456: player gatherings

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

This Time Bu Ge had repeatedly led player trends in the past. After he went to the Burial Emperor Star, new trendsetters in the Prison Land had come and gone in waves.

To the point that many people believed This Time Bu Ge had been phased out by the era and would only be one of the thousands of ordinary players from then on.

But this time, he stood up once more and released the most shocking news to all players, letting everyone know that this former King of Guides was still active on the front lines.

The problem was... he was too far on the front lines.

Although Jian Linran had been eyeing the Prison Land like a tiger watching its prey, and news had spread long ago that he would descend upon the Prison Land to create a new major version expansion pack.

However, everyone thought this would be a long wait of decades or even centuries.

Players were becoming more and more accustomed to the thinking patterns of long-lived species.

But now, all the players were panicking.

Because This Time Bu Ge, who was on the front lines, had obtained the most accurate information: Jian Linran had mastered a method to connect with the Prison Land, and it seemed to be a very reliable one.

No one knew exactly when he would be able to open the passage.

Maybe next year? Maybe next month?

Or perhaps even tomorrow?

The players felt as if they were on the front lines themselves; the smoke of war was drifting over, threatening to overwhelm them at any moment.

The most terrifying thing was that they could foresee that if the current players clashed with the forces of the Burial Emperor Star led by Jian Linran...

It wouldn't even turn into a war; it couldn't even be called a massacre. It would be like a gale sweeping away dust, easily crushing all players with nonchalance.

"It's too early!"

This viewpoint spread like wildfire throughout the entire player Forum.

No one wanted to face the threat of the Burial Emperor Star right now.

Initially, some people didn't understand the logic and thought the descent of the Burial Emperor Star would be a major benefit event from which players could profit.

But This Time Bu Ge specifically explained it to everyone:

"First, you need to understand one thing: the Xuanhuan World is not your typical MMO. It is a complete open-world game with no clear main storyline, no clear factions, and not even any clear, templated skill Systems, equipment Systems, or forging Systems.

"In such a highly free open world, players can do whatever they want, but it also means the NPCs can do whatever they want as well.

"I think after playing for so long, with some even starting closed-door cultivation to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, everyone should have figured out the ins and outs of the Xuanhuan World by now, right?

"Do you think a High-level Cultivator like Jian Linran would go to such lengths to restart the passage to the Prison Land just to give us players advanced Cultivation Techniques, Magic Treasures, and Medicinal Pills from the Burial Emperor Star?

"Just to raise the average level of us players from less than fourth grade all the way to accepting a complete first grade Legacy?

"Do you think that's possible?

"Bullshit, of course it's impossible.

"Jian Linran's coming to the Prison Land must be for some purpose, most likely plotting for something within the Prison Land.

"So, while he is setting his plans and seizing some Treasure we don't know about, what will happen to us players?

"Naturally, he'll be afraid of us interfering or becoming variables, so he'll simply strike first and thoroughly crush us.

"And you'd better think clearly—someone like Jian Linran definitely has the ability to completely seal off our respawn points!"

Some said This Time Bu Ge was being alarmist.

Could it be that Jian Linran valued the players' cultivation talent and didn't mind spending resources to restart the immortal path just to guide the players in their cultivation?

But more people had brains and clearly knew that Jian Linran's move was definitely not a good thing for them.

After the shock, surprise, and panic, visionary players agreed with This Time Bu Ge's proposal:

"To stop Jian Linran, we must kill the Old Ancestor of He Shui Manor!"

In an instant, countless players took action... Heshui Prefecture was located within the borders of the former Chu Kingdom, to the east of the Green Emerald Mountains—formerly the Efeng Mountain Range—and adjacent to the Li Kingdom.

When the players were conducting their East Sea Exploration, they feared the strength of Heshui Prefecture and didn't dare provoke them. Instead, they chose to expand into the increasingly chaotic former Li Kingdom after it lost the Qingling Sect.

Later, they built Dragon Seeking City and subsequently established outposts and major cities on various islands in the East Sea and Ancient Battlefields, effectively building up their presence.

While the players were rising in power, Heshui Prefecture remained quiet without any movement, as if minding its own business.

In fact, before this matter with Jian Linran, Heshui Prefecture and the players got along quite harmoniously.

After all, Heshui Prefecture was one of the earliest fifth grade Sects to absorb players, and they had even authorized a player like Ye Chun to recruit other players on his own, which earned them a lot of goodwill from the players.

Furthermore, Heshui Prefecture had always presented itself as a righteous faction within the Chu Kingdom. Not only would they periodically send Cultivators to help with farming, but they also mediated conflicts between Mortal forces and occasionally took on disciples.

In the players' Sect goodwill rankings, Heshui Prefecture had always been far in the lead and was regarded as an absolute ally.

But now, the unexpected had happened.

On this day, at the border of the former Chu Kingdom and the Li Kingdom, many players gathered and built a temporary high platform for speeches.

As the platform was erected and players gathered, some merchant players also took the initiative to open up various paths and set up stalls to do business on both sides of the roads.

Gradually, this ignored border wilderness actually became a bustling large market in a very short amount of time.

The clamor, the hawking, and some random arguments and price haggling mixed together, along with various discussions about Heshui Prefecture, collectively formed the atmosphere of this temporary market.

Ye Chun arrived at the market quietly in this atmosphere, accompanied by "Kaitian Immortal Master" from the Red Rain Pavilion.

The two of them had originally intended to walk closer to the high platform to listen carefully to the discussions of the surrounding players and see what the leader had to say.

But the number of players in the market was simply too large, densely packed from Mortals to those at the Immortal Foundation stage, creating a complete bottleneck.

In the end, Ye Chun had no choice but to take flight with Kaitian Immortal Master, rising as high as possible to bypass the crowded masses. They went directly behind the high platform, found a quiet spot, released floating stone chairs, and sat down to wait for the speech to begin.

Before long, the noisy market gradually quieted down.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed Demon Race Player, dressed in silver knight heavy armor and holding a knight's sword and shield, strode onto the high platform.

"So it's him."

Ye Chun's expression shifted to one of realization; he finally knew who the leader was.

"Who?"

"Arthur, he used to be a popular streamer from the Western Country, but he gradually faded into obscurity. I only noticed him because his name once appeared on the state-stabilizing seal exploration rankings."

Arthur stepped onto the path paved with white jade and marble with an air of pride and confidence. He climbed the stairs step by step to the nine-layered high platform and looked out at the densely packed players. The corners of his mouth curled up as he thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.