A chilling aura permeated the air, rapidly forming white frost around the white ghost woman, spreading toward the flower beds and stone pathways. As it passed, moisture in the air condensed, crackling into white frost. This cold wave continued to spread, flowing toward the surrounding buildings. Ghosts of master rank often trigger dramatic phenomena—solidifying into frost was nothing extraordinary, and snowfall in June was not uncommon. Damn it, has my luck been this bad lately? Zhang Yuanqing's spine hairs stood on end under the impact of the cold. "You troublesome thing!" Xi Zhe roared, pulling a handful of golden sand from his cloak and rushing forward, then throwing it toward the front. The sand scattered, adhering to the white ghost's form and emitting sharp, crackling sounds like a fireworks explosion—but quickly extinguished by the rising negative energy within the ghost. Nevertheless, the ghost's form now became tangible and clearly visible to the three of them. Seeing this, Xi Zhe dropped the bamboo pot, drew out the short knife inscribed with spiritual records, and charged forward with swift steps, leaping high to strike the white-robed female ghost. "Crack!" Suddenly, Xi Zhe's head rotated 180 degrees in mid-air, his face turning to face behind him, the flesh on his neck twisting into a spiral, the muscle fibers tearing and exposing the bone. He then fell silently to the ground, lifeless. A master-level spirit of resentment used its control over objects to snap his neck instantly. On the other side, Fu Xin Ou pulled out a porcelain bottle from his cloak, removed the wooden stopper, poured the dark-red liquid onto the short knife, and stepped into a series of energy patterns, chanting softly. Only when the knife glowed with a faint golden light, receiving its blessing, did he deeply exhalate and, with a gesture, send forth that golden light across the space. The white-robed female ghost shrieked in agony, her powerful negative energy like cold water poured into hot oil, splashing and bursting violently, evaporating half of it instantly. "Accursed one, perish!" Fu Xin Ou took The next instant, the female ghost appeared behind Fu Xinou and pressed forward. Fu Xinou's body suddenly went rigid; her pupils trembled, her face filled with terror, and she raised her sword to cut at her carotid artery. "Wooosh!" A sharp gust of wind erupted, and the short blade aimed at her throat clanged as if struck by a heavy blow, being knocked away. It was Zhang Yuanqing's wind blade. After rescuing Fu Xinou, Zhang Yuanqing quickly produced the little red hat and shook off the Lady Yin Yao. As soon as the lady appeared, she glanced around, startled by Fu Xinou in the distance, and hurriedly patted the cat king speaker tucked inside her waist satchel. ——She's attached this prop again. The cat king speaker emitted a buzzing electrical sound: "No audio found!" Lady Yin Yao grabbed the small microphone, shrieking, "A master-level dungeon? Are you serious? Are you serious? I'm going back to my hat!" The cat king speaker: "Recording successful!" Then it replayed Lady Yin Yao's earlier outburst. Zhang Yuanqing had no patience for small talk and simply issued her command: "If you want to live, summon your master for me." During the summoning ritual, stellar or lunar energy must be used to ignite the materials, and the summoner must continuously call out the person being summoned to carry the voice across. Thus, Zhang Yuanqing could only summon Lady Yin Yao to assist. Upon hearing that her master was to be summoned, Lady Yin Yao was instantly energized, darted over, and took over the host's position. Zhang Yuanqing also burst forward, rising gracefully amid the rushing wind, gathering golden light in her palm to form a dagger. At the very moment she collided with Fu Xin Ou, she plunged the dagger into his back. The golden dagger pierced through flesh and blood, spewing out hissing black smoke. The white ghost woman shrieked and bounced out. She drifted slowly to the flower garden, lifting her head that had been drooping at her neck, revealing a pale, blood-soaked face with seven orifices bleeding, and eyes of pure white filled with black blood. Then, she vanished without a trace. Zhang Yuanqing hummed lightly, raised his hand to gently tap his forehead, drawing out his resolute, unruly blue complexion, boosting his endurance by 50%, while a thick, black force surged in his eye sockets. Just as he completed these two actions, the female ghost materialized from behind him, successfully taking possession of his body. Ordinary spirits typically rely on limited attack methods—illusion, object manipulation, and possession. Although this white-clad female ghost had touched the realm of mastery, she was fundamentally powerful, having undergone no special refinement. For instance, like the ghost bride, who possesses the ability to emit pathogens. Nevertheless, even so, at the very moment of possession, Zhang Yuanqing, with his blue face activated and the "spirit-consuming" ability in full force, went rigid—his muscles and joints instantly stiffened, a profound cold sweeping through his body, significantly suppressing even his solar deity power. ——While solar deity power inherently counters the阴 (yin), it was relatively thin and thus could not exert absolute control over a master-level spirit. This is a dominion-level spirit, even more terrifying than I imagined... Night's spirit's devouring power and the sun god's strength have been completely reversed, and even the full 50% resistance of the blue-faced spirit hasn't been enough to withstand her possession. Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts are gradually slowing down, and his muscle tissues are rapidly deteriorating. The short knife by the side of Xi Zhe's body has its tip mysteriously arched, adjusted to a precise angle, and now aimed directly at Zhang Yuanqing's chest—whistling through the air, it shoots forward. Ichi and the ghost bride, both severely wounded in the cabin, are barely holding on, their spirits being nurtured within their bodies; though they still have a breath, any release will be instantly absorbed by the white-robed ghost. Even the lively, youthful infant spirit, just beginning to reach the level of a saint, is completely unable to intervene. And Zhang Yuanqing, facing a dominion-level spirit, dare not even attempt to step out and manipulate objects with his consciousness. "Thud!" A figure intercepts the knife's path, knocking it aside. It is Fu Xin Ou. Fu Xin Ou, With a sharp crack, the white-robed ghost burst out, shrieking as she used her ethereal aura to extinguish the golden sand. These ancient cultivators were truly full of treasures... Zhang Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief—this was precisely the reason he had vowed to save Fu Xinyou. Since the quest had assigned him two companions, they must be of great use. With the trio working together, their chances of successfully defeating the vengeful spirits were very high. If Fu Xinyou followed the fate of Xi Zhe, he would surely perish within the quest. Even if he escaped the immediate attack from the white-robed ghost, he would eventually succumb to later threats—specifically, the quest objective of slaying ten shadow creatures. Immediately after regaining his freedom, Zhang Yuanqing, with a slightly stiff hand, drew out a dark, round moon and pressed it against his forehead. In an instant, his demeanor transformed into something both eerie and regal—like a king of night, a duke of hell. Though his lunar aura was not as potent as the ghost’s, its quality surpassed countless others by orders of magnitude. The white-robed ghost’s ethereal aura became stagnant, as though Zhang Yuanqing, whose face bears a vine-like pattern, saw black, viscous energy surge again in his eyes, launching a "Soul Devouring" attack against the white-robed ghost. Opening his mouth, the Taiyin energy coalesced into a vortex of airflow, enveloping the ghost. The ghost immediately stirred its own yin energy to resist, creating a tense standoff. Fu Xinxiu seized the opportunity, withdrawing a porcelain bottle, pouring the dark-red liquid onto the blade, then stepping with precise footwork while chanting a spell. When a golden glow formed on the blade, he drove it through the ghost’s chest. With a piercing, agonized cry, the ghost’s body weakened, half of its yin energy evaporating, and it lost the strength to resist Zhang Yuanqing. Enveloped by the yin energy vortex, it was swallowed whole. Zhang Yuanqing did not absorb it immediately but sealed it within his body using Taiyin energy, intending to later transform it into a spiritual servant once he ascended to the rank of Sovereign. Unfortunately, the ghost had endured repeated attacks, and its yin energy had been significantly weakened; thus, when it was eventually refined, substantial resources would be required to restore The battle had just ended when Xi Zhe’s fingers suddenly twitched, then he猛地 sat up, making a series of crisp neck clicks as he turned his head sharply back toward the rear. He drew a deep, steady breath—like a diver emerging from the water, gasping in large, rhythmic puffs. Is he a wood spirit? Hey, he just died during the fight and then came back to life—how does it feel like he’s performing for me? Zhang Yuanqing was observing Xi Zhe closely when suddenly the Princess raised her small horn and called out, “Master Yuan Shi, the materials are nearly depleted—Master hasn’t responded.” Zhang Yuanqing was startled, quickly leaving his two companions behind and rushing to the Princess’s side. The scroll emitted a faint glow, and the materials beneath it, now like gray-white charcoal, only retained a faint warmth. As the Princess had said, the materials’ vitality was rapidly fading. Why hadn’t there been a response? Was the realm’s master-level quest too high for the Princess to handle? She had mentioned something like that, hadn’t she? That doesn't make sense at all. She herself has mentioned fighting bosses of her own level within the instance. If she can't enter the master-level instance, how could she have faced off against opponents of her own rank? If the summoning fails, everything comes to a halt—then I no longer have to worry about real-world crises. The spirits from the instance alone would be enough to kill me. As his thoughts flashed, Zhang Yuanqing pushed the Princess Yin Yao aside and declared, "I'll do it!" Seizing the moment before the material and spiritual resources were depleted, he knelt and bowed deeply, his head touching the ground, saying, "Please, let the Empress appear!" The very next instant, a streak of golden light, like a falling meteor, pierced through the barrier and crashed down upon the dark, still sky. Princess Yin Yao was utterly stunned.