Chapter 1 Golden Light Shines

Golden light shone into the main hall, illuminating every detail within.

Three imposing ten-meter-tall statues stood in the hall. The central figure wore metal lamellar armor and carried a two-inch-long bronze sword, resembling a military general from the Warring States period.

The statue beside it was dressed in Daoist robes, with a long, flowing beard and a sword strapped to its back, exuding the air of an otherworldly hermit.

The statue on the other side wore a long, unkempt robe, hair held up by a single wooden hairpin, with sideburns and forehead hair that conveyed a sense of unruly freedom.

This statue was the most conspicuous, and therefore the first to catch Zhang Yuanqing's eye, but he wasn't concerned with which deities were enshrined in the Shu Mountain main hall, or which historical figures they corresponded to.

His gaze merely glanced over them, then moved downward, settling on the coffin placed horizontally in the center of the hall. The coffin had a rough and ancient appearance, about three meters long and a meter wide. It was forged from bronze, and its surface was covered with spiritual inscriptions and runes, and dotted with bronze rust.

Zhang Yuanqing recognized them at a glance as sealing runes. The coffin was a magical artifact used to seal the black-faced evil creature, but there were more than a dozen deep sword marks on the coffin lid, which had damaged the spiritual inscriptions and array patterns.

The fierce creature inside the coffin had managed to escape, destroying the entire Shu Mountain Immortal Sect.

Zhang Yuanqing then looked at a figure beside the bronze coffin. They wore Shu Mountain Daoist robes, two men and one woman, with disheveled, withered, and curled hair, and emerald green, disturbing eyes.

The feeling these three Yin corpses gave him was exactly the same as that of the Silver Plume Princess. They were high-level Yin corpses transformed from living people.

The three elders of Shu Mountain were bathed in sunlight, their blue-black skin beginning to fester and dissolve, revealing the same blue-black flesh, as if they had been splashed with sulfuric acid.

They were completely unaware, and knelt down in worship before the bronze coffin, transmitting mental fluctuations: "Ba, who was active in ancient times, the supreme and great Corpse Ancestor, please grant us the strength to resist the rat-like creatures invading the sacred ground."

Corpse Ancestor? Zhang Yuanqing was intimidated by this title. Ordinary experts couldn't bear the title of Corpse Ancestor.

Thinking of the title of "Ba," a figure from a mythological legend flashed in Zhang Yuanqing's mind: Hanba (drought demon)!

Was Hanba sealed in the coffin? Or was this the prototype of Hanba? As his thoughts flickered, seeing that the golden light could not immediately transcend the three high-level Yin creatures, Zhang Yuanqing condensed a golden great bow in his left hand.

Golden light spurted from his right fingertip, turning into an arrow. He drew the bow like a full moon. The three Yin creatures could withstand the scorching of the power of the sun for a long time.

"Whoosh!"

The golden light shot out, creating a shrill whistling sound as it rubbed against the air.

When it was less than three meters away from the coffin, the space suddenly rippled. Then, the arrow formed from the power of the sun disappeared, as if it had been swallowed by the space, hidden?

Zhang Yuanqing's expression turned serious. He saw that the arrow did not disappear out of thin air, but was wrapped in concealment, and then "extinguished" by Yin energy from a perspective he couldn't see.

The fierce creature in the coffin had an extremely high attainment in the spells of the Taiyin (Great Yin) domain.

At this time, the coffin lid trembled slightly, and a substantial black smoke permeated from the cracks. It showed no signs of evaporation in the golden light, and wisps of it flowed into the nostrils of the two Yin corpses.

In an instant, the three Yin corpses were as if they had taken a great tonic. Their festering skin instantly recovered, and a thin layer of Yin energy enveloped their bodies, resisting the burning of the sunlight.

The Yin corpse in the center slowly twisted its neck, its face stiffly looking towards the hall door, its eyes oily green and sinister: "Intruding into Shu Mountain, killing my disciples."

He suddenly drew the sword from his waist, and a white, blinding sword light suddenly rose, but was quickly purified by the power of the sun. When it struck Zhang Yuanqing, it was already at the end of its strength.

Zhang Yuanqing summoned the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon and activated his second form. A dragon-shaped shadow coiled up, protecting him within.

The sword light shattered against the dragon's body.

The power of the sun suppressed all spiritual power and props, but the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon and the power of the sun were from the same source and were not suppressed, so they could be used normally.

Zhang Yuanqing didn't want to fight in the hall, fearing that the fierce creature in the coffin would attack. He lightly tapped his toes and retreated, landing in the plaza outside the hall.

The three Yin corpses flew out of the hall side by side, each holding a bright iron sword. The tips of the swords condensed a cold light like lightning, and they struck the shadow formed by the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon again.

Even though it had been weakened by layers of the power of the sun, the combined force of the three swords still almost caused the Golden Dragon Shield to collapse.

"Two level eight mid-stage, one level eight late-stage, their positions are a little higher than mine. If they didn't have the bronze coffin to grant Yin energy for protection, with the attribute suppression, I could suppress the three of them."

"They retained most of their skills from when they were alive, and are swordsmen skilled in close combat. Although the power of the sun can weaken their sword energy, I can't use other abilities and props either, tying my own hands."

As soon as he exchanged blows, Zhang Yuanqing knew that he had no chance of winning in close combat.

If the power of the sun couldn't transcend them, he had to change his tactics.

While he was thinking, he taunted,

"I didn't kill your disciples, you did it yourself. Tsk, Shu Mountain's millennia of foundation, thousands of disciples, all destroyed by your selfishness. Headmaster, how can you face the ancestors of Shu Mountain?"

The Shu Mountain Headmaster, who wore Daoist robes and looked like an old man, conveyed a mental fluctuation: "They didn't die, they just transformed into another kind of creature to continue existing. I'm not wrong either, because I obtained eternal life."

"Obstinate!"

Zhang Yuanqing snorted coldly. "I won't waste words with you. I am a Badlands Wanderer of the Great Tang Dynasty, under the command of the Badlands Marshal, here to borrow the White Emperor Crown. Your Shu Mountain's self-degradation is none of my business, I only want the White Emperor Crown."

The Shu Mountain Headmaster said gloomily, "The Badlands Marshal is indeed hypocritical, saying he will return what he borrows, but sends his subordinates to take advantage of the situation. The White Emperor Crown has already been offered to the Corpse Ancestor. If you want it, let him come and get it himself."

Zhang Yuanqing was overjoyed. The White Emperor Crown was actually in the Shu Mountain instance.

Chapter 2 Three New Rules

[Updated three rules. First, each contestant can only participate in one arena match. Second, the array core stops counting down during the arena match. Third, when an array appears, the duration is reset to zero, and the arena match is temporarily suspended.]

The sudden update of the three rules caught both sides off guard.

Chairman frowned, disappointed. "Tsk, I thought I could use war to support war. It's not that the evil faction doesn't give me a chance to exploit bugs, it's that the Lingjing doesn't allow it. Is the current Lingjing standing on the side of the evil faction?"

Enveloped in holy light, occasionally revealing the contours of her thighs and buttocks, the goddess of beauty, whose appearance was enough to set people ablaze, smiled and said, "I was just thinking, if you had exchanged for a demigod authority and still died at the hands of Shura, then he might be able to single-handedly take on the entire orderly faction."

"These rules are beneficial to our side. I think the update of the rules at this time is the result of the Lingjing's confrontation with the supreme beings. It's helping us."

The Sea Emperor, whose face was half-covered by a thick beard, said, "The array countdown stops during the arena match, so we must win six games. The evil faction must win nine games. The situation is even more severe and complex."

The more games won, the easier it is to form a protracted war, and every protracted war will result in the death of a demigod.

Achieving zero casualties is almost impossible.

Of the three updated rules, the first leans towards the orderly faction, the second leans towards the evil faction, and the third is neutral.

Such "balanced" rules are likely the result of the Lingjing's confrontation with the supreme beings.

During the discussion, the participant from the evil faction appeared, the owner of the Dionysus Club, nicknamed Old Mike.

This old man was tall and burly, with a drinker's nose, white hair, and cloudy, blurred eyes, like a drunkard.

Those who looked directly at him couldn't help but feel dizzy, confused, and experience a sense of spinning, with an imbalance in their nervous system.

Old Mike was an level 11 Dionysus.

"A bit troublesome," the goddess of beauty said in a low voice.

"In terms of position, he is not the highest, but the position of level 11 generally exceeds ours. In terms of ability, his attack is not too strong, but he is the most difficult to deal with."

"The only one who can restrain drunkards is the Knight, but there are no demigods in the Knight profession. Among the demigods in your second district, apart from the Star Lord, no one can beat him, at most a tie."

The Void Demigod leaned into her ear and whispered, "Have you slept with him?"