Chapter 1 This is an Awkward Posture

This was an art doll gallery, decorated in a simple, stylish, yet expensive manner.

What met the eye were all kinds of dolls: delicate and cute young girls, mature and charming women, smartly dressed young men, and cane-wielding old men...

Shelves along the walls displayed various doll-related merchandise. Under the spiral staircase were cardboard boxes containing doll bodies, with some limbs even piled directly on top of the boxes.

These dolls were exquisite and elegant, their features lifelike, exuding an unspeakable sense of eeriness and gloom. They all faced the same direction, their empty gazes converging on one spot.

An ordinary person who strayed into such a doll gallery at night would surely be scared out of their wits.

On the smooth, reflective marble floor, there was a tattered old quilt.

The quilt was large enough to accommodate more than a dozen people, covering a good portion of the doll gallery.

The surface of the quilt revealed the outlines of nine human figures. At the center was Fu Qingyang, with Elder Gaofeng on his left and Elder Hongying on his right.

On Elder Gaofeng's side were "Gaoshan Liushui," "Liangchen Zezhu Er Shi," and a third man. On Elder Hongying's side were Yin Ji, Xia Shu Zhilian, and Hua Yu, three female saints.

Fu Qingyang craned his neck, the quilt casting a shadow over his face. He calmly surveyed the doll gallery and said, "Elder Gaofeng, has your lower body recovered?"

The dark, lean Elder Gaofeng craned his neck, shaking his head with a solemn expression. "Not yet, but the power of the curse is weakening. Elder Hongying, what about your chest?"

Elder Hongying coldly said, "None of your business."

The official team had encountered a major crisis. After the ghost city revived, the official Xingzhe had intended to adopt a wait-and-see approach, responding to changes with constancy.

But what followed was the successive revival of the supernatural entities in the shops, which rushed out to besiege the living who had闯入the city, coveting their essence and energy.

In this critical situation, Fu Qingyang discerned a way to resolve the crisis: take the initiative to enter the shops.

The supernatural forces in the ghost city had a strong sense of territory, or rather, a set of rules, that prevented them from entering the shops of their "同行."

So, as long as they continued to闯关, they could avoid being devoured by the ghosts in the city.

But this was a case of drinking poison to quench thirst, because there was no way they could clear a dungeon of Demigod-level difficulty, not even with thirty lives.

Nevertheless, they had managed to hold out for one night. Fu Qingyang, draped in the Swordsman's cloak, possessed unparalleled offensive power. Elder Hongying innately suppressed vengeful spirits and Yin corpses, while Elder Gaofeng's defense was a reliable shield for everyone.

But in this doll gallery, they had finally reached their limit.

There were no terrifying supernatural entities in this doll gallery, only the chaotically arranged dolls. The danger came from these dolls themselves.

The moment the official team stepped into the doll gallery, they were targeted by the dolls.

Then a terrible crisis descended: everyone's bodies, including Elder Hongying's, began to导化, transforming into 素体 models.

Elder Gaofeng's lower body had turned into a doll, Elder Hongying's chest, Yin Ji's buttocks, Hua Yu's back. Parts of everyone's body had been transformed into models.

This was a terrifying curse, at least a peak Dominator-level curse.

Its level exceeded that of the three Dominators present.

At this critical moment, Elder Gaofeng grabbed a tattered quilt and roared, "Get under the covers, quick!"

Only then were they saved.

Earth-Guard job, Dominator-level rule-based item—Coward's Quilt.

The quilt could withstand all attacks in the world, and even Demigods could not destroy it with brute force.

This rule-based item came with three prices:

First, poverty. The item holder would be forever out of touch with money. Any wealth given in any form would eventually leave them.

Second, time. Each time the quilt was spread out, a prescribed amount of time had to pass before it could be lifted. The time was four hours. If they did not leave the quilt after four hours, they would be sealed inside forever until death. During this time, those hiding in the quilt could not perform any operations.

Third, cowardice. Once they accepted the protection of the quilt, they would inevitably become cowardly.

Elder Hongying turned her head,

staring at Qian Gongzi's sculpted, perfect profile.

"The 'we'd rather die than go out' means we'd rather be sealed in the quilt and die elegantly? We've been hiding in the quilt for two and a half hours now."

Elder Gaofeng sighed,

"Rather than dying elegantly, we might as well choose to become dolls. Look at those dolls, how elegant they are."

Fu Qingyang said calmly,

"No, dying in the quilt is even more elegant. The Dark Night Rose's three Protectors are waiting for us to make our choice. If we choose to become dolls, we'll be like deer heads hanging on the wall, ivory displayed on shelves, becoming collectibles. That's very undignified."

The saints were extremely anxious and frightened, thinking, "What time is it? The elders are still in the mood to chat idly."

Their lives were already counting down.

When it came to facing life and death, the mental fortitude of saints and Dominators was vastly different.

When the ghost city revived, the saints were not flustered at all, confident that the Marshal would come to their rescue. Their mentality was as steady as an old dog.

When clearing the haunted houses along the street, the saints were not flustered at all, confident that the Marshal would come to their rescue sooner or later.

But after they had been hiding in the quilt for two and a half hours, they began to panic.

There was no time left. They only had half an hour of life remaining, and at this point, the Marshal seemed to still be on horseback, rushing to their rescue.

"I... I... I shouldn't have agreed to Yuan Shitianzun," the little fatty stammered. "What does the Chunyang Sect Leader have to do with me? I was doing fine delivering takeout, with the best performance. I shouldn't have gotten involved."

Yin Ji craned her neck, looking at the little fatty over several heads. "It wasn't Yuan Shitianzun who got you involved. It was the elders of your Southern Faction, and they seem to have run away in advance."

How could an experienced Dominator-level Illusionist die at the same time? They had probably sensed the existence of the ghost city in advance and run away.

Although they failed to kill the Chunyang Sect Leader, they had managed to screw over three official Dominators, so it wasn't a bad deal after all.

As for Liangchen Zezhu Er Shi, a mere saint, they could just abandon him.

The little fatty fell silent.

The others were not in the mood to participate in the discussion.

Hua Yu's face was pale, as if the end of the world was at hand. Xia Shu Zhilian looked bitter, and the male deacons were equally pessimistic and dejected, like death-row inmates heading to the execution ground.

At this moment, a faint crimson glow darted in from outside the shop: a pair of brand new, exquisite little dancing shoes.

The dancing shoes pattered into the shop, heading straight for Fu Qingyang. Without a word, they began to kick him relentlessly through the quilt.

Bang, bang, bang!

The muffled sounds of kicking echoed in the shop. Every kick was full of force, as if they had an irreconcilable hatred for Fu Qingyang.

However, its attacks didn't even amount to scratching an itch through a boot.

"This is..." Hua Yu, whose face was pale and expression fearful, suddenly had a glint in her杏眼儿.

Yin Ji's breathing quickened. "Yuan Shitianzun's red dancing shoes!"

Everyone's eyes lit up, including the three Dominators.

These were Yuan Shitianzun's red dancing shoes. He had used these red dancing shoes during the擂台赛.

"Yuan Shitianzun is here!" Xia Shu Zhilian's eyebrows relaxed, and she said excitedly.

In their despair, that radiant young man, like the sun, shone into their hearts.

"Enough, enough. These Yin corpses and spirit servants are enough for me to use until I reach the Dominator level. Thank you, Cousin."

The radiant young man, like the sun, was busy bowing his head and even calling her "Cousin."

On the dim long street, in front of a shop called "Ghost Guerrilla," Zhang Yuanqing obtained his ninth Yin corpse.

After the Marshal helped to seal it, he took out the Little Red Riding Hood to store the boy Yin corpse.

In the past ten minutes of exploration, they had collected a total of nine Yin corpses and six vengeful spirits. Most of them were at level four and five. There were only two level-six Yin corpses, along with one vengeful spirit.

And they would be sealed for a long time until Zhang Yuanqing raised his experience points to the peak of level six.

With his current store of Taiyin power, it would be difficult to continue to nurture and control Yin objects of the same level unless he majored in Taiyin.

In any case, level-six combat power was enough.

Greed is bad, besides, what Zhang Yuanqing needed most now were some low-level Yin objects that could serve as cannon fodder.

He needed both high-end combat power and low-end cannon fodder.

Seeing Guan Ya's boyfriend put away the Yin objects, Fu Qingxuan said slowly,

"It's time to pick up trash and deal with those three rats."

As she spoke, she reached out and pressed on Zhang Yuanqing's shoulder.

Huh, why isn't she turning on the navigation this time? Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. In the next second, he once again experienced the pain of a steel knife shaving his hairline.

Fortunately, this pain only lasted for two or three seconds before his feet once again stepped on solid ground. He appeared outside a doll gallery. The shop door was open, and the brightly lit display hall was filled with lifelike, or rather, not lifelike but栩栩如生 dolls.

Following their gloomy and empty gazes, Zhang Yuanqing looked at the tattered quilt spread out on the floor tiles.

Nine people were lying side by side, covered with a dark blue tattered quilt, only their heads exposed, much like the servants in the Northeast豪门, sleeping side by side on a large kang in the old days.

A tattered quilt? The Coward's Quilt that Xia Shu Zhilian mentioned in "Cliff Mountain Sea" refers to Elder Gaofeng's rule-based item?

Pfft, their current posture was completely lacking in dignity.

While Zhang Yuanqing was relieved, he also found the scene inexplicably comical.

When Zhang Yuanqing saw them, Fu Qingyang and the others, who were craning their necks and staring at the shop entrance, also saw Yuan Shitianzun and the Marshal.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing, relying on the hand speed he had honed over years of being single, quickly took out his phone and opened the camera.

"Click!"

The flash of light flashed and disappeared, freezing the nine people's stiff expressions on the screen.

Zhang Yuanqing put away his phone and pretended that nothing had happened, saying in a serious tone, "Everyone, the Marshal has come to save you."

The three Dominators and six saints showed joy and excitement at surviving a catastrophe, and then they all glanced at Yuan Shitianzun's pants pocket, where he had hidden his phone.

At this time, Fu Qingxuan had finished scanning the doll gallery, and she had洞察the crisis inside. Stepping over the threshold, she used her fingers like swords, sweeping her arm horizontally.

A dozen exquisite dolls were cut in half at the waist, their broken bodies falling to the ground with a "clatter."

"You are safe now," she said calmly.

The Empress was cold and majestic, as if she had only done something insignificant.

Elder Gaofeng immediately got up, lifted the thick, tattered quilt, and stored the rule-based item in his inventory.

"Greetings, Marshal! Thank you, Marshal, for saving our lives!" The three elders bowed respectfully.

During this process, the red dancing shoes tirelessly kicked Fu Qingyang, vowing not to give up until he was killed.

The saints bowed fearfully, not daring to breathe loudly. Facing the supreme leader of the Alliance, humility and humbleness were attitudes that must be displayed.

Unlike Yuan Shitianzun, who, even standing next to the Marshal, showed no restraint or tension. He was truly a legendary figure, born桀骜 and full of rebellion.

"No need to thank me. It was Yuan Shitianzun who located your position, so I was able to come in," the female Marshal said, raising her hand slightly.

Everyone was surprised, not expecting Yuan Shitianzun to have played such a crucial role. They looked at him with even more gratitude.

Elder Hongying and Elder Gaofeng nodded to Zhang Yuanqing in thanks.

Zhang Yuanqing then gave Yin Ji and Xia Shu Zhilian a gentlemanly smile.

After Fu Qingxuan finished speaking, she turned to walk out of the shop, her gaze suddenly fixed on Fu Qingyang's cloak.

"Let me take a look at it."

As the strongest scout of this era, she could tell at a glance that this was a rare treasure of her profession.

Fu Qingyang was about to refuse when the cloak behind him was snatched away by a great force, flying into the Marshal's hands with a whoosh.

Fu Qingxuan grabbed the cloak and stared at it for a few seconds, her light green异瞳 bursting with dazzling light.

It was the first time Zhang Yuanqing had seen her show such excitement. In contrast, the more excited the sister was, the more anxious the brother was.

"Where did you get this item? It's wasted on you. Give it to me," Fu Qingxuan said.

"Shameless."

Fu Qingyang's forehead bulged with veins, like Prince Shou, Li Mao, whose wife had been snatched by his father, the Emperor.

Yes, yes, the cloak is老大's beloved item. Marshal, how is your action different from Li Longji, who snatched his son's wife? Zhang Yuanqing wanted to say a few words for老大, but alas, his position was too low and his words carried too little weight. He could only watch the show.

Elder Gaofeng and Elder Hongying focused their eyes on their noses and their hearts. A sister was trying to snatch her brother's toy. This was a family affair of the Fu family.

"Don't be so stingy. This Marshal saved your life. It's reasonable to give me an item as a reward... Fine, fine, let me borrow it for a few days, okay?" Seeing that her younger brother was in a posture of being willing to risk fraternal discord, Fu Qingxuan reluctantly took a step back.

She draped the cloak over her shoulders. "A 40% increase. I can try out my self-created sword technique."

As she spoke, she grabbed a bronze sword from her inventory and made it hover in mid-air. Her slender玉指 lightly tapped the spine of the sword.

The golden cloud纹 on the cloak emitted a faint glow.

"Ding!"

The bronze sword emitted a clear dragon roar and actually split into two identical swords.

A touch of joy appeared on Fu Qingxuan's cool face. She had been studying this sword technique for a long time, but had never been able to succeed. The ideal state was to split two sword energies.

Each one had the power of the original. But even in her best condition, she could only split one sword energy.

This cloak directly raised her sword technique to another level.

If she had had the cloak last night, she would have already chopped off the head of the Fear King's dog.

The three bronze swords danced and flew, whistling out.

A few seconds later, the people in the gallery heard several desperate screams from the darkness.

Then the three flying swords returned, carrying three corpses, and hovering outside the doll gallery.

Fu Qingxuan waved her hand, and two of the bronze swords disappeared, their corpses falling to the ground with a "clatter."

She then retrieved the last bronze sword.

These three corpses were all wearing cloaks. They were none other than the three Protectors of the Dark Night Rose.

Dominator-level powerhouses were gone like韭菜.

"The Dark Night Rose has the Mother God's Womb of the Chu family. These three will be resurrected in the Northwest. Remember their faces and issue a wanted order later."

Fu Qingxuan waved her hand and knocked off the hoods of the three Dominators from afar. Under the hoods was an old man with white hair, a middle-aged man with a gloomy face, and a middle-aged woman with an ordinary appearance.

Zhang Yuanqing carefully recalled the faces of the three people, but did not find any corresponding figures in his memory.

Suddenly, an exclamation came from behind him. It was Elder Hongying. "Elder Shanhe Yongcun?!"