Chapter 1 What Happened?

Zhang Yuanqing was shocked. "What happened?"

An Dieqi spoke rapidly, her voice filled with anxiety: "Boss went into a dungeon yesterday. It's an S-grade dungeon."

"S-grade dungeon?" Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed slightly. A Ruler-level S-grade dungeon was the ceiling of Lingjing dungeons. His uncle had warned him not to equate the difficulty of Ruler-level S-grade dungeons with those of Transcendent and Saint-level S-grade dungeons.

Even with "Yuanshi Tianzun's" current foundation, entering an S-grade dungeon would be a near-death experience.

Although Zhai Cai had inherited the Holy See's legacy, his foundation couldn't be deeper than his. For a single-lineage Knight, an S-grade dungeon had a 98% mortality rate—essentially suicide.

No wonder An Dieqi was so anxious.

"Boss has always controlled his hidden points. Since advancing to Ruler, he's actively given up tasks and deducted experience points when encountering B-grade, non-death dungeons. Over the years, he's never entered an A-grade dungeon. It's very strange; there's no way he could have entered an S-grade dungeon," An Dieqi said excitedly.

"Mr. Yuanshi, the boss said that the backer behind you is a Void-class demigod. I want to beg you to save him, please!"

Zhang Yuanqing said in a solemn tone, "I understand. Don't worry, he entered the dungeon yesterday, so he should be fine for now. I'll contact the Three-Families Alliance Leader right away. Wait for my news."

He comforted An Dieqi with a few words, and after clearly asking for the dungeon number that the single-lineage Knight had entered, he hung up the phone.

Fu Qingyang, who had overheard the call, frowned slightly. "That Holy See Knight was assigned to an S-grade dungeon?"

Zhang Yuanqing gave an "Mm" and said anxiously, "Boss, I'll go back. The single-lineage Knight has the key and treasure map to the Holy See's treasure. We can't afford to lose them."

Having experienced Xia Zuokang's heroic sacrifice in the massacre dungeon, he had respect for the Knight class. While the Lawful faction harbored filth, Knights were like a breath of fresh air.

Leaving Fu Jiawan, Zhang Yuanqing stepped on the Five-Claw Golden Dragon and quickly returned to his grandmother's house.

He banged loudly on his uncle's door. In the eyes of his aunt and grandparents, his uncle was never home all day and was still a good-for-nothing even at his age.

In reality, his uncle was traveling the Lingjing under the guise of singing, dancing, and rapping, or handling serious matters.

At any other time, Zhang Yuanqing might not be able to find his uncle immediately, unless he was in danger. But now, it was close to dinner time, and his uncle would definitely be home.

If he wasn't home normally, and didn't come home for three meals a day, his aunt would divorce him.

"Yo yo, useless Yuanzi." Seeing his nephew's visit, his uncle started spouting his single-rhyme nonsense again.

Zhang Yuanqing wasn't in the mood to rap with him. He pulled his uncle out the door and shouted loudly before his aunt could speak, "Aunt, I'm going to talk to Uncle about something in the stairwell."

"What needs to be said in the stairwell? Dinner is almost ready," his aunt, who cooked badly but insisted on cooking, shouted.

"We're going to talk bad about Grandma," Zhang Yuanqing said.

"Go ahead!" his aunt happily replied.

Entering the stairwell, Zhang Yuanqing quickly told his uncle about the single-lineage Knight entering an S-grade dungeon. He had entered Lingjing Dungeon No. 16, Knight's Twilight.

His uncle had been in Lingjing for many years, staying up late and entering many dungeons. As long as he knew the dungeon's number and name, he could quickly pinpoint its location.

"Sigh, useless Yuanzi is giving me another problem." His uncle put one hand in his pocket and spread the other out in a helpless gesture. "Alright, leave this to me. I will bring back the single-lineage Knight, but in a way you won't expect."

"What way?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

At this moment, his aunt shouted from inside the house, "Dinner's ready, Yuanzi! Stay and eat here too."

"Coming, wife!" His uncle ran back home happily, without finishing his sentence.

Zhang Yuanqing cursed and complained, and replied loudly, "No, Aunt, I plan to eat Grandma's cooking. Grandma's cooking is terrible."

After speaking, he quickly left. Even his own son didn't want to eat what his aunt cooked, and he was just a nephew; there was no need for such a sacrifice.

His uncle entered the house and closed the door, sitting at the dining table like a lord and lighting a cigarette, pondering for a moment, muttering, "The Lingjing's operating malfunction is getting more and more serious."

"What's getting more and more serious?" his aunt asked, carrying a dish out.

"My mom's menopause is getting more and more serious!" his uncle said casually.

"Your mom's menopause passed twenty years ago," his aunt spat.

The next morning, in Victoria's villa, Miao Teng'er sat in the sunroom, which was as warm as spring, watching the frost cover the flowerbeds outside the glass wall.

The colorful flowers seemed to have been given the proud character of plum blossoms, blooming freely in the frost.

It had snowed several times since returning to the capital city at the end of December. Ordinary flowers, of course, couldn't survive the winter, but these flowers and plants in the garden were cultivated by Lingjun.

As beautiful as the flowers were, they paled in comparison to the young woman.

Miao Teng'er's temperament and features were outstanding, her beautiful lips like dabs of rouge, her eyes like black lacquer, her oval face fair and pretty, her nose straight and delicate, making her unforgettable.

This kind of beauty couldn't be made up; makeup would only make her seem cheap.

"Why do you think Yuanshi Tianzun wants to meet my mom?" Miao Teng'er asked her cousin across the "stump table" curiously, holding a steaming cup of coffee in both hands.

In her opinion, Yuanshi Tianzun and her mother had no interaction. Since the Demon Lord's death, her mother, who was considered a family disgrace by her grandfather, had been greatly affected.

Since then, she had lived in seclusion and no longer socialized.

What could Yuanshi Tianzun possibly want that required him to meet her, and even chose Elder Victoria's villa!

Lingjun didn't answer, staring at the table for a long time, or staring blankly at the flowerbeds, looking preoccupied.

In the basement, Zhang Yuanqing sat upright in a high-backed chair, scrutinizing the mature woman sitting in a similar chair.

This woman should be over forty, but judging from her appearance alone, she looked more like a mature woman between 25 and 30 years old.

Her skin, full of collagen, was even more delicate than a young girl's, and her features were four or five parts similar to Miao Teng'er's, but even more beautiful.

She had the looks of a young woman and the charm of a mature woman, with the unique sexiness of a Jimu demon.

With a shapely and graceful figure, and a hint of melancholy between her brows, she was like a lilac flower—various temperaments mixed together, not only without contradiction, but also weaving together a unique charm.

Damn it, the Demon Lord's women are all breathtakingly beautiful, Zhang Yuanqing thought. While Zhang Yuanqing was sizing up the woman, the woman was also observing this famous young man.

"Unlike that ungrateful Elder Miao, I only came here to see you today for the sake of you saving Teng'er and Lingjun," Miao Fengyun spoke first.

"Get to the point." Her voice conveyed a sense of aloofness and dominance, as if telling idlers to stay away.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth with the first sentence, "I've heard the audio of you and the Demon Lord."

Hearing this, such a short-sighted remark was extremely unfriendly to Miao Fengyun's ears. Her good impression of Yuanshi Tianzun quickly declined, and she maintained her sitting posture, lazily mocking, "Does Auntie's voice sound good? Do you want me to call out a few times to satisfy you?"

"Don't flirt with me, Lingjun will break off our friendship!" Zhang Yuanqing said without changing his expression.

"Auntie isn't as frank as Teng'er and Yin Ji," he said, appeasing Miao Fengyun's hostility and anger. "I'm not here today to embarrass you, but I learned something from the audio of you and the Demon Lord."

Looking at Yuanshi Tianzun's handsome face and listening to his sincere tone, the displeasure in Miao Fengyun's heart quickly dissipated, and she forgave him, asking, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yuanqing went straight to the point: "I want the spirit plant cultivation method that Lingjun's mother left you!"

Miao Fengyun looked puzzled: "What do you want that for? It needs to be supplemented by the Jimu demon's spiritual power to take effect. Even if a non-Jimu demon class gets it, it's useless."

"Auntie, don't be so curious, it's easy to bring disaster!" Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to manipulate the other party's emotions, tricking her into handing over the cultivation method, he suddenly had an idea. Now that there was a method to protect the Taiyin and it needed to be controlled by a Jimu demon, why not take the seeds and cultivate them here?

He could sneak into Elder Zhao's residence at night to retrieve the seeds, then return here. That way, it would save a lot of procedures and be more secretive.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuanqing secretly manipulated Miao Fengyun's emotions, increasing her curiosity, trust, and urgency, and then said, "I can't tell you the reason for now. But wait here for a while, I'm going out. This matter is extremely important!"

After speaking, he left the basement and met Victoria in the living room, asking her to set up a ritual to add a secret protection to him. After the ritual was completed, Zhang Yuanqing transformed into dreamlike starlight and left the villa, flying through the air to Elder Zhao's residence.

The strong wind hit his face, and the tall buildings were all under his feet. The closer he got to the city center, the more congested the traffic became.

Although the capital city was large, for a Ruler, it wouldn't take long to cross the entire city. Soon, the old hutongs appeared before his eyes.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing saw the old hutongs fade in color, becoming like a black and white photograph. This fading quickly spread, encompassing tall buildings, vehicles, streets, and green belts.

In an instant, Zhang Yuanqing, looking down from above, saw the entire city turn into a black and white photo. The clear sky was also covered with a layer of dark veil, and only the sun stubbornly emitted a faint light.

He felt a chill in his heart and quickly realized that it wasn't the city under his feet that had a problem, but him.

He was obscured, isolated from the real world. At this moment, a cold aura rushed towards him, as if the gates of the Nine Netherworld had been opened. A soaring Yin energy rose from the old hutongs, and that Yin energy soared upwards, transforming into a face that blotted out the sky in the high sky.

That face, like black smoke, looked down indifferently at Zhang Yuanqing.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing felt that the Taiyin Star and Sun powers in his body simultaneously solidified, losing their vitality.

Danger signals were transmitted to the brain through the nerves, and adrenaline was frantically secreted, but the muscles were spasming. No matter how the brain mobilized, the limbs seemed paralyzed.

Ling Tu? Zhang Yuanqing uttered the name with his teeth.

"Yuanshi Tianzun!" A chuckle echoed between heaven and earth: "Like the Demon Lord, you are truly a clown."