Chapter 374: People of the Feique Sect, Get the Hell Out Here

Qing Guo excitedly asked the system, "I can buy the Spiritual Liquid now, right?"

The system replied, "Alright, fine. Approved. I’ll give it to you when you’re ready to use it on-site."

The Spirit Bottle only produced a single drop of Spiritual Liquid every seven days. Although it was sold to players, it wasn’t intended to be a money-maker, so it couldn’t be purchased easily.

Its price was enough to make ordinary players balk, and a key requirement for its use was being at a Late Stage.

For example, Late-stage Qi Refining or Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, any player wishing to purchase it had to have a sufficiently urgent reason.

The system added, "But you two are really gutsy. If you fail, be careful it doesn’t all blow up in your face."

Qing Guo smiled confidently. "It’s fine. I’ll be careful."

Ever since entering the Xingshui Sect and gaining the protection of two senior martial sisters, Qing Guo had been operating with the Sect’s team of Independent Practitioners.

From the Early Stage of Qi Refining to Late-stage Foundation Establishment, her progress had been nothing short of meteoric.

On the surface, she was practicing a common Cultivation Technique that was sold within the Xingshui Sect, but for her power to advance so rapidly still turned heads.

Qing Guo was an exceptional person in real life; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been assigned to enter the game in the first place.

Even in this complex Cultivation World, she possessed the same confidence.

However, this time she was dealing with people from the Taixue Sect, so she needed to be extremely careful.

Failure would mean being recognized, which would be a major incident.

Therefore, she had to ensure a single, decisive strike.

If Wei Heng and Mi Qiao were to make a lethal move against Zhan Sheng first...

*

"Mom, can you guys see me?"

Facing the invisible camera, Gu Ping’an tentatively waved his hand.

And when they saw Gu Ping’an’s face, although it was a bit unfamiliar, there was still a familiar resemblance.

Gu Xi had explained to them that the in-game character creation would look different from his real-life appearance.

Mrs. Gu and Mr. Gu both couldn’t help but cover their faces.

They were choked with sobs.

At the same time, they looked over at the game pod.

Gu Ping’an’s body was lying inside, in a deep sleep.

But in the game, he was now awake.

[We can, we can see.]

Gu Jia excitedly posted the comment.

Gu Ping’an had started a private family stream, so only they could watch, preventing any strangers from joining.

They just had to post comments to communicate.

When Gu Ping’an saw the comment, he smiled. "It’s good that you can see. Mom, Dad... I thought I’d never get to see you again."

As he spoke, Gu Ping’an’s voice choked up. "Mom, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say what I said. I was just being impulsive."

God knew how much Gu Ping’an regretted it.

Mrs. Gu shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It’s okay, it’s okay. Mom doesn’t blame you."

Gu Jia, his own eyes red, typed: [It’s okay. None of us blame you.]

Besides, Gu Ping’an had already paid a huge price.

Gu Ping’an felt a pang of sadness as he read the message.

Although he could communicate via the comments, he couldn’t see his family’s faces or their expressions on the other side of the screen. Still, he could sense their excitement.

"Mom, I’ll stream every day from now on. You can just watch whenever you’re free. It’s the only way for now. I’ve been catching up on a lot of information these past few days. I hope that one day I’ll wake up for real and see you all face-to-face."

Hearing this, Mrs. Gu looked at Gu Jia, her voice filled with excitement. "Is there really a chance he could wake up?"

Gu Jia thought for a moment. He had recently been learning a lot about the Broken Sect game and had heard news about how many people with disabilities were able to function normally within it.

In reality, however, their physical conditions remained unchanged.

The hope was slim, but it was hope nonetheless, so he nodded. "Maybe there’s a chance."

Holding on to hope was better than having none at all.

Things were already so much better than they used to be.

Before this, Gu Jia had never thought there would be a day when Gu Ping’an could "wake up" and see them again.

Even if this reunion was happening in a way that defied imagination.

Hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Gu felt a sense of anticipation well up inside them.

Mr. Gu hadn’t been an old fuddy-duddy, exactly, but he did have a deeply ingrained mindset that viewed playing games as a frivolous pursuit, not a proper occupation.

No matter how advanced the gaming industry became, in his eyes, it couldn’t escape the ultimate purpose of mindless entertainment.

But Broken Sect had truly shattered his preconceptions. Even if its fundamental purpose was to be a game, the technology lurking behind it was clearly beyond the current capabilities of Blue Star.

Mr. Gu had done some research himself and learned that the developers behind the game had never been identified, which was why it had remained in a "closed beta" state.

In today’s highly connected world, that was unbelievable.

Mr. Gu then looked at Gu Jia. "Are the developers behind this game connected to the government?"

Gu Jia turned to his father and shook his head gently. "It’s hard to say, Dad. I think the level of technology behind this game is probably beyond what our country is currently capable of."

A flicker of bewilderment crossed Mr. Gu’s eyes. He was, after all, just an ordinary person, and found it difficult to imagine the deeper implications behind it all.

Mrs. Gu, on the other hand, smiled through her tears. She found it both incredible and a little absurd. "If it’s not government-regulated technology, what could it be? Aliens dropping in on Blue Star?"

Mr. Gu and Gu Jia looked at each other, nonplussed.

Then Mr. Gu actually mumbled, "Hard to say... Didn’t our country just get to the far side of the moon a while back? There have been rumors they found something."

Gu Jia snorted with laughter.

He actually thought the idea was nonsense. Even if they had discovered something, the power of Broken Sect couldn’t be described by technology alone.

Mrs. Gu was speechless.

Their family rarely discussed such science-fiction topics; it was just that Broken Sect was too bizarre to ignore.

"Mom, Dad, Big Brother, are you guys still there?"

Gu Ping’an stared at the empty comment feed. When his family wasn’t posting, he felt a surprising lack of security.

Gu Jia quickly posted a comment: "We’re here, it’s fine. You do your thing. Mom, Dad, and I all have the stream open on our phones. We’ll pop in to watch when we can. We’re all in your bedroom right now."

The system chimed in, "Isn’t there a viewer count in the top-right corner? You could just look at that."

Gu Ping’an said mournfully, "A non-human creature like you could never understand the complex emotions and longing we humans feel for our family."

The system clicked its tongue. "Ping’an, you’ve only been here a few days. An Early Stage of Qi Refining, and you’re already picking up the rebellious habits of the veteran players, are you?"

Ever since the veteran players discovered the system was unreliable, they’d started roasting it behind its back.

The system was like some passive-aggressive grand chamberlain from an old palace drama.

’Who knew what kind of technology was behind its creation!’

’What on earth did they feed this thing?!’

Gu Ping’an chuckled. Chen Miaomiao walked over and said to him, "Let’s go. I’m taking you out to hunt demon beasts today."

Gu Ping’an’s body jolted with excitement. He’d spent his first few days in the game cramming new information and getting used to the cultivation system.

’Is it finally time to start killing mobs?!’

But just as Chen Miaomiao was about to lead Gu Ping’an away,

a tremendous voice suddenly boomed from outside Wang’an County.

"Where are the people of the Feique Sect? Get the hell out here!"