The poster was a level 6 Saint from the official faction whose screen name was "Luo Wuqing." He posted claiming that he had heard the Spirit Realm notification chime and chosen to participate in the killing trial, only for the prompt to get completely stuck on: "Ding. Spirit Realm map opening. Entering the Spirit Realm in 30 seconds."
And it had been stuck for a full five minutes.
Extraordinary-stage walkers and Saints below level 6 refused to believe it, chiming in down in the comments:
[Deacon Luo, are you doing this for EXP or for clicks? I admit I took the bait on your title.]
[Haha, even though we joke in private about the Spirit Realm being a server, don't kid around. Anything else in this world can glitch, but not the Spirit Realm.]
[The only way I'll believe the Spirit Realm is glitching is if the sun rises from the west.]
No one believed him, responding with chuckles and banter.
That was until Huang Taiji replied: [The Spirit Realm really has malfunctioned.]
Jiang Ju: [Holy crap, so I'm not the only one.]
Mid- and low-level walkers were struck with sudden alarm—the situation was actually true.
The Spirit Realm, a supernatural entity that had operated seamlessly for over a century, had actually experienced a glitch...
This phenomenon filled the official walkers with dread yet excitement—whenever fundamental laws and established norms were shattered, a thrill instinctively surged in human hearts.
It was like the exhilaration people felt when a blizzard sealed off the mountains, or the wild joy students felt when a massive blackout hit their school.
Zhang Yuanqing, however, could not muster the slightest joy. The Spirit Realm's glitch made him realize two things: first, someone was now capable of tampering with the Spirit Realm's operation, setting an unprecedented event in a hundred years.
Second, with the Spirit Realm glitching, the killing trial had failed to open.
The stakes of the former went without saying, while the latter struck directly at his vitals.
After lying low for so long and waiting with such bitter patience just for the killing trial to open so he could advance to Day Wanderer, the Spirit Realm had to crash at the crucial moment?
Zhang Yuanqing felt someone was specifically targeting him.
He exited the forum and dialed President's cell phone, but the call failed to connect. With something this massive happening, the President had likely entered the Spirit Realm to investigate, so Zhang Yuanqing switched to sending a message instead.
As he waited anxiously, the prompt chimed repeatedly in his ear like a broken record. It was as if the Spirit Realm had completely frozen; the killing trial showed no signs of opening.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the forums again. The forums of both the Five Elements Alliance and Heaven's Punishment were boiling over with heated discussions, completely overshadowing the aftermath of the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods incident. Everyone found this Spirit Realm malfunction utterly inconceivable.
The mid-to-high-level walkers, on the other hand, felt a creeping sense of unease.
Inside the Assistance Team group chat:
[Tianxia Guihuo: Have you seen the forums? The Spirit Realm is glitching, and the killing trial didn't start. @Jumang]
[Jumang: It's true.]
[Sun Miaomiao: What happened? Yuan Ting, go look into it.]
[Yuan Ting: ??? Who am I supposed to ask, the Spirit Realm?]
While Sun Miaomiao and Yuan Ting bantered in the Assistance Team chat to ease the tension, Tianxia Guihuo chimed in over in the Return of the Dead group chat:
[We just resolved the incident with the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods, and now the Spirit Realm is malfunctioning. I feel uneasy; the rising wind foretells the coming storm.]
[Zhao Chenghuang: You suspect the evil camp is behind this again? Hmm, that possibility can't be ruled out. Being able to interfere with the Spirit Realm is as terrifying as it is unsettling. What is the evil camp's goal this time?]
For now, aside from the stalled killing trial, nothing else appeared out of the ordinary.
[Guan Ya: Given the current circumstances, they might be trying to interfere with the arrival of the killing trial, or even cancel it altogether. There is also another possibility: the current glitch is merely the beginning, and an even greater catastrophe is about to follow.]
[Xiahou Aotian: What? Cancel this killing trial? How can they do that?! This protagonist already decided to take part in the year-end killing trial! Once December ends, I will become a Dominator! Did the evil camp foresee the birth of a glorious existence and make their move early to intercept me?]
Xiahou Aotian had already reached level 6 back in the Sea of Yashan. After accumulating strength over the past few months, he was now also a peak Saint, though Scholars did not pride themselves on brute force and thus lacked a striking presence.
[Brother Red Chicken: Even if the evil camp is making an early move, they'd be guarding against Yuanshi Tianzun! What does that have to do with you, Xiahou Aotian? Stick to tightening screws in Songhai and stop being so utterly unreliable.]
Having honed himself through two months of grueling trials, Brother Red Chicken considered himself far more mature and steady.
The two began bickering in the group chat, with Xiahou Aotian declaring he would fly the aircraft carrier he had personally developed straight to New York County to annihilate Brother Red Chicken for seeking death.
[Tianxia Guihuo: Given Yuanshi's current level, that wouldn't be necessary!]
[Jumang: @Xiahou Aotian, you want to enter the killing trial? You useless bum, why didn't you say so earlier?]
Zhang Yuanqing felt a headache coming on. If Xiahou Aotian also entered the killing trial, Zhang Yuanqing would undoubtedly have to support the "protagonist" in advancing to Dominator. After all, the protagonist was one of their own, someone he could boss around and utilize without restraint.
No matter how close he was with Yin Ji and Huang Taiji, neither belonged to his core circle, and there was always a layer of separation.
[Xiahou Aotian: I don't need your help anyway. I can seize an advancement spot myself. In this protagonist's life, my conscience is clear, and I never beg from anyone.]
Everyone automatically filtered out his chuunibyou delusions.
Just then, Zhang Yuanqing's phone rang. The caller ID showed Fu Qingyang.
He answered immediately and asked, "Boss, what did your cousin say?"
"All five Alliance Leaders have entered the Spirit Realm," Fu Qingyang said coldly. "Since you're still here, it means the killing trial still hasn't opened. What is your take on this?"
"Ling Tuo has become the true Lord of Taiyin, and his authority exceeds that of ordinary demigods. The Spirit Realm malfunction surfaced right after he completed the Taiyin," Zhang Yuanqing voiced his concern. "I think Ling Tuo is messing with me because he doesn't want me advancing to Day Wanderer."
Fu Qingyang fell silent.
"Boss, why aren't you saying anything?"
"...You are overly conceited," Fu Qingyang said coldly.
"Judging by Ling Tuo's past schemes and methods, every move he makes invariably serves a grander design and a loftier objective. Back when you possessed a Taiyin shard he desperately needed, he didn't orchestrate an operation solely against you; he merely incorporated you as one part of a wider plan to eliminate you in passing.
"This time, he definitely has an even bigger scheme. Even if he is obstructing your advancement to Day Wanderer, it is nothing more than an incidental byproduct."
Zhang Yuanqing thought it through; that was indeed true.
Whether it was the disciplinary tribunal or the arena ambush, he had never been the primary target, merely a convenient cog in the Lord of Taiyin's overarching plan.
"What the hell is the evil camp plotting now?" Zhang Yuanqing grimaced in frustration.
As a Scout accustomed to strategic calculation, Fu Qingyang said:
"There are actually clues to trace. Remember the crucial piece of intelligence you extracted from Beast Haas's memories? When the Covenant of Freedom initiated the camp war, their true objective was the Sea God Church.
"Yet to this day, the evil camp has not made a move against the Sea God Church. Now, with the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods eliminated, the demigod-tier power of the First District is weaker than ever before. This is their prime opportunity to strike at the Sea God Church."
*If that's true, the evil camp moves step by step, interlocking every scheme to terrifying effect. Why don't I possess this kind of scheming ability?* Zhang Yuanqing narrowed his eyes. "Then what does the Spirit Realm malfunction have to do with targeting the Sea God Church?"
Fu Qingyang could not answer that.
Even Fu Qingxuan could not foresee Ling Tuo's plans, let alone him.
Perhaps the evil camp had other plans and entirely different objectives.
Zhang Yuanqing said, "Still, you've reminded me, Boss. We can't afford to be careless. I'll notify Winnie right now so she can alert the Sea God Church to be on guard."
With that, he hung up and rose to his feet, heading toward the door.
***
Inside the Spirit Realm.
In the deep, boundless "starry sky," the Taiyin had fully transformed into a colossal black hole. Its terrifying gravitational pull dragged the motes of starlight representing dungeons into wild spins and violent collisions.
Some dungeons merged upon impact, others collapsed into sheer nothingness, and even more were inexorably sucked into the black hole, vanishing without a trace.
The Spirit Realm, which had operated in flawless order for over a century, was plunged into unprecedented chaos.
Starlight ignited across those dungeons, turning them into a radiant galaxy, but it merely slowed the devouring and retarded the encroachment of darkness.
Just then, a towering divine phantom emerged in the east, draped in a jade-green robe, crowned with an elaborate headdress, its face blurred. In its hand it held a willow branch, riding atop a magnificent stag.
A verdant light dispelled the darkness, illuminating the eastern expanse.
In the west, an equally towering divine phantom appeared, clad in bronze armor and a white cape, leaning upon an upright sword. Strands of dazzling, silvery-white Gengjin Qi swirled around it, while a white-browed, hanging-eyed tiger lay prostrate at its feet.
A grim, lethal aura flooded the western expanse.
In the south rose another towering phantom. This elemental deity had long hair and a sweeping beard, robed in blazing fire and crowned in deep crimson. Its features were stern and righteous, its eyes blazing with fury.
It was the Flame Sovereign manifested by Guild Leader Jiang. Unlike last time, this Flame Sovereign trod upon two fire dragons.
Scorching heat seared the southern expanse.
Directly opposite in the north, the sound of surging waves resounded. Streams of humid, dark mist transformed into a raging river, upon whose churning waters stood a black-robed sovereign. Formed of Profound Water spiritual energy, everything from its facial features to its robes rippled like flowing water.
Behind this black-robed sovereign coiled a giant black-scaled serpent, its head hovering beside him, eyes chillingly grim.
As the starlight surged and ebbed, an ethereal, detached voice carried through the void:
"Ling Tuo, you wish to shroud the Spirit Realm's dungeons and sever the path of future generations. Pure wishful thinking.
"Within the Spirit Realm, Scholars govern Creation; Musicians govern Life; Voids govern Space and Commerce; Wind and Thunder form one entity; Aphrodites govern Desire; Sirens govern Disaster.
"Yet all of this must be built upon the Five Elements, for the Five Elements are the bedrock of the Spirit Realm. Ling Tuo, do you truly believe that attaining the Taiyin grants you authority so absolute that none can hold you in check?"
The five sovereign phantoms gazed toward that massive black moon simultaneously, their voices ringing out in layered, majestic thunder: "Hold!"
Across the sky, the motes of starlight took on the hues of the Five Elements at once, becoming unimaginably heavy. No matter how violently the black hole pulled, they remained completely motionless.
***
Just as Zhang Yuanqing's hand grasped the doorknob, the Spirit Realm notification chime in his ear suddenly changed:
[Spirit Realm dungeon generating... Ding, generation complete! The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is "World Museum," Dungeon ID: 0000.]
[Difficulty Level: Unknown]
[Type: Multiplayer (Lethal)]
[Main Quest: Survive for 72 hours.]
[Note: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought inside.]
[Dungeon 0000 Introduction: Not long ago, a great catastrophe befell the Spirit Realm world. Amidst the disaster, all things fell into disorder and chaos. The objects in the museum have been granted life. They are chaotic and dangerous. Please do your utmost to survive.]
Chapter 780