"Miaomiao?" Zhang Yuanqing hadn't even raised the small loudspeaker, but it blurted out on its own.
Guan Ya, Brother Red Chicken, and the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter withdrew their weapons one after another.
Hearing someone call her name, Sun Miaomiao was stunned again. The sword pill poised to strike in her palm calmed down briefly. She scanned the crowd in bewilderment and hesitated.
"You guys..."
Her eyes fell on the small loudspeaker in Zhang Yuanqing's hand. Recognizing it as Commandery Princess Yinyao's beloved toy, she gasped in shock, "Yuanshi Tianzun?!"
Her expression grew even more confused. Looking left and right, shifting her gaze from their unfamiliar faces to the scene of the fierce battle, she asked at a loss, "Why am I here? Why are you all here... What happened?"
It really was Sun Miaomiao!
Sun Miaomiao, who had drifted away and lost contact upon entering the dungeon, was finally found. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began chiming in to explain the whole story to her.
During this process, Sun Miaomiao retrieved source fluid of life to treat her injuries. She had seven or eight wounds of varying sizes across her body, two penetrating wounds, and half her heart had been cleaved away by the Palace Master's palm blade.
Even for a Level 6 Night Wanderer, injuries of this magnitude were severe. If she relied purely on natural regeneration without source fluid of life, it would have taken quite a long time to heal.
Midway through listening, Sun Miaomiao was already dumbfounded. She never imagined so much had happened while she was "unconscious."
Brother Red Chicken cut in incredulously, interrupting the explanation: "How did you become the Imperial Preceptor's lackey? You even stabbed me this morning! Didn't you recognize Yuanshi Tianzun's item?"
He couldn't believe Sun Miaomiao could be this stupid—even stupider than Jiang Jingwei.
Sun Miaomiao knitted her brow. "I know nothing! As soon as I entered the dungeon, I received a quest prompt saying I was afflicted by a 'Soul-Sealing Spell' and couldn't move. My main quest was to hold out for ten days under the erosion of the Soul-Sealing Spell, and my side quest was to break through the seal. Just now, I suddenly woke up and thought I had broken the seal..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. "You were asleep the entire time? Then who was fighting us just now?!"
He had assumed Sun Miaomiao was being manipulated or under some mind-twisting spell, which was why she didn't recognize her teammates. But now it sounded like that wasn't the case at all.
Right at that moment, Brother Red Chicken's expression abruptly went blank, his pupils dilating. Before anyone could react, he swung his blade toward Guan Ya's neck.
A Fire Demon excelled at close-quarters combat; this slash was blazingly swift and ferocious.
Although Guan Ya was a Scout, her full attention had been on Sun Miaomiao. By the time she noticed Brother Red Chicken's aberration, it was already too late to react.
At that very instant, the latticed doors shattered into pieces, and the curtain shrouding the side hall tore apart. A piercing whistle rang out, stabbing painfully into everyone's eardrums.
A flash of sword light flared. Brother Red Chicken's right arm detached from his body. Carried by momentum, the severed arm still gripped the blade as it struck Guan Ya, but having lost the force needed to cleave off her head, it sank half an inch into Guan Ya's neck before grinding to a halt.
Brother Red Chicken grunted, clutching his empty elbow as he staggered back.
Guan Ya lurched. A three-meter-high fountain of blood erupted from her carotid artery, and she collapsed to the floor, her face deathly pale.
Zhang Yuanqing's yin corpse hurriedly caught hold of Her Majesty the Empress and raised the small loudspeaker high: "Source fluid of life! Quick, source fluid of life—"
The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter planted a kick square into Brother Red Chicken's chest, sending him crashing into the wall. With a resounding boom, the wall shook violently.
A wisp of Yin Qi detached from Brother Red Chicken's body and drifted toward the ceiling, attempting to flee.
Xiao Yuan and Xie Lingxi rushed toward Guan Ya, hastily pulling out diluted source fluid of life. At the same time, a middle-aged man in a white scholar's robe crossed the threshold. His eyes shone with bright white light as he glared at a certain spot in midair and snorted coldly, "Monsters and demons! How dare you run wild in the Yang Residence!"
With a flick of his wide sleeve, a small sword shot forth, swift as lightning. With a dull thud, it pinned itself into the roof beam. An ethereal shriek echoed through the hall, and a majestic wave of Yin Qi poured out in all directions.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly raised the small loudspeaker and called out, "Spare it!"
The scholar-robed middle-aged man paid him no heed.
Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly looked at Guan Ya. After being infused with the source fluid of life and successfully stopping the bleeding, Guan Ya spoke: "Guest Elder Zhou, please spare it."
The scholar-robed middle-aged man waved his hand, and the small sword dislodged itself, flying back into his wide sleeve.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately said, "Miaomiao, devour it!"
Catching on, Sun Miaomiao's eye sockets welled with viscous black energy. Staring at the disheveled female ghost in midair, whose face was a bruised bluish-black, she opened her mouth and inhaled.
The aggrieved soul, having just been impaled by Fiend Queller sword qi, had no strength to resist. Unwillingly, it turned into green smoke and drifted into Sun Miaomiao's mouth.
Sun Miaomiao immediately closed her eyes and began Spirit Devouring, assimilating the wraith's memory fragments.
The middle-aged man strode over to Guan Ya and looked her up and down. Seeing her covered in blood yet with her wound already healed, he finally sighed in relief, cupped his hands, and bowed: "This Zhou arrived late to your rescue. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Guan Ya nodded gently, her demeanor dignified. "This Palace must thank you, Guest Elder Zhou. Please step outside and report to Father that I am safe. This Palace shall change into clean clothes before going to see him."
The scholar-robed middle-aged man glanced across the group, his gaze lingering on Sun Miaomiao for two seconds. Looking as if he wanted to speak, he ultimately cupped his hands and left.
Guan Ya looked at everyone, who were either tending to their own wounds or helping their teammates, and explained, "He is a guest elder of the Yang Residence, originally an imperial scholar. Because he impeached the Zheng family over a corruption case, he was framed and thrown into prison, then rescued by my father. Disillusioned, he resigned from office, cast aside his brush to practice swordsmanship, and became a guest elder of the Yang Residence. He should possess the strength of a peak Level 6."
"You've absorbed quite a few memories, speaking so refined and bookish," the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter clicked her tongue, then turned to Brother Red Chicken: "Regrowing a severed limb requires concentrated source fluid of life corresponding to Level 6. For now, you can just play the Condor Hero for a few days."
Just then, Sun Miaomiao opened her eyes, pressing a hand to her forehead with a pained groan.
Devouring a Level 6 wraith with a Level 5 body, even after the wraith had been severely wounded, was still an appalling burden. She wouldn't be able to use Spirit Devouring again anytime soon; otherwise, she would easily succumb to madness.
Parting her red lips, the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter began humming a melodious song.
Under the Musician's soothing tune, Sun Miaomiao's turbulent, frantic mind gradually calmed down. Panting, she said, "I... I obtained quite a lot of intelligence..."
Brother Red Chicken attentively handed over the vial of source fluid of life Yuanshi Tianzun had given him that morning. "Have a sip first, moisten your throat."
"Get lost!" Sun Miaomiao scoffed, shooing him away. "Can't you save such strategic resources?"
After scolding Brother Red Chicken, she said, "That wraith just now was the Imperial Preceptor's spirit servant. Its mission was to use my body to assassinate the fatuous monarch Zhao Shun. From the wraith's memory fragments, I've summarized two key pieces of intelligence:
"One: The Imperial Preceptor seems to be refining something, or perhaps practicing some sort of spell, and cannot leave Tianji Tower in the short term.
"Two: The Imperial Preceptor attaches great importance to the Heaven-worshipping ceremony, having repeatedly warned his disciples and Zheng Wenhan that 'nothing must go wrong.'
"Three: The Imperial Preceptor cares deeply about his reputation, painstakingly cultivating his image among the common people.
"There's nothing beyond that. After all, this was only a minor spirit servant of the Imperial Preceptor, unable to access truly core secrets."
The Imperial Preceptor cannot leave Tianji Tower for now—that's good news. But good and bad fortune go hand in hand; once he is able to leave Tianji Tower, it means his divine arts are fully mastered... Is there a hidden truth behind the Heaven-worshipping ceremony? If it were just to smear Zhao Shun, the Imperial Preceptor shouldn't take it so seriously... And the Imperial Preceptor also cares about his reputation. Tsk, the side quest to win the hearts of the people really is crucial...
Next, everyone told Sun Miaomiao about their dungeon progress, their respective main and side quests, and the difficulties they were currently facing.
Sun Miaomiao was dazed for a moment, then sighed with emotion, "Suddenly, I feel like Fire Master dungeons are pretty great."
Simple and straightforward—just fight and kill.
The "Ruler of a Fallen Nation" dungeon was the most intricate and convoluted dungeon she had ever experienced, as well as the only large-scale dungeon teeming with NPCs. Dungeons for Transcendent and Saint stages leaned toward "environmental adventures."
They gave you a danger-fraught scenario, and all you had to do was defeat the boss and decipher the dungeon information.
"Ruler of a Fallen Nation" was different; it was more like a miniature world.
A Dominator-level dungeon truly was something else.
"Right?!" Brother Red Chicken deeply appreciated Sun Miaomiao's words. "A Fire Master dungeon is a real man's dungeon! Treat life and death lightly—if you're not having it, just throw down! Win and you ascend to heaven; lose and you fly to heaven!"
Yet no one paid any attention to him.
Zhang Yuanqing's yin corpse pondered for a few seconds before speaking: "Let's rest and recover today. We'll talk after I read the stars tonight. This yin corpse will remain at the Yang Residence for the time being to facilitate communication."
Xie Lingxi was worried. "What if the Imperial Preceptor sends more spirit servants to attack?"
"The Yang Residence is full of experts. After this attack, security will be even tighter. Besides, the Imperial Preceptor's target is me. As long as I'm not here, there won't be endless assassinations."
Late at night.
In the north of the city, inside a courtyard that had been abandoned for days, Zhang Yuanqing sat with the Great Luo Astrolabe resting on his lap. Gazing up at the glittering stars in the night sky, his face was calm and gentle yet carried an ethereal mystique, exuding the bearing of an immortal (a Stargazer's exclusive aura).
The Imperial Preceptor is a Day Wanderer. When it comes to astrology, I'm probably inferior to him. My advantage lies in my identity as monarch, which comes with natural concealment and protection—he cannot divine my actions... Zhang Yuanqing pondered as he watched the shifting astrological patterns.
Two days remained until the Heaven-worshipping ceremony. According to the daytime analysis, once he showed himself at the ceremony, there would be no turning back.
Therefore, before the Heaven-worshipping ceremony, he had to connect all the links and formulate a complete walkthrough for the dungeon.
Fu Qingyang's front-line army couldn't hold out for long. He had to seize control of the capital as soon as possible!
Early morning.
Driving a carriage, his beard cleanly shaved, Wang Beiwang quietly returned to the capital.
He couldn't go back home, nor could he return to the hideout in the west city. Having released the fatuous monarch Zhao Shun on his own authority, the Azure Dragon Gang wouldn't let him off, so turning to his gang brothers was out of the question as well.
Restaurants and inns were too expensive, and with an empty purse, he couldn't afford them.
After weighing his options, he decided to find an "abandoned house" to stay in.
Against the backdrop of the Northern Dynasty's southward invasion, many commoners in the capital had fled south. Wealthy merchants left elderly gatekeepers to watch their properties, while ordinary folk locked their doors and relocated their whole households.
Consequently, there were numerous vacant houses in the city. As a native of the capital, he knew quite a few empty compounds.
After circling around the city for half an hour, Wang Beiwang led the carriage into a secluded alley, severed an iron padlock with his sword, detached the carriage, and led the horse into the courtyard.
In this empty house, all daily necessities had been taken away, but "fixtures" such as firewood and the cooking stove remained, along with a few chipped bowls. At any rate, it would suffice for a few days.
Though there was no bedding, with his cultivation, enduring the elements posed no problem.
Practiced in the routine, he drew water from the well, wiped the dust from the chairs in the room, found a dust-covered tea set to wash clean, and drank the crisp, cool well water while resting on the threshold of the main hall.
Just then, a gust of Yin wind drifted into the residence.
Just as Wang Beiwang grew vigilant, a tree branch floated into the air and began writing on the ground:
"It is I, His Majesty the Emperor."
Wang Beiwang's guard slowly lowered, though he remained suspicious and surprised. "How did you know I was here?"
The branch wrote: "Under the vast heavens, all land belongs to the King; of all the people on earth, none are not his subjects. We know everything that transpires in the capital."
Wang Beiwang asked, "Then how come you didn't know you'd be ambushed yesterday?"
The branch wrote: "You're no fun to talk to."
Wang Beiwang scoffed.
The branch continued writing: "We have an assignment for you. Go to Elder Xu's residence and meet the chief of the Azure Dragon Gang."
Wang Beiwang asked, puzzled, "For what?"
The branch wrote slowly: "Amnesty and pacification for the Azure Dragon Gang!"
An hour later, Wang Beiwang, his mind buzzing with the thought that "the fatuous monarch has gone mad," knocked on the front gate of the Xu residence.
Seeing him return, the gatekeeper A'niu's expression shifted, and he lowered his voice: "Have you lost your mind? When Elder Xu found out you let that man go, he was furious and swore to clean house. And don't even get me started on the gang chief—he'd like nothing more than to burn you alive!"
Wang Beiwang shrank his neck, hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve. "Take me to see the gang chief and Elder Xu."
Chapter 867