Zhang Yuanqing shrugged. "You said my life is in my companions' hands. Fortunately, my companions are all quite capable. Once they break your Ziwei Six Fiends Formation, I'll deal with you."
He made a quick calculation: at the rate the primary formation siphoned spiritual power, it wouldn't take six hours for Taiyin and the Stars to pry away his Solar Origin between them.
And if he remained in an active combat state, his energy consumption would inevitably accelerate. It might not even take six hours for the Ziwei Six Fiends Formation to refine him.
Rather than doing that, he was better off resisting the primary formation's deprivation while waiting for his uncle and the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder to break their formations.
As long as his uncle or the Twin Gods could destroy even a single formation, the pressure on him would ease. When that time came, he could assess the actual situation and decide whether to break the formation or slay the Lord of the Stars.
Of course, if the Lord of the Stars succeeded in refining Taiyin during that time and became a demigod commanding both origins, Zhang Yuanqing would have no choice but to admit defeat.
In the present situation, the Lord of the Stars held a multitude of options, whereas he could only gamble on luck.
Having long since seen through his thoughts, the Lord of the Stars said calmly, "To me, luck does not exist. What people call luck is in essence variables. As long as one calculates every move the enemy can make and keeps all future developments firmly in hand, variables cease to exist."
Pausing briefly, he continued in a grand, emotionless voice, "I arranged for Asura to deal with the Twin Gods of Wind and Thunder. An Enchanter's Eye of Bewitchment can aggravate their psychological instability and strike at your solar mark. Even if that fails, Asura can still suppress them using the advantage of the terrain.
"I arranged for Bacchus to deal with Void. The barrier of this Spirit Realm dungeon will no longer permit Void to exchange for god-tier power, and the Knight armor in his possession has already been returned. Bacchus is still no match for Void, but with the thorny rules of chaos, stalling him is child's play.
"The Northern Illusion God faces the Goddess of Beauty. In terms of status, she ranks one level higher than an Illusion God. However, lacking strong offensive capability and facing an Illusion God who counters charm, she will find it easy to suppress him, but difficult to inflict lethal harm.
"In truth, the one you should rely on most is the Xie family demigod. After obtaining the Demon Refining Pot, his status rose, making him a level-11 demigod. Even if the orthodox faction is generally weaker than the evil faction, he could still hold an edge over Zhulong of the Psionic Society. That is why I gave Zhulong sufficient backing.
"As for Fear and the Southern Illusion God, all they need to do is stabilize their formations and await the outcome."
In other words, the best-case scenario would only see four subsidiary formations broken, leaving two still funneling spiritual power into the primary hub... Alas, the orthodox demigods were simply too few in number... Zhang Yuanqing gave a forced twitch of his lips.
"You've analyzed everything. What's left for me to say?"
The Lord of the Stars said impassively, "You could actually choose to support me. The Sun is the embodiment of order; what you cannot tolerate is the destruction of this planet, not the philosophy of the negative deities.
"Once you overcome that psychological hurdle, you can accept it with composure. Surrender the Solar Origin to me, and I can guarantee that you, your family, and your friends will be relocated to a suitable planet.
"The cosmos is vast and boundless. This planet created by the gods is not the only habitable world. And I will certainly keep my word. The Stars are solely responsible for deducing the evolution and progress of the universe; slaughter and destruction were never my desire."
Zhang Yuanqing fell silent for a few seconds before speaking with solemn conviction, "Lord of the Stars, you no longer possess emotions, yet you retain your self-awareness. Consequently, all living beings in the cosmos have become ants you can crush at will. You treat all lower-status creatures with cold indifference, destroying them as you please, slaughtering them as you wish. Just a planet, just billions of lives—if it's destroyed, it's destroyed, so what's the big deal!
"That is surely what you think. Ha, why act so noble, cloaking your cold-blooded actions in the guise of order? If you truly stood for order, if you truly stood for justice, the right thing to do after obtaining the authority of the Lord of the Spirit Realm would be to shut down the Spirit Realm, kill and seal away all the gods of order, eradicate the plans of the gods of order, and let the beings of this planet continue to multiply and thrive until their natural demise.
"That is what a true deity ought to do, and that is what I intend to do. If, after becoming the god of cosmic origin, I find that the universe is doomed to destruction with no way to reverse it, I will face it with dignity, suppress Haotian, and shut down the Spirit Realm.
"I will never collude with outer evil deities to destroy this planet. If they dare reach their hands toward this world, I will sever their hands. If they dare cast their gaze upon this world, I will gouge out their eyes.
"This is what I, as the Lord of the Sun, ought to do.
"Lord of the Stars, you may indeed be untainted by evil corruption, but in my eyes, you are an out-and-out fallen one. You are not worthy of the Solar Origin, and you are not worthy of becoming the Lord of the Spirit Realm."
The Lord of the Stars remained silent for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together."
Zhang Yuanqing replied with imposing solemnity, "Indeed!"
The Lord of the Stars said calmly, "Since you are unwilling to strike and choose to wait out your countdown, I might as well chat with you a little longer. I killed Ling Jun's birth mother because of her special identity."
In the primary hub of the Ziwei Six Fiends Formation, Zhang Yuanqing asked in bewilderment, "Ling Jun's birth mother had a special identity?"
Wasn't her most special status that of the eldest daughter of the Baihui Grand Elder?
Yet in the eyes of the Lord of the Stars, such a status could only be considered ordinary.
Sitting cross-legged in the pitch-black quagmire, the Lord of the Stars manipulated the formation to strip away the Lord of the Sun's spiritual essence while speaking: "In her youth, she studied the sword under the Old Marshal."
Studied the sword under the Old Marshal... So her special identity was that of the Old Marshal's swordplay disciple? Zhang Yuanqing vaguely grasped something.
Then he heard the Lord of the Stars sigh.
"The Old Marshal had begun to suspect me!"
***
Fujia Bay villa.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window with a heavy-bottomed glass in hand, Fu Qingyang wore a brow furrowed with deep sorrow. Even the rich, potent liquor felt bland and tasteless as it rolled over his tongue.
Yuanshi Tianzun's words echoed continuously in his ears: *It's a formation!*
What kind of formation it was, Yuanshi Tianzun had not elaborated—likely because even he did not know.
As an experienced, profoundly knowledgeable Spirit Realm walker, Fu Qingyang had deduced and analyzed the situation over and over after Yuanshi Tianzun entered the dungeon, and every conclusion pointed to certain defeat!
Even that plastic-faced Doctor had run over fourteen million simulations and at least managed to find a single victory.
Yet he could see no hope of victory for Yuanshi.
This kept Money Prince in a state of persistent anxiety, powerless to offer any help.
Right at that moment, a Spirit Realm notification sounded by his ear:
[Ding! Spirit Realm map opening. Entering the Spirit Realm in 30 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is "Taiji Ziwei Six Fiends Formation—Qingyang Astral Formation", designation: 0-4.]
[Difficulty Level: Unknown]
[Type: Multi-player (Death type)]
[Main Quest: Break the Qingyang Formation.]
[Note: Non-Spirit-Realm items cannot be brought in.]
[Dungeon No. 0-4 Introduction: The Qingyang Formation is one of the subsidiary formations of the Taiji Ziwei Six Fiends Formation. This formation governs slaughter. When Heaven unleashes its killing intent, the stars shift their constellations; when Earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and serpents take to the land; when Man unleashes his killing intent, heaven and earth are overturned.]
***
The Xie residence.
Sitting in the lakeside pavilion, Jiang Yu'er sipped the white tea brewed by Mother Xie, her gaze fixed on the pond with knit brows and a heavy heart.
Xie Lingxi sat beside her, wearing an equally troubled expression, deep concern lingering in her eyes.
She had learned of the dungeon opening from Palace Master Sister, understanding that the final battle between Brother Yuanshi and the Taiyi Sect Master had commenced, and that the Old Ancestor had also entered the dungeon.
The decisive war between the evil and orthodox factions had officially begun.
Judging by Palace Master Sister's reaction, the situation was far from optimistic, yet since Palace Master Sister said nothing, she did not dare ask.
Mother Xie glanced back and forth, just about to offer a few comforting words, when Jiang Yu'er suddenly tilted her head, as if listening to something.
[Ding! Spirit Realm map opening. Entering the Spirit Realm in 30 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is "Taiji Ziwei Six Fiends Formation—Dikong Astral Formation", designation: 0-6.]
***
Songhai Airport.
Dressed in a black mink coat and dark sunglasses, pulling a Louis Vuitton suitcase, the Sole-Inheritor Knight led his assistant An Dieqi into the airport departure hall.
Travelers carrying backpacks and rolling suitcases bustled past in every direction.
Zhai Cai was in high spirits because he had learned from Fu Qingyang that the "doomsday carnival" would not occur. The Lord of the Sun held the Merit Roster; far from committing murder, the moment anyone from the evil faction dared engage in a zero-dollar looting spree, the Lord of the Sun could cast them straight back into the Spirit Realm.
In short, before the Lord of the Sun and the Lord of the Stars decided the victor, no massive upheaval would strike reality.
And a battle between demigods was something he had no power to intervene in.
"Ah, wonderful! No need to waffle between protecting mortals and sacrificing myself!" Zhai Cai exclaimed with delight.
Since reality was safe, he naturally opted to return to New York County. After all, the company employees were still waiting for Boss Cai to return and preside over the big picture.
An Dieqi, however, couldn't summon the slightest joy. Pushing up her glasses, she murmured, "Boss, judging by Fu Qingyang's reaction, the orthodox faction doesn't have good odds of winning. You're celebrating too early."
Zhai Cai glanced at his female assistant's hairline and sneered, "Do you know why your hairline recedes further every year? You have a level-3 life, but you worry about level-13 matters. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
"And what if they can't?"
"If they can't, then we all go down together. If everyone is wiped out, it's as if no one was wiped out," Zhai Cai said with a shrug. "In any case, I'm certainly not holding it up."
The moment the words left his mouth, his steps froze abruptly. Stiffening on the spot, his face took on an expression of sheer terror.
An Dieqi halted along with him, asking in confusion, "Boss, what's wrong?"
As if his neck were completely frozen, Zhai Cai turned his head inch by inch, staring at his female assistant's face as he stammered, "Dieqi, if anything happens to me, you must take good care of that case of watches worth five million federal dollars in my luggage. They're all limited editions..."
An Dieqi frowned. "What on earth happened?"
In a tone of total desolation, Zhai Cai said, "I've been called into the demigod dungeon..."
***
Jiangnan Leather City.
On the villa balcony, Xiahou Aotian, having just learned from Fu Qingyang that Yuanshi Tianzun had refined the Merit Roster and that reality would face no major upheavals, gazed at the three-inch black iron tripod cauldron in his palm and lamented, "What a pity. I just forged this supreme divine artifact, intending to slaughter all the peak Dominators of the evil faction, and now all I can do is go show off in front of Great-uncle."
From the thumb ring on his left hand came the voice of the Qin Dynasty alchemist: "Do not flaunt this item publicly. Even your biological parents might not be able to resist the temptation."
"That works out even better!" Xiahou Aotian's eyes gleamed. "I can seize the moment to launch a takeover, force Great-uncle to abdicate in favor of the worthy, and take command of the Xiahou family myself."
Bragging was one thing, but he recognized reality well enough and quietly tucked the tripod cauldron away.
Suddenly, Xiahou Aotian froze in place as if struck by an immobilization spell, an expression of sheer disbelief spreading across his handsome face.
Sensing his anomaly, the Qin Dynasty alchemist asked calmly, "What is it?"
Xiahou Aotian muttered, "A demigod dungeon... I was matched into a demigod dungeon!
"It's the dungeon for the decisive battle between Yuanshi Tianzun and the Lord of the Stars. How can this be? How could I be matched into a dungeon like that?"
As he spoke, his entire body began to tremble, whether from fear or ecstasy he couldn't tell.
The Qin Dynasty alchemist was stricken with panic, radiating an unprecedented, violent wave of psychic energy: "Quick! Quick, take me off! Do not bring me into that dungeon!"
***
Beijing, an old alley.
The burly, silver-haired Crimson Sun Executioner listened to the Spirit Realm notification in his ear, his brow furrowing as hesitation surfaced in his expression.
After several breaths, his gaze steadily hardened, as if he had made a resolute decision.
Chapter 1001