The End

The coffin lid slid open slowly. First to greet everyone's eyes was a man with a face as fair and smooth as jade, wearing a jade hairpin and sporting a handsome beard. Though youthful in appearance, he exuded a solemn, dignified presence—by no means that of an untested young man untouched by the vicissitudes of life. Aside from his appearance, what drew the most attention to the man in the coffin was his attire: a long robe of deep black, its hem embroidered with crimson flames, while surging waves were stitched across the sleeves and chest in silver thread. From its look to its texture, it was clearly extraordinary. Cradled in the corpse's arms was a thread-bound book. Its yellowed cover was brittle, inscribed in elegant calligraphy with the characters: *Jiazi Records of Dao Cultivation* "This person is..." Queen narrowed her eyes, having a guess in mind but uncertain, and glanced at her teammates. "Yinyang Sanren!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't keep them in suspense, giving the answer straight out. *Yinyang Sanren...* The teammates exchanged looks. *It really is Yinyang Sanren. The official walkthrough didn't mention this at all. Isn't Yinyang Sanren supposed to be just background lore? By the way, when on earth did Yuanshi trigger the hidden quest? I've been following him the whole time and didn't notice a thing. Is this the genius who cleared two S-rank dungeons in a row?* Amid Queen's astonishment, her admiration for Yuanshi Tianzun climbed another step. *The hidden quest was probably discovered when dealing with the cursed cats. He mentioned wanting to do an experiment, but how did he discover the hidden quest in the first place?* Li Chunfeng prided himself on being clever and erudite, but while he could deduce that the hidden quest was linked to the cursed cats, he couldn't figure out at all how Yuanshi Tianzun had triggered it. *How did Yuanshi figure out that the cursed cats could trigger a hidden quest? He had Queen search this stretch of water earlier—did he already know the coffin would appear here? Back then, the coffin was probably in a "hidden" state, only "refreshing" into view after the evil sorcerer was killed. Does the hidden quest relate to the six roles? Just how did Yuanshi trigger it? It makes no sense. No matter how I think about it, it makes no sense...* Guan Ya thought through far more than anyone else. Lili Yuanshangcao asked, "Where's the item to turn the tables?" "This robe." Zhang Yuanqing propped up Yinyang Sanren in the coffin and called out, "Give me a hand holding him up. I'm going to strip off the robe." Guan Ya immediately stepped forward, keeping the others from getting involved. Zhang Yuanqing handed Yinyang Sanren over to Guan Ya and nimbly peeled off the garment. Throughout the process, his heart remained suspended in his chest. He wasn't worried about Li Xianzong attacking, but rather that Yinyang Sanren might undergo corpse transformation. The Old Biddy had left him traumatized. Before long, Zhang Yuanqing removed Yinyang Sanren's robe and took the item into his hands. Only now did he get a clear look at its full appearance: a pitch-black base, crimson flames embroidered along the hem, silver water patterns along the chest and sleeves, and a black-and-white taiji fish emblem across the back. A few seconds later, the item information appeared: [Name: Yinyang Robe] [Type: Apparel] [Function: Water and Fire, Formations] [Description: A robe worn by a supreme existence during heaven-worship rituals. Patterned with flames below, embroidered with waves above, and bearing yin and yang on its back, it is named the Yinyang Robe.] [Remark 1: One part of the heaven-worship ceremonial attire. The remaining three pieces are: Boots, Crown, and Belt. It is said that collecting all four pieces of the set allows one to unlock the secret of immortality.] [Remark 2: Draped in this robe, the wearer can harness water and fire. Nourished by the righteous qi of heaven and earth, this robe can ward off defilement and curses.] [Remark 3: Unfurling the robe creates a formation covering a thirty-meter radius. While the formation is active, outsiders may not enter, and neither the caster nor the trapped may leave. Duration: 10 minutes. Within the formation's area of effect, the caster transforms into dual bodies of water and fire, ignoring physical attacks. If the formation is not dismissed within ten minutes, the transformation becomes irreversible.] [Remark 4: Please control your craving for immortality. Your personality may become somewhat capricious, but worry not, it will only affect you for 24 hours.] Zhang Yuanqing stared blankly at the item's properties, only one thought echoing in his mind: *I'm rich!* This was an item possessing the abilities of both Fire Master and Water Ghost professions, and what was more, it was part of an unheard-of set. A single robe was already this powerful. If he collected the full set one day, wouldn't he be invincible in Songhai, punching out an Elder Gou with every blow? Still, it had its shortcomings—for instance, against exceptionally powerful foes or those with extremely thick defenses. On the other hand, this item naturally countered Water Ghosts and Fire Masters. Well, that didn't matter; if its offensive power fell short, he could make up for it with other items... *The secret of immortality is hidden within this item... Yinyang Sanren built this town, and its layout tacitly aligns with yin and yang, matching the robe's taiji fish. Did he try to imitate the formation within the robe to lay out an even grander array, hoping to achieve immortality that way?* *That operation doesn't look very reliable. Ah, right—in his twilight years, Yinyang Sanren was probably too heavily affected by the item's negative cost, driven mad by his desire for immortality.* In addition, Yinyang Sanren in the coffin resolved a lingering question in Zhang Yuanqing's mind: Namely, why Yinyang Sanren's descendant had fallen to the sorcerer and a rabble of thugs. It was because she had never possessed this powerful item at all. The Yinyang Robe had remained on her ancestor's body the entire time. After capturing her, the sorcerer couldn't obtain the robe and thus killed her in fury. Ruffian Wang had taken part out of lust for the descendant's beauty, while Squire Zhao and Blacksmith Wang's motives remained unknown to Zhang Yuanqing—that belonged to the evil faction's plotline. Regardless, none of that mattered anymore. "How is it?" Li Chunfeng asked impatiently. "What does this item do? Can it counter Li Xianzong?" Queen recalled the horror of the staff, lingering dread in her voice. "As long as it can hold him off even a little, we have a chance to turn the tables. We have the numbers, and only two are left alive in the evil faction." She wore the look of someone bracing for another bitter struggle, yet clinging to a sliver of hope. Guan Ya and Lili Yuanshangcao looked at Zhang Yuanqing, waiting for his response. "If nothing goes wrong, I should be able to solo Li Xianzong. Retreat in a moment and stay away from here so you don't get hit by the curse," Zhang Yuanqing said with absolute confidence. "Really? Can we really turn things around?" A look of wild joy bloomed across Queen's smoky-eyed face. Zhang Yuanqing nodded, confirming it. Guan Ya and the others showed delighted expressions, breathing a collective sigh of relief. "By the way, return my items to me, and then you can pull back." Urged by Zhang Yuanqing, the four quickly departed, carrying the unconscious Chi'ou and Fire Master as they fled into the distance. Pulling his gaze back from his retreating teammates, Zhang Yuanqing looked at the booklet inside the coffin. *Jiazi Records of Dao Cultivation...* He picked up the booklet, flipped to the first page, and gave it a quick skim, surprise and excitement flashing across his face. Recorded within was the history of Yinyang Sanren's Dao cultivation. *This thing is invaluable. Information left by a powerhouse from the same era as the Old Biddy can help me better understand the Spirit Realm, as well as the secrets buried beneath reality and lost to history.* *Well, now isn't the time to read it. Let's see if I can put it in my inventory.* With a thought, the booklet in his hand vanished, reappearing in an inventory slot. Right at that moment, Zhang Yuanqing's ears twitched. He heard rushing footsteps approaching at high speed. He turned to look. At the end of the blue-brick-paved street, two figures appeared: Li Xianzong, gripping the pitch-black staff, and the hunched ratman. Behind them, the red dancing shoes followed listlessly, stubbornly pursuing them. Bewitching Demons possessed a skill to "mark" prey; once marked, escape was exceedingly difficult. That was why Li Chunfeng had believed guerrilla warfare would only buy them a few extra moments of life. The moment Zhang Yuanqing spotted his enemies, Li Xianzong saw him as well and immediately quickened his pace, calculating the distance in his head. As soon as he closed within fifty meters, he would instantly unleash the wide-area curse. He would give the enemy no chance, leaving behind no hidden dangers. "Boss, those other guys are gone. There might be an ambush." The ratman's beady eyes darted left and right. He was naturally cautious. With victory in sight, falling at the finish line was the last thing he wanted. "They're further away, fleeing," Li Xianzong said, sensing the positions of the other marks. "Fleeing?" The ratman blinked, then gave an odd laugh. "Staying behind all by himself to cover his teammates? Since he loves playing the hero so much, let's grant his wish! Boss, make it quick—I can't wait to enjoy those two great beauties." The distance between them shrank rapidly, closing to within fifty meters. The sharp-eyed ratman suddenly spoke up: "Huh? What's that kid wearing?" Li Xianzong wasted no words, raising the staff high. Across from them, Zhang Yuanqing leaned back and swung his arm, hurling a heavily compressed fireball toward them. The fireball whistled through the air and detonated between them with a roar. Amid the billowing firelight, Zhang Yuanqing's figure materialized, closing the distance from fifty meters down to twenty-odd meters. Fire Walk! At that moment, the staff in Li Xianzong's hand rippled with dim, murky light. *Thump-thump!* Zhang Yuanqing felt his heart convulse violently in his chest and seize. The familiar agony and suffocation flooded in, but this time, the palpitations and pain lasted less than a second. The curse was warded off by the Yinyang Robe. *Hm? The curse didn't work on him?* Seeing Zhang Yuanqing completely unscathed, Li Xianzong's expression changed. Zhang Yuanqing looked at Li Xianzong not far away, baring his teeth in a dangerous grin. *Whoosh!* He whipped off the Yinyang Robe and tossed it into the air. This action caused both Li Xianzong and the ratman to halt their sprint. The latter raised his bamboo tube and blew a poisonous needle straight at Zhang Yuanqing. *Pfft!* The poison needle struck empty air as Zhang Yuanqing's figure vanished on the spot. Meanwhile, the robe flung into the sky suddenly unfurled, its corners and sleeves pulled taut as though by invisible strings, expanding to its limits like a sheet of paper. The taiji fish on the back spun into motion. The black fish showered down clear, ethereal streams of water, while the white fish spewed scorching tongues of fire. Flames and water cascaded downward, forming a taiji fish symbol covering a thirty-meter radius. Fire on the left, water on the right. "What's happening? What is this?" the ratman shrieked. "What kind of item is this?" Standing in the water-covered domain, the ratman felt surges of undercurrents buffet him. Trapped inside, a person felt like duckweed tossed on water; simply staying on his feet took considerable effort, let alone fighting! Li Xianzong's heart sank, a foreboding premonition welling up. Without a word, he immediately stepped back, intending to leave this bizarre area first. *Buzz!* A transparent barrier of qi blocked them both. *We can't get out?!* "Damn it, we can't get out! We're trapped!" The ratman punched the barrier again and again, stirring ripples across its transparent surface. Li Xianzong kept a grim face, slashing his butterfly knife against the barrier. Compared to the sluggish ripples from the ratman's fists, the blade tip generated rapid ripples, yet it still failed to breach the barrier. Veins bulged along Li Xianzong's temples, the muscles in his arms knotting tight to drive the ripples into violent oscillations. After a few seconds of deadlock, he pulled back his butterfly knife, his face growing even darker. "We can't get out!" Hearing that, the ratman's composure began to crumble. His beady rat eyes darted around as he bared his teeth and roared: "Yuanshi Tianzun, get out here! Get your ass out here! You think this can trap us? How long can you keep us in here?" They had worked so hard to kill the boss, endured the perilous scramble for the staff, and finally reached the endgame with victory in sight—only to run into another bizarre obstacle. Anyone's mind would snap. "Heh..." A low chuckle drifted from the center of the ethereal water domain. "Trap you? You're mistaken. I didn't do this to trap you." Li Xianzong and the ratman followed the sound. At the center of that area, an ethereal mass of water rose slowly and coalesced into a humanoid shape, its features faintly resembling Yuanshi Tianzun. In its hand, the figure held a large-caliber pistol, wearing black-framed glasses. From the other side, that same voice suddenly rang out again: "Killing you is my objective. Are you ready to get on your knees and beg for mercy?" Li Xianzong and the ratman whipped their heads around. In the flame-covered domain, clusters of fire converged at the center into a flickering, burning humanoid shape, holding the Demon-Subduing Pestle and the Bloodthirsty Blade. Dual avatars of water and fire! At the feet of this flaming figure lay a speaker with a black casing, blaring an almost tragic melody from its megaphone: *"You are like a fire, blazing flames that warm my heart; you are like a fire, blazing light that guides my path..."* The water avatar had just begun, "Li Xianzong, I told you—" The fire avatar chimed in, "Is there a chance that the one begging on his knees today..." The water avatar snatched back the speaking turn: "...is you!" Zhang Yuanqing felt an uncanny sensation. He possessed two bodies and two sets of sensory systems, yet felt no dissonance whatsoever, as if he had been born with two forms. If there was any discord at all, it was that his consciousness had split in two: one half belligerent and irascible, the other cold and acerbic. Moreover, in this avatar state, he couldn't open his inventory. Items already drawn could be used, but unretrieved items were effectively "sealed" inside. Without a word, Li Xianzong raised the staff high, setting the gem at its tip rippling with dark, murky radiance. The two bodies stood at a distance, unmoving. The fire avatar chuckled, "Useless." The water avatar said flatly, "Curses have no effect on me." Every shred of expression vanished from Li Xianzong's face—no arrogance, no bluster. His hand gripping the butterfly knife trembled slightly from the sheer force of his grip. The ratman screeched, "That's impossible! If you had an item like this, why didn't you use it earlier?! This is impossible!!" He still refused to accept the reality before his eyes. *Bang, bang!* The water avatar raised its muzzle and pulled the trigger toward the hunched ratman. Terrified, the ratman ducked, attempting to dive to the side. But ethereal currents surged forward, turning into invisible shackles that shoved and buffeted him from all directions, pinning his body firmly in place. "Damn it!" the ratman cried in alarm. His body wriggled like a fish, his sleek fur helping him shed the water's force, allowing him to dodge the two lethal bullets by a hair's breadth. "Oho, a water rat, are we?" The fire avatar sneered and stamped its foot. In midair, the Yinyang Robe twisted, and the millstone of water and fire transposed positions. Li Xianzong and the ratman were instantly cast into the burning flame half of the taiji diagram. *Sizzle...* Smoke rose from the ratman's fur along with a foul, singed stench, making him squeal in agony. The fire avatar vanished without a sound, reappearing behind the ratman via Fire Walk, the Bloodthirsty Blade slashing toward the hunched back. Li Xianzong darted forward two steps and whipped his staff viciously against the fire avatar's wrist. The fiery arm burst apart with a bang, and the Bloodthirsty Blade flew from its grasp. *Bang, bang...* In the distance, the water avatar swung its muzzle and fired off a succession of bullets with dark red trajectories, using suppressive fire to force Li Xianzong to crouch and weave. The fire avatar's arm reformed. Instead of picking up the Bloodthirsty Blade, it reached into the raging flames and pulled out a scorching blade of fire, bringing it down in a savage cleave. The ratman was remarkably agile; springing off his powerful hind limbs, he dodged the deadly blade. Before he could even celebrate, a gunshot rang in his ears, and a sharp pain ripped through his lower abdomen. Bullets tore through his tough skin, blowing open two exaggerated wounds. Wearing the Eye of the Insightful, the water avatar had read his movements in advance. The fire avatar followed up seamlessly. Stepping forward, it swung the flaming blade upward from below. With a bang, blinding flames erupted from the ratman's belly. He curled up in agony. His abdomen didn't bleed—the high heat had cauterized the wounds—but his internal organs were practically scorched to cinders. Death was now inevitable. "Impossible..." An unwilling whisper rasped from the ratman's throat, the light in his pupils gradually fading into darkness. Witnessing this, Li Xianzong's pupils contracted violently as if severely rattled. Involuntarily, he summoned the wooden box, popped open the lid, and let dense fog envelop the area. The fire avatar laughed with arrogant abandon. "Useless! This is my turf, my home ground!" The water avatar stated coldly, "Water serves as my eyes; fire carries that fellow's presence." With those words, both avatars struck at the same time. The water avatar fired into a specific spot in the thick fog, while the fire avatar hurled one superheated fireball after another, producing the explosive impact of high-explosive grenades. The dense fog shuddered under the shockwaves and parted briefly, revealing Li Xianzong's figure. Draped in the filthy, foul-smelling overcoat, he was on both knees. The bullets had cleanly missed him, while the explosive shockwaves were held at bay by the dark radiance radiating from the coat. Li Xianzong returned the wooden box to his inventory, summoned a stick of white chalk, and drew a circle around himself. This was his final trump card! A beam of earthy-yellow light descended from the heavens, engulfing Li Xianzong. A few seconds later, the pillar of light dispersed, leaving him still rooted to the spot. A flicker of despair surfaced in Li Xianzong's eyes. Just then, the fire avatar arrived, slashing down heavily with the flaming blade, unleashing a suffocating wave of heat. Li Xianzong had no choice but to interrupt his "Prayer." Leaning backward to avoid the flame blade, crimson runes flared in his eyes. The fire avatar suddenly froze. In the next instant, its body detonated, sending a ferocious shockwave accompanied by superheated flames crashing in rolling waves against Li Xianzong's chest. *Pfft!* Li Xianzong spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale. Re-forming in the distance, the fire avatar bragged arrogantly, "Lucky my reflexes were fast enough to blow myself up in time!" "Yuanshi Tianzun, how... how did you discover this item?!" Li Xianzong gritted his teeth. He could not accept that a rookie he had once thoroughly overpowered could perform so brilliantly in this dungeon that even he felt envious. "Playing dungeons requires using your brain! All you ever think about is killing and slaughtering. Back at Pingtai Hospital, you were just picking on me because my level was low. Did you really think you were some great hero? Half a month of my effort is worth more than half a year of yours! What kind of piece of shit do you think you are?!" the hotheaded fire avatar cursed loudly. Rage flashed across Li Xianzong's face, yet a profound sense of defeat and powerlessness surged within his heart. *Bang, bang!* The water avatar fired calmly, forcing Li Xianzong into a roll, and sneered, "Idiot, why waste words on him? Just slaughter him. The Demon-Subduing Pestle's purification requires blood essence sacrifice; you're not even flesh and blood anymore, so what are you holding it for? Throw it away." "Makes sense, makes sense!" The fire avatar came to its senses, tossing the Demon-Subduing Pestle aside, and shouted, "Swap turf!" The water avatar stamped its foot, shifting the positions of the water and fire millstones, engulfing Li Xianzong in the water array's violent undercurrents. The omnipresent, churning undercurrents severely crippled Li Xianzong's agility in an instant. The water avatar tossed over the bullets and glasses, saying flatly, "You shoot!" With that, it clenched its hands tightly. With a loud rushing sound, ethereal currents surged toward Li Xianzong from every direction, locking him firmly in place. Simultaneously, the water avatar glided across the water, charging at Li Xianzong, leaping high into the air halfway and driving a knee forward. *Bang!* With nowhere to dodge, Li Xianzong dropped his stance and brought the staff horizontally across his chest. The water avatar shattered itself against Li Xianzong's chest, forcing a muffled groan from him, while the fire avatar seized the opening, pulling the trigger wildly and emptying round after round. Hampered by the undercurrents, Li Xianzong was a beat too slow. Though he avoided most of the bullets, a round still struck his right chest. His face instantly drained of color, bean-sized beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Here's something even more fun for you!" The water avatar snapped its fingers. From the riverbed a few meters away, waves surged upward like snowy lions and white dragons. This actual water was absorbed by the water avatar, transforming it into a three-meter-tall giant that enveloped Li Xianzong in a crushing embrace. *Bang, bang, bang...* The fire avatar pulled the trigger frantically, firing bullet after bullet. Dark red ballistic trajectories converged upon the trapped, water-engulfed Li Xianzong. Passing straight through the water avatar, they struck him repeatedly, bursting into blooming blossoms of blood. The three-meter-tall water avatar was instantly stained crimson with blood. *Gurgle, gurgle...* A torrent of bubbles poured from Li Xianzong's mouth, his body riddled with bloody, gaping wounds. His consciousness blurred rapidly, past memories flashing before his eyes like a spinning lantern: He thought of his mother who had abandoned husband and child, of his gentle, kind father who had been bullied for being too soft. He remembered the hardship father and son had shared over those grueling years. In the end, all these memories twisted into immense rage and resentment. His fading consciousness suddenly cleared in a dying flash of lucidity. *To think I would die at his hands...* With the last thread of his will, Li Xianzong struggled to open his inventory. In the next moment, the filthy, foul-smelling overcoat, the butterfly knife in his right hand, the Decay Staff in his left, and the chalk in his palm were all retracted into his inventory. Summoning items from or recalling them to an inventory took only a single thought. Having done all this, Li Xianzong let his head droop limply, allowing the water to envelop him as the bubbles from his nose grew fewer and smaller. *Bang!* The fire avatar fired one last shot, blowing Li Xianzong's head to pieces. Only then did the water avatar disperse its "avatar body," letting the river water splash loudly back to earth. Next, Zhang Yuanqing deactivated the formation. The taiji fish on the back of the robe reversed its rotation: tongues of flame rose into the sky and merged back into the white fish, while ethereal undercurrents flowed back into the black fish. The Yinyang Robe drifted down, landing neatly over Zhang Yuanqing below. In an alley far from the riverbank, Guan Ya and Queen slumped on the ground, making the most of every second to recover stamina, while Lili Yuanshangcao tended to the poisoned and unconscious Fire Master. Li Chunfeng stood watch at the alley entrance. Chi'ou had already awakened and was slowly regaining his strength. Seeing everyone's heavy, silent expressions, he said apologetically: "Sorry, I wasn't able to help with anything." No one answered him. Their hearts hung by a thread as they waited for news, waiting for a verdict. Finally, a familiar Spirit Realm notification echoed in their ears: [Ding! Congratulations on completing the multi-player Spirit Realm quest—Yinyang Town, Serial Number 2273, Difficulty: A. Calculating rewards...]