[Calculating rewards... Acquired items/props: Level 2 Faction Token, Buliangren waist token... Ding, non-compliant power and abnormal corruption detected within your body. Commencing resolution...]
Hearing the Spirit Realm’s prompt, the wicked, unrestrained look on Zhang Yuanqing’s face froze. What did it mean by non-compliant power? How was it going to resolve it?
A bad premonition welled up within him.
Then, the Spirit Realm’s prompt rang out again:
[Removing non-compliant power for you. Purging corruption for you...]
The very next second, a golden, blazing sun emerged inside Zhang Yuanqing's sea of consciousness, casting scorching, unyielding sunlight that illuminated every corner.
Bathed in this blazing sun, Zhang Yuanqing felt his soul crackling as if roasted on an open flame. Phantom shrieks of indignation echoed in his ears.
The mental corruption from devouring Murong Long dissipated amid wafts of rising black smoke. His soul strength, which had soared to the Dominator level, plummeted back down and returned to normal.
Meanwhile, the power of the Five Elements fused into his body was forcibly extracted by an irresistible force.
Without a doubt, this was the power of the Spirit Realm.
*Fuck, can't take a loss? I exploited this bug with my own capabilities! Why strip it from me...* Zhang Yuanqing’s conscious mind cleared. Feeling the power of the Five Elements leaving his body, his heart twisted with agony.
Murong Long’s power of the Five Elements was genuine Dominator-level might.
Having tasted the supreme strength of slaughtering Level 6 combatants like dogs was like experiencing the sheer acceleration of a Ferrari pressing you into the seat. Forcing him back behind the wheel of a Wuling Hongguang made the jarring drop hard to stomach.
As the mental corruption was rapidly purified, Zhang Yuanqing gradually regained his reason and composure.
*At least the manic state is resolved...* Once calm, he let out a sigh.
From an objective perspective, keeping this level of power was indeed unrealistic.
If he possessed strength rivaling a Dominator during the Saint stage, how would future dungeons even be arranged? Would the Spirit Realm toss him straight into Dominator-tier dungeons?
Cross-level matching was already the limit; cross-stage dungeon matching was completely unheard of.
There was no way the Spirit Realm would allow him to take away the core essence of this dungeon.
Still, he could not help feeling a pang of reluctance.
[Processing complete! Recalculating rewards... Acquired items/props: Level 2 Faction Token, Buliangren waist token, Five Elements Spiritual Power Trial Card x2.]
[Reward: 100% Experience Points.]
[Ding! Congratulations on advancing to Level 6 Stargazer...]
[Reward: 7% Experience Points.]
[Main storyline calculation complete.]
[Ding! Character card reward activated. Acquired prop: Charm Ring.]
[Calculation complete! Exiting Spirit Realm in ten minutes...]
The nebula mark on Zhang Yuanqing’s forehead surfaced once more. A boundless surge of astral power poured out from the imprint, gently washing over his body, seeping into every cell and bone.
Under the scouring of the astral power, his physique... did not change at all.
Yes, the astral power inside him skyrocketed, but his physical constitution remained unchanged. His physical resilience had already reached the standard of a Level 6.
The Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record had attained minor completion.
*“...Two consecutive level-ups! What a massive profit! And it even compensated me with two Five Elements Spiritual Power Trial Cards.”* Zhang Yuanqing’s heart hammered against his ribs.
He was Level 6 now, even if only at the early stage.
Yet paired with the beast body capability of the Jade Belt of the Azure Emperor, he was confident he could trade blows with Level 6 Saints who had more than 50% experience.
As for Level 6 combatants above 90% experience—figures like the Greed Divine General, Jiang Ju, and Huang Taiji—he would still need to rely on other items.
Regardless, his true combat prowess had officially broken into the very highest echelon beneath the Dominators.
*“I’ve finally learned Stargazing! My astral power is countless times stronger, so I can use Star Escape without restraint from now on...”* After the pleasant surprise, he eagerly brought up his character panel to check his information.
[Name: Yuanshi Tianzun]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Stargazer]
[Level: 6]
[Skills: Night Roamer—Night Roaming, Spirit Devouring, Spirit of Taiyin, Moon Howl, Charm Art, Spirit Talisman]
[Stargazer—Stargazing, Astrology, Star Illusion, Star Escape, Body of Stars]
[Experience: 7%]
[Morality Points: 3,800]
[Reputation Points: 4,400]
[Stargazing (Active): Glimpse the transformations of all things in the mortal realm through the shifts of the heavenly constellations. The deeper one’s cultivation in this art, the more detailed the perceived changes. (Prerequisite skill: Astrology)]
A massive influx of information regarding Stargazing flooded Zhang Yuanqing’s mind.
The primary use of Stargazing was to peer into the evolution of all things and thereby grasp the grand trends of the world. Broken down, it held many derivative capabilities.
Elementary applications included weather forecasting, solar terms, auspicious hours, and zodiac fortunes.
Profound applications included glimpsing the river of life of an individual. However, this required focusing one’s cultivation primarily in the astral domain to achieve; ordinary Stargazers could never reach such heights.
Furthermore, both Level 5 and Level 6 only granted the single skill of Stargazing.
At Level 5, Stargazing was merely entry-level, while at Level 6, it reached mastery.
*Next month is a solo dungeon. Pushing my experience past 50% before the end-of-year killing trial shouldn't be an issue... Killing three Level 6s and one Level 5 rewarded 5,500 Reputation Points...* Zhang Yuanqing quietly took stock of his gains.
He had originally possessed 500 Reputation Points, bringing the gross total to 6,000. But killing Cai Longshen had deducted 1,600, leaving him with 4,400.
Scions of prominent clans were endowed with rich resources, so their Morality and Reputation Points were far higher than those of grassroots peers of the same level.
Even so, 4,400 Reputation Points were enough for him to butcher orthodox Walkers until his hands went numb. After all, killing a Level 4 Saint only cost a few dozen to a hundred Reputation Points.
*Sigh, Cai Longshen is a lingering hazard. I was too impulsive—I shouldn’t have killed him. Once I return to reality, I’ll consult Boss...* Sighing inwardly, he opened his inventory to inspect the items.
First was the faction token. Its appearance surprised him somewhat. A faction token typically required demonstrating leadership in a dungeon, guiding teammates to victory, and earning their wholehearted respect.
Only then was there a chance to obtain one.
Yet far from leading the team, he had essentially coasted straight into the final circle.
[Name: Level 2 Faction Token (Pending Activation)]
[Type: Token]
[Function: Establish Faction (Upgradeable)]
[Description: A Level 2 Faction Token capable of establishing a twelve-member squad. Allows the creation of a squad-exclusive dungeon; grants extra experience point rewards (the faction leader receives double the reward of ordinary members); allows inviting squad members of the same level to dungeons; unlocks the faction warehouse...]
[Note 1: The Level 2 faction-exclusive dungeon can be opened once the squad reaches twelve members.]
[Note 2: Obtaining a Level 2 Faction Token requires the quality of 'turning the tide.']
[Note 3: The faction token disregards alignment and can recruit members of opposing factions into the squad.]
[Note 4: Faction members cannot betray or harm one another.]
Reading Note 2, the confusion in Zhang Yuanqing’s heart finally cleared. It turned out the reward mechanism for a Level 2 Faction Token differed from that of a Level 1 token.
*A bit of luck was involved. That’s good, but it also shows how hard these faction tokens are to upgrade. Every stage has different criteria...*
Delighted, Zhang Yuanqing activated the faction token, upgrading Return of the Dead into a Level 2 faction.
Next, he retrieved the Five Elements Spiritual Power Trial Card and the Charm Ring, holding both in his hands to inspect their attributes.
The Five Elements Spiritual Power Trial Card was a card swirled with five distinct colors, made of a material similar to a character card.
The Charm Ring was woven from red string, resembling a two-dollar craft sold at a street stall.
[Name: Five Elements Spiritual Power Trial Card x2]
[Type: Consumable]
[Function: Summon the power of the Five Elements]
[Description: A Stargazer who used unconventional means to exploit a bug accidentally acquired the mighty power of a Dominator. After the Spirit Realm patched the bug, it compensated him with two trial cards.]
[Note: Please keep your emotions in check.]
*This is the most badass consumable and the strongest trump card I’ve gotten since becoming a Spirit Realm Walker—well, leaving aside the Fragment of Taiyin.* Zhang Yuanqing was very satisfied with the Spirit Realm’s compensation.
The utility of this trial card went without saying. As for the drawback, it was likely that neurotic state he had just experienced.
*Not a big deal!* Zhang Yuanqing thought, then glanced toward Cai Longshen’s corpse.
*Alright, it’s a very big deal. Must be used with caution...* he muttered silently, then shifted his gaze to the Charm Ring.
[Name: Charm Ring]
[Type: Accessory]
[Function: Enhance charm]
[Description: To win the heart of his beloved, an infatuated Red Phoenix Star Official poured out his heart's blood to weave this ring. Wearing it causes nearby members of the opposite sex to develop fond feelings toward you. Those exposed to the ring's influence over an extended period will develop romantic yearning and ignite sparks of love.]
[Note: Damn it, all the girls are getting picked up by you! What are we supposed to do? Cross swords with each other?!]
*A ring that increases favorability among the opposite sex is essentially having the passive skill of a Red Phoenix Star Official—Charm. It's a nice support prop, great against females. The downside is that while wearing it, you easily draw hostility from the same sex.*
Zhang Yuanqing quickly grasped the ring’s function and cost, his expression turning odd.
This item had belonged to the Demon Lord.
The Charm Ring to seduce women, the Endurance Spray to conquer them. *The Demon Lord was a proper deviant cultivator, second only to guys who level up through dual cultivation...* Zhang Yuanqing considered whether to sell the ring to Lingjun.
On second thought, his mentor wasn't like the Demon Lord. His mentor relied on technique. Giving him this would only make him feel insulted.
*Keeping it for myself works fine too. In the future, if Guan Ya or Xiao Yuan gets mad at me, I can use it. Wonder if it works on the old crone...* Zhang Yuanqing decided to keep it for himself.
Having reviewed the rewards, Zhang Yuanqing checked the countdown. Five minutes remained.
He looked toward Huang Taiji, saying with deep concern, "About Cai Longshen..."
Now that reason had returned, he realized he had acted far too rashly.
This was an immense disaster.
Moreover, Zhang Yuanqing felt a touch of regret. Though Cai Longshen’s behavior was unprincipled and detestable, it had hardly warranted death.
Huang Taiji spoke in a heavy voice, "Don't panic. Once we leave the dungeon, I’ll confer with Fu Qingyang. When the time comes, we may need to align our stories beforehand to keep our reports consistent."
Zhang Yuanqing froze for a moment.
Though they had braved life and death together, Huang Taiji’s resolute bias on his behalf still caught him off guard.
Huang Taiji let out a sigh. "While you were unconscious..."
He briefly recounted how Cai Longshen had stood by without lifting a finger and refused to fight.
Zhang Yuanqing’s expression darkened, and he sneered, "He deserved to die."
Relying on his teleportation item to watch fellow official colleagues march to their deaths, Cai Longshen’s conduct had amounted to deliberately sabotaging Huang Taiji and the others.
The Spirit Realm matched opposing sides with roughly comparable combat strengths. Having one of the main combatants shirk the battle deliberately was equivalent to dooming the entire team.
If that were all, so be it. But after coasting to victory, he actually had the gall to demand loot and even try to snatch his items?
Never mind that he had been mentally unstable at the time; even in his right mind, he would have slaughtered Cai Longshen.
Huang Taiji added, "Still, you must prepare mentally for the truth coming to light. Reports can be falsified, but we cannot lie—before the Tiger Tally, for instance."
*The Tiger Tally can’t test me, but Huang Taiji definitely won’t withstand it...* Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "Let's contact each other after returning."
With business settled, he cleared his throat and asked, "How much experience did you gain?"
Huang Taiji replied, "24%. My experience was already at 91%, so I'm now at Level 6, 100%. Maxed out with nowhere higher to go."
At this point, he seemed to remember something, his steady tone carrying a trace of curiosity. "How much experience were you rewarded?"
Zhang Yuanqing had been waiting for this very question. In an extraordinarily flat tone, he stated, "I’m Level 6."
Huang Taiji: "...??"
His composed, solemn face took on a rare look of utter blankness.
Young Master Huang found this somewhat hard to accept.
Feeling a surge of inner delight, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers and used Star Escape to vanish outside. He appeared beside the corpses of the Greed Divine General and Bai Ren Zhan, stowing their weapons.
It was worth mentioning that the Greed Divine General's weapon was a Saint-tier prop of exceptionally high quality.
A bountiful harvest!
The items were only secondary. What pleased Zhang Yuanqing most was securing two yin corpses and one spirit servant.
A Night Roamer’s most formidable capabilities lay in corpse manipulation and spirit mastery. In the past, his foundation had been too shallow to unleash their true potential.
Now, he would have four top-quality yin corpses and one high-level spirit servant.
Just then, Zhang Yuanqing spotted a figure staggering into the graveyard entrance. Both of the youth's legs were bloody messes, his shins faintly visible, and his left arm was only half-regenerated.
Frail, on the brink of collapse.
Zhang Yuanqing recognized this young man: he was Jiang Jingwei’s older brother and Fu Qingyang’s former rival—Jiang Ju.
"Weren't you dead? How are you alive?" Before Jiang Ju even drew close, his booming voice blared, "What happened? Weren't we the ones who lost?"
"Wait, why is the Greed Divine General dead here?"
"What the hell happened? Did the Spirit Realm glitch out?"
Zhang Yuanqing replied, "Oh, I’m Level 6."
"What?" Jiang Ju didn't catch his meaning, stumbling forward. "I'm asking you how the orthodox side won!"
"Oh, I’m Level 6."
"???"
*What a dull fire demon...* Zhang Yuanqing mused. After a brief thought, he drew Bai Ren Zhan’s saber and flung it over.
*Thud!*
The spinning saber drove into the dirt right in front of Jiang Ju.
"What’s this supposed to mean, you want to fight?" Jiang Ju instinctively furrowed his brows.
"No, it's your share of the spoils." Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, Zhang Yuanqing said calmly, "The Spirit Realm didn't glitch. I just happened to wake up, disposed of the boss, and helped the evil classes return to the Spirit Realm. They wept and begged for mercy, but I refused to forgive them."
Only then did Jiang Ju register shock. "Y-You took down the boss? What nonsense are you spouting? Just you, a guy who barely advanced to Level 4?"
*He really didn't listen to a single word I said earlier...* Zhang Yuanqing suddenly lost any desire to talk to him.
At that moment, Blood Rose sprinted out of the woods like a sleek, agile leopardess.
After Xiao Yuan left, the restriction blanketing the manor had dissipated. Zhang Yuanqing had reached out mentally to Blood Rose and summoned her back.
Glancing at the countdown, Zhang Yuanqing urged, "We're exiting the Spirit Realm any second. Take the saber—it's your loot."
Only then did Jiang Ju react. He pulled the saber from the ground and hollered, "What a colossal boast! I hate being lied to! Where are Huang Taiji and Cai Longshen? Which of them killed the boss?"
Before his voice faded, the scenery before his eyes blurred.
As his vision cleared from the haze, Zhang Yuanqing found himself back in his familiar bedroom.
Beside him stood Commandery Princess Yinyao, and at his feet lay the corpses of the Greed Divine General and Bai Ren Zhan.
"Princess, quickly lie down on the bed."
Zhang Yuanqing reacted instantly. Time was running out for Commandery Princess Yinyao. Although more than an hour remained, preparing the materials and inscribing the spirit talismans would take time.
Commandery Princess Yinyao silently walked to the bed and lay down. Her sharp fingernails sheared through strands of hair, detaching her lovely head and setting it at her neck.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing deftly dragged a cardboard box out from under the bed, taking out a bowl, brushes, a pestle, and other tools before pulling cinnabar and yin-attributed materials from the faction warehouse.
While he bustled about in preparation, Commandery Princess Yinyao had already shed her dress on her own.
She lay completely unclothed on the bed: fair, slender legs; a flat, tight stomach; a tapering waist; and full, alabaster peaks...
Except for the bone-chilling coldness, the princess was a peerless beauty beyond flaw.
Noticing Zhang Yuanqing scrutinizing her body, Commandery Princess Yinyao silently caught a corner of the quilt and pulled it over her lower abdomen.
"Yinyao, I'll restore your physical body first. Afterward, I'll requisition materials to help you advance to Level 6," Zhang Yuanqing said softly.
The faint red glow in Commandery Princess Yinyao's dim eyes flickered slightly. Her gaze dropped, fixing firmly upon him.
Zhang Yuanqing could sense her violent spiritual fluctuations; she was deeply agitated.
Commandery Princess Yinyao had lain dormant in the Mute Village dungeon for hundreds of years. Though she had attained longevity, her cultivation had stagnated, incapable of advancing another inch.
Back then, her agreement to serve as Yuanshi Tianzun's yin corpse had stemmed mainly from her master's coercion. Deep down, however, she had also harbored hope for increasing her cultivation.
Among practitioners of the Dao, who did not crave progress?
Looking back now, her master forcing her to become Yuanshi Tianzun's corpse had not been mere punishment. On the contrary, out of pity for her disciple’s predicament, she had been resolving her cultivation hurdle.
It was only that her master had once been an Imperial Princess and later a Golden Crow. Her status was simply too exalted, leaving her prone to putting on airs and maintaining decorum, unaccustomed to expressing affection.
Before long, Zhang Yuanqing finished drawing the spirit talismans and traced an array on the floor, ultimately repairing her damaged talismans just before her final deadline expired.
***
Fujia Bay.
In the study, Fu Qingyang was engaged in a voice conference with five elders of the Songhai Branch when the landline's red indicator light suddenly lit up.
Operating his mouse, he muted his microphone and pressed the speakerphone button on the landline.
"What is it?"
"Young Master, Huang Taiji is calling. He says he has an urgent matter to discuss with you."
A bunny girl's voice came through the speaker.
*Huang Taiji?* Fu Qingyang paused.
The four young masters of the official faction maintained decent private relations. Even Jiang Ju, with whom he got along the worst, was an old friend.
Yet Huang Taiji was quiet and low-key, almost never calling him of his own accord. When was the last time they had spoken on the phone?
Fu Qingyang could not even recall.
Even in their shared group chat, Huang Taiji rarely popped in, lurking in silence most of the time.
What kind of matter could prompt Huang Taiji to call him personally?
After a moment's thought, Fu Qingyang said, "Patch him through to me."
"Understood, Young Master," the bunny girl replied gently.
A dial tone buzzed from the speaker, and a few seconds later, Huang Taiji's deep, solemn voice sounded:
"Fu Qingyang, I was matched with Yuanshi Tianzun in a dungeon."
Chapter 485