Hearing the虚空会长's words, the lawful half-divinities turned their attention to the goddess, eager for a confirming answer from her. The goddess sighed, "There are only three evil half-divinities in the first district—Night King has been asleep for several decades, Gonsé Reen is hidden on his small island, experimenting with mutated beasts, and old McCall is a heavy drinker, harboring a strong sense of reserve toward me." The expectant glances in the lawful half-divinities' eyes turned to disappointment. The会长, chest heaving and deeply regretful, lamented, "What good is your presence! Aside from the sleep god, you've accomplished nothing else." He then turned to the lawful half-divinities, his expression serious: "You all know the characteristics of the drinking profession—I need not elaborate. He's been my long-standing rival. He holds a rule-based artifact, an extension of the Dionysus' authority, called 'The Twisted Realm.' In that realm, everything is reversed, magic is distorted, and in that world, old McCall is invincible." A half-divine powerhouse immersed within will begin to experience mental distortion after more than thirty minutes—once that point is reached, escape becomes impossible. "When the realm of distortion merges into a single entity, the half-divine will surely perish. To break through that distortion, one must possess sufficient offensive power—such as the general's sword. "Yet I do not recommend sending her into battle. High offensive output is a necessary condition to shatter the distortion, but it is not sufficient to defeat Old Mc. High-output, fragile units, high-health tanks, healing mages, and explosive warriors—all of these are not ideal candidates. "To triumph over Old Mc, one must have strong offensive power, exceptional resistance to negative status effects, robust vitality, or healing capabilities. "Do not rely on items to compensate for weaknesses—within our tier, unless you present a nine-tier rule-based item, you will merely be able to make a modest showing." His words left the Lawful Half-Divine silent. The Liu family's Half-Divine observed the Void Half-Divine carefully. "Then, let you take the field—based on your current strength, you can decisively outperform the Wine God." After all, each person only gets one chance to step onto the field. The best arrangement is for you and Shura to each win one match, thus offsetting each other. Having Shura face off against the Void instead would be less secure, since the former doesn't have a firm edge over Shura. Should Shura win, the Law faction would fall behind by one match. Fu Qingxuan suddenly spoke up: "No. Let the Lord of the Stars take the field." She looked at the Law half-gods with furrowed brows, her tone calm. "The Chaotic, the Disarray, the Disorder, and the Anesthesia effects of the Drunken One can all be countered by the power of the Sun God. In close combat, the Sun God is sufficient. In healing capabilities, the Sun God is sufficient as well. "The Lord of the Stars can counter the Drunken One. His chances of victory are the strongest. Most importantly, even if he loses, we will still gain one exemption from life-or-death outcomes." The half-gods' brows gradually relaxed, turning their gaze toward the Master of Tai Men, draped in a robe of starlight, his eyes radiant. After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, the … The plaza outside the main hall of Shu Mountain. Relying solely on the rising sun and the War God of Lìyáng, I would be overwhelmed and eventually killed— I must make effective use of the power of the artifacts. The Artifact Sovereign Zhang Yuancheng disperses his golden sun behind his head, retaining only the form of the War God of Lìyáng. ——The golden light emitted by the War God of Lìyáng can still suppress enemies and counteract yin elements, though its effectiveness is significantly diminished. Without the pressure from the rising sun, the vital energies of the three Shu Mountain masters surge instantly, their yin qi bursting out of their bodies, transforming into wavering, unstable black mist. The sword qi hisses and escapes, causing cracks in the surrounding floor. "Form the array!" the Abbot of Shu Mountain transmits a mental surge to the two senior monks. The two senior monks move like ghosts, appearing and vanishing in a flash, and position themselves to either side of Zhang Yuancheng, forming an equilateral triangle with the Abbot, thus encircling Zhang Yuancheng. Within the triangle, sword qi interweaves, creating a dense atmosphere of lethal intent The glow rose十几 meters away. Zhang Yuanqing drew out the Little Red Cap, gently shook it, and released fifteen shadow corpses at the Saint stage. The corpses scattered, pairing up and taking shelter within houses, eaves, and halls—quickly vanishing into the surroundings. One beautiful woman with red eyes remained standing at the edge of the square, not dispersing. Throughout the process, Zhang Yuanqing used the power of the Sun God to form and launch three arrows in succession, repelling three strong disciples from the Shu Mountain. Once the summoned shadow corpses had taken shelter, Zhang Yuanqing exhaled three breaths of the Yin Qi, transforming them into three master-level spirit servants. Upon the arrival of the three southern sect elders, they surveyed the scene and were struck by awe—the profound concentration of Yin Qi here was deeply impressive. The master who had activated the form of the War God of the Scorching Yang appeared as a bright golden candle in the darkness, though radiant and brilliant, it could not counteract the overwhelming surge of Yin Qi. Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory, handed the double-barreled hunting rifle to the graceful sixth elder, and instructed: "Kneel beside my shadow corpses." The six elders took the dual-barreled hunting rifle, instantly grasping the master's intent after reviewing the item properties, and swiftly drifted toward the distance. "You two go too!" Zhang Yuanqing ordered. The seventh and eleventh elders, without further questions, followed the ninth elder. As communication between master and servants unfolded, the abbot of Shu Mountain launched his rusted iron sword from his hands, and with a sharp "whoosh," the sword transformed into a streak of cold light, accompanied by roaring winds and thunder. Qi-jian technique! Three streams of purple-golden liquid surged from the space beside Zhang Yuanqing, swiftly enveloping him and forming a heavy armor. Facing the powerful iron sword charging at him, he neither stepped back nor evaded—instead, he clasped it firmly with both hands, and with a crisp "crack," the sword was severed, its internal qi dispersing outward in all directions. The abbot of Shu Mountain stepped on the seven stars, his fingers pointing like swords, his spirit waves surging intensely: "Rise!" Behind him, within the main hall, a tremendous roar echoed as a bronze sword, three meters long, shattered the hall doors and stood upright A bronze sword three meters long sliced through the air, releasing a terrifying blade energy that could obliterate everything. Zhang Yuanqing couldn't withstand it head-on; instead, he snapped his fingers with a metallic clink, transforming into scattered starlight before the sword's energy reached him. "Boom!" A deep fissure, stretching over ten meters and extending far below, split where he had stood. Starlight rose before the Master of the Shu Mountain Sect. In the brilliant glow, a fist made of bone with sharp spines struck out, like a spear tip pressing into the air, producing a sharp, explosive sound. The Master extended his palm forward. "Thud!" The fist and palm collided, instantly shattering the Master's hand. Zhang Yuanqing staggered backward, his metallic glove encasing his right fist bursting into droplets of purple-gold liquid. Even with the power of his Li Yang War God skill and the amplification of his purple-gold armor, his strength still fell far short of the late-stage Master of Shu Mountain Sect. As the sword energy surged from behind, two elder monks of Shu Mountain approached silently, one thrusting at his back, the other at his neck. Zhang Yuanqing lifted his head and emitted a sharp, piercing cry. The three stalwarts of Shu Mountain merely trembled slightly, then recovered without being affected. They retained most of their pre-death abilities—including the steel resolve of a swordsman and the mental assaults of a spirit-mage—making it difficult to severely wound their souls. Moreover, after transforming into shadow corpses, their souls had been refined and had grown stronger. Nevertheless, during the brief pause when the three were momentarily at a loss, the five-clawed golden dragon roared, puffing out its cheeks and spewing forth molten golden streams toward one of the elders. Princess Yin Yao used her Star-Dart technique to block the path of another, her body radiating powerful shadow energy. With both hands, she launched dozens of Sealing Spirit Scrolls—special scrolls designed to counter shadow-based entities—forcing the other to hesitate and avoid direct confrontation, weaving skillfully through the swirling scrolls, fully demonstrating the scout’s keen insight. The Shu Mountain Master, whose hands had been shattered, raised his sword hand and pointed it toward the sky, where the bronze sword once again descended. This time, the strike was not aimed at Zhang Yuanqing, but at Princess Yin Yao. Zhang Yuanqing raised his hand and snapped his fingers with a crisp sound. The piercing sword aura that had once obliterated everything instantly diminished by seven or eight tenths, and then, with a single golden beam from Li Yang, the War God, it lost another tenth. When it struck Yin Yao, its power had dwindled to just one-tenth, and she effortlessly caught it in her fist, shattering it. The Shu Mountain Master, whose hands had been blown apart, materialized like a ghost, closing in on Zhang Yuanqing. The latter retreated a step, pulling back a hundred meters. Yet, before Zhang Yuanqing could recover, the Shu Mountain Master arrived instantly, his sword tip flashing like a shadow, striking him three times—once on the chest, once on the forehead, and once on various joints across his body. The Shu Mountain Master then clenched his right hand. "Boom!" The armor on Zhang Yuanqing's body exploded into countless droplets of purple-golden water, and his dark golden skin cracked. Having discovered that the young Baduan, who also practiced heart magic, was still active, the Shu Mountain Master had opted for close combat, keeping his sword aura contained rather than unleashed, so Crack! The gun spews out flames. Zhang Yuanqing presses his index and middle fingers, creating a virtual trajectory that guides the bullet straight into the master of the Shu Mountain Sect. A thunderous boom erupts in the master's chest, blasting two blackened holes and sending a surge of intense flames leaping upward. At the same time, the shadow corpse who had pressed the trigger shatters into four fragments, completely disintegrated by the recoil force of the double-barreled hunting gun. The ninth elder of the Nan Sect drifts out, then kneels beside another shadow corpse, who picks up the double-barreled hunting gun and loads the cartridges. The master of the Shu Mountain Sect points his sword, and with a single gesture, the bronze sword cleaves through the shadow corpse, its brilliant sword energy tearing through its body. Zhang Yuanqing does not assist the ninth elder in deflecting the attacks—this was precisely the lure he had set. While the master of the Shu Mountain Sect is distracted by the double-barreled gun and the ninth elder, Zhang Yuanqing opens his inventory, grabs the gleaming lightning spear, and throws it with great force. "Sizzle~" A flash of electricity illuminates the air, The master's spiritual essence detached from his physical body and swiftly fled toward the main hall. Zhang Yuanqing drew his bow, releasing arrows infused with the power of the Sun God, which, regardless of distance, struck the master consecutively. Amid his growing rage and despair, the master's form dissipated, completing his transcendence. Then, with the assistance of Lady Yin Yao and her three spiritual attendants, Zhang Yuanqing performed the transcendence rites for the other two senior monks, ensuring that all members of the Shu Mountain Sect departed in orderly fashion, reunifying the entire sect. Finally, he turned to the now silent main hall, retrieving the Turtle Back Map. By defeating the boss within the coffin, he would gather the celestial ritual set and complete the quest, advancing to the ninth level. The more critical this moment became, the more cautious he grew. In the coming stages, he might have to face enemies at the early to mid-level of the ninth tier alone. He would need to be fully prepared before confronting the boss.