To Harm the Righteous Path, I Had No Choice But to Make Games

“You are a low-strength Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator who accidentally stumbled into a Demonic Path secret stronghold and is being chased by a Yao Beast raised by the Demonic Path.”
“Bad News: The Demonic Path Yao Beast chasing you is powerful, and if you're caught, you're dead.”
“Good News: You seem to be running a little faster than it.”
“In this Illusion Realm, you must follow these rules:”
“1. Besides the Suiyun Technique, all other Cultivation Techniques are ineffective.”
“2. You can only advance by using the Suiyun Technique.”
“3. The sides of the path are lined with Demonic Path barriers; touching them means instant death.”
“4. The escape path is filled with traps; touching them means instant death.”
“5. Behind you is a terrifying Demonic Path monster; touching it means instant death.”
… …
“Escape begins!”
The text disappeared, and Zhang Ming rubbed his eyes in a daze.
He recognized every word on it, but why did they make no sense when put together?
What Demonic Path? What chase? What instant death upon touch??
Wasn't he here in the Illusion Realm to Cultivate the Suiyun Technique?
Where had this brought him??
While Zhang Ming was still wondering, a roar suddenly came from behind him.
He turned his head just in time to see a blood-soaked, pitch-black Demonic Path monster, with its maw wide open, charging towards him.
That massive body, that overwhelming smell of blood, those steps that shook the forest, that ferocious appearance…
The Demonic Path monster personally crafted by Lu Ze was full of oppressive presence, with all special effects maxed out.
Zhang Ming had never witnessed such a terrifying scene; he had only one thought in his mind:
Run!
But when he turned his head, he found his legs felt as if they were filled with lead; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move an inch.
“What’s going on…”
Zhang Ming was bewildered.
The Demonic Path monster behind him was getting closer and closer.
Just at the brink of life and death, he suddenly remembered the rule the text had just stated—
“You can only advance by using the Suiyun Technique.”
The Suiyun Technique was the basic movement Cultivation Technique of the Lingxiao Sect, and also the core content of this trial.
At this moment, Zhang Ming had no time to think further and quickly activated the Suiyun Technique.
The moment he activated the Suiyun Technique, his legs could move!
Zhang Ming ran desperately, his feet seemingly propelled by wind.
The monster behind him followed closely!
After only a few steps, a sharp turn suddenly appeared ahead, and Zhang Ming almost crashed into it because he couldn't stop in time.
“Oh my god… What… What kind of trial is this!”
At this moment, Zhang Ming was both excited and panicked.
Although the monster behind him made him a little scared, this unprecedented feeling…
It was truly wonderful!

“What is this? Spirit Stone? What's the use of picking it up?”
Along the escape path, Spirit Stones floated in the air.
As long as he ran into one, a crisp “ding-dong” sound would ring out, giving him an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
The shattered Spirit Stone would transform into a stream of light and enter his body.
At this point, two numbers appeared in the upper right corner of his vision.
One was his score, and the other was the distance.
“Picking up Spirit Stones increases my score, and continuously running increases my distance?”
This time, Zhang Ming understood quickly.
“Roar—!!”
A howl came from behind, startling him.
When he rounded the corner just now, his footwork and Cultivation Technique transition weren't synchronized enough, making him half a beat slow, and he was almost caught by the monster.
A huge sense of crisis followed him like a shadow, and Zhang Ming quickly operated the Suiyun Technique to its extreme.
“Holy crap! Why are there Fire-Attracting Talismans!!”
Zhang Ming had just gotten familiar with the controls when he was caught off guard by two Fire-Attracting Talismans on either side.
A huge pillar of fire suddenly appeared in front of him.
His first reaction was—to jump over it.
After all, in reality, he could easily jump over something of that height.
But this was not reality after all.
He was instantly burned to a crisp by the flames.
“Trial Over!”
“Score: 68”
“Escape Distance: 21 steps”
“Current Ranking: 18th”
Looking at the data box that appeared before him, Zhang Ming gnashed his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it! Why am I only 18th!”
“If I had chosen to duck and pass through, I surely could have gone further! Again!!”
The man's cursed competitive spirit flared up.
Zhang Ming eagerly started the next round.
… …
… …
Illusion Realm Cultivation Hall, Central Control Room.
Lu Ze sat in his chair, a slight smile on his [N O V E L I G H T] lips.
At this moment, he was in the main space of “Demon Sect Escape,” happily watching the game screens of various players.
When choosing the theme, Lu Ze hesitated repeatedly and finally chose “Temple Run” instead of the more popular “Cool Run Everyday” from his previous life.
The main reason was that the game background of “Temple Run” was too suitable for adaptation into a Celestial Cultivation World theme.
The level design within it was also very easy to localize.
Most importantly, “Temple Run” was more suitable for a first-person perspective.
Many of the satisfying elements of “Cool Run Everyday” required the original game's visuals to support them.
The immersive feeling of a first-person perspective was far less impactful than that of “Temple Run.”
Of course, Lu Ze also drew some useful elements from “Cool Run Everyday.”
For example, the sound effect of picking up coins, the dynamic design of using skills…
After combining these elements, along with production experience from other works in his previous life, Lu Ze was full of confidence in this localized version of “Demon Sect Escape.”
The reality was just as he had predicted.
Almost all the Disciples were engrossed in it; even after repeated failures, they still eagerly started again.
“It seems quite successful…”
Lu Ze mused to himself.
Even if it didn't spread among the Inner Sect Disciples, the sheer scale of the Outer Sect Disciples, once they became addicted…
Completing the mission would be effortless.
Just as he was happy about this, a System notification suddenly came to his ear.
“Demonic Path Value +0.01”
Lu Ze's eyes widened instantly.
He quickly opened the System panel.
Although the value of 0.01 was small, it was indeed added to him.
“Isn't Demonic Path Value only obtained by killing Righteous Path Cultivators? Could it be…?”
Lu Ze was overjoyed.
“If a Righteous Path Cultivator dies in my game, does that count as me killing them???”
The moment this thought appeared, Lu Ze couldn't stop himself from getting excited.
Are you forcing me to leave the game and torment people?
Well, I'm not sleepy anymore.
As several game names flashed through his mind, Lu Ze suddenly felt like he truly resembled someone from the Demonic Path.
“Forget it, I should calm down first. This kind of thing will take time.”
Lu Ze shook his head, dispelling the evil thoughts in his mind.
He carefully observed the players' game screens.
He found that Demonic Path Value wasn't generated every time a player died.
“The value of 0.01 is too low, and a player has to die many times to get it… It's probably because the Outer Sect Disciples' cultivation is too low.”
“But even so, the Demonic Path Value shouldn't be this low.”
“Perhaps the Demonic Path Value obtained through the game is much less than actually killing a Cultivator.”
Lu Ze analyzed silently.
Currently, to prove his previous conjecture, he needed a group of Disciples with higher cultivation to play “Demon Sect Escape.”
As for the latter conjecture…
As long as he could get Demonic Path Value, why ask for more?
Even if the game's income was only one percent, he just needed them to die over a hundred times.
And in many games, people die far more than a hundred times!
This was much more profitable than actually killing a Righteous Path Cultivator!
Most importantly.
The higher the Realm, the fewer Cultivators there are.
Killing one means one less.
But dying in a game can be infinitely recycled!
Suddenly,
Lu Ze felt that making games was the correct way to use this System.
After all, sustainable development was the most important.
Just then, a System notification arrived:
“The Host has impressed the Righteous Path Cultivator Zhang Ming with his strength, causing him to feel admiration, and will randomly acquire one of his abilities.”
“Reward acquired: “Suiyun Technique (Major Achievement)””