Chapter 91

It was 8:50 in the morning.

Zhou Xian, sitting in a fast-food restaurant across from the Shenglong Building in Zhongzhou City, was quietly eating the pastries in his hand.

The game company started work at 9:00, and Zhou Xian had already seen employees entering the building one after another.

Everything seemed normal here.

"…But it feels so strange…"

Although everything seemed normal on the surface, Zhou Xian distinctly felt a sense of disharmony.

It was as if the sequence 123456 had suddenly become 123467.

Although the order and rules still existed, it seemed as if something had been hidden.

This hidden thing puzzled Zhou Xian.

"What is it?"

He frowned, looking into the distance, deep in thought.

"Good morning, little friend."

At this moment, a man wearing sunglasses suddenly sat down opposite Zhou Xian.

"Huh?"

Zhou Xian followed the voice and focused his gaze on the man beside him.

This was a tall and robust man. He wore a black jacket that seemed out of place, and a pair of dark sunglasses. His voice was somewhat hoarse.

The man was probably in his twenties, not much older than Zhou Xian. The term "little brother" made Zhou Xian feel a bit odd.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The man didn't speak but smiled slightly and took out a talisman, placing it on the table.

"…" Another person who could use skills in the real world.

"It's just a simple illusion, but to cultivate the power to do this, I had to work hard for a long time." The man spoke loudly, but he didn't seem to worry about others overhearing.

"You are the third person I've seen since coming to Zhongzhou. It seems the eighth emperor and the anomalies in Zhongzhou City are indeed very attractive."

As he spoke, his gaze focused on the small bag on Zhou Xian's right belt, which contained the talismans Zhou Xian had prepared.

"Who sent you? What is your purpose?" Zhou Xian asked tentatively.

"Don't be so nervous, little brother. We are all here to serve the emperor players, right? You must be a close confidant of someone to have so many talismans. I won't pry into your specific identity, but since we've met, why don't we exchange some information? Oh, by the way, you can call me Black or Old Black."

The man's words contained a lot of information that Zhou Xian didn't understand yet.

It seemed that, in this man's view, talismans were not easy to make, but Zhou Xian could create them effortlessly. Moreover, the tools for cosplay that Zhou Xian had could also be used.

Furthermore, this man said his power was cultivated, which suggested that while others could also use game abilities, their methods seemed different from Zhou Xian's system.

Could it be that these people's abilities were all cultivated by themselves?

If these people were still using primitive methods, then Zhou Xian was using a modern gas stove, and the difference was vast.

But Zhou Xian thought, could it be that the Dragon Tomb Society could also use such skills to cultivate?

With the limited information he had, Zhou Xian couldn't make a judgment.

"Then call me… Beidou."

The name Beidou could be used for both genders and as a nickname. Zhou Xian couldn't reveal his identity, but he couldn't think of a better name, and this was the first one that came to mind.

However, as soon as he said it, Zhou Xian felt it was inappropriate, but it was too late to change it.

"Tsk, brother, you're not being sincere, are you? The emperors strictly prohibit us from using the names of the Big Dipper as aliases. You're just messing with me, right?" The man in the black jacket seemed a bit unhappy.

So, the names of the Big Dipper were taboo?

"Alright, I'm called Tian… Zhuxiang."

Zhou Xian had intended to use the name of his weapon, but realized it wasn't suitable as a name or alias. Then, he suddenly thought of the historical reference "Zhuan Zhu's assassination of King Liao" and decided to use this surname.

"Brother Zhuxiang, I've been here for a day and a night, just to observe this game company. My leader repeatedly warned me that this place might be dangerous, so I've only been monitoring it. But I've seen other players visit before. They weren't cultivators like us, so it was normal that no danger appeared. I'm too scared to go alone, brother. Should we team up and go over there?"

It was clear that this man had been here for a long time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have approached Zhou Xian so quickly.

Zhou Xian was thinking about the man's words.

His words clearly had a purpose, or he himself had come here for a specific reason.

He had also mentioned the eighth emperor and the anomalies in Zhongzhou City.

"…Why do you think there's a problem here?" Zhou Xian didn't answer the man's question but asked for his own opinion.

"Surely you know about the recent epidemic in Zhongzhou City? Although the authorities have tried to cover it up, the energy involved is obvious to those of us who have cultivated power or magic. That's why we came here, right?"

The man winked at Zhou Xian, as if it was normal for this information to be widely known.

"It seems we need to establish a communication network among the emperor players. Otherwise, my information will be too limited."

Compared to the emperor players who had been around for years, Zhou Xian's foundation was still very shallow.

Perhaps these emperor players didn't have Zhou Xian's game template, but they had been developing for much longer, and the information they knew was clearly not to be underestimated.

"From what I know, some formidable forces seem to have entered Zhongzhou City." Zhou Xian tried to get more information.

The man in the black jacket nodded: "Yes, my leader also seems very cautious. I don't know what's going on, but it must be something serious."

"Right." Zhou Xian nodded in agreement: "But a few days ago, I exchanged information with someone else and heard that there were signs of a battle in the outskirts of the city."

"Oh? Do you have more specific information? I have some information about Zhongzhou Academy. Perhaps we can exchange it?"

The emperor players were not mortal enemies. They competed with each other but also cooperated, so equal information exchange was quite normal.

Moreover, in modern society, although there was a lot of deceit, it wasn't worth causing trouble over such a small matter.

Compared to the ancient people who liked to play games, modern people preferred straightforward and simple things.

"Sure. Someone seems to have set up a base in an abandoned village on the outskirts of Zhongzhou City, but they got into a fight with someone else."

Zhou Xian's information shocked the man in the black jacket: "Array formation?! You mean someone set up an array in the real world?! Could it be the eighth… No, even the eighth is unlikely. Could it be the Red Blood Emperor or the Chaste Emperor setting up an array there?!"

Is array formation so difficult?

"It seems I need to investigate this personally. Someone who can set up an array in the real world must be extraordinary."

Zhou Xian was truly puzzled and didn't bother to continue probing: "Isn't setting up an array in the real world not that difficult?"

"Hey, don't make it sound so easy. You probably haven't tried setting up an array yourself. Try it and you'll see." The man in the black jacket shook his head: "These arrays may seem easy to draw at first glance, but they're not at all."

"I… haven't tried it."

Zhou Xian couldn't reveal that he was an emperor player. Although this man didn't seem threatening, he couldn't be sure if he was a pawn or a spy for the mastermind.

"When you first try to set up an array, it might seem very simple, but it's not. The more advanced the array, the more likely it is to be obscured by the heavens, leading to errors. Simple arrays are fine, but if you use hidden arrays or battlefield arrays, the obscuration is even greater. If you print them on paper, the errors will be numerous, possibly even more than if a person drew them."

"Is that so?"

But something didn't seem right.

When he drew arrays, it seemed very easy. The Tianxiang dagger in his hand was a good example. And the Wufang Wuxing array that Beidou drew for him didn't seem to have any problems.

"Tsk," the man in the black jacket smiled: "Arrays are essentially human interpretations of the laws of heaven and earth, twisted into 'phenomena' or 'powers' through human means. This is the principle of arrays. Without a certain level of cultivation, you will be obscured by the heavens and unable to create them."

"I see… So you plan to go there?"

The man in the black jacket's words were something Zhou Xian already knew, as a Taoist. He muttered to himself: "But when I draw arrays, I don't seem to have any problems. Does this mean I'm very powerful?" Thinking about the simplified Wufang Wuxing array that Beidou took a month to create, Zhou Xian seemed to understand. There were indeed many nuances involved. The man in the black jacket nodded at Zhou Xian's question: "Yes, it's definitely necessary. My master will definitely be interested in this information, and I'm sure you are too. But for today, my target is still there."

He pointed to the opposite side.

"By the way, I've been watching for a while, and it seems there's nothing wrong there?" Zhou Xian asked tentatively.

"Sure, on the surface, it looks fine, but don't you find it strange that there's nothing happening there? After all, the emperors can really use skills in the real world. Don't you think they should know something?" From this perspective, it made sense.