Xie Lingyun, the direct descendant of the Xie family—she must be the musician! Zhang Yuanqing dared not turn around, dared not move, and spoke loudly, "Xie Lingyun, are you a musician?" "Me... I am..." Xie Lingyun's voice trembled. "Immediately use your song to soothe them, dispel their fears—otherwise all the extraordinary ones will die. Hurry!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted. Soothing? Yes, soothing them... Xie Lingyun suddenly had a revelation, took a deep breath, and began to hum a gentle, flowing melody. Her voice was incredibly beautiful, soft as a spring breeze, echoing throughout the spacious dining hall, making everyone feel as though they were standing in a sun-drenched meadow, under a warm, gentle breeze—every hardship, fear, and anxiety fading away, leaving a deep sense of peace. Under the soothing influence of the song, the anxiety and fear on everyone's faces gradually disappeared, and their expressions grew calm and serene. Phew, effective. Fortunately, Master Pure Yang hasn't yet reached the Sage Realm—otherwise, we'd all be in serious trouble. Zhang Yuanqing exhaled in relief, yet felt a surge of fear. In this setting, even extraordinary travelers and ordinary people were vulnerable; for him, a Sage, or Ling Jun, a Level 6 cultivator, death was always a possibility. Against absolute power, the difference between a Sage at their peak and an ordinary person was negligible. Standing motionless, Zhang Yuanqing waited for time to pass. During this period, he even hesitated to summon his ghost bride or the lively comic to observe the others' expressions and locate Master Pure Yang. With the dominant nature of the Sovereign-tier artifact, "immobility" likely extended to spiritual forms as well—he couldn't risk the lives of his spiritual servants. Time passed second by second, and everyone stared anxiously at the countdown floating in the air. As the final digits reached zero, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly turned around and shouted, "Anyone who hasn't undergone a lie-detection test—stand still! If security or service staff show any abnormalities, eliminate them immediately! Xie Lingyun, keep singing—don't stop!" After issuing the orders, he didn't hesitate. He pulled out the Houtu Boots, summoned the ghost bride, and, as Xie Lingyun softly and gently sang, gently tossed the boots to a female attendant. "Put them on," Zhang Yuanqing said firmly. The ghost bride materialized behind her. Should the attendant show any signs of disturbance, she would immediately take over. Xie Lingyun's song would soothe them, preventing the tragic fate of the master painter from recurring. The female attendant, who was extraordinarily gifted, put on the boots. Then, Yuan Shi Tian Zun urged her, "Get them off quickly!" She complied and removed the boots. Zhang Yuanqing immediately asked, "Are you the Pure Yang Master?" She shook her head repeatedly: "No, no, I'm not..." "Are you a practitioner from an ancient era?" "No, I'm not." No, that can't be right... No, that simply can't be right... Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself, certain beyond doubt that the Master of Pure Yang was here. But why couldn't he find him? Why? Ling Jun said solemnly, "Perhaps he can withstand the cost of the items." Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "That's impossible. He might recover only up to the Transcendent Realm—definitely unable to bear the cost of items of Saint-level quality. Even we would struggle to withstand such a cost." Gao Shan Liu Shui frowned, turned to Miao Teng'er, and asked, "Are you certain everyone is here?" At Miao Teng'er's side, an elder with white hair nodded. "Everyone is here, even the dogs have been brought along." He pointed to a golden retriever lying sideways in the corner, which seemed completely indifferent to the human crisis, sleeping peacefully. Ling Jun drew a sharp breath. "There are just three minutes left. In three minutes, the next round of the game will begin again." Zhang Yuanqing had not spared even the dog, employing Sheng Ling to directly extract its soul. Whether human or animal, once the spirit departs, it cannot return—it first becomes a vegetative state and then gradually dies. Among all professions, only the Night-Wanderer can detach their spirit body, though their physical form will enter a state of apparent death; if the spirit does not return within the prescribed time, the body will ultimately perish. This method is actually the most direct and efficient way to locate the Master of Pure Yang, yet Zhang Yuanqing, though cold and unfeeling toward dogs, cannot apply the same approach to the people present. Where is the Master of Pure Yang? If none of the present individuals is the Master of Pure Yang, then where is he? Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts raced swiftly, and suddenly, he noticed the bodies lying on the ground, having a sudden insight. "Yin Ji, the bodies!" Yin Ji, ever intelligent, immediately grasped the Master's intent and promptly activated her spirit-consuming ability, black energy swirling in her eyes. The two examined the bodies in the dining room carefully. Aside from Yan'er, the spirit bodies within all others were present but not that of the Master of Pure Yang. "How is it?" asked Ling Jun, standing by. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head seriously. "Whoa—!" Gao Shan Li Shui also drew a deep breath, visibly disappointed, "Where exactly is he hiding? How difficult these ancient cultivators have become!" Such an opponent is truly formidable. At that moment, Yin Ji's gaze settled on Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun, and she softly asked, "Have you ever experienced a body takeover?" Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback and shook his head. Though he had absorbed spiritual essences and taken over his targets' bodies, he had never actually taken over someone's entire body. A body takeover meant forcibly occupying a body and consuming the soul, whereas Zhang Yuanqing usually employed his spiritual absorption technique, drinking the residual souls of the deceased—his method was more like a hearty gulp of the original essence, rather than a light sip of diluted essence. Moreover, absorbing the souls of the dead did not carry any sense of guilt, while a body takeover amounted to directly erasing a life. He looked into Yin Ji's clear and serene eyes, still puzzled as to why she had asked this question. Yin Ji explained, "The spirit transfer cannot open the inventory slot, and the Pure Yang Master is not a Lingjing Traveler, so he lacks the inventory function. There are just two minutes left—hurry!" Zhang Yuanqing's eyes suddenly lit up, and he strode briskly toward the center of the dining hall, shouting, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Pure Yang Master is not a Lingjing Traveler and therefore has no inventory slot. Everyone, immediately retrieve your items—anything will do. Please keep each other accountable." As soon as he finished speaking, all guests except the servers and security staff promptly responded, reaching for and pulling out various materials and props. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing and Yin Ji exchanged a glance, both of them feeling a deep sense of concern. "Now it's straightforward," a loud call drew their attention. Turning to see the source, they noticed Li Zhiyi, a third-generation Lingjing Traveler, drawing out a pistol and pointing it at over twenty servers, sharply declaring, "The Pure Yang Master is among them—once they're all killed, how can his spirit body hide?" With that, he aimed the pistol at one of the security staff and pulled the trigger. With a sharp *crack*, the bullet was stopped by a circular shield of violet and golden hue, sending a brief flash of sparks flying. The server and security staff instinctively dropped to their knees or bent to flee, causing the scene to become chaotic. "Are you trying to play the saintly martyr, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn?" Li Zhiyi scoffed. "If you fire one more shot, I'll kill you." Zhang Yuanqing spoke with icy composure, warning, "I haven't killed official envoys without cause." After successfully intimidating Li Zhiyi with his gaze, he turned to the group of official envoys and said, "I don't know where the Pure Yang Master-Teacher is hiding, but they are ordinary people who have already undergone the equipment inspection and cleared their suspicions. To attack them now would be pointless slaughter. "Those who are slaughtered, I will not spare." "Then what do you propose?" Li Zhiyi pressed, unwilling to accept the situation. His eyes were fierce, his face slightly strained, attempting to project the image of a trapped beast. He was afraid—afraid of dying right here. "What do you propose?" It has nothing to do with the ordinary people you've killed—your only act is to vent your own inner fears," Zhang Yuanqing said coldly. "I have limited patience. Don't make me resort to killing you." This time, under the continuous, soothing tones of Xie Lingyun, the Pure Yang Master's seductive influence failed to take effect. The ordinary guests were quickly calmed, and the attendees managed to suppress their complex emotions, preventing the conflict from escalating. Just then, the time came again. [Safety time countdown complete. The die is now spinning. Please wait...] The die, floating above the ethereal circular table, spun rapidly. Everyone grew still, eyes fixed tightly on the die. Soon, it gradually slowed and finally settled on four. The figure at the eleven position began to stride joyfully along the winding path toward the fifteen position. The mist parted, revealing a valley scene, illustrated with three stylized bandits in Q-style drawings, each drawing a bow and aiming to shoot. The smaller text reads: "Oh no! You've entered the bandits' valley, just as they're launching an attack. There will be three waves of arrows coming—be ready for protection." As this text appears, energy arrows rise one by one from the round table. "Get out of the way!" Gongshui Liushui roars, simultaneously drawing out a massive wooden shield and kneeling on his left knee, inserting the shield—wide as a door—before him. A gentle yet sturdy green glow activates, forming an ethereal wall that shields everyone behind him. The next instant, the energy arrows surge forth, raining down like a storm. Thud! Thud! Thud! The ethereal wall trembles and then collapses under the force, shattering Gongshui Liushui's shield. The glowing rain of arrows blankets the dining hall, where the tables and chairs suffer the first impacts, cracking with a continuous series of sharp sounds. Then came ordinary people with no special abilities, pierced through the chest, abdomen, or head by one after another arrow, dying in agonizing cries. Guests纷纷 drew out their defensive tools to fend off the relentless rain of arrows rushing toward them. "Ah!" "Save me!" "Help me!" Screams and pleas echoed throughout the restaurant. The attacks of master-tier equipment could not be borne by mere extraordinary or saint-tier items. Amid the chaos, Zhang Yuanqing pulled out his Purple Thunder Shield, crouched down, and tucked his head beneath it for cover. "Thud!" The shield was struck by an arrow and immediately cracked with fine fissures. It could withstand at least three arrows. Once the shield shattered, the Unyielding Guardian Mirror could block one impact. Then I would activate the Yin-Yang Array—the array's barrier might not hold against the arrows, but the Water-Fire Dual Forms could... He was just about to say that the Water-Fire Dual Forms could resist physical attacks when he saw a water spirit struck by an energy arrow, splashing into a pool of clear water before disintegrating into scattered limbs and flesh. Wow, this isn't a physical attack at all. A cold dread rose in Zhang Yuanqing's heart as he saw Yin Ji, standing not far away, launching a golden orb to shield a server, absorbing the energy arrows head-on. "Boom!" The orb shattered into fine dust after deflecting one arrow, and Yin Ji was thrown back, her chest struck by the impact. More arrows poured over her. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing transformed his body into a shimmering cascade of starlight, appearing beside Yin Ji, throwing himself over her, and raising a circular shield. Subconsciously, Yin Ji pushed against the man on top of her. "Hold your head, curl up!" Zhang Yuanqing roared. Her hands stiffened slightly, then relaxed, as she clutched her head and curled beneath Yuan Shi Tian Zun. Two sharp impacts echoed in her ears, and Yuan Shi Tian Zun's body trembled, bearing the force of the arrows. She listened to the hurried breaths and heartbeat of Yuan Shi Tian Zun, yet felt powerless, unsure how long it had been before he said, "The first wave of arrows is over..." "Thank you..." Yin Ji gently pushed away the man beside her, instinctively scanning the restaurant to assess the situation. One sage had passed away, seven or eight transcendent beings were lost, and only six security and service staff survived. Just in the first wave of attacks, the staff numbers had been halved. Yin Ji instinctively sought out her two fellow disciples, her pupils constricting sharply. There, two Night-Wanderers lay quietly by the window, their bodies untouched, yet already lifeless. "Master Yuan-Shi! He has acted—he's been in the restaurant all along!" Yin Ji clutched Zhang Yuanqing's arm tightly, her expression grave.