The three avatars of the Lord of the Stars still maintained robotic expressions devoid of emotion, having not even glanced at Old Mac, but instead turning their heads toward the edge of the arena, toward Ling Tu. In a tone reminiscent of a parent instructing a child, he said: "Among the three powers—Sun, Moon, and Stars—the Sun's essence stands supreme, while the Stars, capable of forecasting all things, are restrained by the Moon. Thus, among the three, the Stars appear the weakest. "That is not true. Each of the Sun, Moon, and Stars possesses its own distinct qualities and functions. If we were to divide the divine being who inherited the three essences into three parts, the Sun's essence symbolizes His strength and authority, the Moon embodies His shadow and darkness—yin and yang, the two complementary aspects—while the Stars represent His 'heart' and wisdom. "Strength must be guided by wisdom and the 'heart'; without the harmonizing influence of the heart, the Sun's essence, contained within the Moon's form, would inevitably perish." As he spoke, the two worlds—one upright, one inverted—grew ever closer. The chaotic powers grew so strong that even the divine strength of the Sun God began to fade, being absorbed and transformed into chaos, just as the Moon and the stars did. The Lord of the Stars remained unaware, continuing: "Lin Tuo, by choosing the path of the Moon's essence, you are destined to be contaminated by the 'invaders,' for the Moon symbolizes the feminine force—the very 'evil' entity. The Sun, in contrast, will always lean toward order. As for the Stars…" He paused and then said: "Lin Tuo, as you enter the Sun's realm in your form of the Moon, you will inevitably be incompatible with it. Your only option will be to obstruct my claim over the Sun, to seize it, to preserve it, and one day to defeat me, reclaiming the essence of the Stars—thus achieving the unification of Sun, Moon, and Stars, and becoming the most magnificent being in the entire cosmos." Lin Tuo seemed to have heard this for the first time, bowed his head, and remained silent for a moment before offering a gentle smile. "Then, perhaps, you could be defeated The mirrored world had pressed down upon their heads, the upper bodies of the three incarnations having their spiritual energies absorbed into a hazy, chaotic state, while the lower bodies clung on, preserving the energies of the sun, moon, and stars. The Master of the Tai Men completely ignored the precarious state of his own being, maintaining his expressionless demeanor, his voice resonating like a synthesized electronic tone—layered and grand, yet devoid of emotion: "Observe closely, as I demonstrate how to harmonize the power of the stars with that of the great yin—the second spell I have refined through a decade of dedicated practice." Finally, he turned to the true adversary, Old Ma, and spoke with a generous, compassionate tone: "I believe that, at the rank of half-god, all professions within the orders of Law and Chaos should abandon their equipment and shift their focus entirely to mastering the spells intrinsic to their own disciplines—except for the Void." As he spoke, the solar incarnation remained steadfast, while the stellar and lunar incarnations, like magnets drawn together, collided and fused into one another. The radiant light of the stars intertwined with the deep blackness of the yin. The latter suddenly unfurled, like a pure black velvet cloth, veiling the sky above the arena for four kilometers. Radiant stars adhered to it, transforming into bright or dim points of light. In an instant, a miniature galaxy descended upon the stage, unfurling slowly, exuding an expansive, lofty, and vast atmosphere—alongside it came the supreme will. This power was not merely physical, but existential, symbolic. It transcended beings and individual entities. How could a small realm of distortion, a small mirrored world, contain an entire galaxy? At the level of being and significance, the realm of distortion was crushed; only a crisp "crack" echoed through the void, as space shattered like glass, the fissures swiftly migrating. The chaotic energy filling the space was enveloped, absorbed, and gradually diluted, until it vanished entirely. Within the river of stars, a brilliant beam of light descended, fully encompassing the old god of wine, Bacchus, Maek. Old Maecen, standing within the radiance of the stars, raised a staff composed of grape vines, wheat ears, and nuts, stirring the hazy, chaotic spiritual energy to distort the nature of the starlight and escape this locked state. However, as the hazy, chaotic energy just began to flow out from the staff, it was immediately drawn away and absorbed by the starlight connecting across the galaxy, dissolving into the vast, boundless void. Upon the expansive, lofty river of stars, the starlight coalesced into a colossal deity with a blurred face. He wore a long robe woven from starlight, crowned with a dark diadem, and his eye sockets filled with dark energy, concentrating profound darkness. Gently lowering his gaze toward Old Maecen, enveloped in starlight, the dark energy within his eyes formed deep vortices, radiating a terrifying, intangible suction. Old Maecen, constrained by the starlight, remained rigid throughout, and a form seemingly solid began to slowly withdraw from the top of his head—revealing his spirit essence. This spirit essence, face aglow with alarm and fury, struggled desperately, attempting to sink back into his body, yet could not be restrained, inch by inch, Finally, he could not resist the power targeting his soul, and it was gradually drawn out. As his feet detached from his body, his spirit rose swiftly through the starlight and was swallowed whole by a deity whose face remained blurred. The vast and boundless river of stars began to collapse, the starlight coalescing into a form—a deep, expansive "curtain" that reformed into the embodiment of the Moon. Together with the Sun's subsidiary spirit, who had been observing the entire scene from beginning to end, the three embodiments converged and stood side by side. All the extraordinary phenomena vanished. On the stage remained only the three embodiments, a staff two meters long, and a gray, translucent crystal sphere. Inside the sphere lay the sea, sky, and continents, yet all were jumbled and disordered, utterly chaotic. ... Shu Mountain. Zhang Yuanqing summoned a shade and guided it into the main hall, stopping it before the bronze coffin. Lady Yin Yao quietly slipped behind her eldest brother-in-arms, raised her small horn, and whispered, "Hurry and bring me back into the little red hat—this 9th-level yin creature can swallow me whole. Not only will I be of no help, but I might even become the enemy's nourishment, a shameful act of aiding the foe." Zhang Yuanqing turned and scolded, "What good is your presence?" Lady Yin Yao encouraged, "I think you could summon your master to assist in defeating the boss." Zhang Yuanqing sneered, "With such a rigid, resolute personality, she'll never help us pass unless she explicitly promises to do so. Otherwise, all her previous words are just empty promises." "She truly hasn't let go of a single breath since over a thousand years ago," Lady Yin Yao observed, watching the yin corpse in the main hall attempt to push open the coffin cover, and immediately urged, "Hurry—bring me back inside!" Zhang Yuanqing then retrieved the little red hat and gently closed Lady Yin Yao within it. She was right—these level-of-the-game duplicates, the 7th-level yin corpses and spirit servants, had already become obsolete. His progression was too rapid; the yin corpses and spirit servants could no longer keep pace. With another couple of years, perhaps he could cultivate yin corpses and spirit servants of the same level, no longer needing to fight them one-on-one. As his thoughts raced, a tremendous "thud" echoed from the main hall—the heavy bronze lid of the coffin crashed to the ground. A thick, concentrated "black smoke" surged forth from within, as if a volcano long suppressed for hundreds of years had finally erupted. The black smoke swiftly engulfed the yin corpses, blanketed the hall, and seeped through the doors and windows, forming a dense "cloud layer" across the main peak of the Shu Mountain, obscuring everything and concealing all. Zhang Yuanqing immediately activated his Rui Sheng and Lie Yang War God forms, their pure, bright golden light dispelling the dark clouds and restoring clarity to the Shu Mountain peak. He could not fight the ninth-level yin entities within this pervasive atmosphere of yin energy—such a battle would be certain death. The duration of the Sun's ascent and the Battle God's vitality is thirty minutes—within that time, the battle must be concluded. As the dense negative qi is purified, the scene of the main hall reappears before Zhang Yuanqing. He sees a pale, slender hand pressing gently against the edge of the coffin. Immediately afterward, a pale woman rises. She possesses a delicate and beautiful appearance—except for her ashen complexion, which seems lifeless, she is no different from ordinary people. There is no sign of decay, putrefaction, blackened veins, sunken eyes, or dry, withered hair, the hallmarks of a corpse. Instead, a thick, dark energy fills her eye sockets, coating both the sclera and the iris. She is bare-chested, fully exposed, her body contours graceful and alluring, exuding an otherworldly charm. She wears a magnificent golden crown adorned with flowing jade curtains. Standing upright from the coffin, she is dressed in a knee-length fur skirt. She surveys the hall, remaining still for a long time, as though adjusting to her unfamiliar surroundings. The regal, clear golden light fell upon her, causing no harm, as though she were simply bathing in ordinary sunlight. She stepped out of the bronze coffin, crossed the threshold, and stood at the entrance of the hall, her dark eyes gazing steadily at Zhang Yuanqing. "I have slept for endless ages. You are the first to enter this place. You are a believer in the Golden Sun... no, in this age, people like you are called the 'Golden Sun.'" She conveyed a subtle ripple of spirit. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "I am not from this age. To us, the Golden Sun is an ancient and enduring title. I am the Sun-Wanderer." The Sun-Wanderer... the woman pondered the term. "Have you seen the Golden Sun?" The other did not immediately move, but chose to communicate. Zhang Yuanqing naturally welcomed the opportunity to chat further. "Never!" "The beautiful woman, bare-chested and revealing her breast," said, "In ancient times, the Golden Sun bird rebelled, scorching the earth, and was subdued and sealed by the Emperor Nüwa. The beings of the eastern islands worshipped the Golden Sun bird at the site of its seal, drawing upon its dispersed spiritual energy. These people are thus the faithful followers of the Golden Sun bird." "Why did the Golden Sun bird rebel?" asked Zhang Yuanqing. "The woman replied: "To destroy life, and then to save it." Destroy life, then save it? Zhang Yuanqing found this puzzling and asked, "What does that mean?" The woman remained silent, gently shaking her head. "Who are you?" asked Zhang Yuanqing. "Ah, Bā...," she said, "I am a warrior of the House of Youcheng, who perished in the Battle of Zhuolu. The House of Youcheng sealed my body in an extremely cold, dark place, transforming me into a corpse. They hoped I would continue to fight for my people. Yet when I awoke, it was already thousands of years later—under the rule of the Tang dynasty!" Indeed, the legendary Hú Bā He paused and asked, "Senior, this place is the Ling Realm. My time period—several thousand years after the Tang Dynasty..." He briefly explained the existence of the Ling Realm and then shared his thoughts: "You have now regained your freedom. The Ling Realm is vast, and you may freely roam throughout it. I have no grudge against you. As descendants of the Huang and Yan tribes, I am a lineage that has flourished and thrived with your people for thousands of years. Could you kindly grant me a favor and allow me to leave?" Zhang Yuanqing gathered his bow, drew the string, and channelled the divine power of the Sun God into an arrow. Whizz! The golden light sliced through the air, striking precisely at female Bā's chest.