Chapter 359: A Vegetative Person Can’t Log Off

The System answered, "It’s hard to say."

"Until I see them, I can’t be certain it’s the same person."

Song Jiulai could see that Yun Yan didn’t know anything else, so she started asking about the Tianyang Sect.

"You said you came from the Tianyang Sect’s territory. Why would people from there go to such great lengths to come to the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect?"

And a lot of them, too.

Yun Yan said cautiously, "You don’t know, Senior? Ever since Elder Liu of the Tianyang Sect passed away last year, he left a prophecy: a person from beyond the heavens would descend upon the Yunzhou Continent. Since then, the continent has fallen into exceptional turmoil. Demon Cultivators have been appearing frequently around the Tianyang Sect, many small sects have been wiped out, and our Fire Demon Sect was one of them."

"We ordinary disciples had no choice but to find a way to escape. The Ten Thousand Immortals Sect is the closest sect to Tianyang, and we only needed to cross the Demon Cave Valley to get to this side..."

Song Jiulai’s immediate thought was, ’Holy shit.’

’A person from beyond the heavens?’

Song Jiulai had heard this rumor before.

In fact, she’d even suspected it might be her.

’But I refuse to accept the part about ’plunging Yunzhou into chaos.’’

’I’m obviously here to help the Yunzhou Continent and guide its development.’

’To be called a ’calamity’ is just so disheartening!’

’And this rumor actually came from that Elder of the Tianyang Sect...’

’Did a Great Power like him see something before he passed away?’

Song Jiulai’s heart leaped into her throat for a second. Seeing her stand there without reacting for a long moment, Yun Yan grew terrified.

’Whether I live or die now is entirely up to Song Jiulai.’

Song Jiulai turned to him. "What method did you use to get here?"

Without daring to lift his head, Yun Yan replied, "We don’t know the exact method. It was something like a Teleportation Array. All we know is that if you paid, you could get through a certain place, cross Demon Cave Valley, and arrive on this side. We have no idea who controls the array over there. All contact was made in secret."

Song Jiulai fell silent.

"So, can you get back to the Tianyang Sect’s territory?"

Yun Yan’s heart stuttered. "I... I can, but... a trip back would be fraught with peril..."

"If you want to live, you have to go back."

’I’ve finally gotten my hands on a live one from the Tianyang Sect’s territory; I have no intention of letting him go just like that.’

She asked the System, "If someone under contract returns to the Tianyang Sect’s territory, our map should update too, right?"

System: "It can, but you won’t have direct control."

The location data will update, but you won’t be able to see his perspective like you can with the players.

Yun Yan trembled. He gritted his teeth and said, "If that is what Senior requires, then I will obey."

Song Jiulai replied, "Not right now, of course. For the time being, just stay in this area. I’ll contact you when the opportunity arises. By the way, besides your group, is there anyone else around the Spirit Fox Sect?"

Yun Yan said nervously, "Some disciples from the local sects have come by recently. But other than them, no, there’s no one else."

They always traveled in organized groups, so it was clear they were from a sect.

And it must be a sizable sect, because they always came with at least five cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage or higher.

They also brought along a group of Qi Refinement Realm disciples.

Their presence was too conspicuous, and they were afraid of alerting the local sects.

That’s why Qian Lingdong and the others hadn’t dared to make a move.

This time they’d set their sights on Song Jiulai, and unexpectedly, disaster had struck!

Song Jiulai raised an eyebrow.

’So there’s no one else at the Spirit Fox Sect.’

’That means this place is now unclaimed territory!’

’And it still has Spiritual Energy.’

Song Jiulai had no intention of letting this opportunity pass.

She set up a marker nearby so that the players could naturally take over the area in due time.

’I’ll turn this into a place for raising spiritual beasts.’

After shooing Yun Yan away and telling him to roam somewhere else, Song Jiulai had the System relay the news back to the sect.

Of course, since people from the Tianyang Sect’s territory had been active in the area, Song Jiulai decided to use a safer approach to prevent any mishaps.

Namely, to turn the Spirit Fox Sect into a second Longevity Sect.

The place was too far away, so all she needed to do was erect a Boundary Stone to prove the territory was claimed.

’Let’s establish a new sect. It’ll be a new sect in name only; in reality, it’ll still be the Longevity Sect.’

Song Jiulai scratched her chin. "Besides, you can found a new sect with just a single disciple."

From what she understood, the requirements for establishing a sect were very simple.

You just needed to pay a fee and get a plaque.

The authorities might not even bother with an inspection if they thought it was too much hassle.

And even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. The Spirit Fox Sect was completely empty anyway.

It would be a real shame not to claim this land.

So, Song Jiulai said to the System, "Ask Su Daqiang and the others who wants to be the new Sect Master—in name only, of course."

The System relayed a message a moment later. "It’s Su Daqiang. He was their unanimous choice."

After all, Su Daqiang could understand the language of spiritual beasts. It was like he was born to raise them.

Although they hadn’t told anyone else about this, Fan Guzhou and the others had likely guessed a few things. Since Su Daqiang was so interested in raising spiritual beasts, he was the perfect choice.

She had just killed those cultivators. This time, she burned their bodies to a crisp, leaving only their Jiezidai.

Since this was about to become her territory, she wasn’t afraid of anyone finding out.

Once Song Jiulai was done handling matters at the Spirit Fox Sect, this body of hers was planning to return to the Dragon Frost Swamp.

After all, this body had been delayed for far too long. She was still on the clock as a worker over at the Sea View Sect!

’I have to turn in my earnings soon!’

Once this body returned, it wouldn’t be able to come back for some time. If another emergency occurred, the Longevity Sect would have to fend for itself.

However, Jingque True Man would probably be back soon.

With her protection, and with Han Daozi still at the Longevity Sect, Song Jiulai could rest a little easier.

That’s right. The woman hadn’t even returned, and Song Jiulai was already planning to rely on her.

Meanwhile, the Longevity Sect was bustling with activity, as another wave of new players had just arrived.

One of them finally made their way out of the Longevity Sect and arrived in Wang’an County.

He was looking left and right, clearly a total noob.

A dazed look covered his face. From the moment he’d entered, he had been in a state of utter shock.

But this shock didn’t stem from the game’s realism.

At that moment, Chen Miaomiao finished studying the array formation Han Daozi had given her. She pondered for a moment. Thanks to her research into Spiritual Energy and her dedicated study of the All Living Beings Skill, her understanding of these concepts had quickened. She soon said to the System, "If the main array eye is on the Sect Master, we’ll need another player—ideally one who can stay online permanently—to hold the minor array eye. Otherwise, when the arrays cycle, there’s a risk of a momentary stall that could cause the entire formation to fail."

She had to account for even the slightest possibility of failure.

Unfortunately, there were currently no players who met that condition.

Every player had to log off eventually.

But then the System said, "If you’d asked yesterday, the answer would have been no. But as of now, there is actually one person who fits the bill."

Chen Miaomiao was surprised. "Stay online permanently? Who could possibly do that?"

System: "In this latest batch of new players, there’s one who’s in a vegetative state in the real world. He can’t log off."

Chen Miaomiao: "..."

For the first time in her life, she was tempted to just call the whole thing absurd.