The official Pathwalkers filed in one after another, instinctively splitting into two teams—one for treating the wounded, the other to inspect the scene, finish off any lingering threats, and clear hidden dangers.
A female member of the Hundred Flowers Society crouched down to examine two poisoned Fire Masters. Her tone shifted slightly:
"Centurion, their vital signs are weak. They need to be administered diluted Life Elixir immediately, or their lives will be at risk."
Among the Order faction, Musicians and Wood Demons both have Life Domain skills, but at the Transcendent stage, neither class can perform true resurrection or critical healing.
Such powerful skills are reserved for high-level Pathwalkers.
Therefore, the Musician's "Life Elixir" is a crucial strategic resource for the official forces. It works instantly on those near death.
Every year, the Five Elements Alliance must purchase large quantities of Life Elixir from the "Three Musician Houses" — a very precious commodity.
Fu Qingyang said gravely, "Begin treatment immediately."
The female Wood Demon unfastened her tactical backpack, pulled out two syringes, and injected the two poisoned Fire Masters intravenously.
The severely injured and unconscious Big Muscle Tyrant also received this treatment, but Li Dongze was out of luck — the Wood Demon from the Hundred Flowers Society gave him basic hemostasis, detoxification, and bandaging.
Qing Teng and the others were treated as well.
Fu Qingyang walked over to Guan Ya, took off his coat, and draped it over her. Frowning, he asked, "Are you alright?"
Guan Ya adjusted the collar of her suit and shook her head.
At this moment, the squad leader in charge of clearing the battlefield returned with his team and reported:
"Centurion, all the enemies have been killed. No survivors."
The squad leader sighed:
"All four Gu Beasts had bodies equivalent to a Level 3 Fire Master. The fact that you eliminated them without casualties is incredible. But there's one thing I don't understand: two of the Gu Beasts have no wounds. Their bodies are rigid and cold, and they must have been dead for several hours.
"How did you manage that?"
Hearing this, Ling Jun raised his brow and immediately moved to the body of "Rampage," crouching down to observe.
Fu Qingyang's heart skipped. He looked toward Guan Ya and asked, "What's the story?"
"Those two were killed by Yuanshi," Guan Ya replied succinctly.
"No, not two," Bai Long, who had just finished treatment and was leaning on his blade, added, "Three."
"Yuanshi Tianzun? That newcomer who passed the S-rank Jinshui Amusement Park? Where is he? I haven't seen what he looks like yet," the young woman bandaging Big Muscle Tyrant looked up, excitement shining in her eyes.
Her direct team leader shot her a stern glare, silencing her enthusiasm.
Three... Fu Qingyang glanced at Qing Teng and Tang Guoqiang. Seeing no contradiction from them, and noticing the wounded Level 2 Pathwalkers recalling something with a mix of respect and fear on their faces.
"It really is the Night Wanderer's style..." Ling Jun clicked his tongue twice. "Just a Level 2 Night Wanderer, and the combat power is this strong? How long has this kid even been a Spirit Realm Pathwalker?"
He sighed regretfully, "Letting him go to the Five Elements Alliance was a big mistake."
Fu Qingyang looked at him, then turned to Guan Ya. "Where is Yuanshi Tianzun?"
"Upstairs," Guan Ya looked up, "dealing with some things."
...
Compared to the mess and chaos downstairs in the hall, the second-floor rooms were relatively intact. Zhang Yuanqing found the item in the third room facing outside.
It was an incense burner—its tripod base made of bronze, the body a blackwood carving of a toad, squatting with its head raised and mouth wide open.
The Toad Incense Burner sat quietly on the table.
Zhang Yuanqing struggled against an itchy throat, staggered to the bedside, drew back the curtains, pushed open the window, and took several deep breaths of fresh air.
The slight dizziness faded considerably, and he returned to the table, picking up the toad incense burner. Information floated into his view:
[Name: Celestial Toad Incense Burner]
[Type: Artifact]
[Function: Poison]
[Description: In ancient times, a genius from a witch-gu clan in the Southern Ridge decided to create a colorless, odorless, and invisible poison. After years of unrelenting research, he succeeded in making this incense burner. However, he found that the poison inside was weak and slow-acting, so he discarded it. Half a month later, the entire clan was wiped out.]
[Note: Have you stacked your poison resistance properly?]
Zhang Yuanqing quickly stored the artifact in his inventory, thinking what a crappy thing it was.
From the description and note, he understood the artifact's nature: first, the poison does not discriminate friend or foe; even the owner would be poisoned. "Rampage" survived because as a witch-gu master, his poison resistance was high.
Secondly, the Celestial Toad Incense Burner's poison grows stronger the longer it's left. Its toxicity continuously volatilizes, and improper storage would poison an entire area—even the witch-gu tribe could be wiped out by it.
"Hmm?"
Zhang Yuanqing reopened the item info.
"Ancient times... Southern Ridge... witch-gu tribe?"
He gleaned something different from the information. Judging by the description, it should have been made by a high-level Spirit Realm Pathwalker long ago.
Then it fell into the hands of "Rampage" in the Spirit Realm or circulated in the real world. That didn't matter. What mattered was the term "Ancient times."
Ancient times—what era exactly? How many years ago?
Were there Spirit Realm Pathwalkers back then? But attribute panels are clearly a modern concept.
Well, whether it's modern or not is uncertain. But if ancient people had panel concepts, that would feel off... Zhang Yuanqing muttered softly, "I'll need to check the origin time of the Spirit Realm if I have permission."
And if ancient times had no panel concept, then the origin of the attribute panels they know now is mysterious.
Even the concept of Spirit Realm Pathwalkers in ancient times might be questionable.
"The Spirit Realm itself holds many secrets. I've always thought the existence of morality values was unreasonable—too artificial, not naturally formed..."
At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing noticed his colleagues downstairs were evacuating on a large scale.
Without hesitation, he left the room and descended the stairs.
On the first-floor living room, the official Pathwalkers had been dismissed. In the center, a young man in a white suit sat in a high-backed chair, surrounded by broken furniture, dark bloodstains, overturned sofas, and cracked walls.
His white suit was spotless; his handsome face cold and stern—a sharp contrast to the chaotic surroundings.
Zhang Yuanqing scrutinized the man in white; the man returned the gaze.
When Zhang Yuanqing reached the last step, the white-suited youth nodded slightly. "Fu Qingyang."
There really is someone more handsome than me... Zhang Yuanqing bowed and greeted, "Greetings, Centurion."
He had heard much about this centurion from Li Dongze—a scion of a wealthy family, a prodigy, calm and wise, decisive and just, and... a fool with lots of money. Well, the last part was Guan Ya's comment.
Now finally meeting the "legendary" figure, Zhang Yuanqing's first impression was pride, nobility, sharpness—someone you'd think twice about joking with.
Strangely, Zhang Yuanqing did not dislike it. Fu Qingyang's pride and nobility were pure, perfectly matching his appearance.
Fu Qingyang sat upright in the chair and said calmly:
"No need for formalities. I've been watching you for a long time. I wanted to meet you long ago. But Guan Ya said you're a lustful coward, so I decided to observe a bit more."
Do you discriminate against lustful cowards? No, I'm not one... Zhang Yuanqing explained, "That's her misunderstanding. I believe Centurion Fu can make his own judgment."
Fu Qingyang said indifferently: "She strongly recommended promoting you to Squad Leader, believing you are among the best talents in the new generation of the Five Elements Alliance."
Zhang Yuanqing shifted tone: "She sees people well."
Fu Qingyang's eyes were deep as he stared at him.
For some reason, Zhang Yuanqing instinctively averted his gaze. He disliked such piercing looks that seemed to see through everything.
I hate scouts' eyes... Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally. Just as he was about to look back, Fu Qingyang turned his gaze to Rampage's corpse and asked:
"What's your opinion on this battle?"
His tone was calm, more like testing an important subordinate.
Feeling this centurion valued him, Zhang Yuanqing carefully replied:
"The enemy knew our deployments and numbers in advance. They had deep connections behind the scenes."
Fu Qingyang said bluntly: "Someone within the official faction betrayed you and colluded with Rampage."
Or in other words, we have a traitor! Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"That's why I sent everyone away. From here on, only you and I know what happens next." Fu Qingyang glanced at Rampage's corpse.
Zhang Yuanqing understood, stepped to the hideous, twisted corpse, where black viscous substance surged in his eyes.
The lingering spirit in the body revived, wisps of it floated up, condensing into a semi-transparent specter above the corpse, snarling fiercely at Zhang Yuanqing.
"After devouring evil profession spirits, I might go a bit mad..." Zhang Yuanqing took out the Demon-Subduing Pestle and handed it to Fu Qingyang. "This tool can purify mental contamination."
He had given the pestle to Li Dongze out of trust, and to Fu Qingyang because the latter is rich enough not to covet his artifacts.
Fu Qingyang
Zhang Yuanqing said no more, inhaled deeply, and absorbed the spirit into his mouth.
...
His brow suddenly swelled as something alien forcefully entered his mind.
Countless broken images surged like a carousel—memories from Rampage's life.
Rampage was born into a poor family, worked hard to change his fate through studying, but after entering society, realized his degree was useless. Years of work only brought more menial tasks, becoming a corporate drone.
Unable to compete with nepotism and sycophants, he couldn't afford a house even after ten years. Marriage required having a house of his own, but his father was an honest farmer with no savings.
Being honest showed no hope, but shady ways brought great wealth.
He lost his way, becoming confused, until one day he made a huge fortune through abusing his position and fell into decadence, enjoying the risk.
Finally, the scenery changed. Zhang Yuanqing saw a dark bedroom and a floating shadow by the bed.
"Where is Black Impermanence? Trust is the foundation of cooperation; it seems we don't fully trust each other yet."
"You have two options. One is to wait for the fallen on the list to lose control one by one..."
"To show goodwill, I will reveal official squad deployments and movements."
...
In the same dim bedroom, Rampage cut his wrist, letting blood drip into a black wooden bowl inscribed with runes. The blood twisted into a face.
"Boss, the Night Rose people want to meet you."
"Meeting now is too soon; dealing with tigers needs caution... Has their leader come?"
"Unknown. Boss, controlling the Fallen Grail quickly is the key."
"Are you instructing me?"
"Not at all..."
"What else did he say?"
"He said he would provide official squad operation plans, so I can set ambushes and ease your pressure."
Night Rose? Black Impermanence lurking in Songhai, waiting for the Night Rose leader? What kind of organization is this? They seem to be brewing a major conspiracy. Huh, this intel is big...
A golden light flashed, the vision faded, and consciousness returned. Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes to find himself handcuffed to the high-backed chair.
Hmm, no pain, no signs of beating... Zhang Yuanqing was briefly pleased, but then realized this meant Centurion Fu completely overwhelmed him, so he was not happy.
Seeing him awake, Fu Qingyang immediately asked:
"Any gains?"