The Lady of San Dao Mountain sat on a small cot covered with soft cushions, her hands naturally folded over her abdomen, maintaining a dignified and graceful posture, full of regal presence. After patiently listening to Yuan Shi Tian Zun's account, she lowered her gaze for several seconds, then murmured: "You entered the spiritual realm because you were unable to find help in the mortal world. In this spiritual realm, only I can save you. However, lately I have been pursuing the Golden Sun Bird and cannot leave the realm." Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing felt a sudden chill. The Lady then shifted her tone and said: "Nevertheless, I can lend you the Vengeance Staff. Once you carry it to the mortal world and set up the summoning ritual, I will manifest a bodhisattva form there, capable of blocking the two sovereigns and attempting to strike down your master. At that moment, you will have the opportunity to escape." As a sovereign of the highest rank, even a single manifestation of the Lady would be significantly stronger than an ordinary sovereign. While defeating her would be manageable, actually defeating her—especially since the sovereigns themselves were not mere pieces of fish on a plate—would be a greater challenge. Should she fall, she Even if I can't kill him, as long as I break the seal and delay the timeline, I'll be able to teleport away. Zhang Yuanqing felt a slight relief, convinced his life was safe. "Then all I need to do is secure enough time to set up the summoning ritual," he thought. As soon as he returns to the present realm, the two Sovereigns will surely intervene and won't give him the time needed to prepare the ritual. Using the Five Elements Spiritual Power Experience Card, his physical strength held up, but his mind was completely incapacitated. With a simple manipulation from a Sovereign-level illusionist, he became a mindless fire specialist, shouting with unwavering resolve: "Life or death—doesn't matter. If you're not satisfied, just fight!" He simply couldn't remain calm and execute the ritual according to plan. Just as he was worried, the Three Mountain Lady added, "The materials needed to set up the summoning ritual require the original scroll." That original scroll—the one that had been painstakingly crafted over thousands of years by the seasoned elders and hundreds of disciples, who had lured a young, twenty-year-old boy—was simply a sheepskin scroll. The original version is necessary because that particular set of materials is valuable—it provides spiritual support to enable the Lady’s descent and works in synergy to help her break through the spiritual realm’s barriers. The simplified version of the summoning scroll, however, can only be used within the spiritual realm, serving merely as a communication conduit. "The original summoning ritual indeed carries greater power," Zhang Yuanqing's expression suddenly stiffened, as he realized he didn’t possess the materials for the ritual. That scroll is a consumable—it vanishes once used. How could he possibly invest time and money in stockpiling its materials? He turned to look at the Lady of San Dao Mountain. The old woman returned a look of "How could I possibly gather such basic materials?" They exchanged a few silent moments, then the old woman pondered, "I can go and collect the materials myself—within a few hours, or up to a full day." While gathering the materials isn’t particularly difficult, traversing the spiritual realm is time-consuming. Several hours? The chrysanthemum flowers have cooled down... The issue wasn't resolved just a moment ago, and now a more critical one has arisen. Zhang Yuanqing realized that resolving this crisis might not be that simple, and felt a growing sense of anxiety. Lady Yin Yao glanced at her serious, contemplative master, hesitated slightly, and carefully inquired, "Master, you mentioned that you are seeking the Golden Rooster—have you made any progress?" If there's no progress, then they must leave the spiritual realm; otherwise, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun, this underachiever, would surely perish. The Lady of San Dao Mountain, perhaps seeing that her disciple had finally come to his senses and hadn't simply gone deaf, explained, "I have sensed the presence of the Golden Roosters—they are gathered deep within the spiritual realm, within a certain quest realm. To enter that realm, there are only two possibilities: either wait for the realm to open automatically, or find the key." "Find the key..." Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing, who was just formulating strategies, suddenly looked up. The word "key" reminded him of the Compass of Light. According to the research of the Four Immortals of Xiao Yao, the Compass of Light is indeed the key to unlocking the secrets of the Spiritual Realm, and it is a branch of the Sun. Therefore, what does the true meaning of "key" entail—does it enable the holder to draw near to the Golden Bird? Concerned about the core of the Sun, Zhang Yuanqing paused his thoughts and actively inquired: "Madam, you mentioned the Golden Bird as the essence of the Sun—how well do you know it?" The Lady of San Dao glanced at him. "Shouldn't the myth of the Ten Suns still be passed down to this day? There are descriptions of them in the ancient texts preserved in the Pure Yang Sect. In ancient times, ten Suns suddenly appeared in the heavens, scorching crops and killing grass and trees, leaving the people without food. Eventually, the Jade Emperor, moved by the suffering of the people, sent forth the Suns, imprisoning the ten Golden Birds upon the divine tree of Fu San in the Eastern Sea." The term "essence of the Sun" is used by the spiritual realm practitioners; in ancient times, they referred It wasn't Kuafu who was pursuing day by day, was it? It was actually the Nüwa Emperor. It seems that the creators of ancient myths are all Nüwa... After listening to the account, Zhang Yuanqing, combined with his observations at Gao Tian Yuan, believed the records of the Pure Yang Sect to be authentic. Then he glanced at the Lady of San Dao Mountain—this sturdy old lady. When they first discussed the myths, she had lightly remarked: "Myths are the alternative histories of ancient cultivators, but I know only so much." And then she had sent him away. Now, finally willing to share some more insider information, it showed that her regard for him was growing stronger and stronger. "Also, outside the副本, I've sensed a spiritual presence—either the Golden Sun has developed self-awareness, or the will of some ancient great deity remains embedded within it." The Lady of San Dao Mountain expressed a touch of concern in her eyes: "The Golden Sun's power is overwhelmingly dominant, intolerant of all things in the world—even other types of spiritual energies will be driven away and purified." By right, it should be impossible for any spirit to draw near the Ten-Day Black Crane. "Meaning the Golden Crane—the essence of the sun—has now claimed its place?" Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill. The old man shook his head. "I'm not sure yet. We'll need to keep observing. Let's set aside small talk. You now have two options. First, remain here temporarily. With your current cultivation, you can go without food or drink for ten to fifteen days without any serious issue. This place offers fine wine and fresh fruit, and you'll be well-fed and comfortable for a long time. It's also a setting full of romance and elegance. I'll actively seek out spiritual realm practitioners engaged in training missions and spread the word that you're being held here. As for how the present government will handle the situation, we'll discuss that later. Second, I'll gather materials as swiftly as possible, and you'll return to the mortal world to make your final stand. Zhang Yuanqing found himself torn. His main quest is to eliminate the ten shadow creatures. Though there's no time limit, if he stays here, he'll be engaged in endless battles against them. Any moment of rest or sleep will There's actually one more option: clear the story-based dungeons and check what rewards the Magistrate's character cards offer. The "Final Battle at Chang'an" is a master-tier dungeon, so the character card rewards will undoubtedly be master-tier items. If the item is a strong offensive type, there's a good chance it will break the restrictions on the board game props; if it's a supportive type, the situation will be hopeless. This is a life-and-death gamble—not a last resort—so it's best not to rely on it too heavily. Moreover, there's a mage among the enemies. As soon as he appears, he's likely to be pulled into a dream state and instantly eliminated. Therefore, even if one master-tier item is obtained, the outcome remains uncertain. "Allow me to think this through..." Zhang Yuanqing quickly racked his brain. The current issue lies in time and materials. With efficient use of the sliding boot props, time can be reasonably gained. The real challenge, however, is the materials—unless one can magically generate summoning materials from nothing, the second option won't work, and the only viable path remains the first: staying within the dungeon. He is now within the realm, and the spiritual realm has severed the White Guard's faction warehouse, leaving him with no choice but to access the warehouse of the returning the deceased—thus, the likelihood of seeking help from Fu Qingyang is zero. ——For the faction leader, the faction warehouse is much like one's personal inventory, yet members outside the faction cannot access it while the leader is inside the realm. Wait—creating something from nothing... Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up, "I've got it!" For humans, the best way to manifest something from nothing is to make a wish. And he happens to have a wish-fulfilling item. With that thought, Zhang Yuanqing suppressed his excitement and quickly began analyzing. The matchbox has usage limitations—he needed to consider whether his wish could actually come true. First, the matchbox's rules state that it cannot directly resolve difficulties that exceed its own capabilities; nor can it surpass the limits of the item itself. The summoning ritual was difficult, and obtaining materials within the dungeon surpassed his capabilities—thus failing to meet the criteria of "Note 1." As for the other limitations, he still had two matches left, and the material grades were well within the range of the matchbox's capacity. With the capabilities of stage-warden class items, even master-tier materials could influence—ordinary master-tier materials. After all, materials and items are distinct. Therefore, as long as the limitation of "Note 1" is resolved, the current predicament can be fully addressed. Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds, then said, "Your Majesty, please prepare a list of materials for me." He immediately fetched ink, brush, paper, and inkstone, and had the old creaking man write out a materials list. Then, facing the list, he reached into the little red hat, pulling out materials of comparable quality and quantity. He removed the matchbox and struck one match. "Swoosh!" A large flame leapt up. Zhang Yuanqing then made a wish to the flame: "I wish that all these materials before me transform into the items listed on the document." The flame suddenly expanded, consuming the matchstick stem, and the wish came true. The next instant, the materials before Zhang Yuanqing transformed into the items specified in the ritual list. By employing the method of "replacement," he skillfully circumvented the rule that required direct resolution of the current crisis. The core logic was that his objective was simply to swap materials—something entirely independent of the summoning ritual—effectively erasing the summoning ritual as the present challenge. If his wish had been: "I need the materials for the summoning ritual," then it would never have come true. Furthermore, by replacing the materials with equivalent ones, he also bypassed the limitation of being outside his capabilities. Without such material substitution, the wish could not have been fulfilled, since he lacked the ability to traverse the spiritual realm to gather the materials. The Three Mountain Lady fixed her gaze steadily on the matchbox: "This little thing is quite interesting—it seems capable of making one's wishes come true. Show me." Zhang Yuanqing presented it with both hands: "If the Lady likes it, I shall give it to her." The Lady of San Dao Mountain took the matchbox, examined it carefully, played with it for a moment, then returned it, smiling, "Keep it, please." Lady Yin Yao observed this closely and was deeply impressed by the lady's subtle strategy and skill in winning over the favor of those in power. After all, given her master's nature, how could she ask for something from a junior disciple? Even if she did, she would surely return something even more precious—otherwise, it would diminish both the Lady of San Dao Mountain's and the Imperial Princess's dignity. Thus, Master Yuan Sheng would not only be unharmed but also gain her favor. To be safe, Zhang Yuanqing settled the cost of the matchbox—fulfilling one wish—on Lady Yin Yao's behalf. This ensured that, upon returning to the present world, should any adversaries unexpectedly make demands, he would not be unable to fulfill them. Otherwise, they would be truly unfortunate. Under the protection of the Lady of San Dao Mountain, they successfully eliminated ten yin beings without any mishap, completing the main quest. Among them, one yin corpse was transformed into a yin corpse by the old creaker, who had made a wish to The three matchsticks were consumed, and Zhang Yuanqing's preparations were complete. During the anticipated wait, the spiritual realm's prompt arrived on time: 【Ping! Congratulations on completing the solo spiritual realm mission—Decisive Battle at Chang'an, difficulty level B. Rewards are being settled...】 【Reward settlement in progress... Items/props obtained: none】 【Experience points awarded: 60%】 【Ping! Character card reward activated. Reward item: The Blade of Form and Spirit】 【Settlement complete! The spiritual realm will exit in 30 seconds...】 This was a master-level quest, and thus, a master-level item—the Blade of Form and Spirit—should have been awarded. It sounded powerful right away; now I also have a strong close-combat weapon for the future. Zhang Yuanqing was overjoyed. He had anticipated that the quest would not yield a master-level item, and indeed, the魔君 (Demon King) had one—just as expected! Stars began to shimmer across Zhang Yuanqing's forehead, and the familiar sensation of stellar power washing over his body flowed through him. The副本 awarded 60% experience, instantly pushing his experience level to 100% capacity, with half of it wasted and instead transformed into Stellar Power, settling within his body. For a Master-tier dungeon, granting a 60% experience boost to a Sixth-Rank Saint is actually quite modest. Ultimately, this is because Zhang Yuanqing has been consistently outperforming expectations throughout the journey, which is why the spiritual realm's evaluation remains relatively low. Once his experience reached full capacity, the Observing Star Technique, Celestial Phase Technique, Star Evade Technique, and Star Illusion Technique finally reached the peak of the Saint rank. The physical body, which had previously reached the Saint level limit through rigorous cultivation in the Pure Yang Bathing Record, now showed a slight improvement. After thirty seconds of returning to reality, Zhang Yuanqing didn’t waste a moment—he immediately took out his sliding cleat shoes, put them on, removed his outer coat, and tucked in his summoning scrolls, materials, and the Divine Demon Staff, tying them securely with a bow. Then, he retrieved the little red hat and returned the Silver Princess, only then spending a few seconds opening his inventory to check the attributes of the Master-tier weapon, Form and Spirit Ann