High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

A dozen or so spirits began asking about the situation outside, each one of them asking a question.

Shen Chang'an listened to those completely unfamiliar family surnames with a blank expression. He used to just hang around in the city and had never even been to the provincial government office, so how would he know these things?

"Uh... I am of low status and weak strength. I don't recognize any of the families and names you seniors have mentioned." Shen Chang'an could only give a uniform reply.

"Tch, knows nothing when asked. What an ignorant brat. Boring."

The spirits were immediately disappointed and quickly abandoned their gossip-loving thoughts.

Soon, the meeting's topic circled back to the most crucial issue: how to allocate spiritual energy.

"Since this child can generate spiritual energy, for the sake of the entire city, in my opinion, the spiritual energy generated should be distributed proportionally according to the rank of the seat."

"Why should I?!"

The spirits on the right immediately protested.

"You humans occupy the front seats, so you should definitely get priority! I disagree!"

"Yes! They should be categorized according to the degree of damage to their cultivation!"

"Bullshit! It should be decided by drawing lots!"

A group of spirits were arguing heatedly in the bronze hall over a bit of spiritual energy, just like old ladies in a market haggling over two cents.

Just then.

The three, Ling Shan Daoist, Du Qiongyu, and Qin Xu, who hadn't said much, exchanged a glance and seemed to have reached a consensus.

"What's all the noise about?!"

The Taoist priest of Lingshan slammed his hand on the table.

"This little brat was brought back by me. When it comes to the distribution of spiritual energy, those of us whose physical bodies are still awake will naturally have priority! You bunch of old bones, with only a spiritual avatar floating outside, what makes you think you can compete with us?!"

Du Qiongyu and Qin Xu also nodded, forming a united front with the Taoist of Lingshan.

"We're in charge here now, so we have to prioritize. We also have to patrol the abyss regularly and deal with monsters; it's exhausting, you know..."

"You... are shameless!"

Although the spirit clones were furious, their main bodies were unable to awaken, so they were completely helpless against these three conscious thugs. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and reluctantly agree to this shameless proposal.

After the allocation plan was finalized, Zuo Yi looked at Du Qiongyu and said, "You're the ancestor of playing with fire. You should study this kid's outward attributes carefully these next few days and see what secrets he holds."

"Leave it to me."

Du Qiongyu licked her red lips, staring at Shen Chang'an with burning eyes.

Shen Chang'an felt the hairs on his body stand on end. He took a deep breath and said loudly and resolutely, "Seniors! I really have to return to Donghuang. There are people and things I care about in the outside world. I can't stay here for long!"

The hall fell silent once more.

The spirit of Zuo Yi remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "Junior, Zhenyuan City needs you. How about this, for one hundred years. You stay here and help us generate spiritual energy for one hundred years. After one hundred years, we will send you back to Donghuang, how about it?"

"A hundred years?"

Without even thinking, he resolutely refused.

"Seniors, a hundred years may be just a blink of an eye, the time it takes to doze off, for you. But for people outside, it's a lifetime!"

He clenched his fists, and the faces of Uncle Zhang and Aunt Li flashed through his mind, along with the figures of Bai Yin, Li Xiwan, and Ji Lin.

"A hundred years is too long. By the time I return, Uncle Zhang and the others will have long since died of old age, and my friends will have turned to dust. I don't want to wait until I finally return to Donghuang after all my hardships, only to find that everything has changed beyond recognition, and not a single person I recognize is left!"

Faced with Shen Chang'an's refusal, the powerful figures in the hall fell silent.

Although they had been trapped here for endless years and had an almost pathological thirst for spiritual energy, they were, after all, top-tier experts who had once suppressed their respective regions. They couldn't bring themselves to forcibly erase the will of a junior.

The spirit on the left remained silent for a moment, then sighed and offered a compromise: "Fine. Forcing things won't work. Here's what we'll do: you stay in the city and be responsible for replenishing the spiritual energy reserves of Ling Shan, Du Qiongyu, and Qin Xu. Once they've recovered to their peak strength, we'll work together to find a way to send you out of the abyss and back to Donghuang. How long that takes depends on your spiritual energy production rate. What do you say?"

Shen Chang'an quickly calculated in his mind.

Although the spiritual energy reserves of the three people are astronomical, they have their own black flames. As long as there is enough demonic energy to burn, it is much better than being forcibly imprisoned for a hundred years.

Moreover, he could tell that this was a concession to the other party's bottom line, and if he tried to bargain further, he probably wouldn't even have this chance anymore.

"Okay! I agree."

Shen Chang'an nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, the Taoist Lingshan laughed heartily, stroking his beard, and said, "Don't worry, little one, we old folks won't let you work for nothing. Zhenyuan City may not have much else, but it's overflowing with all sorts of unique skills and secret techniques. When the time comes, just name your name if you fancy someone's skill! As long as you can learn it, we old bones will teach you everything we know without holding back!"

The other spirits in the hall nodded in agreement. To them, pure spiritual energy was far more valuable than some cultivation techniques or secret manuals.

"However, you shouldn't try to do too much at once. I suggest you choose a few of your strongest subjects."

"Then this humble Taoist will take the little child back first."

After the transaction is finalized.

Lingshan Daoist grabbed Shen Chang'an, and with a "whoosh," the two were back in that small courtyard with blue bricks.

As soon as Shen Chang'an landed, he eagerly asked, "Senior, what exactly is this place? Who are you people?"

Lingshan Daoist sat down on the stone bench, poured himself a cup of water, and gazed at the sky outside the courtyard with his deep eyes. He slowly began to speak:

"This is Zhenyuan City. This city has existed in this abyss for countless years. I have been here for about three thousand years."

"Three thousand years?!"

"Yes, it's been three thousand years."

The old Taoist priest sighed.

"Now there are only a dozen or so people left in the main hall of this city. There are demons and humans. Zhenyuan City, as the name suggests, was established because of this abyss. As early as ancient times, when the abyss first appeared, in order to prevent demons from invading Donghuang on a large scale, the ancient powerful beings joined forces to build this city on the front line of the abyss to suppress the demon riots."

"Subsequent hegemons from different eras would tear through the abyss and come in to take over, but no one has come in the last two thousand years. I was the last one to come in, and this city has probably been forgotten by the outside world."

Shen Chang'an was deeply moved. It turned out that the reason Donghuang was able to maintain its current peace was because of a group of people who had been forgotten in the long river of history, silently bearing everything in the darkest abyss.

"That……"

Shen Chang'an swallowed hard and mustered his courage to ask, "May I be so bold as to ask, seniors... what cultivation level were you at back then?"

Ling Shan Daoist glanced at him: "Not too high. Those sitting in the chairs in the main hall are all at the ninth realm or above, but their strength has been somewhat damaged now."

"The Ninth Realm? Or even above the Ninth Realm?"

The Seventh Realm Spirit Domain. The Spirit Abyss forcibly expanded outward, forming a domain that covered a region of heaven and earth.

The Eighth Realm of Spiritual Manifestation, towering to the heavens and standing on the earth, embodies divine power. The domain condenses, summoning a gigantic energy "Dharma Manifestation" shadow a hundred feet tall behind him, capable of destroying the world with every move.

And the Ninth Realm... is what the old Taoist called the Spiritual Torch Realm. The Dharma Form Returns to the Flow, the Heart Ignites Immortality!

That is to compress the hundred-foot Dharma image to the extreme, feed it back into the heart, and ignite an inextinguishable "torch of life"!

"A uniform group of... powerful beings at the ninth realm or above?!"

"Seniors, since your strength is so extraordinary, even if your spiritual power is damaged now, why don't you just go back to Donghuang and fight your way back?"

Shen Chang'an couldn't help but ask, "With your strength, absolutely no one can stop you."

Ling Shan Daoist shook his head: "Little child, you've underestimated the abyss."

"The space inside the abyss is fragile and complex; it's easy to get in but difficult to get out. If we old folks want to force our way out, we'll have to tear a massive spatial rift from within, large enough to accommodate our immense power."

The old Taoist pointed to the purplish-red sky above.

"Once such a large opening is torn open, the spatial laws of the Abyss and the Eastern Empire will be completely disrupted. At that time, it won't just be us who get out; all the high-level demons in the Abyss will pour out through that huge opening, and the Eastern Empire will instantly turn into a living hell."

"not to mention,"

The old Taoist priest paused.

"We normally need to constantly clean up and suppress the hordes of demons that attempt to gather and cause havoc within the abyss. If a large natural crack appears somewhere in the abyss, we also need to expend our life force to repair it in time. If we all leave, and the abyss riots, Donghuang... will really be unable to hold on."

After hearing these words, Shen Chang'an fell silent, a sense of indescribable shock and respect welling up in his heart.

He stepped back and solemnly bowed deeply to the Taoist priest of Lingshan.

"Your righteousness is admirable, senior. I have learned a great deal from you."