Within the lush dense forest on the third level of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tree.
Su Xinghe, leading the surviving members of the Star River Guild, entered the third level directly and regrouped in this woodland. Soon, they had reassembled a force of over 300 people. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tree map had fewer restrictions, and players could re-enter after being killed. Coupled with Star River's existing foundation, they would likely break 500 soon.
At this moment, Su Xinghe was filled with righteous indignation.
"Boss."
A hunched-over middle-aged assassin emerged from the void, a crimson cape trailing behind him. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "The brothers in the Assassin's division responsible for reconnaissance have brought some not-so-good news."
"Damn it."
Su Xinghe frowned. "Could it be... Yu Qingxuan has obtained a magic artifact?"
"It really is."
The assassin gritted his teeth. "That bastard, Guo Ke Wu Ming, has truly good luck. He got a magic artifact from the first Boss they fought in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tree. It's an earring pendant called 'Dan Qing Fu You'. When equipped, it restores 5% of the user's max HP per second. Unless you can one-shot him, Guo Ke Wu Ming will become increasingly difficult to kill from now on."
"Dan Qing Fu You..."
Su Xinghe's righteous indignation continued to boil. This magic artifact should have belonged to him. What is the true secret of the current version of "Tian Xia"? It's to farm money by selling unbound Golden Carp Money dropped by top-tier Bosses! Even more captivating is that top-tier Bosses have a chance to drop magic artifacts! And what are magic artifacts? They are rare and elusive. Items of Earth or Heaven grade are enough to make many players fight tooth and nail, let alone a magic artifact with the word "Immortal" attached. Even a lower-tier Immortal grade item is a peerless treasure!
"Hateful!"
Su Xinghe frowned and said, "Guo Ke Wu Ming must be dealt with. The Star Stone of Yu Qingxuan should be on Guo Ke Wu Ming, right?"
"Yes."
Feng Bing Cao Jia said, "It must be. Legend has it that Guo Ke Wu Ming's character is similar to Lu Bu's: greedy for wealth and lustful, abandoning righteousness for profit, brave but foolish. He'll definitely keep any good items for himself. The Star Stone and Dan Qing Fu You are undoubtedly kept by Guo Ke Wu Ming himself before he tries to appease other players."
Yun Mi Wu Suo, holding a staff, said softly, "According to the intelligence, Guo Ke Wu Ming is a player from Tang City. He's a rich second generation with two large factories at home, so he's not short on money. Given his disposition, he'll definitely convert Dan Qing Fu You into universal currency and then distribute it equally to others to silence them."
"There's also another piece of news."
Feng Bing Cao Jia said, "It's not exactly good news. Sheng Tian is currently challenging Boss Long Zhan Tian on the third level. The progress is stable, and Lin Zhao is helping them. There have been almost no significant losses throughout the process. The Boss's health bar is now less than 20%."
Su Xinghe was filled with helplessness, but he still passionately rallied everyone. He said in a deep voice, "Alright brothers, let's not complain about fate. Let's tidy up our moods and fighting spirit. When we have over 500 people, we'll head directly to the fourth level and fight again!"
As expected, it was effective. A glimmer of fighting spirit returned to everyone's eyes.
...
Sheng Tian Battlefield.
Lin Zhao inserted another Golden Carp Money into the Golden Armor Fairy Robe and finally wore down the last of Long Zhan Tian's health bar. He consumed three bound Golden Carp Money throughout the entire process, suffering no losses himself, while Shan Dian Bie Yuan suffered heavy casualties.
As Long Zhan Tian fell, Leng Yan stepped forward and directly picked out 25 Golden Carp Money, handing them to Lin Zhao with a smile. "Here, take your wages for the job."
"Thanks, boss."
Lin Zhao smiled. Just then, a "ding" sounded as he received a message from Chen Xue: "Fourth level map coordinate (31772, 53332), our team of over 200 people is being attacked by Guo Ke Wu Ming's men. Come quickly!"
"A'yan!"
Lin Zhao immediately rode his sword into the sky and said, "I'm going to the fourth level. Our Crimson Moon Knights are being attacked by players from the Northern Four Tribes."
"What?"
Leng Yan frowned. "Guo Ke Wu Ming just robbed Bosses from Star River and Azure Dragon on the second level not long ago, and he's already on the fourth level so quickly? He's really fast. You go first, we Sheng Tian will follow."
"Okay."
Lin Zhao transformed into a beam of sword light and shot away, heading straight for the nearest entrance. With a flash of light, he was teleported to the fourth level and then flew directly towards the location Chen Xue had messaged.
In an old, lush forest, Chen Xue, Shen Xingchen, and others, leading over 200 members of the Crimson Moon Knights, were desperately holding their ground within the woodland. However, the opposing players were simply too numerous, and the other 200-person team of the Crimson Moon Knights, led by Ding Chi and Luo Man, had not yet arrived. With forces divided, they were stretched thin.
Before even approaching the fray, Lin Zhao unleashed the small world of his flying sword, Hao Ran, and vanished into the void. For 30 seconds, he gained a stealth effect similar to an assassin's, but this stealth was undetectable. The small world of the dignified Confucian Sage Qin Sui Han truly had few who could see through it.
The reason for stealthily approaching was solely to deal with Guo Ke Wu Ming. This person was a typical troublemaker. If he wasn't killed a few times, he would never learn his lesson. Moreover, he most likely possessed the Star Stone, so he had to be killed to drop that extremely precious Star Stone. Otherwise, if Guo Ke Wu Ming went offline directly or left the map with the Star Stone, the national server would never obtain that supreme treasure of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tree.
Therefore, Lin Zhao only had one chance: to instantly kill Guo Ke Wu Ming without giving him a chance to become invincible and return to town!
"A bunch of useless trash!"
Guo Ke Wu Ming rode his flying sword, continuously attacking the Crimson Moon Knights' formation. Sparks flew from his long sword, forcing Chen Xue and Zhang Jun's defenses to retreat. Chen Xue had no choice; as a Knight, she couldn't directly confront a sword cultivator of Guo Ke Wu Ming's caliber in terms of strength. Zhang Jun also had no choice; he truly couldn't win. The opponent's equipment was too good, and his level too high.
"Swish!"
Just as Guo Ke Wu Ming was wishing he could curse the Crimson Moon Knights' ancestors for eighteen generations, a surging Dragon Qi infused Dragon Rise Slash emerged from nowhere. The next moment, Guo Ke Wu Ming's body was sent flying into the air, caught in the knockback and stun of Dragon Rise Slash. In this state, he could do nothing. As Guo Ke Wu Ming's expression turned to horror, a familiar flame appeared before his eyes.
The flying sword, Xin Huo, wreathed in a flame, pierced directly through his forehead, instantly killing him. If the two were not players but real cultivators on the mountain, Guo Ke Wu Ming would have died completely, his spiritual core pierced by the flying sword, utterly dead.
"Clink!"
Lin Zhao grabbed the air with his hand, and from the pile of potions and materials dropped by Guo Ke Wu Ming, he seized the Star Stone and pocketed it. Unfortunately, no equipment dropped, and magic artifacts couldn't be dropped either. Magic artifacts were bound items; once refined by a player, they became untradeable and undroppable. Otherwise, if players in "Tian Xia" had high-tier magic artifacts dropped, they would likely quit the game on the spot.
"Be careful!"
Ding Chunqiu, who had resurrected, cried out in alarm, "Lin Zhao has already arrived!"
Lin Zhao, however, had already ignited a Speed Charm, and his figure vanished from everyone's sight. The next moment, with a heavy punch of a Groundspring Stomp, he sent Ding Chunqiu's body flying into the air, with the same effect as Dragon Rise Slash, a knockback. In the next second, countless flying swords swept past, and Ding Chunqiu fell for the second time at Lin Zhao's hands on the same day.
"You motherf... "
Chang Ye Yu Huo cried out in alarm.
"Alliance Leader Chang Ye Yu Huo, don't you want to die too?"
Lin Zhao turned, the Speed Charm's effect still active on him. His figure, like a phantom in the air, instantly appeared before Chang Ye Yu Huo, delivering a punch of Qi Charging the Bull to his abdomen. He then flashed behind him and delivered another punch, the Dreamland Devouring Strike, followed by the assault of the Ephemeral Fly Sword. Chang Ye Yu Huo also perished.
In fact, Chang Ye Yu Huo, Ding Chunqiu, and others had the opportunity to become invincible and return to town, but they were unwilling. After all, it wasn't easy to rally this force of over 400 people. When they took their oaths, Guo Ke Wu Ming had told them that dying once at most was fine; playing a game wasn't a matter of life and death. They wanted to prove a point, to tell the players of this game that joining an opposing faction was just a playstyle, not a sign of rebellion against humanity.
Sometimes, they felt that other players were foolish, while they were the pioneers.
...
"Clear the area quickly, make it a swift victory!"
After dealing with the three key figures of the opposing side, Lin Zhao swooped down and summoned the Burning Heaven Beast, standing beside Chen Xue. Above his head, streams of flying swords charged forward, acting as ground blades. Under Lin Zhao's immense armor penetration, the enemy's defenses crumbled almost instantly. Shen Xingchen, who had been outputting damage alone and unsupported, finally received strong reinforcement. She unleashed a Heaven and Earth Profound Fire Tower, which crashed into the crowd. Coupled with the harvesting by Lin Zhao's Ephemeral Fly Sword, the enemy ranks fell like cut wheat.
"Damn, no way!"
Li Canghai, as the sole surviving alliance leader, dared not ride his sword into the sky to become a target. He mounted a warhorse and led his men to retreat, saying in a deep voice, "Our principle is to not fight when Lin Zhao is present, and to fight hard when he's not. Since he's here, let's retreat. A true man knows when to bend and when to stand firm. We'll settle the score with them later!"
"Go!"
A large group of people turned and left. But they hadn't gone far when a large contingent of Sheng Tian players appeared ahead. Leng Yan, wielding a blood-stained long sword, frowned. "What are you waiting for? Clear the area! Kill all players from opposing factions, leave none alive!"
"Kill!"
Hundreds of Sheng Tian players surged forward like a tide.
...
Deep within the fourth level.
A Boss in white robes, with faint golden streams of light in his hair, stood gracefully in the valley. He exuded an aura of scholarly refinement, rumored to be a descendant of the demigods.
Jiang Wuchen, a Saint-grade Boss!
In front of Jiang Wuchen stood four players, all from the "Xuanyuan" guild. The highest-ranked player among them was Tang Chao Ming Yue, a young man. He frowned and said, "What do you guys think? Can we fight this Boss?"
"Fight it with what?"
The vice-leader rolled his eyes.