【Ping! The Cold-Iron Helm has been equipped — the Land God】 【All battle armor has now emerged!】 Zhang Yuancheng, rushing toward the spot where the radiant light surged, felt both delighted and disappointed: "The helm has been claimed by the Land God." He was delighted because he had finally found Old Tao, and as long as he could persuade him to ally, the victory would be secured. He was disappointed because all the armor components now had owners—himself excluded. Still, as long as they formed an alliance, the armor of his allies would become his own… that’s what Zhang Yuancheng thought to himself. Sun Miaomiao maintained a swift pace and asked, "Do you have any way to convince him?" "I'm not sure. We haven't been particularly close." Zhang Yuancheng answered honestly. Sun Miaomiao nodded and then said, "Hey, Prime Immortal, really aren't you considering selling me your young spiritual servant? I can offer you a more precious and superior one in exchange." "No way!" "Think about it some more, then." "No negotiation!" The two, each carrying their own spectral corpses, moved swiftly through the ruins, … On the other hand, along the main artery of the ancient city, Tianxia Guihuo led Yinchi and Qingsongzi toward the location of the helmet, as Yinchi carried a heavy chest armor, slowing their pace. Tianxia Guihuo walked ahead, speaking clearly: "Remember, we must bring the Earth God into our fold—only then will we have the qualification to negotiate with the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign." "What if the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign has already allied with the Earth God?" Qingsongzi breathed evenly, finding long-distance travel as effortless as eating and drinking. Tianxia Guihuo leaped over a pile of scattered stones, saying: "Then we must find a way to secure an agreement with the Earth God. With Zhao City God and Sun Miao-miao's combined pressure, they have no reason to refuse." In Tianxia Guihuo's assessment, everyone's current points are precarious and vulnerable to accusations. Therefore, the optimal strategy is to bring the Earth God on board and then form an alliance with the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Commit one spot to Yuanshishen as a swap. In return, Yuanshishen will use his substantial points to first eliminate a wave of Yeyou Shen from Taiyuan Sect, after which they will step in and decisively eliminate Zhao Chenghuang and his two companions. Then, they will negotiate the allocation of the spots. Thus, the top three will all belong to the Wu Xing Alliance, allowing everyone to share in the benefits—what a splendid arrangement! Should the Land God form an alliance with Zhang Yuanqing earlier, the role of their small team would significantly diminish, though they could still continue negotiations. "Right now, the land god's potential allies are limited—he either joins our side or aligns with Tianxia Guihuo. As soon as the elder sees that Sun Miao-miao has switched sides, he will definitely choose to join us. The land god hasn't immediately agreed, and indeed, he turns to look at Sun Miao-miao behind him, surprised: 'How come she's with you!' 'She's been utterly captivated by my charm,' Zhang Yuanqing says, patting his chest proudly. 'She's now one of our people.' Sun Miao-miao rolls her eyes, gently rubbing the little dork's head. 'And now she's even got a child?' the land god chuckles, pausing a moment before nodding thoughtfully: 'We can form an alliance—provided that, regardless of the outcome, you commit twenty thousand units of currency, and only for this stage.' 'Excellent!' 'Very prompt.' Zhang Yuanqing then leads Sun Miao-miao down to the earth wall and explains: 'Our plan is to first eliminate several key members of Tianxia Guihuo, then face off against Zhao Chenghuang and Yuan Ting in the final battle.' The Earth God bit into his cigar, glanced at Sun Miao-miao, and smiled warmly. "It doesn't have to be that we eliminate them first—eliminating Zhao the City God first would also work. Once we've taken out the two from Taiyuan Gate, the three from Heaven's Return of Fire will be nothing but prisoners in our own hands." The Earth God still hasn't fully trusted Sun Miao-miao... Zhang Yuanqing chuckled. "I thought exactly the same—just see which side we encounter first." As the Earth God was about to nod, he suddenly tilted his head, saying, "Someone's coming!" Zhang Yuanqing and Sun Miao-miao immediately pressed themselves against the wall, concealing their forms, and summoned the Yin尸 to join them in hiding. The Earth God calmly turned to look back—and there stood the three from Heaven's Return of Fire. Upon seeing the Earth God, the three paused, one hand gripping a narrow-mouthed long knife, the other raised, saying, "Grandfather, shall we talk?" Heaven's Return of Fire—just the right timing... Zhang Yuanqing lowered his voice and whispered, "Land God, hold them steady. I'll take Sun Miao-miao and strike from The Earth God held his cigar steady, speaking as usual. "Now, before we begin, could you please raise both hands to show your innocence?" Tianxia Guihuo called out. Behind him, Qing Songzi and the one with poor hearing promptly raised their hands, demonstrating their sincerity. Was the Earth God really that unpolished? A string of curses choked him, nearly spilling into a full-blown scolding. With a reluctant sigh, he raised his hands in compliance, muttering, "Fine! Fine! Just say the words!" The Earth God叼着雪茄，故作沉思，拖延时间，说道：“那我可真没理由拒绝，好吧，结盟就结盟，你们三人发个誓吧。” At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing, who had just entered the night journey, peered out his head. From the perspective of Tian Xia Gui Huo’s three companions, they maintained a 45-degree angle looking upward, so their view never clearly captured the Earth God’s lower body. The method of suddenly appearing after removing the Yin尸’s pants didn’t work well—normally, when people encounter something unexpected, they instinctively turn to look. But I’ve already used this method once, and Tian Xia Gui Huo has already been disadvantaged by it; they must now be on guard, alert, and won’t fall easily. If I were to simply open fire, the mute would be protected by his breastplate, Qing Song Zi, being a wood spirit, has healing abilities, and Tian Xia Gui Huo has fire resistance—plus, I’m not sure whether he has any defensive items. As Zhang Yuanqing pondered, he decided on the most ancient method: a close-range surprise attack. Thus, even if the opponent had defensive capabilities, with their combined strength, they could swiftly subdue the enemy. The two Night-Wanderers stepped out of the earth wall, moving with the grace of cats, one to the left and one to the right, slowly approaching the three members of Tianxia Guihuo. While the Night-Wanderers could mask their movements and presence, certain things remained visible—such as footprints left on soft ground or scattered stones rolling as they walked. In the abandoned, decaying ancient city, these subtle imperfections were most easily noticeable. Ten meters, eight meters, five meters—Zhang Yuanqing moved with great care, avoiding not only sand and gravel but even moss. Just as he was about to surge and strike, Qingsongzi's face suddenly changed, and he urgently exclaimed, "Be careful—there's a hidden ambush!" Qingsongzi had been quietly communicating with the surrounding plants, guarding against potential stealth attacks by the Taiyuan Night-Wanderers during the conversation between the two parties. After all, this was the site where the equipment had first appeared, and Zhao Chenghuang, Yuan Shishen, and others were surely en route here—making it highly likely that representatives from various factions would converge Indeed, he soon received feedback from the plants. Was he discovered? Zhang Yuanqing's heart tightened. With no further hesitation, he drove the Blood-Drinking Blade forward. Heavier-than-expected, the Heavenly Return of Fire reacted promptly, propelling himself with a kick and arching upward. Zhang Yuanqing's blade missed its mark. As he leaped back, the Heavenly Return of Fire swung his right arm like a whip, drawing the narrow-bladed sword across in a sweeping motion. The blade sliced through the air with a piercing cry. Zhang Yuanqing halted, drawing his Blood-Drinking Blade upright. "Clang!" The two blades met. The narrow-bladed sword skimmed past the Blood-Drinking Blade, leaving sparks flying. Zhang Yuanqing saw the crack that formed—his trusted companion, now split open. A weapon of transcendent stage is no longer keeping pace with my movements... He felt a pang of sorrow. On the other side, the one with no sense of music bowed his head, blowing out a mournful, plaintive flute melody. The soul-shattering waves of sound resonated throughout the space. The gathered crowd all covered their heads, f Sun Miao Miao furrowed her brows, unable to maintain her night-wandering form. As a Night-Wandering Sage at Level 3 with 90% experience, her ethereal body was already exceptionally strong, making her least vulnerable to the damage from the flute music. "Are you two?" Tianxia Guihuo looked at Yuan Shi Tianzun and Sun Miao Miao, astonished, "You've allied?" How could that be possible? How could these two have allied? "Me too!" The Earth God kicked through a wall of earth, leaping into the air, positioning himself like a meteor, crashing directly into Tianxia Guihuo. "Stay back!" Tianxia Guihuo held onto his waistband. Qing Songzi and the one with poor musical sense also steadied his waistband. This was now the third wave of pressure. The Earth God's determined charge faltered, altering his downward trajectory with great effort, and crashed squarely beside Zhang Yuanqing. He grumbled, "Yuan Shi Tianzun, you've left us in quite a bind. This match has been truly tough to play." Yet, even as he complained, the old man himself held onto Zhang Yuanqing pressed his waistband and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, glancing dismissively at the three with his peripheral vision, saying, "You're making threats, are you? Come on, I've got more points—who's afraid of whom?" "Come on!" "Come on!" Both sides roared, both maintaining an aloof, proud posture, as if they were holding guns, fearless warriors ready to die, rather than merely preparing to unbutton their waistbands. "It's quite lively!" a cold, composed voice echoed from afar. The two parties paused, turning their peripheral glances toward the speaker. It was Yuan, dressed in black robes and black pants, and Zhao Chenguang, along with two spectral corpses trailing behind. Zhao Chenguang gazed deeply at Sun Miao Miao: "Why have you allied yourself with Yuan Shang Zhen, Sun Miao Miao? Don't forget your own identity." "Me? Doing things—do you think I need you to teach me?" Sun Miao Miao looked down at her little skirt, silently summoned the spectral corpse, and pressed its waistband to demonstrate her own resolve. Seeing this, Yuan also quickly Zhao Chenghuang furrowed his brows. He was resistant, feeling a sense of helplessness, as though drifting with the current, and summoned the shade-spirit to perform the same gesture, the same gaze toward the sky. For a moment, all three parties found themselves at an impasse. This approach was deeply uncomfortable for everyone, yet no one could avoid it—each party was tormented, threatening the others. It was all Yuanshǐ Tianzun's fault! He turned his head, looking down his nose at Qingsongzi and the other two, saying, "Let's form an alliance. We'll eliminate them. Between the two spots, I'll reserve one for you." Tianxia Guihuo returned his gaze with a sharp look, saying, "How can I trust you?" Zhao Chenguang remained as cold as ever, "Do you have any choice? If, under the current circumstances, you still wish to ally with Yuanshǐ Tianzun, then I've never said a word." Qingsongzi immediately replied, "Very well, then we form an alliance!" Tianxia Guihuo opened his mouth, then glanced once more at Yuanshǐ Tianzun's camp, and could only say, "Then we'll proceed with the alliance." Although the alliance had been agreed upon, the situation now became a two-way standoff. Yet no one had yet taken action. The reason was simple—during a standoff, one could comfortably tilt one's head at a forty-five-degree angle and gaze upward at the sky. But when it came to actual combat, who could possibly keep their necks raised and fight? Once someone lost their grace and suddenly dropped their pants mid-fight, they would be caught off guard Zhang Yuanqing rapidly analyzed the score differences between the two sides: The "Heavenly Fire" faction held only three points, while Qingsongzi, Yinchi, Zhao Chenghuang, and Yuan Ting each had four points. Although our team was smaller in numbers, we had more points, and the act of exposing each other—like removing one's pants—would result in mutual damage. The other side dared not adopt such a strategy to wear us down; if they wished to regain their advantage and reverse the situation, they would have to reduce one of our members' scores. As this thought formed, Zhao Chenghuang coldly announced: "To celebrate our alliance, I'd like to present a modest gift to several of you." Standing at a forty-five-degree angle, gazing upward, he declared: "I, Zhao Chenghuang, formally report Land God for intruding upon the private parts of the deceased—my grounds: violation of law!" "I, Zhao Chenghuang, formally report Land God for using vulgar language—my grounds: lack of moral standards!" Under the overcast sky, the hundred-foot spirits drew their bows and launched two arrows toward the gathered crowd—one striking the Land God, the other hitting Zhao Chenghuang himself The first complaint originated when Yuan Shishen first unbuttoned the deceased body’s pants—deliberately overlooking the Land God, but Zhao Chenghuang never forgot. The second complaint came from Zhao Chenghuang, based on his understanding that the Land God tends to speak bluntly and use coarse language. Unfortunately, the second complaint failed. Hearing the notification of being reported, the Land God grumbled, “Old man, am I really that foolish?” When he entered the副本, he was alone, so initially had no one to speak bluntly to. Then he immediately encountered Yuan Shishen’s unseemly reporting method—so the Land God became more cautious, managing to remain silent throughout several hours of gameplay, never uttering a single coarse remark. Zhao Chenghuang calmly remarked, “Now you’ve only got four points left. Everyone, let’s work together to report the Land God soon—then we’ve secured victory.” The breakthrough has been achieved. Find a way to report the Earth God—yes, just now the Earth God deceived us into forming an alliance. Tianxia Guihuo paused, eyes brightening, his facial expression twisted with excitement as he declared in a strong voice: "I, Tianxia Guihuo, officially report the Earth God!" Zhang, a person with poor musical ear, opened his mouth, feeling both frustrated and bewildered, saying, "You—you've submitted your complaint in the wrong format. How is it possible that it has been successful?" The Heavenly Fire, which had fallen short precisely because its content was too lengthy, had been preempted by the Primordial Celestial Sovereign's complaint. Zhang Yuanqing scoffed, "Isn't the complaint format simply 'complaint content' and 'complaint reasons'? The task prompts clearly stated this when you entered the realm. I added the 'real-name complaint' as a playful touch—who told you that's the correct format?" At the same time, he exhaled in relief, knowing that this time, his complaint had relied as much on luck as on careful deduction. "!!!" The contestants stared at him, their faces stiff with disbelief. Since the Primordial Celestial Sovereign was the first to develop the complaint system, everyone assumed that anything he achieved must be correct—this ingrained mindset made no one question whether the format itself was sound. Moreover, it wasn't crucial—after all, as long as the complaint succeeded, no one would fuss over such minor details. After the initial shock, the eyes of the onlookers suddenly brightened as they recalled something based on the accusations made by the Primordial Immortal. From the moment they entered the realm until now, spanning four hours—from the first to the second trial—supernatural beings naturally needed to eat, drink, and use the restroom. Someone among them must have gone to the bathroom. Yet Yuan Ting, having no targets to report (since it wasn't necessary for him to do so), remained unscathed. Suddenly, only Qing Songzi and Yuan Ting's reporting functions remained active; everyone else had been sealed off. In terms of points, the Earth God held 1 point, the tone-deaf one and Zhao Chenguang each had 3 points, Yuan Ting and Qing Songzi each had 4 points, Sun Miao Miao had 9 points, and Yuan Shi Tian Zun had 30 points. Yuan Ting said solemnly, "Those three have now lost their reporting abilities—no need to worry about having to report while bare-bottomed anymore." Implied was the readiness to engage in combat! Immediately, the atmosphere grew tense and charged with anticipation.