While the Cloudsea Trio of Fools were still making a ruckus inside the Guild Hall, someone had already arrived in advance atop the City North Wall.
The Black Crow Night of the Stolen Kingdom was fraught with danger; the invasion of demonic creatures from the outer city was meant to draw the attention of righteous cultivators.
To avoid harming the innocent, the sooner it ended, the better.
Yun Liu, as if able to foresee the future, had already entrusted the two Island Lords to guard the Sundial Immortal Mansion.
If anything went wrong during the Shengyu Festival, Canghai and White Whale would be needed to maintain order and aid the city defenses.
At a critical moment, you definitely couldn’t count on that useless Elder Pu.
There were Nascent Soul Bosses leading teams at the Eastern and Western Magic Nexus, and the formations there would soon be broken.
The southern side was entrusted to the many Royal Court Retainers and Invited Cultivators—no problem there.
The most troublesome area was left to Qin Yao.
Yun Liu had deliberately instructed them to avoid interference, not to disturb the Sweet Double Row.
Before long, Black Cloud Presses the City.
Demon Shadows filled the air.
The Spirit Seizing Grand Formation activated.
The Royal Capital, once bright as day, was plunged into darkness.
Just as the East Extreme Pavilion Master had predicted, the demonic sect spies lurking within the dynasty finally revealed their fox tails tonight!
“There’s a demonic presence.”
Qin Cha pushed her sword from its sheath, alert, and stepped forward to shield the white-clad youth.
In the Northern Courtyard Garden, a Black Crystal suddenly burst from the ground, its surface inscribed with complex runes, stunning the citizens strolling in the park.
“Roar—!”
The Magic Crystal let out a deafening roar—it turned out to be a Living Magic Golem.
The Magic Core was embedded within the demonic puppet body; to break the formation, it had to be slain!
The Magic Golem dragged its heavy frame forward mindlessly, shaking the earth wherever it went and toppling several houses.
Smelling the thick demonic aura, Qin Yao’s expression grew tense.
The sudden appearance of the monster startled her as well.
She first rode her sword to evacuate the surrounding civilians, then fired several streaks of sword energy to slow the golem’s advance.
On the city wall, however, the white-robed youth rubbed his hands, gazing down at the massive creature beneath his feet.
He smiled with delight, as if beholding a mountain of gold.
Once out of the Sundial Immortal Mansion, Ji Shiyu faced four choices.
Depending on game difficulty, the story continued differently.
On Easy, it was just for fun—the Main Character Group would follow the main army into the East City to clean up small fry.
There were tanks, healers, plenty of support NPCs—no pressure.
Stick with the crowd and wait for dawn for the plot to advance.
But the City North Magic Nexus was a Boss Battle only encountered on Hell difficulty, with three phase changes and no reinforcements—only skill could see you through.
Nili Magic Golem.
Earth Attribute puppet.
Guaranteed drop of spirit material, Nili Marrow.
The last point was the real key!
High difficulty, high rewards.
As a medicinal primer for refining Heaven-Grade Knot Ginseng Pill, the Nili Magic Golem was almost impossible to find on early maps—you could only hope the Demonic Person summoned one for you.
It was rare to encounter one; how could Yun Liu possibly leave it for others to claim?
“Why is it a Three-Realm Magic Golem?
Did Canghai and White Whale’s interference raise the world monster level?”
Yun Liu shook his head.
If Ji Shiyu, as a mere Foundation Establishment sword cultivator, rushed in to challenge it across levels, she’d just be throwing her life away.
No matter.
It was a perfect opportunity for Qin Yao to train.
Within the forest, sword energy intertwined with radiant light, and the golem was quickly trapped.
The Cloud-Slicing Sword Form appeared gentle and graceful, without earth-shattering might, but concealed deadly intent.
Grateful citizens took refuge within the Watchtower, gazing from afar as the Green-Garbed Fairy flew between sword flashes, several times narrowly dodging the grasp of the magic beast.
“Roar!”
The Nili Magic Golem suddenly howled in agony.
Unnoticed, its body had already been eroded by sword energy, with countless Tree Sea Green Buds taking root, immobilizing it completely.
Vines and leaves spread across the Magic Crystal’s surface, deeply anchoring inside.
Several negative buffs hung from it, draining both life and energy, siphoning the spirit of the demon to nourish its master.
Earth-attribute monsters were countered by the Wood Spiritual Root.
In the first phase, the golem’s sluggish movements and utter lack of resistance made Qin Xing’s complete suppression inevitable.
Now, the Clear Mist Peak Senior Sister was nothing like before.
Though her cultivation had risen only by two stages, her Jade Manor Spirit Foundation and Golden Core properties were worlds apart.
Qin Xing had been raised by Yun Liu like a medicinal tank.
Any precious material the Herb garden could synthesize was fed to her in one go.
If she couldn’t swallow it, he’d feed it mouth-to-mouth.
Every step was taken to strengthen her foundation, preparing for a Great Circle breakthrough to the Nascent Soul.
You could say all the snacks Huangmao greedily ate on the side were leftovers from Qin Yao~
Looking again at the Senior Sister, various halos surrounded her.
She shone with a certain pay-to-win radiance.
The effects of alchemical buffs were clearly at maximum, her pre-battle preparations thorough.
Everyone awaited Ji Shiyu and Xiao Xinran’s first performances in this year’s sect competition, but only Yun Liu knew Qin Yao would certainly stun the world.
The three-time championship streak of the Falling Cloud Peak’s Chief was destined to end…
Boom!
The Magic Golem collapsed with a heavy thud, falling silent.
Qin Xing was also surprised, looking back joyfully with deep affection at the person in her heart.
Since the battle at Canglang Gorge, she hadn’t fought with her full strength in a long time.
Even on the Golden Crow, against Qingshan Sect’s Elder Min Hen, the opponent fell before she could exert herself—she didn’t even know her own limits.
Now, even with a shallow foundation, she could easily overpower puppets of the same rank.
Yun Liu gave a thumbs-up, extremely satisfied with Qin Yao’s performance.
Clearing a first-phase boss unscathed—any skilled player would struggle to do better.
Just because you lacked a ‘Phoenix Overlord’ plot didn’t mean side characters were truly inferior to protagonists.
“Two more lives left—let’s wrap up and watch the immortals clash.”
The white-clad youth stretched lazily.
The main event was just warming up, ready to begin at any moment.
The Nili Magic Golem was tough and resilient; as the battle continued, mistakes would be less and less forgivable, but the overall rhythm would remain unchanged as long as no one interfered…
Just then, Yun Liu felt a chill behind him, and a familiar voice called out.
“Teacher, teacher!”
“Young master, young master!”
Two streaks of red and yellow light shot over, racing to be first.
Ji Shiyu and Xiao Xinran arrived on their swords, repelling numerous Soul-Eating Devil Shadows to clear a path for trapped citizens to escape to Shanhai Pavilion.
They hadn’t expected to run into Yun Liu here.
“Why…are you two here?”
Yun Liu’s mouth twitched.
You really do attract what you fear.
Miss Lin arrived a step late, gazing at the giant puppet entangled by roots in the forest, feeling the overwhelming demonic aura with a shiver.
It seemed they were late—the Guardian of the Magic Nexus had already been subdued by the Qin Fairy?
Ji Shiyu beamed, having followed the Luck Trajectory here without realizing she’d chosen Hell difficulty for herself.
“Ehehe, of course we came to help you!”
“Thank you so much!”
Yun Liu rolled his eyes.
Bosses had many mechanics that wouldn’t trigger with fewer targets—sometimes, more people didn’t mean more strength.
Seeing the gentle woman at the youth’s side, the golden-haired girl, once so joyful, couldn’t smile any longer, and recalled Zhou Yan’s words.
Lately, those two were always together.
But on second thought, it was natural for the Chief of Pavilion and Secretary to be inseparable.
If only she could be as capable as Senior Sister Qin, the teacher would surely trust her more too.
“Ah! What’s that?!”
With Xiao Xinran’s startled cry, the Nili Magic Golem broke free of the vines and stood upright.
Its crystal shell swelled, its attributes surging, but it also exposed the Magic Core’s weak point.
“Xin Xin, don’t get too close to the ground around the golem.”
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