Chapter 1 Fusion

Fusing a demigod-level item, especially one from an evil profession, feels like courting death. President, you must protect me! If something goes wrong, I'll curse your whole family!

Zhang Yuanqing muttered anxiously to himself, then asked aloud, "How do I fuse it?"

The President leaned back lazily in his chair. "Open your chest and bring it close to your heart."

Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory and grabbed the Purple Thunder Hammer. He pressed the sharp triangular spike on the handle against his chest, but just as he was about to plunge it into his chest, he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, the triangular spike has armor-piercing and bleeding effects. The bleeding effect of a Ruler-level weapon will kill me. President, lend me a knife."

The President shook his head. "You don't even have a low-level weapon? You're too poor."

He reached into the void and pulled out a black army knife.

The scorned Yuanshi Tianzun took the army knife and slashed open his chest, revealing his beating heart within his chest cavity. Warm blood stained his clothes red, and a rich, bloody smell permeated the bedroom.

Zhang Yuanqing ignored the pain of opening his chest and carefully held the dark brown heart, bringing it to his chest cavity.

The dark brown heart in his palm instantly melted into a viscous black substance, enveloping his tender, beating heart. Zhang Yuanqing's heart was now stained with a pitch-black aura.

Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts exploded, his emotions erupted. The past six months flashed through his mind: the exhaustion and despair from struggling through difficult instances, the fear and pain of teetering on the edge of life and death. All of this surged within him at this moment.

The death of Master Wuhen, the fact that the hotel team never received justice, his mentor's fatigue, humiliation, regret, anger, and the審判会 (Shenpan Hui)'s tragic determination to perish together... All sorts of past events floated to the surface, transforming into a torrent of negative emotions.

Zhang Yuanqing's rationality collapsed under the impact of these negative emotions, and his heart was filled with the urge to destroy the world.

Just then, he heard the President's deep voice in his ear, reminding him, "Activate the power of the Sun God."

Confused, he instinctively did as he was told, activating the power of the Sun God, allowing the golden light dormant within his body to awaken.

The power of the Sun God, with its purifying properties, greatly alleviated the chaotic negative energy, allowing Zhang Yuanqing to regain a trace of his sanity.

He knelt on the ground, leaning forward slightly, panting as he looked at his chest.

The surface of his heart was completely enveloped in a black substance. Some of the substance flowed rapidly, frantically drilling into the chambers of his heart.

These pitch-black substances were still very active, showing no signs of stabilization, indicating that the fusion had only just begun and was far from over.

And this was after the Illusion God item had been sealed. One could only imagine how terrifying the heart was before it was sealed. Master Wuhen had cultivated his heart for twenty years, and his will was already as hard as steel.

While admiring the Master's willpower, Zhang Yuanqing deeply felt the great difference between himself and the big shots.

"You've passed the first stage. Concentrate," the President warned.

The next wave of emotional impact descended. Unpleasant encounters in his life came one after another: the loneliness of his childhood, his mother's indifference, his classmates' bullying, the unease of living as a dependent.

The tragic, sad, and painful emotions in his life surged within him at this moment.

The urge to destroy the world and destroy himself rose again in Zhang Yuanqing's heart.

"Ahhh!" he roared in pain, his facial expression completely twisted, his body surface flashing with chaotic starlight, and a mysterious, dreamlike nebula appearing on his forehead.

Immediately afterwards, a gray light appeared in the chaotic flashing starlight. Faintly hidden within the gray light were faces showing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. This was the manifestation of the Illusionist's spiritual power.

The nebula mark on his forehead was also stained with a gray light. The nebula gradually twisted into a face that was a mixture of crying and laughing.

The thin power of the Sun God was suppressed inside his body.

This continued for more than ten minutes. The starlight slowly dimmed, and the Illusionist's nebula mark gradually transformed into a "bittersweet" smiling face.

He was being invaded by evil forces. If this continued, his Night Wanderer character card would be transformed into an Illusionist character card.

The President watched in silence as Zhang Yuanqing's consciousness gradually faded, his heart filled with hatred and negative emotions. Just as he was about to transform into an Illusionist, the sound of chanting Buddhist scriptures suddenly rang out from within his pitch-black heart.

"Life and death, endless cycle, light and darkness, intertwined chaos... The myriad things embrace yin and yang to find the right path. Having witnessed darkness, one should aspire to the light. Remember this! Amitabha!"

The voice was gentle and deep, yet like a morning bell, deafening and enlightening.

This voice was like a ray of dawn in the darkness, illuminating the truth and goodness in Zhang Yuanqing's humanity. The surging negative emotions quickly subsided, and reason returned.

The human face mark on Zhang Yuanqing's forehead faded, and the gray energy on his body surface returned to his heart.

"Master Wuhen," Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself, tears streaming down his face.

At this moment, he heard the President's applause. "Congratulations, fusion successful."

Zhang Yuanqing looked down. The heart in his chest cavity had now turned dark brown. The pitch-black substance had become solidified and dull, losing its vitality.

"Success!" Zhang Yuanqing lay down on the bed, panting weakly, while feeling the power of the Illusionist profession, as if it were imprinted in his genes.

First, he possessed all the skills of the Illusionist, all the way to the Dream Weaver, becoming a true dual-class practitioner, possessing the skills of the Illusionist and Night Wanderer, two top-tier professions.

Second, he obtained one of the permissions of the Illusion God of the heart: modifying the Lingjing ID. Disguise is the Illusionist's core trick: changing appearance, figure, and aura. Even Scout's insight techniques have difficulty seeing through it, and only the Star Official's astrology can counter it.

This ability, when it reaches the demigod stage, directly becomes the ability to "modify the Lingjing ID."

Currently, he can only modify his own Lingjing ID, which makes this function seem a bit useless.

But Zhang Yuanqing was well aware that this permission was still in the sealing stage, and as the seal loosened, the permission would gradually strengthen.

Zhang Yuanqing had a vague feeling that this permission would be completely revived within half a month.

What specific functions it would have was worth anticipating.

It was worth mentioning that the seal on the heart was dissipating at all times. As it revived, the erosion of the evil forces would become more and more serious.

Zhang Yuanqing had to become the Lord of the Sun within 180 days to suppress the Illusion God item, or find a way to take it out before the seal was broken.

Otherwise, he would become a fallen Night Wanderer like Ling Tuo.

"You really are promising. My judgment has always been good," the President said in a relaxed tone. "Illusion God items are reviving at all times. You must become a Sun Wanderer in the Slaughter Instance at the end of the year. Otherwise, it won't wait 180 days, and it will completely invade your character card and transform you into an Illusionist." After saying that, he raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and disappeared from the room.

Zhang Yuanqing took off his blood-stained clothes and opened the closet. He went into the bathroom to wash himself. It was already late at night, and his aunt and grandparents were asleep.

He brushed his teeth and then returned to his room, calling Guan Ya and Fu Qingyang to let them know he was safe. Then he told Fu Qingyang everything about the fusion of the Illusion God heart, the investment from the Goddess Association, and the Merchant Guild.

"For you, the appearance of this item is perfectly timed. You can pretend to be an Illusionist overseas. With the slippery and deceitful characteristics of an Illusionist, you can retreat calmly even if you offend a Ruler. But the amount of karma on you is really too much," Qian Gongzi cursed for the first time ever.

Reviving him once was already very difficult. The Mother Goddess's womb item could only be used once; that was the rule.

If Yuanshi died again, even gods and immortals would have no way to help.

Qian Gongzi was a little tired.

"You're already annoyed with me so quickly? So love has disappeared, right?" Zhang Yuanqing complained inwardly, then tactfully said, "Don't worry, Boss. I'll be very low-key. I definitely won't cause trouble overseas."

"I hope so! It wouldn't be bad if you went to wreak havoc in the First District." Fu Qingyang asked, "When are you leaving? The funds are ready: 30 million federal coins. It's not much. Spend it sparingly. If you don't have enough, ask me again."

Converted to Chinese currency, that was two small goals. Zhang Yuanqing bowed his head and thanked him. "Thank you, Boss. I'll leave in three days."

After ending the call, Zhang Yuanqing lay in bed, thinking about the preparations before going abroad. He didn't need to explain to his grandparents. Anyway, in his family's eyes, Yuanzi had latched onto a rich girlfriend and become a kept man who was living off her and not missing home.

He originally wanted to take his whole family abroad, but then he thought that Yuanshi Tianzun had already returned to the Lingjing, and no one would persistently investigate the identity of a dead man.

So for his grandparents' family, it was better to stay put than to move. As for the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect, he couldn't reveal the matter of his resurrection, so he didn't need to say goodbye.

"Hmm, I have to take back the props I gave to the gang members. I'm not dead, so the donation of inheritance is invalid. That's reasonable and justified. Gang members can't betray each other, but I still have to borrow a Knight's Badge from the Boss for an extra layer of insurance."

As soon as he thought of it, he did it. Zhang Yuanqing opened the gang interface and selected the Black Sect Mechanical City instance, then selected all the Saints except Asano Ryo.

Kyoto, apartment building. Sun Miaomiao was curled up on the bed in a warm-toned, feminine bedroom, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

She had been depressed since Yuanshi Tianzun returned to the Lingjing. She couldn't even muster any interest in her favorite keyboard-tapping.

She slept less than three hours a day. Her grandfather said it was a mental illness, a mental trauma that couldn't be treated with medicine. He had her apply to the organization for an Illusionist to heal the emotional trauma.

But Sun Miaomiao didn't want to do that. She didn't want to erase the trauma brought about by Yuanshi Tianzun's return to the Lingjing in this way. Wouldn't that be a kind of betrayal?

At this moment, she heard the Lingjing notification sound. [The gang instance is being opened.]

[Number 2039, Black Sect Mechanical City.]

[Difficulty Level: B]

[Type: Multiplayer (Death Class)]

[Main Quest Completed]

[Note: Non-Lingjing items cannot be brought in.] Sun Miaomiao jumped out of bed, dumbfounded.

Office of the Chaoyang District Security Bureau, Zhao Chenghuang was sitting at his desk, handling the aftermath of the Heavenly Religion invasion of Kyoto.

He wasn't as emotional as Sun Miaomiao. As a man who wasn't good at expressing his emotions, he would bury his sadness and regret in his heart, occasionally taking them out to savor and remember the deceased.

Most of the time, he wouldn't be dominated by emotions, but with the sound of the Lingjing notification, this man, who wasn't good at expressing emotions, was stunned in the office.

Gang instance is being opened, Black Sect Mechanical City, Number: 039.

Songhai, the bathroom of a mechanical engineering research company. Xiahou Aotian, wearing pajamas and squatting on the toilet, suddenly froze, then revealed an incredulous expression.

"The, the gang Lingjing is open? Old man, old man, what's going on?"

"How would I know? Didn't you say that the gang instance can only be opened by the gang leader..." Xiahou Aotian was stunned. A crazy guess popped into his head, a guess that made his whole body feel like it was being shocked by electricity.

The ring old man was silent for a moment, then reminded, "Don't worry about why the gang instance is open. Are you sure you want to enter the Lingjing in your current state?"

In this state, Xiahou Aotian turned pale and pulled out a roll of paper at the fastest speed in his life.

Huadu.

In the bedroom of a high-end residence, Hongjige, who was lying on top of his girlfriend and working diligently, venting his depressed mood of the past few days, suddenly froze. The woman under him saw that he had stopped but hadn't injected any energy, so she opened her eyes and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Hongjige jumped up and roared, searching everywhere. "Wait, where are my pants? Where are my pants?"

Crab City. Xiao Yuan, who was suffering from insomnia in a rented house, heard the Lingjing notification sound. She suddenly got up and stared blankly ahead, her breathing becoming more and more steady. The words of the mysterious man echoed in her ears.

"Just wait at home. There will be good news soon!"

She seemed to have a premonition of something. Her eyes instantly moistened. "Yuanshi."

Songhai.

In a bedroom with closed curtains, the sleeping Tianxiaguihuo suddenly opened his eyes, his always calm and composed face full of shock and awe.

A fair-skinned and graceful woman was snuggling next to him. As a mature man with power, he naturally couldn't be single. Tianxiaguihuo instantly woke up, looked at the time, and then realized that after the gang instance was opened, he didn't have enough time to put on clothes. Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed the woman off the bed, grabbed the corner of the blanket, and rolled over, wrapping himself in a ball.

Black Sect Mechanical City.

The blue sky was clear, and the clouds were like cotton candy frozen in the sky.

Zhang Yuanqing stood on a narrow path. In front of him was a dense forest, and in the distance were rolling, dragon-like mountains. Behind him, the fields were covered with undulating green grass dotted with colorful wildflowers.

After waiting silently for a moment, he saw the gang members returning from the dead, appearing one by one in his field of vision.