Has the Killing Instance arrived? Zhang Yuanqing was thrilled—this meant the spiritual realm's malfunction had been resolved, and the malevolent faction's plot had once again failed. The lawful half-gods are truly outstanding! Zhang Yuanqing calmly opened his attribute panel, using the power of the Phantasmic Heart to update his "Yuan Shi Tian Zun" ID to "Moral Tian Zun." Before the countdown finished, he walked over to the table, picked up his phone, and composed a message in the group chat: [Geng Mang: The spiritual realm's malfunction has been repaired, and the Killing Instance has officially launched.] As soon as he sent the message, the scene around him suddenly blurred, rippling like waves. The next instant, the world cleared and stabilized, and Zhang Yuanqing turned to survey his surroundings. Before him stood a vast, modern museum, with a ceiling height of approximately fifty meters. Massive xenon lamps illuminated the black tiled floor, casting the expansive space bright as day. The museum doesn't need a ceiling as lofty as the People's Great Hall, yet it is indeed a museum—its glass display cases arranged neatly, spaced ten meters apart, with no visible edges to the left or right. The closest display case to him holds a dark wooden circular box, its surface simple and muted, painted in red with a vibrant phoenix. Behind Zhang Yuanqing stands a large metal security door, beside which stands a map stone half as tall as a person, resembling maps found in subway stations and shopping malls. As he prepares to approach it, a voice from the spiritual realm gently chimes: 【Ping! Number of participants in this current killing quest: 41.】 【Average initial points per participant: 1.】 【Kill spiritual travelers within the museum to earn their points.】 【The points leaderboard has been activated—please check it yourself.】 【Main quest one: Safely traverse the current hall and reach the next exhibition space to earn 10 points.】 Huh? Zhang Yuanqing stands still. Only 41 participants in this killing quest? Although only a sixth-level saint is required to join the killing instance—there's no strict necessity to be a peak saint—the gap between early and peak sixth-level saints is immense. In one-on-one duels, their chances of victory are nearly nonexistent unless they bring out exceptional or rule-based items. Therefore, saints with less than 50% of the experience points in the past several instances have never participated. In the mid-year saint killing instance this year, only 18 participants were recorded, while historical records show that the number of participants never exceeded 30, and instances with over 25 participants are rare. This year, however, the instance boasts a full 41 participants. Could it be that due to this Celestial Sovereign having eliminated so many peak saints, the elite forces at the saint level have been significantly depleted, giving the sixth-level saints a sense of opportunity and motivation to step in and compete? Zhang Yuanqing pondered this. Since entering the sixth rank, he first eliminated the greedy divine general, Yuchuan Mei, and Cai Long, the divine general, within the Chaotic Five Elements raid. Then, in the New Covenant Prefecture, he launched a relentless killing spree, having already claimed more than ten peak divines—far beyond the ordinary sixth-rank divines. This year truly has been a period of significant vacancy among the elite forces of the divine realm. It is entirely reasonable for ordinary sixth-rank divines to seize this opportunity and strive for advancement, given the highly attractive position of the Sovereign rank. As he pondered this, he opened the leaderboard and was immediately stunned. The spiritual realm IDs listed on the leaderboard featured both Eastern and Western names. How could there be Western IDs in the primary region's killing raids? An utterly unexpected thought flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind—perhaps the killing raids of the first and second regions have been merged. He then recalled the introduction of the "World Museum" raid: a disaster had struck the spiritual realm, causing widespread chaos and disorder. Could the anomalies in the killing raids have been caused by Ling Tuo? "If we merge the two regions' squads, we'll secure spots for Huang Taiji and Yin Ji, and I might even secure six spots." Zhang Yuanqing perked up. He quickly scanned the leaderboard and spotted many familiar Spirit Realm IDs: Yin Ji, Jiang Ju, Huang Taiji, Xia Hou Ao Tian, Feng Shen's Wings, Nos, and Lei Li Eugene. There were representatives from both the first and second regions. Yin Ji and the others were reliable allies, while Feng Shen's Wings and the others were potential allies to be cultivated. He didn't yet know where they stood—pressing down his excitement, he approached the map to check. The map showed that they were on the first floor of the museum, which featured six exhibition halls. His current location was Hall 3, Floor 1. To reach the second floor, he'd have to cross through Hall 3, as the staircase to the upper level was on the opposite side. Zhang Yuanqing took out the Little Red Cap and shook the Princess Yin Yao: "Princess Yin Yao, out for a play!" The Princess raised her small horn: "Out to earn our keep!" She glanced around immediately, her vivid, strange crimson eyes blinking in bewilderment. "A killing quest? Isn't it supposed to be more ancient and refined as one's level increases? Why is your killing quest so modern?" Zhang Yuanqing offered a casual explanation as he walked toward Lady Yin Yao, cradling her beautiful, blossoming face. A ripple of light passed through, and Lady Yin Yao's radiant appearance shifted into one of ordinary grace. Her crimson eyes faded as well. Noticing the satchel hanging at her slender waist, Zhang Yuanqing said, "You'd better take down the Cat King speaker—or have it stay quiet—and make sure it doesn't emit any sound." Should Lady Yin Yao's identity as the Primordial Celestial Sovereign be revealed, the Cat King speaker would expose the lineage of the Demon King, who is precisely the Primordial Celestial Sovereign. In a typical killing quest, Zhang Yuanqing wouldn't mind if identities were exposed—he could simply activate the hunting mode. But now with the merger of Eastern and Western forces, the number of saints participating in the replica has surged to 41—so he must now consider the possibility that even ants might overwhelm an elephant. After all, staying low-key, observing quietly, and waiting for the right moment is always a sound strategy. There's no need to make himself the focal point unless circumstances demand it. Princess Yin Yao, reluctant to part with her beloved toy, raises her small horn with solemn determination: "I won't let it make a sound anymore." As soon as she speaks, the cat king speaker emits a few static crackles, playing a line from an unknown drama: "Only the dead fail to speak." Zhang Yuanqing and Princess Yin Yao each give it a solid slap. "Our objective is to pass through the third hall and reach the second floor. The hall is quite large—first, I'd like to get a sense of how many exhibits it holds and what its exact size is." Zhang Yuanqing says, reaching for his Wind-Bringer gloves, intending to take a bird's-eye view. "Wait!" Princess Yin Yao suddenly interjects: "You have a blood disaster." Does a blood disaster really strike just by going up to check things out? Well, astrology reveals short-term fortunes—it doesn't necessarily reflect my divine actions. Zhang Yuanqing thought carefully and, for safety's sake, pulled out the Great Luo Star Disk. Astrology is more accurate than celestial divination. He sat cross-legged, infused the starlight, and ignited the stars on the disk's surface. The constellations rose around the compass, spun once, and then entered his mind. In a hazy vision, Zhang Yuanqing saw himself drifting upward toward the museum's roof, when suddenly a sharp beam of red light shot forth, striking him with the force and certainty of thunder, piercing his body and erasing his soul. The scene then shattered. There's danger in the sky! Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes, startled. In Hall No. 3, flying is a matter of life and death. He recalled, and summoned a Level 4 yin corpse from within the little red cap, sending it ahead to scout the path while he and Lady Yingyao walked steadily behind, maintaining a distance of about ten meters. They passed first by the display case housing the black wooden round box, with nothing unusual happening. Zhang Yuanqing deliberately kept the lifeless body paused before the case, reading the exhibition materials: [Name: Blood Phoenix Lip-Color Box] [Period: Tang Dynasty] [Grade: Level 3] [Description: An artifact unearthed from a Tang Dynasty tomb, crafted from a thousand-year-old dark wood. The phoenix is painted with the blood of a hundred people, never fading. This box gathers the accumulated resentment and blood plasma of the hundred individuals, specifically intended for the deceased to apply lip color.] Using the lifeless body’s perspective, Zhang Yuanqing carefully sensed the surroundings, yet detected no traces of negative energy or lingering resentment—the artifact seemed entirely ordinary. Was the display case sealed? A question flickered in his mind, but he remained still, guiding the lifeless body forward. As they proceeded, they passed one after another through the displays of jade ware, bronze vessels, calligraphy and paintings, and statues—none of them suffered any attack. If it weren’t for being in this副本, he would have doubted that the museum was merely a regular building. "Clang, clang... clang..." At that moment, a sound came from ahead, like the creaking of tables and chairs against the floor. Zhang Yuanqing and Princess Yin Yao both turned their gaze, displaying alertness, and moved forward. They reached the source of the sound—a crimson coffin placed upon a lotus stone platform, enclosed by a large glass wall. The coffin rocked violently, its base colliding with the stone platform, producing the steady "clang, clang" sound. Through the glass, Zhang Yuanqing and Princess Yin Yao sensed a faint aura of negative energy seeping out from within the coffin. The thing inside was quite formidable... Zhang Yuanqing summoned a spectral servant to approach the glass wall and reviewed the information on the card: [Name: Crimson Coffin Buddha Corpse] [Period: Tang Dynasty] [Rank: Level 1] [Description: A blood-soaked coffin unearthed from beneath a Tang Dynasty temple. Since its emergence into the light, it has been continuously striking against its own lid—never has a single person dared to open it. Please note: do not remain within three minutes of its vicinity. What happens after three minutes? Zhang Yuanqing looked at Yin Yao Princess, "Shall we give it a try?" Yin Yao Princess tilted her head, thought for a moment, then raised her small horn, "It's a bit risky, but not serious." The Cat King speaker in her waist pack agreed, "Not serious! Not serious!" As they spoke, Zhang Yuanqing and Yin Yao Princess stepped back simultaneously, pulling distance between them and leaving the shadow corpse in place. Time flew by, and three minutes passed. "Master Yuan Shi! Let me out! Master Yuan Shi! Let me out!" came the woman's desperate cries from within the coffin.