But the surrounding Daoists were a little upset when they saw the situation, saying they took everyone’s battle loot right under their noses without observing any manners.

In response, the sunglasses-wearing man from Xia Country and the island girl said they would compensate them and took out the silver taels they recently earned from demon-slaying jobs in Celestial Essence City, calming the Daoists’ displeasure and ending the situation.

However, when they returned to Qingyangzi’s side, they discovered a bonus, a double bonus, nonetheless.

The first bonus was naturally the short Asian player killed by Qingyangzi.

He had been sustained in a special state for quite a while, and as soon as the state ended, he was instantly killed by Qingyangzi. Although his equipment appeared mostly damaged, there were still usable parts upon careful selection.

The second bonus caught them by surprise; the tall white player had been found, but only as a corpse.

According to the search team, they found him on a distant street.

It seems he was strangled to death, evidenced by the tight silver metal ring around his neck.

When the young man from Xia Country and the island girl saw the corpse being brought to Qingyangzi, they noticed the white player’s body was still warm, indicating he hadn’t been dead for long.

But his death was quite tragic, with eyes wide open, face twisted, hands clawing ineffectively at the tight ring around his neck, as if he had struggled for a long time.

"This ring is no ordinary item but a projection of a high-grade tool, no wonder it suffocated him to death."

Upon brief inspection, they discovered the ring on the white player’s neck was extraordinary, causing death not merely through physical restraint but a deeper, more lethal, slow yet unstoppable method.

Otherwise, with a high-level player’s physique and skills, there should be methods to alter their body shape, negate breathing dependency, or damage the metal ring — so it shouldn’t be impossible to deal with a sturdy metal ring around the neck.

"Qingyangzi, this body was our friend in life, please allow us to arrange his affairs and give him a burial."

Since the white player’s body was handed to Qingyangzi, they couldn’t just deal casually like with other Daoists and used this reason to take over.

Primarily because the player died in a highly professional manner, his equipment was barely damaged and nearly intact, promising substantial benefits if they managed to get it.

However, Qingyangzi glanced at them and seemed distrustful, directly replying: 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I remember you two, friends of Wu Zun, right?

Since you recognize this body, it might also be related to Wu Zun.

I will hand over the body to Wu Zun; you can discuss with him and let him decide the subsequent matters."

After speaking, this super-innate cultivator waved his hand to have the body taken away, then turned to look at the other side of the ruins, intending to also arrange the corpse he personally created.

Turns out, it was quite a shock!

He immediately realized that a certain corpse of some existence he had just killed had already disappeared.

Replaced by an eerie white female figure, standing in the original position of the body, flicking a slender scarlet tongue, wearing a face full of inhuman relish.

"This demon... I want to annihilate..."

Seeing this, Qingyangzi’s forehead veins immediately bulged, and he reflexively wanted to take action against the female player who looked far from human.

Yet, the next moment, he forcibly stopped, turning around as if he had seen nothing.

He couldn’t help it, being one of the leaders of Celestial Essence City, he had long heard from Huayangzi about this woman rumored to be a refined demon and learned that this woman was highly valued by Wang Zhifan, who specially requested her protection, so he couldn’t easily take action.

After all, no one had said she had harmed anyone thus far; on the contrary, she had achieved many accomplishments in eliminating demons, an invaluable high-level force, attacking her might not be wise and could trigger a series of issues.

In past days, there were reports that she favored devouring demon corpses; seeing it firsthand today, Qingyangzi concluded it showed she was still in a "normal" state, giving him a reason not to intervene.

Qingyangzi’s internal reaction revealed that Wang Zhifan’s status in their hearts was extraordinary; otherwise, a creature suspected of being a monster could be dealt with by a super-innate cultivator without needing self-convincing not to act.

Such results were simple to explain — Wang Zhifan had essentially become Celestial Essence City’s mainstay, crucially influencing everything Qingyangzi could not ignore.

Specifically, through recent battles, especially the Shuyue City grand melee, Qingyangzi and others realized there was a distinct combat strength gap between them and Wang Zhifan.

Their trio struggled against the Demon Venerable’s army threat while Wang Zhifan navigated smoothly, recently accelerating his Demon Venerable slaying spree, breaking into the top thirty on the Demon Sealing List, and climbing rapidly.

Wu Zun’s name on the Demon Sealing List had become renowned, known by not just Calamity Realm’s experts but even top experts from other realms, inciting calls for joint actions.

In comparison, the Qingyangzi trio almost died from Demon Venerable poison, one had an arm severed and relied on Wang Zhifan’s magical artifact for repair, and despite one appearing uninjured, their foundation had greatly depleted, no longer planning active sorties from the city.

In this situation, the only one capable of turning the tide and providing maximum protection for Celestial Essence City was the unrivaled Wang Zhifan.

His influence unknowingly surpassed that of the city’s three elders, letting these old fellows find comfort under a protective canopy, naturally paying special attention to those he valued.

With the chaos ending in the city, Qingyangzi flew away, leaving the aftermath of area repairs and casualty support to others below.

The sunglasses-wearing Xia Country player and the island girl did not leave quickly.

They gathered around the eerie, freckled white female, wanting this peculiar partner to share some of the good things she’d swallowed.

"Miss, we are partners! You must know to share the good things!

You swallowed that player’s entire corpse; isn’t that too greedy?

Look, when we handled that black player’s body, we still left you a share!

So, never monopolize the good stuff!"

The Xia Country sunglasses man took out a fine layer ring to show the eerie white woman, then put the ring in her hand, hoping his sincerity would move this peculiar being.

He couldn’t help it; he was really envious of this woman monopolizing a player’s entire equipment.

Even though the player’s corpse she consumed was heavily damaged, extraordinary game-produced equipment was often extremely durable, possibly leaving good things on the body all taken by her.

This speculation wasn’t unfounded; among the player community, it was common knowledge that while good equipment might be discreetly hidden, it should be worn as much as possible.

Unless the equipment was functional off-body, storing it in a personal space might delay its retrieval in emergencies, hindering a player’s potential response to manageable crises.

Therefore, if a player had great equipment and it wasn’t too large for everyday carry, they would always equip it, maximizing its efficacy.

That means a player’s gear might not be their very best but certainly not too shabby, and looting a player’s carried equipment could yield significant rewards.

Receiving the war spoils shared by the Xia Country sunglasses youth, the eerie white woman’s freckled face showed a moment of contemplation.

Then she suddenly opened her mouth, violating spatial laws, and regurgitated the player skeleton she had digested, delivering it to the duo in front of her.