In the black business sedan, Red Chicken removed a deep crimson glove, donning it while simultaneously moving his neck, grimacing, "Are these evil professionals going mad? Do they really intend a full-scale war? Perfect—last time I fought, I wasn't satisfied. Tonight, I'm going to really show my stuff." Across the aisle, Sun Miaomiao glanced out the window at the quiet, empty scene, frowning, "Something feels off tonight. Whether they're trying to provoke us or simply seeking peace, there's no logical reason for them to damage hospitals, schools, or tourist areas—damaging the police headquarters would have been sufficient. Personally, I believe they're deliberately causing disruptions, planning something behind the scenes." Tianxia Guihuo nodded, then shook his head, "As long as they create chaos and disrupt order, they're making official moves. But clearly, the evil professionals are plotting something more." He suddenly remembered something, asking, "Where's Quemang?" Everyone turned to Guan Ya. Guan Ya at the front seat kept her gaze fixed on the road. As a scout, she could sense everyone’s attention without turning around and said, “Don’t worry about him—go to the Desen River Park fifteen minutes from now.” Though the others were puzzled, they said nothing, either closing their eyes to meditate or adjusting their states. Guan Ya then pulled out her phone and made a call to a scholar in her assistant team: “Turn off all surveillance cameras around the Desen River Park.” A business sedan trailed behind, driven by a Yin Shi. The Five Elements Alliance's support team consisted of nearly twenty people, blessed with Saint-level and transcendent abilities. Excluding scholars and musicians less adept at warfare, still over a dozen remained—far too many to fit in a single sedan. He worried the performance would appear too obvious, fearing that Baxes and Hecate wouldn't be convinced. Both had achieved the pinnacle of Sainthood, undoubtedly possessing deep experience and wisdom. The sedan sped along the riverbank road, just two meters wide with a green belt and railing separating it from the Dese River. During the day, tourists often leaned on the railing to take photos, watching cargo ships glide past. After fifteen minutes of travel, the river park came into view. Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing spotted the streetlights along the river one by one going out, their darkness steadily closing in behind the vehicle—each extinguished light marking a step forward. Soon, the entire sedan was swallowed by the encroaching dark, and Zhang Yuanqing lost contact with the driver, the Yin Shi. The presence of the shadowed corpse was shielded, even the master bearing the seal could no longer sense it. Come... Zhang Yuanqing lifted a corner of his mouth, eased off the accelerator, and willingly embraced the darkness. A thick, profound darkness enveloped the executive sedan, dimming even the glow of its headlights. Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing’s sedan lost control, deliberately colliding into the embankment by the riverbank with a loud "thud"—the front crumpled, and the embankment cracked. Zhang Yuanqing engaged the handbrake, turned off the engine, and opened the door. He looked back at the darkness and saw a middle-aged man with a broad chest, a flushed nose, and a full beard, walking alongside a younger man with a clear, delicate face dotted with freckles. "Barxus, Hekate!" Zhang Yuanqing said in a low tone. "Ah, pleased to meet you," Barxus patted his belly and smiled, "With the combined efforts of the second and fourth on the A-list wanted, we've come after you—have you been so startled you've had to pee your pants, boy?" "Hecate lounged, offering a measured assessment: 'A top-tier artifact—unfortunately, the Five-Element Alliance team wasn't there. Otherwise, we'd have two.' Pausing, she glanced at the two empty business vehicles, her brow furrowed. 'No one?' Why no one? If the vehicles were empty, why would Gongmang have brought them wandering along the riverbank? Both felt something was amiss. Zhang Yuanqing swiftly drew his pistol, continuously firing at the two, steadily heightening their sense of urgency. The bullets either soared into the sky, struck the ground, or slanted through the river's surface—perfectly missing Baks and Hecate, whose trajectories remained chaotic only in front of the drinking guests. Though the bullets posed no direct threat to the two peak sages, the coordinated assault combined with emotional manipulation successfully stirred their sense of urgency. 'Don't waste time talking to him—there's wind-mage patrols overhead. Act now,' Hecate reached out, palm outstretched, and plucked a dark coffin from the void. As he leapt into the coffin, he exclaimed, "Guard me!" The lid opened upon his entry and then closed again. The very next moment, transparent ripples spread out from within the coffin, expanding in concentric waves, sweeping over everything around. Far away, Zhang Yuanqing, and near him, Baxes staggered, overwhelmed by a tidal wave of drowsiness that pressed down on them like a thousand pounds. Their eyelids felt as though burdened with immense weight, and no matter how strong their will, they could not remain awake. Baxes wavered and steadied himself, lifting the small tin bottle hanging at his waist, and took a long, hearty swallow, then belched it out toward Zhang Yuanqing. The wine transformed into a dense, fragrant mist, quickly spreading and carrying with it a rich, intoxicating aroma. *Plump!* Zhang Yuanqing could no longer hold on—his face flushed, his knees buckled, and he collapsed into a deep sleep. *Plump!* Baxes followed, and as his consciousness faded, he let out a hearty "Huh!"—a victory already secured, even before the deity Jumei could prevent Hekate from falling asleep. Of course—how could it be otherwise when the three supreme powers, at their peak, successfully hunt down a conventional lawful caster? ... In her dream, Hecate, with her freckles scattered across her face, stared in astonishment at the impassive Tian-tian Jiaozhong. "Why have you come to my dream?" She suddenly remembered the two empty business vehicles, her expression shifting sharply. "Wait—no, you..." Tian-tian Jiaozhong smiled gently. "Would you like to see a meteor shower?" He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the gray sky ignited with a blazing red glow, and vast streaks of meteors plummeted from the heavens, enveloping Hecate. "Traitor! You traitor!!" Hecate shouted in fury, her form swallowed by the falling meteors. After several seconds, the meteor bombardment ceased. Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand to disperse the scattered "dust," and saw Hecate lying on the ground, marked with numerous craters, unconscious. She had not died—her consciousness now appeared semi-transparent, existing in a state between reality and illusion. It was precisely this state that allowed him to evade the barrage of meteor showers and survive. Zhang Yuanqing found it no surprise—this was the passive trait of the Nightborne class. When facing a fatal blow, the body and soul would enter a "void" state. In this state, the individual became immune to all attacks. The skill could not be actively canceled; it required a Nightborne Envoy to awaken it, or the individual to regain consciousness on their own. As for the latter, the time until awakening was unpredictable—ranging from a single day to several days, or even a year, or longer. Among the Envoy class, the Nightborne was a particularly unique and specialized profession, almost entirely abandoning offensive capabilities in favor of one core objective: sealing. All their skills stemmed from this principle of sealing, and slumber itself was one such derived ability. For a profession that had forsaken all offensive capabilities, self-protection skills were essential—Zhang Yuanqing had reviewed the Nightborne's profile and was well aware of this. "Sleep well." Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the dream and into reality, just in time to see his true form and Baxes both awaken. Baxes, who had only just opened his eyes, originally believed that Jumang had been successfully slain. Still unable to hide his relief, he suddenly saw Jumang lying across from him—rising up, as if from the ground. Not dead? Then why was he awake? Baxes turned around, looking toward the dark coffin. The moment he did, a wave of cold dread surged through him. Inside the coffin, Hecate lay still, her body appearing ethereal. As a local evil-class master, a peak-level sage, Baxes immediately recognized that Hecate had been struck and weakened—her sleep spell thus lifted. Yet both he and Jumang had been unconscious, under the influence of the sleep spell. Unless a Sovereign was present, even if reinforcements from the Five Elements Alliance or the Divine Judgment arrived, they would have instantly fallen back into unconsciousness. The only possibility—Baxes turned his gaze toward the Tian-tian Master standing by the coffin. Tongtian, now acting like a villain, curled a sinister arc at his lips: "It's you who's going to be scared to the point of peeing your pants, Old Boy." With that, he lifted his head and let out a sharp, piercing roar. A mental assault! Baxus felt as though his head had been struck by a heavy blow, blood welling from his eyes and nostrils. Tongtian was a traitor—Tianfa's spy planted within the Hunter's Guild. Damn it, Catherine, this little tart—hadn't she thoroughly vetted and verified every candidate before recruiting him? Despite the searing pain splitting his mind, Baxus refused to engage Tongtian or Quemang, instead turning sharply toward the Dese River. He simply couldn't defeat two peak saints in a short span, especially now that his own side had a spy; Tianfa's elite forces might very well be concealed nearby. "You won't make it," Zhang Yuanqing said, swiftly pulling out the Night Box from his inventory, snapping it open, and releasing its darkness, deepening the shadows around them. Next, he took out the matchbox he had not used in a long time, struck it to light, and, facing the dim candlelight, made a wish: "I wish that the seal of the Night Box is flawless!" The flame instantly brightened and burned swiftly, fulfilling his wish. From now on, the barrier of the Night Box stands as unshakable, effective even for those below the Saint level—no one will be able to breach it. Bux's path forward is now blocked by darkness. He attempts to use his ability to warp rules and find loopholes to escape the seal, but finds the barrier to be solid and perfect, with no discernible gaps to exploit. This is precisely Zhang Yuanqing's intention—drunkards excel at finding loopholes and can, to some extent, bend the rules, making it difficult for a Saint-level Night Box to contain them. However, with the matchbox now in place, the Night Box's barrier becomes utterly impregnable. "I don't have much time," Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "What do you have in your hand? Act now—otherwise, I fear you may not get a chance." Bax held silent for several seconds, then exhaled, "I don't want to fight you to the death. But if you're determined to meet your end, then I'll honor that. Even if today I'm surrounded and struck down by divine punishment, I accept it." As he spoke, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a vibrant oil painting. The scene within the painting was distorted and chaotic—rivers floated in the sky, clouds spread across the land, the sun and stars hung from tree branches, and human figures walked upside down. This was Bax's most cherished reserve—a true artifact of sovereign quality. As one of the strongest saints of the Sovereign Phase, and even more powerful than Osmun or Hufu, though he lacked the ability to defeat sovereign-level beings directly, he possessed genuine sovereign-quality artifacts. Without such mastery over sovereign power, how could he have risen to the pinnacle of the saintly ranks? The colors in the painting began to detach from the frame and burst outward in all directions, spreading vividly across the ground, the green belts, the sky, and the surface of the Dessen River, quickly blurring and diffusing. Soon, reality itself transformed into an oil painting, with the inverted, distorted scenes now manifesting within the real world. "Whoa—!" The duplicate exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise, as his body began to twist strangely. His hands and feet swapped places, his head now appearing between his legs, and his buttocks rising to occupy his chest. The internal organs and vital systems within him also underwent similar shifts. He collapsed with a soft "thump," his pupils going completely still, his life signs fading away, and then dissolving into nothing. "Hmm?" Baxus showed no joy, only astonishment. He had expected the Supreme Master to be instantly defeated by the Sovereign Artifact, but the manner of his demise was entirely unforeseen. Could it be that the Supreme Master wasn't truly a human after all? In an instant, Baxus considered numerous possibilities. He quickly turned to Jun Mang, his eyes reflecting the image of a figure clad in purple and golden armor, wearing a purple and golden mask. Fully encased in armor, the figure stood tall. "Who hasn't acquired a few Sovereign Artifacts yet?" came Jun Mang's light, amused voice from within the mask. Armor of the highest rank absorbed the painting's ability to reverse orientation. Immediately, Baxes saw the enemy pull out a short sword with black and white faces from their inventory, and before he could react, the enemy—fully encased in armor of deep purple and golden hues—lifted their head and let out a piercing, wailing cry. Baxes' head buzzed like struck by lightning, and once again warm blood gushed from his nostrils. How could he have the sorcerer's skill? Wasn't he supposed to be the Beast King? Wasn't the Celestial Master the true one, not him? Though his mind was foggy, Baxes still grasped the truth. Yet he couldn't understand—how could an evil profession have infiltrated the Divine Judgment? Zhang Yuanqing immediately activated the "Soul Seizing" skill, casting a dark glow over the short sword. He raised his hand and seized it, producing a semi-transparent silhouette that he then forcefully cut down. The Baxes, just struck mentally, suffered a second soul-shattering blow, with half of his ethereal form instantly dissolving into ash. His distorted perception and bodily instability remained unnoticed and failed to impact his enemies. Baxus screamed with agonizing intensity, his soul dissolving completely, directly causing his brain to shut down and him to lose consciousness. Zhang Yuanqing activated the Star-Flight Technique, appearing behind him and assuming his white-faced form, then plunged his blade into his back. Baxus' body rapidly withered, his flesh and essence instantly consumed by the blade that severed both form and spirit, transforming him into a dry corpse. At this stage, battles relying solely on strength required prolonged, grueling struggles to secure victory, and achieving a decisive outcome—especially a life-or-death result—was even more difficult, as even if defeated, experience and professional attributes allowed them to escape. However, with the presence of a Master's artifact, securing a life-or-death outcome became straightforward. When the Supreme Master was instantly eliminated, Baxus would likewise be instantly eliminated. This was the distinction between a Master and a Saint. Zhang Yuanqing withdrew his short blade, and Baxus' body, along with the painting in his hands, collapsed to the ground. Zhang Yuanqing paid no attention to the body, quickly picked up the oil painting and placed it in his inventory. Then he moved to the coffin. Time was running out. Though the night had severed the sense of atmosphere and the visual scene, the thick, consuming darkness that swallowed the glow of streetlights itself was an anomaly. As long as a wind mage directed their gaze toward this area, they would immediately see the outer reaches of the Desen River Park shrouded in absolute black—so deep and opaque that even the Wind King's Eye could not penetrate it—thus recognizing it as the signature of the Night-Walker profession. At this moment, there must be wind mages patrolling near Man Island. He had to act swiftly to eliminate Hekate; otherwise, as soon as a wind mage arrived, they would take over Hekate, exposing the traitor's identity as the Celestial Master. "Hekate is currently in this condition, and I can't do anything about her—unless I can kill her. If I can't manage that…" Zhang Yuanqing frowned, studying the figure within the coffin, pondering for a few seconds before suddenly having an idea. He couldn't simply eliminate her—he would have to take her with him As for how to carry the intangible Hekate, Zhang Yuanqing discovered that although she was in a state of "void," she remained asleep within the coffin and had not fallen out of it. The coffin seemed capable of holding the physical form of a Nightborne. With this realization, he stepped into the coffin, lifted the lid, and secured it tightly against the coffin's body, then attempted to raise the entire coffin. Hekate's body did not fall out—it stayed firmly inside. When he tried to place the coffin into his inventory, it failed. The inventory could not accept living beings. Thus, Zhang Yuanqing produced the Little Red Hat, shook out Lady Yin Yao, and instructed, "You carry the coffin, take the water route, and find a quiet, uninhabited place to hide it until I send word." He then handed her the Yin-Yang robe. Lady Yin Yao obediently donned the robe and carried the coffin on her shoulders, leaping into the Desen River, vanishing into the surging waves. Zhang Yuanqing waited in silence until the ripples on the water subsided, then retrieved the Box of Night, lifted the night veil, and allowed the silver Princess from the riverbed to depart smoothly. "Whoa... whoa..." As the night veil was just withdrawn, a roar of wind swept across the sky, and several wind mages rode the gusts to the battlefield.