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

While undercurrents were swirling in reality, the world of Kyushu also underwent a dramatic change.

When players logged in, they found the whole world had changed.

First, when the outer disciples of the Qingyun Sect went down the mountain in a group to buy supplies, they discovered a collapsed small stone cave in the mountain valley.

Inside were a few spirit stones, two tattered cultivation manuals, and half a bottle of healing pills.

The local disciples had no idea what spirit stones were; they only thought that this stone was warm, smooth, and translucent, and that it was a rare object.

He couldn't recognize all the characters on the cultivation manual, so he simply carried it all back to the sect and handed it over to the steward.

This news quickly spread among gamers.

"Holy crap? Relics? There really are ancient relics?"

The world chat exploded instantly, with countless players calling on their friends and forming teams to run down the mountain, searching everywhere for caves, ruins, and anything that looked like a historical site.

In just one afternoon, they actually found seven or eight small historical sites.

Most of them were collapsed cultivator caves, containing only a few spirit stones, ranging from one or two to seven or eight.

There were also some broken manuals, low-level pills, and rusty fragments.

Local cultivators find spirit stones useless; they can neither eat them nor cultivate with them. Most of them hand them over to their sects in exchange for merit.

But players are different; they know all too well the value of spirit stones.

Exchanging for pills and trading hard currency, having spirit stones is equivalent to having cultivation.

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned red.

Some people teamed up to farm the ruins and split the spirit stones, some went solo and secretly hoarded them, and some even got into a fight over the ruins, almost coming to blows at the foot of the mountain.

Just then, a message suddenly appeared on the world channel, instantly stunning everyone.

[World] Anonymous: Buying spirit stones, one million real-world currency per stone, face-to-face transaction, price increase for large quantities.

I also buy elixirs and cultivation techniques. Prices are negotiable. DM me if you have any.

There was a three-second silence in the channel, then it exploded.

"One million? One million for a single spirit stone?!"

"Am I seeing things? Are you crazy?"

"Holy crap, one stone costs a million? If I just found two, doesn't that mean I've got two million right away?"

"Really? Is it a scam?"

Some were tempted, some were skeptical, and some scoffed, but everyone clearly realized that...

Spirit stones and extraordinary powers already have real prices in reality.

What used to be just a dream can now be exchanged for real money, an amount that an average person could never earn in a lifetime.

Many quick-thinking players have already started privately messaging to ask for details. Some are even clutching the spirit stones they just picked up, their palms sweaty, debating whether to keep them for cultivation or sell them to get money to buy a house.

No one knew that this anonymous person who openly collected spirit stones on the world channel was actually a planted agent by the Special Investigations Department.

The high price for spirit stones serves two purposes: firstly, to hoard official cultivation resources for use by official players within the organization.

Secondly, it was also to get a feel for the market, to see how many players and how many spirit stones there were, and to identify the core players with the most resources, in preparation for future contact.

The price of one million per piece may seem exaggerated, but it is actually a lure released by the official team. It can quickly gather resources and make casual players lower their guard against the official team.

At least by following the official line, you won't lose out.

Xuanqing and the others also saw the message on the world channel.

Zhang Lei clicked his tongue in amazement: "One million per piece? Does anyone actually spend that much money?"

"You don't understand the world of the rich," Zhou Ming said calmly, adjusting his glasses.

"Spirit stones can be exchanged for pills to return to the real world and accelerate the breakthrough speed. For rich people, being able to buy cultivation with money is extremely worthwhile."

Spirit stones will only become more and more expensive in the future. They cost one million now, but in the future, you might not be able to buy one for several million.

That anonymous person is most likely not an individual; they might be backed by government officials or a large corporation.

"Exactly, it's tacky."

Zhao Hao curled his lip, looking disdainful, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the channel, silently calculating how much the dozen or so spirit stones in his hand were worth.

Xuan Qing ignored all of this. He had just come out of the sect's scripture pavilion, holding a yellowed ancient book in his hand.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Xuan Qing turned the page and pointed to the map on it.

"Look at this. According to the ancient records of our sect, the world of Kyushu is divided into nine provinces. The area we are in now is called Dongzhou."

Besides the Eastern Continent, there are also the Western Continent, the Southern Continent, the Northern Continent, the Central Continent, and four other continents, but they are all shrouded in mist, and no one knows what they look like.

Several people crowded around.

The map was drawn very roughly; only a small area of ​​Dongzhou was marked, and the rest was blank, with layers of mist drawn around it.

"So we haven't even finished exploring one state yet?" Zhang Lei was stunned. "This world is so big!"

"In ancient times, the nine provinces were connected, but later, due to a great change in the world, they were separated."

Xuanqing closed the ancient book, his expression calm. "The reappearance of ruins now might be a sign that the fog is about to dissipate."

Before long, other areas will gradually open as well.

The group exchanged glances, all seeing excitement in each other's eyes.

The larger the world, the more opportunities there are, and it also means... the more real this world is, definitely not some simple dream game.

Song Xian stood to the side, listening to their discussion, while also making his own plans.

The Special Investigations Department has given him new instructions to finalize a cooperation agreement with the five core players as soon as possible.

Ideally, they should be persuaded to serve as official extraordinary advisors to assist in managing the wandering and extraordinary individuals.

He looked at Xuan Qing and the others, and already had a preliminary plan in mind.

At the core of the demiplane, Lin Ze leaned back in his chair, with densely packed data jumping on the light screen in front of him.

The number of players has exceeded 1,300, and the output of mental energy has increased by 47% compared to last week.

The materialization of the demiplane is progressing steadily, and the territory of Dongzhou is slowly expanding outward.

He lightly tapped the light screen with his fingertip, and information about dream dimensions flashed through his mind.

Unlike other dimensions that have been divided up by powerful mages and demigods, the dream dimension of this universe is a completely unclaimed land.

There were no dimensional lords, no evil gods, and no transdimensional mages eyeing this piece of fat meat.

From the moment his magic network fragment landed and drew upon the energy of the dream world, he became the natural controller of this dimension.

This is his unique geographical advantage.

With no external enemies coveting his power and no fear of having his foundation seized, he only needs to continuously absorb the scattered spiritual energy of players and transform it into his own magic power.

By further feeding back into the Heavenly Dao Network to expand the demiplane, the Nine Provinces can be gradually refined into a real world, or even... a true divine kingdom.

"It's time to add fuel to the fire."

Lin Ze muttered to himself, raised his hand and waved it, and one hundred and twenty pitch-black entry tokens appeared in front of him.

Unlike the first batch of tokens that were carefully selected and distributed at specific locations, this batch of tokens was not screened at all, nor was any new user protection implemented.

The token transformed into specks of black light, silently scattering into every corner of the real world through the passage of the dream dimension.

Factory assembly lines, construction site dormitories, office cubicles, school dormitories, remote mountain villages... in every industry and at every social level, it all depends on luck.

And the spawn points corresponding to these tokens are no longer the safe starting villages.

It's a dense forest, a desert, and some places are inhabited by monsters. Some places hide small ruins, and some places have nothing at all. You have to find your way to survive on your own.

Without guidance or protection, they developed freely and were left to fend for themselves.