[Synopsis]
Cultivation + no CP + infrastructure building + ensemble cast + fourth-calamity players + the tiniest hint of cosmic horror
Dong Zhixuan transmigrates into the body of the broke sect leader of a sect with only two people, neither of whom has even reached Qi Refining.
Fortunately, the sect leader's seal, which the original owner could never use, is home to many souls said to have fought their way out of an infinite-flow game.
After successfully rebelling and getting all the survivors out, these obscure souls leave behind only remnants of themselves, trapped in a tiny pocket of space.
At the suggestion of a certain new main god surnamed Lin, Dong Zhixuan tries to make puppet bodies for the souls to inhabit so they can serve as NPCs. He plans to lure people from Blue Star to another world and help him revive the sect through a game.
And so... the epoch-making full-dive virtual reality game, Ascend to the Clouds, is now in a hot closed beta!
The most realistic sights and sounds!
The ultimate ray-traced graphics!
NPCs with lifelike personalities and thrilling pasts revealed in every conversation, keeping players hooked.
Even better, get picked for the beta and the official team will send you a login pod!
From then on, while others cultivate, brave secret realms, and seek out hidden abodes, Dong Zhixuan pulls his hair out while hammering out the 1.1 update.
While others gather disciples and prepare letters of challenge, Dong Zhixuan stays up all night updating the battle event on the official website.
Other sect leaders are adored by their followers. Dong Zhixuan gets chased and cursed by his own "inner sect disciples" as a lousy game director.
Other sect disciples try every trick to squeeze cultivation resources out of their sects. The players start a petition on the forum too: raise the NPC affection cap and expand the gift options. They want to build lavish mansions for these lifelike paper characters!
As the world's secrets are gradually revealed, Dong Zhixuan and his fellow transmigrators discover that this is no ordinary cultivation tale.
Five continents, seven kingdoms, and ninety thousand li of land!
To the east, the barren lands of the Golden Crow. To the west, phoenixes sing on Kunlun Mountain.
The Candle Dragon opens its eyes, changing day and night. Corpses hang upside down across the three heavens.
An "immortal" descends from the horizon, refining billions of living beings in a single furnace.
The sect leader, recognized as the most outstanding in thousands of years, stands with his hands behind his back and calmly proclaims to the "immortal" and every sect, school, and academy under heaven:
"I have three million Sword Immortals. Even the Great Encompassing Immortal shows me respect!"
*
There are two kinds of everyday posts on the Ascend to the Clouds game forum.
One kind goes like this: [Aaaah, have you seen the new NPC from the Punishment Hall? Holy crap, she's so gorgeous! Who cares if she's cold? Who doesn't love a beautiful, strong, tragic character? The game is virtual, but our precious Bai is real!]
[I'd water another hundred mu of land for the Medicine Hall elder! If the sky falls, the elder's face will hold it up. If the earth cracks, her sweet personality will keep us going. Admit it, Medicine Hall players have it good!]
The other kind goes like this: [WTF, what kind of brain-dead game director schedules a beta-exclusive event for four in the morning? He's rushing this event like he has a train to catch. The daily rewards are so stingy, and the game's full of annoying crap. If I knew where he lived, I'd go over and slap him twice!]
[Let's review the Ascend to the Clouds director's latest insane decisions. Like this post and we'll pool our money to buy him a coffin.] [This post has been featured]
[Seriously, when is Ascend to the Clouds going public? When's the anniversary event? When's the livestream thanking players? Not that I have anything else in mind. I just want to meet this director in person, whose household registration booklet has only one page.]
After browsing today's forum, Dong Zhixuan decides the players are still too free. It's time to launch a mixed banner featuring keepsakes from the popular NPCs.
What? A guaranteed drop? We don't have anything like that in Ascend to the Clouds! Ovo
Reading Guide: A fourth-calamity cultivation and leveling story, with an ensemble cast and a nontraditional cultivation world.
A long no-CP story. I've made up a lot of things. If I can make them fit, I will; if I can't, please don't scrutinize them too closely.
Theme: Live earnestly and make the most of your youth.
