After the internet was disconnected, I connected to the magic world.

On the dirt road outside the village, an old horse-drawn carriage pulled by two horses was parked by the roadside.

Li Mo jumped into the car first and waved to them, saying, "Get in the car. The mountain road is long, and it will take until dark to walk."

One by one, everyone boarded the train. The carriage was small, and seven or eight people squeezed together, but they could barely fit.

The driver cracked his whip, and the carriage started moving, heading along the dirt road into the depths of the mountains.

Inside the carriage, the newlyweds were still in shock, chattering away with questions.

"Brother Mo, is it really possible to cultivate immortality here? In novels, cultivation allows you to fly through the clouds and achieve immortality!"

A boy in a school uniform had bright eyes and a face full of anticipation.

"Cultivating immortality?" Li Mo scoffed, leaning against the carriage wall, and said slowly.

Don't think that far ahead.

The most powerful thing I've encountered so far is martial arts; cultivation of immortality is just an ancient legend, and even the indigenous people have never seen anything real about it.

"But it's not that much different." He changed the subject.

"Once you reach the Acquired Realm, you will be able to split stone tablets and shatter rocks."

He was born with the ability to walk on air, which is almost like Superman.

If there are any methods of cultivating immortality in the future, we'll be the ones to explore them first.

As soon as these words were spoken, the carriage instantly became lively.

The young men were all excited, whispering among themselves and discussing how impressive it would be to master kung fu in the future.

Song Xian didn't go over to speak; he leaned against the corner of the carriage, his fingertips quietly stroking the carriage wall.

The rough texture of the solid wood, with the grainy feel of being exposed to the elements, and the fresh scent of the wood mixed with the smell of horse manure wafted into my nose. Even the vibrations of the carriage were clearly felt.

He lifted the side curtain again to look outside.

The roadside weeds were covered in dew, farmers were working in the fields in the distance, and several stray dogs were running along the ridges, barking loudly when they saw the horse-drawn carriage passing by.

The sunlight feels warm on the skin, while the wind brings a cool sensation.

That's so true.

It's so real that it couldn't possibly be simulated by a program.

Even the most intelligent AI cannot perfectly capture the natural expressions of every farmer and the swaying of every blade of grass.

The old woman's impatience, the village chief's mercenary manner, even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes—all felt real; they couldn't possibly be written in code.

Song Xian's heart sank deeper and deeper.

If this isn't a game, but a real other world, then things become even more complicated.

It can pull a person's consciousness to another world and even exchange items back into reality...

This power has completely exceeded the scope of human cognition.

He withdrew his gaze, looked at Li Mo calmly, and asked:

"Li Mo, you just said that if we go in now, we can only be menial disciples? The players who came in before were treated differently?"

"Of course." Li Mo pursed his lips, with an expression that said, "You guys missed out on the good times."

"The first five big shots who were born were treated like chosen ones. They were directly admitted to the Qingyun Sect and received by the sect leader personally."

As a guest retainer, you get whatever you want, free pills and spirit stones, a private courtyard, and you don't have to do any work.

"The second batch of people are also quite good. Various sects are vying for them. At the very least, they are personal disciples with masters to guide them, and they are given ample resources."

"By the time it reaches our third batch, it'll be worthless." He shrugged.

"There are so many extraordinary people out there that sects are overwhelmed with recruiting them."

It would be good enough to get in as a handyman disciple. You'd live in a shared dormitory and have to chop wood, carry water, and clean every day.

"I can only find time to cultivate after I finish my work, and the cultivation techniques are obtained by completing tasks; they're not given away for free."

"Huh? We still have work to do?"

A chorus of wails erupted instantly inside the carriage.

"Isn't this a game? Why do we have to do chores?"

"I've never even swept the floor at home, and now I have to chop wood and carry water here?"

Li Mo sneered: "Stop talking about games all the time. I advise you to put away that game mentality as soon as possible."

In this place, you need to eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, get beaten up when you're in pain, and fall off the mountain and you'll really die.

If you treat it like a game and play recklessly, you might really never wake up after you die.

He pointed to himself: "Last week I saw a player who thought he was amazing because he had internal energy. He insisted on going to the back mountain to fight a wild wolf one-on-one. As a result, the wolf ripped out his stomach and he died on the spot."

He simply vanished; he was never seen speaking in the world chat again. He's probably in a vegetative state now.

The moment those words were spoken, the carriage fell silent.

Several people, their faces pale, were clearly frightened.

Song Xian frowned slightly, making the information a memory.

The punishment for death is unknown, but there is a high probability of loss of consciousness.

This is not the price you'd pay for a normal game.

"Then... does the sect have a mission system?" Song Xian asked again.

"Like in games, you get rewards for completing tasks."

"Not yet." Li Mo shook his head.

"Now, the sect has fixed jobs. You get two full meals a day for working. If you want to learn the techniques well, you have to save up money to buy them or do work for the elders in exchange."

However, I heard from the big shots in the first batch that it will probably be released later.

"After all, we already have the control panel and the world chat channel, so a quest system is just a matter of time, right?"

He lowered his voice as he spoke, "Actually, some people in the group had already guessed it."

Something feels off about this world, like someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

With panels and tokens, and precisely targeted at Earthlings, no one would believe it's not manipulated.

"Aren't you all worried?" someone whispered. "What if they have bad intentions?"

"What's the use of worrying?" Li Mo shrugged.

"They're incredibly powerful, able to bring us in. If they really want to harm us, we won't even have a chance to fight back."

Besides, it's free superhuman power, might as well practice it. We can always deal with it later when they want something in return.

The people in the carriage fell silent.

Rough words are not rough.

Faced with an absolute disparity in power, worry is unnecessary.

Instead of worrying unnecessarily, we should seize the time to improve our strength. With power in hand, we will have confidence in our abilities.

Song Xian leaned against the carriage wall, closed his eyes to rest, but his mind was racing through the information.

First, the world is extremely realistic, and it is highly likely to be a real alternate world rather than a virtual game.

Second, the number of players is growing rapidly, while the treatment is decreasing in stages, indicating that the scale of investment is expanding.

Third, all players assume there is someone behind the scenes, but no one knows the other's identity or purpose.

Fourth, the cultivation system is mature, combat power is significantly enhanced, and it has extremely high practical value.

In just a short journey, he had already organized most of the information he could gather.

The carriage traveled for more than two hours before finally coming to a stop.

"We've arrived." Li Mo jumped out of the car first and stretched.

"The mountain gate is up there, go up yourself. I have to go back and report, so I won't see you off."

As everyone got off the bus, they looked up.

Two sword-wielding disciples stood at the mountain gate, their postures upright, their eyes sharp, and their gazes carrying a faint sense of pressure as they swept over.

Just by looking at it from afar, you can feel the grandeur of a major sect.

The newcomers stared wide-eyed, their faces a mixture of excitement and trepidation.