The killing trial was here? Zhang Yuanqing felt a jolt of pleasant surprise. This meant the Spirit Realm's glitch had been resolved, and the evil faction's conspiracy had failed once again.
The orthodox demigods really came through! Taking his time, Zhang Yuanqing opened his status panel and used the Illusion God's Heart to change his ID from "Yuanshi Tianzun" to "Daode Tianzun."
Before the countdown finished, he walked over to the desk, picked up his phone, and typed a message into the group chat:
[Jumang: The Spirit Realm's glitch is fixed. The killing trial is starting on schedule.]
Just as he sent the message, his surroundings blurred abruptly, rippling like creases in water.
A second later, the world shifted from blurry back to crisp and clear. Zhang Yuanqing looked around to observe his environment.
It was a gigantic, modern museum with a ceiling about fifty meters high. Massive xenon lamps cast down upon floors paved with black ceramic tiles, illuminating the vast expanse until it was as bright as day.
A museum had no business having a ceiling comparable to the Great Hall of the People, but a museum it was. Glass display cases were arranged in an orderly fashion, spaced ten meters apart, stretching left and right without an end in sight.
Inside the display case closest to him was a pitch-black wooden round box. Its surface was plain and aged, painted with a colorful phoenix in red pigment.
Behind Zhang Yuanqing was a tall metal security door. Beside the door stood a waist-high map plinth, much like the floor maps found in subways or shopping malls.
Just as he was about to step forward to examine it, the Spirit Realm notification chimed in his ears:
[Ding! Number of participants in this killing trial: 41.]
[Starting points per person: 1.]
[Hunt down Spirit Realm walkers within the museum to claim their points.]
[The leaderboard is now open. Please check it at your convenience.]
[Side Quest 1: Safely cross the current hall and reach the next exhibition hall to earn 10 points.]
Huh? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.
Forty-one participants in this killing trial?
Although any level 6 walker could participate—it wasn't strictly limited to peak Saints—the disparity between an early level 6 and a peak level 6 was immense. In a one-on-one fight, the former had almost no chance of winning unless they pulled out top-tier or rule-based items.
Consequently, in past killing trials, level 6 Saints with less than 50% EXP simply never participated.
In the mid-year Saint killing trial this year, there had been only eighteen participants. According to historical records, the participant count for Saint killing trials never exceeded thirty, and exceeding twenty-five was already rare.
Yet this killing trial had a staggering forty-one people.
*Could it be that because I hunted down so many peak Saints, the top-tier combat power of the Saint realm suffered severe losses, making ordinary level 6 Saints think they had a shot to come in and take a gamble?* Zhang Yuanqing pondered.
Ever since stepping into level 6, he had slain Greed Divine General, Yi Chuanmei, and Cai Longshen in the Chaos of the Five Elements trial, and later went on a killing spree in New York County. More than ten peak Saints had died by his hands, let alone ordinary level 6 Saints.
This year indeed had a vacuum at the pinnacle of the Saint realm.
It made sense for ordinary level 6s to seize this opportunity and take a gamble.
After all, the Dominator status was far too tempting.
Thinking this over, he opened the leaderboard. A single glance left him dumbfounded once again.
The Spirit Realm IDs on the leaderboard included Eastern names as well as Western names.
Why were there Western IDs in the First District's killing trial? An incredible thought flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind—the killing trials of the First District and Second District had been merged.
He couldn't help recalling the dungeon description for "World Museum": A disaster occurred in the Spirit Realm world, causing everything to fall into chaos and disorder.
Was this abnormality in the killing trial caused by Ling Tuo?
"If the dungeons of the two districts merged, then Huang Taiji and Yin Ji have their slots. I could even fight for up to six slots!" Zhang Yuanqing felt his spirits lift.
He quickly skimmed the leaderboard and spotted many familiar Spirit Realm IDs: Yin Ji, Jiang Ju, Huang Taiji, Xiahou Aotian, Wings of the Wind God, North, Reilly Eugene.
There were participants from both the First District and the Second District.
Yin Ji and the others were reliable allies, while Wings of the Wind God and his peers were potential allies who could be won over.
*I wonder where they spawned...* Suppressing his excitement, he approached the map to inspect it.
The map indicated that this was the museum's first floor. The first floor had six exhibition halls, and his current location was: Floor 1, Hall 3.
To reach the second floor of the museum, he had to cross Hall 3, as the stairs leading to the upper level were on the far side.
Zhang Yuanqing retrieved Little Red Riding Hood and shook Commandery Princess Yinyao out:
"Yinyao, come on out to play."
Commandery Princess Yinyao raised her little megaphone: "Come out to risk my life, you mean!"
She looked around, her eerie, crimson pupils going blank for a moment before she asked in confusion, "A killing trial? Didn't you say the higher the level, the older the era? Why is your killing trial so modern?"
"Something went wrong with this killing trial. East and West were merged," Zhang Yuanqing explained casually. He stepped in front of Commandery Princess Yinyao and cupped her jade-like, gorgeous face. With a ripple of light, Commandery Princess Yinyao's face morphed into an ordinary, plain countenance.
He also erased the crimson hue from her eyes.
Zhang Yuanqing's gaze drifted to the pouch slung around her slender waist, and he said, "You'd better put the Elvis Presley speaker away or keep it shut. Don't let it make a sound."
Commandery Princess Yinyao would give away Yuanshi Tianzun's identity, while the Elvis Presley speaker would give away the Demon Lord's successor's identity—and the Demon Lord's successor was Yuanshi Tianzun.
If this were a normal killing trial, Zhang Yuanqing wouldn't care whether his identity was exposed; at worst, he would just enter hunting mode.
Now that East and West had merged and the Saint count had surged to forty-one, he had to consider the possibility of ants biting an elephant to death. In any case, staying low-key, watching from the sidelines, and biding his time was never a bad idea.
There was no need to turn himself into the center of attention unless special circumstances arose.
Reluctant to part with her beloved toy, Commandery Princess Yinyao raised her little megaphone and swore solemnly: "I won't let it make a sound."
Right as the words left her mouth, the Elvis Presley speaker gave a few crackles of static and played a recorded movie quote: "Only the dead tell no tales."
Zhang Yuanqing and Commandery Princess Yinyao each slapped it once.
"Our objective is to cross Hall 3 and reach the second floor. The hall is too big. Let me take a look first to see how many exhibits there are and how vast the area is," Zhang Yuanqing said, preparing to pull out the Gale Gloves.
He intended to get an aerial overview.
"Wait!" Commandery Princess Yinyao suddenly said. "A bloody disaster looms over you."
*A bloody disaster? Just flying up to check the situation triggers a bloody disaster? Well, astrology only sees short-term fortune, so it might not be directly caused by me flying up...* Zhang Yuanqing considered it and, to be safe, took out the Daluo Astrolabe.
Stargazing was more accurate than astromancy.
Sitting cross-legged, he infused starlight and ignited the constellations on the astrolabe's surface. The heavenly constellations rose from the astrolabe, spun for a moment, and flowed into his mind.
Through the haze, Zhang Yuanqing saw himself floating into the air toward the museum's ceiling. Suddenly, a piercing red beam shot forward. With thunderous speed and inescapable momentum, it tore through his physical body and obliterated his soul.
The vision shattered instantly.
*Danger in the sky!* Zhang Yuanqing snapped his eyes open, startled.
Flying inside Exhibition Hall 3 was fatal.
After some thought, he summoned a level 4 yin corpse from Little Red Riding Hood and controlled it to scout ahead, while he and Commandery Princess Yinyao followed slowly behind, keeping a distance of about ten meters.
They first passed the display case containing the black wooden round box. Nothing happened.
Zhang Yuanqing deliberately had the yin corpse halt before the case to read the artifact's information:
[Name: Blood Phoenix Rouge Box]
[Era: Tang Dynasty]
[Grade: Level 3]
[Description: An artifact excavated from a Tang Dynasty tomb, crafted from millennial yin wood and painted with a phoenix using the refined blood of a hundred humans, never to fade. This box condenses the resentment and blood of a hundred souls, intended solely for the dead to paint their lips.]
Sensing through the yin corpse's perspective, Zhang Yuanqing detected no yin energy or resentment. The artifact seemed like an ordinary object.
*Is the display case a seal, or what?* Doubt crossed his mind, but he didn't act rashly and had the yin corpse proceed forward.
Next, they passed jade artifacts, bronzes, calligraphy, paintings, statues, and other relics one by one without encountering any attacks.
Had he not known he was in a trial, he might have suspected this museum was just an ordinary building.
*Clang, clang! Clang, clang!*
Just then, a commotion came from ahead, sounding like tables and chairs slamming against the floor.
Zhang Yuanqing and Commandery Princess Yinyao focused their gazes simultaneously, growing vigilant. Following the sound, they found the source: a blood-red coffin resting atop a lotus stone pedestal, encased inside a massive glass enclosure.
The crimson coffin rocked violently, its base slamming against the lotus pedestal with sharp, jarring thuds.
Through the glass enclosure, Zhang Yuanqing and Commandery Princess Yinyao sensed faint wisps of yin energy seeping from within the coffin.
*Whatever's inside that coffin is fierce...* Zhang Yuanqing guided the yin corpse toward the glass wall and read the information on the placard:
[Name: Blood Coffin Buddha Corpse]
[Era: Tang Dynasty]
[Grade: Level 1]
[Description: A blood coffin excavated from deep beneath an ancient Tang Dynasty temple. From the moment it saw the light of day, it has been knocking against its enclosure; for thousands of years, none have dared open it. Caution: Do not linger near it for more than three minutes.]
What would happen after three minutes? Zhang Yuanqing looked toward Commandery Princess Yinyao: "Want to give it a shot?"
Commandery Princess Yinyao tilted her head, thought it over, and raised her little megaphone: "A bit dangerous, but no big deal."
The Elvis Presley speaker in her pouch chimed in: "No big deal! No big deal!"
As they spoke, Zhang Yuanqing and Commandery Princess Yinyao backed away together, putting distance between themselves and the coffin while leaving the yin corpse where it stood.
Time flew by, and three minutes were up.
"Yuanshi Tianzun, let me out... Yuanshi Tianzun, let me out..." A woman's shrill, agonizing cries drifted from within the coffin.
Chapter 781