It Seemed I Wasn't the Only One Who Had Gone Astray in Cultivation

"Senior Brother? Senior Brother!"

Zhong Yi suddenly heard someone calling him.

One moment of carelessness, and the Corn Cannon's shell missed. A Red-Eyed Barbarian Zombie slipped through and marched straight over, smashing the Tall-Nut wearing a Pumpkin Head to pieces with a single punch.

A gap was instantly torn open in the defensive line.

Once the army was defeated, it collapsed like a landslide.

Knowing the situation was beyond saving, he simply withdrew.

"Junior Brother Mu? What is it?"

For once, several bloodshot veins could be seen in Zhong Yi's eyes.

"Senior Brother Zhong, after you made a post on the Forum last night, you suddenly disappeared for the entire night. Everyone thought something had happened to you because you'd gone astray in cultivation, so I..."

Seeing that Zhong Yi was fine, Mu Yawen hurriedly explained.

He had changed his name together with Zhong Yi back then, so he was the only one who knew the Genius Cultivator's true identity.

"The entire night?"

Zhong Yi looked outside the window, where the sunlight was glaringly bright.

He was instantly dumbfounded.

Hadn't he only been studying Endless Mode for a little while?

How had an entire night passed already??

"Senior Brother Zhong, did you fail to clear Hard Mode and spend the whole time trying?"

"No, Hard Mode was cleared long ago. I just didn't expect there to be an even more ridiculous Endless Mode afterward."

At the mention of Endless Mode, Zhong Yi felt his scalp tingle.

Hard Mode was child's play compared to this thing!

The first few stages were fine and not much different from before.

But when several Barbarian Zombies appeared at once in the fifth stage, Zhong Yi realized something was wrong with this mode...

After that, Combo Skills involving all sorts of zombies came one after another.

The most disgusting ones were the Juggling Zombies.

He remembered that in Survival Mode and Adventure Mode, the bombs in the Juggling Zombies' hands would only explode once they reached the middle.

But in Endless Mode, Juggling Zombies whose bombs exploded instantly within a second would sometimes appear.

Once they exploded, huge numbers would die or be injured, and the gap in the Formation could not be repaired at all...

Then there were the Barbarian Zombies.

They were already a nightmare for players to begin with.

Yet Endless Mode even had Red-Eyed Barbarian Zombies with even more outrageous stats, completely shattering his defenses...

He played countless rounds.

Without realizing it, morning had arrived.

Endless Mode was difficult.

Yet he actually found himself enjoying it, if only a little.

The feeling was like reaching the peak of a realm, hovering at the edge of a breakthrough, constantly searching for the right opportunity.

"Senior Brother Zhong, hurry and check the Forum. Everyone has been waiting a long time for your guide."

"I'll post it right now, then keep grinding Endless Mode... I refuse to believe it really is endless!"

Over the following days, Endless Mode entered the sight of more and more disciples.

In terms from his previous life, these disciples were the game's "core players."

Most players were still silently fighting through difficult stages in Survival Mode.

From Outer Disciples to Sect Elders, everyone was playing.

The Forum had already become a gathering place for core players, and Endless Mode was the main topic of discussion.

Fellow Daoists, what stage have you reached in Endless Mode?

I got wiped out at stage five. This is way too hard.

The Red-Eyed Barbarian Zombies are ridiculously overpowered. They can't be killed at all!

Instant-Burst Juggling Zombies are pretty disgusting too.

It feels like Junior Brother Lu never intended for us to clear this at all...

Fellow Daoists, I have a brilliant plan! Put Tall-Nuts and Pumpkin Heads at the front of every lane, then fill the back with one Torch and seven Gatling Shooters! Once this divine formation takes shape, even if gods descended to earth, they could do nothing against it! Do you all agree?

First, you need enough spiritual energy.

Planting the same Purple Plant repeatedly increases its spiritual energy cost.

It feels like figuring out how to stockpile more spiritual energy in the first three levels is crucial!

Stop using Gatling Shooters. The shooter line is really no good; throwers are where it's at!

Bullshit! Gatling Shooter + Torch is unquestionably a divine formation!

Why does no one like mushrooms?

The Mushroom Family can sit at the same table as the Demonic Path.

Hahahaha! I've already developed a perfect formation with no flaws whatsoever! With this formation alone, I can casually clear hundreds of levels and still have tens of thousands of spiritual energy left over—more than I could ever use! The core of the formation is Starfruit. As long as you plant enough...

At this moment, Lu Ze was cheerfully browsing the posts on the Forum inside the Artifact Forging Hall.

In particular, the player named Starfruit Emperor had posted about a Starfruit-centered formation, which reminded him of some amusing things from his previous life.

Of course, he knew the guy was full of shit.

The backend data showed that no one had reached the tenth level yet. Clearing hundreds of levels was obviously just bragging.

Seeing the disciples enthusiastically discussing all kinds of formations, Lu Ze felt greatly relieved.

He had initially worried that the difficulty might be a little too absurd, to the point where everyone would lose interest in playing.

If that really happened, temporarily adjusting the difficulty would not have been impossible.

Now, however, it seemed he had worried for nothing.

On one hand, entertainment in this world was far too scarce, and Plants vs. Zombies had no substitute whatsoever.

On the other hand—

What storms and waves had cultivators not weathered before?

Every cultivator possessed an iron will, and they encountered countless setbacks during their usual cultivation.

Losing a few rounds of a game was no big deal.

Lu Ze was completely reassured.

Since the Spirit Cloud Sect's disciples had such strong mental resilience, there would be plenty more game options in the future.

If he brought out some Soul Games and cranked up the intensity, Demonic Value would definitely rise crazy fast.

Just thinking about that beautiful scene made him feel exhilarated.

Speaking of Demonic Value, what surprised Lu Ze was that Plants vs. Zombies had also contributed a considerable amount of it.

It was not much worse than Demonic Path Escape.

On one hand, the sect had promoted it this time, so nearly all the disciples in the sect were playing.

On the other hand, even the management, such as the Elders and Stewards, had joined in.

After all, in terms of gameplay, Plants vs. Zombies was suitable for both young and old, appealing to all ages.

The Demonic Value that Stewards and Elders could provide was not something ordinary disciples could compare to.

However, Lu Ze knew very well that Plants vs. Zombies was not a long-term solution.

Once the players cleared every level outside of Endless Mode, the game would start gathering dust.

Only a small number of core players would remain obsessed with Endless Mode.

Quenching Gold Peak, Body Forging Valley.

"Senior Brother, are you sure you haven't gone mad from cultivation?"

"Very sure."

"Then why did you slash the spiritual fruit in half when I offered it to you just now?"

"...Next time, don't throw it at me when you hand it over."

Zhong Yi froze awkwardly.

He had been slashing fruit for nearly seven days. The moment he saw fruit flying through the air, his hand moved before his brain could react.

It couldn't be helped. It had become a habit.

Come to think of it, I really do seem to have gone a little mad from cultivation... Junior Brother Lu's Illusion Realm is actually this terrifying!

Zhong Yi thought to himself.

It wasn't just that he instinctively sliced fruit anymore. Lately, whenever he took an occasional nap, even his dreams were filled with all kinds of spirit plants.

As he was thinking, he suddenly saw a Tall-Nut appear before him.

Zhong Yi thought he had truly gone mad and started hallucinating.

He rubbed his eyes and discovered that the Tall-Nut was actually real, even its goofy-looking eyes were vividly lifelike.

"What's this?"

"Our Quenching Gold Peak's newly made Body-Training Rock. The goal is to make every disciple as tough as Wall-nut Taoist!"

"Badass."

"But our goal's changed recently."

"Changed into what?"

"Into Barbarian Zombies—able to withstand all sorts of attacks and knock someone out with one punch head-on!"

"..."

Zhong Yi suddenly felt that

he might not be the only one who had gone mad.