"It feels like we're playing a game."
A young man with messy hair excitedly yelled out, visibly exhilarated, hopping about on the spot as though showing off his skills. Undeniably, he had cultivated the Method of the Agile Swallow to the Innate Realm.
In fact, among the group at the moment, aside from those who chose the Purple Cloud Method, the remainder, whether they picked the Method of the Moving Mountain or the Method of the Agile Swallow, only had to drink all the water in their water bags and finish the two vegetable cakes to undoubtedly gain inner strength for a lunar month, then successfully become an Innate Realm Martial Artist.
"Whether it's a game or not isn't important. What matters is that we might die."
A middle-aged man with a rather imposing face spoke, and his words immediately weighed heavily on everyone's minds. Death was a distant concept, but if it was right before their eyes, would it make any difference whether this was a game?
"My name is Shen Qianshan, I'm also from P City. You've probably noticed that there are fifty of us here, all from P City. I don't think it's a coincidence. After all, we were among thousands, even tens of thousands, including many foreigners, when we were picking the Stele to transmit skills."
"Assuming this is a game, then its purpose is to make us collaborate. I guess the reason is that the enemy is too terrifying, like that giant spider, which is likely a monster in the Cultivation World."
Everyone nodded in agreement with this statement. This Shen Qianshan was someone Wei Cheng had once glimpsed from afar. He was a high-ranking executive in a corporation. In fact, about a third of the fifty people here recognized him.
"Mr. Shen, whatever you say goes!"
Several people immediately voiced their support. Even the loud, impulsive young man agreed, looking up to him with admiration...
"Knowing the enemy and yourself ensures victory in every battle. We don't know enough about the giant spider yet, so first we need to understand ourselves. We had three mental methods to choose from, which I think are akin to different profession match-ups."
"Now, those who chose the Method of the Moving Mountain and have cultivated to the Innate Realm, please step to one side."
Shen Qianshan was straight to the point and began to issue instructions without further ado.
Nobody objected. Wei Cheng and others stepped forward. Quite a few had chosen the Method of the Moving Mountain, twenty-two in total. Clearly, given the choice between offense and defense, people preferred defense.
This included Shen Qianshan, who then said:
"Now, those who've chosen the Method of the Agile Swallow and have cultivated to the Innate Realm, please step to this side."
Swish,
Twelve people stepped forward - mainly women.
Now sixteen men and women were left in the middle, their faces a mix of embarrassment, helplessness, and regret, all thinking the same thing: Master Jin led us astray!
They all chose the Purple Cloud Method purely for its reputation. Who would have thought that after drinking all the water and eating all the vegetable cakes, they would still fail to breakthrough to the Innate Realm after exhausting efforts in cultivation.
Not breaking through to the Innate Realm made all the difference.
One way you're a weakling, the other, a superhuman. Sigh!
After a brief silence, Shen Qianshan spoke up again, "Everyone, I believe there's no point in dwelling on whether this is a game or some other ordeal prepared by an Immortal. We need to stay vigilant no matter what."
"And since we've made our choices, there's no turning back. The fifty of us were grouped here, under the current circumstances, there are several possibilities."
"First, perhaps we all need to cultivate to the Innate Realm to defeat the Spider Demon and obtain the next skill-transmitting Stele. On it might be a new mental method, or martial arts skills suitable for our respective methods."
"Second, we might not all need to cultivate to the Innate Realm. The three mental methods represent three professions; even if the inner strength you've cultivated from the Purple Cloud Method doesn't reach the Innate Realm, it might still severely damage the Spider Demon. So, we still have a high chance of clearing this level. But, the price would be that once you consume your Purple Cloud inner strength, it can't recover due to you not being in the Innate Realm."
"Third, we all stay put and wait for these sixteen people to continue cultivating the Purple Cloud Method. Only when they reach the Innate Realm will we proceed to the next level. The one thing we're unsure about, however, is whether time is on our side."
After Shen Qianshan laid out these three possibilities, everyone fell silent again. Those who cultivated the Methods of the Moving Mountain and the Agile Swallow turned to look at the sixteen people – their thoughts were clear without being said.
"Mr. Shen, how about we wait a bit? They might be able to break through in just a few days."
It was Wu Hongwei who spoke up now - his granddaughter had chosen the Purple Cloud Method, making the choice at this moment particularly crucial.
At this moment, however, Shen Qianshan was silent, because no matter what he said, he would offend someone. If these sixteen cultivators who practiced the Purple Cloud Method refuse to fight the spider, wouldn't the remaining thirty-four people be sent to their deaths?
Although he considered himself a hero, he didn't have the courage to be the first to charge out.
It seemed the only option left for now was to wait.
However, without clean water and cabbage pancakes, could these sixteen people really cultivate the Purple Cloud Method to the Innate Realm in a short time?
At this moment, a man whom Shen Qianshan had assigned to observe the Spider Demon ran over quickly, screaming in a nearly-crying voice,
"Not good, Mr. Shen, the giant spider is starting to spawn!"
Upon hearing these words, everyone was thrown into panic. They could remain calm and meet here previously because the entrance to the mine could only accommodate two people walking side by side. The giant spider, as huge as a heavy-duty truck of more than ten meters long, certainly could not squeeze in.
But if the giant spider started spawning, it would be a different story.
"Gentlemen, hesitation leads to chaos. We cannot wait any longer. While the Spider Monster hasn't mutated and its spawns are not many yet, let's attack together and kill it!"
Shen Qianshan was rather decisive, shouting immediately, which was also Wei Cheng's idea. If they still hesitated at this time, they might as well wait for death!
Unfortunately, even though most of them had quickly become Innate Realm Martial Artists, they were fundamentally still ordinary law-abiding citizens. The situation immediately plunged into chaos, with everyone scrambling like headless flies, rushing to the mine where they had taken shelter before.
Only a dozen or so relatively calm people were left on the spot, looking at each other helplessly.
However, with the sound of silks dragging on the ground, a dozen spiders the size of washbasins quickly crawled into the mine. Even the calmest among them panicked; after all, this was no game.
"Kill!"
It was no wonder that Mr. Shen was an important figure. He could still yell out commands at such a time. He exhibited remarkable composure. He swung a pickaxe, smashing a spider, its juice spraying all over.
The power of role models is indeed infinite. Immediately, four or five people mustered up courage and charged up. They included Wei Cheng, who picked up a pickaxe and smashed wildly. In no time at all, they smashed the dozen or so spiders dead on the spot. It was too easy.
"Everyone, stay calm. As you can see, it's not that hard, right?"
Shen Qianshan shouted loudly, taking the opportunity to reassure everyone. This was a trait a leader must have.
Indeed, at that moment Wei Cheng felt that following Mr. Shen would lead to unlimited bright future.
Not to mention the others. The panicking crowd quickly calmed down. Many beautiful ladies started to glow in their eyes.
"Everyone, let's not delay. In my opinion, we should join hands and get out of here—"
Before Shen Qianshan could finish his inspirational words, unexpectedly, a black claw shot out from nowhere and pierced through his chest.
His lifelong Inner Strength of the Moving Mountain couldn't protect him against it.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh...."
Shen Qianshan waved his hands in desperation, his eyes filled with disbelief and unwillingness.
But for the others, the shock of this scene was too great.
"Ahhhh!"
Who knows how many people screamed, soiling their pants out of fear. But in the next moment, more black claws sprouted out, taking away those who were screaming in strings.
This time, everyone saw clearly that these black claws were coming out of the rocks beneath them.
It turned out there was more than one monster.