"People change. Who can guarantee they'll always be good throughout their lives? A peak master constantly preaching about saving the world—this alone is already quite terrifying." Sun Elder spoke calmly. "Terrifying?" Victoria furrowed her brow. Sun Elder chuckled, "Isn't someone with a rigid mindset equally frightening?" As he swayed gently in his chair, the creaking sound dissolved the brilliance in his eyes. Gazing upward at the sky, his gaze lost focus, drifting into distant memories: "Among the elders of Taimei Sect, Shanhe Yongcun and Lingtuo have the closest relationship. Lingtuo is a spiritual traveler from the late Republican era, born during a time of war when the nation was falling and the family was shattered. Therefore, he deeply admires Lingtuo's philosophy of saving the world." "But in the eyes of the other elders, this Seventeenth Prince came across a bit overly dramatic—well, the term 'dramatic' hadn't been coined yet. Though he possessed exceptional talent, as the son of the Grand Master, his demeanor seemed rather unsteady, falling short of the composure expected of someone entrusted with leading an official organization. Running a formal institution was quite different from engaging in constant battles and skirmishes. "Later, the Master demanded that he surrender the core fragment, but Ling Tu refused, and the two ended up in a heated argument, parting without resolving anything." Ling Jun exclaimed, "How could a peak-level Sovereign possibly argue with someone like that?" Senior Sun shook his head: "Perhaps it was simply because the core fragment wasn't with him. The Master didn't press him. But ever since then, Ling Tu had rarely returned to the Taimei Sect. The following year, in 1999, suddenly one day, Shanhé Yǒngshēng informed me that Ling Tu was about to undertake a great undertaking. If successful, it would reveal the secret of the Lingjing realm, uncovering the truth behind the extinction of ancient cultivators, and thus allowing Lingjing cultivators to escape their fate of extinction." "What is the secret of the Lingjing realm?" Victoria extinguished her cigarette and sat upright. As the rocking chair creaked gently, Senior Sun replied: "I don't know, because Ling Tu never returned. The Master said he had passed away. Then, Chiji Xingguan erased all records of Ling Tu." "The landscape and rivers had dimmed for a while, yet after six months, he suddenly came to me and said something utterly inexplicable..." Pausing here, he looked puzzled and bewildered—years later, those words still remained a mystery in his heart. Ling Jun and Victoria didn't ask any questions; they simply watched him in silence. The Senior Brother Ling slowly said: "He claimed that the ultimate state of Lawfulness was collapse, destruction, coldness—everything had gone wrong. It was the Chaotic faction that truly embodied Lawfulness. The current Lawful faction was now acting against the very nature of the universe. He invited me to leave the Taimei Sect and establish a new organization—named... the Night Rose!" Could Chaos be Lawfulness? And was the Lawful faction, in fact, Chaotic? Ling Jun and Victoria exchanged stunned glances. Ling Jun murmured, "Has he gone mad?" "This was just a complaint, yet Master Sun unexpectedly nodded. "Yes, he's gone mad—his mental state is terribly off. So I didn't agree to his request. At the time, I intended to inform Master Grand Elder, but suddenly he erupted, fighting me fiercely. My adopted child..." Sun Elder turned his head, gazing at the locust tree, a sense of regret flashing in his eyes. "The one who was burned to death then." The locust tree's branches and leaves swayed gently without a breeze, as if offering comfort. Sun Elder turned back, continuing. "I wasn't strong enough to hold on—he left the Taimei Sect and never returned again. Grand Elder, the Red Sun Judge, erased his records and officially declared Shanhe Yongcun to have returned to the spiritual realm. "Two years later, the Chu family was wiped out by the Commander's Academy and the Night Rose. The rule-based artifact, the Mother's Womb, was lost." Ling Jun stood there, weary, murmuring, "Brother Seventeen—no, Ling Tu—that's when he revived, wasn't it?" He and Chu Family’s Chu Shang were as close as brothers—there was no need to wipe out the entire family just to use rule-based items. This simply doesn’t make sense… It’s completely different from what he expected. In this past incident, Brother Seventeen should have been the hero, and the father of the “horse-riding” character the true antagonist. Ling Jun suddenly remembered something, fixing his gaze sharply on Sun Elder: “Wait—last time I asked you, did you confirm that he killed Ling Tu? You simply nodded in agreement, didn’t you?” Sun Elder replied calmly: “That was merely to prevent you from digging deeper. Haven’t you noticed? There’s a thick fog of mystery surrounding this old matter?” Victoria nodded, turning to her beloved: “The Master is not particularly attached to bloodline ties—he is far from being a father who indulges his son. If he desires the core fragments of the Radiant Compass, he will surely obtain them. How can he simply let go of Ling Tu then? The condition for using the Mother Goddess’s Womb requires both a blood packet and a blood relative. Ling Tu must have known he would die! "As you said, Ling Tuo and Chu Shang are closer than brothers—how could he need the Mother Goddess's Womb to be revived, when the entire family would have to be wiped out? How did Shan He Yong Cun go mad? Who conveyed to him those inverted truths? These are all questions we still can't resolve. We don't yet know what role the Master of the Gate played. Sun Elder's decision not to let you investigate was indeed correct." Ling Jun stood motionless, expression blank, gazing ahead. The Dog Elder sighed, saying, "When the Chu family was destroyed, the Night Rose had no leader. Only now, after all these years, do I finally understand the meaning of the Magician's eyes' words." "This matter must be settled by the One Gate," Fu Qingyang said coldly. "How? If it's about capturing Ling Tuo, then we've been doing that for years," Zhao Elder replied calmly. "Please clarify the situation," said the Dihong Elder, "There are many inconsistencies in what you've just described—how did Ling Tuo die? Why did Shan He Yong Cun defect from the One Gate? And why were the powers of Sun Elder stripped away?" Facing the probing questions from the Grand Elder of the Five Elements Alliance, Zhao Elder's microphone on his forehead trembled, and his tone remained cold. "Some things we simply don't know. Some things only the Master knows. There are matters the Half-God is unwilling to speak about—no one can force him to." "In fact, today's meeting holds no real significance—other than learning the enemy's true identity. But does it matter who the leader of the Night Rose is? Once we establish their identity, grasp the details of the case, and apprehend them? We are law enforcers, yet we are not peacekeepers. We are travelers of the Spirit Realm. Most of the time, when facing enemies or evil forces, we do not need evidence or justification—we simply eradicate them. You only need to know that Ling Tu has become a fallen one, having betrayed the alliance. That is sufficient. Identity matters little—no matter whether he is, in truth, merely a dog. He remains a half-god, a formidable adversary capable of standing against the Grand Master and the Five Allied Masters. Our struggle against the Night Rose will continue without change, regardless of who its leader is, and regardless of whether we now know the identity of the hidden organization's leader—we will not be able to capture him simply because we have learned it." Fu Qingyang laughed coldly, "Don't change the subject. At any time, intelligence is always the most important. The Taimei Sect says nothing, yet expects the Wuxing Alliance to clean up after them?" Zhao Elder was equally firm: "First of all, we don't need you to clean up after the Taimei Sect. Go ask the alliance leaders themselves why the head of the Night Rose never appears. Second, if you don't confront the Night Rose, how will it infiltrate the Wuxing Alliance? "I just said that the half-gods won't reveal what they wish to keep hidden. Do you really think the five alliance leaders know nothing? At most, they may not be aware of Lingtuo—yet do the alliance leaders care whether the Night Rose's leader is Lingtuo or just a dog?" The meeting room fell silent for a moment. The Dog Elder cleared his throat, "If the leader is indeed Lingtuo, then everything becomes clear. Besides the phone call, there's also a handwritten note left by the Master of Heaven. Lingtuo is one of the Shadow Twins, and he must be familiar with the Master's handwriting." However, by this point, no one cared about this little matter anymore, or perhaps they simply accepted the explanation and thought further discussion was unnecessary. Dai Hong, the Senior Monastic, spoke coldly, "Let's adjourn." Before Fu Qingyang could speak, she beamed excitedly, "This is truly a wonderful treasure—it enhances all my skills below the half-divine level, including passive abilities. My combat power will improve by at least twenty percent." Fu Qingyang's stern face tightened, as if witnessing his wife and lover displaying affection right before him. "I'll only play this trick for a few days." "Spring, summer, autumn, and winter." "Fu Qingxuan!" Qian Gongzi burst into rage, finally unable to contain himself. "After you ascended to the rank of Sovereign, you never entered the instance. How could you possibly have encountered such a rare item in a Level 7 instance? Who gave it to you?" Fu Qingxuan asked curiously. Fu Qingyang paid no attention. "It must be from the Prime Immortal Sovereign," Fu Qingxuan said with a calm smile. "I noticed this even during my time in the Spirit City. Honestly, how much did you pay him? Double it, then!" "As a gift!" The female marshal on the other end was momentarily stunned, silent for a long time. Long after, she said seriously, "Your friendship is deeper than I imagined. After I've studied for a week, I'll return to you. Yuan Shi Tian Zun will become your trusted ally and a solid foundation for your life." "Are you teaching me how to do things?" Qian Gongzi remained as proud as ever and hung up the phone. Beep! The phone rang once. The screen displayed a message from "Fu Qingxuan." Qian Gongzi opened it, his face pale with shock. [Fu Qingxuan: This photo is quite good.] The photo had changed from a white-haired beauty to someone sharing a big quilt. [Fu Qingyang: Please restore the photo.] [Fu Qingxuan: Are you teaching me how to do things?] [Fu Qingyang: Add a week to the cloak.] The Marshal quietly restored the photo. ... In the evening, Fu Qingyang sat behind his desk, Zhang Yuanqing stood before it, both of them gazing at the phone on the desk, the screen showing the caller—Ling Jun! "...The information I've gathered is all that I have. As for the various疑points behind this matter, even Master Sun isn't fully aware of them—Victoria believes he isn't." Ling Jun spoke with a somewhat subdued tone. This had been a significant blow to him. "Fu Qingyang, what about the meeting's outcome? Do you have any further points to add?" Ling Jun asked. "In fact, I know even less than you do," Fu Qingyang replied with a cold demeanor. "Master Zhao refused to disclose any information. He is a peak-level Sovereign, and thus should know more than Master Sun. However, even considering your insights, I believe he may not be fully aware of the full picture either." "It's the very opposite of what we expected—chaos is the order, and true madness! Master Ling Tuo had already passed away. Who informed the Mountain River Everlasting of these information that completely upended our expectations?" Zhang Yuanqing murmured in quiet admiration. "You mean to say... the stallion has been orchestrating all of this from behind the scenes?" Ling Jun, a perceptive individual, immediately grasped the implication. "Who knows? Let's first set aside your stallion father and work through Zhang Yuanqing placed both hands on the table, staring at his phone, and said: "After the competition for the Light Compass, the Four Free Spirits—already close to uncovering the truth of the Spiritual Realm—gained profound insights from the core fragments. Thus, they decided to undertake a major initiative, possibly completely unraveling the secrets of the Spiritual Realm. They were well aware of the life-threatening risks ahead, so they had already prepared blood packages and blood relatives to facilitate resurrection." Ling Jun interrupted immediately: "Wait a moment—using blood relatives for resurrection sounds exactly like something the antagonists would do. Did the Free Spirits collectively go mad at that time?" Fu Qingyang also interrupted him, propping himself up on his elbow with his fingers crossed, and said: "It doesn't necessarily have to be blood relatives. Clones are also possible. Chu Shang is the Master of Fate, and creating a clone isn't difficult for him. In fact, he could even have the Three Free Spirits produce their own blood relatives through cloning." Zhang Yuanqing unconsciously covered his abdomen, then released his hand and continued, "In that incident, Ling Tu died. For some reason unknown, the Three Sons of Xiao Yao chose not to revive Ling Tu, which forced Ling Tu's supporters—the Mountain-Heaven Everlasting—to align with the Army Master's Church, join forces to eliminate the Chu family, and ultimately revive Ling Tu." "Why didn't the Three Sons of Xiao Yao revive Ling Tu?" Ling Jun asked. Zhang Yuanqing replied, "I don't know. This is the most core secret. Without understanding what actually happened back then, we'll never be able to figure it out." "That makes it impossible to investigate now," Ling Jun sighed. "What do you think, Elder?" Zhang Yuanqing looked up at Fu Qingyang. Fu Qingyang remained expressionless, paying no attention to him. "Elder, you've suddenly grown cold toward me," Zhang Yuanqing said. Fu Qingyang sneered, "You'd better pray that Fu Qingxuan doesn't accidentally spread that photo." "What photo?" Ling Jun asked curiously from the other end of the phone. Yet Zhang Yuanqing and Fu Qingyang paid him no attention. Fu Qingyang lowered his elbow, settled his body weight onto the back of the chair, and gently tapped the table with his finger, speaking slowly: "To understand what happened back then, one must ask those who were present at the time. There's one person—no, there's one thing—that might know." "What thing?" Ling Jun asked. Zhang Yuanqing felt a spark of recognition, and then heard Fu Qingyang speak with steady emphasis: "The Zoo!" "According to the information provided by the Dog Elder during the meeting, the previous owner of the Zoo was Zhang, the Master of the Li Yang Twin, of the Xiao Yao Organization, who later bequeathed it to the Dog Elder." "After the meeting, I checked the records and found that the Dog Elder reported the transfer to headquarters on October 12, 2000—while Ling Tuo passed away in 1999." "That means Zhang the Master gave the Zoo to the Dog Elder after that incident. The item in question is the most trusted companion of the Ling Jing Xingzhe, a vessel with a spirit of its own, which knows everything about its master." "It might know what happened back then." Ling Fu Qingyang shook his head slightly: "The Dog Elder isn't stupid—he likely already realizes this, yet he hasn't convened a meeting or reported to headquarters. That suggests the spirit of the artifact hasn't informed him." "You're not saying much, are you? Well, at least that's a starting point," Ling Jun complained. At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing quietly walked toward the bar cabinet, pretending to pour a drink, thus avoiding any direct gaze from Fu Qingyang. He had a plan now—re-enter the zoo, posing as Zhang Zizhen, to gather intelligence from the artifact spirit. But his true identity remained a crucial secret, one he couldn't afford to reveal, and Fu Qingyang was simply too perceptive. He poured two glasses of whisky and, as he returned to the table, set aside the idea of the zoo and Zhang Zizhen. Sipping his drink, he sighed: "This matter currently has no clear breakthrough. Let's put it on hold for now. I need to organize my information. Master, please don't touch this case again until we have a clearer direction—then we'll reconnect." "He set down his wine glass." "Boss, I'm heading back to stay with Guan Ya, and I'll also refine the Yin Shi Ling Pu that my cousin gave me." "We'll act tonight." Fu Qingyang nodded. "Before dark, I'll have the materials arranged for you." Zhang Yuanqing bowed immediately and then dissolved into starlight. Fu Qingyang held his wine glass in his palm, silent for a few seconds, his gaze falling on the glass that Zhang had only taken a sip from—his eyes suddenly deepened. "You only drink soda, dummy!"