The golden column condensed, and the goddess stood proudly in the air, her luminous halo behind her emitting a steady, pure golden light that dispelled darkness and brought forth brightness. She appeared like a sun suspended in the sky, transforming the once-dark 068th spiritual realm into daylight. The golden light pierced through the crystalline barrier, purifying toxic smoke and evaporating pus, disrupting the attackers' offensive rhythm. Bathed in the golden sunlight, the smoldering figures emitted hissing sounds, rising in waves of black smoke as their vibrant flesh slowly dissolved. The fierce, bloodthirsty, chaotic emotions within them gradually calmed. Within them, Stephen Lieutenant's consciousness stirred anew—feeling an innate anger and sense of apprehension etched deep into his genes. He did not feel fear of the woman herself, but rather of the luminous halo behind her. This anger and apprehension were not his own, but rather those bestowed upon him—the very beings who had granted him strength, the true smoldering figures. The sudden appearance of the Three Mountain Goddesses also captured the attention of the malevolent sovereigns. The potent divine energy of the Sun God caused an uncontrollable shiver within them, prompting an instinctive deep breath, muscle tension, and a strong stress response—like mice cornered and forced into defense. This was the weight of a high-tier powerhouse. Among the eight sovereigns present, even the seasoned traveler, Cowboy Locke, had never encountered such a figure. How had a powerful presence emerged within the second district's Night Wandering God lineage? Not a Spirit Realm traveler! Cowboy Locke recognized this immediately. Spirit Realm travelers cannot actively enter the Spirit Realm, not even those at the semi-divine level. Moreover, this was the faction's副本 within the Wine God's Club, where only the peak sovereigns and semi-divine figures of the Void-based professions could enter—Sun Wandering Gods lacked the ability to traverse the Spirit Realm. Therefore, she was not a Spirit Realm traveler, but rather a powerful being from within the Spirit Realm itself. The Lady of San Dao Mountain surveyed the entire scene, her gaze sweeping over the leaders of the Orderly and the Evil factions, pausing for several seconds on Zhang Yuanqing. Seeing him unharmed, the slight tension on her composed face eased. With swift movements, she formed hand seals, and from within her sleeves, a bronze staff engraved with intricate, arcane patterns surged forth, hovering before her and spinning rapidly with each seal. Her flowing hair dispersed, each strand radiating golden light, and the luminous aura behind her crown spilled out golden filaments, merging into the swift rotation of the Fumagong Staff. The spinning of the Fumagong Staff generated a fierce, scorching airflow, which coiled into spirals, compressing and condensing the power of the Sun God... "Boom!" The sound of gunfire rang out as the cowboy, Locke, aimed his empty gun barrel directly at the Lady of San Dao Mountain. Before striking her, the seemingly invincible bullets were melted into bright molten iron by the Sun God's power. The Lady of San Dao Mountain paid no attention to Locke's attack, focusing instead on her hand seals. With a sudden push of her palm, the Fumag A crisp, resonant crack echoed throughout the hall, reaching every listener. The spell formed by the crystal sphere shattered instantly, once again violently breaking the constraints of rule-based items. This was the second time Zhang Yuanqing had witnessed such a failure of rules today. The trial of the Smoker was abruptly interrupted, and the towering monster, originally ten meters high, rapidly shrank back into the form of Lieutenant Stephen. San Dao Shan Lady coldly asked, "Still not moving?" Pan Xi Edison sensed the change and beamed, "We can now leave." The seal established by the Eternal Night Sovereign had already been broken when San Dao Shan Lady arrived. Lock Cowboy snorted, "Once you're inside my wine god's club realm, leaving won't be so easy." He opened his inventory, pulled out a golden bed crafted from solid gold, leapt onto it, and began dancing while chanting incantations. As the incantation was chanted, somewhere deep within, at an infinite height, two blurry, dim eyes opened, gazing down without any emotion. Zhang Yuanqing felt a sudden dizziness, as if certain aspects of his understanding had been forcibly rewritten—such as people should walk backwards, eat with their butts, and use their mouths to defecate. Likewise, friends should kill each other, while showing respect and courtesy toward enemies. In the physical realm, numerous rules were altered: fire would drown people, water would burn everything, and swords and blades could not kill. At the same time, he saw Fu Qingyang's mouth appearing on his forehead, one eye on his left face, another on his right cheek, and his straight, elegant nose growing in reverse. Teammates, including Pan Xi Edison, began to invert themselves. This transformation was also evident across all evil sovereigns beyond the "Lord of Chaos." The very rules of this realm had been warped. It makes sense that the Golden Bed could reshape one's perception and fundamentally transform a person—right now, its intensity is certainly not at its limit. Could cowboy Locke directly contaminate us? No, reshaping perception should require lying on the Golden Bed. If he could contaminate us directly, there would be no need for battle. Zhang Yuanqing thought vaguely. If this continues, they might die due to rule chaos—just like the effect of "distorting the oil painting." The only one unaffected, the Three Mountain Lady, bit her fingertip and drew a circle on her forehead with her blood. The blood-formed circle burned, transforming into a golden-red solar mark. The luminous halo behind her head contracted and merged into her body, endowing the golden-red sun on her forehead with divine grace. At once, a brilliant golden light erupted from within her, blazing with intense heat. The sunlight poured into the realm, turning the entire replica into summer, making the air scorching and baking everything. Zhang Yuanqing saw his companions surge with golden flames, writhing in agony and rolling helplessly on the ground. He saw Lieutenant Stephen, cowboy Locke, and the rulers of the evil faction, their bodies blazing with intense fire. He saw the cocktail of saints scream and turn into skeletons. He saw the blurred, eye-like forms hovering in the sky vanish in the sunlight, and the golden bed melt like dark chocolate. Only he remained untouched by the blaze, recognized and honored by the fierce sun. The sun's radiance scorched everything! For the first time, Zhang Yuanqing directly felt the sun's overwhelming power and dominance—no matter that the three protectors had previously summoned the sun's ethereal image on the plane, nor that the Lady of San Dao had demonstrated her solar powers multiple times before him. The divine forms vanished as if by mere will, while the peak rulers cried out in pain, yet could not extinguish the flames consuming their bodies. Fortunately, the sun's burning did not last long. The Lady of San Dao swiftly gathered her golden light, transforming it into a streak of light that pierced through the realm's barrier and departed. Panxi Edison endured the searing pain of the flames engulfing him, even without time to extinguish the fire on his body, and reached out, grabbing at the void to create a spatial passage. "Get out!" he stepped into it first. Fu Qingyang, the King of the Mystic Eye, Zhang Yuanqing, and others retrieved their items, disregarding the golden flames burning on their bodies, and rushed into the spatial passage one after another. The Master of the Stop-Kill Palace, while tending to her teammates' injuries, furrowed her brows, asking, "How could the Lady of San Dao Mountain appear in the first region's instance, and how could she have come to save us?" Her gaze, beneath the silver mask, subtly glanced at Zhang Yuanqing. "The Lady of San Dao Mountain?" Pansy Edison inquired curiously, "Who is she?" Vinnie, having studied the records of Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun, replied, "A person with the ability to survive from ancient times through the spiritual realm—yes, I believe Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun awakened her." "So why has she come to save us? How can an NPC from the second region appear in the spiritual realm instance of the first region?" Little Fish Rosé asked with curiosity. Fu Qingyang pondered, "It must be the President's contingency plan to prevent unforeseen incidents—otherwise, she couldn't have appeared across server regions in the first region." The scout's reasoning was sound, and everyone agreed. Panxi Edison sighed, "Although the Chairman has made careful arrangements, this operation has ultimately failed—especially since Tanara is indeed Catherine. We should not stay here any longer. I'll take you back now." The post-action review and task summaries can be handled later. He reopened the spatial channel, sending Quemang, Chris, and Viny to the Tianfa Division, the Heavenly Eye Emperor and Fu Qingyang back to Huaguo, and the Master of Zhishi Palace back to Man Island's Financial District. Upon returning to the Tianfa Division, Zhang Yuanqing, exhausted, rushed into the bathroom, washed away the blood and grime, and then collapsed into his bedroom, falling asleep immediately. When he awoke again, it was already morning. He opened his phone and sent a text message to the Chairman: "Would you be available for a meeting? I'll be waiting at the Tianfa Division." The message was sent. A few minutes later, he saw the Chairman—dressed in a black suit with a silver mask—standing in the bedroom. "Mr. Chairman, are you all right?" Zhang Yuanqing examined the immaculate black suit, which wasn't quite in line with the Chairman's usual style. The chairman said with a deeply sorrowful expression, "My beloved has been half-fried—I'm mourning the one who has passed away. Pansy Edison, that dog, has added insult to injury, insisting on reimbursement..." Isn't reimbursement entirely normal? A boss who doesn't reimburse his employees should surely be submerged in a pigsty. Zhang Yuanqing took out the Golden Orpheus Seal and returned it to the chairman, saying, "You must already know the course of this operation." "I've been at fault!" the chairman remarked, taking the seal and sighing. "I never expected Katherine to be Danna. We've discussed this many times, compiling a list of all the Desire Sovereigns promoted through the successive killing quests. We always assumed Katherine was one of the two goddesses secretly cultivated by the Divine Judgment, or one of the several independent practitioners with mysterious origins. We never imagined that Katherine was actually the second personality of Danna, now possessing her own independent soul. This also explains why Danna's lovers were not under the control of the Free Covenant. "Dana and Catherine, strictly speaking, are not the same person. Both possess independent souls, temporarily joined together, much like two people living in the same house. Therefore, Dana's lover belongs to Dana, and Catherine cannot demand compensation from him. No matter how thoroughly they investigate or interrogate Dana, they will never uncover that Dana is actually Catherine, nor find the second soul protected by the Moon. Zhang Yuanqing then asked, "Catherine mentioned that a great being granted her soul—do you think it might be someone specific?" The chairman shrugged, "Looking across the spiritual realm, few have the depth and vision to create a 'soul' with such far-reaching design. Only Ling Tu, the sovereign of the Moon, fits this description." Indeed it is him! Zhang Yuanqing had suspected this all along, and the chairman's answer confirmed his thoughts. He expressed his growing concern: "Ling Tu has granted Dana a distinct, independent second soul—quietly nurturing it, perhaps deliberately holding back until today. Is this all part of his strategy? Is his aim directed at me, or at Fu Qingyang?" If it were my move, Ling Tu would know I had never truly returned to the Spiritual Realm. After the Unmarked Hotel incident, he now genuinely feared and distrusted those who operate behind the scenes, quietly orchestrating events. He not only avenged himself by slaying the Unmarked Master, but also inflicted a major blow on the Wu Xing Alliance—losing a peak-level Sovereign and suffering significant reputational damage—while simultaneously forcing his own magical heir to die, securing the Taiyin fragment and completing his own journey. A triple victory. Moreover, Zhang Yuanqing recalled another matter: during the battle in which the魔君 perished, Ling Tu also participated, and both Tangna and Catherine had been the魔君's lovers. This is deeply unsettling. The chairman remained silent for a few seconds, then said: "Perhaps it's you, perhaps it's Fu Qingyang, or even possibly the Master of Zhishi Palace, since she possesses an administrator's item. For you star officials who can perceive the river of destiny, the development and evolution of all things can be entirely guided at will. What unfolds now doesn't necessarily require personal involvement—merely planting seeds and allowing them to develop over time can steer the course of events. I'm not sure whether Ling Tu knows you've already been revived. In terms of strategy, I rely on intelligence, while Ling Tu operates with a 'special advantage'—I simply cannot outperform him." "Used to, Zhang Yuanqing would have grumbled about the phrase 'I rely on my intelligence,' but this time he was fully convinced, saying: 'Mr. Chairman, you haven't lost. The Lady of San Dao Mountains appeared at the right moment to save us, and we've managed to eliminate one Eight-Star Sovereign—considered a small gain.' Mr. Chairman paused, his tone unusual: 'You're mistaken. The Lady of San Dao Mountains' appearance was entirely unexpected—it wasn't part of my plan. I nearly thought you'd be finished. Ah, do you know why I've been so eager for you to grow and mature? 'Because I simply can't compete with Ling Tu. Over the past twenty years, I've been cautious, diligent, always staying behind the scenes, afraid of being struck from behind. 'Once I've cultivated you into the Sovereign of the Sun, the next phase will be your Night-Wanderers' dogs biting each other—I'll just need to shout "Six" from the sidelines.' Was the Lady of San Dao Mountains' appearance not part of Mr. Chairman's strategy? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. She clearly came to save lives, with no unnecessary movements. After breaking the seal, stabilizing the crisis, and then immediately departing—she even spared the effort to defeat the evil sovereign. Who else could it have been, unless it was the Chairman's arrangement? The Chairman remarked, "You two have a rather warm relationship, don't you? Go into the spiritual realm and ask her." Warm relationship? I'm just her devoted follower, for heaven's sake! Zhang Yuanqing brightened: "I'll go right into the guild's副本 now."