In the realm of dreams. Within the grand palace, the Dream Master, dressed in a black robe, stepped into the vast hall from the mist, his footsteps echoing through the spacious environment. He soon reached the throne and bowed, saying, "Grand Elder, trouble has arisen—Master Yuan Shi and Master Fu Qingyang have jointly defeated the Seventh Elder and the Eleventh Elder, as well as the two Masters of the Southern Division of the Spiritual Energy Council." The towering figure in a cloak, standing three meters tall on the throne, lowered his head, remaining in deep silence. This marks the fifth Master of the Southern School to fall at the hands of Master Yuan Shi. From the initial Sixth Elder, through the Third and Ninth Elders, to the Seventh and Eleventh Elders now—five Masters have perished. With only a few evil-occupation candidates among the ranks, it typically takes at least ten years to produce a new potential successor. In fact, it's at least fifteen years, since the most promising candidate for promotion, Yi Chuan Mei, and several other Dream Masters have already returned to the Spiritual Realm. The replacements are nearly all gone. "Understood." The elder's voice was layered and ethereal, tinged with restrained anger. The dream-master continued, "The official account of the Songhai Branch issued an announcement this afternoon, stating that they intend to launch a targeted campaign against our southern sect's elders, led by the Primordial Sovereign and Fu Qingyang..." Noticing the elder's visibly agitated demeanor, the dream-master spoke with a touch of nervousness. The palace of dreams shook violently, as though struck by an unexpected earthquake. For some time, the tremors persisted before finally subsiding. The report-rendering dream-master then knelt on the ground, motionless. "Since the Master participated in the destruction of Wuhu Hotel and forged an unbreakable enmity with the Primordial Sovereign, and since we were unable to eliminate him at the Saint Realm stage, the current retaliation against our southern sect is inevitable," the elder sighed, speaking with measured gravity. "Draft an announcement for me—our southern sect members should remain low-key in their activities, avoiding outings and gatherings." As for the other elders, he would inform them personally. "Understood," the dream-master bowed and withdrew. ... At 9 p.m., having transitioned from the day's passionate encounters to the quiet comfort of the night, Zhang Yuancheng arrived at the villa's rooftop, gently soothing his girlfriend who was curled up on the bed, drenched in sweat and pale as a sheet. With the assistance of Fu Qingyang and the two prodigies—Wolong and Fengchui—from the Taiyuan Sect, he had smoothly gathered all the necessary materials and was now preparing to enter the sect's warehouse tonight to concoct elixirs for two senior monks from the Huabu Sect. One was the Seventh Elder, at the late stage of Level 7, and the other, the Eleventh Elder, at the mid-stage of Level 7. Notably, within the Huabu Sect, the top five elders are ranked by strength, while from the sixth onward, the ranking is based on seniority. Thus, although the Eleventh Elder has more experience than the Ninth Elder, he ranks behind him because the Ninth Elder attained the rank of Master earlier. Before entering the warehouse, Zhang Yuancheng intended to conduct a detailed analysis and seek the optimal moment to prepare the Sancai Elixir. The upgrade plan had been clearly established, yet without the Yet finding the right primary herb proved difficult—the hunt for the Night Rose Guardian was too demanding, and entering the main dungeon of Tianshi Gate seemed unlikely. Matters beyond the mind could only be entrusted to celestial observation. He drew out the Great Luo Star Disk, igniting the stars upon its surface with celestial power. Zhang Yuanqing raised his head and gazed upward at the stars, his demeanor becoming ethereal and mysterious, his eye sockets glowing with pure starlight. The celestial constellations shifted like lines of code, predicting the course of future developments and converging into the flow of destiny. In the river of destiny, Zhang Yuanqing did not see his own fate—this meant he would inevitably engage in battles of semi-divine caliber, his status insufficient to reach the highest revelations. He turned back, narrowing his focus to the path of character progression, and then observed numerous blurred shadows. Zhang Yuanqing brought these shadows into clear view and refined his calculations repeatedly. For a full hour, he opened his eyes and gleaned a celestial omen from the stars, foretelling that the opportune moment for refining the Sancai Dan would arrive in thirty-five days. However, it seemed that higher-level forces were involved, making the vision somewhat hazy—only a sense of intuition could be obtained. "In thirty-five days..." Zhang Yuanqing folded his star chart and vanished from the villa's rooftop. ... The Mu Sect's Organ City副本. Zhang Yuanqing inscribed the spiritual scroll pattern for summoning the Lady, waiting for half a day, but the old man never replied—ignored him entirely. "Ah well, it seems she's not inclined to see me lately." Zhang Yuanqing sighed with mild disappointment. He had hoped to persuade her to catch a day-wandering spirit for him to enjoy, but now it appears that even refining the formula represents her most accommodating concession. Zhang Yuanqing erased the spiritual scroll pattern and began drawing the spirit-refining array. Once the spiritual scroll array was complete, he expelled the power of the Taiyin, manifesting as an elderly figure and a young one—precisely the Seventh and Eleventh Elders. Two spiritual essences emerged, their resentment surging skyward, only to be immediately bound by the dense, cool阴energy unleashed by the Spirit Scroll Array. "Senior Elders, hand over all the items and materials from your inventory," Zhang Yuanqing said with a warm smile. "Metatron!" The young-faced Eleventh Elder's face turned fierce. "We'd rather expose our immortal essences than become your servants. Grand Elder and the Head Master will avenge us." Yet, under the pressure of the array, they could not manage to self-expose. Seventh Elder sneered, "You want our assets? Dream on. If you've got the strength, come and kill us." Zhang Yuanqing sighed, "Stubbornness is your Southern School's traditional strength, isn't it? I'll have Ninth Elder come and talk sense into you." A surge of Taiyin energy erupted, transforming into a graceful, ethereal woman in black mist. Upon seeing her two colleagues ensconced within the familiar array, Ninth Elder was first taken aback, then her expression grew strange and complex. "You... you're both here?" She felt reluctant, indignant, and bitter—two senior monks from the Southern Sect had fallen victim to the poison of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign. Yet deep down, a quiet sense of satisfaction stirred within her. Having herself weathered the rain, seeing others also drenched brought her a profound joy. This, she realized, was the nature of the evil profession. The two senior monks from the Southern Sect watched her coldly, their voices sharp. "You've bowed to the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, living with such diminished dignity. It's better to die than to endure this." "You don't deserve to be a senior monk of the Southern Sect." "Have you forgotten how you became a free agent? Hmph! To now serve as a servant to the lawful order—what a disgrace!" "If I serve the master well, who knows—I might one day rise to a higher level. I only regret that I lack a physical form, so I cannot offer my beauty and grace to please him." Seeing her two former colleagues erupt in fury, she smiled gently and said, "Besides occasionally assisting in battle, I've never been humiliated or burdened under the master's care. In fact, I've never felt so at ease or joyful. When I occasionally fall ill from lingering concerns, the master can simply use the power of the Sun God to cleanse my impurities." Then, shifting her tone to a cold, steady one, she added, "You are trapped within the Spirit Array—unable to explode or resist. Thus, you are destined to become mere spirit servants. As the saying goes, 'A wise person knows when to adapt.' Since you've come under the master's control, why not follow my example and switch allegiance? Instead of enduring constant suffering, you could find relief. Your tools and materials? To the master, they are merely side dishes—how important can they be? They are truly optional. Now, hand them over, and that will be your pledge of loyalty. Otherwise, once you become spirit servants, you'll face daily mist The two elders' expressions changed. Indeed, in the current situation—where people are the cutlery and they are the meat—they had neither the strength to negotiate nor the ability to resist. Once they became spiritual servants, even a self-sacrificial effort would be impossible. In fact, even if they resist, they will inevitably end up in servitude. Rather than endure that, they might as well hand over their tools and materials and make the move from the Southern School to Yuan Sheng Tian Zun's fold. A fresh job, a new life. ... The next day. Zhang Yuanqing held Guan Ya in his arms and woke up from a light sleep. After dressing and doing a simple wash, he broke the transmission jade token. The scenery instantly blurred, then sharpened. In a medieval-style hall, Zhang appeared at the head of a long wooden table covered with animal hides. A few seconds later, one after another, figures materialized into their seats. Xia Hou Ao Tian, Zhi Sha Palace Master, the Mage with the Eye of the Storm, Xiao Yuan, and Ms. JOJO. The tabby cat leapt from the armchair onto the table, raised its tail, arched its back, yawned lazily, and remarked, "So eager to convene a meeting—whom are we going to kill this time? Can I request that from now on, the shaggy dog takes over my meetings?" "No way, Ms. JOJO!" Zhang Yuanqing smiled, "The He turned to the other three and said, "Today's meeting is an internal gathering for the return of the deceased. I'd like to announce two things: First, I'm preparing to enter the副本 of the Divine Goddess Association and will undertake a 35-day marathon-style campaign. During this period, please remain as low-key as possible and avoid causing any disruptions. Second, after 35 days, no matter what you're doing, please make time—on that day, I'll assign specific tasks." Ms. JOJO widened her cat-like eyes, "You're preparing to launch a serious campaign for promotion to the Master of the Sun?" The attendees' expressions varied. Xue Hou Ao Tian was visibly surprised. In his view, the difficulty level of the recent副本 had already reached the absolute limit—both mentally and physically, he had experienced some discomfort. He hadn't expected the Prime Immortal to pursue even more intense and demanding upgrades. Was he under pressure? Or had he been stimulated in some way? Xiao Yuan, on the other hand, was more concerned, frowning slightly, "What's going on?" Zhang Yuanqing said in a steady tone: "Last night, while observing the stars, I discovered that the fate beyond two months cannot be predicted or observed. This means that by then, the grand trends of the world will be profoundly chaotic, involving extremely high levels of influence. I have a strong sense that something significant will happen within two months." The Mage-Eye Emperor frowned: "Will the Moral Value disappear again in two months?" Zhang Yuanqing replied: "It's very likely." Now it made sense why he was so eager to upgrade! The Yuan-Shi Tianzun, who had ambitions to vie for the throne of the Sun, was currently only at the seventh level of Sovereign, far from reaching the peak of Sovereign status, let alone the half-divine realm. The pressure was entirely understandable. Two months... the Mage-Eye Emperor murmured softly to himself. Zhang Yuanqing continued: "This time, I will not bring anyone with me. You all should remain hidden and patient. I will communicate with the Goddess Association, regularly updating you on the progress of our副本 missions. Through these updates, you will be able to stay informed about my current situation." "If I die within the realm, Xue Hou Ao Tian will succeed me as Grand Master and become your leader." Unbeknownst to him, Xue Hou Ao Tian didn't feel particularly pleased. "During my time within the realm, I will no longer serve as your Grand Master. All the equipment stored in our guild warehouse will be transferred to Xue Hou Ao Tian. Should any issues arise, you may turn to him." Zhang Yuanqing said. "If there are no further concerns, let's adjourn." "Wait!" The Master of Zhi Sha raised her hand and asked, "When we tackle the guild realm of the Beauty Goddess Association, will there be sleeping women appear?" Immediately, Xiao Yuan's gaze sharpened, as if she were a mother lion fiercely guarding her territory. Zhang Yuanqing seemed entirely unaware, his expression unchanged. "Adjourn!" He took the lead in leaving the meeting hall.