Chapter 498
Faction Switch
Just then, just when Jiang Liu thought it was time to pop the champagne.
Suddenly, a muffled rumble resounded between heaven and earth. The once clear sky suddenly darkened, and rolling black clouds surged, filled with an intensely dense demonic energy that swept across the entire Central Plains like a tidal wave.
From the crack that pierced the heavens and earth above the Cave of Gods and Demons, black demonic energy was continuously overflowing, several times more concentrated than when the remnant soul of the Demon Lord had appeared in the world before.
Something's not right!
A Mahayana cultivator's expression changed drastically: "Such powerful demonic energy! It's even purer than the demonic energy in the Demon God Cave, and its range is extremely wide, covering the entire northern border of Central Continent!"
Shenxuan Zhenren's expression turned solemn, his pupils shrank, and his voice trembled: "They are those old demonic monsters from tens of thousands of years ago! Tens of thousands of years have passed, and they are still alive!"
Before the words were finished, a deafening roar came from the distant horizon, and countless dark figures came flying through the air, their demonic energy blotting out the sun.
Leading the group were three powerful Mahayana demon cultivators, their bodies wreathed in raging demonic flames. Behind them followed tens of thousands of demonic cultivators, ranging from Nascent Soul to Tribulation Transcending cultivators. The swarming mass resembled a locust plague, causing mountains and rivers to change color and vegetation to wither wherever they passed.
"You righteous brat from Zhongzhou, retreat at once!"
The leader of the black-robed demonic cultivators spoke with a voice like thunder. As his demonic power circulated, the spiritual energy within a hundred miles was dyed black.
"Although the Demon Lord's remnant soul has been destroyed, the foundation of our demonic path still remains! Back then, you relied on your numerical advantage to seal us away, but today we break free of the seal and will restore order to the world!"
"From this day forward, the Central Plains will be divided into North and South. The North will belong to my Demonic Path, and the South to your Righteous Path. We will govern according to our boundaries and not interfere with each other! Anyone who dares to cross the boundary and fight again will be locked in a fight to the death!"
Shenxuan Zhenren and the surrounding righteous cultivators glared at each other, their magical treasures glowing with spiritual light. Just as they were about to make a move, Jiang Liu gently stopped them with a raised hand.
Shenxuan Zhenren and the others glared angrily, about to make a move, but Jiang Liu raised his hand to stop them.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his body exuding a righteous aura. The pressure of the superior immortal artifact was faintly present. The three Mahayana demon cultivators were about to utter harsh words when they felt this pressure and froze instantly, their faces stiffening.
They could clearly sense that this cultivator in the late stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm was even more terrifying than the remnant soul of the Demon Lord from before!
Jiang Liu: "??????"
North and South are divided?
I can't believe it.
You suddenly appeared and wanted to take half of Zhongzhou. Did you even ask for my opinion?
"You guys?"
Jiang Liu chuckled, raised his hand and grasped the Haoran Demon-Slaying Sword at his waist. Seven-colored light burst forth instantly, and the ten-mile Haoran Domain suddenly unfolded.
[System Notification: The Vast Domain has been triggered. Your spiritual energy consumption is reduced by 50%. Righteous cultivators within the area gain +1 minor cultivation level, while demonic cultivators' cultivation is suppressed by 30%!]
As soon as the domain was opened, the Great Ascension cultivators, including Shenxuan Zhenren, felt their immortal power surge. The cultivators who were originally at the early stage of Great Ascension directly reached the threshold of the middle stage. Meanwhile, the demonic army opposite them felt their bodies sink and their aura dropped sharply. The three Great Ascension demonic cultivators looked even worse, as their cultivation was forcibly suppressed to the early stage of Great Ascension.
"Demon Slayer Slash!"
Jiang Liu, too lazy to waste words, raised his hand and swung his sword. Golden sword energy soared into the sky, instantly growing to a length of a thousand miles, carrying righteous energy and the true meaning of slaying demons as it slashed towards the demonic army.
[System Notification: Triggered 4000% increased damage against demons (base 2000% + Demon-Slaying True Meaning 1000% + Domain Suppression bonus 1000%), triggered the Boundary Breaking attribute, ignoring defenses below the Tribulation Transcending stage, and ignoring 30% of the defenses of Mahayana demon cultivators]
Where the golden sword energy swept past, the demonic energy melted away like ice and snow. Tens of thousands of demonic Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators turned to ashes before they could even scream. Only the three Mahayana demonic cultivators desperately used their demonic weapons to resist, but they were still seriously injured and fell to the ground.
Jiang Liu: Holy crap, that's amazing!
He himself was astonished by the power of the sword. He looked down at the Haoran Demon-Slaying Sword in his hand. The seven-colored light on the sword became more and more dazzling. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it.
"So strong!"
The righteous cultivators were dumbfounded. They only knew that Jiang Liu could kill the remnant soul of the Demon Lord, but they never expected him to be so domineering, wiping out most of the demonic vanguard with a single sword strike.
The black-robed demonic cultivator was so frightened that he fled in terror and, without saying a word, scurried back into the crack above.
"Ha, a division between North and South, how did you even come up with that?"
Jiang Liu rolled his eyes, indicating he was utterly speechless.
But the next second, a server-wide announcement rang out. [Server-wide Announcement: The main force of the demonic path from tens of thousands of years ago has returned. The chaotic war has ended. With the death of the leader of the Taiyi Immortal Alliance, Zhongzhou has officially entered an era of separation between good and evil.]
[Server-wide Announcement: The Faction Change System is now available. Players can go to any faction stronghold (Righteous Path Taiyi Immortal Alliance/Demon Path Black Abyss) to choose their faction. Once selected, the faction cannot be changed (reset costs 1000 million spirit stones)]
[Benefits for the Righteous Path Faction: 1- Access to Taiyi Immortal Alliance resources; 2- 100% increased damage against demons; 3- Daily spiritual energy allowance; 4- Double merit points for participating in Righteous Path extermination missions]
【魔道阵营福利：1—修为值获取速度+100%，2—对凡俗掠夺权限开启，3—对正增伤+100%，4—参与魔道扩张任务可获得魔器碎片奖励】
[System Notification: Faction switching is limited to 7 days. After this period, you will be automatically reassigned to the righteous faction!]
Jiang Liu: "??????"
Jiang Liu: "!!!!!!!"
When Jiang Liu heard this series of system announcements, his face was full of question marks.
At that moment, only one sentence came to mind.
Why did Your Majesty surrender first?
He utterly destroyed the NPCs from the Demonic Path, but the system immediately allowed them to make a comeback!
Not only that, but they even made players choose a new faction!
The leader of the Taiyi Immortal Alliance is dead?
Whether he lives or dies is none of our business!
A major buff! The Mage class has received a major buff!
Jiang Liu realized that the planners were trying to balance things out.
Not only did it allow players to choose a new faction, it also brought back the NPCs from the Demonic Path, so ordinary Demonic Path players will have NPCs protecting them from now on.
The players of the Demonic Path were overjoyed.
Moreover, with the faction shift, there will be more PVP gameplay options, and the number of players engaging in PVP is expected to increase significantly.
But what does this have to do with him? He's about to ascend to immortality.
Oh, perhaps there is a connection. Maybe after he ascends to immortality, he might be in charge of regulating the cultivation era.
Going to be a planner in the Immortal Cultivation Era sounds pretty good.
At that moment, a system notification sounded in his mind.
[Exclusive Hint: Player Jiang Liu has triggered the unique quest "Central Plains Faction Choice"]
[Task Requirements: You can choose between the righteous path or the demonic path]
"I will not choose to switch sides."
Jiang Liu immediately refused. He was doing well in the righteous path and had no need to cause trouble in the demonic path.
Moreover, the ascension of demonic cultivators goes to the underworld instead of the heavenly court, which is a bit inappropriate.
He still hoped for a job in Heaven.
After all, the Heavenly Court is closer to the Jade Emperor, and being close to the leader means a faster promotion. He doesn't want to guard the Milky Way for a thousand years.
Oh, even a thousand years might not be enough. Who knows how immortals calculate time? Maybe they'll need to wait ten million years. Then I'll just have to stay in Bengbu. (End of Chapter)