The clay figure within the Water Array coldly laughed: "We can only delay the battle—what's there to boast about? When you're finally eliminated and I'm left with only half my spirit, then truly, I'll be a complete failure." The Flame Clay Figure wasn't satisfied, shouting, "Why should *I* be the one eliminated? You should be the one cautious—after all, I'm stronger than you." At this moment, the members of the Mountain Spirit's army were each striving to break through the Yin-Yang Array, attempting to escape, and no one was actively attacking the two duplicates, merely maintaining vigilance. Hum, hum, hum... A towering figure three meters high, A-Yi, pounded the barrier with his bone-spiked fists, sending out concentric ripples of light waves. Figures such as Tianxia Jiebai and Bai Wujin all attacked the barrier in their own ways. Yet none of them succeeded. With the sole exception of Meizhong, who held the Water God Seal in his palm and raised it high, releasing a surge of turbulent river water, aiming to extinguish the fire array. "Ssshhhh..." Dense steam rose, and the fire array instantly vanished. The cool river water cascaded over each teammate caught in the flame array, bringing them relief and soothing their burns. With the flame support withdrawn, the flame clay figures instantly lost their vitality. The water duplicate burst into laughter: "Perfect!" With a single step, water and fire exchanged places— the water array absorbed the river flowing up to the knees of the figures, now possessing genuine, tangible water. The ethereal yin-yang robes in the sky continued to spew out blazing flames, reigniting the fire array. The flame clay figures exhaled in relief, chuckling dryly: "Useless. No one will be able to exit within ten minutes." Ten minutes... Bai Wujin's expression grew concerned. Within ten minutes, the three orderly-aligned teams would surely reach the summit. The twenty-two enemies from the Mountain Ghost faction, having failed in their attempts, now faced the reality of being unable to break through the "cage," their faces grim with disappointment. "By the gods! By the gods!" an angry fire mage roared, "How does he have so many items? How does he have so many bothersome items?" The Yin-Yang robes are among the finest of the extraordinary class, while the Hou-Tu boots are truly sacred artifacts. Though they cannot pose a genuine threat to these evil professions, they are more than sufficient to create complications and delay the enemy. For the evil cast, time is their primary asset. They are not afraid of Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun engaging them in fierce combat—should the battle reach full intensity, even a fourth-tier sage could be defeated. Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun demonstrated only the strength of a slightly weakened fourth-tier sage earlier, yet he was easily dispatched by the others without even utilizing his artifacts. Still, Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun's strategy of employing his artifacts to conduct a "guerrilla campaign" is deeply frustrating. He has such a move—remarkably adept! In her heart, Kou Bei Yue is secretly delighted, yet on her face she maintains a furious expression, roaring, "You scoundrel! Don't think you're getting away with it! Even if I give my life, I'll chop off your head!" "The roar drew everyone's attention. They thought, this young man has such boldness—having been quiet all along, no one had noticed this rising star. The plump young man (Liang Chen chose his master to be killed) declared loudly, 'My elder is absolutely right. By killing the Yuan Shi Tian Zun, the array will naturally dissolve! Why bother with the props? My elder is clearly wiser.' ...Cuo Bei Yue's face suddenly went stiff. Immediately, the crowd surged forward, led by the top-tier warriors such as Wei Wu Du Zhuo and A Yi, engaging fiercely in combat against the two clay figures. Several fire mages and water spirits flourished within the yin-yang array, demonstrating combat power even stronger than their evil counterparts. Within less than a minute, without any casualties, they shattered the two clay figures. Crash! The clay figures shattered and scattered across the ground. The water array turned into mud, while the fire array crumbled into dry sand." The members of the Shāng Guǐ faction had just begun to brighten with joy when, amid the roaring flames, a flame-being with a blurred face rose again, crossed his arms, and laughed wildly. "Dumbfounded, huh? I'm back again!" The water-bodied figure, maintaining her composed demeanor, merely huffed silently at the enemy ranks without speaking. Ai Yi said nothing at all—she simply kicked the flame-being aside, while Tianxia Jie Bai, wearing his finger-tiger, slammed his fist into the water-bodied figure's head, shattering it. Yet, in the very next moment, both figures restored themselves. Can't be killed? Li Wenjin and others furrowed their brows. For ordinary transcendent beings, two bodies of such strength were indeed impressive, but for the contestants present, they fell short. Yet, without any targeted strategies on their side, the situation remained stagnant—being dragged on for ten solid minutes like this? At that moment, the elegant, intellectually poised "My fate lies in my own hands" with her hair flowing freely, reached into the roaring flames, plucked out a long spear radiating intense heat, and hurled it toward the flame-bodied figure. "A man wielding a broadsword before Guan Gong—Guan Gong himself is showing off his own skills!" The flame-bodied clay figure chuckled, casually brushing the spear aside. The flame did not explode but instead pierced straight through the figure's body, causing it to gasp and its internal flames to tremble violently, nearly extinguished. This was a mental attack executed by the self-proclaimed Red Wei—"My fate lies in my own hands"—not a true burst of flame. "Stupid! That's exactly what a carpenter does when he shows off his skills in front of a master!" "The water-bodied duplicate standing in the rushing current chuckled, 'Think more clearly, don't act rashly—I don't want to end up as a complete fool.' Indeed so... Red Wei's intuition was confirmed. She spoke with conviction, 'Both of these duplicates are the Prime Sovereign. He split his spiritual essence into two. Physical attacks will fall short, but we can directly annihilate his soul.' 'Hmm, that flame-bodied one seems rather dim-witted—probably just like the fire masters. Let's deal with him first.' The moment these words were spoken, everyone's eyes brightened. Yet two of the fire masters erupted in fury, 'You there, what did you just mean by that?!' 'If you want to die, we won't hesitate to cut you down right now!' Standing within the fire array, the two fire masters felt especially confident. Red Wei smiled gently, 'Apologies, apologies, gentlemen—please don't be angry!' She had no desire to quarrel with the fire masters. You can have spirited debates with masters of any profession, but there's no need to get worked up with fire masters. After soothing the Fire Master, she opened her inventory and retrieved a dark, smooth, round *xun* flute with six holes, its surface engraved with flowing patterns. "Cover your ears!" she urged, then placed the egg-shaped flute to her lips and began to blow softly. A solemn, gentle tone resonated, echoing through the water-and-fire array. Even with ears already covered, the onlookers saw vivid visions reawaken, their emotions swaying with the melody—alternating between sorrow and pain, memories flooding back. Their minds grew disoriented, their wills gradually weakened. The water-and-fire duplicates pressed their hands to their heads, groaning in agony as their consciousness rapidly faded under the influence of the flute’s sound. When they finally lost all awareness, their souls perished. As elemental manifestations, these duplicates could not shield themselves—every aspect of them absorbed the flute’s effect. Red Wei had never used this item during her time outside the temple, precisely because her teammates were physical beings who could cover their ears, and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign himself could do so—thus, the cost of casualties was significantly reduced. At this moment, the Nine-Leak Fish, unable to intervene in the battle between the spiritual beings, spoke calmly: "You'd better hurry and deal with the Primordial Sovereign. Zhao Chenghuang and his forces are already nearly at the summit." The pilgrims of the Mountain Spirit camp were astonished to find that Zhao Chenghuang's group had already drawn close to the peak. Based on their experience, although the distance was short, the maze's winding paths would still require several minutes of walking. The plump young man, his emotions initially subdued and now appearing cold and hollow, suddenly saw a vortex of soul-consuming energy surge deep within his gaze. He looked indifferently at the fire-bodied form, noticing the vibrant hues radiating from it—each color representing a distinct emotion. Among them, the black symbolizing fear was nearly absent, while the red, representing anger, overwhelmingly dominated all others. The young man raised his hand, as if extinguishing something, then clenched his fist firmly, speaking softly: "Extinct!" At the same time, the remaining five illusionists performed the identical gesture, one after another, murmuring: "Extinct!" The sorcerer can amplify a target's emotions or extinguish them entirely. Emotions are extensions of the spirit and the will. Extinguishing emotions is a means of severely wounding the soul. Once all emotions are extinguished, it is equivalent to death—survival becomes mere automatism. The flame duplicate shudders, the flames composing its body trembling violently, like a candle flickering in the wind, as if it might go out at any moment. Seeing this, Kou Beiyue grips his dagger tightly and quietly moves closer to several of the sorcerers. With his strength, he can easily dispatch the physically weaker sorcerers. Once he does, the members of the Mountain Spirit faction will surely not spare him. It's just repayment for what he's done… he murmurs to himself. At that moment, the water duplicate acts first, tapping sharply once. Crack! With that tap, the slowly rotating Taiji fish halts and then reverses direction, drawing back the flames and the ethereal water until both energies return to its robe, after which it drifts gently downward. Zhang Yuanqing's physical form appeared below, donning the robe. He could no longer hold on and actively withdrew the spell array. Gasp—his head felt as though torn apart, and he could only rely on consumables from the Silent Village... With one hand pressed firmly against his brow, the pulsing pain in his temples intensified, while the other hand produced a delicate, translucent jade figure. He stood poised, vigilantly watching both the temple interior and the enemy forces outside. Behind him, Guan Ya held a rifle. As he gently stroked the cool jade figure in his palm, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly wondered: Why did I choose to withdraw the Yin-Yang robe? Why didn't I use it when the array was first activated? This question surfaced just as he found its answer—-A straightforward person! He had insisted on using only the Yin-Yang Array, without employing any other tools. The cost of the Hou-Tou Boots! On the other side, upon seeing Yuan Shi Tian Zun withdraw his props, the pilgrims of the Mountain Spirit faction were overjoyed. Though regretful that she hadn't slain the flame duplicate nor severely wounded his soul, her objective had been achieved—once they took the staff, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun would surely perish. At this moment, the three orderly-aligned teams, though now close by, were clearly too late to provide assistance. Only the plump young man and Hong Wei found it odd: where was Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun's spiritual attendant? He had not appeared at all from beginning to end. "Now that you've lost your means, see how you can hold us off," sneered one of the wu-gu physicians, though he didn't pause in his actions. With words still flowing, he moved swiftly—Ayi, Bai Wu Jin Ji, Tian Xia Jie Bai, the plump young man, and Hong Wei, among others, surged into the temple or toward the mountain deity statues, striving to seize the staff. Zhang Yuanqing remained calm, even relieved, and smiled. "My reinforcements have arrived!" As soon as she spoke, a vast surge of阴 qi poured in from outside the temple. A slender figure in a vibrant red bridal gown swiftly drifted in—her head covered with a red veil, cradling a round, endearing infant. Leading the group were Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miao Miao. They arrived sooner than expected. Although Zhang Yuanqing had numerous reserves—especially the Yin-Yang Robe, a mandatory "imprisonment" tool—he still had to consider the possibility that he might not hold up. After all, the Yin-Yang Array had its vulnerabilities, with the division of the spiritual body being its most significant one, and the enemy ranks included adept illusionists skilled in mental control and psychological attacks. To mitigate this, Zhang Yuanqing made two contingency plans. Before the battle began outside the temple, after the ghost bride successfully used her illusion to lure out the enemy's reward of the Moving Grove, he sent the ghost bride and the little comic character into the maze forest to locate Zhao Chenghuang. The little comic’s treasure-hunting skills enabled her to guide them through the labyrinth to find Zhao Chenghuang and the others. Indeed, whether it was the spirits, the props, or even the副本 boss, in a sense, they all held value. Proceeding methodically through the maze, the path winds and twists, requiring considerable time—without adhering to the correct route, one risks becoming lost. Thus, Zhang Yuanqing encountered a bug. By leveraging the connection between his spirit servant and the host, he provided coordinates to Zhao Chenguang and the others, ensuring they could follow the ghost bride to reach the summit via the shortest and most efficient route. "They've arrived? That can't be right—there's still a considerable distance to cover..." The mountain spirits, upon seeing Zhao Chenguang and his companions reach the summit, were stunned. Even without emotion, A Yi, and even the outstanding talents such as the Nine-Leak Fish, now felt weary and began to lose morale. Momentum wanes, then declines, then fades. "Master Yuan Shi..." Bai Wujin clenched his teeth, then made a decisive decision: "Retreat!" He realized that his teammates' morale had deteriorated—though none had sustained injuries or physical exhaustion, their spirit was now gone. Worn down by the relentless Yuan Shi Tian Zun. Bai Wu Jin Bi feels that now is the right time to retreat—no matter, they can simply forgo the reward from the Mountain God's Temple. This quest isn't just about the primordial forest. The main storyline task two: find the Lost City. Their chance lies in the Lost City.