"The S-tier dungeon—really unexpected, yet perfectly logical," Guan Ya sighed. "When I used to tackle A-tier dungeons, I'd have to risk my life. Now, with this S-tier one, I'm not even sure if I'll make it back alive." "Don't be so down!" Zhang Yuanqing gave her a solid slap on the hip. "Didn't I tell you to go to your cousin, the one who always wins people over with his virtue, and ask for something special before entering the dungeon?" "You go ask him!" Guan Ya huffed at him. "He might not give me anything valuable, but he'll definitely give it to you." He had a top-tier scout's item that he gifted to Fu Qingyang. And whenever Fu Qingyang had something good, he always thought of him first. So who was really the elder sister, and who was truly the girlfriend? Zhang Yuanqing just chuckled. "Who else would you have expected to be the one who's always falling short?" "Zhang Yuanqing, you're trying to kill me!" Guan Ya was furious, raising her hand to deliver a sharp palm strike. "Hush—don't mention your real name. The "Alright, the cost of her prop is fifteen minutes of ringing in the ears each time it's used—she usually doesn't use it." "How do you know?" "I borrowed it and used it while completing missions." Zhang Yuanqing nodded and opened the chat app, creating a temporary group chat, inviting all the sages from the guild, including the Japanese Shina Ryō. —To facilitate communication and coordination, she had specifically downloaded the Chinese version of the chat app. [Original: Yuan Shi Tian Zun: Everyone, have you seen the guild's副本 information? Unfortunately, the first-stage sage-level副本 is rated S-tier. Considering my current level, the difficulty of this副本 is truly daunting. Anyone who wishes to withdraw, please let me know now.] An S-tier副本 is one that even he himself lacks life support. Among the guild's sages, only Xia Hou Ao Tian is at level four; the rest are at level four or below, making their entry into the副本 too risky. The realm-level instance has no choice, but the guild instance allows retreat—everyone in the group is a friend, a girlfriend, a potential romantic interest, or someone who might become one. Therefore, Zhang Yuanqing feels it's necessary to remind them. [Zhao Chenghuang: I've reported to my ancestor. If I die in the instance, he won't hold you accountable—this is my own choice.] [Xiahou Aotian: I don't need to report to my family. My experience points are at 89%. If I successfully clear this S-tier guild instance, I'll advance to the sixth level smoothly.] [Red Chicken Brother: @Xiahou Aotian, you certainly don't need to report—your family barely pays attention to you. My experience points are at 77%. If I clear this S-tier guild instance and complete one solo realm-level instance this month, I'll reach the fifth level.] [Xiahou Aotian: @Red Chicken Brother, if you can't speak, just stay quiet. Look at Tianxia Guihuo—both of us are fire masters, yet how big is the gap between us?] [Red Chicken Brother: Nonsense. He's a 】 【The World Turns to Fire: If I have to give up my mind, I'd rather be humiliated myself.】 【Red Chicken Brother: What do you mean? Are you implying I'm not sharp? Do you want to fight me?】 【Sun Miaomiao: He's been clear about it.】 【Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn: Everyone, just shut up!】 Truly, as soon as Red Chicken Brother walked in, the situation went out of control... Zhang Yuancheng stabilized things with his authority as Master. 【Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn: No one is leaving, is that right, Shallowya Ryō? Are you not fluent in Chinese?】 【Shallowya Ryō: I am, Yuan Shǐ Lord. I'd like to level up, and I believe Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn will guide us through this journey smoothly. Thank you (bows).】 【Red Chicken Brother: You know, these Japanese folks are quite interesting—always bowing.】 【Sun Miaomiao: Their bowing spirit is still commendable (smiles).】 【Xia Hou Aotian: Is the character wrong?】 【Sun Miaomiao: No, it's correct Xiaohou Aotian: Oh, you're mocking the Japanese islanders, aren't you? Believe me, she'll spray you with a full face of nuclear wastewater! Asahina Ryouta silently glanced at the screen, sensing the deep hostility from her foreign friend. Yet, she dared not argue with the group in the chat—only muttering under her breath: Haha! After several exchanges, no one left the group. Xiaohou Aotian and Kogane were just one challenging boss dungeon away from leveling up, while Red Chicken Brother was on track to clear an S-tier dungeon, pushing his experience points to the peak of his current level. The others had already reached the late stages of this level. One S-tier dungeon could save them at least two months of effort. As for Zhang Yuanqing himself—he currently held only 7% experience, placing him in the early stages of Level 6. If he could boost that to over 90%, his combat strength would double. That would allow him to finally refine the two Level-6 undead corpses sealed within the Little Red Cap. One person, five Level-6 undead corpses—still not counting his spiritual servants. Who else in Level 6 Master Yuan Shi: Since no one has withdrawn, I'd like to go over a few points here. For everyone's safety, please retrieve the items and materials from the Master Stage and place them in your inventory—don't leave them there. Don't try to work around bugs; the Spirit Realm won't give you that chance. Once you carry any Master Stage items, your entire team will face catastrophic consequences. This message was primarily directed at the Ground Palace team. Red Chicken Brother: Where do these Master Stage items even come from? Can't we even buy them? Master Yuan Shi: There's no perfect option—please prepare and enter the Guild Dungeon at 10 o'clock. It's currently 9:30, so he needs to give the others at Tianxia Guihu a few minutes to store their items. Notably, Zhang Yuanqing has already handed over the Master-level materials and the "Five Elements Chaos" experience cards to Fu Qingyang, asking him to keep them safe. Right now, the only Master-level item he's carrying is the "Qing Di Jade Belt," though this item has significant limitations—its enhancement from the beast form cannot carry over between stages. When Zhang Yuanqing ascends to the status of Sovereign in the future, he will still gain an enhancement from this jade belt. But currently, as a Saint-level cultivator, even after transforming into a beast, he can only reach the peak of Level Six. "Have you secured the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk?" Guan Ya asked. Before the副本was generated, they had discussed at length during the late nights about what to do if they were matched with an S-tier副本—primarily aiming to "degrade" toward Sovereign status to ensure the team's survival rate. Secondly, they planned to stock up on premium items at the Saint-level stage, including the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk and the Saint Infant. When Zhang Yuanqing originally returned the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk, he had made an agreement with the Jianghu Branch, allowing him to borrow it three times. The Jianghu Branch agreed, but added one condition: approval from Fu Qingyang. Fu Qingyang readily granted his approval and submitted the usage request to headquarters. However, headquarters held onto the request without clearly rejecting it, and every time Qian Gong called in, the response was always the same: "The process is underway—please be patient The process can take several days, months, or even years. "The application was finally approved, and Fu Qingyang eventually reached out to the head of Jianghu Branch, sponsoring eight million yuan under the Fu family's name. Hey, it was approved on the very day of submission," Zhang Yuan said with a cold smile. "I bet that money will be split evenly among Jianghu Branch and headquarters personnel." Upon hearing this, Guan Ya furrowed her brows—some people at headquarters and Jianghu Branch had effectively gouged Fu Qingyang hard, leveraging their power. Eight million yuan could buy a top-tier item, though it might well be priceless in the market. "You and Fu Qingyang aren't really the ones who've come out on the short end of the stick. Have you thought through your strategy for retaliation?" Guan Ya asked. Zhang Yuan gave a sly smile. "This Yin-Yang Rotating Disk has now come into my hands. Getting it back won't be easy. Once we exit the quest, I'll inform Jianghu Branch that the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk—*"he snapped his fingers*—"is gone!" Guan Ya frowned. "What a poor idea—how will Jianghu "Can the headquarters agree?" "Rest assured," Zhang Yuanqing spoke with confidence. "When we signed the agreement, it was clearly stated in black and white: should the Yin-Yang Rotating Disc be lost, Jianghu Branch will reclaim everything I've received, and my A-level merit will be erased by headquarters." "Five million in cash, one piece of equipment of Saint-tier quality, and a B-level merit. As for the merit—well, I can take it or leave it. It no longer holds much value for me. I've already gone head-to-head with headquarters. What do I need a merit for?" "I don't lack Saint-tier equipment. As for the five million in cash—well, I've already transferred this property into my elder brother's name. My bank account balance isn't high, and the funds have already been converted into cash." "I won't be asking for money. At worst, they'll classify me as a defaulting debtor and deduct a portion of my salary each month to settle the debt. But will that matter to me? Compared to the Yin-Yang Rotating Disc, these are nothing." "You're truly cunning." Guan Ya gently squeezed her boyfriend's face. "It's actually Zhang Yuanqing hummed, "Since they don't play by the rules, don't expect us to deceive or launch a surprise attack—whatever they've taken, they'll have to regurgitate it all." As he spoke, it was exactly 10 a.m. Zhang Yuanqing opened his guild interface and clicked on "Mo Sect's Machine City." A familiar sound from the spiritual realm came through, counting down from 30 seconds. The scenery around him rippled and blurred. A gentle, hazy wave of shimmering light spread out, then settled, revealing clear blue skies, white clouds, and lush green mountains and rivers. Zhang Yuanqing found himself standing on a winding country path, dense forests stretching before him, majestic mountain ranges rising like dragons in the distance, and rolling grasslands behind him, dotted with vibrant wildflowers. Beside him was Guan Ya, and farther away were Xiao Yuan, Tian Xia Gui Huo, Zhao Chenghuang, Sun Miao Miao, Xiahou Aotian, Hong Jigong, and Shanzhong Liang. A total of nine people. "Hello, laggards! It's good to see you all again!" Red Chicken Brother took the initiative to engage warmly, shaking hands one by one with Sun Miaomiao and the others. —— Tianxia Guihuo ignored him. Red Chicken Brother then hurried over to shake hands warmly with Asahi Ryouta, "Oh, you're such a beautiful sister! So charming. Let me introduce myself—Hua Du, I'm Red Chicken Brother. We Hua Du people are quite reserved. Asahi sister, do you have a boyfriend? I'd be happy to introduce you to one." Tianxia Guihuo said calmly, "Your enthusiasm seems very much like someone from Northeast China." Red Chicken Brother paid no attention to him, bustling over to Xiao Yuan, praising her cool elegance while enthusiastically declaring, "Master Yuan Shi Tian Zun, this is Xiao Yuan, right? The spirit guide who betrayed your faction in the Five Elements Chaos instance! Oh, she truly is beautiful—Is she your girlfriend?" Xiao Yuan glanced at him coldly, then turned to Guan Ya and said, "My official girlfriend is over there." The atmosphere suddenly grew still. Everyone turned their attention to Guan Ya. Red Chicken Brother's warm smile faltered on his face. Guan Ya smiled gracefully, "Hello, I'm Guan Ya, the girlfriend of Yuan Shi." "Oh, wow—Lei Hou, Lei Hou—ah, haha, ha ha!" Red Chicken Brother stammered, embarrassed. Such a man—clearly already in a relationship, yet still lingering in an ambiguous romance with the spirit medium, and on top of that, constantly teasing me... Sun Miao Miao puffed out her cheeks, her expression immediately falling. How could he have brought both his girlfriend and the person he's romantically involved with into the副本? That was simply unwise. Tianxiu quietly frowned. Such a lackluster move didn't seem like something Yuan Shi Tianzun would do—something that would make sense for Xiaohou Aotian or Red Chicken Brother instead. Yuan Shi Tianzun certainly has excellent taste when it comes to choosing a partner, but how could he possibly bring two women together? Did he really think he was the hero of a novel? Xiahou Aotian found this young man arrogant and out of touch, lacking the qualities of a true protagonist—he had the symptoms of a protagonist, but not the destiny. He hadn't even found his romantic companion At that moment, everyone simultaneously received a spiritual realm notification: 【Ping! Please reach the Mo Sect before dark.】 "Ah, ah, ah…" Zhang Yuanqing broke the awkward silence with a composed demeanor, saying, "A new side quest has appeared—we need to reach the Mo Sect before dark. That suggests the Mo Sect is neither too far nor too close. I'll head out to check around nearby hills." He turned his gaze toward the towering, layered mountains. "You all stay put." With that, he produced his sky-blue Wind-Bringer gloves, pressed his palms downward, and, amid a gusting wind, glided through the forest, soaring toward the distant mountain range. Watching Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun swiftly vanish into the distance, the group silently shared the same thought: He's off again! The sky was like a stage, with clouds suspended in the heavens, as soft as cotton candy. Zhang Yuanqing looked down, and the dense canopy of trees spread out like a lush green carpet, concealing the landscape beneath. He soon arrived at the nearest mountain peak, gliding along the winding ridges, landing several times during the journey to recharge his flight abilities. Half an hour later, after coming back to the team with no results, Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "I didn't see any remains of a city." He then cleared his mind, waiting for his teammates to analyze. Each of them was a talent—though their speech wasn't as smooth as his, their minds were sharp. Indeed, the fire commander never failed to deliver, pausing thoughtfully: "The mechanical city of the Mo Sect isn't too far away; if it were much farther, we wouldn't find it within a day. But since we've been given a full day, locating the entrance will likely take some effort. It should be somewhere within these mountains." The direction was now clear. "Then, how do we find the entrance?" Red Chicken Brother asked, as always, habitually letting his mind go blank. Just as Guan Ya was about to speak, she suddenly noticed a farmer tending to a cow appear on the open plain behind her, and her eyes lit up instantly. "Isn't that our NPC just arriving?" she smiled. Zhang Yuanqing led the team over. The farmer was startled to see a group of people dressed in strange attire rushing toward him, and he immediately grabbed the reins and hurried back. "Hold on!" Zhang Yuanqing blocked his retreat. "You—you must be someone new. Who are you?" the farmer stared at them in alarm. "Have you ever heard of the Mo Sect's City of Machinery?" Zhang Yuanqing said straightforwardly.