As the residual spirit of Lingtu was extinguished, the black hole began to collapse inward, drawing vast streams of starlight into its core. Soon, a subtle glow emerged within the profound, pure black heart of the black hole, like a star, growing steadily brighter and more radiant until it became a brilliant stellar sphere of fist-sized magnitude. Immediately thereafter, this star exploded, releasing an endless surge of starlight that merged with the black hole, forming a new celestial body endowed with a fearsome gravitational pull and overwhelming pressure. The celestial body now appeared as if draped in a luminous cloak of starlight. The moon and the star further fused. In an instant, the originally dominant, vigorous, and forceful solar essence—due to the inherent nature of its fundamental power—suddenly dimmed, as vast amounts of solar divine energy were drawn away by the newly formed black hole. The two massive celestial bodies no longer appeared in a state of confrontation or collision, but rather, the solar essence was now firmly magnetically anchored. The voice of the Star Sovereign echoed from every direction, layered and resonant: "Li Tuo has been utterly erased—no matter what strategies he leaves behind, no matter what reserves you possess, they cannot halt my claim upon the essence of the Sun." "Master Yuan-Shi, your fate is sealed!" "Ddah... ddah..." Zhang Yuanqing's footsteps echoed through the vast underground space as he approached the stone sarcophagus. With a mental sweep, he furrowed his brows—there was no spiritual resonance within the coffin. The Three-Path Lady seemed truly deceased for many years. Both her physical body and spirit were in a state of "extinction." How, then, had I originally awakened her? Zhang Yuanqing found himself puzzled. He recalled further details: the Lady Yin Yao had stolen the Three-Path Lady's most important coffin, yet the old sturdy one remained unconscious. Yet when she simply opened the coffin herself, the old one stirred and awakened. After a moment of silence, Zhang Yuanqing shook his head and smiled, "Ah, now I understand!" Given the old one's current condition, if he didn't intervene now, he would likely remain in perpetual sleep, indifferent to the passage of time or the changing seasons. Several days later, the new Yuan-Shi Celestial Sovereign entering the Shē Ling Tunnel would be unable to open the coffin and awaken him. Without the old one's awakening, the Yuan-Shi Celestial Sovereign would never achieve a brilliant destiny. The old, sturdy figure was indeed awakened by him—though not the original, earthly Yuan Shiyi, but Yuan Shiyi who had crossed through time. "That's interesting. If the role of the Huangtian Emperor is eventually established, and someone becomes a spiritual traveler in that profession, they'll definitely be in high demand. I've already got a name in mind: at the transcendent stage, they'd be called 'Time Assassins.'" Zhang Yuanqing mumbled. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the water—a man of refined appearance, dressed in a golden robe. The imperial princess turned and surveyed the court attendants, eunuchs, and guards stationed at a distance, only to find them all oblivious to the sudden arrival of this stranger. Frowning, she said coldly, "Some wandering rogue!" Since he wasn't playing with two different appearances, he certainly had no intention of teasing the old stick-in-the-mud—she wouldn't even notice. Zhang Yuan had long harbored such thoughts, but in the past, he'd been timid, like a rookie, hesitant to act. Once his true form became the sovereign of the Sun, such pedestrian, petty whims no longer mattered. But as a duplicate, he was free to play around however he pleased. The Imperial Princess's delicate face instantly turned pale as if draped in frost. She was about to summon the palace guards when the golden-robed figure in her presence smoothed out his carefree smile and spoke solemnly: "Zhao Youqing, after a millennium-long dream, the age of decline has passed. The opportunity for immortality has returned to the world—you must now awaken..." You must now awaken! These words echoed continuously in the Princess's inner consciousness, their ripple effect lingering long after. By then, Zhang Yuan had already stepped out of the dream and quietly departed. On his third journey into the future, he already knew precisely where he was headed. During this journey through time, there are two critical moments that must be revisited: one to retrieve the Little Sun and restore the Sun's original essence, and the other to thwart the Star Sovereign's plot. He had also considered whether to travel back to a century ago and eliminate the Star Sovereign before he had fully matured. However, after using his electronic watch, Zhang Yuanqing realized that the stored energy within it was insufficient to enable a journey spanning a century. "The moment when moral value disappeared was..." He pressed the button, setting the time to: December 16, 2023. During the Killing Quest! Immediately, Zhang Yuanqing entered the time tunnel, traversing through time without any sense of the passage, arriving at December 16 of the previous year. When he returned to reality, he found himself in the CBD district of Songhai, where sirens blared and crowds fled in panic, with explosions from gas pipelines echoing along the streets. The shopping mall was the worst affected area, plagued by swarms of ghost insects and wailing spirits, with bodies scattered everywhere. Yet, he never saw a single figure from the evil professions. Compared to the ordinary people swarming like ants, the number of spiritual realm travelers was far too small. Most of the chaos stemmed from panic, compounded by the bleeding effects of AoE skills. This was precisely the moment he had to descend—after regaining his memories and realizing he was the Demon King, Zhang Yuanqing had come to understand that the "determination" he had felt during the slaughter quests was not genuine. Once he obtained the complete electronic watch tonight and realized he could traverse time, he understood that the "determination" had actually been his own self, journeying back in time. Therefore, he had to come here. Beyond the convergence of world lines, the more crucial reason was that this was a conspiracy that had to be stopped. If the merits scroll could not be reclaimed, the Star Sovereign would obtain the fragments of the Light Compass and unlock the quest prematurely. Zhang Yuanqing's body ignited with golden light, separating from the physical realm and entering the world of the spiritual realm. Immediately, he saw a massive black moon suspended in the star river, continuously "devouring" stars. The spiritual realm was vast and boundless, like the night sky, and he, within it, felt like mere dust. Lingtuo had not noticed him at all. "Hmm..." Zhang Yuanqing smiled with a gleam of gold in his eyes, slowly surveying the spiritual realm. Soon, drawing upon his memory from last year, he located the position of the Killing Quest. He transformed into a streak of golden light, rushing toward the Killing Quest—the World Museum! With his electronic watch and the Golden Bird, he easily entered the quest, as if he possessed certain privileges allowing him free access to the spiritual realm's various quest realms. This privilege came from both the Golden Bird and the electronic watch. The former symbolized the highest authority in the spiritual realm, while the latter represented the sole remaining administrator. The sole remaining administrator. After entering the combat instance, Zhang Yuanqing spotted the familiar Hall of the Gods, where Xia Hou Aotian, Qingzhú, Alysia, Huang Taidi, Yin Ji, and others lay motionless in profound darkness, asleep. Blood-Soaked Liquid, the antagonist's champion, was also resting peacefully. Zhang pressed the pause button on his electronic watch, allowing a tide of gray-white energy to flow around them. "Wake up, wake up…" With golden light enveloping his entire body, Zhang descended beside Yuan Shǐ Tianzūn, gently communicating with his drowsy consciousness. "If you don't awaken soon, your teammates will perish." "Who are you?" "I'm here to boost your performance. The Sleeping Dragon Title already knew the script—able to gather relics without taking a single injury. Even the NPCs in the instance have been bribed. Honestly, these days, how can you possibly play without 'boosting'?" Zhang spoke to himself, as though reliving his life, only this time with a new identity and a fresh perspective. Then, he unfolded according to the script, deceiving his own timeline self—his very essence being the magus's执着. This was both an act of malice and a deliberate move to dispel Yuan Shi Tian Zun's suspicions, preventing him from probing further. The more he knew, the more intelligence the Star Sovereign would gain. With this thought, Zhang Yuanqing felt a subtle stir in his mind and advised, "Don't make yourself the central focus—this brings you no benefit." Subsequently, he assumed the identity of "Yuan Shi Tian Zun," activated the power of the Golden Sun Bird, and reclaimed the Merit Scroll from the Master of the Yin. Before departing, he spoke with deliberate profundity: "I've left something of great significance in the treasure vault of the Fei Hua Immortal Sect. When you find yourself in dire straits, open the vault—there may yet be a chance of survival. However, before you reach a point of utter desperation, I recommend you refrain from exploring it. Some things, once revealed to the public, lose their value as hidden reserves." "He said this so that the future version of himself wouldn't prematurely unlock the treasure vault of the Immortal Gate of Feathered Ascension—otherwise, how could he deceive the Star Sovereign, who possesses the power to perceive and comprehend all things? Leaving this message, he transformed into a streak of starlight and faded away. Back in the real world, Zhang Yuanqing activated the time-travel function once again, this time randomly transported to an unknown period. After traversing the time tunnel, Zhang Yuanqing returned to the real world and immediately glanced at his electronic watch. The watch displayed the date: August 21, 2022."