After leaving Mr. Bill's home, Zhang Yuanqing headed straight for the white sedan downstairs, opened the passenger seat, and got in. "Captain, shall I take you to Fu Family Village, or to your place?" The driver was a stylish woman wearing silver large earrings, smoky makeup, and a off-shoulder T-shirt. "Back to the villa," Zhang said after a moment's thought. He had already called his aunt to report safe arrival. As for his grandparents, he told them he would be staying with Guan Ya for a few days. His grandparents were delighted—after a lifetime of hard work, they had achieved financial security with a car and a house, but their greatest concern had always been the marriage prospects of their children and grandchildren. For several years, they had patiently supported three single children, all of whom had reached marriageable age yet remained unmarried, often expressing, "Forgive me for having lived a life of freedom and unconventionality." Now, finally, one of them had realized the value of dating and had begun to pursue a romantic relationship—his grandparents were deeply pleased and fully supportive. "Got it!" The queen gently pressed the accelerator, guiding the car smoothly and steadily out of the apartment building. With both hands on the steering wheel, she spoke carelessly, "Captain, I heard from Guan Ya that your combat skills have improved remarkably. Well, I haven't practiced physical training in a while myself—shall we train together from now on?" "Why not go find Guan Ya?" Zhang Yuanqing replied casually. "I'd like to find a partner to spar with—I don't want to get beat up," the queen remarked, giving a slight sigh. Her combat techniques were professionally trained, which was essential for her role as team captain. However, due to the Water Ghost's modest enhancement in physical conditioning, she hadn't deeply developed her combat skills. Recently, she'd been enjoying herself with Xie Lingxi, exploring all the charming spots in Songhai. Now it was time to return to a more regular routine. Perhaps Guan Ya is actually looking for an opportunity to beat her up—maybe even she'll trick Xie Lingxi into coming to fight her. Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, "We can talk about that later." He gave a perfunctory reply, leaning back against the chair and letting his thoughts drift: First, he’d settle the debt owed to Fu Qingyang. This Celestial Sovereign, steadfast as iron, couldn’t be constantly beholden to others, even though Fu had offered so much. His immediate goal over the coming days was to rigorously practice the Break-Sickness Seal, mastering the technique before returning the Subduing-Monster Staff—after that, the Break-Sickness Seal would serve as a reliable alternative to the Staff. Fu Qingyang was likely in a meeting now; it wasn’t clear whether the organization had any means to capture the Pure-Yang Master. Given how difficult it was to apprehend even the evil professions, capturing ancient cultivators unbound by moral considerations would be even more challenging. If they couldn’t secure him, they’d need to find ways to prevent him from consuming others, slowing his recovery as much as possible. As the car approached Fu’s village, Zhang Yuan suddenly had a flash of insight—why, wasn’t the Break-Sickness Seal precisely the ideal solution? Master Pure Yang was extremely weak, his firmly concentrated spirit still being "purified" by the Vamapole Staff. The nourishment ordinary people could offer was limited, so he had to simultaneously absorb the spiritual essences of commoners while actively seeking out transcendent spiritual travelers. As soon as he issued a single Shattering-Obstacle Seal to each Night-Wanderer of Taiyuan Sect, Master Pure Yang would be stunned—he'd then have to turn to illusionists, who, as a more adversarial profession, would themselves conserve their strength. This would naturally slow down Master Pure Yang's recovery. Moreover, I could pocket a substantial profit from this, though it might excessively drain the power of the Vamapole Staff, leaving half of the Lady's Yang Essences in a state of vulnerability. Zhang Yuanqing thought carefully and decided to summon the old creaker again after three days, to seek her advice. ——Each time the old creaker appears, she returns to the physical realm only after a three-day interval. "Yes, let's first consult with Fu Qingyang. What if the organization doesn't need the Shattering-Obstacle Seals?" ... The senior monks and nuns at the conference table all turned their attention Fu Qingyang spoke calmly, glanced around, and said in a clear, measured tone: "The theme of this meeting is the follow-up developments of the ancient tomb incident in Jinhu City. Some of the elders may not yet be fully aware of the specifics of the Jinhu City ancient tomb incident. Allow me to briefly summarize. A few days ago, archaeologists unearthed an ancient tomb in Jinhu City and removed a bronze sculpture from it—the very presence of this sculpture triggered the city's persistent fog phenomenon. According to investigations conducted by several officers from the Hangzhou branch and the Yuanshishen Master, the sculpture was identified as a negative spirit automaton, crafted by ancient cultivators. They discovered that the tomb itself was the sealing ground of the Pure Yang Sect of the Song Dynasty, designed to contain a demonic force. The Hangzhou branch was thus informed, and Elder Gao Feng led the team to explore the tomb, successfully releasing and then eliminating the trapped spirits of resentment. So, what's the point?" the red-haired young elder frowned. "With just this much—how can we justify convening a meeting of the Ten Elders?" Elder Zhao, who served as a Day-Wandering God, seemed to have something on his mind, and his The senior elders turned their attention to the peak elder attending the meeting. Dressed in an old mountaineering jacket, the peak elder slightly inclined his head, stepping forward as the party involved: "Ladies and gentlemen, the spirit of resentment claims to be the Master of Pure Yang. Due to the thinning of celestial and spiritual energies, his direct disciples, striving to attain the realm of the Day-Traveling Deity, have sought to seize his divine power of the sun, thus colluding with forces of evil to betray and extinguish his lineage—sealing him within an ancient tomb. Whether this account is true or not remains uncertain. However, he is certainly no ally; I personally defeated him on the spot. Yet, Master Fu Qingyang called me this morning and reported that the Master of Pure Yang has not perished—he may have taken over the body of one of our present officers. I personally verified this matter. Among the three officers of our Hangzhou branch, none have been taken over. It is, however, the security officer who was on duty outside the tomb at the time who passed away suddenly last night at home. Therefore, I agree with Master Fu's assessment—the Master of Pure Yang has not died." An ancient daytime deity, morally compromised and unconstrained by moral merit, will inevitably stir up tremendous waves in the real world once restored to full strength. Even among the elders, there is danger—when matched at the same level, spiritual realm practitioners often fall short against ancient cultivators. Moral merit hangs like a sword over the heads of contemporary spiritual cultivators, while ancient cultivators can go beyond any limits to win, unbound by moral constraints. Zhao, the elder, appears most urgent, his hands pressed firmly on the table, saying, "Do we have more detailed intelligence? I need to know his specific tactics and rank—more detailed, the better." He now understands why the Emperor Hong invited the Taimei Sect to attend the Ten Elders' Conference, as the night-traveling deity from Taimei poses the greatest threat in this incident. Fu Qingyang spoke calmly, "He is a daytime deity who also specializes in illusion arts; his exact rank is still unknown. When he first caused widespread disruption, disciples newly entering the Sovereign Realm led their congregations to besiege him, resulting in the gradual decline of the Pure Yang Sect." Master Zhao's face grew increasingly serious as he said in a steady tone, "I understand." "This clearly demonstrates the exceptional nature of Yuanshish Tianzun. My greatest concern is that as his rank grows, he may become increasingly ordinary—his extraordinary talents emerging only in the transcendent phase, making it difficult for him to represent the future." One of the elders from the White Tiger troop remarked. "Back then, who among us wasn't a prodigy?" "Ah, she..." Several elders who had witnessed the combat instances suddenly realized. "The Lady is rather aloof and difficult to work with," said the Dog Elder, "but as far as I know, she's quite upright. The records from the Mountain God's temple clearly show her genuine compassion and dedication to benefiting the local people." His words effectively validated the credibility of the intelligence. Elder Dihong spoke up: "The authenticity of the information is beyond doubt. I've already asked the head of the Zhao family to consult the oracles—each reading has been highly unfavorable. After the meeting concludes, the Zhao elder may observe the stars based on this information and naturally gain insights." "The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how we should respond to this pure-yang Master of the Sect." As soon as the senior elder began speaking, the entire meeting room fell into quiet. Senior Elder Dihong continued: "Senior Elder Gao Feng, transport the remains from the stone sarcophagus to the capital and deliver them to Taiyuan Sect. See if Zhao Elder can gain inspiration from them. I will send the head of the Zhao family to the capital to attempt divination. "Everyone knows that while illusionists might not be the strongest in terms of combat power among the evil professions, they are undoubtedly the most cunning and elusive. Master Yang, the pure yang patriarch, is essentially an illusionist himself. "It's difficult to capture him, and since he's the Day God, it's well known that the yin principle embodies secrecy—divination and celestial observation may not always locate him. If we wait too long, the situation will surely worsen. Shouldn't we have a contingency plan?" Elder Di Hong nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Then, Elder with the 'disease,' what are your thoughts?" The woman with prominent dark circles under her eyes, slightly embarrassed, said: "Elder, I've emphasized this many times—just call me 'Elder with the disease' in public, and don't use my full title. When I was younger, I was careless and chose an inappropriate nickname. Now I regret it deeply." Elder of the Dog smiled gently: "Elder with the disease, think about it—even the Prime Origin Sovereign doesn't find it shameful. Isn't that a bit more comforting to your heart?" "The melancholic elder took a deep breath and said, 'Regarding the unique traits of ancient cultivators, I won't elaborate further. For the Master of Pure Yang, the most dangerous threats are the Night-Wanderers and the Illusionists. If we can preserve as many lower-level Night-Wanderers as possible, we can effectively cut off his resources.' The red-haired young elder stroked his chin, pondering for a few seconds, then exclaimed in astonishment, 'This approach is brilliant—indeed, the melancholic elder is truly astute!' ... The elder with prominent dark circles under her eyes gave him a disapproving glance. Yet, the other elders remained expressionless, frowning instead. Elder Dihong said thoughtfully, 'To combat the Wandering Spirits, the Night-Wanderers must inevitably step in. Zhao Elder, what do you think?' Zhao Elder replied solemnly, 'To meet the requirements set by the melancholic elder, the most effective solution I can envision is to mass-produce "Sealing Spirit Amulets," which have proven remarkably effective against Wandering Spirits. However, the Master of Pure Yang is no ordinary Wandering Spirit, so the results may not be as promising.'" "Going a step further, the power of the Sun God needs to be transformed into consumable items. Within Taimei Sect, several master-level artifacts can produce sacred water, but their output is limited and insufficient to meet the needs of the lower-tier night-wandering deities." In short, high-level power remains inaccessible to the grassroots—there aren't many ways to make master-level Sun God power widely available to the lower ranks. Master-level power is inherently precious; if it were producible in large quantities, the night-wandering deities would already have access to it. Moreover, excessive consumption of artifact power weakens the artifacts over time, potentially reducing their quality, since energy is conserved. Zhao Elder added, "Sun Elder has learned a method of creating a type of scroll during the quest—called the Yang-Yan Scroll, a master-level scroll equivalent to a full-force strike from a Day-Wandering Deity." Yet such a powerful scroll is even less likely to be widely distributed, as it demands substantial energy investment in its creation. Sun Elder isn't exactly a workhorse of the production team. The female senior of the Hundred Blossom Assembly sighed, saying, "Why don't we first summon the Night-Wanderers from each branch office and treat them as if they were on vacation?" The Dog Senior exhaled and added, "That's not a bad idea." At that moment, Fu Qingyang raised his hand and said, "Senior Grand Elder, I'd like to step out for a while!" Proposing to step away during such an important meeting clearly indicated something significant. Senior Dihong nodded in agreement. ... In the small hall beside the study, Fu Qingyang watched his trusted subordinate sending messages to report urgent matters, and said solemnly, "This is the first time I've participated in the Gathering of the Ten Elders. Give me one minute." If Senior Dihong, known for his calm and gentle disposition, knew that Fu Qingyang had left midway to meet with his subordinates, he would surely be furious enough to fly all the way to Songhai to confront him. "Boss, I'd like to do a business deal with the organization," Zhang Yuanqing said. "...?" This seems like a major matter, didn't it? Fu Qingyang's face slightly tightened as he reflected whether he had been too indulgent toward Yuan