaying Arrow Towers and 5 fourth-tier Demon Burning Arrays! On the right wing of the city wall, build 20 fourth-tier Immortal Slaying Arrow Towers and 5 fourth-tier Demon Breaking Arrays! On the main gate avenue, build 30 third-tier Demon Burning Arrow Towers and 10 second-tier Demon Breaking Arrow Towers, with first-tier Demon Suppressing Arrays covering the entire path!"

Here are so many arrow towers and formations for now; we'll deal with that if we don't have enough.

As a series of system notifications sounded, golden light suddenly burst forth outside Xuan Shui City, so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

In an instant, dozens of arrow towers rose from the ground, numerous large formations unfolded, and a golden light curtain covered the entire city like the sky, forcefully repelling the dense demonic energy.

The cultivators in the city felt their spiritual energy surge, and their fatigue and pain instantly disappeared.

The fourth-tier Immortal Slaying Arrow Towers on the left and right wings were neatly arranged, their tops gleaming with golden light, locking onto the demonic soldiers who were attacking the city.

A raging fire erupted atop the Tier 3 Demon-Burning Arrow Tower, its flames illuminating half the sky in gold.

The light barrier of the first-order demon-suppressing array covered all attack paths, and the demonic energy hissed on the light barrier, being continuously purified.

"This...this is the power of ten billion spirit stones?"

Master Mo Chen stared at the defensive fortifications before him, speechless with shock. His previous fatigue and pain seemed to have been largely dispelled by the golden light.

The surrounding cultivators were even more dumbfounded. One Nascent Soul cultivator rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Am I seeing things? Those golden arrow towers are even taller than those in Demon Suppression City? And that formation can actually purify demonic energy?"

The demonic army below the city was also startled by the sudden golden light, and their offensive came to an abrupt halt.

Three Great Perfection Demon Generals hovered in the air, their faces so gloomy they could drip water, looking at the densely packed arrow towers on the city walls and the golden light curtain that enveloped the entire city.

"Damn it! What kind of nonsense is this?"

The leading demon general roared, his demonic energy surging and condensing into a thousand-meter-long demonic blade. He roared, "Charge! Destroy those arrow towers first! I don't believe these broken towers can stop us!"

With his roar, tens of thousands of demon soldiers surged forward like a tidal wave once more.

"Well done!"

Jiang Liu sneered and pointed his finger.

"All arrow towers, fire freely! Prioritize eliminating ranged and tanky magical units!"

The next second, a terrifying scene unfolded.

The fourth-tier tower was the first to attack, with nearly a hundred thick, mountain-like golden arrows shooting out and piercing through the front-line rock-armored tank demon soldiers. The rock armor shattered like paper under the golden light, and the demon soldiers' bodies were instantly torn apart, black blood splattering everywhere.

Other arrow towers followed closely behind, unleashing a barrage of arrows that triggered the piercing effect, piercing through three or four demon soldiers with a single arrow. The ranged demon soldiers in the back row were swallowed up by the arrow rain before they could even fire their magic bullets, falling in droves.

The blazing rain of arrows from the Tier 3 Demon-Burning Arrow Tower fell like a waterfall, instantly igniting the demon soldiers who touched them, who screamed as they turned to ashes.

The light barrier of the first-tier demon-suppressing array suppressed the demonic energy, slowing down the movements of the demonic soldiers and making them easier for the arrow towers to lock onto.

"No! This is impossible!"

The leading demon general, who had reached the Great Perfection of the Tribulation Transcending Realm, looked at the front-line attack that collapsed in an instant, his expression changed drastically, and he roared in disbelief, "How can these arrow towers be so powerful?!"

The demon general from the previous city asked the same question.

Don't ask, the answer is the power of spending money.

"Charge! Destroy those arrow towers!"

The demon general roared and personally led two other demon generals who had reached the Great Perfection of Tribulation towards a large number of fourth-tier towers in the core area. The demonic energy around him condensed into a thick shield, and he brandished his demonic blade, trying to forcibly destroy the arrow towers.

"Trying to demolish my arrow tower? Did you even ask me?"

Jiang Liu's lips curled into a cold smile as he tapped the panel again.

"Build all towers and focus fire on the three Great Perfection Tribulation Transcending Demon Generals!"

"All formations, max out the amplification!"

Nearly a hundred arrow towers simultaneously locked onto the three demon generals, and the golden arrows at their tips instantly condensed to their maximum intensity before hurtling towards the demon generals!

"Not good! Defend!"

The lead demon general's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly activated his demonic energy shield. The other two demon generals also attacked at the same time, and the three black demonic shields were stacked together in an attempt to block the arrow.

However, these magic shields are as fragile as paper in the face of so many towers.

The golden arrow instantly pierced through the three demonic shields, with one arrow piercing directly into the chest of the demon general on the left. The demon general let out a shrill scream, and his body instantly disintegrated, turning into a sky full of demonic energy that dissipated.

"Second!"

The leading demon general, his eyes bloodshot, roared as he charged toward the arrow tower, but he had only taken a few steps when the second wave of arrows arrived.

This time, fifty arrows locked onto him simultaneously, their golden light illuminating his ferocious face.

He wanted to dodge, but there was no way to avoid it.

"No! I'm not reconciled!"

The demon general let out a desperate roar, burning all the primal demonic energy in his body in a final desperate attempt.

But the golden arrow pierced through his demonic body in an instant, triggering the demon-slaying effect. The demonic energy within him was instantly purified, and his demonic body crumbled inch by inch.

The third demon general was so frightened that he turned around and tried to run away, but Jiang Liu would not give him the chance.
"Gather the fire!"

Another volley of arrows rained down simultaneously, instantly engulfing the fleeing demon general. Before the demon general could even scream, he was blasted into dust by the arrows.

[System notification: Defeat the Demon General at the Great Perfection of Tribulation Transcending.]

Why are there only three demon generals at the Great Perfection of Tribulation Transcending stage? Where are the demon generals at the Mahayana stage?
Let's test the waters!

With the fall of three Great Perfection Demon Generals who had transcended the Tribulation, the demonic army completely lost its command, and its morale collapsed instantly.

The remaining demon soldiers, seeing the dense array of arrow towers and the terrifying golden light on the city walls, lost all their previous ferocity and turned to flee.

"Want to run? Have you asked me?"

Jiang Liu smiled and pointed with his finger.

"All arrow towers, switch to global mode! Leave no survivors!"

In an instant, a golden rain of arrows swept across the land like a tsunami, engulfing all the fleeing demon soldiers.

Seeing this devastating scene, Master Mo Chen was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Master Mo Chen bowed deeply towards Jiang Liu, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "The entire Xuan Shui City will never forget your great kindness!"

Jiang Liu waved his hand, looked at the several hundred million spirit stones still in his storage ring, and grinned from ear to ear, saying, "Don't be so polite. I'm just doing my job, not doing my job. No, it's all for the righteous path!"

As he spoke, he used the control panel to rebuild several low-level arrow towers that had been damaged by the aftershocks of the demon soldiers, and at the same time activated the automatic defense mode of the arrow towers to prevent any from escaping.

Soon, time passed, and the demon soldiers outside the city were completely wiped out, and the river of black demon blood gradually dried up.

At the same time, the system voice sounded again.

[System Notification: The defenses of Xuanshui City are stable. The casualty rate of cultivators has dropped below 5%. The array base durability is 100%. Xuanshui City has been successfully defended for 6 hours.]

[System Notification: The Immortal Alliance reinforcements have arrived outside Xuan Shui City and are currently clearing out the remaining demonic forces.]

[System Notification: Congratulations to player Jiang Liu for completing the Xuan Shui City support mission. Mission completion rate: 100%]

[System Notification: Core Rewards Distributed]

[Realm Advancement: 0.5 Minor Realm (Cumulative 1.0, already stored in the Realm Pool, will automatically take effect upon breakthrough)]

[Weapon Evolution: Haoran Demon-Suppressing Sword (Mid-Grade Immortal Weapon) → Haoran Demon-Slaying Sword (Mid-Grade 5 Immortal Weapon)]

A series of system notifications exploded in Jiang Liu's mind. He was stunned on the spot and it took him a full three seconds to react. His mind was full of question marks.

He understood the concept of 0.5 minor realms; he had already attained it once.

But what the hell does "medium grade 5" mean?
Even top-grade immortal artifacts are to be distributed, right? (End of Chapter)