251: The war is about to begin

The theme of Season Two was Faction Confrontation.

The newly established Immortal Dynasty and the Yao Race, united from the North-South Mountains, confronted each other.

This was the main gameplay of the season, and also the goal for many new players after entering the game.

But beyond the gameplay, Season Two actually opened up a lot of new content.

It was far more than what This Time Bu Ge and others had imagined when they were 'cloud players' before.

For example, the opening of the new Yao Race did not just represent the release of entirely new content.

It also meant that content that was useless in Season One, and even during the test server, was now activated.

It should be known that when Jiang Feng first created the Xuanhuan World, he was aiming for a complete world.

It wasn't like some online games that constantly retcon and add new content later on.

Various Xuanhuan elements, including the Yao Race, were present from the beginning.

It was just that due to limitations in map regions, players had difficulty accessing them.

And ancient Legacies, such as those in Green Emerald Heaven and Mingshui Heaven, would often mention the Yao Race, and even some more obscure and difficult-to-understand things.

For instance, the Dao of cooking that Kumu Daoren obtained was initially useless.

After all, no Yao Race could be found within the Four Kingdoms.

But with the start of the new season, the North-South Mountains officially opened.

The Golden Core Method, which originally seemed useless, suddenly became a hot commodity.

Not only the techniques for cooking the Yao Race, but also some special Artifact Refining methods, Alchemy methods, and even Formations and talisman crafting, were all activated.

This was because the complete opening of the North-South Mountains and the Western Great Desert allowed many new Spirit Resources to be acquired.

Strange Spirit Medicine growing in miasma-filled forests, rare mineral materials born on steep Spirit Peaks, wood that could only appear when nourished by the blood and flesh of great Yao Beasts... These precious Spirit Resources immediately activated a lot of new production content.

And for the Yao Race faction, the various resources within the Immortal Dynasty's territory were also novel to them, and they were very eager to contend for them.

In an instant, the faction confrontation became increasingly intense.

It didn't even require the native Cultivators to urge them; players would spontaneously fight and delve deeper.

Suddenly, the Xuanhuan World became lively and much more intense than Season One...

"But why doesn't the state-stabilizing seal act personally?"

In the Western Great Desert.

Yan Xiao disbanded the Flame Fire Gang and hid himself alone in the vast Great Desert.

He and the Empress were mortal enemies, but he couldn't ascertain the situation of the state-stabilizing seal.

To avoid implicating others, he directly disbanded his forces and fought alone.

At the same time, he was also contemplating the recent changes in the situation.

The state-stabilizing seal achieved Nascent Soul, established the Immortal Dynasty, and intended to incorporate the North-South Mountains and the Western Great Desert.

With its Nascent Soul strength, a single call to arms would make the northern and southern Yao Race obey without question.

After all, there were no Nascent Souls within the mountains, at most only great Yao Beasts who had achieved a Demon Body.

Therefore, Yan Xiao found the current situation somewhat incomprehensible.

In his opinion, this great war was completely unnecessary; a Nascent Soul-level combat power was enough to deter everything.

Then, there could only be one of two reasons why the state-stabilizing seal didn't act:

Firstly, within the North-South Mountains, there was a Nascent Soul-level combat power that no one knew about.

Secondly, the state-stabilizing seal itself was not a true Nascent Soul.

The first reason was unlikely.

If a Nascent Soul truly existed in the North-South Mountains, then it would have swept across the Four Kingdoms long ago; why would it wait until now to be attacked by the Immortal Dynasty?

And the second reason seemed more plausible.

Originally, it was the Empress who sought to Breakthrough to Nascent Soul; she must have used some secret method, accelerated time, and even invoked the nation's destiny.

The state-stabilizing seal appeared out of nowhere, stole the Empress's efforts, and achieved Nascent Soul.

It seemed to have plotted for a long time, but it must have achieved Nascent Soul in its form as a Magic Treasure. Who knows what its current situation truly is?

"Teacher, do you think the state-stabilizing seal is truly a Nascent Soul? Or is it merely a facade?"

"It's not merely a facade, but its Nascent Soul must have problems... You also noticed before that the state-stabilizing seal sent all the Golden Core Immortal Masters to confront the great Yao Beasts of the north and south, while he himself patrolled within the Four Kingdoms, clearly searching for the Old Ancestors who were in seclusion in Duan Kong Cave and Heshui Prefecture."

"But this shouldn't prove anything; even a complete Nascent Soul expert, possessing immense power, would absolutely be concerned about a new Nascent Soul Breakthrough."

"That's true, but the state-stabilizing seal specifically transferred all the Golden Core Immortal Masters away before daring to search; this in itself is a big problem..."

Yan Xiao frowned deeply.

The presence of a Nascent Soul-level expert made it very inconvenient for him to act.

"There's also a trace of an exotic flame in the Northern Mountains. No matter what, I have to go there..."

...Northern Mountains front line.

The Human-Demon War became increasingly fierce.

On this day, Wang Long, with his spear, challenged a great eagle and directly suppressed and killed a powerful being who had achieved a Demon Body.

Of course, he himself also suffered no small injuries and had to retreat to the rear to go into seclusion and heal.

Due to suppressing and killing a Golden Core, the Immortal Dynasty bestowed a heavy reward, even granting a fifth-grade Magic Treasure.

The manager of the Thunder Team was also beaming with joy and quickly secured more sponsorships for Wang Long.

And other Golden Core players also fought fiercely on the front line, each establishing merits.

Currently, no Golden Core players have fallen, also because everyone is relatively cautious; only hotheads like Wang Long would truly fight to the death.

On this day, many Golden Core players gathered together to discuss the next main attack direction.

"Now many players below are fishing in troubled waters, either acting as evil Cultivators to capture Yao Race Yao Beasts, or searching for resources."

"It's already hard enough for us to contain the great Yao Beasts, and the people below aren't putting in more effort, completely stalling the front line."

"It is said that many dormant great Yao Beasts have been awakened, and the enemy's Golden Core combat power is increasing."

"So we must launch a major battle as soon as possible, break through the defenses, and directly slaughter the great Yao Beasts that haven't been awakened yet."

"Should we report to the Immortal Dynasty above, get some resources for incentives, and determine the main battlefield?"

"We can't let these players below muddle along anymore."

"Exactly. Once we take down the entire Northern Mountains, what kind of treasure won't we find? There's no need to waste time searching for resources now."

At the Golden Core level, the resources demanded were already different from those of the players below.

Similarly, Golden Core players' attitude towards the Human-Demon War was also somewhat different from that of the players below.

Soon, the players jointly reported, requesting the state-stabilizing seal to issue resources for incentives, urging the lower-level players to gather together and launch a major battle.

The state-stabilizing seal immediately replied, agreeing to the request.

Finally, seventeen Golden Core Cultivators took the lead, with countless Immortal Foundation, Mortal Foundation, and Qi Refining Cultivators, gathered together, boarded flying ships, and headed north towards "Jinglei Mountain."

This place was where a great Yao Beast was entrenched, a core node; once breached, there would be a wide valley, like a plain, allowing for a direct advance deep into the heartland of the Yao Race.

The Yao Race was also greatly shocked by this and likewise gathered all the players together, preparing to meet the enemy.

Thus, the first major battle of Season Two, and in the eyes of the players, also the first major event.

It was finally about to begin.