The Elvis speaker had turned tsundere again, completely ignoring Zhang Yuanqing's questions and pats. Thinking for a moment, he opened his phone and shuffled a song:
"Let you run wild, let you indulge, thinking one day you'd be touched; about the rumors, I pretended not to care~"
What kind of simp anthem was this? Zhang Yuanqing almost switched songs, but felt there was no need; he was only humoring the Elvis speaker anyway.
Lying in bed, he listened to the tune laden with childhood memories. His relentless consecutive uses of Night Wander earlier had drained quite a bit of energy, and a song lasting three to four minutes was just right to recover his stamina.
As the trailing notes faded, the song came to an end.
Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly sat up, gripped the Elvis speaker, and entered Night Wander.
"Bzz, bzz~"
After the familiar crackle of static, a curse laced with lingering dread echoed from the speaker:
"It's all that dumbass Shen Gongbao's fault! He just had to trigger the hidden quest, nearly getting all of us wiped out. No, the dumbass was me—I'm the one who had to show off in front of a woman and blabbed about the hidden quest.
"Fortunately, before the hidden quest triggered, we were already close to wrapping up the main quest—defeating the Ghost Ship. And the hidden quest wasn't mandatory. Enduring the sixty seconds until returning to reality, I managed to make it back to the present.
"In this dungeon, it was a total party wipe. I was the sole survivor. Heh-heh, the official organization and the Spirit Realm prominent families lost six Saints. My monthly mission quota counts as fulfilled, though that wasn't my intention.
"What a pity that those top-tier items and quest rewards were left behind in the dungeon. A few of them held special significance to the official faction. Once I reach Level 6 or advance to Dominator later, I can return to that dungeon... if I still need those items, that is.
"Women only lower my survival rate in dungeons—Elvis speaker, record this audio for me. Let this be a warning for the future."
"Bzz, bzz~"
The second recording played, and the Demon Lord's weakened voice sounded from the speaker:
"Too terrifying... simply too terrifying. That boss was practically invincible. Is this what ancient cultivators were like? I keep feeling that a high-level secret is hidden within that dungeon, perhaps even a series quest. Unfortunately, my abilities were limited. I squeaked by through sheer luck and couldn't unravel the mysteries inside. Sigh, as levels get higher and higher, combat is gradually becoming the main theme. Sure enough, the essence of this world is might makes right. Suddenly, I really understand Fire Specialists."
"Bzz, bzz~"
The third recording played, and the Demon Lord's weak voice drifted from the speaker:
"093 is practically a bonus dungeon! As long as you survive the initial horrors and crisis, you can enjoy the bliss of having women on both arms in the harem of the Ascension Immortal Sect's Cult Master. Ancient female cultivators are so juicy, so beautiful. One teleportation jade talisman a month—I'll just treat it as a monthly vacation."
The audio ended there.
Zhang Yuanqing fell into deep thought. The recordings played by the Elvis speaker were likely from dungeons the Demon Lord had experienced during the early to mid stages of his Saint rank. It wasn't certain which specific one I would enter, so it picked the ones with the highest probability.
"The first and second dungeons sound like they harbor immense dangers, yet the Demon Lord didn't leave any specific walkthroughs in the Elvis speaker. Even the Demon Lord, who eventually advanced to Starlord, nearly died in them. It feels perilous...
"The third dungeon sounds the safest... No, what the Demon Lord considers 'safe' might mean draining my vitality dry until I drop dead for me. But if I had to choose one out of the three, I'd definitely pick 093, because I have the Unyielding Visor and Endurance Spray."
Zhang Yuanqing's heart felt somewhat heavy. For ordinary Spirit Realm walkers, a life-and-death crisis came once every three months; for him, it was a hellish dungeon once a month.
Living was exhausting!
"The second dungeon didn't reveal any useful information, so I can't look it up, but the first and third dungeons can be researched."
He sat in the room, thinking for a long while, then stuffed the Elvis speaker into his waist pouch and zipped it tight before calling Fu Qingyang.
Once the call connected, Zhang Yuanqing said, "Boss, I need an account with high enough permissions to look up some information—around the level of a Level 5 or 6 Deacon."
"Yuanshi Tianzun's" account permissions had already been downgraded to that of an ordinary member.
Fu Qingyang didn't ask why, simply replying, "All right!"
Hanging up, less than three minutes later, a chime rang from Zhang Yuanqing's messaging app.
[Xiao Naohu: The guild leader told me to lend you my account.]
[Yuanshi Tianzun: Thanks, big boss.]
Zhang Yuanqing casually sent a red packet of 666 yuan.
Xiao Naohu collected the red packet with satisfaction and texted back:
[Xiao Naohu: The White Tiger Guards members talked privately about what you did at the Jinghai Branch. To be honest, it was way too impulsive.]
Zhang Yuanqing gave a bitter smile, thinking to himself: *Even you guys are going to lecture me?*
[Xiao Naohu: Still, for us Spirit Realm walkers, life and death are unpredictable. There's no telling when we'll return to the Spirit Realm. If we constantly look over our shoulders and worry about order in everything, life would be far too dull. So everyone really supports you.]
[Yuanshi Tianzun: I won't tell the boss any of this (dog head)]
[Xiao Naohu: Haha, good to hear. Um, you call the guild leader 'Boss' now too?]
[Yuanshi Tianzun: 'Guild Leader' sounds too formal and official. Calling him 'Boss' brings us closer and helps me stand out among all the White Tiger Guards. If it weren't for Guan Ya, I wouldn't mind calling him 'Big Brother,' but the boss is my brother-in-law after all. Um, definitely don't tell the boss this part either.]
After getting Xiao Naohu's username and password, Zhang Yuanqing opened the official database, switched accounts, and logged in successfully.
Then he searched: 093.
Sure enough, three records came up, created in 2008, 2011, and 2017 respectively.
[Spirit Realm No. 093, Ascension Secret Realm, Type: Multiplayer, Difficulty Rating: A.]
[Notes: Official members have only been matched into it twice so far, all dying inside the dungeon. No walkthrough available.]
"It's only appeared three times in over a decade. Even though this is just data gathered by the official faction and non-official walkers certainly entered this dungeon too, Spirit Realm No. 093 hasn't appeared very frequently."
Zhang Yuanqing then searched the name "Shen Gongbao."
The search result read: Shen Gongbao, Jianghuai Branch, Level 5 Beast King, Deceased!
[Notes: Shen Gongbao died in the S-rank multiplayer dungeon—Sea of Yashan. As many as six walkers from the official faction and Spirit Realm prominent families died during the same run. The Jianghuai Branch's branch-anchoring item and an important item belonging to the Xie family were lost in the dungeon.]
[Sea of Yashan, No. 012, Type: Multiplayer, Difficulty Rating: S, No Walkthrough Available.]
Scrolling down the screen, Zhang Yuanqing also found bounties from early last year.
One was posted by the Jianghuai Branch, and the other by the Xie family.
For recovering the items lost in the "Sea of Yashan," the Jianghuai Branch offered a B-rank merit and a reward of 8 million yuan in cash.
The Xie family offered ten vials of Life Essence and 50 million yuan in cash.
"These rewards already surpass the value of an average Saint-grade item, unless they're rule-based or have special functions. Hopefully the dungeon I get matched into is the 'Ascension Secret Realm.' Compared to death, what does losing my chastity matter? Sister Guan Ya won't blame me."
Zhang Yuanqing muttered internally.
***
Jiangnan Province, Yongcheng.
A briny sea breeze swept across the docks, waves pounding against the pier again and again, churning up white foam.
As the old saying went, Jiangnan Province was small, but only Yongcheng's waves were truly massive.
Fishing vessels and cargo ships were moored at the harbor, swaying gently amid the surging waves.
Out on the sea far from shore, a small patrol boat drifted quietly, its pristine white hull bobbing with the waves.
Affected by the aftermath of an island nation's typhoon, the sea had been rather rough over the past few days.
Clad in a nano combat suit, "Azure Wrath" methodically geared up with firearms, grenades, flashlights, and other equipment designed for underwater combat with the assistance of his teammates.
As a Level 2 Water Ghost, he was confident that no enemy could defeat him underwater.
Still, he had to admit that before Level 3, a Water Ghost did not yet possess lethal abilities like compressing water into "water cannons" or "water blades."
"This stretch of sea is where the 'water ghost' haunts," the team captain, an Earth Monster, stepped forward and instructed. "That water ghost was either formed from the lingering grievances of a deceased Spirit Realm walker, or some Night Walker failed while secretly refining a yin corpse and dumped it into the ocean. It poses some threat to you. The moment you spot the target, use grenades immediately."
Starting around the day before yesterday, rumors of a water ghost haunting the harbor area had spread among the dockworkers and seafaring folk.
It began two days ago when a small fishing boat returned from sea; one of the crew had drowned. According to the ship's crew, the sailor hadn't drowned normally, but had been dragged underwater by a water ghost.
They had seen with their own eyes a water-bloated, pale corpse covered in barnacles climb onto the boat.
At first, no one believed it. But starting that day, people drowned at sea almost daily, and those on the same boats swore up and down after returning to the dock that they had seen a water ghost.
The rumors grew more exaggerated by the day, until no one dared go to sea over the last two days.
After an initial investigation, the Public Security Bureau transferred the case to the Harbor District's Spirit Realm walker squad. Following a Night Walker's spirit questioning, they confirmed it was indeed the work of a "water ghost."
Thus, the Harbor District Fourth Squad took over the case.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful!" Azure Wrath flashed a V-sign and said, "Captain, once the mission is over, treat everyone to seafood!"
With that, he leapt from the deck and vanished into the blue waves with a splash.
Underwater, there was nothing but churning, meaningless noise. Azure Wrath dove deeper, sweeping the flashlight's beam while using his Water Ghost innate talent to sense shifts in the currents.
His skin functioned like radar, able to capture the movement trajectories and even the body sizes of creatures within a certain range through changes in water flow.
During his aimless search and wait, Azure Wrath suddenly sensed an anomaly in the water waves—coming from behind him.
He swiftly maneuvered the water currents, turning to defend himself while aiming his high-power lamp at the rapidly approaching object.
The piercing beam illuminated the figure's appearance: a water-bloated, pale corpse with hollow, cloudy eyes, its cheeks, arms, and neck densely clustered with barnacles.
It paddled its limbs swiftly, closing in on Azure Wrath.
Azure Wrath calmly observed for a few seconds, confirming that this water ghost did not possess water manipulation talents.
"That makes things easy..."
He drew the pistol from his waist and fired controlled shots at the water ghost.
The bullets spun at high speed, trailing dense bubbles, and landed cleanly on the water ghost's head, causing its movements to falter.
Then, Azure Wrath unhooked three grenades, pulled their pins, and manipulated the currents to send them right in front of the "water ghost."
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Three bursts of flame lit up the seabed as undercurrents surged violently, tearing in all directions and stirring up murky silt, turning the surrounding seawater into a turbid soup.
Nearby corals, shellfish, and fish perished in the shockwaves, either floating toward the surface or swept away by the undercurrents.
Azure Wrath raised an undercurrent before him, canceling out the shockwaves produced by the blasts.
Ten-odd minutes later, the stirred-up mud settled. Azure Wrath saw the headless, mangled corpse of the water ghost floating quietly in the depths.
"Handled. No difficulty at all..."
To be safe, he manipulated the water to glide closer, inspecting it at close range to confirm it was merely rotting flesh.
Just as Azure Wrath commanded the currents, preparing to haul the corpse up to turn in the mission, an abrupt chill struck his back, like encountering a bone-piercing cold current.
Yet this was a subtropical sea, during the hottest peak of midsummer—how could there be a cold current?
The next second, Azure Wrath's body abruptly froze. Reasonably experienced, he immediately realized he was being possessed.
A vengeful spirit?
Shock flared in his mind. Immediately after, an overwhelming consciousness barged into his sea of consciousness, snuffing out all his thoughts.
Ten-odd seconds later, Azure Wrath, whose eyes had rolled back, shifted his pupils. Life returned to his gaze. In the murky ocean depths, the faint glow of the lamp outlined his features, a sinister smirk curling at the corner of his lips.
"The Spirit Realm... Spirit Realm walkers... Order and Evil... Intriguing. Compared to the Great Song where spiritual energy was gradually withering away, I prefer this new era. It will become the fertile ground for me to ascend to demigod...
"The backlash of Spirit Devouring is too great. I cannot hunt official walkers for now. I've already obtained the information I wanted. Next is to hunt Night Walkers from the Taiyi Sect, or Illusionists. According to this fellow's memories, with the official faction's style, they will definitely deploy measures against me. I'll leave the Taiyi Sect's Night Walkers alone for now and focus primarily on searching for wild Night Walkers and Illusionists..."
Azure Wrath paddled his limbs, swimming toward the seabed.
He had lost the ability to control water.
***
Five days later, inside the detention cell, Zhang Yuanqing sat cross-legged on the bed with the Demon-Subduing Pestle set before him. Faint wisps of golden light drifted from the bronze pestle and flowed into his nostrils.
With each wisp of golden light absorbed, his body glowed faintly, blood-colored luminescence and internal organs flickering visible beneath his skin.
Only when bright red blood sprayed from his nose did Zhang Yuanqing hastily stop absorbing the divine power of the sun. He collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted, enduring the agony of "raging fire scorching the body."
"Phew..."
Once the pain subsided somewhat, Zhang Yuanqing was dripping with sweat—thick, sticky, and emitting a foul odor.
"Cleansing my body by directly absorbing the divine power of the sun yields obvious progress. In five days, my physical constitution has improved by at least a third. Most importantly, my body's attributes have enhanced my resistance against mental control, curses, and similar skills.
"Developing in this direction, are Day Wanderers meant to be melee fighters?"
Zhang Yuanqing stood under the shower head, washing his body.
Likely because he had used the Demon-Subduing Pestle many times, his body possessed an exceptionally high adaptability to the divine power of the sun. Directly cleansing his physical body with the old crone's Demon-Subduing Pestle to cultivate the Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record allowed him to advance at a rapid pace.
Compared to ancient cultivators who breathed in solar essence, the difference was like an ox cart versus a rocket.
Additionally, over these five days, he desperately squeezed out the divine power within the Demon-Subduing Pestle, crafting a total of eighty Evil-Breaking Talismans. When exhausted to the bone, he buried his head in sleep, woke up to eat, and returned to cultivating and drawing talismans right after.
Zhang Yuanqing had to produce enough Evil-Breaking Talismans before entering the next dungeon to make up for the absence of the Demon-Subduing Pestle.
After showering, it was 9:30 PM. He changed into clean clothes, strapped the waist pouch containing the Elvis speaker and the little blue pill around his waist, and slept fully dressed.
The entry time for the dungeon was within the next two days—either today or tomorrow.
He needed to have his tools ready beforehand to avoid scrambling when the time came.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his phone, tapped on Xiao Yuan's profile picture, and sent a message:
"I'll be entering the dungeon in a couple of days. I need Auntie Xiao Yuan's blessing."
A few seconds later, Xiao Yuan sent back a "Blessing" sticker.
Zhang Yuanqing chuckled. After the Wei Yuanzhou incident, Xiao Yuan's attitude toward him had improved dramatically. She was no longer cold and tsundere; even when faced with his slightly childish requests, she would patiently indulge him.
"Effort really does pay off," Zhang Yuanqing replied with a "Smile" emoji, then drifted off to sleep.
In a daze, after an indeterminate amount of time, a familiar Spirit Realm notification chime rang in his ears:
[Ding! Spirit Realm map opening. Entering the Spirit Realm in 60 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is: "Sea of Yashan," Number: 012.]
[Difficulty Rating: S]
[Type: Multiplayer (Death Type)]
[Main Quest: Survive for 36 hours.]
[Notes: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought in.]
Chapter 345