Watching as the others dispersed, Zhang Yuanqing leapt into the air and pulled down two Kongming lanterns. Pulling down the lanterns wasn't an attack on them. A few seconds later, the item information appeared: 【Name: Kongming Lantern】 【Type: Lighting Tool】 【Function: Illumination, Release of Sword Qi】 【Description: A Kongming lantern contaminated by yin energy, one of the components of the Seven-Star Lamp Array.】 【Note: Attacking it comes at a cost you can't bear. If you can, then I never said it.] The item attributes of the two lanterns were identical. Not the array's core! Ah, how good it would be if there were a profession in the spiritual realm dedicated to good fortune! Zhang Yuanqing sighed, released the two lanterns, and leapt again, grabbing two more to check their attributes. Once again, they were components of the array, with functions of illumination and sword qi—having sword qi meant they weren't the core. Xia Hou Aotian and the Master of Zhishi Palace, whose spiritual energy had been sealed, could only adopt the same method as Zhang Yuanqing. Meanwhile, the Under the pressure of the rising sun, he transformed into a figure with two heads and six arms. With each of his six hands capable of pulling down six lamps at once, he could handle three lamps per person, achieving exceptional efficiency. "The number of Kongming lamps in the Kaiyang Array is 40. The numbers for Yuhe, Yao Guang, Tianji, Tianxuan, Tianshu, and Tianqu are slightly different but not significantly so. Including the ladle handles connecting the seven lamp arrays, the total comes to approximately 340 lamps," said Fu Qingyang, who was leaping through the air while reporting the data he had observed. "Please each update your current status." The crowd's leaping pace instantly quickened, like rabbits continuously jumping up and down, rising and falling. Soon, the Three-Armed, Eight-Limbed King of the Divine Eye declared, "The Tianji Lamp Array has been inspected—no array center found." Fu Qingyang calmly issued orders: "Divine Eye, proceed immediately to Tianzhu. Everyone, report your counts." Tianzhu was the farthest, located at the handle of the ladle. The King of the Divine Eye strode swiftly, passing by Xiaheng, beneath the lamp of Xiahou Ao Tian, then passing by the unoccupied Tianquan lamp array, and heading toward the Tianzhu lamp array at the ladle's handle. Xiahou Ao Tian: "I've inspected twenty lamps at Xiaheng—no array center found." Master Zhi Sha: "I've inspected twenty-two lamps at Tianquan—no array center found." Zhang Yuanqing: "I've inspected twenty-six lamps at Kaiyang—no array center found." Fu Qingyang announced clearly: "Yao Guang—thirty lamps... Yuan Shi, please report the time." "One minute remaining," Zhang Yuanqing called The group's pace of movement had clearly accelerated, anxiety now etched on every face. By the final minute, it was a race against time. The lanterns they had inspected accounted for only one-third of the total. To inspect the remaining two hundred lanterns within that final minute seemed nearly impossible—only a gamble remained. At this moment, the Master of Zhishi Palace suddenly exclaimed with delight, "We've found the array's center!" She waved her right-hand lantern and then forcefully tore it in half. The bamboo-woven ghost lantern split apart instantly, and the dim, sickly green ghost flames within extinguished. Remarkably, she faced no attack at all. Indeed, it was the true center of the array—everyone's spirits lifted, their faces beaming with relief, even Fu Qingyang, who relaxed slightly from his usual composed demeanor. After his final ascent and descent, he had finally completed the inspection of the lantern array above, and declared, "All thirty-eight lanterns of Yao Guang have been checked—no center found." "With that, he dashed forward, passing Zhang Yuanqing, Xiahou Aotian, and the Master of Zhishi Palace, reaching the deserted Tianxuan Lamp Array. Before him stood the Mage-Eye King. "Thirty seconds!" Zhang Yuanqing's voice came through simultaneously, as he completed his inspection of the Kaiyang Lamp Array and began pulling the linked lanterns connecting "Yao Guang" and "Kaiyang." There were only ten such lanterns. Everyone scrambled, wishing their mother had born them more arms, wishing they themselves had eight or nine heads. "Twenty seconds!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted. By this point, Zhang Yuanqing no longer needed to count aloud—yet he still did, to keep his teammates alert and heightening the sense of urgency. "Ten seconds!" Zhang Yuanqing checked the final pair of lanterns, only seven seconds remaining. Then, transforming into a streak of light, he swept past the Kaiyang Array overhead and leapt upward, pulling down the lantern linking "Kaiyang" and "Yuheng." After just checking a pair and confirming they weren't the key, he turned and roared, "Only three seconds left—get back!" Instantly, everyone rushed forward, no one showing off, no one taking the lead—execution and coordination were flawless. Zhang Yuanqing released the warriors, Rizheng and Lieyang. One second after the group returned to the Kaiyang Lamp Array, the Seven-Star Lamp Array began rotating counterclockwise. Without any prompting from Xiahou Aotian, they stepped in unison with the Yu-Step, their feet aligning with the seven stars, moving in sync with the Kaiyang Lamp Array, always staying within the illuminated range. Fearing that speaking would disrupt the order, they remained silent throughout. Only when the entire Seven-Star Lamp Array had completed its counterclockwise rotation, the spoon handle now pointing from east to south, entering summer, did they stop. Fu Qingyang immediately said, "Compile the data right away!" After sharing their findings, they concluded: the Yau Guang lantern array has no array center; the Kai Yang lantern array has no array center; the Yu Heng lantern array has no array center; the Tian Quan lantern array has one array center; Tian Ji has no array center; Tian Shu has no array center. Fu Qingyang inspected only twelve of the thirty-eight Kong Ming lanterns in Tian Xuan. The magical eye, relying solely on its own efforts, examined two lantern arrays, yet due to unfortunate luck, failed to locate the array center. Among the six "connecting lines," the lantern path linking Yau Guang and Kai Yang had no array center (checked by Zhang Yuanqing); the lantern path linking Tian Xuan and Tian Shu had no array center (checked by the magical eye); the lantern path linking Yu Heng and Tian Quan had no array center (jointly verified by Xia Hou Ao Tian and the Palace Mistress). After consolidating all the information, Fu Qingyang stated: "The lantern paths yet to be inspected are those connecting Kai Yang and Yu Heng, those connecting Tian Quan and Tian Ji, and those connecting Tian Ji and Tian Xuan." "Among them, the light paths of Kaiyang and Yuheng were inspected by Yuanshih, so out of the three light paths, there are twenty-eight unexamined Kongming lanterns. As for the light array of Tianxuan, I've only inspected twelve lanterns, with twenty-six still unexamined." He paused and concluded: "The total number of Kongming lanterns we still need to inspect is fifty-four." The Mage of the Magic Eye immediately said, "Fifty-four lanterns—I can inspect all of them within one minute. The issue is, how do we proceed through the light arrays of Yuheng, Tianquan, and Tianji to reach Tianxuan?" Each array presents unique dangers, and time is required to solve them. The handle of the ladle now points toward summer; next will be autumn. From summer to autumn, five minutes; from autumn to winter, another five minutes. After deducting the time they spent summarizing the data, the time available for solving the arrays is less than ten minutes. "Since we began summarizing the data, two and a half minutes have passed. We now have seven and a half minutes remaining." Zhang Yuanqing spoke rapidly. As he spoke, he retrieved the Yin corpse and said, "First, let's thoroughly explore the light pathways of Kaiyang and Yuheng." So the group, along with the Yin corpse, began to move in the pattern of Yu, stepping on the seven stars, and arrived at the edge of the Kaiyang light formation. The Yin corpse stepped out of the Kaiyang light formation, while the group remained at the edge. The light pathways were safe—there were no crisis mechanisms in place. Zhang Yuanqing maneuvered the Yin corpse to inspect the remaining eight lamps along the pathways, but unfortunately, he failed to locate the array's center. Of the unexamined pathways, only forty-six lamps remained. At that moment, the Ring Elder sent a mental surge: "Do not linger in the Yuheng light formation—move directly through it. Do not ask why. Do not think at all!" Move directly through it? Without any thought at all? Zhang Yuanqing was momentarily stunned, then cleared his mind, and instructed the Yin corpse to move without stopping, rushing through the Yuheng formation. To everyone's surprise, the Yin corpse safely traversed the Yuheng formation without encountering any attack. Zhang Yuanqing stared at Xiahou Aotian's thumb, wide-eyed. "Senior, what's going on?" The ring elder smiled warmly. "Yuhe governs right from wrong—what is right or wrong? When people gather, judgments shift. Even if one's mind is impure, disputes arise. Therefore, I've asked you to simply go through the array without overthinking. Even if you fail, you'll merely become a shadow corpse." Zhang Yuanqing raised his own thumb proudly. "In a household, an elder is a treasure. Senior, you truly are a celestial master from the Qin Dynasty. Why not join me now and leave the shadows behind?" Xiahou Aotian unconsciously tucked the ring behind his back, murmuring, "This old fellow is full of tricks—clever beyond measure. You can't manage him; only I, the protagonist, can." Zhang Yuanqing had neither time nor interest in a monologue, so he asked: "Senior, how do we pass Tianquan? We have just over a minute left." The ring elder paused for a second: "Explore. Observe." Adding, "Tianquan governs balance." "Tianquan Zhang Yuanqing didn’t waste time, guiding the shadow corpse into the Tian Quan lamp array. Immediately, a dense yet orderly stream of sword qi descended upon the shadow corpse. Zhang Yuanqing maneuvered the shadow corpse to evade the first two waves of sword qi, but it fell under the third. As soon as the first shadow corpse collapsed, the second one had already surged past the Yu Heng lamp array and re-entered the Tian Quan lamp array, this time withstanding until the fourth wave of sword qi before being destroyed. The third shadow corpse then entered the array, and after evading the fifth wave of sword qi, Zhang Yuanqing heard Fu Qingyang’s voice: “Move right two meters, forward one meter, left two meters, forward one meter, then exit.” Without hesitation, he immediately took three steps to the right—his previous standing spot was indeed struck by sword qi. Thus, following Fu Qingyang’s instructions as if they had been foreseen, he successfully evaded three successive waves of sword qi attacks and smoothly passed through the Tian Quan star array. At that very moment, the seven-lamp array began to rotate counterclockwise. The group promptly stepped into the Yu Bu formation, following the movement of the seven The spoon handle points west, entering autumn; the next rotation will bring winter, triggering the killing array. They have only five minutes left. "Fu Qingyang, have you identified the pattern of the celestial lantern array?" the Mage-Eye Emperor asked Fu Qingyang. The latter nodded slightly. "The Jianqi attacks at Tianquan emphasize balance. With forty lanterns divided into five symmetric groups, only eight lanterns release Jianqi at a time—each group positioned symmetrically, achieving perfect balance. Additionally, since the Palace Master removed one central lantern, only thirty-nine remain. As a result, one group lacks sufficient members, disrupting the balance and thus will not release Jianqi." It was precisely this observation that enabled him to determine the pattern and location of the Jianqi's descent. The Mage-Eye Emperor nodded. "Time is running short. I'll go assist Yuan Shi. You show me the way." He stepped out of the periphery of the Kaiyang Array, moved swiftly along the lamp paths, and continued rushing past Yuhe, then followed Fu Qingyang’s instructions to enter the Tianji Lamp Array and join forces with the shadow corpse. Soon, he completed the inspection of the lamp paths connecting Tianqu and Tianji. Joy spread across everyone’s faces—now only the lamp paths linking Tianji and Tianxuan (ten lamps) and the twenty-six lamps at Tianxuan remained. Thirty-six lamps, and against the three-headed, eight-armed Magician’s eyes, that would take no more than a minute. Yet they had four full minutes. Challenges still lay ahead—uncertain threats loomed over the two lamp arrays at Tianji and Tianxuan. Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward without hesitation, guiding the shadow corpse into the Tianji Array. As Fang Fu entered, a blade of qi descended directly above his head. Zhang Yuanqing had just stepped aside to avoid it, when the blade curved and pierced straight through the shadow corpse’s brow with a sharp *whoosh*. Zhang Yuancheng of the Kaiyang Array arched his head back, revealing a look of pain. The sword energy had struck the spiritual essence within his Yin corpse. Could the sword energy bend? Despite the pain, Zhang Yuancheng said, "The Tianji Array's sword energy turns—there's no way to evade it by shifting position. However, currently, each target is only struck by a single sword energy, which isn't particularly strong. I'll send another Yin corpse to investigate." The Mage-Eyed King interrupted, "We only have four minutes. Checking the lantern takes one minute, and we need to defeat two star arrays within the remaining three minutes—how can we afford time for you to send a Yin corpse? With this level of attack, I'll handle it." He manifested his three-headed, eight-armed form, his body suddenly expanding into a giant three meters tall, and stepped steadily into the array. "Whoosh!" The sword energy surged forward. The Mage-Eyed King advanced steadily, neither dodging nor retreating, wielding his eight arms to shatter each incoming sword energy, standing firm as a mountain. Every time a blade of sword energy was shattered, another one surged forth. Occasionally, it would shatter the weapons forged by the Mage-Eyed King, leaving penetrating wounds on this ancient war god, yet never threatening his life. The Mage-Eyed King soon broke through the Tianji Lamp Array, inspecting the pathway connecting "Tianji" and "Tianxuan" under the expectant gaze of all present, and found no array's focal point. By now, only the twenty-six lamps of the "Tianxuan" Array remained. "The focal point lies among these twenty-six lamps," Zhang Yuanqing said. "We have just two minutes left. The Mage-Eyed King—time is running out. Enter the array immediately." The Mage-Eyed King stepped resolutely into the "Tianxuan" Array. At the very moment of his entry, the thirty-eight celestial lanterns above gently descended, hovering before, behind, and beside him. As all thirty-eight lanterns illuminated simultaneously, thirty-eight beams of sword energy surged forth in unison. The Mage-Eyed King's face turned pale. With all eight arms extended, he waved his weapons, creating a cascade of shimmering afterimages. This was Crack! Crack! Crack… The eight weapons in the Magician's hand shattered continuously, barely withstanding three seconds before all of them broke. Thirty-eight sword energies converged at a single point, shattering the central head of the Magician. The body of the Magician King suddenly went rigid and then collapsed. A sigh came from the jade ring in Xiahou Aotian's hand—his grandfather's voice: "Tianxuan is also known as Jumen Star, governing authority and power—indeed, the most formidable. That lamp array has no tricks; it can only be overcome by sheer strength." The Master of Zhishi immediately drew out the Pot of Immortal Transformation, ready to revive the Magician. "Wait!" Zhang Yuanqing stopped her. "Let's not revive him yet. Reviving him would mean death, and in fact, would ultimately harm him. Just wait a moment." While holding the Master's hand firmly, Zhang turned to Fu Qingyang, his expression more serious than ever before: "Brother, the Magician spent about one minute. Now we have only three minutes left, excluding the time needed to examine the array's focal points—just two minutes remain. The time is not generous. We must Fu Qingyang looked at him, "How about we gamble?" Zhang Yuanqing spoke in a steady tone, "A single person entering the battlefield is easily overwhelmed by concentrated attacks. If we go together, we can share the pressure with the Mage's Eye, allowing him to focus on checking the lanterns." "But in that case, we'll only survive until the Mage's Eye identifies the core of the formation—otherwise, we'll truly perish within the dungeon." Xia Hou Aotian expressed his growing concern, "With our current defensive capabilities, we simply won't last. Damn it—we're missing a solid tank in our team." He understood the Master's strategy now. Everyone would serve as a sacrificial wave, shielding the Mage from the attacks. Zhang Yuanqing added, "Unless you have a better plan. And by the way, this isn't just a discussion—I'm following the Master's orders. By the way, we've already wasted thirty seconds talking." Rarely cursing, Xia Hou Aotian let out a sharp "eh" in frustration. He didn't object further. Zhang Yuanqing then handed the Chuanxian Flying Blade to the Palace Master. The Lady of the Stopping-Death Palace took the yellow-hued gourd in one hand and at the same time shed her vine armor, tossing it toward Xiahou Aotian, "It can block several sword strikes for you." As the keeper of the Immortal Pot for Transforming Beasts, she didn't need to risk her life—once she fell, the entire team would lose its healer, and the fallen would never rise again. Xiahou Aotian's complexion improved slightly, quickly grasping the armor and donning it as he followed Yuanshǐ Tianzun and Fu Qingyang out of the Kaiyang Array. Zhang Yuancheng summoned his golden shield, activated the skill of the War God of the Scorching Sun, and advanced first through the Yuhe Lamp Array, skillfully avoiding the balanced sword formation of Tianqu under Fu Qingyang's guidance. In the Tianji Lamp Array, where the sword energy curved, his golden shield shattered twice. Soon, the three of them converged at the Tianxuan Lamp Array. Zhang Yuancheng roared, "Lady of the Stopping-Death Palace, revive the Eye of the Demon!" Immediately, the Lady of the Stopping-Death Palace stroked the gourd The very next moment, the bones, blood, and brain tissues of the Mago's Eye underwent a temporal reversal, flowing back and reassembling. The Mago's Eye King rose again. Thirty-eight Kongming lanterns descended once more, encircling the Mago's Eye and radiating a powerful, vivid green light. Zhang Yuanqing swiftly entered the battlefield, securing the rear of the Mago's Eye King and activating the absolute defense of the Purple-Jade Shield, then raised it forward— —after intense combat within the Yau Guang Array, the relentless rain of sword attacks during the Kai Yang Lantern Array, and the continuous assaults endured on the way, the energy of the Purple-Jade Shield had already been fully charged. A purple-gold glow surged upward, forming a shield-like wall. Nearly twenty sword attacks struck the wall, shattering upon impact. Fu Qingyang's cloak fluttered in the wind on the left side of the Mago's Eye King, wielding one sword in each hand, his blades moving like fleeting shadows, successfully deflecting and breaking every incoming sword attack. Xia Hou Ao Tian positioned himself on the right, drawing up a defensive formation that dispersed and shattered seven or eight sword attacks. The King of Mystic Eyes charged forward, breaking the surging sword attacks while moving closer to the lantern. As he neared the lantern, he shielded his head with both arms, and each of his remaining six arms grasped one of the six lanterns to read the items' information. "Pff!" Several sword strikes pierced through Xue Hou Ao Tian's chest, causing him to instantly stiffen; the continuous barrage then propelled him like a sieve. The very next moment, he was revived and stood again by the Master of the Stopping of Death. At that instant, the phantom wall formed by the Purple Golden Shield dissolved, ending the absolute defense. Zhang Yuanqing immediately activated his "Void" ability to weaken the sword attacks, regaining precious time for the King of Mystic Eyes, though he himself was struck to the point of being riddled with wounds. The intensity of the sword attacks ranged from mid-level to peak level eight, and even after being weakened, it proved beyond the capacity of Zhang Yuanqing, a seven-level Day-Wandering Immortal. Aside from Fu Qingyang who held his ground with ease, both Zhang Yuanqing and Xue Hou Ao Tian found themselves in peril. The four of them each occupied a position, continuously shifting their locations Fu Qingyang reminded the already-inspected lanterns of their positions to avoid repetition. "Thirty seconds left—have you found it yet?" Zhang Yuanqing shouted, activating his Purple-Jade Set and Golden Dragon Shield, wielding his short sword to parry. "No!" the Mage's Eye replied in a steady voice. "Hurry up, hurry up…" Xiahou Aotian urged continuously, simultaneously pulling out various items—defensive, healing, and those specific to the swordsman class. Seeing this, everyone felt utterly drained, even the old man inside the ring, who finally exhaled in relief. Though the mission hadn't lasted long, it had been exceptionally perilous, constantly teetering on the edge of life and death. The spiritual travelers truly had it tough. Master Zhi Sha immediately stroked the Immortal Beast Pot, pouring out the life essence to heal her teammates' injuries. The group remained in place, while Xiahou Aotian felt a tingling numbness spreading as his wounds healed, silently vowing never again to accompany Yuanshǐ Tianzun on such missions. Over the past half-month, two consecutive high-difficulty missions had placed a heavy toll on both his body and mind. "The Seven-Star Lamp Array has been broken, and the mission isn't over yet—there should still be a boss ahead," Fu Qingyang said with ease. "Rest for ten minutes, then proceed to the hall to face the boss." The Mage-Eyed King yawned, "I'm tired—I'd like to sleep a bit. How about we delay it until half an hour from now?" Xiahou Aotian hummed, "Clear the path early, return early. If you have time to sleep, just lie down." Everyone looked relaxed, none of them tense about facing the boss soon. Zhang Yuanqing had just been about to speak when he suddenly felt a sense of awareness and turned toward the Golden Apex Hall. Almost immediately, a powerful surge of negative energy poured out from within the hall. Zhang Yuanqing immediately raised his hand, forming a golden sun with a diameter of half a meter. With the pure, bright golden light, the group saw a figure slowly stepping forward through the endless stream of negative energy. He wore a long robe reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty, with his hair loosely flowing, thin and dry like straw. His skin was deep blue, wrinkled like tree bark, and his eyes, sunken and bloodshot, bulged slightly. He held a sword, rusted and worn. "Who disturbs my slumber!" the spectral figure emitted a sharp, piercing mental vibration. "He says you all are just ordinary people, and that you've somehow disturbed his rest," Zhang Yuanqing explained to his teammates. "From his energy, he appears to be a weak ninth-level." "It was within his expectations, as well as those of Fu Qingyang and the others. From the Yao Guang Hall to the Zheng Qi Hall, and then to the Seven-Star Lamp Array—the intensity was astonishing. A single quest has inherent limits; the first three stages were already perilous, with a very high mortality rate. The final boss could not be a Level 9—otherwise, it would no longer be an A-tier quest, but an S-tier one. Therefore, the level of the spiritual entities in the hall was as expected, and the weaker Level 9 opponents, given the team's overall strength, were essentially manageable. 'Is "bent-shouldered third-rate" something a Tang Dynasty person would say?' Xiahou Aotian glanced at him skeptically. 'That's called interpretive translation!' Zhang Yuan declared proudly, 'Your Highness, hand me the gourd—I'll take it!' The Master of Zhishi Palace tossed over the yellow-leather gourd hanging at his waist. Zhang Yuan dispersed his golden fire balls and stepped back to begin his ritual dance. Xiahou Aotian stepped into his stances, reciting incantations. A circular array formed swiftly beneath his feet, expanding outward and encompassing the The mythical cauldron descended from the heavens, imprisoning the副本 boss within. Xiu Hou Ao Tian immediately unleashed the Three-True Fire, attempting to refine the enemy. "Boom!" The powerful sword aura shattered the cauldron. A formidable entity of yin energy, wielding a sharp sword and enveloped in terrifying yin qi, surged forward, charging toward the group. The mage removed her sports headband and fired a beam of golden-red light. The aggressive yin entity's body suddenly froze—both its yin energy and sword aura were now out of control. Fu Qingyang achieved unity between body and sword, transforming into a golden rainbow that pierced through the yin entity's chest. The turbulent yin entity fought fiercely against Fu Qingyang, their clash resembling the legendary sword duels in wuxia novels—sword strikes flowing and interweaving, with a constant ringing of impacts. At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing concluded his ritual dance and bowed, saying, "Please, turn around, darling!" A beam of white light erupted from the gourd, striking the yin entity's brow with lightning speed, then swiftly rotated. The yin entity's head fell off instantly. The shadow-being would not die merely because its head had been severed, but the sealing power of the Divine Blade of the Immortal would imprison its soul within the head. The fierce head shook violently, its soul striving to break free from the seal. Zhang Yuanqing had finally seized the opportunity to activate the second phase of the Devouring Heaven Beast's abilities. The beast's fierce eyes glowed, gazing steadily at the shadow-being, then suddenly opened its mouth. The mouth, the size of a clenched fist, resembled a black hole, generating swirling gusts that pulled the shadow-being's head into its depths. Within a minute, they had defeated one of the weaker ninth-tier shadow-beings. What a treasure! If we can carry it out of the instance, I'll be invincible against all beings below ninth tier, and for those above, I'll exchange one for one! Zhang Yuanqing fondly stroked the yellow-hued gourd, saying, "The Devouring Heaven Beast is still digesting—it should take about a minute. Master Mencius, you may take a short nap. I'll go check on the White Emperor's Crown." He strode briskly toward the Golden Apex Hall.