Qingcheng, the Secluded World.
Qingcheng, a famous Daoist mountain, has always been an ideal place for cultivation and the residence of immortals. Countless people with great supernatural powers have emerged from here.
On the eighth day of May, suitable for worshipping a master and avoiding relocation, a rare commotion and loud noise arose in the quiet and tranquil Qingcheng Mountain.
That was the sound of the metal bells and chimes, which echoed and collided among the peaks of Qingcheng, and even dispersed the perennial mist.
From every mountain peak, and within each palace and tower, Daoists hurriedly shuttle out and rush towards the same direction — combining together but moving like swift horses.
Some Daoists even leaped into the air, treating the rugged mountain roads and deep cliffs as nothing, flying over them with grace.
Their figures were wonderful, riding the wind as if they were dragons wandering in the nine heavens, fluttering and soaring.
Looking up at the sky, you would find many Daoists wielding swords and flying at a speed that only left black shadows and blue light in your line of sight, disappearing in an instant.
At this time, nearly a thousand Daoists had already lined up on the highest peak of Qingcheng. In the front row were Daoists in bright red robes, looking solemn.
In the center was a high platform of ten feet, on which only two people stood – one wearing a purple Daoist robe and the other a golden one. Every movement they made revealed an imposing aura; their closed eyes flickered with divine thunder as no one dared to look directly at them.
They were Tiandu and Minghe – the two most senior Daoists of Qingcheng at present, also the heads of the sect.
"In accordance with the orders of the Ancestral Master of the Immortal Realm, our Qingcheng Sect will open its mountain gate from today on and recruit disciples widely."
Daoist Tiandu clasped his hands in prayer, kowtowed three times to the sky, and then recited loudly after standing up.
"We shall follow the decree of the Ancestral Master."
A thousand Daoists knelt down and kowtowed, performing three kowtows and nine prostrations towards the central platform, while reciting mantras at the same time. The low and suppressed chanting of the mantra intertwined, and turned into a subtle, intricate wave of sound that spread far away, like a stone thrown into calm water.
At the same time, a colorful rosy cloud fell from the sky, casting a magnificent radiance on the entire mountain peak.
This scene was not only happening on Qingcheng Mountain, but also at every corner of the world and at every famous mountain and scenic spot at the same time.
Mount Emei, Mount Wudang, Huashan, Kunlun, Bamboo Mountain, and many other sects held their gatherings at the same time. They received the decree passed down from the Upper Realm Ancestral Master and began to recruit disciples from outside the sect.
********
Ye Rong leaned on the electric massage chair, yawning with his mouth wide open, with a 29-inch touchscreen tablet suspended in front of him. Holding a pot of freshly squeezed orange juice in one hand, he quickly moved his hands on the tablet screen, checking the latest news and information.
As he scrolled past page after page of news, none of it aroused any interest in Ye Rong, not even enough to make him want to read more in detail.
"Shushan Swordsman, oh Shushan Swordsman, how could such a classic game end so abruptly!"
Ye Rong knew very well that by the end of last year, the average online population of the Shushan Swordsman game had dropped below 300,000, which was a far cry from its peak of 8 million concurrent users.
Facing such an irreversible downward trend, the closure of Shushan Swordsman could be predicted. Even its production company had been sold to the largest game operator in the country, Sheng Feng Network Co., Ltd.
As a loyal player of Shushan Swordsman, Ye Rong has always been particularly fond of cultivating immortality-themed online games featuring sword-wielding flight, access to the nine heavens, and the use of magic weapons. Despite the decreasing number of players, he never gave up on the game and persevered to the end.
On the last day of Shushan Swordsman's operation, thousands of players from all walks of life and races gathered on Ningbi Cliff of Mount Emei to witness the last sunset of that world together. Some were so heartbroken that they cried bitterly on the spot, and for many, the memories of the three years spent in the game were worth more than just a moment.
When the massage session ended, Ye Rong stood up from the chair and walked out of the room wearing flip-flops.
This was a long, narrow corridor, too narrow for two people to walk side by side without their arms rubbing against each other. Every few steps along both sides of the corridor was a room. Ten or more rooms were created in such a corridor, rented by different people.
Some doors were open, and, looking inside, Ye Rong saw a messy and dirty scene, with clothes scattered all over the place, and the smell of stinky socks wafting from the rooms.
Ye Rong pinched his nose and quickly walked away from the front doors of these low-rent houses. The tenants living in such affordable housing naturally varied in quality, and they all had limited standards of living. If you want to save money, you can't expect a higher quality of life.
The circular living room was quite large. Ye Rong walked up to a large square machine and swiped his identity card to order a bowl of beef tendon and large intestine noodles for himself. In less than five minutes, a bowl of steaming hot and fragrance-filled broth noodles was pushed out from the center of the machine—
Such a meal cost only five dollars, enough to fill an adult's stomach. The reason it was so cheap was that all the food materials were artificially synthesized. Although there was no significant difference in nutritional content, there was a slight difference in taste. Even worse, eating machine-made food with the same taste all year round posed a severe challenge to any normal person's appetite.
In the early 22nd century, the rapid progress in technology did indeed improve human life, but the cost of artificial labor also increased sharply. For Ye Rong, enjoying a handmade meal at a restaurant would be a luxury he could only indulge in once a month, if that.
Ye Rong took his beef tendon and large intestine noodles and tossed his identity card back into his pocket. Once he had filled up his meal, however, he glanced at the remaining balance on the card, which he could report without even calculating, even with his eyes closed.
"Damn, I'm down to three digits again, I can't live like this!"
Ye Rong, with a bitter face, carried his noodles towards his room when a stunning woman with youthful brightness walked towards him.
The corridor was narrow, and seeing that Ye Rong was holding a bowl of noodles, the young woman quickly stepped aside, fearing that the broth would splash on her. Her eyes quickly scanned over Ye Rong, showing a hint of disdain and contempt.
Ye Rong recognized her. She had moved in just over a month ago and lived two doors down on the left. She would go out every day, dressed to kill, attracting all the single men in the corridor to take notice.
With a kick, Ye Rong closed the door behind him and, by chance, heard the "ding dong" of a new email notification. He quickly went back to his touchscreen tablet, browsed his email while wolfing down his noodles.
"The Other Shore? New game?"
As soon as he opened the game, he saw several game animation clips. Ye Rong clicked on one, and a group of beautiful fairy-like celestial beings with ribbons flowing in the air appeared, flying gracefully. Each one of them had a jade-like face, a charming smile, and enchanting eyes, not unlike real-life celebrities;
There were also several Daoists standing on a green peak, summoning endless divine thunder from the sky with a wave of their hands while a large sword array operated underground, sending out Sword Light hundreds of feet high.
"The game company is Sheng Feng, isn't this the same company that acquired Shushan Swordsman?"
Ye Rong immediately became interested, clicking on the game's content introduction and reading it carefully—
Turns out, this latest online martial arts game called The Other Shore used Shushan Swordsman as a template, going through significant changes and enhancements, making it this year's highly anticipated release.
Ye Rong connected to the internet, casually searched for information about The Other Shore, and immediately found an overwhelming amount of material.
As early as six months ago, this game, known as the fully enhanced version of Shushan Swordsman, had already been creating a lot of buzz on the internet, with countless players eagerly anticipating its release. Three months ago, the internal testing slots were selling for 800 yuan each, and there were still countless players rushing to buy them.
During that time, Ye Rong had been dealing with a series of issues in his real life and had not even noticed the promotion of The Other Shore.
"I have to try it out for the sake of Shushan and maybe earn some extra living expenses!"
Ye Rong started his optical computer, downloading The Other Shore game package, installing it, and preparing to officially launch it at 2 pm today, by which time the installation should be complete.
Ye Rong had quit his job two months ago and now had no income at all. Fortunately, the cost of living in a low-cost rental house is only 120 yuan a month, and he could still barely make ends meet by relying on his previous savings.
During the game downloading process, Ye Rong also logged in to the game forum and clicked on several threads specifically introducing The Other Shore. There were some articles written by experienced internal testers on the forum, which were very useful to him as a newbie, so he wouldn't feel lost after entering the game and not know what to do.
Although The Other Shore was entirely new, its background story inherited from Shushan Swordsman consists of various martial arts sects such as Mount Emei, Mount Wudang, Qingcheng, Huashan, and several Devil Cults. Players have the opportunity to enter as a Loose Cultivator under a powerful master depending on their luck.
The game has only two races, humans and demons, each with significant differences in inherent attributes, spell usage, and growth. Players can choose different races to play the game according to their preferences.
As Ye Rong flipped through the postings, the more he learned, the more interested he became in The Other Shore. He quickly read through dozens of internal tester experience posts, mostly about what newbies needed to pay attention to and what to do when starting leveling up.
"Starry Sky Information? Let's see what this crappy company has to say."
This Starry Sky Information Company is dedicated to doing game data statistics work and carries significant authority.
Ye Rong remembered clearly that it was this Starry Sky Information Company that had reported the declining data on Shushan Swordsman for several consecutive years, making this classic game of his no longer tenable.