At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing was much like the helpless victim in a horror film, possessed by a ghost—his body undergoing a profoundly unnatural, strikingly distorted transformation. His head had twisted toward his back, and with his eyes sunk deep, he could now see the shoulder blades. His joints in arms and legs had been twisted 180 degrees; except for his torso, which remained unchanged, all his limbs were now reversed. For most professions other than the wood spirit or water ghost, such an extreme injury would likely have proved fatal on the spot. Thanks to the night wanderer's exceptional vitality and self-healing abilities, he had not perished immediately. "Haha, so fun, so fun…" a clear, childlike voice echoed from within Zhang Yuanqing's body. The very next moment, his upper body slowly arched backward, his feet remained straight and planted firmly, while his waist gradually curved, like a bow fully drawn. His ribs stood out prominently, and his spine emitted a faint groan, as though about to snap. No—this couldn't go on… Zhang Yuanqing's heart suddenly tightened. If the spine is broken, with the healing power of a Third-Rank Night-Wanderer, it will absolutely be unable to recover within a short time—thus losing his ability to handle crisis situations in the dungeon and inevitably perishing. At this very moment, he feels as though he has once again returned to the scene of his first use of the Ghost Bride, his limbs cold and numb, powerless, his body no longer under the control of his mind. As his torso continuously bends, Zhang Yuanqing senses a mild pain in his cervical vertebrae. The fact that he can still perceive this slight discomfort, despite his current lack of bodily awareness, indicates that the spine is beginning to fracture. With the last of his strength, Zhang Yuanqing surges forth, black, viscous power welling up in his eyes, filling his entire field of vision. Spirit Devourer! Spirit Devourer is the Night-Wanderer's master technique, capable of defeating all spiritual beings and temporarily suppressing or affecting vengeful spirits, even when there is a significant disparity in strength. "Ah~" a childlike, slightly frightened whisper rises from within his body. Immediately, Zhang Yuanqing felt the coolness within his body easing slightly, and his mind regained a stronger command over his physical form. At that moment, he clearly sensed the intense, piercing pain radiating from his waist, drawing in a sharp breath of cold air. Ignoring his injuries, he seized the opportunity and roared skyward. A brilliant, clear moonlight pierced through the clouds, shining down like a spotlight upon Zhang Yuanqing. "Roar of the Moon!" "Roar of the Moon" is the night-dwelling deity's signature skill—only usable at night, it draws strength from the moon goddess, significantly enhancing the deity's stamina and abilities, making it a life-or-death technique. However, the cost is that the night-dwelling deity will enter a state of sluggishness for the next three hours. For this reason, Zhang Yuanqing rarely employs this skill. As his breath surged powerfully, his "Spirit-Devouring" ability also slightly intensified, further suppressing the ghost child within him. At once, Zhang Yuan Qing regained 50% control of his body. With a spring of his waist and back, he straightened himself. "Crack!" His right arm, which had been twisted, returned to its original position. In the air, he reached out and grasped a robe of yin-yang design, woven from yellow silk with exquisite cloud patterns, and a pair of long boots, also crafted from yellow silk and embroidered with delicate cloud motifs. He intended to use the yin-yang robe to counter the ghost doll's killing rules. Zhang Yuan Qing lifted his right foot and stepped into the posterior earth boots. But when he tried to move his left foot, he discovered a problem—control of that foot remained firmly in the ghost doll's hands. "Hmph. Villain, you don't want to play along, do you? I'm going to kill you!" The ghost doll seemed to sense his response. Its youthful, pure voice now carried a cold tone, and the suppressed yin energy surged back with force, instantly taking command of his body. "Crack!" His right arm was once again twisted. His torso arched back again, this time bending swiftly and powerfully, as if aiming to snap his cervical vert At that moment, the No. 1 Deceased, who had severed the old man's head, charged forward, kicked Suan Yuanqing in the right leg, sending him sprawling to the ground and thus averting his fate of a broken cervical spine. Then, with a gentle sweep of his leg, the No. 1 Deceased kicked the other Houtu Boot toward Suan Yuanqing's left foot. Upon touching the sole, the boot automatically fastened itself onto the foot. Finally, the No. 1 Deceased picked up the Yin-Yang Robe that had fallen to the ground and tossed it into the sky with a single motion. Swish! The robe unfurled, revealing the Taiji fish on its back, which began to rotate like a grinding disc—the yang fish spewing out blazing flames, while the yin fish releasing ethereal water. The water and fire array spread out over a radius of thirty meters. Suan Yuanqing's original form vanished, replaced by two terracotta figures rising from the ground. These figures possessed solid bodies with remarkably flexible joints, resembling the Terracotta Army, and their facial features and expressions were identical to those of Suan Yuanqing. The clay figure standing amidst the flames surveyed himself and said, "Yes, point, meaning... this body is quite good... but I feel odd—can't quite put my finger on where exactly." The clay figure walking upon the ethereal water remarked, "How come—I feel—you've become even dumber." Meanwhile, the deceased No. 1 (Zhang Yuqing), standing at the boundary between water and fire, looked at his two duplicates and furrowed his brow. These two—are they really me? Why do they seem so dim-witted? The water and fire duplicates naturally lack expressions and speak in staccato bursts, as though mentally impaired. Ah—my soul has been divided into too many parts. Zhang Yuqing suddenly realized it wasn't the water and fire duplicates who were mentally slow, but rather that the soul allocated to each of them was insufficient. With half of his soul residing in his original body and the other half in the shadow body, when he donned the Yin-Yang robe, each duplicate received only one-half of that divided soul. Hence, their demeanor appears rather stiff and unresponsive. At that moment, the compact shadow deeper than darkness, ignoring the flames and the water's flow, swiftly moved toward No. 1, emitting a bright, childlike laugh: "Let's play a game~" Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing no longer hesitated. He positioned his two duplicates and one shadow corpse in a triangular formation, just before the small shadow could attach itself to No. 1. "You clap one, I clap one—let's play until it gets dark..." The earth-creature's resonant clapping resumed the interrupted game. The ghost doll circled the three figures, drifting around them, complaining and weeping, repeatedly attempting to attach itself, only to fail each time. Zhang Yuanqing felt uneasy as well. The magical array on his yin-yang robe lasted only ten minutes; beyond that, he would never regain his human form. Therefore, if the ghost doll remained within that ten-minute span, he would have to resort to his magic staff. Once that happened, everything would slide into an uncontrollable abyss. Time flowed like water, and by the time it approached ten minutes, the ghost doll stomped impatiently, saying, "Ugh, you all don't even play with me! I'll come back tomorrow!" Then, with a quick stride, the small figure disappeared into the deep night, vanishing completely. Fortunately, the area is exceptionally rich in negative energy and it's nighttime—perfectly suited to nourish night-wandering spirits, greatly shortening the recovery time. The night was deep, black as ink. The mountain village was utterly silent. Zhang Yuanqing sat in the profound darkness, with his attendants being the spectral corpses at his side, and an elderly man whose body had separated from his corpse standing a little distance away. Amid such a suffocating atmosphere, he felt neither afraid nor out of place—he was at ease, even comfortable. "According to my memory, the interval between the first and second watches is one hour, or two hours. Within that time, I should be safe." "The paper figure should appear at the second watch. By logical expectation, the danger level should increase over time. The ghost child at the first watch is already so terrifying—what about the paper figure at the second watch?" "As for the strange occurrences at the third watch, I still don't know. Well, the old man has turned into a spectral corpse—surely the other villagers will follow suit. I'll have no way of gathering information now." To verify his conjecture, he summoned the little comic spirit, urging the young spirit to climb toward the nearby earthen house. The little comic spirit passed through the wall and entered the house. Zhang Yuanqing's consciousness took root in the spirit, his gaze piercing through the darkness to examine the scene within. Inside, there were two spectral corpses—a man and a woman, likely a married couple—standing motionless, their eyes bloodshot, their mouths dripping thick saliva. "They seem to lack an aggressive nature. At least, as long as they remain outside the house, the villagers won't actively attack anyone..." Zhang Yuanqing concluded mentally. During the day, these villagers were normal; but at night, as the阴energy enveloped the village, they transformed into spectral corpses. Zhang Yuanqing recalled the old man's words at the moment of his own transformation: "At four in the morning, everyone died!" It must have been the Lady Countess who caused the entire village's living population to turn into spectral corpses. I was wrong—she wasn't merely dangerous; she was extraordinarily so. This kind of boss is truly beyond what even a transcendental realm master can handle. Zhang Yuanqing felt something was off. The difficulty of this quest had surpassed A-level—this was clearly S-level, if not even S-level. "What am I thinking of? I can always refer to my experience as a Magi King, right? I might as well grab some of the elder's benefits while I'm at it." From his pants pocket, Zhang Yuanqing pulled out the Cat King speaker, placed it before him, and gently tapped the black metal casing, asking, "How do we proceed with the next challenge—the paper figures?" This time, the Cat King speaker responded well, emitting a steady hum of electrical current. A few seconds later, a sharp, terrified cry rang out: "Run! Run quickly!" The voice was filled with fear and trembling, echoing through the dark night, sending a shiver of unease down the spine.