Chapter 1 The Corpse's Transformation

After the "set" was complete, the female corpse visibly changed. On her dark gold skin, scarlet swastika symbols emerged, and within her white pupils, blood-colored swastikas floated!

As the swastikas appeared, Zhang Yuanqing realized he'd lost his connection to the corpse; she was no longer under his control!

The female corpse's aura rapidly ascended, her fragmented soul swiftly completing, delivering a sorrowful, enraged shriek: "Bu Liang Shuai."

Only Night Watchers could hear this shriek. Qingzhu and Alicia only felt a strange palpitation; they heard nothing else.

Bu Liang Shuai... Zhang Yuanqing was very familiar with this title. He had several items connected to the Bu Liang Shuai of the Tang Dynasty. He just didn't know if the "Bu Liang Shuai" the female corpse was calling out was related to the one with whom he had connections!

The female corpse's tone was filled with deep hatred and resentment. Zhang Yuanqing wondered what grudges she held against the Bu Liang Shuai!

"So strong..." Qingzhu retreated a few steps. The aura of a Ruler-level being couldn't be concealed!

He scrutinized the Blood Bodhisattva draped in a kasaya and wielding a precept blade, feeling that the sight of her wearing a kasaya while half-exposing her chest was both blasphemous and too alluring!

After the shriek, the female corpse, carrying the precept blade and striding with long legs, rushed towards the staircase as the kasaya fluttered in the wind, her purpose clear!

*Not under my control anymore*, Zhang Yuanqing thought with a slight disappointment. But then he realized it made sense. With the Blood Bodhisattva, he could already cleanse Exhibition Hall 2, turning everyone's points into his own.

If he brought her to the second floor, it would be a nightmare for the others!

Such a mechanism would be unfair to others, but too easy for those who had gained an advantage on the first floor!

*I only need to win once to guarantee my place in the finals! There's no such thing as an easy win.*

He had collected the eight-piece antique set and taken the lion's share of the points. That was the greatest reward the instance offered!

Regaining his senses, Zhang Yuanqing urged, "Time is of the essence; let's quickly head to the second floor!"

The three of them followed the Blood Bodhisattva towards the staircase!

Amidst the sound of hurried footsteps, they returned to the battlefield. Sensing someone approaching, the Huntress in the air twisted her stiff neck and looked over!

Her unpainted face and empty eyes were cold and indifferent. The beautiful Blood Bodhisattva slightly bent her knees and then shot towards the Huntress in the air like a released arrow.

The latter, expressionless, drew her bow and shot a golden arrow!

The Blood Bodhisattva swung her precept blade, unleashing a crescent-shaped arc of energy. The two streams of energy collided, the air currents exploding in layers, transforming into a terrifying hurricane.

"Run!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted, taking the lead towards the staircase.

Alicia and Qingzhu followed closely behind, remembering to pick up their stone tablets that had been left behind in the chaos!

The Huntress stiffly turned her neck, immediately reversing her bow and drawing three blood-colored arrows, aiming at the three below!

The Blood Bodhisattva's precept blade struck the Huntress's shoulder, creating dazzling sparks. The Huntress's aim was thrown off, and the three arrows grazed past Zhang Yuanqing and the others, exploding into deep pits in the ground!

The Huntress, riding her golden-horned doe, frantically darted through the air, avoiding the Blood Bodhisattva, drawing her bow and arrow once more!

The Blood Bodhisattva, like a maggot on a bone, relentlessly pursued her, not giving her a chance to aim!

Amidst the continuous explosions overhead, Zhang Yuanqing and the others quickly reached the staircase, rushing up the steps and safely arriving on the second floor!

[Side Quest Two: Safely cross the hall and reach the next exhibition hall. Reward: 30 points!]

The commotion downstairs completely disappeared, as if a soundproof barrier had been erected!

The three turned their heads, observing the surroundings. The layout of the second floor was similar to the first, but not as boundless; the edges were visible.

Furthermore, the staircase leading to the second floor was blocked by a six-meter-high bronze door, with a large, face-sized circular indentation. To the west stood a bronze Western dragon sculpture, its membranous wings spread, roaring with its head raised.

Each scale was carved with lifelike detail, as if it were alive!

To the east hung a painting, a blank scroll about two meters long and one meter wide, extremely eye-catching!

To the north was a statue, dressed in ancient Greek attire, with a face full of whiskers, a large nose, and rough features, holding a staff entwined with grapevines, the end topped with a cluster of pine cones!

To the south was a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, with a beautiful and dignified appearance, holding a white vase in one hand and a flower in the other!

Between the two giant-sized artifacts were display cases, each separated by more than ten meters. There weren't many of them; they could be seen at a glance.

Qingzhu looked relaxed. "Fortunately, we're the first ones to reach the second floor!"

They were the only three living people in Exhibition Hall 2!

*Of course. With Wind Pupils as a data collector and me, a Night Watcher, as a data processor, we save a lot of time and effort!* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

The three retrieved the moonlight and walked to the standing map next to the stairs!

The map showed that the second floor of the museum had three halls; this was Hall 2!

Qingzhu mused, "The first floor had six halls, and the second floor has three. Following this pattern, the third floor should only have one hall. All the survivors will gather on the third floor!"

Alicia added, "The second floor has three exhibition halls, which means that Hall 1 on the second floor gathers those from Halls 1 and 2 on the first floor, and Hall 2 gathers those from Halls 3 and 4, and so on!"

"Our opponents are from Hall 4 on the first floor!" As she said this, she opened the leaderboard and her gaze slightly darkened: "There are only 22 Lingjing Xingzhe left in total."

The first-floor trials eliminated half of the Lingjing Xingzhe. Those who survived to the second floor were all strong. Fortunately, we don't have many enemies to face; there shouldn't be more than three!

"Alas, the Sleeping Dragon Marquis's score is frighteningly high. It's a pity that Ju Mang isn't participating in the killing instance. If he's not here, who can suppress the Sleeping Dragon Marquis!"

Then, Alicia and Qingzhu looked at Moral Celestial, waiting for his analysis!

"Why are you all looking at me?" Zhang Yuanqing said angrily, "You've both said everything already; what else can I say!"

Alicia and Qingzhu silently looked away. After a few seconds, the former reluctantly turned back and said, "You can use Star Gazing!"

Qingzhu shook his head. "The Star Official's Star Gazing can only be used at night, and it must be outdoors. If you want to use Star Gazing indoors, you have to inscribe a Lingce Star Chart, but that would be too time-consuming." As a high-level member of the Five Elements Alliance, he had a very thorough understanding of Night Watchers.

*I have the Grand Luo Star Compass!* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

He stood in front of the map and began to think, a sense of worry rising in his heart again. First of all, the museum wasn't purely about hard power. The artifacts were equivalent to props. As long as you subdued enough artifacts, even a peak level 6 combatant could sometimes win. Subduing artifacts depended on overall strength, skill counters, and so on.

In this regard, Fire Masters would lose points because Fire Masters only had wild destructive power!

Secondly, it was unclear whether the museum's personnel matching was based on numbers or professions, whether it was evenly matched or randomly matched.

If it was random, there might be more evil professions than orderly professions, and then the orderly professions in that hall would be in big trouble!

The post-war museum instance was like raising Gu, starting from the first floor until the second floor. Those who could survive to the final stage were bound to be the first tier of Saints!

If he couldn't meet Xiaoyuan, Huang Taiji, or Yin Ji, Xiahou Aotian, and other acquaintances on the second floor, he might not even see them by the time he reached the third floor.

Thinking of this, he opened the leaderboard and quickly scanned through it!

1: Sleeping Dragon Marquis 310 points
2: Lei Li Youjin 150 points
3: Osmon 208 points
4: Moral Celestial 162 points
5: Blood Head Xing Zhi Bao Xi Ye 136 points
6: Xiahou Aotian 133 points
7: Hundred-Armed Demon Worm 110 points
8: Human-Beast Hybrid 108 points
9: Xia Zuo 97 points
10: Yin Ji 93 points

The ranking had changed slightly. After Zhang Yuanqing collected the Blood Bodhisattva "set," his ranking rose from 4 to 3. Lei Li Youjin fell from 2 to 4!

The Sleeping Dragon Marquis's score was far ahead, unreasonably high. He either had special abilities or was exploiting a bug in the Lingjing.

After all, everyone was at the peak of the Saint level. There were differences, but not to such an exaggerated extent.

In addition, the genius Wind Manipulator Hoover from the Heavenly Punishment Headquarters had returned to the Lingjing, and the peak Saint North from the New Covenant Branch had returned to the Lingjing!

Although the museum was large, it was still indoors. It was difficult for Wind Manipulators to use their combat advantages, so the mortality rate was high, which was normal.

But Zhang Yuanqing was still a little sad!

After all, these two could be considered old acquaintances. They were famous in the outside world, backed by the Heavenly Punishment, but they died in the killing instance!

This was the killing instance, with a mortality rate even higher than S-grade killing instances.

Those powerful and famous figures were just weeds here, but what relieved Zhang Yuanqing was that those he cared about were still alive.

Yin Ji was extremely struggling, but she had gained a lot and rushed into the top ten on the leaderboard!

Xiaoyuan, Jiang Ju, and Huang Taiji's situation wasn't right. Logically speaking, if you couldn't beat the enemy in a killing instance, you could only die. How could they neither die nor increase their points?

Zhang Yuanqing vaguely guessed that the three might have been "imprisoned," but what was the enemy's purpose in imprisoning them? It was completely unnecessary!

Zhang Yuanqing regained his senses and sat down cross-legged, saying, "Before exploring Exhibition Hall 2, I'll perform a Star Gazing first. You two will protect me!"

Seeing the confused looks on Qingzhu and Alicia's faces, Zhang Yuanqing casually blurted out, "I'm a Star Official who mainly cultivates the power of stars. I was promoted to Saint thirty years ago. I was in seclusion in the Taiyi Sect, and recently, after a flash of inspiration and Star Gazing divination, I realized that the opportunity to advance to Ruler had arrived, so I came out of seclusion."

Alicia listened, not understanding what was happening, and looked at Qingzhu. Qingzhu shook his head repeatedly, indicating that he was still breastfeeding twenty years ago and couldn't judge the truth of Moral Celestial's words!

However, after cooperating on the first floor, both sides had initially established trust. As long as Moral Celestial didn't take any excessive actions, they wouldn't care.

They immediately protected him!

Zhang Yuanqing took out the Grand Luo Star Compass, using illusion magic to conceal its existence. Night Watchers were illusionists. Non-Chi Hou professions couldn't possibly see through his illusion magic!

As the stars shifted, Zhang Yuanqing saw five blurry figures, walking up the stairs. One of the figures had a purple-gold gourd hanging from his waist. The gourd was sometimes bright and sometimes dark, but inside, two figures could be vaguely seen!

He saw the five people take flight and pounce on their group of three, and the two sides engaged in fierce battle!

He saw scorching flames engulf Qingzhu, and black water devour an evil profession!

Star Gazing could observe the evolution and development of all things, but because it wasn't indoors, and it wasn't night, he only saw blurry and fragmented things relying on the Grand Luo Star Compass. He couldn't piece together a coherent story.

*It's a bit difficult to plan based on these fragmented pieces of information, but it's okay to treat them as crisis warnings.*

*The flames and black water should be from Hall 4 of the instance. There are five enemies...*

*From the few fragments just now, it can be seen that these guys are all evil professions. The orderly ones in Hall 4 are all dead.*

*The instance provides very little information and I can't actively plan, but I can prepare to deal with this guy in advance...*

Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes and saw Alicia's expectant gaze, which also contained doubt!

"What did you observe?" Qingzhu asked!

"I observed that you will die in a flood!" Zhang Yuanqing said, "There are five enemies in Exhibition Hall 4, all of whom are evil professions, and they will be up here soon!"

Alicia's expression changed. "Five?"

This was different from what she had thought!

Qingzhu's expression instantly sank. If Moral Celestial's Star Gazing was reliable, then before the crisis in the instance came, they would first have to face the siege of five evil professions!

They were at a great disadvantage in terms of numbers!

The two had been aroused with fear. Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to say, "I have a plan to deal with them that requires your cooperation!"

After a moment, Qingzhu and Alicia, who were originally united, chose to gamble and believe in Moral Celestial!

The two walked to the display case, exposing themselves in the most conspicuous position, and silently waited!

Not long after, they heard footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs, along with a sinister laugh: "Hundred-Armed Steward, those two haven't turned into pus yet. That woman is really beautiful. It's a pity to refine her like that!"

Another low, cold voice responded, "As a freelancer, helping an orderly profession deserves death!"