Watching the turbid surge of lunar power cross the starry river and contaminate a vast swathe of space, and watching the dungeon representing the Ascension Immortal Sect get swallowed by Taiyin, Zhang Yuanqing knew the Lord of the Stars had figured out what his hidden trump card was—and where it was hidden.
Evidently, Sect Master Chunyang had left behind a contingency.
Zhang Yuanqing was not surprised. These thousand-year-old turtles and ten-thousand-year-old tortoises went about their scheming in convoluted layers, like an old sow wearing a bra—one trick after another. With the astrological signs disrupted and accurate deductions impossible, there was no way he could have sealed every crack.
That was why, right after purifying Sect Master Chunyang, Zhang Yuanqing had rushed without pause to Heaven's Punishment's headquarters and retrieved the treasure map fragment from Chris.
He had not expected the Lord of the Stars to still be one step ahead.
Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing activated Sunrise. A golden wheel of light rose behind his head, radiating sunlight that illuminated the entire Spirit Realm world.
The dense, pitch-black lunar power was instantly dispersed by the golden radiance, revealing the star that had just been swallowed.
Zhang Yuanqing was about to charge into the dungeon when starlight swept in from the far distance, abruptly spreading out into a massive curtain that dimmed the sunlight passing through it.
The star origin was not suited for combat. In the face of the blazing sun's illumination, its sole utility lay in its neutralizing capability, which could attenuate the power of sunlight.
This was determined by the nature of the three great origins of Sun, Moon, and Star. The domineering, fierce Sun could tolerate no spiritual energy from any other system; therefore, starlight was required to neutralize and harness it so the origins of Sun, Moon, and Star could merge into one.
At the same time, the dispersed and purified lunar power surged back, fusing into the curtain of starlight and turning it into a hazy gray barrier that interfered with deduction and purification while providing innate concealment.
A miraculous scene unfolded: the sunlight that purified all, suppressed all, and illuminated all was actually blocked by this hazy gray curtain, unable to pierce through.
After their preliminary fusion, Taiyin and the Stars displayed properties that countered the Sun.
Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow. The golden wheel above his head retracted into his body, and then his entire being transformed into a boundlessly vast, blazing sun.
In this instant, a golden sun appeared in the sky above every dungeon. In the real world, the spectacle of two suns hanging in the sky manifested once more.
*Sizzle…*
Golden flames ignited across the hazy gray curtain. Like a burning sheet of paper, it was swiftly consumed to ashes.
Yet the star representing the Ascension Immortal Sect dungeon had vanished from Zhang Yuanqing's vision.
The colossal golden sun hung quietly in the Spirit Realm world, its golden light flooding every corner, searching continuously, but the dungeon was nowhere to be found.
It had vanished into thin air.
The massive golden sun collapsed and resumed human form. Zhang Yuanqing's eyes shot out brilliant beams like searchlights, scanning across all directions. Finally, he located the dungeon.
It hovered quietly on the outer periphery of the Third District, like a gem fallen into a turbid, filthy world.
"Heh." A faint chuckle echoed from the void. "The sun can illuminate any place in the world. I wonder if it can illuminate the Third District?"
It was the voice of the Lord of the Stars.
Zhang Yuanqing turned his head, his golden gaze piercing through the lunar power to lock onto the Clash of the Gods dungeon. He said coldly, "The Third District hasn't opened yet. How did you send a dungeon into it?"
The voice of the Lord of the Stars drifted over, layered and ethereal, coming from all directions:
"The star origin is the central processing unit of the Spirit Realm, responsible for its operation, calculations, and the classification of dungeons. Having achieved a preliminary fusion with Taiyin, my rank is the highest in the world today. I can already leverage part of the Spirit Realm's administrative authority and influence its operation.
"Treating a low-level dungeon as garbage and tossing it into the trash can isn't difficult. That has always been one of the star origin's authorities."
The Lord of the Stars spoke flatly, neither playing coy nor boasting, like a deity manifested from rules, devoid of human emotion.
Zhang Yuanqing fell silent for a few seconds before sighing.
"I know the authority symbolized by the star origin. After advancing to Lord of the Sun, I guessed you could influence the matching difficulty of dungeons. The abnormal difficulty of the Ruler of a Fallen Nation dungeon was your doing. You wanted to kill me in that dungeon to eliminate a potential competitor.
"Zhai Cai suddenly matching an S-grade dungeon and falling into a fatal trap was also your handiwork. You wanted to prevent the Void demigod from obtaining a demigod item, and prevent Zhai Cai from obtaining the Knight class armor.
"And Lingjun's birth mother—everyone thought she died in a dungeon and had nothing to do with you. You hid it so well, Star. You kept your ability to influence dungeons and interfere with deductions concealed all along.
"Even now, you've caught me off guard once again."
This was a true scheming mastermind. He had bided his time for a century, rarely making a move, leaving the world unable to read his game, see his plans, or know what bottom-line trump cards he held.
Yet whenever a critical moment arrived, he played his century-old hidden cards one by one, catching his enemies off guard every time and seizing the upper hand.
Using the secret technique of fusing a stellar avatar with Taiyin, he had slain Bacchus.
Using the Night Emperor, he had put most of the orthodox faction's demigods to sleep.
By disrupting the stars, he had blinded his enemy.
And by using his central processor authority, he had cast the Ascension Immortal Sect dungeon into the periphery of the Third District.
In contrast, his enemies' moves and methods were fully laid bare before his deductions.
If not for the Haotian God's assistance, the Demon Lord back then could never have deceived the heavens, and the current Yuanshi Tianzun would never have become the Lord of the Sun.
The Stars were not suited for battle, yet he was far more terrifying than even the terrifyingly powerful Asura.
The layered, ethereal reply of the Lord of the Stars drifted from the void:
"Reviewing the game is something only losers do. Lord of the Sun, you have already lost the qualification to compete with me. Taking advantage of the fact that I have yet to fully fuse with Taiyin to force a final battle is your best option."
Zhang Yuanqing replied calmly, "I will come, but not right now. Fusing with Taiyin won't be that easy for you!"
He raised his left hand, and rolling solar divine power converged, condensing into a massive bow.
Then, a golden sun rose behind his head. He reached into the sun behind him and pulled out a golden arrow.
The scorching heat radiating from the arrow caused the void to melt and collapse.
Zhang Yuanqing drew the bow into a full moon, aimed at the Clash of the Gods dungeon, and released the string.
The arrow carried the will of the Lord of the Sun, imbued with the innate rules of target-seeking and inexhaustibility. Like a streak of flowing light spanning the galaxy, it annihilated dungeon after dungeon along its path in brilliant gold.
From within the Clash of the Gods dungeon surged a thick, petroleum-like black power, alongside dazzling, dreamy starlight. They interwove and fused, forming barrier after barrier of hazy gray.
The golden light whistled through layer after layer of barriers, its strength gradually waning.
The lunar power and the Lord of the Stars inside the dungeon were inexhaustible; as soon as one gray barrier collapsed, another regenerated.
Seeing the arrow grow dimmer and its penetration falter, Zhang Yuanqing bit his index finger and used his golden blood to draw a solar sigil upon his forehead.
Scorching golden flames abruptly erupted from his eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears. The blazing sun mark between his eyebrows flared with dazzling light, and miniature Golden Crows flew out one by one, spreading their wings to soar after the arrow before merging into it.
In an instant, a burst of golden light flashed across the Spirit Realm. The arrow pierced into the dungeon, shot clean through the Lord of the Stars beneath the black full moon, and emerged out the other side.
Nine miniature Golden Crows beat their wings and flew back into Zhang Yuanqing's brow.
Inside the dungeon, the Lord of the Stars, wrapped in blazing golden flames, smiled faintly.
"My thanks!"
It lent him a hand in burning away the lingering spirit of Ling Tuo.
The Lord of the Sun's attack would harm his physical body and primordial spirit, but with the star origin to neutralize it, the damage was mitigated. Meanwhile, Taiyin was countered by the Sun; sustained burning would heavily injure the Lord of the Stars, but Ling Tuo would be completely eradicated.
Zhang Yuanqing curled his lips and let out a soft "heh." From infinitely far away, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
The golden flames on the Lord of the Stars instantly vanished.
Then, Zhang Yuanqing's body transformed into a deep, pitch-black vortex. This vortex did not swallow matter; it swallowed only spirit.
At the center of the vortex, countless pale arms clawed at the rim, trying to crawl out, and pale faces leaned forth, howling shrilly.
Men, women, old, and young were among them, their expressions spanning joy, anger, sorrow, and delight.
From within the vortex came a deep, dreamlike whisper:
"Ling Tuo… Ling Tuo…"
The calls seemed imbued with an eerie power, awakening the spirits of the dead and whipping up a frenzied spiritual storm.
The spiritual storm howled through the Spirit Realm world. Though it could not breach the barrier of the Spirit Realm dungeon, it transmitted accurately into the ears of the Lord of the Stars.
It caused the black full moon above his head to tremble, sent the darkness in his right eye erupting with immense energy, and made veins bulge on his forehead.
Ling Tuo's residual spirit seemed to receive tremendous nourishment, rising up to resist his father and contest control over the physical body.
This was Zhang Yuanqing's true objective.
His earlier attack had merely been to pierce the Lord of the Stars' defenses and breach the dungeon's barrier so he could successfully awaken Ling Tuo's residual spirit.
Since the Lord of the Stars had severed his path to completing the Sun origin, he would raise the difficulty of the other's fusion with Taiyin, minimizing his own losses as much as possible.
***
Fujia Bay, the study.
Zhai Cai, clad in a black mink coat, stood before the floor-to-ceiling window holding a limited-edition cigar, gazing up at the sky with a furrowed brow.
Just moments ago, a golden sun had appeared in the sky once again.
Zhai Cai let out a long sigh. "In a place beyond our sight, another demigod-level battle has taken place. As the sixth-generation sole heir of the Holy See's Knights, all I can do is hide in a luxurious study and smoke a limited-edition cigar."
On the sofa in the reception area, Xiahou Aotian also sighed.
"As the protagonist, all I can shamelessly do is sip this vintage cognac."
With that, he took a sip of the exquisite liquor, said to have been distilled in 1776, fetching an auction price of three million Federal Dollars—each pour worth ten times an ordinary person's annual salary.
Savoring the rich, sweet finish, Xiahou Aotian murmured, "Speaking of which, is it really fine for us to do this? If Fu Qingyang comes back, will he give each of us a slash?"
After fleeing to Fujia Bay, Zhai Cai had never returned to the Free Federation. In his words: the end of the world is coming anyway, so why bother working?
However, Xiahou Aotian had heard the female secretary, An Dieqi, whisper in private that the boss was on standby here at all times.
Regardless, Zhai Cai had settled into Fu Qingyang's villa, enjoying the service of bunny girls. Over the past two days, he had squandered his way through Fu Qingyang's entire collection.
The cigars and alcohol were the main casualties.
Zhai Cai had even generously invited Xiahou Aotian to join in the squandering. Xiahou Aotian had initially not dared; after all, Money Prince's prestige was deeply rooted in the Second District, and he was also the major shareholder and behind-the-scenes big boss of the Machinery Manufacturing Company.
Even though Xiahou Aotian had advanced to a level-8 Dominator, he still didn't dare get too reckless.
But Zhai Cai had said, "Young Fu entered an S-grade dungeon. From my personal experience, it's a nine-in-ten chance of death!
"If he doesn't come back, these things will mostly be inherited by his good buddy Yuanshi Tianzun. Consuming Young Fu's things makes me feel a bit guilty, but consuming that scoundrel Yuanshi Tianzun's things is pure pleasure to me.
"Besides, the end of the world is coming. This might be the final carnival of our lives. We're not out committing crimes; what's wrong with smoking a few cigars and drinking a bit of fine liquor?"
Xiahou Aotian had thought about it, found it made sense, and gladly joined in.
Right at that moment, Xiahou Aotian saw a figure slowly outline itself beside the desk—sword-shaped brows, starry eyes, breathtakingly handsome. It was Money Prince.
Xiahou Aotian swallowed hard, suddenly feeling that the drink in his hand was scalding his lips.
Chapter 992