Chapter 18: Completing the S-level Trial Mission
The tree root, as thin as a thumb, quickly burst into golden flames and turned into charcoal.
The roots crawling all over the walls were suddenly stimulated and "came to life," like a dense swarm of snakes crawling on the walls.
The banyan tree spirit didn't expect this outsider mortal to have such extraordinary wisdom. Seeing its lies exposed, it simply stopped pretending and said sternly:
"Since you're unwilling to come over, then go die."
The ground of the stone cave cracked open with a sound, and blocks of debris rose as thick tree roots broke through the ground, like twisted tentacles, rolling towards Zhang Yuanqing.
At this distance, even without the red dancing shoes, Zhang Yuanqing could escape.
Indeed, it wanted to trick me into getting closer. Zhang Yuanqing didn't retreat but advanced, sliding to avoid the entanglement of the roots, closing the distance between himself and the banyan tree. Then he sprang up, jumping several meters high, once again dodging the sweeping roots.
More and more roots broke through the surface, wildly dancing in the stone cave.
Zhang Yuanqing leaped and soared among the tentacles, his posture elegant. No matter how hard the roots tried, they simply couldn't catch him.
If he hadn't tamed the red dancing shoes, relying solely on the Demon-Subduing Pestle, the death rate for a novice facing this level would be extremely high.
Tap, tap, tap. The red shoes ran swiftly on the walls, avoiding the entanglement and slapping of the roots. With a bounce of his knees, Zhang Yuanqing propelled himself like an arrow through the roots' encirclement and pursuit, crashing towards the tree trunk.
Seeing the human shooting over, the tree trunk showed obvious terror on its face.
Boom!
The stone at the base of the roots cracked, and more roots gushed out like a blowout, forming a wooden wall.
Zhang Yuanqing thrust the Demon-Subduing Pestle with force.
Golden flames spread over the surface of the wooden wall, burning the banyan tree spirit as it screamed in anger.
Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to break through the carbonized wooden wall and fiercely drove the sharp trident of the Demon-Subduing Pestle into the tree trunk.
Thud!
The trident pierced deep into the tree trunk, and a dazzling sun exploded from the dark cave.
The golden light distorted the tree trunk and the human face, making it emit miserable screams and puffs of green smoke.
In an instant, the souls hidden in the tree trunk also turned into green smoke amidst the screams.
All the monsters vanished without a trace, obliterated by the golden light.
As the golden light dissipated, the cave returned to darkness, but it suddenly became clean and clear.
The first thing Zhang Yuanqing did was not to check if the banyan tree spirit was thoroughly dead, but to quickly deactivate the equipped state of the red shoes and store them in his inventory.
It had been almost five minutes since he entered the cave.
After putting away the red shoes, Zhang Yuanqing finally turned his attention to the large banyan tree. It had withered, its bark cracked and dehydrated, its roots scattered throughout the cave.
A cold voice rang out in Zhang Yuanqing's mind:
[Ding, congratulations on completing the S-level trial mission. Character card activated, calculating rewards.]
[Obtained item/prop: Demon-Subduing Pestle.]
[Experience reward: 100%]
[You have become a Night Rover.]
[Experience reward: 20%]
[Character card reward activated, reward prop: Red Dancing Shoes.]
[Exiting the spiritual realm in five minutes.]
It's finally over. Zhang Yuanqing felt utterly exhausted in body and mind, as if he was completely drained.
He had cleared the Sheling Tunnel, accomplishing what no one had been able to do in decades.
As the prompt sounded, the black moon mark on Zhang Yuanqing's forehead became prominent. A bizarre and mysterious power was released from the burning mark, rushing into his body in an almost tyrannical and unreasonable manner.
His skin turned red, like a cooked shrimp. The bizarre and mysterious power swept through his body, merging into each cell and bone. The wounds on his arms healed at a visible speed.
He began to twitch involuntarily, two illusory black moons protruding in his eyes before vanishing.
The pain quickly disappeared, replaced by a comfortable feeling like soaking in a hot spring.
It feels so good. Zhang Yuanqing felt languid all over, so comfortable that he wanted to stretch. He instinctively looked down and was shocked to see his body standing in place.
Did my soul leave my body?
Panic rose in his heart. He subconsciously wanted to return to his physical body. As soon as the thought arose, his soul immediately sank and merged into his body.
After regaining control of his physical body, Zhang Yuanqing found that it had gained something, a thing called talent.
He naturally accepted this talent as if it were innate.
At the same time, he felt that his body was filled with endless energy and strength, even having the illusion of being able to shatter a planet with a single punch.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the character attribute panel:
[Name: Yuanshi Tianzun]
[Race: Human]
[Occupation: Night Rover]
[Level: 1]
[Skills: Night Roaming, Soul Devouring, Yin Spirit]
[Experience: 20%]
[Morality: 60 (initial value)]
[Night Roaming (Active): Condense the power of Taiyin to envelop oneself and enter the night roaming state. During skill activation, briefly turn invisible and conceal one's scent, breathing, and any sounds or heat emitted by the body for a duration of six seconds.]
[Soul Devouring (Active): Devour souls to enhance one's own spirituality.]
[Yin Spirit (Passive): The Night Rover has a strong physique, possessing vigorous vitality and powerful self-healing abilities. At night, the Night Rover's various abilities will be greatly amplified.]
He had officially become a Night Rover, and he had even gained an additional 20% experience. Combined with the prop rewards, the gains from this trial spiritual realm were quite substantial.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory. The red dancing shoes lay quietly in the first slot, and the half-hour countdown had disappeared.
He had officially become the owner of the red dancing shoes.
After two minutes, he had preliminarily adapted to his body's state, and the wounds on his arms had healed.
Then, Zhang Yuanqing turned his gaze to the stone coffin.
With the task completed, meaning the exploration degree had reached 100%, was the stone coffin empty?
"It seems the banyan tree spirit was the temple priest. With this, all the 'characters' have appeared. How did he turn into a tree spirit? Is his physical body inside the stone coffin?"
Thinking this, Zhang Yuanqing leisurely walked to the front of the stone coffin, planning to lick the package. Perhaps there were treasures buried with the coffin.
There were still more than two minutes before exiting the spiritual realm, enough time.
To be safe, he summoned the red dancing shoes again, choosing the equipped mode.
The stone coffin was wrapped and entangled by withered tree roots. Zhang Yuanqing swung the Demon-Subduing Pestle, chopping off these dehydrated roots one by one before he could clearly see the full appearance of the stone coffin.
It was about two meters long, the coffin body carved with exquisite patterns, and the lid covered with a layer of shallow dust.
"Crack, crack."
He slowly pushed open the coffin lid and looked inside. As a Night Rover, even without the divine power of the Demon-Subduing Pestle, he could easily see through the darkness.
Inside the stone coffin lay a female corpse, wearing an ancient silk skirt that had long rotted away. Her arms were crossed over her flat lower abdomen, her waist slender as a willow, her figure graceful, without decay.
The female corpse had a beautiful appearance. The lines of her cheeks outlined a perfect face, her nose tall and delicate, her lips sensual but pale in color. Her eyes were tightly closed, her lashes thick and intertwined.
A stunning beauty.
This... Zhang Yuanqing was so shocked that he retreated continuously, with only one thought in his mind:
It's really the Sandao Mountain Goddess!
Compared to the sculpture in the main hall, this female corpse lacked benevolence and had more coldness, less roundness and more slenderness of a young woman.
But the features were definitely seven or eight parts similar.
"Could it be that the banyan tree spirit was telling the truth? The source of the disappearing disciples in the temple was the Sandao Mountain Goddess?"
For a moment, he was inexplicably horrified, doubting his own judgment. Misjudgment would inevitably be accompanied by great danger.
"No, no, my mission is indeed completed, which means my speculation is correct. Then, the goddess lying in the stone coffin belongs to a hidden mission?"
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly regretted his itchy hands for opening the coffin.
Since the Sanado Mountain Goddess was lying in the stone coffin, the mountain god temple must be hiding an even deeper plot.
This was very likely to trigger a series of unfavorable chain reactions, such as triggering hidden missions.
He was just about to close the stone coffin when he suddenly saw a gleam of blackness between the female corpse's lips.
Is there something?
After a brief hesitation, he pinched the pointed chin and pried open the full, sexy lips, seeing clearly the gleam of blackness.
It was a pure black pearl.
[Name: Spiritual Body Crystal]
[Type: Consumable]
[Function: None]
[Introduction: A soul crystal purified by the power of the sun god, containing vast spiritual power, the most coveted tonic for Night Rovers.]
[Note: The Sanado Mountain Goddess has purified the impurities in the crystal, please consume with confidence.]
Zhang Yuanqing reached out with two fingers and picked out the pearl.
The pearl quickly melted, becoming a viscous stream of energy that rushed into his brow.
[Ding, you have gained 22% experience.]
Zhang Yuanqing's body surged with strength, once again having the illusion of being able to shatter a planet with a single punch.
He felt that he had obviously become stronger, and even without checking the attribute panel, he could clearly perceive the advancement in his skills.
The duration of Night Roaming had increased by three seconds, from six seconds to nine seconds.
Unexpectedly stronger, Goddess, please rest in peace. Zhang Yuanqing silently closed the stone coffin, as if he had never opened it.
Next, during the countdown, Zhang Yuanqing was a bit restless and particularly anxious, fearing the appearance of unfavorable anomalies, such as triggering hidden missions and interrupting the return.
Fortunately, nothing happened. Zhang Yuanqing watched the timer on the fluorescent blue panel begin to count down:
5, 4, 3...
Suddenly, a long exhalation sounded in the dark and silent cave.
Zhang Yuanqing: "..."
The coffin lid was pushed open from the inside, and a pale, delicate hand reached out, grasping the edge of the coffin. Then, the beauty in the stone coffin sat up.
The woman's eyes, deep as a pool, swept across the stone cave and met Zhang Yuanqing's stiff expression.
She stared at Zhang Yuanqing, the corner of her mouth curving up.
This smile nearly scared Zhang Yuanqing to death on the spot.
At this moment, the scenery shattered like a reflection on the water torn by the wind. The countdown ended.
The world became blurry.
Soon, the image gradually stabilized. Bright white light shone down from above, white walls, a desk, computer, TV, double bed...
The curtains swayed in the wind, and the crisp chirping of birds could be heard outside the window.
He had returned to the human world.
PS: That's all for today. Continuous updates are for the coherence of the plot, to give you a better reading experience. Typos will be corrected after updating.
(End of chapter)
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