Cultivation: But Not a Game-Chapter 47 - 22: River God Temple, Chained Demon Stronghold (Part 2)
This mortal realm is under the dual protection of the Taihu Mountain God and the Chensha River God. No spirits respawn here, and mountain monsters dare not come over, making it safe.
Five hours later, the Spirit Fish Shuttle flew over a high peak, and the scene before them suddenly opened up.
Beyond the mountain peak lay an endless plain with crisscrossing waterways, rice fields stretching out to the horizon.
The shuttle crossed the vast plain and saw a white ribbon in the distance dividing the plain in two. As they got closer, the ribbon became clearer, revealing a turbulent great river.
Following the river, a solitary peak suddenly appeared on the endless plain.
The mountain top had been leveled by powerful mana, forming a colossal platform two kilometers from north to south and one kilometer from east to west. Thirty-six massive stone pillars stood around, enclosing a town. Occasionally, flying ships and sword lights flew into the town from afar, and occasionally, teams flew out from within.
As the Spirit Fish Shuttle entered the town, he contacted He Shoucheng:
"I’ve arrived in Chensha Town, at the South Gate Square."
"Wait a moment."
"Okay."
Closing the communication, Su Yu looked up to examine the small town.
The thirty-six massive stone pillars surrounding the town were engraved with large formation patterns, through which spiritual light occasionally shuttled to the tops of the pillars. This was clearly the Town Defense Array, although it was not currently activated.
The town was bustling with people, not as much as Thousand Feather City, but still quite prosperous.
All those coming and going were cultivators, but not all were members of the Thousand Feather Guild. Like Thousand Feather City, some were from the second group of members, some were affiliate members, and some were independent teams or individuals linked to the guild. There were also many pure loose cultivators.
The South Gate Square was a bustling flea market, with many people setting up stalls to sell their goods, and even more people stopping by to browse, trade, haggling with a hubbub of noise, filled with lively excitement.
The two intended to take a stroll, but He Shoucheng arrived quickly.
"Mr. Su!"
Looking up, they saw He Shoucheng descending slowly, accompanied by a familiar-looking pretty woman and a man who bore some resemblance to the woman. After a moment of recollection, Su Yu quickly remembered them; they seemed to be one of the top 64 competitors from a previous test.
They shook hands, and he pulled the woman over to introduce her:
"My girlfriend, Zhang Yunfei."
"Hello, Su Yu!"
"I recognize you; your swordsmanship is very impressive."
"And this is Zhang Yunchen, heh, my brother-in-law."
"Hello."
"This is my friend, Gu Zhiqiu."
Su Yu also introduced Gu Zhiqiu, who was behind him, and after everyone got acquainted, they walked into the town while chatting.
"I came a few days earlier than you. After watching for a while at the River God Temple, I found two tasks suitable for us at this stage."
"About a thousand kilometers upstream along the river, on the right side is the Taihu Mountain Range. On the mountain is a demon territory belonging to the Taihu Mountain God, with a total of 36 Chained Demon Strongholds. The River God Temple has a mission: for every certain number of demon soldiers or leaders killed, you gain Chensha River reputation. If you kill the demon stronghold’s leader and completely destroy a stronghold so no new demon soldiers respawn, you can get a Chensha River God’s Order, which can be exchanged for good things."
He Shoucheng spoke with excitement.
"I checked; items include high-level magical treasures above the seventh tier, spirit pills that increase innate attributes, treasures that grant bloodlines, you name it."
"You can level up and gain reputation at the same time, hitting two birds with one stone."
"What about the other one?"
"About twenty thousand kilometers upstream is a large lake directly connected to the Chensha River. In the lake resides a great demon that refuses to submit to the River God. The task is to slay the demon army to gain Chensha River reputation."
"I personally suggest not going to the lake, as it’s the territory of the Star Forging Guild. Our guild doesn’t get along with them, and it’s easy to suffer losses if we go there."
"Indeed."
Su Yu nodded, smiling.
"Then let’s go to the demon stronghold. Shall we head out now?"
"First, let’s go to the River God Temple to receive the task."
"Let’s go."
The group walked along the main street bisecting the town, arriving at the town’s center, where a temple covering thousands of square meters stood by the river. Inside stood a tall golden statue, beneath which was a human body, the head shrouded in a faint golden mist of incense so you couldn’t see its true form, nor could you tell the real form of the River God.
Opposite the temple, on the other side of the town, stood a building complex covering tens of thousands of square meters, which was the second battalion’s headquarters, filled with people, but Su Yu had no intention to interact with them for now.
Upon entering the temple, a special interface Su Yu had never seen before automatically popped up, featuring three sections.
The sections were the task interface, the reputation exchange interface, and the sacrificial interface.
The task interface showed various tasks published by the River God Temple, such as collection tasks, bounty, and elimination of the River God’s opponents.
The reputation exchange needs no explanation; those who know, understand.
The sacrificial interface is a special interface allowing one to use special treasures for sacrifices to the River God. If the offering meets the criteria, it’s possible to communicate with the River God, gain the River God’s favor, or receive additional benefits from the River God.
Moreover, sacrifices are also a key way for Divine Descent System cultivators to enhance their strength.
Divine Descent System cultivators fight by invoking divine powers, gaining formidable strength, requiring regular sacrifices to maintain good relations with the deities.
Su Yu browsed through the interface to grasp the overall picture, then switched to the task interface to accept tasks.
The next second, feeling a prompting, he looked up to see the River God statue gazing at him, a golden light shooting down and forming a peculiar mark on his chest.
No explanation was needed; he understood intuitively.
This thing was like the guild task token, recording the completion progress of the task. As long as a monster from the demon stronghold was killed or a stronghold was destroyed, it would be recorded in it. When reporting back, the River God’s will discerned everything instantly.
Su Yu accepted a task to clear demon soldiers, and another to collect demon weapons.
Killing demon soldiers from the stronghold would yield their weapons, which the River God Temple bought in bulk.
After accepting the tasks, the five of them came to the edge of the town, where He Shoucheng retrieved a palm-sized red boat, throwing it into the wind. It expanded into a Fire Spirit Ship, upon which they jumped, with the flying ship quickly ascending into the air, heading north.
Two hours later, they had left Daliu and arrived at the Chained Demon Stronghold.
The 36 Chained Demon Strongholds were centered around a mountain peak, stretching hundreds of miles, with individual strongholds, together extending over ten thousand miles into the Taihu Mountain Range.
Each stronghold had a major demon over level 150, numerous demon generals over level 100, with the combined strength of the thirty-six demon strongholds far greater than the Poisonous Mist Swamp.
Additionally, the demon strongholds were on land, making it impossible to receive various warship support. With the Thousand Feather Guild’s strength, they could fight, but significant casualties were certain.
Although dying once on the other side wasn’t a complete death, at least five years of lifespan couldn’t be squandered lightly.
Without absolute certainty, the guild wouldn’t gamble with everyone’s lives.
The Fire Spirit Ship flew to the edge of the demon stronghold, from above you could see several entrances and exits of the demon stronghold, each with a team of players guarding to intercept demon soldiers.
They didn’t attack up the mountain, just stayed at the entrance at the foot, waiting every twenty minutes or so for a large number of demon soldiers to respawn and rush down, splitting into groups of two to three hundred soldiers at the mountain waist and charging down the path, with teams waiting at the entrance for the ambush.
The flying ship circled around, finding the row of strongholds by the river all occupied, forcing them to fly deeper into the mountains.
However, just as they reached the airspace over one of the strongholds, the Fire Spirit Ship suddenly halted, starting to descend. He Shoucheng exclaimed:
"Damn, this stronghold actually has anti-air restrictions?"
Su Yu exclaimed in surprise:
"Is that even possible?"
"No wonder everyone fights on land rather than hovering in the air."
The Fire Spirit Ship veered away from the demon stronghold’s airspace, returning to normal.
The flying ship turned, maneuvering through between two strongholds, eventually finding an unclaimed entrance six thousand kilometers deep into the stronghold area.
"Here should do."
"Fine."
The flying ship descended, and Su Yu looked up to survey the scene. This demon stronghold had three types of demon soldiers: wolf demons, mouse spirits, and a few ox demons.
Wolf demons were level 45, about two meters tall with wolf heads and human bodies, mostly carrying shields in one hand and knives in the other, patrolling in packs.
Mouse spirits were level 46, about 1.5 meters tall with mouse heads and human bodies, crouched down, mostly using crossbows on watchtowers or rocks as they fired flaming arrows.
Ox demons were level 50, towering three to four meters tall, with bulging muscles and astonishing strength, wielding massive axes while patrolling back and forth.
The group jumped off the flying ship, each summoning their magical treasures, while He Shoucheng wielded the Palm Leaf Fan, saying:
"Mr. Su and I will handle the main attack, Yunfei, you intercept any that slip through and keep watch around us."
"Alright." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"No problem."
He nodded, exhaling essence onto the Palm Leaf Fan, which expanded swiftly. Gripping the fan handle, he gave a fierce wave, stirring the air into three-foot wind blades that surged toward a team of patrolling demon soldiers a hundred meters away.
