At Uncle's words, inspiration struck Zhang Yuanqing. "You mean the Holy See Treasury is like the abyss in the Secret of the Five Elements instance?"
The chairman smiled.
"The two instances are exactly the same."
Zhang Yuanqing smiled as well. "That's right. Even if we emptied the treasury, the Spirit Realm wouldn't react."
Secret of the Five Elements was likewise a Level 7 S-rank instance, likewise concealing power at the demigod level.
Yet when Zhang Yuanqing had opened the abyssal entrance, met Bad Commander, and taken the key fragment from Brother Bing's pocket, the Spirit Realm had shown no reaction whatsoever.
That was because the Secret of the Five Elements instance had formed due to Bad Commander within the abyss, but Bad Commander was not part of the instance—not part of the main quest, nor hidden plot.
Likewise, Knight's Dusk had formed because of the Holy See Treasury, but the Holy See Treasury was not part of the instance. Whatever they did to the treasury would not affect the instance's operation.
Therefore, the Spirit Realm would not impose any punishment.
Zhai Cai looked at Yuanshi Tianzun, then at the chairman, and clapped twice. "Although I didn't understand any of that, it sounds like the problem's been solved?"
The chairman placed both hands on their shoulders. After thinking for a moment, he withdrew one hand and said, "You two, hold hands."
Zhai Cai and Zhang Yuanqing reluctantly took each other's hands.
The chairman nodded in satisfaction, raised his free hand, and snapped his fingers. "Exile!"
The three of them vanished instantly, without any spiritual energy or spatial fluctuations.
The passersby around them completely ignored them, as if they had never seen the three appear there at all.
When Zhang Yuanqing could see clearly again, he was standing amid ruins. No—more precisely,