All-Heavens Game, the Strongest Player

Chapter 69 The Haunted Apricot Grove!
"No, there's something I'm wrong about. During the protection period in this game, players are only forced to become invisible, not that they cease to exist. They can still communicate with the natives and even other players."

Chu Xiu realized what was happening, stretched out his finger, and wrote three words on the branch of the tree where he was squatting.

"anyone there?"

Not long after, a line of writing appeared next to it: "Don't fart, I can smell it!"

Chu Xiu: "???"

He swore he hadn't farted at all; the other player had smelled... He reacted incredibly quickly, jumping off the tree branch and heading elsewhere before the "fart" could reach him.

This confirms that players can communicate with each other.

It's not impossible to communicate with the indigenous people.

"In that case, we can make some arrangements in advance and give others a 'surprise'!" Chu Xiu thought to himself, looking at the scattered natives walking by in the apricot grove.

Players can remain hidden and cannot touch the natives or each other.

But they can bring about change to the environment.

In fact, many people have already started digging holes in the apricot grove to bury themselves, hollowing out tree holes to hide themselves, and creating all sorts of things to conceal their tracks, as if they were about to start a game of hide-and-seek.

The kind where the whole body is hidden except for the face.

The kind that stays underwater, with only a single reed sticking out of the water.

The scene was one of mud covering the face, lotus flowers covering the head, and even a frog perched on top of it—although Xingzilin was a forest, it was located in Jiangnan and was not short of water.

Various methods were used to conceal their tracks, and some people even crawled into the roofs of thatched huts.

They can't see each other, but if you look closely, you can actually see what's going on. Not only can players see each other, but the natives can too.

For example, the Western Xia Yipintang, which came to ambush the Beggars' Sect after learning that they would be meeting with Murong of Gusu in Xingzilin.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! It's haunted!"

The lackey, Nine-Winged Taoist, approached Helian Tieshu, the leader of the First-Class Hall, with a look of terror on his face, and exclaimed, "Just now, I ordered someone to fetch the 'Sad Breeze' that I had prepared beforehand. The medicine bottle was already in my hands when it was suddenly snatched away by an invisible hand. The poison and the antidote are gone!"

"Sad Breeze" is a poison from the Western Xia First-Class Hall, a strategic-level biological weapon in Jin Yong's world.

It can be used to administer drugs over a wide area, spreading through the air and causing people to become weak and limp.

All internal strength was lost.

Apart from Duan Yu, who is immune to all poisons, even Duan Yanqing, a top-tier master in the world of Tianlong, is powerless against Beisu Qingfeng.

In the original novel, during the Apricot Grove incident, the Western Xia First-Class Hall used this very thing to almost wipe out the Beggars' Sect.

So, given how useful this is, will players let it go?

of course not!

We've been keeping an eye on them since early morning, and as soon as they take it out, we just start snatching it!
"Useless trash, what ghost could there be? It must have been a master with higher martial arts skills than you who stole it when you weren't looking!" Helian Tieshu cursed the Nine-Winged Daoist, then took out a bottle of "Sad Breeze" and said, "Now that Duan Yanqing and Li Yanzong, the top-tier masters of the First-Class Hall, are both here, let's see if he can still..."

Before he could finish speaking, an unseen hand suddenly reached out and snatched the medicine bottle away.

However, when the quick-witted Duan Yanqing used his One-Finger Divine Skill to attack the owner of that hand, he missed.

Murong Fu, disguised as Li Yanzong, also had his pupils shrink.

"No, what's going on?"

Helian Tieshu was dumbfounded.

Duan Yanqing was also sweating profusely. He said in ventriloquism, "To be able to snatch the medicine bottle in front of so many people and in full view of everyone without leaving a trace is something that no human could do!"

His tone was very serious, even tinged with fear.

If it's a ghost, then who wouldn't be afraid of the supernatural and bizarre?
Even those with exceptional martial arts skills are the same.

If it wasn't a ghost, but someone whose martial arts skills were that high, then it would be even more terrifying!

"It's evil!"

Suddenly, a dark cloud hung over everyone's heads, as if everything had become strange ever since they entered the apricot grove.

Moreover, this wasn't an isolated incident, nor were they the only ones to encounter it.

On the Beggars' Sect's side, Quan Guanqing, who had scouted the area beforehand, ordered someone to roast a chicken. Just as he was about to eat it, the huge chicken was gone! There was no doubt that it had been stolen by a player.

You will be unharmed for three days during the protection period, but you will be hungry and need to eat!

However, that player was also quite clever. For some reason, when he was snatching the roast chicken, he deliberately grabbed its two wings and shook them, creating the illusion that the chicken had flown away.

Quan Guanqing was so scared he almost peed his pants.

"What, what, what, the roast chicken flew away?"

At the same time, on the other side, Bao Butong, a retainer of Murong in Gusu, also encountered a strange thing: when he passed by a graveyard next to the apricot grove, he saw that writing had appeared on the ground!
It wasn't the traditional Chinese characters he was familiar with, but by roughly comparing them, he could understand the meaning.

Two people are greeting each other.

"The king of heaven overshadows the tigers of earth!"

"Pagoda suppresses the river demon!"

"Brother, how's the grave site I chose?"

"It's pretty, but not quite as good as mine!"

"Indeed, your tombstone is bigger than mine!"

"But the grass on my grave isn't as tall as yours. If the grass were a little taller, and there were a big willow tree, it would be even better!"

"That's not short! The grass on my grave is at least fifteen feet tall, and yours is at least twelve feet!"

A conversation that made Bao Butong break out in a cold sweat.

The 200-pound man was terrified like a child at that moment, screaming and running away, shouting, "Ghosts! It's haunted!"

Before long, rumors of haunted Xingzilin spread throughout Suzhou.

Even the Beggars' Sect suggested to Qiao Feng, "Chief, how about we go somewhere else? That forest is really eerie; even the local grooms are afraid to go there!"

"Is it really that weird?"

Qiao Feng didn't believe him and insisted that once an agreement was made, the location couldn't be changed.

But the rumors of Xingzilin being haunted only intensified, even attracting a person who shouldn't have been there.

"This humble monk absolutely does not believe in any ghosts or gods in this world!"

Kumārajīva overheard people talking in the teahouse and thought to himself.

But he spoke aloud: "Amitabha, this humble monk is Kumārajīva, the National Preceptor of Tibet, skilled in performing rituals and exorcising evil spirits. May I ask how to get to Apricot Grove?"

He believed that a master was playing tricks in the apricot grove, so he planned to catch the ghost.

As for why?
For no reason!
When Master Kumārajīva came to the Central Plains to make his way in the martial arts world, he went wherever there was excitement and wherever there was a trend, in order to prove his martial arts prowess to others.

To put it simply, it's all about showing off.

"Master, start from Songhelou, follow the main road, then turn into the side road in that direction. Walk about five hundred steps, and you'll reach Xingzilin!"

"Okay, check please!"

"No need, no need, Master, please go in peace. I'll treat you to tea as a farewell gift!" said the teahouse owner.

Kumārajīva: "???"

Do you think this humble monk will never return?

Outrageous!

"Wait, this humble monk will definitely capture that so-called 'ghost' and show you my power!" Kumārajīva said, suddenly circulating his inner strength and rushing towards the Apricot Grove.

As luck would have it, the direction they entered the woods was exactly where Chu Xiu was.

This made him laugh immediately.

"I have the Nine Yin Manual. If I use it to fool Kumārajīva, I should be able to cripple him, right?"

(End of this chapter)