Chapter 233: Settlement Reward

Chapter 233: Settlement of Rewards

Zhang Yuanqing carried the bamboo basket, returning to the robber's tunnel.

Following the narrow passage into the burial chamber, he took the three artifacts from the bamboo basket and placed them properly in the wall niche, then turned and left.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly froze, lowering his head to look at the bamboo basket in his hand, a doubt rising in his mind.

——Why am I still taking this with me?

Am I being a little too honest... Zhang Yuanqing carried the bamboo basket out of the main burial chamber, passed through the six-meter-long corridor gate, and arrived at the outer chamber.

He first set the bamboo basket aside, then bounced on the spot, easily leaping two meters high to peel off the yellow talisman paper stuck to the Three-Course Three-Optimal brick wall.

"Huu~"

The paper talisman self-ignited, shooting up pale golden flames.

Zhang Yuanqing dared not let such flames lick him; he hurriedly let go, allowing the talisman to flutter to the ground and turn to ash.

"Done! Four more hours until return, back to the village first."

Zhang Yuanqing put on the red dancing shoes, not forgetting to pick up the bamboo basket, treading the steep brick wall as if on flat ground, drilling into the robber's tunnel entrance at the top.

A few minutes later, he returned to the village entrance, silently waiting for ten o'clock to arrive, waiting for the twenty-four hours to end.

"Mute Village instance is this difficult, the rewards should be plentiful, wonder if I can get all three artifacts rewarded to me, what will the hidden quest reward be..."

"However, if there's a guide, this A-rank instance isn't difficult at all. After entering the Spirit Realm, head straight for the ancient tomb, hide for a night, come out the next day to collect artifacts, bring them back to the ancient tomb, and you can clear it perfectly."

"Just don't know if the hidden quest is the type that refreshes at any time, or a one-time only, just have to see what rewards the quest settlement gives." Zhang Yuanqing thought aimlessly.

Like the hidden quest in Yin-Yang Town, the reward artifact was the Yin-Yang Robe; the artifact possessed uniqueness, so the Yin-Yang Town hidden quest only existed once.

But Zhang Yuanqing knew not all hidden quests were like this; the significance of some hidden quests was to increase the Spirit Realm Walker's experience points.

Walkers capable of excavating hidden quests gained more experience points, and their leveling speed would pull away from the mediocre.

Idle as he was, Zhang Yuanqing reviewed the instance information once more:

"Right, this instance mentioned the Three-Tao Mountain Lady, Old Bangzi and the Princess are of the same lineage, Old Bangzi's slumber and the Princess's slumber seem somewhat similar."

"The Princess lived two Jiazi cycles, her end approaching, knowing she could not increase her lifespan in the Dharma-Ending Age, so she imitated her Master, using a secret art to slumber, clinging to life?"

"No, her state differs from the Three-Tao Mountain Lady; Old Bangzi gave me the feeling of a living person, the Princess has completely transformed into a Yin Corpse, she refined herself into an undead Yin thing..."

"That coffin should be a crucial link in her plan, so she could only 'borrow' Old Bangzi's jade coffin, tsk, if only I could learn this method of refining oneself into a Yin Corpse, future refined Yin Corpses would crush other Night Wanderers in quality..."

"Currently known, the last batch of 'cultivators' was in the Ming Dynasty; the Qing Dynasty saw cultivation become utterly impossible, but Mute Village's background isn't in the Ming Dynasty, this wandering Taoist is most likely a Ming Dynasty figure too, so he actually lived a very long time as well."

Finally, after a long wait of several hours, dense Yin Qi surged from the depths of the village, like thick smoke blotting out the sky and sun, forcing the white day back into darkness.

The Princess has come; she discovered the talismans in the ancient tomb were destroyed, returning to the underground?

Zhang Yuanqing turned his head to look around, suddenly discovering the Yin Qi was rushing toward him.

"!!!"

Vast and terrifying Yin Qi surged like a tide, welling up from all directions, obscuring the pale daylight. On the other side of this path, the Yin Qi parted, revealing the Princess clad in a magnificent red skirt.

Her face was exquisite and pale, darkness filling her eye sockets, pupils crimson as gemstones.

A dozen meters separated them, locked in silent confrontation.

In this moment, Zhang Yuanqing felt as though he had returned to last night; a fierce dread welled up in his heart, and his calves began to cramp once more.

Just as he debated whether to draw his pistol and brass knuckles to bolster his courage, the Princess in the distance suddenly dipped her chin toward him in a slight nod, a flash of gentleness crossing her ferocious pupils.

Immediately after, the Yin energy receded like a tide, taking the Princess with it.

"She's leaving?"

Zhang Yuanqing felt his body grow light; his calves steadied themselves.

He watched the Yin energy withdraw from the village, like heavy, low-hanging clouds drifting toward the rear mountain.

Another ten-odd minutes passed, and a prompt chimed in his ear:

【Ding! Congratulations on completing the solo Secret Realm mission — Mute Village, Code: 1018, Difficulty Level A. Settling rewards.】

【Settling rewards... Acquired Items/Artifacts: Yin Jade Doll (Replica), Ghost Mirror (Replica), Blood Rouge (Replica)】

【Reward Experience: 25%】

【Main Quest settlement complete. Ding! Congratulations on completing the Hidden Quest — Princess Yin Yao's Gratitude! Settling rewards for you...】

【Acquired Items/Artifacts: Yin Jade Doll (Replica) x3, Ghost Mirror (Replica) x3, Blood Rouge (Replica) x3】

【Reward Experience: 15%】

【Hidden Quest settlement complete!】

【Ding! Character Card reward activated, Reward Artifact: Teleportation Jade Casket】

【Settlement complete! Exiting Secret Realm in five minutes...】

In the next second, a black full moon protruded from his brow; a surge of vast Lunar Yin power burst from the scorching brand, scouring his body with an almost tyrannical posture, fusing into every cell, every bone.

His body temperature spiked rapidly, his skin turning the red of a boiled shrimp, convulsing involuntarily; he felt his very tier of life shifting, his genetic sequence reorganizing...

Once the heat dissipated and normalcy returned, Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly opened his attribute panel:

【Name: Yuanshi Tianzun】

【Race: Human】

【Class: Night Wanderer】

【Level: 3】

【Skills: Night Roam, Devour Spirit, Lunar Yin Spirit, Howl at the Moon, Charm Arts, Spirit Talisman】

【Experience: 58%】

【Morality: 2100】

【Reputation: 40】

Experience had reached 58%; Zhang Yuanqing distinctly felt his stamina, strength, and spiritual body intensity had increased significantly.

This dungeon run had granted him a full forty percent increase in experience; even without using any items, he was confident he could handily defeat the version of himself from a minute ago. Back when he fought the ghost-transformed Zhao Chenghuang, even with the Red Dancing Shoes and the War Saber assisting him, he had still been at a disadvantage.

Had he possessed his current experience back then, he absolutely would not have been in such a sorry state.

"I've only now truly broken into the upper echelons of Level 3... hmm, purely on my own merits, that is..."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately opened his inventory to inspect the mission reward items.

The information on the three dungeon items remained largely unchanged, but their type had shifted to Consumables, and an additional note had appeared:

【Though they are replicas, their power is identical to the originals. Duration: thirty minutes.】

"The clearance reward consists of replicas of the three items, each usable once. However, the hidden mission earned the Commandery Princess's gratitude, increasing the replica usage count to three times."

"From the looks of it, these three items are the core crisis of the 'Mute Village' dungeon, the very cornerstone of the instance. They could never be awarded to a Spirit Realm Walker. The hidden mission would refresh as well..."

"This Spirit Realm dungeon belongs to the category that doesn't change—or rather, its difficulty never decreases, it only escalates."

The items within the dungeon would never diminish, the difficulty rating would never drop. And if Zhang Yuanqing were to die here, the Red Dancing Shoes would become a major crisis for 'Mute Village,' at which point the dungeon might elevate to S-Rank.

Though failing to obtain the "genuine articles" left Zhang Yuanqing slightly disappointed, the three replicas offered nine total uses. Combined with his other items, they would last him a very, very long time.

"These three items are sure to shine in a Slaughter Dungeon. And by the time I ascend to Sage, I'll have access to Sage-tier artifacts. Hmm, replicas are replicas; they're enough."

Zhang Yuanqing then retrieved the item rewarded by the Character Card: a jade box ten centimeters long and five centimeters wide.

The pattern etched onto the box faintly depicted a mysterious passage born from spatial collapse, with countless chaotic air currents swirling around its perimeter.

The item information promptly materialized:

【Name: Teleportation Jade Box】

【Type: Jade Artifact】

【Function: Teleportation】

【Description: It originated from an indescribable thief. That thief committed countless crimes in his lifetime, making enemies across the world. Yet his elusive abilities left his foes helpless, so they turned their blades toward his family and friends. To allow his loved ones to escape when implicated, that thief forged this artifact. Every thirty days, the jade box generates a Teleportation Jade Talisman; the talismans can be stacked.】

【Note: You may crush a talisman to teleport to any place you have previously visited. However, take heed: every third use, it will teleport you randomly.】

After reading the item description, Zhang Yuanqing's first thought was: *Holy shit, this thing is broken as hell—a life-saving divine artifact.*

His second thought was: *Holy shit, I know what the Demon Lord did to the Commandery Princess!!*

Previously, he had found it strange. Given the Commandery Princess's rank, the Demon Lord at the Transcendent stage was merely slightly stronger than an ant; how could he have done something to incur her wrath?

Seeing this artifact, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly understood.

That bastard, the Demon Lord, must have used the Teleportation Talismans to return after the fact. At that time, he would undoubtedly have already been a Sage.

Mulling this over, Zhang Yuanqing patted the Mao Wang speaker in his trouser pocket and muttered:

"Tonight, I'm going to listen to the Demon Lord and the Commandery Princess..."

The moment he finished patting the speaker, Zhang Yuanqing's hand froze. "I know how Brother Bing got the Mao Wang speaker into the Jinshui Amusement Park."

Brother Bing knew he would enter the Jinshui Amusement Park because the dungeons he entered were all ones the Demon Lord had once entered.

Zhang Yuanqing had known this for a long time. But what he hadn't known was how Brother Bing had managed to stash the Mao Wang speaker inside the Jinshui Amusement Park.

It was a Transmission Jade Talisman.

Bing Ge and the Demon Lord knew each other; the two had most likely met while teaming up in the Jinshui Amusement Park, then discovered they were both servants of the Ghost-Eyed Judge, and so had secretly maintained contact.

Only this could explain how Bing Ge not only knew he would enter the Jinshui Amusement Park, but had also managed to stash the Cat King speaker inside the park.

As the Demon Lord's partner, possessing one or two Transmission Jade Talismans was perfectly reasonable.

"I'll be able to return to Aphasia Village eventually. When that time comes, I'll ask the Princess, maybe borrow an item or two? Hmph, I can go back to the Jinshui Amusement Park too, go see the Ghost Bride..."

What did being able to re-enter a dungeon instance signify?

Zhang Yuanqing had currently never heard of a Spirit Realm Walker capable of re-entering a dungeon. In the future, even if he missed a hidden quest, he could go back and retrieve it.

"Huh? Then why didn't the Demon Lord come back for the Yin-Yang Taoist Robe back then? Ugh, he was probably already at the Saint realm, maybe even peak Saint, by that point. Most likely, he simply looked down on the Yin-Yang Taoist Robe..."

At that moment, the countdown ended. The desolate, dilapidated village rippled like water waves.

...

Kangyang District Public Security Bureau.

Leaning on a cane, Li Dongze arrived at the office area and asked:

"Guan Ya, has Yuan Shi returned yet?"

Guan Ya, clutching her phone, lifted it and said in a low voice: "It's turned off."

Li Dongze knitted his brows: "It's been 24 hours already. He should have been back by now."

Guan Ya's face was full of worry.

Because of Yin Ji's words, they—who had originally been brimming with confidence—had been on tenterhooks from yesterday morning until now. And the closer it drew to the 24-hour mark, the more tense they became.

They were completely unable to work normally (watching dramas).

Furthermore, the claims on the official forum about the Imminent Sacrifice of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable were growing more heated by the day, mainly because everyone was spreading rumors—the Demon Lord and the Taichi Sect Master had declared that Aphasia Village was a certain-death dungeon!

Although the officials had debunked the rumors on the forum last night, no one believed them; they even mocked the officials for fabricating lies!

After winning the Arena Championship, Yuan Shi's fame had reached its zenith, burning like oil on fire. Thus, once this matter spread, it drew enormous attention.

This morning, Guan Ya saw someone on the forum claim they had found out that the evil organization was just waiting to hold a celebration party!