Chapter 1 The Beginning

[Ding, the Lingjing map is loading, entering the Lingjing in 30 seconds. The Lingjing you are entering this time is "Turmoil of the Five Elements," number: 028.]

[Difficulty level: A]

[Type: Multiplayer (Death Match)]

[Main Quest:]

[Side Quest: Transport the mysterious coffin to Sword God Manor.]

[Note: Non-Lingjing items cannot be brought in.]

[Lingjing No. 028 Introduction: During the Northern Song Dynasty, the world-renowned Sword God Manor commissioned the "Yellow Banner Escort Agency," "Ocean Faring Escort Agency," "Crimson Flame Escort Agency," "Spirit Ape Escort Agency," and "Three Swords Escort Agency" to each escort a mysterious coffin back to the manor. Unexpectedly, strange events occurred frequently during the escort.]

Turmoil of the Five Elements, number 028... Hmm, the number is quite early. Zhang Yuanqing calmly summoned Blood Rose and Silver Moon Princess, held their shoulders, and pondered the instance information.

Among the instances he had encountered, this was the first one without a revealed main quest.

The absence of a main quest and the presence of a side quest first, to some extent, reflected the instance's difficulty and duration.

This instance probably wouldn't be cleared in just a few days.

Furthermore, the difficulty level of A was somewhat unexpected. He thought it would be S-level, but then he realized that Lingjing No. 028 was likely a level 5 or even level 6 A-level instance.

For him, at level 4, it was probably even more terrifying than the S-level Battle of Yashan.

Finally, Lingjing No. 028, "Turmoil of the Five Elements," wasn't in the official database. The earlier the ranking of an instance, the smaller the chance of it appearing, so it was normal for the official database not to include it.

Mediocre Lingjing Xingzhe would never be matched to such an instance in their lifetime. Exceptional Lingjing Xingzhe, on the other hand, would advance too quickly and have no time to explore it. Take Demon Lord and Marshal for example, the number of Saint instances they experienced wouldn't exceed ten, and the number of level 6 instances wouldn't exceed three.

The 30 seconds passed quickly. The scenery before Zhang Yuanqing's eyes rippled like water, and then everything went black, and he couldn't feel anything.

In the boundless darkness, his ears twitched, and the first thing he heard was a knock on the door, and a young man's urgent call: "Seventh brother, wake up, quickly wake up, adoptive father is calling us over."

Who is it? So noisy... Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes and saw a dimly colored cotton gauze tent and crisscrossing beams. The presence of beams indicated that he was in an ancient building.

Then, he felt something soft and slippery pressing against his chest and waist. He looked down, and almost blurted out "What the heck!"

A young and beautiful woman was sleeping in his arms, her skin fair and tender, her face delicate, and her eyelashes long and thick. Indeed: Raven hair, magpie-like shining eyes, all the charm focused on the pillow. Water-like bones, jade-like mountain peaks, spring breeze melts in the mandarin duck quilt.

A beautiful girl in bed at the start. Zhang Yuanqing thought, "The Lingjing is treating me well." At the same time, a memory that didn't belong to him surfaced in his mind:

His current identity is "Lin Ci," an orphan adopted by Chen Xuedao, the chief镖头 (biaotou, head escort) of the Yellow Banner Escort Agency. Because of his extraordinary talent and potential to cultivate the night-roaming spirit's (Ye You Shen) magic, Chen Xuedao took him as an adopted son.

The Yellow Banner Escort Agency is the most famous escort agency in the Central Plains, founded single-handedly by Chen Xuedao.

Chen Xuedao is a martial world name; his real name has long been forgotten. He is a mountain god. In his early years, there was a severe drought in the Central Plains, and bandits were rampant. A group of bandits robbed the goods being escorted by the Yellow Banner Escort Agency.

The escorts responsible for the escort were wiped out, with no survivors.

In a rage, Chen Xuedao charged into the mountain stronghold alone, slaughtering five hundred bandits with one blade, from dusk till dawn. His endurance and stamina were terrifying.

Chen Xuedao's name came from that time. Chen Xuedao has six adopted sons and one biological daughter. Lin Ci is the youngest.

And the girl in his arms is Chen Xuedao's daughter, named Chen Wei, ranked third, and Lin Ci's third sister.

Chen Wei is engaged to the eldest brother, Zhuo Peiran, but she likes the seventh brother, Lin Ci. The two have been secretly carrying on for many years, their love burning hot, always secretly trysting in the middle of the night. Like last night.

The method of directly implanting memories is very interesting. Well, it's not so much implanting memories as watching a video, because this memory doesn't affect my subjective consciousness. I don't feel any sense of belonging to the Yellow Banner Escort Agency, nor do I have any affection for the girl in my arms.

This was the first time Zhang Yuanqing had encountered this kind of situation, and he felt incredibly novel.

The knocking continued. Zhang Yuanqing responded:

"Fourth brother, don't shout, I'll get up right away."

In his memories, the fourth brother, Zhao Youcai, was impatient, lacked patience, and always liked to make a fuss and shout.

"Then hurry down, don't keep adoptive father waiting too long, something happened!" Zhao Youcai instructed, and his footsteps gradually faded away.

At this moment, Chen Wei in his arms opened her eyes. She supported herself on the bed and sat up, relieved. She chuckled and said, "Fortunately, fourth brother didn't push the door open, otherwise our affair wouldn't be able to be kept secret. Father would beat us to death."

Her eyes were big, her chin was pointed, her shoulders were white and round, and her red bodice was bulging. Because she practiced martial arts, her figure was lithe, and her eyebrows revealed a heroic spirit.

She fit the image of a bold and unrestrained female knight-errant perfectly.

"I don't know what adoptive father is calling us for. You haven't drunk the contraception soup yet, don't forget."

Zhang Yuanqing naturally said words that matched Lin Ci's style.

In his memory, Lin Ci was somewhat willing and unwilling toward this third sister. How could a young man with surging blood reject the advances of a beautiful sister?

But he was also afraid of his adoptive father and eldest brother, greedily enjoying the woman's body while worrying about his affair being discovered.

"If you get pregnant, you'll marry me. If you dare to be unfaithful, I'll burn your root to ashes." Chen Wei glared with her round eyes and reached down with her small hand.

"What Lin Ci did has nothing to do with my Yuanshi Tianzun!" Zhang Yuanqing dodged, avoiding his third sister's mischievous hand.

"Also, next time remember to cover those two corpses with linen. Every time we do it, they stare at us, and it creeps me out." Chen Wei said, looking at the head of the bed. Zhang Yuanqing turned his head and saw two women in tight outfits standing at the head of the bed, their faces exquisite. They were none other than Silver Moon Princess and Blood Rose.

He accepted the existence of the two Yin corpses without any abnormality. The people in the instance have also been implanted with memories by the Lingjing. This Chen Wei has flesh and blood, a soul, and self-awareness. She is a living person, not an NPC.

Tsk tsk, the Lingjing really has the ability to create life. Speaking of which, if I get her pregnant in the instance, will the child be born or will it be refreshed by the Lingjing? If it is born, will it cause the Lingjing to change the instance settings?

Is the child an NPC born from the Lingjing, or a normal person? Thoughts floated in Zhang Yuanqing's mind.

Because time was tight, Chen Wei didn't linger with her lover. She hurriedly put on a Luo skirt, picked up a jacket, sensed for a moment, and her body turned into a blazing flame.

Using the oil lamp in the next room, she used fire magic to leave.

Her room was next door.

After she left, Zhang Yuanqing unhurriedly put on the escort uniform, reached out into the air, and grabbed the ghost mirror to look at his face.

The good news is that the inventory is still open and the level hasn't changed.

The bad news is that his face has turned into a handsome, unfamiliar face, about seventeen years old, not appearing childish.

Obviously, this is Lin Ci's face.

He entered the instance directly in a body possession. This was an experience Zhang Yuanqing had never had before.

He thought for a moment and said, "Princess, did you feel anything abnormal when you entered the Lingjing?"

Silver Moon Princess shook her head slightly: "Everything went black, I briefly lost consciousness, and then I came here. My clothes have also changed."

She reached into her arms and groped for a moment, "The little horn is still here."

The princess's body hasn't changed, just her clothes... Zhang Yuanqing reached into his crotch and groped carefully, and had a guess in his mind.

His body hasn't changed either, it's still Yuanshi Tianzun, but the Lingjing has covered up his original appearance with extremely profound illusion, using the identity of "Lin Ci" to act in the instance.

The basis for this guess is: Zhang Gongzi is clean.

As everyone knows, when a drill bit is inserted into a deep well, it will inevitably be sticky and oily when it comes up, and it is impossible to be so clean and tidy. Therefore, Zhang Yuanqing's current body is the original body, definitely not Lin Ci's body.

"The teammates from the Lawful faction should be like me, in one of the escort teams. Where are the enemies from the Chaotic faction?"

"I wonder if the Lingjing's arrangement of this identity for me is a random selection, or if there is another mystery, such as a hidden mission."

Zhang Yuanqing muttered, walked to the window, and pushed open the lattice window.

The clamorous voices of people rushed into the room all at once. Outside the window, the sun was bright, the streets were bustling with people, and there were many pedestrians. Cloth banners and signboards hung on the streets, and shops lined the streets.

From time to time, wealthy families drove by in carriages, the wheels rumbling.

Zhang Yuanqing's pupils dilated slightly, and he was strongly impacted.

This was the first time he had experienced the feeling of dreaming back to ancient times in an instance. It was no longer a terrifying amusement park, a gloomy town, a gloomy primeval forest, or a terrifying northern mountain village...

This is the charm the Lingjing should have! Every person here has flesh and blood, a heartbeat, and a soul, perfectly restoring the life of an ancient city.

"I suddenly love this place. Princess, let's go, let's experience the ancient world." Zhang Yuanqing said excitedly.

"The ancient world doesn't need to be experienced," Silver Moon Princess said lightly.

"Oh, I almost forgot, you're an old fogey from ancient times too," Zhang Yuanqing said.

"Master said you secretly called her an old fogey behind her back. How did you manage to not get beaten?" Silver Moon Princess asked humbly for advice.

"Because I didn't steal the empress's coffin."

While they were talking, one person and two corpses went down the wooden staircase to the inn's lobby. At this time, it was broad daylight, past breakfast time and too early for lunch. The few square tables in the hall were empty.

The inn was called "You Ke Lai" (Guests Welcome), and it was the inn where the escorts of the Yellow Banner Escort Agency rested.

Three days ago, a mysterious man claiming to be from Sword God Manor visited the Yellow Banner Escort Agency with a coffin, entrusting the escort agency to escort the coffin to Sword God Manor, and paying a deposit of two thousand taels of silver. After the coffin arrived at the manor, the remaining three thousand taels of silver would be settled.

A total of five thousand taels.

But there was a condition: it had to be escorted by Chen Xuedao personally. This was a big order that was enough for the Yellow Banner Escort Agency to live on for three years.

Chen Xuedao agreed without hesitation.

The Yellow Banner Escort Agency escorted the mysterious coffin, traveling day and night. After entering the city yesterday, they chose to settle down here for rest, booked the entire inn, and drove out all the original guests.

After going around to the lobby, he entered the spacious backyard. Zhang Yuanqing glanced around and saw more than twenty young and strong escorts wearing the uniform attire of the escort agency, standing upright in the courtyard.

Chen Wei, the fire master who had just had a romantic affair last night, had now changed into a heroic and sassy uniform, winking at him, signaling him to quickly come and gather.

Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head, quickly joined the line with the two Yin corpses, and looked at the east厢房 (xiangfang, wing).

The lattice door of the east厢房 (xiangfang, wing) was open, and stern scolding came from inside: "Two of our escorts have disappeared in your inn,掌柜 (zhanggui, shopkeeper). You can't escape responsibility for this matter. I'll ask you again, did you hear any unusual noises last night?"

As soon as Zhang Yuanqing heard this voice, he knew it was the eldest brother Zhuo Peiran. Then a panicked middle-aged man opened his mouth to explain: "镖爷 (biaoye, master escort), you are highly skilled. Even you didn't notice anything unusual, so how would I know?"

Zhang Yuanqing listened for a while and roughly understood the cause of the matter. The two escorts who were responsible for guarding the coffin last night had disappeared this morning.

The Yellow Banner Escort Agency searched the inn without success and was questioning the shopkeeper and the waiter inside.

The Lingjing's introduction mentioned that strange things happened frequently during the escort of the black coffin, and here it comes. Zhang Yuanqing was secretly vigilant in his heart.

At this moment, a righteous and loud voice came from the east厢房 (xiangfang, wing):

"Has Lin Ci arrived?" All the escorts turned their heads and looked at Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing said loudly: "Adoptive father!"

"Come in!" Chen Xuedao said.

Zhang Yuanqing immediately stepped out of the line and strode towards the east厢房 (xiangfang, wing). The light in the room was dim. Crossing the threshold, there was a small reception hall, and on the inside was a bedroom.

The tables and chairs in the reception hall had been cleared out, replaced by a huge black coffin.

The coffin lid and body were painted with black paint, and spiritual runes were drawn with scarlet cinnabar. A yellow talisman was affixed to the head of the coffin, and a purple talisman was affixed to the tail of the coffin.

The whole coffin gave people a feeling of evil and gloom, making people feel cold in their hearts with just one glance.

Chen Xuedao, with frost at his temples, stood with his hands behind his back in front of the black coffin, staring at the coffin lid.

Standing next to Chen Xuedao was a burly bald man, his bald head covered with twisted咒文 (zhouwen, incantations), his eyes fierce, like a bloodthirsty killing god, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

This was the eldest brother of the adopted sons, Zhuo Peiran, a Mist Master.

In the Song Dynasty, they were high above, while the martial world was a mixed bag. The Lawful and Chaotic factions were not clearly divided, and because the imperial court's control was weak, it was difficult to restrain martial world people.

Therefore, everywhere there was the pleasure of killing one person in ten steps and leaving no trace for a thousand miles. Killing people was common in this era, diluting the bloodthirsty style of the Enchantress.

Of course, the Enchantress who harmed innocent people and caused the destruction of one side would still be denounced as demons and be besieged by people in the martial world, including other Chaotic professions.

There was no faction division in the Lingjing, but there were also rules in the martial world.

"Adoptive father!" Zhang Yuanqing bowed, quickly trying to gather information:

"Zhang Hu and Zhao Ma, who were on duty last night, are missing."

Chen Xuedao nodded with a solemn expression and said, "The entire inn has been booked by us. I didn't notice anyone sneaking in last night, nor did I hear anyone shouting in the backyard. Zhang Hu and Zhao Ma have followed me for many years, they are experienced and skilled. This disappearance is very strange."

As he said this, he stretched out his palm and showed Lin Ci the copper lock that had been cut in half.

"The traces have been compared. It was Zhang Hu or Zhao Ma who cut it open. Last night, they destroyed the copper lock, entered the house, and then disappeared," Chen Xuedao said, looking at the black coffin.

"Adoptive father, you mean that their disappearance was caused by this coffin?" Zhang Yuanqing's gaze followed his and looked at the coffin.

Chen Xuedao nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "You are a Night Walker, take a look at this coffin and see if there is any Yin energy leaking out."