Chapter 1 A Day of Stalemate

In the day-long stalemate, the evil faction had launched fierce attacks on Sword Pavilion, using poison smoke and venomous insects, but to no avail.

Jiang Ju was a Fire Master, suppressing venomous insects.

Cai Longshen was a Plague God; diseases were hardly inferior to a Witch Gu Master’s venomous Gu, and even harder to guard against—masks were useless.

Furthermore, the red-haired Fire Demon, son of the alliance leader, possessed astonishing battle prowess. With the Sword Pavilion’s assistance, even though the Free Faction held the advantage, they had to admit their opponents were a tough nut to crack.

It was at this moment that the Dream Weaver's role became apparent. Yin Chuanmei glanced at the distant Sword Pavilion and asked, "You said earlier that Cai Longshen gained control of the Sword Pavilion. I haven't grasped the specifics of this instance yet. What happened to the Sword Villa massacre? What force commissioned the escort agency? And what's the background of the demon in the main quest?"

The Snake Woman smiled alluringly.

"Greed General was the first to arrive at Sword Villa. He discovered a blood letter in the ancestral hall, recording the massacre."

She turned to Greed General, giggling behind her hand. "General, show it to her. This woman is wary of us."

Greed General retrieved a scroll of rice paper from his inventory and tossed it gently. The paper floated towards the rooftop on the breeze.

Yin Chuanmei reached out and caught it.

She unfolded the scroll, reading intently. The contents were written in regular script, the author being the Sword Villa Lord, Murong Wenxing, descendant of the Sword Villa’s founder, the great hero Murong Fu.

Born during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Murong Fu rose from humble beginnings, blessed with deep opportunities, mastering the Five Elements arts, and dominating Jiangnan with his swordsmanship. After the Song Dynasty was established and the realm stabilized,

Murong Fu returned to his hometown and established Sword Villa. Before his death, Murong Fu instructed his descendants to base Sword Villa on swordsmanship, establishing a foothold in the martial world, and forbade them from cultivating the Five Elements secret arts, taking the secrets with him into his coffin. By Murong Wenxing’s generation,

Sword Villa had stood in the martial world for 2000 years. Though not on par with those aloof immortal sects, it was highly renowned in the Jiangnan region.

Murong Wenxing had a son named Murong Long, exceptionally talented, with ambitions soaring higher than the heavens. He ventured into the martial world at a young age and suffered setbacks within the immortal sects, so he returned home for secluded cultivation. Murong Wenxing initially didn't take it to heart. As the saying goes, when in the martial world, who can avoid taking a beating? After a beating, one learns that the martial world isn't just about fighting, but also about human relationships, which is also good. Unexpectedly, Murong Long became obsessed.

Determined to cultivate unparalleled divine skills and exact revenge on the immortal sects. However, how could someone from Jiangnan contend with the immortal sects? Thus, he secretly exhumed his ancestor Murong Fu's tomb, retrieved the Five Elements secret manual, and cultivated diligently for six years, finally succumbing to cultivation deviation, rampaging through the villa. Murong Wenxing led the villa's experts and disciples to suppress the crazed Murong Long.

Nearly all of the villa's experts were killed or injured.

Murong Wenxing knew that Sword Villa, having suffered such a calamity, would surely attract the covetous eyes of enemies and those with ill intentions. The surviving few couldn't defend it!

To prevent chaos in the martial world, he incinerated Murong Long's body, extracted his Five Elements spirit and soul, sealed them separately, and had his clansmen take them away. He also dismissed the villa's disciples and wrote letters to friends, saying he would lead the Murong family to seclusion, moving the entire clan away from the villa.

After arranging everything, Murong Wenxing suddenly passed away in the ancestral hall. Before his death, he wrote this blood letter, likely a letter of repentance to his ancestors. No wonder it's called the Five Elements Calamity. This instance might hold the secrets of the five major professions. Interesting, Yin Chuanmei thought with interest. As an experienced Lingjing Xingzhe, she knew instances stemmed from history, and the events at Sword Villa were likely historical facts.

The mysterious figures who commissioned the five great escort agencies were probably the people who coveted the Five Elements secret arts back then.

However, in this instance, they didn't seem to have much of a role, merely serving as background. The Snake Woman slithered on the roof, her long, powerful tail rattling the tiles. The blood letter mentioned that Murong Fu was blessed with deep opportunities, mastering the Five Elements secret arts. If he could master them, why did Murong Long succumb to cultivation deviation?

"Taking the Five Elements secret arts into his coffin is also a point of suspicion. Murong Fu seemed to anticipate that his descendants wouldn't be able to cultivate them successfully," the Bee Woman, Xiao Yuan, added.

"The Five Elements secret arts, so tempting," Greed General licked his lips, a strong glint of greed in his eyes—then he regretfully touched his ponytail. "Too bad I'm a Bewitching Demon."

The Snake Woman hissed,

smiling flirtatiously, "This might be a hidden quest. After we deal with those law-abiding young masters, we can explore Murong Fu's tomb."

Through their conversation, Yin Chuanmei gradually grasped the instance's plot and the core of the two factions' conflict.

The Free Faction's mission was to release the Demon Queen and slaughter the Lawful Xingzhe! After the demon in the coffin returned to the villa, it disappeared into Murong Fu's tomb. The Lawful Faction's mission was to escort a portion of the demon's soul and power to Sword Villa and gain control of the grand formation.

Using the grand formation's power to kill the Free Faction. Currently, the only one in the Lawful Faction to complete a side quest was Yuanhai Escort Agency's Cai Longshen.

Inside Sword Pavilion, the Fire Prince Jiang Ju punched the stone doorframe, cursing, "Damn it, it's Yin Chuanmei. It seems the Yellow Banner Escort Agency's mission failed. We're in deep trouble."

Cai Longshen's expression was gloomy. "Yin Chuanmei didn't complete the side quest; otherwise, we'd be dead by now."

When she arrived at Sword Villa, the evil faction's experts were already lying in ambush within the villa.

Greed General was powerful and terrifying, and with the help of the Snake Woman and others, they could only abandon the coffin and retreat with Jiang Ju into Sword Pavilion. In other words, the evil faction only needed one coffin to complete the main quest. If the portion of the demon that the Yellow Banner Escort Agency was responsible for escorting had broken free from its seal, the demon should be recovering nearby.

Jiang Ju pondered for a few seconds. They had to protect the Yellow Banner Escort Agency's coffin; otherwise, they would lose.

"Being able to repel Yin Chuanmei and protect the coffin means they must be experts. Among level six peaks, there can't be more than ten with that kind of strength. What's the situation with the Yellow Banner Escort Agency? I'm curious. What kind of bug appeared?" The Snake Woman slithered around Yin Chuanmei, hissing. Now was the time to speak, and the evil faction all looked at Yin Chuanmei.

"The two Lawful members in the Yellow Banner Escort Agency's team are officials. Their names should be familiar to you: one is Huang Taiji, and the other is the Primal Celestial Venerable," Yin Chuanmei said.

Hearing Huang Taiji's name, the evil faction hissed. Though they found it troublesome, they weren't too surprised, as it was expected to be matched with someone of that level.

After all, the number of officials was limited. But the words "Primal Celestial Venerable" shocked the big shots present.

Xiao Yuan's emotions fluctuated greatly.

Her eerie, cold face froze slightly.

"Primal Celestial Venerable?" The Snake Woman widened her eyes, her tone shocked. "The last time I heard about that kid was in the Slaughter Instance. It's only been two months, and he's already advanced to level six?" The others also wore expressions of disbelief.

Although, due to the proximity of the Lawful and Evil factions, there was a significant disparity in the number of Xingzhe.

In multi-player Lingjing, these level six peaks were often matched as bosses against level six initial or level five Lawful Xingzhe. Two people or even one person against six level five, but matching against level four was unheard of. Ignoring items and other factors, six level five working together could barely stand against level six peak evil profession. Four level four facing level six evil profession, comes how many are killed.

Yin Chuanmei shook her head slightly. "The Primal Celestial Venerable is level four, but he's not an ordinary level four. I suspect he has Sovereign-grade items or materials, plus he has an S-grade instance."

"His hidden score is terrifyingly high, so he was matched in as a high level by Lingjing, just like these two," she glanced at the Bee Woman and the tattooed strongman.

Only then did the others barely accept it. Greed General's eyes shone brightly, and he excitedly said, "Sovereign-grade materials and items, they must be mine, they must be mine. Mhm, continue."

Yin Chuanmei immediately recounted the brief exchange at the haunted house, "But when I sensed something was wrong and approached the Primal Celestial Venerable to check the situation, he was already dead. But the water-attribute spiritual power from the coffin seemed to have merged into his body, losing its divinity."

"The Primal Celestial Venerable is actually dead. Hehe, back then, various organizations and Dark Night Rose poured their hearts and souls into planning, wanting to eliminate him in the Slaughter Instance, but they failed," the Snake Woman said with a smile, "Who would have thought he'd die here!" The tattooed strongman shouted, "Logically speaking, he didn't need to be so anxious back then. A genius in the Extraordinary Realm is still just a genius. See, once he reaches the Saint Realm, he can die whenever he dies."

Greed General nodded slightly. "So, it seems you didn't complete the mission because the water-attribute spiritual power merged into his corpse. Never mind, Huang Taiji will come to the villa eventually. We can just seize the Primal Celestial Venerable's corpse then. Hehe, if the Primal Celestial Venerable really died here! Once we exit the Lingjing, there will be a show to watch. Good thing, great thing." Everyone was rejoicing over the Primal Celestial Venerable's death, except for Xiao Yuan, who was stunned. She stood motionless on the roof, like an expressionless sculpture.

"I think I heard them say that the Primal Celestial Venerable is dead," Fire Prince Jiang Ju frowned.

"If Jingwei knew, she'd probably cry for three days. She likes the Primal Celestial Venerable a lot. Last time, she even tried to steal Dad's Sovereign-grade item to give to the Primal Celestial Venerable, but I caught her. That bitch Yin Chuanmei actually killed the Primal Celestial Venerable. Fu Qingyang is probably going crazy, and headquarters will go crazy too."

"Headquarters won't go crazy. Dead geniuses are meaningless. Just a level four. Dead is dead, but being able to seal the ferocious thing is also a fitting death," Cai Longshen said indifferently, "In comparison, Huang Taiji in the instance makes me feel more at ease. We need someone who can tank."

The Fire Prince scratched his red hair. "Once Huang Taiji arrives, watch how I counter-kill them. I've long wanted to rush out and have a big fight." The Fire Master's pride allowed him to disregard life and death and have a happy big fight, but his strength didn't allow it.

"Hm? Yin Chuanmei suddenly turned her head to look at the stunned Bee Woman, smiling, "Your emotional fluctuations tell me that you seem to be in pain, angry, and despairing. What's your relationship with the Primal Celestial Venerable?"

The evil faction all looked at the Bee Woman. Red light emerged in Xiao Yuan's black gemstone-like eyes, and the two antennae on her forehead trembled violently. "You killed the Primal Celestial Venerable," she raised her hand to press her head, as if trying to suppress something, but the trembling of the antennae intensified. She wanted to maintain her rationality and seek revenge when the opportunity arose; that was the right thing to do. But she couldn't control her emotions.

And after hearing the news of the Primal Celestial Venerable's death, her emotions spiraled out of control. Pain, despair, sadness, anger—it was hard to say which one, or all of them.

The peace and composure she had cultivated for many years under Master Wuhen's guidance had all vanished. Once again, she recalled that heart-wrenching hatred from back then.

Yin Chuanmei scrutinized the eerily beautiful Bee Woman,

and asked with a smile, "Is there a problem?" As soon as she finished speaking, everything blurred before her eyes, and Xiao Yuan, who was several meters away, had already pounced in front of her. The sound of vibrating wings and the gale of high-speed movement only reached the others' ears a few seconds later, ruffling Yin Chuanmei's hair. This scene happened so suddenly, and the Bee Woman's speed exceeded everyone's expectations, so no one reacted.

Yin Chuanmei, as a Dream Weaver, had long sensed the Bee Woman's emotional abnormality. Without any hesitation, deep vortexes appeared in her eyes.

Xiao Yuan's needle-like stinger had just emerged when her pupils lost focus, falling into a dream.

Peng! Due to inertia, the two collided heavily and tumbled off the roof. Yin Chuanmei's sternum instantly fractured, and the violent impact awakened Xiao Yuan, pulling her out of the dream.

Her wings buzzed to a stop, halting her fall, and she lunged towards Yin Chuanmei. The latter opened her red lips and emitted a sharp scream.

A mental attack. Unexpectedly, the Bee Woman, who was clearly level five, actually withstood the high-level mental attack, bleeding from all seven orifices, but her killing intent remained unwavering.

The venomous stinger on her tail stabbed fiercely towards Yin Chuanmei. *Pfft*. The sharp black stinger pierced a palm, and a burly, tall figure suddenly appeared beside Yin Chuanmei.

His outstretched palm happened to block the stinger.

He gasped, looking at his hand, which was rapidly turning black and oozing black blood.

His face twitched violently.

"This is the most... the most painful poison I've ever encountered in the Saint Realm," he said, his blackening hand gripping the stinger as he stepped forward. He used his right hand completely to clench a fist, freeing it to strike the Bee Woman's abdomen!

*Bang*.

A shockwave exploded, and the Bee Woman was sent flying backwards like a cannonball, separating the venomous stinger from her abdomen and splashing out blood-like fluid. The Bee Woman flipped several times in the air, stabilized herself, and rapidly ascended, circling high above the villa.

She both feared the Greed General but was unwilling to leave. After a long while, she let out a desperate, angry shriek and quickly flew out of the villa.

On the other side, inside Sword Pavilion, Fire Prince Jiang Ju took advantage of the evil faction's infighting. Although he was confused, he didn't give up such a great opportunity. He put on a cloak from the Night Wanderer profession, entered Night Travel, and quietly left.

Outside Sword Pavilion, Huang Taiji, with frosty temples, carried an earth coffin, walking among the vegetation.

The bright sunlight shone on his solemn face, his steps steady, each step exuding unwavering determination. Like the Giant Spirit God, the mountain-moving deity from mythology.

Silver Princess pulled Xue Qiwei along behind him, a colorful venomous snake still biting Xue Qiwei's leg. Silver Princess wasn't in the mood to deal with it for her.

The Princess held up a small loudspeaker. "Your face is full of bloody disaster. The situation at Sword Villa is not good."

"You're a little agitated," Huang Taiji said with a serious face, comforting her, "Don't worry."

He was always solemn and steady. Like other earth-attribute monsters, he was taciturn.

Silently doing things, not a peep.

"I'm not worried," Silver Princess raised the loudspeaker a few times, gritting her teeth. "If the Primal Celestial Venerable dies here, I'm going to summon Shifu and kill all the people from the evil faction!" Silver Princess seemed to remember something, and she silently lowered the loudspeaker. "I don't seem to have the ritual to summon Shifu anymore. And the Primal Celestial Venerable is dead."

If she could make an expression, it would definitely be dejected.

Just then, a high-frequency buzzing sound came from the sky. A black figure rapidly descended from the blue sky, landing not far away, its vibrating wings throwing up wind, bending the grass and kicking up dust and dirt.

It was a beautiful Bee Woman with black and yellow markings. The end of her abdomen was stained with blood, and her chest and abdomen were caved in, injured. Her black gemstone-like eyes stared blankly at the earth coffin on Huang Taiji's shoulder. Huang Taiji silently placed the coffin down and took out a one-handed sword and a long saber from his inventory. "She's injured. I'll attack head-on; you're responsible for a sneak attack. Strive to kill her within ten moves," Huang Taiji said in a deep voice.

Silver Princess immediately raised the small loudspeaker high. "This isn't an enemy."

Hearing this, Huang Taiji frowned slightly, casting a questioning look at her.