Xie Longtao didn't even consider this 15-second video as a game scene.
In his eyes, this was extremely real, as if a film crew had built a 1:1 land temple and a small mountain village for real-life shooting.
There are only about twenty people in the gay friend group. Usually, we brag and chat in the group chat, and when we have nothing to do, we make plans to play games together. We are considered old friends for many years.
As soon as the video of "Ascension" was released, the people who had been diving immediately came out.
Han Mu, the group leader, quickly clicked on the video. His first reaction was, "The visual effects look flawless. Is this a new summer movie?"
Another group member, Zhou Kailin, also replied: "This total solar eclipse looks stunning. If it were an old film, it would definitely be very famous."
Xu Ou, a long-time self-proclaimed film lover, said confidently, "I'm sure I haven't seen this image before. The image is so exquisite, it doesn't look like a movie at all."
"This ghost is a bit realistic, very scary."
"Who's that character with their back to the camera? They eliminated the evil spirit with just a wave of their hand."
"If this were a movie, I would blow it away!"
"Old Xie, where did you find the video?"
The quiet group chat suddenly became lively, with lurkers starting to pop up one after another.
Xie Longtao replied, "I saw it on the Ascension official website. It said it was a real-game test screenshot. How is that possible?"
After hearing Xie Longtao's answer, the group members expressed their agreement.
"That's right, this isn't game quality at all."
"Which game screen can be exactly the same as reality?"
"I suspect this company is making movies with their heart but playing games with their feet, just bragging."
"Is it possible that this company originally started out making visual effects for movies?"
"The name 'Ascension' sounds familiar. Wasn't it said to be the first virtual reality online game? It actually works."
Most people don’t believe that such a detailed video could be a game screenshot.
As a result, the long-silent official website of "Ascension" welcomed the long-awaited traffic, even if it was only more than ten clicks.
Following Xie Longtao's spread, Han Mu, Xu Ou and others followed the link to the official website of "Ascension" and saw the announcement that Lin Xiang had recently released.
The more they looked, the stranger it seemed.
"This website seems to have been abandoned for a long, long time. Could it be an April Fool's joke?"
"There hasn't been an update in hundreds of years, and now they suddenly make a big move."
"What if, that is, if this virtual reality online game is real, how do we play it?"
They realized that there was something fishy going on and began to speculate.
"My computer is still a very old version."
"If anyone plays virtual reality online games on a computer, it must be the helmet or gaming pod from the novels."
"So, when recruiting the first batch of beta testers, they'll also give away gaming equipment?"
Xie Longtao and others' eyes lit up. If it was true as they speculated, they would be the first players to enter the game.
Group leader Han Mu tentatively clicked the reservation button. He didn't quite believe that he could get such a high-tech gaming device for free.
"I hope they're not trying to steal our personal information."
He decided to give up if the appointment required him to fill in personal identification information, home address, contact number, etc.
After clicking, Han Mu was shocked to find that a message popped up saying [Congratulations on your successful appointment, please wait for notification] and that was it, without any information being asked to fill in.
The rest of the people did the same thing, they just clicked on an icon.
"There's no phone number or contact information left, how can you contact us?"
"It must be fake."
"What a shame about this video, it's so exquisite."
Everyone, including Xie Longtao, thought it was just a prank and simply posted the video on their social media and asked others if they had any clues related to the video.
Everyone just had a try-it-out attitude and didn't believe that this epoch-making virtual reality online game could really appear.
Thanks to the large watermark that Lin Xiang deliberately added to the video, no matter how the name of the video changes, the word "Ascension" always exists.
It’s just that many people, like Xie Longtao and Han Mu, turn a blind eye to it. Anyone who searches for these two words will be directed to the official website of the game.
Social media is developing very rapidly, and the video quality is indeed good, so it quickly became a small hit and sparked discussions among netizens.
Everyone was arguing whether this was a game scene or a movie scene, which invisibly brought popularity to "Ascension".
For a website that has had no traffic for half a year, this is already very powerful.
…
At this time, Lin Xiang didn't know that the video he made would spread so quickly and attract many players to sign up for the internal test.
“I hope more people can see this video.”
In order to create an aura of strength, he deliberately did not show his face, but chose to turn his back to everyone.
This will make players or netizens curious about what this scholar looks like and enter the game.
Lin Xiang was not in a hurry to let the players enter the game world immediately. He sat on the wall of the land temple, looking at the stars in the sky, thinking about what he could provide for the players.
The game world is extremely realistic, and if an NPC cannot provide any benefit to the player, then it will be forgotten.
Dongshan Village is about to become a true novice village, but Lin Xiang doesn't want it to be forgotten after the players have passed the novice stage.
Since the land priesthood limits its jurisdiction, there is basically no way to modify or promote the priesthood after the disappearance of the gods in heaven.
In the past, a small official like the land god could gradually become a mountain god, a city god, or serve in the thirty-six heavens.
The Heavenly Palace is divided into thirty-six levels in total, the lowest level is called Taihuang Huangzeng Heaven, and the top level is called Daluo Heaven.
The Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother live in the Miluo Palace in Daluo Heaven, while ordinary gods practice and live in the other thirty-five heavens.
Lin Xiang is very powerful in Dongshan Village. It is impossible for him to abandon such a powerful home ground and become a wandering cultivator in the mountains.
The stronger the creatures in the priestly area and the more prosperous the incense, the faster his strength will increase.
"We must get players to help build Dongshan Village as much as possible."
The map is so big that players will definitely keep switching maps and go to high-level maps to fight monsters and level up. By then, Dongshan Village will be deserted like the novice villages in other games.
As a game planner, he knew that to retain players he had to provide experience points, tasks, equipment, and various skills.
Even if the players become stronger, even if they join other cultivation sects, as long as Lin Xiang can provide them with additional channels to become stronger, he will not completely abandon Dongshan Village.
"Become stronger first!"
Lin Xiang looked at the protective shield that was faintly visible on the night sky, and then he flew up into the air.
Ordinary people cannot see this protective shield; only sacrificial spirits and practitioners with opened third eyes can notice it.
The protective shield will not block the sun and rain, but it will block the evil spirits in the world.
The sacrificial spirit is equivalent to the core of the protective shield and the source of energy.
Previously, the Green-Faced Ghost and other wandering ghosts were able to easily enter Dongshan Village because the protective shield became ineffective after the sacrificial spirit disappeared, otherwise they would have been stopped by the protective shield.
Looking down from several thousand meters above, the protective shield looks like an inverted bowl that protects villages, towns, and cities.
A village without a protective shield will turn into a strange paradise when night falls.
Lin Xiang has now escaped from the divine realm's influence. As the cold wind blows across his body, he actually feels a chill from the inside out.
He is now observing the situation around Dongshan Village and fishing at the same time.
With the fall of imperial power, the dynasty's good fortune could no longer suppress the evil spirits in these remote mountainous areas. Every night, demons and ghosts would wreak havoc in the wilderness.
These demons and monsters all have certain considerations and will not suddenly attack a village protected by sacrificial spirits.
Lin Xiang was only 20 experience points away from leveling up, but after waiting for several hours, no monsters invaded Dongshan Village, so he simply came out and acted as bait.
He didn't know what a normal person's soul looked like, but he was now like a human-shaped glowing light bulb, quietly attracting the evil spirits nearby.
A blurry little black ball was attracted by the light of the god. It had no intelligence at all, but it only knew that the scholar-like soul in front of it exuded endless deliciousness, and if it swallowed it, it would gain great benefits.
Lin Xiang did not waste his hard-earned incense points. He swiftly dodged the attack of the small black ball and lured the other party to the vicinity of the protective shield.
Faced with the delicious food, the little black ball was completely driven by instinct and rushed straight towards Lin Xiang without caring about what was in front of it.
At this time, Lin Xiang took a step back, and the small black ball that wanted to find food crashed directly into the protective shield and disappeared without a trace like sparks from a candle flame.
[Kill a lv.1 ghost and gain 20 experience points.]
The Green-Faced Ghost is a lv.3 monster, while the Ghost is only lv.1. When it hits the protective shield, it turns into experience points.
A ray of light flashed across Lin Xiang's body, and he immediately rose from level 0 to level 1, which was quite fast.
The night has just begun, and there is plenty of time for hunters.
Lin Xiang saw the level increase and the increase in experience points required for upgrading on his personal attribute panel.
There was no five-dimensional attribute display designed for players, but there was a small treasure bag inside the package.
"Every time you level up, there's a treasure bag. I wonder what good stuff will come out this time."
Obviously, this is a unique privilege for Lin Xiang, not something that every player can enjoy.
As soon as he opened the brocade bag, he saw two books and an atlas appear in his hands.
The three items, [Pure Yang Art], [Nine Pure Yang Swords], and [Qingxin Pill Refining Atlas], all seem to be very useful.
"I wonder if I can learn all three and then pass them on to the villagers or players."
Lin Xiang tentatively chose to use the Pure Yang Technique, and as a result, the book in his hand turned into a ray of light and entered his body, and then this skill appeared on his personal panel!
The author has something to say:
My laptop broke down yesterday, and I took it to the brand repair shop today to get it fixed.
I am ashamed of your trust. I will update another chapter tonight to make up for it. Thank you little angels for your concern!
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