83: Chapter 83 The Storm Is Brewing

Dead silence, lasting only 0.3 seconds.

The next instant, inside the guest courtyard, an invisible sun seemed to explode!

"Holy sh*t — A Mythical Quest!"

"Failure penalty is a full combo! Level -10, half of our equipment wiped? The Old Ancestor is trying to kill us!"

"Kill us? Did you read the quest description? It's asking for our lives! It's a suicide mission! Hahahaha, I've played so many games, this is the first time I've seen an official quest so blunt!"

"Damn, it's getting lit! 'Steal the country, defy the heavens'! The Old Ancestor really gets us!"

Fanaticism!

Those two blood-red words didn't extinguish the fire in the players' hearts; instead, they were like pouring a whole barrel of high-purity spirit oil into a roaring fireplace!

Despair?

That's an emotion only native NPCs have!

For players, difficulty is always directly proportional to rewards!

A dungeon judged by the system as "Mythical grade," an ultimate challenge that dares to use the description "suicide mission"—the rewards hidden behind it are enough to turn any rational player into the craziest gambler in an instant!

Almost at the same time, the long-silent player forum exploded.

The chat logs of the entire Central Sacred Land regional channel were like a breached dam, refreshing crazily at a rate of hundreds per second; any attempt at normal conversation was instantly drowned out.

And the forum homepage was completely occupied by countless bold, bright red posts:

[Pinned] [Mythical Quest: Raid on the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion] Official Discussion Thread — General Headquarters Established!

[Hot Topic] "On the Hundred Ways to Take Down a Half-Step Ascension BOSS (Theoretical Edition)"

[Frenzy] "Calling for backup online! Construction team assemble! 'City of Liver Emperor' fortress transformation initiated! Blueprints to be released later!"

[Bounty] "100,000 Contribution Points! Seeking black history of the Tomb Guardian! Does he have an illegitimate child? Does he have a lover? Zuan Diplomatic Corps needs it urgently!"

[Analysis] "Inferring from the quest background 'An immortal guards the heavens,' the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion might contain an extraterrestrial space, and conventional infiltration methods might fail!"

In the guest courtyard, the lenses of Outlaw Zhang San reflected faces flushed with excitement.

He didn't participate in this fanatical discussion, but instead slammed the stone table with a crisp "slap," forcibly pulling everyone's attention back.

"Quiet!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable calmness and authority.

"Fanaticism can't solve problems. The Old Ancestor gave us an impossible mission, but the Ninth Prince gave us a chance." Outlaw Zhang San's gaze was as sharp as a knife, sweeping over everyone present. "A chance to turn 'impossible' into 'possible'!"

He walked to the open space in the center of the courtyard, dipped his finger in tea, and quickly drew a sketch.

"The Heavenly Scripture Pavilion is the final goal. But it is not our first step. Our enemy is not just that 'Half-Step Ascension' Tomb Guardian, but the entire Central Sacred Land!"

"Therefore, our operation must be divided into four routes, four lines, proceeding simultaneously!"

Outlaw Zhang San spoke extremely fast, his thinking terrifyingly clear.

"First route: Financial Warfare!" He turned his gaze to the Wolf of Wall Street. "You are the expert. I need you to stir up an unprecedented financial storm in the Sacred Land's markets within the shortest possible time. I want those large sects and the Council of Elders to be so overwhelmed by spiritual stones and resources that they have no time to care about anything else!"

The Wolf of Wall Street curled his lips into a confident smile, gently pushing up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose; beneath the lenses was the excitement of a shark smelling blood.

"Small matter," he said flatly. "The Sacred Land's economic model, in my eyes, is like a naked beauty, full of flaws. Three days. I only need three days to release fake news about an 'Ancient Immortal Abode about to appear,' and combine it with the dumping and pumping of the low-tier materials we've hoarded, enough to create a panic run. By then, that old stubborn Xuan Tian Zhenren will probably have to personally seal several near-bankrupt sect banks."

"Very good." Outlaw Zhang San nodded and drew another line.

"Second route: Public Opinion Warfare!" He looked at the Zuan Pianist and the approaching Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet. "Pianist, your 'Heart-Breaking Technique' shouldn't just be used in the arena. Little Trumpet, your intelligence network should be fully activated. I want you both to work in tandem!"

"On one hand," Outlaw Zhang San lowered his voice, "we need to spread a rumor—the Tomb Guardian of the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion is nearing the end of his lifespan, his vitality is failing, and the restrictions are already loosening! This news must be spread convincingly, enough to make those petty people in the Sacred Land who have ambitions and ideas, but dare not act, move! Let them be our first wave of cannon fodder to test the depth of the 'Time Array' for us!"

"On the other hand," he looked at the Zuan Pianist, "I want you to organize the best trash-talkers in the entire server and turn the Sacred Land upside down! From the private life of Xuan Tian Zhenren to the sordid details of the geniuses of various major sects, count every one of them, compile them into storytelling scripts, write them into novels, and have them sung in all the restaurants and teahouses! I want the entire high-level leadership of the Sacred Land to be trapped in a mud-slinging war of mutual suspicion and recrimination, leaving them overwhelmed and unable to attend to anything else!"

The Zuan Pianist slapped his thigh excitedly upon hearing this, letting out a loud "Got it!"

"I'm an expert at this job! I guarantee to make the Sacred Land, from top to bottom, restless!"

"Third route, and also the most important one: The Frontal Battlefield!" Outlaw Zhang San's gaze fell on the Infrastructure Maniac who had been drawing something on the ground from the beginning.

The Infrastructure Maniac suddenly raised his head, his eyes shining like two stars. He excitedly showed his sketch to everyone: "I was just about to say! Look! We can reactivate the ruins core of the 'City of Liver Emperor', use it as the skeleton, and mount all our war reserves, rune cannons, and puppet cores onto it! We can build a... a flying, combat-capable, and even self-destructing war fortress!"

His voice trembled with excitement, full of infinite longing for grand engineering.

"We can use this 'Sky City' as a feint troop! On the day the general offensive is launched, we'll drive it directly to the mountain gate of the Sacred Land! All their main forces, all their attention, will be attracted by this mobile 'super bomb' of ours! This will create an unparalleled opportunity for our fourth route!"

Outlaw Zhang San stared at the Infrastructure Maniac's almost fanatical eyes and nodded heavily.

"Let's do it! This plan, codename—'For the Old Ancestor'!"

Three routes launched together: financial, public opinion, and military—a three-in-one saturation attack!

All the players present were shocked by this crazy but meticulous plan, and their blood was burning.

However, Outlaw Zhang San's expression became increasingly solemn, and he drew the last, thinnest, and most deadly line.

"But these three routes are just for cover."

"Our fourth route is the real blade, the real core."

He scanned the crowd and asked in a deep voice: "Feints can create chaos, but the duration of chaos is limited. Who can, within that short window of time, perhaps only a few breaths, cross the Time Array, ascend to the top floor of the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion, and take the key right under the nose of a Half-Step Ascension?"

The guest courtyard fell into silence again.

This question was like a basin of ice water poured over everyone's heated hearts.

Indeed, all the previous plans were perfect, but what kind of ability did the person executing this final move need?

That wasn't something that could be done just by being brave or not afraid of death.

That required god-like stealth skills, an extreme grasp of timing, and a powerful heart that remained unchanged even if Mount Tai collapsed before it.

Everyone present was a leader in their own right, a PVP expert, but they asked themselves, they couldn't do it.

Just then, a figure that had been leaning in the shadow of the corner, seemingly merging with the darkness, moved slightly.

He seemed to have been there the whole time, yet no one had noticed his existence.

He raised his head, revealing a plain face, with the ID — [Shadowless].

He didn't speak, just silently typed one word in the team channel.

"Me."

As soon as this word appeared, everyone present was stunned for a moment, then erupted into exclamations.

"It's the great god Shadowless!"

"Holy crap, when did he get here?"

"Shadowless... the legendary Thief God who single-handedly passed all the traps in the Demon Lord's Secret Treasury without taking damage?"

"Isn't he a lone wolf who never participates in any group activities?"

[Shadowless] ignored the crowd's discussion. He just looked calmly at Outlaw Zhang San and typed two more words.

"Three breaths."

"As long as you can create a three-breath, uninterrupted time window for me, I can get the item."

His words carried no emotional fluctuation, yet they brought a suffocating pressure born from absolute self-confidence.

Outlaw Zhang San stared at him for a full ten seconds, and finally, nodded solemnly.

"Okay! We will trade a city, billions of resources, and the lives of tens of thousands of brothers, to buy you these... three breaths!"

...

Deep within the Sacred Land, in a palace surrounded by clouds and mist.

Ninth Prince Ji Haoyue was sitting at his desk, quietly sipping a cup of spirit tea.

A servant in black appeared silently, knelt on one knee, and respectfully presented a jade slip.

"Your Highness, 'they'... have made a move."

Ninth Prince Ji Haoyue took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and a moment later, a trace of uncontrollable astonishment appeared on his calm, unruffled face for the first time.

Financial warfare, public opinion warfare, fortress feint, extreme infiltration...

What was recorded in the jade slip was exactly the [For the Old Ancestor] general mobilization plan that the player council had just passed.

The madness and boldness of its content made even someone of his composure feel a jolt of shock.

He had originally thought that by throwing out the dead end of the "Heavenly Scripture Pavilion," those anomalies would at least be depressed, plan for months, or perhaps even give up.

He never expected that not only were they not afraid, but within a single hour, they had formulated such... such a subversive combat plan.

"Using a city... to trade for three breaths of time..."

Ninth Prince Ji Haoyue muttered to himself, a complex light flashing in his eyes—shock, admiration, and even a trace of... fear that he himself hadn't noticed.

He felt that he hadn't released a blade, but rather... awakened a primordial behemoth he couldn't control at all.

He remained silent for a long time, and finally, gently crushed the jade slip into powder.

"Pass down the order, shrink all our industries, and wait and see."

His voice returned to calm, but only he knew that his heart was already surging with waves.

Meanwhile, in another more hidden Cloud-Top Immortal Palace, Fairy Yunshang was facing a water mirror, which clearly reflected every move in the Ninth Prince's study.

She watched the shocked face of Ninth Prince Ji Haoyue, and a playful, satisfied smile curled at the corners of her lips.

"What... cute and pitiful 'antibodies' they are."

She whispered softly, her fingertips gently tapping the water mirror.

"Cause trouble, the bigger the better."

"The old body always needs the sharpest scalpel to be completely excised."

The image in the water mirror slowly dissipated with her words.

The whole world had become her chessboard.

And the players, in the way she most hoped to see, were fanatically rushing toward the center of the chessboard, the most heroic, and also the deadliest, death trap.

The order for general mobilization had already been delivered to every player's panel through the Old Ancestor's system.

At this moment, the entire fourth calamity civilization, this precise and crazy war machine, accompanied by the fanatical shouts of countless players, began to run at full speed in a way that made the world tremble!