Nine Sons Seizing the Heir, Sky Heart Guardian

Gao Linzhi followed behind the other person, trailing behind them all the way.

They arrived at the same garden.

What I saw was a large garden, but strangely, there were no walls, no servants, and no eunuchs or palace maids.

Like an open park, there is a path that leads directly inside.

With its rocks, flowing water, and lush greenery, it's a beautiful scene reminiscent of a Jiangnan garden.

Gao Linzhi glanced around the garden and noticed a stone standing upright in the very center.

He was a little confused. Looking at the game's Minimap, he saw that the stone was the location of the treasure chest mark.

It has a large red treasure chest mark on it.

He didn't care whether those three fools succeeded or not.

He just wanted to see if the Heaven's Heart Stone was real and if it could protect the soul.

If so, then it means "the treasure belongs to the virtuous."

The three men clearly saw this as well.

They were all excited and couldn't wait to step onto the garden path.

Just as they were about to reach the stone marked with the treasure chest, suddenly, one of them said:

What's going on?

Gao Linzhi was watching the three of them from outside the garden.

The three people had glazed eyes and stood frozen in place, clearly under an illusion.

He thought for a moment, then used a "Sense Linking Technique" on one of the players in the middle.

Learning a variety of skills has this advantage: it makes you highly adaptable.

You can always find a useful skill.

Now he basically learns any skill he can get, and if he doesn't have enough skill slots, he just spends money to unlock more.

For players who spend money on in-game purchases, playing games is entirely up to them—the main focus is on having fun.

There's nothing that money can't solve; if there is, then just spend another three tons.

Ordinary Player need various strategies and cost-effectiveness tips to play games, while paying players only have one method: mindlessly spend money.

The rest is up to the planners. If a problem can't be solved by spending money, then it's the planners' problem to solve. Let the planners solve it, and incidentally, make the awesome programmers work overtime.

At this moment, Gao Linzhi shared the senses of one of them.

At that moment, everything went black, and the scene before him transformed into a vast ocean.

Gao Linzhi naturally understood that these people were under an illusion.

At this moment, the three of them still believed that they had been transported to the ocean by some kind of space technology.

After all, this is a game, and game Dungeon Space are the most common.

Only Gao Linzhi knew clearly that the Skyfall Game was incomplete and not as powerful as it seemed.

In many ways, it was just a makeshift solution.

Similar to a game demo, you can't experience many features; you can only see the visuals and invisible walls.

Gao Linzhi observes the real garden while simultaneously engaging all his senses.

He finally figured something out.

It turned out that a kind of formation was faintly visible among the rocks.

The three of them went directly into the formation.

The "Basic March Formation" techniques he had learned earlier came into play at this moment.

That made him realize it.

This is similar to Zhuge Liang's Eight Trigrams Formation, which utilizes the advantages of timing and location, combined with mysterious forces, to create illusions.

No matter how many people come, if they can't break the formation, they'll be trapped and die.

The strength of this formation lies in the fact that it has an absolute defensive threshold.

If you're just a lowly soldier, no matter how many come, you can't make it lose health.

But if you're a master, you can break it easily by yourself.

That's the threshold.

Outside the threshold, it feels like an insurmountable chasm; once you cross it, it feels incredibly easy.

Gao Linzhi then observed how the three of them were feeling.

In their eyes, they found themselves on an ocean.

Sea, blue sky.

They are situated between the sea and the sky.

The three of them were standing on the sea.

It must be said that this illusion wasn't very real.

How could a normal person stand on the sea?

However, the three of them thought this was normal.

Because they are not normal people.

It's fair to say that if an ordinary person wanted to steal this stone, they would easily be deceived by the illusion.

The three looked around.

"What do we do now?" Player 1 asked.

"We must have entered a treasure dungeon," Player Two said seriously.

"It seems we can get the treasure by clearing the dungeon. With the Heaven's Heart Stone, we'll have hope for our Immortality!" Player Three exclaimed excitedly.

No sooner had they finished speaking than the three of them saw a shark emerge from the sea.

"Holy crap, it's a shark!"

Run!

The three of them started running on the sea at the same time.

They never imagined that a normal sea surface could allow them to run.

They were clearly in the imperial city just a moment ago, how could they suddenly be transported to the ocean?

It's fair to say that they still held the idea that "this is a game, Game System is omnipotent."

If they continue to think this way, then the problem is quite serious.

Gao Linzhi believed they couldn't escape it.

And at this time...

In their vision, the sharks that were chasing them transformed into pirates, sea monsters, and sirens, which terrified them and made them continue to flee.

Some people even screamed loudly.

The main problem is that the monsters are too terrifying.

And these are all things they are most afraid of.

Like Sadako.

They realized they were in very big trouble.

They cannot escape this game instance unless they kill these monsters.

Therefore, they would have no chance of obtaining the treasure.

"No, we can't run away anymore!"

"We have to fight back and kill them!"

"Otherwise, we'll be finished very soon!"

"That's right!"

Soon, the three decided to fight back.

They took out weapons from their Game Backpack and slashed with them.

A siren died.

"Haha, it was all made of paper after all."

Little did they know that in the real world, at that very moment, a group of guards were quietly surrounding them.

"Hahaha, as expected, I knew someone would come for this stone," the Captain of the guards sneered.

"It's strange, captain, since you know that this stone will attract attention here, why don't you think of a way to hide it?" A guard asked doubtfully.

"You wouldn't understand. The officials at the Imperial Observatory said that this stone must be offered the blood of 999 powerful individuals to achieve its heart-protecting effect."

"We've already made offerings to 500 people; we still need 499 more."

"I see."

"I knew it. If it were a real treasure, how could it be left out in broad daylight for people to steal?"

Hidden in the shadows, Gao Linzhi nodded upon seeing this.

I see.

No wonder this "Heaven's Heart Stone" was placed in the garden; that's how it happened.

Soon, the servants surrounded the three players.

At this moment, the three of them were completely powerless.

He was about to be hacked to death by these soldiers.

Suddenly, one of the players' eyes lit up.

"I'll take the test!"

"I know, it's all a damn illusion!"

"No wonder the monsters are so weak!"

He finally regained consciousness just as the blade was about to strike him.

"I'll take the test!"

"You dare kill us? You're asking for death!"

All three regained consciousness at the same time.

"Holy crap, a mere bunch of soldiers actually want to kill us?"

They immediately engaged in fierce combat with numerous imperial guards!

"You bastards, this is rebellion!"

"They actually dare to resist instead of surrendering?"

"You troublemaker! You troublemaker!"

These people from the capital city rarely see players, so they have no idea that in the eyes of players, the emperor and the court are nothing but bullshit; without benefits, they are nothing at all.

Players can even queue up to lick the beggars on the street if they are given 5 coins as a reward.

In an instant, all that could be seen was the flash of swords and the flow of blood.

Several imperial guards were immediately cut down and fell to the ground.

Gao Linzhi was not surprised by this.

There will always be people who have a biased view of Imperial Master.

They forgot that, apart from the first ten years or so after the founding of the dynasty when the Imperial Army was the most powerful, for most of the time, the Border Army were the dominant force.

The Imperial Master is often a training ground for spoiled brats to enhance their resumes.

They have virtually no fighting ability.

And that's exactly how it is now.

Although they were rated level 45 in the game, they hadn't engaged in much combat.

The fact that these three could become the leaders of an association speaks volumes about their strength.

They are all at least around level 40.

Moreover, they have experienced many battles.

Leveling up is not easy for players.

Aside from Corporate Players, which ordinary player hasn't racked up countless kills?

Moreover, one has to go through many eliminations to reach this position.

They quickly scattered and killed almost all the guards.

They still held back the damage; they didn't actually kill the person completely, they just knocked them down.

After all, he still needed to make a living near the capital.

Whether it constitutes murder or not is a different matter entirely.

If they don't kill anyone, they can persuade some ministers to appease them.

Many ministers still wanted to avoid further trouble.

This is a characteristic of feudal dynasties.

The peace faction has a particularly large following.

Because they disliked causing trouble and didn't want warlords to become too powerful.

Any scholar, unless they are seeking power, is naturally inclined to appease.

The guards lay sprawled on the ground, one by one, slumped over.

They wailed.

"Bastards, you bastards, how dare you rebel!"

"You are nothing but a bunch of troublemakers!"

"You just wait, your entire family will be wiped out!"

The guards went completely mad.

They never expected that someone would dare to Wei Da, right under the walls of the imperial city.

They thought the other party would kneel down and beg for mercy.

They could just go straight for a beheading.

And the other party actually dared to resist?

They even attacked them, showing them no respect whatsoever.

Fortunately, these people still had some reservations and didn't kill them.

This gave them a chance to turn the tide.

On the battlefield, mercy can cost you your life.

Someone then took the opportunity to throw out a firework.

The fireworks exploded rapidly in the air.

"Damn it, these bastards are calling for help!"

Player One was furious; he wanted nothing more than to chop those people up on the spot.

However, he was still worried about incurring the wrath of the imperial court.

Therefore, they still did not carry out the killing.

These guards weren't very strong, but the men they recruited were quite powerful.

Just as the three players were trying to escape this stubborn fellow, an old Daoist priest appeared out of thin air.

He seemed to possess some kind of teleportation ability, appearing directly in thin air.

Gao Linzhi one look and realized it was someone he knew.

It was that same Old Daoist Tiansheng, naturally wise fellow from the Imperial Observatory.

The other party followed Ouyang Jing all the way to reclaim the strange storm eye, but failed.

This guy, I have to say, is pretty impressive.

At least Gao Linzhi couldn't figure out how the other party appeared.

Perhaps it's through the use of formations?

In any case, it involves spatial transformation.

That's really impressive.

Of course, it's also possible that the old Daoist priest had been hiding nearby all along.

This is more likely.

It's important to understand that spatial rules have always been the rules of the TOP2, and they are by no means easily violated.

"Hmm?" The Old Daoist Tiansheng gave a cold laugh upon seeing the three players.

"You extraterrestrials are truly like a flock of island vultures."

"They rush in whenever they see any benefit."

"It's so boring to kill them."

Clearly, the old Daoist priest knew that players could be resurrected.

The existence of Revival Stone is why people say killing is pointless.

Sure enough, the three players weren't too afraid of him.

Of course, I didn't want to waste this precious resurrection.

That cost 100,000 points to get.

There are relatively few game events.

Only once or twice a month.

It's not easy to accumulate points.

You have to follow the game's progression and grind hard.

"Hmph, you people in the imperial court oppress the common people and coerce the innocent at every turn. We will not allow you to continue to act so arbitrarily!" Player 1 immediately seized the moral high ground.

"That's right, this treasure belongs to the people, to all under heaven. How can your imperial court monopolize it?"

"The virtuous should possess it; this treasure should belong to us."

"What we do for the people in one year is more than what you do in three hundred years! Because what you do for the people in three hundred years adds up to a negative number!"

The Old Daoist Tiansheng frowned immediately.

It has to be said that while these players may not be good at much else, when it comes to talking, they're unmatched by him.

The key point is that the other party has their own logic.

"Hmph, what are you all talking about?"

They all deserve to die!

Then, with a casual wave of his hand, the three men immediately fell unconscious.

Gao Linzhi shook his head.

Sure enough, today's players are far behind these veteran bosses in terms of strength, skill, and combat strategies.

This old Daoist priest clearly possesses a systematic set of sorcery techniques and methods.

If an average player doesn't have a strong will, they can easily get killed on their first encounter.

They were completely powerless to resist.

Don't expect to overwhelm the opponent by sheer numbers.

That doesn't exist.

The old Daoist priest possessed excellent mobility and stealth abilities.

"Alright, let's kill these people here."

"Unfortunately, their souls are protected by some being and cannot be used to sacrifice to this Heaven's Heart Stone."

"Go back and have those palace maids and eunuchs who made mistakes beaten to death right here."

"Understood, Your Imperial Preceptor."

The guards spoke honestly.

The reason this garden is open to the public is that it's actually a place similar to a marketplace!

Caishikou was open to everyone.

That's a place for demonstrations and intimidation.

No wonder no eunuchs or palace maids came to this garden; it was the place where they were executed.

Who in their right mind would go and be paraded through the execution grounds of Caishikou?

There's no time to be superstitious.

The old Daoist then threw the three of them directly in front of the upright stone.

Then a servant stepped forward, ready to strike and kill the three men.

However, at that moment a voice rang out:

"Daoist Master Tiansheng, please spare his life!"

Gao Linzhi looked up.

A prince dressed in a robe with Five-Python Robe strode over, accompanied by several attendants.