Desert, Round Moon

Silver moonlight illuminated the undulating dunes, a hush fell over everything, and the night sky was as clear as water.

Imprisoned in the ancient city nestled atop the dunes, Fu Qingyang felt himself sinking into an endless abyss, wanting to awaken but uncontrollably succumbing to the descent.

He didn't know how long had passed before a cool sensation jolted him awake. He greedily gulped down the water at his lips, "Glug, glug," and with a few swallows, his soul returned to its place.

Fu Qingyang struggled to open his eyes, only to feel pain all over his body, his bones seemingly scattered.

To think, a dignified Level 8 Dominator, yet he didn't even have the strength to move a finger.

"Envoy, you're awake?"

A head wrapped in a turban leaned in, full of concern.

"Vice Envoy Jiang!" Fu Qingyang subconsciously uttered the other's identity, and a short, fragmented memory surged forth.

His current identity was Wang Ce, an envoy of the Tang Dynasty, representing the Tang on a mission to Tianzhu. However, he encountered civil strife in Tianzhu, with the king dying in the unrest.

The rebel army, which had established its own king, plundered the envoy group and stole the wealth that the Tang Dynasty had gifted to Tianzhu.

Wang Ce and the thirty-odd members of the envoy fought to the death, but the enemy forces were too numerous and too strong. All were captured and temporarily imprisoned in this ancient city's jail.

The wounds on Fu Qingyang's body were sustained during the resistance.

"Envoy Wang, you're awake!" More people gathered around, all members of the envoy.

The desert nights were bitterly cold, and the jail was simple and drafty. The envoy members imprisoned here shivered from the cold.

Earlier, they had huddled in the corners, embracing each other for warmth.

Fu Qingyang sensed his body's condition. He had multiple fractures, accompanied by internal organ bleeding, and his cultivation was sealed, leaving him with only Extraordinary combat power.

His overall condition was terrible.

Immediately, he opened the mission interface to view the dungeon mission.

The main mission was to recover the imperial tribute.

The side mission was to escape from prison.

Note: Before the mission ends, you must not return to the Tang Dynasty, and you must not report this period of history to the Tang Dynasty.

Fu Qingyang was clear that the correct strategy was to borrow troops from Tubo to quell the rebel forces of Tianzhu.

He silently planned the strategy in his mind: first, escape from prison; second, go to Tubo; third, borrow troops to attack Tianzhu.

The dungeon plot was not pure history and would certainly be adjusted. Borrowing troops from Tubo would not be so quick. It would inevitably involve a series of crises and trials.

Attacking Tianzhu would be the final battle, and it was not yet clear how many Level 9 powerhouses Tianzhu had.

Of course, these were matters for later. The immediate priority was to escape from prison.

Fu Qingyang moved his body slightly and immediately felt a sharp pain. Even with an Extraordinary physique, he would be in mortal danger without timely treatment.

Of course, Fu Qingyang's gang warehouse was not lacking in items from the Wood Sprite profession, as well as diluted Life Essence.

"I'm fine, everyone can rest assured." He weakly comforted the gathered envoy members.

Fu Qingyang did not treat his injuries immediately. He moved his eyes to the wooden fence and listened intently.

As a scout, observing the environment was instinctive.

This prison was not built underground but was a low house made of earthen bricks on the surface, with three walls and a wooden fence. Opposite the fence was also a fence.

Every five meters there was a guard in armor, standing right next to a roaring torch, using it to warm himself.

Every quarter of an hour, a team of six patrolled.

Adding up the guards on both sides of the corridor, there were eight in total. At the Extraordinary stage, no profession had escape techniques. It was impossible to escape from prison without alarming the guards.

It's not difficult to deal with eight people, but to solve them all at the same time, and prevent them from signaling, is impossible with my current state and level. To escape from prison, I can only use strategy.

Fu Qingyang thought for a few seconds, approached the fence, and said weakly to the nearest guard, "I am an envoy of the Tang Dynasty. Could you please do me a favor?"

The guard ignored him.

"If you can help me, I will give you a fortune." With each sentence Fu Qingyang said, he gasped for breath, as if even speaking was a burden.

The guard then spoke, "You are important criminals valued by the king. I will not let you go."

"You misunderstand," Fu Qingyang coughed a few times, saying with difficulty, "I have suffered a very serious injury. If I am not treated, I will not live to see tomorrow. When entering the city, I left a magical treasure in a hidden place. It can treat diseases and injuries. If you help me retrieve it, I will repay you handsomely."

Hearing this, the guard's eyes lit up. He looked around, leaned over, and whispered, "If you really have such a magical treasure, I will retrieve it for you. The people of Tianzhu keep their promises and never deceive anyone."

While speaking, he looked at Fu Qingyang by the light of the torch. This Tang Dynasty envoy's face was pale, and his lips were bloodless. He was indeed not long for this world.

Fu Qingyang lowered his voice and spoke in his ear for a moment. After getting the exact address, the guard immediately left, telling his companion as he passed the torch, "I'm going to the latrine."

He didn't even look at the Tang Dynasty envoy. His mind was only on the magical treasure that could treat injuries and diseases.

After he left, Fu Qingyang called out to another guard, saying, "Brave warrior of Tianzhu, I am an envoy of the Tang Dynasty. Can you please come over and talk?"

The guard strode over, scrutinizing the dying Tang person and said, "What is it?"

Fu Qingyang repeated what he had just said. After listening, the guard turned and left, saying, "I'm going to the latrine!"

This was repeated four times, and the four remaining guards were puzzled. They thought, "Did these guys secretly eat something at night? Otherwise, why would they all have stomachaches at the same time?"

In the prison, Fu Qingyang took out a green pearl and swallowed it, then took out a diluted Life Essence injection and injected it into his carotid artery.

After sitting quietly for ten seconds, he opened his eyes and said in a clear, cold voice, "Warriors of Tianzhu, I am an envoy of the Tang Dynasty. I have been deceived! I have been deceived by four of your colleagues! They have stolen the location where I buried five thousand taels of gold. Please, you must help me."

Upon hearing about the buried location of five thousand taels of gold, the nearest guard subconsciously walked over and questioned, "What did you say?" The other three guards, seeing this, rushed forward, fearing that their colleagues would hear the location and they wouldn't know.

Fu Qingyang opened his inventory and, with lightning speed, grabbed a handful of repeating crossbows and pulled the trigger.

Ji! Beng! Beng! Beng! With four sounds of bowstrings, the four fell.

Fu Qingyang put away the crossbows, then grabbed a handful of broad-edged short knives, fiercely chopped at the chains, opened the prison door, turned back to look at the dumbfounded envoy members, and said calmly, "You stay here. Tianzhu is wary of the Tang Dynasty and will not easily kill people. I am going out to get reinforcements. This place is heavily guarded. It is impossible for more than thirty people to act together, and facing escaped prisoners, the guards will inevitably kill without hesitation. It is better to stay in the prison."

"Lord Wang, be careful! Lord Wang, you must come back and save us!" Amidst the cries of the crowd, Fu Qingyang disappeared into the night before the patrolling soldiers arrived.

The person who pushed the door open just now was Secteya.

But how did she know it was me? I used Star Escape in advance. The Lust profession doesn't have the ability to predict and deduce.

Using some kind of special item? Zhang Yuanqing instinctively tensed up his nerves, and many thoughts flashed through his mind. He feigned ignorance and said, "Oh, beautiful goddess, I don't understand what you mean!"

Secteya closed the simple wooden door, sat on the bed, took a deep breath, and smiled, "It's this scent. Amini, I always remember the scent on you. It just appeared in the storage room. Your denial and lies cannot change reality."

Zhang Yuanqing was silent for a second, and simply admitted, "Yes, Secteya, I entered there."

Secteya stared at him without saying a word for a full half a minute. Then, the beautiful goddess curled the corners of her mouth, "Why did you approach your mother's residence? You should know that it is forbidden."

"I sensed it!" Zhang Yuanqing answered honestly.

His words made Secteya put away her smiling demeanor and furrow her delicate brows.

After a long while, she said in a tone of confusion and incomprehension:

"Normally, you shouldn't be able to sense it. Although you are a child of the Goddess of Beauty, you are not female. Is it because you inherited the Desire characteristic of your mother?"

Not a woman, so you can't sense it. Inherited part of the Goddess of Beauty's abilities, so it's possible to sense it.

Zhang Yuanqing analyzed these two key pieces of information from Secteya's words.

The thing in the basement seemed to be related to the Goddess of Beauty. In that case, the attack on Paphos Island by the believers of the God of Light had nothing to do with the basement. It was purely a personal feud.

The God of Light shouldn't be interested in things from the Lust profession.

"I did sense it, but it has nothing to do with the bloodline of the Goddess of Beauty. It's my own..." Zhang Yuanqing thought here, and suddenly stopped.

Maybe the ability to sense its fluctuations wasn't just because of his own high level, but also because the bloodline of the Goddess of Beauty was playing a role. So what exactly is that thing!

Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously:

"I don't even know why I can sense it. What's in the storage room?"

Secteya's expression became serious and she said, "This is not something you should know, Amini. I want you to promise me that you will never approach the storage room again. Otherwise, even if you are your mother's child, I will expel you from Paphos Island."

Since the words had been spoken to this extent, Zhang Yuanqing had no choice but to bow and respond: "Yes! Beautiful Secteya, your opinion is my will."

Secteya nodded in satisfaction, returned to her smiling posture, and said, "One last question, how did you enter the storage room? You didn't even pick the lock?"

Zhang Yuanqing answered almost without hesitation or pause, "The Traveler of Treasures gave me the ability to enter."

He shifted the blame to the Void profession. With Secteya's knowledge and status, she must know about the existence of the Void.

Secteya, as expected, didn't pursue the matter further. She nodded and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to open the door, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and smiled:

"I heard you successfully completed the task. Amini, I admire your abilities, but I advise you not to provoke Cupid again. Otherwise, the punishment for you will not just be making you enjoy yourself with Heracini."

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. What does that mean?

Secteya glanced at Heracini, and curled her glamorous lipstick lips. "Your love affair with Heracini was Cupid's doing!"

She made a gesture of pulling a bow.

"He just wants you to violate taboos. It's both a prank and a way to control you. As long as he wants to, he can expel you from Paphos Island at any time." Secteya said:

"Cupid doesn't dare to offend me. If you can't bear your desires at night and want to enjoy yourself, you can actually come to me, just like that night when you clung to me until dawn."