Yuanshi Tianzun: Don't overcrowd your inventory with precious items. Consider building a treasure vault at home. For added peace of mind, hand over your gear to elders before entering the副本. Yuanshi Tianzun: In short, absolutely never bring master-tier items into the副本—your spiritual realm will wipe you out. I almost didn't make it back this time. The four members in the group reviewed their master-tier items and materials, grew increasingly cautious, and decided to remove them before entering the next副本. Xiahou Aotian: If you put it that way, I actually recall now—since the family assigned me a master-quality energy pack, the difficulty of the副本 I enter has definitely increased. Last time, I even matched with an S-tier副本, but they never informed me of this. Could it be that you simply lack good fortune, Xiahou, and the elders of your family deliberately kept this from you? Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. [Zhao Chenghuang: Based on the style of the Spiritual Realm families, I suspect they're cultivating venom within. With an energy pack attached, their hidden rating improves, raising the difficulty of entering the quest. Once they grow strong, they'll become true powerhouses.] [Zhao Chenghuang: If they fail to grow, it indicates insufficient innate potential—dying would then be a reasonable outcome. For the Spiritual Realm families to thrive over the long term, they must ensure a steady generation of capable successors. The reason this matter remains unpublicized is likely because it's not particularly dignified—it's simply a well-established unwritten rule.] [All Under Heaven Returns to Fire: Zhao Chenghuang's analysis makes perfect sense. @Yuanshishen, who have you encountered?] Zhang Yuanqing had been eagerly waiting for someone to ask this, and immediately began typing rapidly: [Yuanshishen: The opponents in this quest are particularly strong—the Greedy General, YiChuan Mei, the Serpent Maiden, plus a fifth-level Spirit Master and a fifth-level Mist Lord, all in their sixth-tier state.] That explains why he nearly perished in the quest—matched against figures of general-level strength… The divine generals under the Grand Commander—these were the most powerful among the elite, even now that they have attained the rank of Saint. The generals remain towering figures, worthy of profound admiration. They represent the base and the pinnacle of their stage. Besides the greedy general, Yuchuan Mei and the serpent maiden are also well-established Saints, featured on the official Saint-tier roster of those under pursuit—the Heavenly List. [Heaven's Return of Fire: Wait, you've returned—this means the evil faction has been defeated. Who were your teammates? ] Sun Liushui, Zhao Chenghuang, and Xiahou Aotian suddenly realized the significance of this development: the greedy general, Yuchuan Mei, and the serpent maiden all perished within the Spiritual Realm. Such a feat will undoubtedly shake the realms. Who accomplished it? [The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign: Huang Taiji, Jiang Ju, and Cai Long, the Divine Beings.] Xiahou Aotian, Sun Miaomiao, and Zhao Chenghuang now understood: Huang Taiji and Jiang Ju are among the official Four Princes, already established as six-tier strength, with Jiang Ju particularly competing with the renowned Qian Prince, whose techniques Only such a lineup could defeat the well-established evil professions—Greed God-General and Yi-chuan Mei. [Zhao Chenguang: So it's them, no wonder... Yuan Shi Tianzun, have you reached level five?] He was eager to find out Yuan Shi Tianzun's level. Surely level five by now—having cleared such a high-difficulty dungeon, the experience points earned must be substantial... The other three silently pondered, their eyes fixed on their phone or computer screens. [Yuan Shi Tianzun: I've reached level six.] Upon receiving this reply, the four members in the group each thought of a string of questions. [Yuan Shi Tianzun: I've defeated the Greed God-General, the Serpent Maiden, and Yi-chuan Mei. I plan to transform them into yin corpses. @Zhao Chenguang, once I finish, you can give them a touch.] [Sun Miao Miao: Ha! Give me one too!] She had almost been convinced—only after reading the next message did she realize Yuan Shi Tianzun was joking. Zhao Chenguang and Xiahou Aotian shared the same thoughts as hers. We didn't want to scare you... Zhang Yuanqing opened his camera, took a photo of the greedy deity on the ground and the Hundred-Person-Slaying hero, then saw Fu Qingyang had replied: [Fu Qingyang: The strategy report is good—I'll forward it to Huang Taidi.] [Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun: Thank you so much. By the way, I've brought back the bodies of the greedy deity and the others. I'm planning to transform them into yin corpses—three level-6 yin corpses and one level-6 spirit servant. Among them, two of the yin corpses are level-5 upgraded to level-6. Approximately how much will this cost?] [Fu Qingyang: Assuming no failure in the transformation and no material waste, it should cost around 200 million.] Two hundred million... My material budget is only one hundred million, and I still have a small target to reach. However, if I exchange the merits from defeating the greedy deity, Yi Chuan Mei, and the serpent maiden into cash and materials, I should be more than sufficient... Zhang Yuanqing typed out his message and replied: "Boss, yin corpse creation should be done as At the same time, he messaged Xiahou Aotian in the group: [Yuanshishitan: @Xiahou Aotian, Have you handled the antique auction?] [Xiahou Aotian: I’ll go collect the payment at Wanbaoyu tomorrow. The total auctioned amount is 60 million, with each of us receiving 12 million. Even Lian San Yue was won over by my good looks and commanding presence, and decided not to charge us a commission.] Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, and Tianxia Guihuo were all delighted and eagerly anticipating the arrival of the substantial funds. While the former two come from wealthy families, having family wealth is different from their own personal financial strength—especially for Tianxia Guihuo, who started from humble roots and had limited income streams. A sum of 12 million would go a long way, whether for improving his lifestyle or for purchasing materials, allowing him to feel financially comfortable for a while. And they still have many more such antiques. Won over by your commanding presence? Lian San Yue doesn’t exactly come off as a kind-hearted person… Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, but then saw Fu Qing Zhang Yuanqing replied with a "wildly bowing" emoji. Then, he posted the photo to the "Main Character Team Striving Group" chat. The photo showed two bodies: an elderly man with white hair, and a tall, heavily tattooed man. The two lay side by side on warm, maple wood flooring. While the tattooed man was unfamiliar to Sun Miaomiao and the others, he was well-known as the famed Greedy General—a notorious evil class, consistently ranked among the top on the wanted list—and they had seen his profile before. 【Sun Miaomiao: ???】 【Xia Hou Aotian: !!!】 Zhao Chenghuang and Tianxian Guihuo each sent a series of ellipsis. …… The Capital. At his desk, Zhao Chenghuang stared at the photo in the chat, momentarily stunned. As one of the Eight Heavenly Generals under the Command of the Heavenly General of the Army, the Greedy General was a well-known evil class, and Zhao naturally recognized him. There was no doubt that the elderly man with white hair and shoulder-length hair in the photo was the Greedy General. Could it be that the Orderly faction had simply delivered the General Zhao Chenghuang still didn't believe that Yuan Shi Tianzun had advanced six levels. He thought Yuan Shi Tianzun had simply exchanged the corpses of his fellow teammates for the promotion, but then he reconsidered—fourth-level officials simply couldn't possibly craft a sixth-level yin corpse; fifth level was the absolute limit. At that moment, he saw Sun Miao Miao privately messaging him: 【Sun Miao Miao: Hurry and check out the Five Elements Alliance's forum.】 The Five Elements Alliance's forum? Hesitant, Zhao Chenghuang opened the forum. —As a member of the Taiyuan Sect, he had access but couldn't post or comment. The interface flickered, and the forum appeared. Zhao Chenghuang's eyes widened instantly. On the homepage, a red-highlighted, pinned post stood out, with the title: #Yuan Shi Tianzun Advances Two Levels at a Time, Eliminating Senior Officers from Three Major Organizations# The post was authored by the Songhai Branch. Zhao Chenghuang gasped, and quickly clicked to read it. "A few days ago, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun encountered the greedy general of Bing Zhuang Jiang, Yi Chuan Mei of the Void Sect (Southern Branch), and the serpent maiden of the Ling Neng Association's Western Division, as well as the northwest's great blade commander, Bai Ren Zhuan, all three of whom were six-tiered disciples." "Facing imminent peril, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun rallied and defeated all three six-tiered disciples, turning the tide of battle. This engagement stands as his most triumphant moment since his debut and marks a resounding victory for the Wu Xing Alliance." Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun... Zhao Cheng Huang leaned back against the chair back, expression stunned. "Sun Miao Miao: This kid is truly extraordinary—he's actually reached six-tier status! Back then, during the arena matches, he was ranked lower than you. Now he's completely overwhelming us, woe is me..." Zhao Cheng Huang's lips twitched slightly, each word from Sun Miao Miao striking deep into his heart. A strong sense of anxiety surged within him—he longed to enter the副本 immediately and level up two more tiers. "I don't believe it. I don't believe In the villa's bedroom, at his desk, Xue Hou Ao Tian was enthusiastically pounding the table, his face contorted with fury: "Master Yuan Shishen is clearly my younger brother. Yet, he's managed feats that even I, the protagonist, haven't achieved. How is that possible?" "How is it possible that he achieves feats that belong exclusively to the protagonist?" Xue Hou Ao Tian repeated the sentence with growing intensity. He was also reviewing the Five Elements Alliance's forum. As soon as he read the post content, he felt a sharp sting—especially the official members at the bottom of the thread, who were mindlessly praising Master Yuan. "Master Yuan is absolutely outstanding!" "His achievements surpass even Qian Gong's!" "The first to reach the Saint level!" "I can't wait to see the senior officers of the evil organization trembling in awe." Such comments left Xue Hou Ao Tian, who saw himself as the protagonist, so envious that he felt as though his very being had been separated from his body. A spiritual resonance emanated from the ring: "This young man truly possesses extraordinary talent. The chaos among the Five Elements? The Five Elements...?" Xue Hou Ao Tian calmed himself, "What about the "The Qin dynasty's court magician sighed, saying, 'You've been asking me about the First Emperor's affairs all along, haven't you? Well, the First Emperor was truly a rare genius—perhaps the first in history to fully grasp the mysteries of the Five Elements. He designed the ceremonial robe for celestial worship, and it's said that while wearing this robe, he ascended on Mount Tai to perform the ritual of sealing the heavens, thus establishing communication with the Celestial Deity, from whom he received the secret of eternal life.' Xia Hou Ao Tian scoffed, 'Then how did the First Emperor still die?' The magician smiled, 'I heard this from Xu Fu, though that young man is full of lies. The First Emperor himself rarely responded directly—how could I know which parts were true?' It erased his pride and surged with anxiety. Too intense! ... The Capital City, Qianniao Lake. Qianniao Lake is an artificial lake, named for the abundance of waterfowl during spring and summer. It's small, covering only seven mu in area, with clear water—no fish, no aquatic plants—so that from depths of over ten meters, one can clearly see the stones at the lakebed. The water is drinkable, thanks to Master Cai, the water deity residing in quiet slumber beneath the lakebed. A group of people hurried along the lake's greenery, arriving swiftly at the shore and stopping at the artificial lake's edge. At the forefront stood a middle-aged man with a pale face, no beard, and a somber expression. "Hand me the report," he said, his tone grave. "All of you, step back." His assistant respectfully handed over a file folder and then departed with his bodyguards. After they had gone, he bowed deeply to the lake surface and spoke with a resonant voice: "Father, the Dragon God has died within the realm." The calm lake surface suddenly surged with waves, now agitated and turbulent. Though it was merely a small lake, the surging waves conveyed a terrifying pressure, reminiscent of a tsunamid. A figure formed from clear water rose from the waves, and a deep, resonant voice echoed across the lake, "The Dragon God has a means of transportation—how could he possibly die?" The voice carried both anger and urgency. Cai Shuishi's body instinctively trembled; his face turned pale, and even his breathing grew labored under the strength of his father's presence. Cai Longshen, his father's most beloved grandson, had been cherished far more than either of his sons or daughters. Faced with his father's questioning tone, Cai Shuishi lowered his head further, offering a folder with both hands, saying, "This is the task report from Jiang Ju, Huang Taiqi, and Yuan Shishen." The folder floated upward, opened, and hovered before the figure of water. Cai Longshen swiftly read through the report, then remained silent for a while. "Then, what do you think?" Cai Longshen asked gently. Cai Shuishi looked deeply saddened, "Long Shen was far too careless. If he had left the realm earlier, things wouldn't have turned out this way..." He knew his son best. The report described exactly what had happened—this truly was something Long Shen would do. "Cai Shui Shi was taken aback, 'Father, what exactly do you mean?' 'I am not a diviner of hexagrams, nor a celestial official,' Cai the Elder coldly replied to his son, then added, 'Have my seal drawn up an application, activate the tiger seal, and personally go and inquire directly with Yuan Shi Tian Zun and Huang Tai Ji.' 'Yes!' Cai Shui Shi said firmly. The King of Fear expressed the displeasure of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, believing that the Primordial Sovereign and the General of War are inherently at odds. From the King of the Magician's Eye to the Lord of Lust, and now the Lord of Greed, three senior figures have already fallen victim to his influence. Zhang Yuanqing immediately delivered a lengthy and detailed explanation of his understanding of freedom, earning the King of Fear's strong appreciation. He gently reminded the Primordial Sovereign that the one-month period was rapidly approaching—should the Sovereign not wish to accompany the Lord of Greed back to the Spiritual Realm, he should use his wits to save the Lord of the Magician's Eye. Zhang Yuanqing had no appetite for dinner. On the villa's terrace, a streak of starlight rose. He glanced at the overcast night sky and sighed. "Let me use the art of stargazing to assess the pros and cons of rescuing the Lord of the Magician's Eye. If the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, I shall use my perfect human skin to counteract the curse..." Zhang Yuanqing gazed into the dark sky and opened his star-eyed vision.