320: rotten fish and shrimp

Ye Chun and the Puppeteer, "I Want to Pilot a Gundam," had agreed on terms; he was willing to invest in him and act as his sharpest blade in besieging a Golden Core.

Of course, Ye Chun inwardly scoffed at this.

The Xuanhuan World was different from other games; the disparity between Ranks was terrifyingly vast, simply not something that could be overcome by unorthodox means.

For instance, when he killed Kumu Daoren at the Yaowei Lou (Demon Flavor Tower/Restaurant) earlier, he only needed a thought; without moving or circulating his spiritual power, a gentle release of Qi was enough to directly crush him.

Even the most useless Ninth-Grade Shattered Core, a figure like Midnight Gao Sou, could extinguish tens of thousands of Immortal Foundation Cultivators with a single breath.

This was even something that Midnight Gao Sou had verified when he massacred a group of players back then.

A Puppeteer, allied with an Artifact Refiner, an Alchemist, a Talisman Maker, and a Formation Master, dared to hunt a Golden Core?

In Ye Chun's opinion, this was simply impossible, unless they possessed a high-Rank killing Formation.

Even then, the killing Formation would need to operate autonomously, otherwise their small bodies would be utterly incapable of activating it.

Despite his disdain and distrust, Ye Chun was also very curious: what exactly was this Puppeteer planning?

One day later.

Ye Chun met up with the Puppeteers on the outskirts of the small town.

Here, one could see rolling mountain peaks and a winding small river; the environment was beautiful and refreshing.

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" walked over with his people, laughing heartily, appearing very excited.

"Come, everyone, let's get acquainted.

"This is the Alchemist, character nickname is 'No Internet Today.'

"This is the Artifact Refiner, 'Azure Dragon in Hand.'

"This is the Talisman Maker, 'Dead Bald Monk.'

"This is the Formation Master, 'First Sword Cultivator.'

"And this is the main Immortal Foundation, 'Blooming Prosperity.'"

Ye Chun's disguised nickname was indeed 'Blooming Prosperity.'

He nodded to everyone.

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" began to explain the combat instructions:

"First, we will deploy the killing Formation and directly attack the Golden Core.

"Then I will have the Puppets entangle the Golden Core with powerful Magical Artifacts.

"At this point, the Golden Core Cultivator will surely exert immense pressure on the Puppets, and my Spiritual Sense will suffer, so the Alchemist needs to provide support.

"While the killing Formation, Puppets, and Magical Artifacts are battling the Golden Core, the Talisman Maker can unleash all the prepared Talismans at once.

"Once the Golden Core has been sufficiently worn down, Blooming Prosperity, it will be your turn to deliver a fatal blow to the Golden Core Cultivator!"

Ye Chun raised his hand: "I have a question."

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" nodded: "Please speak."

"What is the Rank of this killing Formation?"

"As high as Rank 6, and there are a full ten Rank 6 killing Formations. Combined, I believe they are no weaker than Rank 5."

Ye Chun felt speechless internally; Rank progression wasn't calculated this way. Forget ten Rank 6 killing Formations, a hundred or even a thousand couldn't compare to a Rank 5.

It was like an AK47 firing ten thousand bullets; it still couldn't compare to a nuclear weapon exploding just once. They weren't on the same magnitude.

"Then I have another question. You just mentioned 'Magical Artifacts.' Is this a general term similar to 'equipment' or 'tools,' or is it a specific Rank designation for Rank 7 and Rank 6?"

"Of course it's a Rank designation. My Rank 6 Puppets will carry Rank 6 Magical Artifacts to entangle the Golden Core. The two combined are no weaker than Rank 5."

Ye Chun was silent for a few seconds, then asked again: "So, the Talismans are also Rank 6?"

At this, the Talisman Maker awkwardly said: "Uh, my skills aren't good enough; I can't make Rank 6 ones. I can only use Rank 7."

The Alchemist said: "Don't worry, all my Medicinal Pills are Rank 6. Although they might have some side effects due to my skill level, they are definitely all Rank 6."

Ye Chun was silent for a moment. He looked at these players, all of them Mortal Foundation, not even one Immortal Foundation.

And with this, they actually wanted to hunt a Golden Core?

"Oh, right, I never asked before, which Golden Core have you set your sights on?"

"Does that even need asking?"

The Formation Master interjected: "Of course, it's Li Changfeng, who is infamous among players and whom everyone wants to kill!"

Ye Chun was silent for a few more seconds, then said: "As far as I know, Li Changfeng always rides a Demon Body great demon, which means attacking him is equivalent to simultaneously fighting two Golden Core-level... or rather, Rank 5-level opponents."

The Formation Master scoffed: "We've already considered that. There's nothing to fear from that Western Country person. We'll just throw a Formation to trap him first and delay him for a while, that'll be enough."

A plan so careless it made one feel speechless.

The Talisman Maker then spoke: "Everyone, we still need to be careful and not underestimate the Golden Core so much."

Ye Chun nodded inwardly; there was still someone sensible.

"Just a Formation probably won't be enough to trap him. At that time, it will still need to be supplemented with my Talismans."

"Right, right! At that time, we'll use Talismans and Formations together, and I'll arrange a few automatic Qi Refining Realm Puppets to assist. That should be enough to hold him off."

Ye Chun wanted to say something but held back.

He suddenly felt that the way these ordinary players played seemed quite interesting?

"Oh, right, let's check the killing Formation one last time. It would be troublesome if it malfunctioned."

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" took out Formation Flags and a Formation Diagram from his storage ring; he was clearly in charge of their safekeeping.

This was the main offensive killing Formation, as high as Rank 6, with a full thirty-six Formation Flags. When used, a Formation platform also needed to be set up beforehand.

Ye Chun's eyebrows, however, twitched. He felt that this Formation... seemed a bit off?

"Alright, I'll deploy it first to take a look..."

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" deployed the Formation Diagram and Formation Flags in front of everyone.

As the thirty-six Formation Flags flew out, a barrier suddenly generated, beams of light descended, and yellow spiritual light transformed into golden iron chains.

"What's going on?"

The Formation Master shouted, his face filled with shock: "Did I grab the wrong Formation?"

At this moment, the Formation fully deployed. It was surprisingly a grand Formation for confinement. Formation Flags flew, and the set-up Formation platform released golden chains, locking everyone in place.

Ye Chun felt power surging from the chains, seemingly intending to suppress his movements, but he could break through the Restriction with a single thought.

The others weren't so powerful; they all became weak and listless, looking at "I Want to Pilot a Gundam" with fear.

"Haha! It worked!"

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" clapped his hands and laughed heartily: "The Materials, all gathered!

"My most, most excellent Puppet design can finally be realized!"

He laughed somewhat sinisterly, truly like a villain.

Ye Chun sighed inwardly. As expected, he wasn't that foolish to actually think about killing a Golden Core. He had his own plans all along.

"What? 'I Want to Pilot a Gundam,' weren't we going to kill the Golden Core together?"

The Formation Master shrieked in terror.

Well, there were still people this foolish, truly believing their meager strength could kill a Golden Core.

"Indeed, we are going to kill a Golden Core, but before that, I need to create the most, most excellent Puppet."

"I Want to Pilot a Gundam" licked his lips: "And the Materials are all of you."