The following morning.
Emerging from Guan Ya's bedroom, Zhang Yuanqing took his place at the head of the dining table and tucked into a breakfast that blended Chinese and Western fare.
Flanking him were Xie Lingxi and Queen.
For a Dominator, eating served mostly to satisfy the palate; ordinary food contained nowhere near enough nutrients to meet their physical demands.
"Brother Yuanshi, do you have something on your mind?" Xie Lingxi asked, slicing a piece of grilled sausage for him.
Zhang Yuanqing grunted in affirmation. "I'm trying to figure out how to get a fiercely unyielding woman to make a decision that defies her ancestors."
Hearing this, Xie Lingxi grew watchful and asked with cautious delicacy, "Do you want that fiercely unyielding woman to sleep with you?"
Queen chimed in beside her, "Or bear your child?"
*What kind of feral leaps of logic are these?* Zhang Yuanqing chewed on the sausage and muttered, "It has nothing to do with having children. I need to ask a favor of her."
Xie Lingxi quietly abandoned her plan to report this to Sister Guan Ya. Tilting her head, she pondered for a few seconds. "That depends on your relationship with her."
"I'm her child born late in life!" Zhang Yuanqing declared.
*The child as in disciple, that is.*
Queen and Xie Lingxi both stared at him with looks of total bewilderment.
"A child born late in life? Then just act cute and beg her!" Xie Lingxi said. "A woman has zero principles when it comes to the man or son she dotes on."
*Alas, that old crone is practically immune to my 'acting cute'!* Zhang Yuanqing sighed inwardly.
Weighing his options, he realized that apart from playing the emotional card and the righteousness card, there was simply no other way.
*I come off far too slick in Her Ladyship's eyes, so playing the emotional card won't do much good for me. I'm better suited to playing the righteousness card... As for the emotional card, I'll let Yinyao handle it!*
Zhang Yuanqing set down his chopsticks and snapped his fingers, vanishing in a brilliant burst of starlight.
An instant later, he reappeared in his second-floor bedroom, retrieved Little Red Riding Hood, and gave it a shake to tumble Commandery Princess Yinyao out onto the floor.
"Yinyao..." Zhang Yuanqing rested a hand on her cool, delicate shoulder and said with earnest gravity, "Tell me honestly: as the direct disciple of Mount Sandao, how have I treated you?"
Hearing this, a crimson flicker danced within the eerie, beautiful eyes on her exquisite yet expressionless porcelain face.
She patted the Elvis Presley speaker at her hip.
The speaker let out a burst of static, followed by an over-the-top belly laugh: *"Ahahaha~ Between honest folks, let's keep it straight!"*
"Since you're being so frank, I won't beat around the bush either. Yinyao, I want to plunder other people's spiritual core to level up, and I need Master to help modify the pill recipe. I want you to plead with her on my behalf," Zhang Yuanqing cut straight to the chase.
Commandery Princess Yinyao leaped back with a swift whoosh, hoisted her mini megaphone, and proclaimed righteously:
*"You have treated me with cold neglect, callous cruelty, and worse than a pig or a dog! Here and now, I, Yinyao, cut ties with you forever! From this day forth, you walk your single-plank bridge, and I'll stroll down my broad avenue!"*
Zhang Yuanqing had anticipated this all along. He sighed softly.
"If that's how it is, I suppose I'll just keep this Yin Jade Crystal for myself."
With a flick of his wrist, a glistening, pitch-black crystal appeared in his palm. The surge of yin energy it radiated caused the room's temperature to plummet instantly, frosting over the wooden furniture with a layer of white rime.
Commandery Princess Yinyao stared fixedly at the crystal, utterly unable to tear her gaze away.
A few seconds later, she raised her mini megaphone once more, her tone resolute and unyielding:
*"I am willing to lay down my life for the direct disciple of Mount Sandao!"*
Zhang Yuanqing nodded with deep satisfaction. "Your loyalty is truly beyond words! Simply beyond words!"
***
Inside Mohist Mechanism City.
Golden ripples washed across the azure sky. A moment later, a beam of golden radiance breached the barrier and descended at the foot of the mountain.
Her feathered robes fluttering, Empress Sandao descended like an ethereal celestial. Her limpid, autumn-water eyes swept over her two disciples, her voice cool and melodious. "Why have you summoned this seat?"
Zhang Yuanqing wore a look of profound sorrow, letting out a heavy sigh. "Master, have you found an opportunity to become a Human Immortal within the Spirit Realm?"
Empress Sandao gave a slight shake of her head.
"The power of the Blazing Sun resides within a certain dungeon, but it has yet to open. For now, this seat is rallying former subordinates, awaiting the dungeon's activation to contend for the sun."
Zhang Yuanqing blinked in surprise. "Master still has former subordinates?"
Before Empress Sandao could answer, Commandery Princess Yinyao tilted her fair chin and delivered a resounding piece of flattery:
*"Master is an Imperial Princess and simultaneously served as Sect Master of Pure Yang. Naturally, she has former subordinates."*
"Don't mention the words 'Pure Yang Sect Master,' it's bad luck!" Zhang Yuanqing spat in disgust. Only then did he recall that Empress Sandao was an imperial princess of the Song dynasty who had lived during its peak.
Zhang Yuanqing let out another sorrowful sigh.
"Master, of late, the demonic faction has grown increasingly rampant. Battles between good and evil erupt daily in fierce intensity. Innocent civilians have been caught in the crossfire, leaving nine out of ten homes abandoned. Abandoned infants and orphans wander everywhere, and the roadsides are piled high with the remains of the fallen.
"During this time, your disciple has pushed himself to the limit to temper his strength and elevate his cultivation, striving to uphold the righteous path and suppress the wicked. Yet your disciple's cultivation is meager, and though my heart is willing, my strength falls short."
Empress Sandao frowned deeply as she listened.
Zhang Yuanqing subtly shot a glance at Yinyao.
Commandery Princess Yinyao caught the cue immediately. She hoisted her mini megaphone high: *"We beseech Master to enter the fray for the sake of the common people!"*
Taking advantage of the momentum, Zhang Yuanqing followed up:
"The demigods of the outside world hold each other in check and rarely intervene. Master, you are a peak Dominator and an exceedingly rare Day Wanderer in this age—a figure without equal in the contemporary world.
"If you emerge from seclusion, governments across the entire world will rejoice!"
Empress Sandao glanced coolly at the pair and said flatly, "Speak plainly!"
Zhang Yuanqing dropped to his knees in a bow. "Your disciple recently stumbled upon an unorthodox art and wishes to take this perilous gamble for the sake of the world. I beg Master to grant your blessing!"
With that, he presented the transcribed Three Powers Pill Recipe he had prepared beforehand.
Empress Sandao accepted the sheet, and a single glance ignited her fury. Her pristine countenance flushed with anger, her dark brows arching high. "Insolent wretch! If you dare practice such heterodox sorcery, this seat will purge you from the sect!"
Her Temple of Empress Sandao had been destroyed by an identical evil technique.
Commandery Princess Yinyao promptly prostrated herself as well.
*"Master, a technique itself is neither righteous nor evil; only the human heart harbors good and bad. Junior Brother does not wish to rely on this method for his cultivation, but circumstances have driven him to desperation, leaving him with no choice.*
*"I, Yinyao, stake my life as guarantee that he will never abuse this technique..."*
Before she could finish, the old crone cut her off frostily: "Your life is not worth enough to serve as guarantee."
The unspoken meaning was plain: your life isn't worth a dime!
Commandery Princess Yinyao was instantly struck dumb. *Truly, an old ginger is spicier than young shoots,* she thought to herself. She had prepared ten whole lines of defense, and before she could even finish the first, Master had cut her down.
"Master," Zhang Yuanqing sighed.
"Your disciple merely wishes to do his part for the common folk. You must focus on breaking through to the realm of Human Immortal, so I cannot force you to emerge from seclusion. Senior Sister Yinyao is cowardly and clings to life, so she cannot be counted on. In our lineage, only your disciple can offer a modest contribution to the righteous path.
"I seek to use this heterodox art to raise my realm not out of reliance on corrupt paths, but because the tides of the era compel me to make a temporary sacrifice. I will never fall into demonic corruption."
Empress Sandao's ethereal, otherworldly face remained veiled in frost. She remarked coldly:
"My master thought the exact same thing back then. Every soul that falls is gripped by an absurd, arrogant confidence, believing themselves unique, believing they can withstand temptation and taint.
"In the end, without exception, every last one sank into the abyss. This seat believes your initial intention is to protect the nation and its people, but I cannot watch you plunge into that abyss—especially not when this seat would have opened that door with her own hands."
First her own master had succumbed to the demonic path, and later her disciples and grand-disciples had practiced heterodox arts. There was nothing to which Empress Sandao was more sensitive.
Commandery Princess Yinyao hurriedly interjected, *"Which is precisely why we need Master to refine the recipe, reducing the corruption and backlash to an absolute minimum!"*
Empress Sandao's gaze turned chilling. "When I speak with him, who gave you permission to butt in?"
Commandery Princess Yinyao shrank back and lowered her head at once.
Zhang Yuanqing let out a prolonged sigh.
"Your disciple understands Master's stance.
"Master, Sect Master Chunyang is unbound by Morality Points and slaughters innocents at will. He despises you to the bone, yet dares not enter the Spirit Realm to trouble you. Instead, he colludes with demonic practitioners to target me at every turn. Your disciple was cornered, leaving me no choice but to take this desperate gamble.
"Alas, with the demonic faction running rampant and plunging the world into misery, your disciple—as the sole living disciple of the Pure Yang Sect and your final closed-door disciple—is willing to brave hellfire for the righteous path.
"Perhaps this parting will be our final farewell. Master, please take care."
Having said his piece, he struck his head firmly against the ground twice in a kowtow. Leaving the pill recipe behind, he gripped Commandery Princess Yinyao's shoulder and exited the Spirit Realm.
***
Back at Fujia Bay Villa.
Zhang Yuanqing asked fretfully, "Will this really work?"
The lines and expressions he had just delivered were all part of a script rehearsed with Commandery Princess Yinyao.
The mastermind behind the plan was none other than Yinyao herself.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Commandery Princess Yinyao crossed her legs, her shapely curves filling out her light-colored jeans. She raised her mini megaphone, brimming with confidence:
*"Master thinks very highly of you. A woman has zero principles when it comes to the man, son, or disciple she dotes on."*
*That sounds awfully familiar—I swear I've heard that somewhere before!* Zhang Yuanqing roasted internally.
*"Most importantly, she woke up in the Spirit Realm to find no living family left, completely alone and isolated. Aside from us, she has no kin in this world,"* Commandery Princess Yinyao declared, tilting her chin proudly.
*"Her only two disciples are about to march to their deaths for the righteous path. Don't be fooled by her indifferent exterior—she's probably churning inside, and she certainly won't bear to let us throw our lives away. Therefore, she will definitely examine that recipe and evaluate it.*
*"Once she sees that the vast majority of the taint and corruption can be neutralized, she will compromise. Don't worry, I've followed Master for so many years; I know her temperament best. Master yields to softness, never force. Making a strategic retreat to move her with emotion is the ultimate play."*
Zhang Yuanqing countered, "Still, we exploited the fact that the Spirit Realm blocks Stargazing to lie and say the outside world is in utter ruins. If she finds out, she'll tear us to shreds."
*"Master has a mountain of affairs to manage every day. She doesn't have the time or energy to wander into dungeons just to interrogate other Spirit Realm walkers. Rest easy and wait; go back into the dungeon tonight, and the modified recipe will definitely be ready."* Commandery Princess Yinyao looked as if she were riding the crest of the waves, turning the sun and moon in her palm, everything firmly under her control.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded in reassurance. "Elvis speaker, did you record all of that?"
The Elvis Presley speaker crackled with static twice before erupting into a boisterous, festive tune:
*"Today is a good day, everything you wish for will come true! Today is a good day, open up your front door and welcome the spring breeze..."*
Commandery Princess Yinyao's heart sank.
***
Early afternoon.
A café across from the Kangyang District Police Station.
Li Dongze held his coffee cup in one hand while his other caressed the handle of his walking cane. "I've checked everything. The data entry clerks, the archivists, the receptionists—not one of them knows when that missing-persons file was deleted. In fact, none of them even have any memory of it."
"How is that possible...?" Chen Yuanjun frowned, the furrow between his brows deepening.
"There really is nothing!" Li Dongze shook his head. "I shouldn't be mistaken about this. After all, a mole planted inside a police station wouldn't be important enough to enjoy the protection of the Taiyin."
"The protection of the Taiyin?" Chen Yuanjun asked, puzzled.
Li Dongze waved a hand dismissively. "That's not important. In short, none of the clerical staff at your station know anything about that file. This leaves two possibilities: first, the person who filed it wasn't a clerk, but an operative from the field team; second, the person who filed it has already resigned or fallen in the line of duty."
Chen Yuanjun disagreed with his assessment.
"First, the field teams don't handle incoming reports, let alone log records into the system. Since the file was deleted after the fact, it means the staff member who originally entered it didn't find anything unusual about it. Only later did someone at the station notice the file and delete it. Therefore, an entry clerk definitely existed.
"Second, in the recent incident, everyone who died at the station was an armed officer; the clerical staff took cover early on, so there were zero casualties among them. Lastly, not a single person has resigned from our station between early last year and now."
Li Dongze shrugged. "Then there's only one possibility left! That missing-persons report wasn't filed this year—it was from an earlier period."
Chen Yuanjun tapped his fingers against the table. "That's even less likely. Lei Yibing disappeared this April. We both witnessed that case with our own eyes."
"Put that way, it does strike me as rather peculiar." Li Dongze took on a pensive look. "It feels as though I've forgotten certain things..."
He racked his brain for a long time, unable to make head or tail of it, before finally saying, "Lei Yibing's disappearance is indeed problematic. There's a high probability it involves our circle. I'll help you follow up on it later."
Chen Yuanjun pressed, "When will you follow up, and how?"
Li Dongze sighed helplessly. "Oh heavens, when I say 'follow up,' I mean putting it on the back burner for now. Lately, evil sects have been sprouting like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, popping up in droves. Where am I supposed to find the time to investigate him?"
Chen Yuanjun took a sip of his coffee and said calmly, "Evil sect cases don't happen every single day; they won't interfere with looking into Lei Yibing. Besides, putting in just an extra hour of overtime every day might wrap this up in a matter of days."
"Oh, good Lord! Were you sent to earth by the Devil himself? Talking about overtime with such casual ease." Li Dongze shook his head in exasperation. "Finding a breakthrough is actually quite simple. A file only exists if someone reported the case. So when Lei Yibing went missing, who would have gone to the police station to file a report?"
Chen Yuanjun shook his head. "I've asked his family. None of them reported it."
"Just because they don't remember doesn't mean they didn't." Li Dongze shrugged. "In our circle, there are plenty of ways to make someone forget something..."
Mid-sentence, his expression suddenly froze.
***
That very same afternoon, inside a private tearoom at a tea house, Sect Master Chunyang met the owner of the phone number.
He was a gaunt, middle-aged man with a severe, cold expression. Deep nasolabial folds bracketed a mouth whose corners turned slightly downward, giving him an unapproachable, stern demeanor.
Clad in a suit and carrying a briefcase, the middle-aged man cast a glance toward the buxom, graceful waitress dressed in a qipao.
"She can't hear a thing." Sect Master Chunyang signaled for the waitress to pour tea, his gaze sweeping freely over the middle-aged man as he chuckled. "You're a swordsman from the official faction? I heard Songhai underwent a grand health check last year that mobilized the Tiger Tally, a rule-based item. How did you manage to fool the Tiger Tally?"
The middle-aged man replied coldly:
"I was transferred to Songhai after Morality Points disappeared. The former head of Kangyang District was promoted to Senior Deacon, overseeing both Kangyang and Chaomen districts. I currently work beneath him and happen to oversee Kangyang District."
Sect Master Chunyang gave a slight nod. "Did you bring what I asked for?"
Taking his seat, the middle-aged man unzipped his briefcase and drew out a thick stack of documents. "I've gathered all the dossiers you requested. The Grand Protector instructed me to assist you with all my might. Out of all the profiles, I selected thirty individuals whose life trajectories showed irregularities."
Sect Master Chunyang took the documents, skimmed through them rapidly, and pulled out one of the sheets, murmuring thoughtfully:
"Disappeared in April of last year from a dormitory at Hangzhou University; whereabouts remain unknown to this day..."
The middle-aged man glanced at the sheet and remarked:
"Although classified as a missing person, the officials have essentially confirmed that this individual was a Spirit Realm walker. His disappearance was due to entering a dungeon, and he never resurfaced, making it extremely likely he perished inside.
"He is also the only confirmed Spirit Realm walker among these files. He and Yuanshi Tianzun both graduated from Kangyang Middle School, though not from the same graduating class."
Since he was not in the same graduating class as Yuanshi Tianzun, and the timing of his disappearance lined up closely with when Yuanshi Tianzun became a Spirit Realm walker, the probability of him being connected to Yuanshi Tianzun seemed low based on timeline alone.
Nevertheless, Sect Master Chunyang kept the document, slipping it to the bottom of the stack.
***
That night, Zhang Yuanqing entered the guild dungeon Mohist Mechanism City alone.
Sure enough, he found the sheet of paper bearing the pill recipe still resting where he had left it, radiating a faint golden glow in the dark.
Delighted, Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward and picked it up. On the originally blank reverse side, traced in faint solar divine power, were two spirit talisman array patterns alongside a line of writing:
*The first array is to be used during pill refinement, inscribed onto the inner wall of the cauldron. The second array is to be inscribed onto the cauldron's exterior after the pill has formed.*
*Her Ladyship truly loves me after all!* Overjoyed, Zhang Yuanqing examined the diagrams intently, committing the formations firmly to memory, and gave his hand a gentle flick.
The solar divine power on the back of the parchment flared into golden fire, its lingering ashes drifting away on the wind.
Returning to reality, Zhang Yuanqing sat by the table and fell into thought. Now that the recipe was in hand, all that remained was the "medicinal ingredient." For an ingredient capable of rapidly boosting his experience points, it had to be a Day Wanderer.
In this era, Day Wanderers could be counted on one's fingers—they belonged either to the Taiyi Sect or the Dark Night Rose.
The former could not be hunted, while the latter was exceedingly difficult to hunt, carrying the additional risk of walking straight into a trap laid by Ling Tuo.
Searching for ingredients within dungeons seemed like a solid alternative; living beings within dungeons were indistinguishable from reality. However, as far as he knew, Day Wanderers appeared only in class-specific dungeons or guild dungeons established by Day Wanderer factions.
A guild dungeon belonging to the White Tiger Brigade, for instance, involved Taiyin or Stargazers at most.
*Either my solo Spirit Realm dungeon arrives swiftly, or I enter one of Taiyi Sect's dungeons. There is no other choice!*
*Sigh, I'll test the pill recipe first!* Zhang Yuanqing picked up his phone and dialed Fu Qingyang's number.
"Boss, I've secured the pill recipe, but I need a Stargazer for an experiment. Help me pick out a White Tiger Brigade dungeon that contains a Stargazer—the lower the difficulty, the better."
The Three Powers Pill Recipe required the unification of soul, spirit, and qi; it required a living, breathing person. Yin specters could not be used for pill refinement.
Many of the White Tiger Brigade's dungeons were war-themed scenarios. War meant an abundance of experts, which inevitably included other classes; an army couldn't possibly be composed entirely of Scouts.
Chapter 908