Chapter 700

In the Spiritless Desert,

Jiang Ding's figure vanished.

The Northern Plains buzzed with chaos, heroes rising and falling; no matter how drastically the situation shifted, it could not affect his cultivation.

After confirming once more that the Great Sun Qingse Jianzong hadn't run off on its own legs, his annual routine became regular.

Cultivation, refining his flying sword, attending classes.

Splitting multiple threads to attend various academic conferences and resolve sword-related problems encountered in the Immortal Sect's research.

Honestly, even though swordcraft was obscure in the Immortal Sect, with only him mastering it, he still had projects year after year.

Projects spanned metallurgy, warship design, spell development, artifact forging—each demanded considerable time and energy, painful yet fulfilling.

Though exhausting,

in the process of constantly solving sword-related problems, his own sword foundation grew rapidly, and he acquired rare treasures and library points even valuable to Nascent Soul True Lords.

The Great Sun Nascent Soul Secret Technique, Sword Art Sword Nine, Sword One—all were under continuous development.

As for the Great Sun Nascent Soul Secret Technique, no need to elaborate.

Zhang Zhang Junsheng, along with numerous Soul Transformation True Lords drawn in by library points, were all working to advance this project; completion was still nearly two thousand years away.

Among them, the Nascent Soul legacies within the souls of Ran Gu Master Dinghai Zhenjun and Yin Jiu Master Dinghai Zhenjun, as well as the Great Sun Qingse Jianzong's Gong Fa heritage, played a significant role, saving hundreds of years of research.

Sword Art Sword Nine and Sword One progressed through continuous research into the fusion of sword intent and sword techniques, and the fusion of sword techniques with sword qi thunder-sound.

The Immortal Art·Sword of Destroying Jin Zhi was also being explored, but progress was extremely slow.

If more Zhengmo Alliance clan Gong Fa were available, perhaps advancement could be made.

The Northern Plains clans' Gong Fa all originated from Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun and could aid the study of Jin Huangyu's illustrations.

Unfortunately, the Yin and Tie families refused to be peacefully killed, soul-searched, and thus drive deeper change across the Northern Plains.

For now, there was no solution—only to leave it for the future.

Every year was this busy, his spiritual sense split into seven or eight threads, each with its own tasks, profoundly fulfilling.

Thus, time flew by.

Before he knew it, ten years had passed.

……

On this day, beneath the Sun God Tree, Jiang Ding opened his eyes; the chaotic pressure around him and the turbulent magic power within his dantian gradually calmed.

"When was the last time I played a game?"

"Over two hundred years ago…"

Jiang Ding glanced at the second Heavenly Gang prohibition, which was faintly taking physical form within the Taiqing Flying Sword, and suddenly felt a strong desire.

"I'll play a game."

The last time he played a computer game was probably during first or second year of junior high.

After entering high school, studies became demanding, and he stopped playing.

After Gao San, he endured countless battles, numerous deaths, and relentless cultivation—he had long since discarded his childhood whims and forgotten them.

The last time he played, it seemed he was with Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Ding gazed into his spiritual sea, searching for memories from his childhood.

Back then, his family's finances were limited; he played 2D computer games—games like Sword Immortal or Sword Hero—meeting many interesting people online.

Alas, beneath the passage of time, all had turned to ash.

Jiang Ding's spiritual sense stirred slightly, traversing great distances, purchasing a retro computer from an old electronics shop, and using his spiritual sense as fingers to tap the keyboard, typing in the name of that old 2D online game.

A stack of extremely ancient webpages popped up; the latest post was from ninety-seven years ago, a newbie asking how to change classes.

And then nothing.

The game had shut down over a hundred years ago, no longer popular, and no longer profitable.

Scanning other new 2D online games, there were indeed some.

The Immortal Sect had a vast population and a huge market; coupled with the relatively expensive Grand Void Illusion Realm landing pods, companies still developed and operated such games for profit.

Jiang Ding casually logged in, recharged some spirit coins, played for a while—but found it utterly dull.

Many Nascent Soul True Lords had loved games since childhood, and for a thousand years remained devoted—even those who were long-term cultivators would break their seclusion early to compete in tournaments held every decade or so, just to claim the championship title.

For example, Mier Canghai Tianjun, who constantly brooded in prison, was furious that he hadn't won the 1,356th Immortal Alliance Championship—it had been taken by a player named "Yuyuyuyu." He thought her skill was mediocre, unworthy even to carry his shoes.

These True Lords and Tian Jun still held passion for games.

Clearly, Jiang Ding was not among them.

With such a vast gap in time, returning to play now, he could no longer recapture the feeling of those days.

"Forget it,"

Jiang Ding sighed, setting down the keyboard: "It's meaningless. Let me check on the swordcraft game I developed—see what sword prodigies have emerged after all these years of cultivation."

With a spiritual sense search, without needing a Grand Void Illusion Realm landing pod, he quickly found the most popular game of recent years: "Sword Dominates the World," and logged in.

Jiang Ding's vision blurred.

When he opened his eyes again, everything around him was a white haze, leaving only a dim rebirth entrance.

Here, one could register, create a character, roll talents, choose origins, spiritual roots, and so on.

Once confirmed, the system would insert you into the Grand World for simulation, allowing you to enter at ages such as eight, twelve, or sixteen.

"Not bad…"

Jiang Ding closed his eyes, sensed for a moment, then opened them.

He was not skilled in business matters; he didn't know whether this style or game model would appeal to Immortal Sect citizens—he simply evaluated realism in terms of touch, smell, sight, and spiritual sense, measuring its alignment with reality to gauge its value in guiding actual sword cultivation.

At present, realism reached over ninety-seven percent—well worth the vast amount of spirit stones invested in its development.

This swordcraft online game was, without doubt, the most heavily funded in the market, with at least dozens of Nascent Soul True Lords involved in development, countless Jin Dan and Foundation Establishment cultivators, and a research team so luxurious it was terrifying.

"Random,"

"Random,"

"..."

Jiang Ding clicked wildly, and finally a teenage boy appeared before him—a triple elemental root cultivator, a villager from Shuishui Village, naturally quick-witted, increasing sword speed by 5% with both hands.

Click to enter.

A whirl of dizziness passed, and soon a fishing village appeared before him.

Jiang Ding scanned the surroundings and saw cultivators dueling in the distance, battling over heavenly treasures, soon vanishing into the distance.

A group of newbies stared at them helplessly, only venturing out of the village after the fighting cultivators had left, seeking immortal fortune.

According to the setup, they would encounter water bandits, bullies, wealthy young masters and ladies, hermit cultivation ruins, Ru Sect trials, guild brawls, and all manner of interesting events; those with sword talent or wealth would ascend their cultivation rapidly within a few years, gaining much.

The experience gained from these ascensions held strong relevance for the real world.

This was precisely the purpose of the numerous Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun developers, and the main reason this sword-themed online game had topped the charts for years.

(End of Chapter)