Chapter 337: The Mountain Rain is About to Come

70%.

I've hit the jackpot!

Lin Bai grasped the system's loophole in an instant. He ignored Hu He and instead looked at the one with the highest cultivation, Qingyun: "Qingyun, are you willing to sacrifice yourself for your master?"

Hu He felt dejected and sorrowful.

As expected.

Among all the disciples, she was the least valued.

She was the first to offer to sacrifice herself, yet the moment the master turned his head, he went to ask someone else...

Qingyun was stunned: "Master, what are you saying? We decided from the very beginning, the plan to seal me as a Puppet..."

"No, that was a last resort, not something you volunteered for." Lin Bai shook his head, interrupting her, and asked earnestly, "If the lightning tribulation reaches a critical moment and only one of us can survive, are you willing to sacrifice yourself to let your master live?"

Qingyun subconsciously looked at Xu Longyun and Jiang Qingqin.

What does this mean?

Is he hitting on me?

So you only take disciples to flirt with them?

"Master, I am willing, I am willing." The little white fox seemed to have found something fun and said excitedly, "I am willing to die for Master."

"I am willing too," Jiang Qingqin said; when it came to competing for favor, she never liked to fall behind.

"Master, I can too." Xu Longyun frowned slightly. She knew Lin Bai never did anything without a purpose. Looking at Qingyun, she sighed silently, putting pressure on her.

【Those who imitate me live, those who resemble me die. With an example set, the disciple still expresses willingness to sacrifice for the master. Virtue Value increased, Spiritual Power feedback rate increased to 50%.】

Twenty percent less?

This damn system isn't rigid this time; those who imitate are indeed inferior to those who innovate!

But fifty percent is not bad either.

Lin Bai smiled and nodded at them, then cast his gaze back toward Qingyun, persistently waiting for her answer.

Qingyun looked at Lin Bai in confusion, then looked at the group of male Cultivators surrounding the Tribulation Cloud. After pondering for a moment and connecting it to the virtue Lin Bai always emphasized, she nodded: "This disciple is willing to sacrifice herself to preserve Master."

【... Spiritual Power feedback rate increased to fifty percent.】

A notification echoed in his mind, and Lin Bai beamed with joy.

Xu Longyun and the others had low cultivation, so their Spiritual Power feedback was actually inconsequential, but Qingyun was different; it had jumped from a single digit to fifty percent.

Even in the brief moments when the lightning tribulation paused, the cultivation she used to recover Spiritual Power would be enough to push her own cultivation up by a significant margin!

As expected.

A disciple's virtue is too important.

"Good, with this heart of yours, Master is satisfied. Rest assured and face the lightning tribulation! Practice more when you have time." Lin Bai smiled and comforted Qingyun a few times, then, killing two birds with one stone, turned to the Tuohai ancestors and the others: "What about you? Are you willing to sacrifice yourselves for your master?"

"This disciple is willing."

Tuohai, Ye Song, and the others said in unison.

Although they didn't know what Lin Bai was doing.

They didn't mind offering a few verbal pleasantries to this cheap master of theirs.

Anyway, their lives were currently in Lin Bai's hands; when it came time for them to die, it didn't make much difference whether they were willing or not!

Besides.

Although Lin Bai was vicious to outsiders, as long as one joined the Justice Alliance, there was a basic guarantee.

Lin Bai had always been good to the disciples within the alliance, usually doing his utmost to preserve the alliance's vital strength.

This point was actually better handled than most sect leaders.

Regardless of whether the disciples were sincere or fake.

Lin Bai had brushed the Spiritual Power feedback rate of all his disciples to fifty percent.

Except for a few players and the three of them including Xu Longyun, the remaining twenty-plus people were all at least at the Great Vehicle Realm. With a fifty percent feedback, Lin Bai could seemingly feel his Spiritual Power increasing every moment.

The matter of Lin Bai's second Soul Possession was concealed by the players. They hoped that the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects would contend with Lin Sibai, weakening each other, and then profit from the situation.

Blindly showing Lin Bai's strength might scare the Seven Righteous Sects out of targeting Lin Bai.

Therefore.

When concealment is necessary, it must be concealed.

However.

The fact that he used "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix" inside and outside the Tribulation Cloud had spread. This event caused too much of a stir; the natives saw it themselves without the players needing to spread it.

After all, for such a major event as Lin Bai undergoing Tribulation Transcendence, one had to witness it with their own eyes.

Moreover.

To prevent Lin Sibai from coming to use Butterfly Transformation to resurrect Lin Bai, the Cultivators sent by the twelve sects almost surrounded the Shengji Sect, guarding all the roads.

The support group came to find Lin Bai; the reason they didn't stop them was the thought that if this group of Heavenly Descended happened to break into the lightning tribulation, they could add fuel to Lin Bai's Heavenly Tribulation.

Who would have thought that Lin Bai would actually use the support group to play a round of "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix" across the lightning tribulation.

This scene left the Cultivators watching from afar stunned.

"Brother Wan, what should we do?" A Great Vehicle Realm Cultivator from the Poison Sect, wrapped in black energy, asked. Since Lin Bai's emergence, "what should we do" had become the catchphrase of every Cultivator. "Should we kill those Heavenly Descended?"

"Why kill them? Lin Bai hasn't used Phoenix Seeking Phoenix on himself. If we kill them and disturb Lin Bai, and that madman shrouds us with the lightning tribulation, which one of us could last a moment in the lightning tribulation?"

Brother Wan looked at the lightning storm that shrouded the entire Shengji Sect and said coldly.

He had seen a True Person of the Tribulation Transcendence Stage undergo tribulation, but he had never seen such a massive display.

The lightning that blotted out the sky and sun made his hair stand on end just looking at it, let alone being dragged into the lightning tribulation. He had long since developed deep admiration for Lin Bai; after all, this guy had led over ten thousand people to hold out in the lightning tribulation for over twenty days without a single death.

"Then we just ignore it?" asked the Great Vehicle Realm Cultivator wrapped in black energy.

"The sect's order to us is to intercept the Soul Possessing Lin Sibai; just execute the order, do not create extra complications," Brother Wan said. "If Lin Bai is truly using 'Phoenix Seeks Phoenix' on himself to avoid the lightning tribulation, it means he cannot hold on any longer. It won't be too late for us to take action against the Heavenly Descended outside then. Their cultivation is not high, and it will be easy to fight them..."

Real World.

Lin Wubai thought that handling 【Lin Jia Xiaoniangzi】 would be easier than Zheng Tong; after all, the young lady was his fan.

But what he did not expect was that the difficulty of handling his own fan was almost several times that of Zheng Tong.

The young lady was a die-hard fan of Lin Bai. Upon learning that Lin Wubai had actually followed her from the game into her body in the Real World through Soul Possession, she not only felt no fear at all, but instead ecstatically accepted this fact. Moreover, she couldn't wait to share this good news with all the sisters in the fan club, wanting to use the fan group to carve out a piece of the world for Lin Bai in the Real World.

If Lin Bai hadn't persuaded her in time, she would have already done so.

Most of those obsessed with game characters are two-dimensional girls. Regarding the matter of their idol's soul sharing a body with them, their level of acceptance is extremely high.

Especially since Lin Bai could also use immortal arts, that was simply an even more wonderful thing.

When Lin Bai was talking to her, she had already imagined in her mind many love stories with her and Lin Bai as the protagonists, such as mermaid legends, Prince Charming and the princess, predestined marriages from past lives, and so on, and excitedly told them to Lin Bai.

If Lin Bai didn't use silence on her, the two sides wouldn't be able to communicate at all.

After a full hour or more, Lin Bai finally analyzed the current situation clearly for her and told her about the matter of keeping secrets, only then letting her re-enter the game.

And Lin Bai, bearing the identity of 【Lin Jia Xiaoniangzi】 in reality, truly began his exploration of the Real World...

Time moved forward neither fast nor slow.

Ten days of time.

Lin Sibai conquered two sects: the Beast Taming Sect and the Moon Spirit Sect.

Calling it conquest is actually occupation, because before he arrived, the sects had long since moved out and emptied everything.

Not a single sect was willing to go head-to-head with Lin Sibai.

Countless facts had long since proven that rashly engaging in a decisive battle with Lin Bai would only make him stronger the more he fought; it was better to avoid his edge and strike with a single blow at the critical moment.

Lin Sibai was not idle either. Every time he arrived at a sect, he would inevitably set up a Magpie Bridge and use the "Justice Weekly" to promote the victory of the Justice Alliance, continuing to crusade against the remaining sects.

Although they did not experience substantial wars, the sects of the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects were wealth in themselves.

Any sect location that could be operated for tens of thousands of years was a place with dense Spirit Qi...

The players following Lin Sibai finally made a fortune. Although the territory was nominally the Justice Alliance's, Lin Sibai was a lone commander, and the cultivation speed of natives like Luo Xue was slow; in the end, these conquered sects still had to be managed by players.

Except for players not controlled by financial groups, players who were spies for financial groups that had to remain in the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects, and players who had to remain in the game world to participate in financial group operations.

Most players passed through the Magpie Bridge and gradually gathered toward the sects, using the rich resources of the sects to level up and using the fastest speed to replicate the technology of the Real World...

Back then.

The creation of the Purple Red Infrared Light Strip to deal with Lin Bai's Spirit Soul made players realize that the technology of the Real World was not useless; if used in the right place, it was truly possible to deal with the natives...

The cultivators of the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects were forced to leave their sects, play cat-and-mouse with Lin Sibai, and wait for the growth of their own heaven-gifted geniuses, as well as the death of Lin Bai in the lightning tribulation.

Realizing the unreliability of players, the sects decisively separated cultivators and players bit by bit. Low-level cultivators who were of no use were dispersed and integrated into all parts of the world, waiting for an opportunity to act.

High-level cultivators, through various means, gradually arrived at the outskirts of the Taichu Kingdom and the Taihao Kingdom. They completely blocked the roads from the two countries to the Shengji Sect, the purpose being to intercept Lin Sibai and prevent him from going to resurrect Lin Bai...

Unknowingly.

Players and cultivators gradually separated, forming two factions.

As for the verbal battles in public opinion, except for "Justice Weekly" and "Heavenly Dao Review" which were still active, publications like "Heavenly Dao Journal" and "Poison Journal" had long since stopped operating.

The mountain rain is coming, and the wind is sweeping through the building.

Even the sects had given up; the natives of the Xianxia World had long had no time to spend effort on these irrelevant trifles. They were just waiting for Lin Bai to die, or ascend, to launch a crazy counterattack against the Heavenly Descended and completely resolve all hidden dangers.

As for the Cooking Competition requested by Lin Bai, after Lin Bai split his Spirit Soul, no sect paid any attention to it.

Lin Bai sent his Spirit Soul to invade their sects; the two sides had long since torn off their masks. To go and help Lin Bai with the Law of Cultivation, unless they were stupid.

Lin Bai threatened them with the lightning tribulation, but Lin Bai also had to be able to find them.

Anyway, their sects were now the Justice Alliance's; Lin Bai wouldn't be so insane as to bring the lightning tribulation to destroy his own sects, right!

Long-term struggle.

The sect masters of the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects finally learned to abandon and endure...

The sects gave up on preparing the world-class Cooking Competition for Lin Bai, but the Justice Alliance would not give up. Lin Wubai's deterrent power over several countries was not much less than that of the sects.

After all.

"Justice Weekly" was bombarding them, taking down a sect at every turn, and there were various photos as evidence.

The Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects, however, had disappeared without a trace, without any large-scale actions. After more than ten days of bombardment, the public had long since only known of Lin Bai and not the Seven Righteous Sects.

Wolves in front, tigers behind.

"Justice Weekly" proposed to continue organizing the Cooking Competition. The royal families of various countries naturally did not dare to defy the orders of the Justice Alliance. While Lin Sibai was conquering cities and territories, every country, every city, and every town was holding one Cooking Competition after another in full swing.

Progressing layer by layer, just waiting for the day to select the top eight, then go to the Shengji Sect to have a match with Lin Bai, and finally let Lin Bai obtain that predetermined title of "Food God".

Of course.

Various countries were also closely watching Lin Bai's main body in the lightning tribulation, and were ready at any time to welcome a new God-Demon War—no, the epoch-making struggle between the Cultivation World and the Law.

In short, the current Xianxia World presented a strange kind of calm.

The local sects began to guard against players, and Lin Bai's news about the Seven Righteous Sects and the Demonic Five Sects disappeared accordingly. Even if he constantly paid attention to the player forum, he could not find any news about the sects.

The world was too big.

Even if the sects had many people, if they were truly determined to hide, it was normal not to be able to find them for a while.

Lin Bai could roughly infer the movements of the sects, but at this moment, his mind was no longer on the sects. After the lightning tribulation had lasted for forty days, Qingyun finally showed signs of being unable to hold on.

This time.

It is not fake; it is real.

Because from time to time, thick bolts of lightning would pierce through the tree shadows of Qingyun and strike the Azure Wood True Body; one thick branch after another was struck down by the lightning, subsequently catching fire and crashing to the ground, emitting a deafening roar.

Every time a branch fell, Qingyun would let out a cry of pain, and the azure phantom she supported would weaken by a fraction...

If not for the Phoenix Seeking Phoenix, the low-level Cultivators undergoing Tribulation Transcendence together with Lin Bai would have long since perished in droves.

The effect of the Spring Breeze Transformation Rain Art was already minimal. But after more than twenty consecutive days of nourishment from the Spring Breeze Transformation Rain Art, the Azure Wood was already laden with fruit, and those fruits capable of extending life by a thousand years had long since ripened.

Lin Bai and the many Cultivators had all eaten the fruits; those fruits contained immense vitality, yet they provided no help to their strength.

There was no need to look after the ten thousand low-level Cultivators, and the Faraday Cage had also been completed. However, the cage meticulously crafted by Zuo Lan only lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea during the lightning tribulation before it was torn apart by the thunder.

If not for Qingyun replacing the cage in time to block the lightning tribulation, perhaps even a few Great Vehicle Realm Cultivators would have perished; with forty consecutive days of accumulation, the lightning tribulation had gone completely mad, striking downwards indiscriminately, and in places not protected by Qingyun, the lightning was as dense as raindrops, leaving not even a place for people to stand.

Beyond the Azure Wood, the trees for a hundred miles had long since been struck into scorched earth by the lightning.

Of course.

The Faraday Cage was not built in vain; it allowed Qingyun a cup of tea's worth of recovery time.

Qingyun's Spiritual Power intake and output during that cup of tea's time.

The fifty percent feedback intensity forcibly pushed Lin Bai's own cultivation all the way to the Void Refinement Realm, just one realm away from becoming a top-tier expert.

(End of this chapter)