The thumb-sized root quickly burst into golden flames and turned into charcoal.
The roots that covered the walls of the tunnel came to "alive" at once, like a dense swarm of snakes crawling on the walls.
The banyan tree spirit did not expect this foreign mortal to have such extraordinary wisdom. Seeing that its lie had been exposed, it simply stopped pretending and said sternly, "If you don't want to come over, then die."
The floor of the grotto cracked open, and fragments rose. Thick roots broke out of the ground and curled towards Zhang Yuanqing like twisted tentacles.
At this distance, Zhang Yuanqing could escape even without the red dancing shoes.
As expected, it wanted to trick me into approaching…
Instead of retreating, Zhang Yuanqing advanced. He dodged the entanglement of the tree roots with a slide and closed the distance between himself and the banyan tree. Then, he bounced up and jumped several meters high, dodging the sweep again.
More roots broke through the surface and danced wildly in the grotto.
Zhang Yuanqing moved and jumped between the tentacles elegantly. No matter how hard the roots tried, they could not catch him.
If they did not subdue the red dancing shoes, the death rate of the newbies would be extremely high.
Thud, thud, thud…
The red dancing shoes raced along the wall, avoiding the entanglement and slapping of the tree roots. With a bounce of his knees, he propelled Zhang Yuanqing through the encirclement of the tree roots like an arrow and slammed into the tree trunk.
Seeing the human shooting over, the tree trunk's face revealed obvious fear.
Boom!
The stones at the base of the roots cracked. More roots, like a blowout, formed a wooden wall.
Zhang Yuanqing chiseled the Demon Subduing Staff hard.
Golden flames spread across the surface of the wooden wall, burning until the banyan spirit screamed in rage.
Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to break through the carbonized wooden wall and sent the three sharp edges of the Demon Subduing Staff into the tree trunk.
Stab!
The triangular spike dug deep into the tree trunk, and a blazing sun erupted from the dark cavern.
The golden light twisted the tree trunk and distorted the human face, causing it to scream shrilly and puff smoke.
In an instant, the souls hiding in the tree trunks turned to smoke with screams.
All the ghosts and monsters vanished into the golden light.
The golden light dissipated, and the cave returned to darkness, but it was suddenly clean and clear.
The first thing Zhang Yuanqing did was not to check if the banyan tree spirit was completely dead but to quickly remove the state of the red dancing shoes and put them into his inventory.
It had been almost five minutes since he had entered the cave.
After putting away the red dancing shoes, Zhang Yuanqing turned his attention to the big banyan tree. It was withered, its bark cracked and dehydrated. Its roots were scattered all over the cave.
A cold voice sounded in Zhang Yuanqing's mind:
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the S-rank trial mission. Character card activated. Calculating reward.]
[Obtained item/tool: Demon Subduing Staff.]
[Reward EXP: 100%]
[You have become a Night Wanderer.]
[Reward EXP: 20%]
[Character Card Reward activated. Reward tool: Red Dancing Shoes.]
[Leave the Spirit Realm in five minutes…]
It was finally over… Zhang Yuanqing felt physically and mentally exhausted.
He had cleared the She Ling Tunnel and completed something that no one had been able to do for decades.
As the notification sounded, the black moon mark on Zhang Yuanqing's forehead appeared. A strange and mysterious power was released from the burning mark and rushed into his body in an almost unreasonable manner.
His skin was red like a cooked shrimp as a strange and mysterious power washed through his body, fusing into his cells and bones. The injury on his arm healed at a visible speed.
He couldn't help but twitch. Two illusory black moons appeared in his eyes before disappearing.
The pain quickly disappeared, followed by the comfortable sensation of soaking in a hot spring.
So comfortable… Zhang Yuanqing felt lazy all over, so comfortable that he wanted to stretch. He instinctively looked down and was shocked to see his body standing still on the spot.
Did my soul leave my body?
Panic rose in his heart. He subconsciously wanted to return to his body. With a thought, his soul immediately sank and fused into his body.
After regaining control of his body, Zhang Yuanqing realized that there was something more to this body, something called talent.
He accepted the gift as naturally as if he'd been born with it.
At the same time, he felt that his body was filled with endless energy and strength. He even had the illusion that he could blow up a planet with one punch.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the character attributes panel:
[Name: Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Night Wanderer]
[Level: 1]
[Skills: Night Travel, Spirit Devouring, Great Yin Spirit]
[EXP: 20%]
[Moral Value: 60 (Initial Value)]
[Night Travel (Active): Condense the power of Great Yin to envelop yourself and enter the Night Travel state. During the skill release, you will temporarily become invisible and retract your scent and breathing to cover the sound and heat emitted by your body. Time limit: 6 seconds.]
[Spirit Devouring (Active): Devour souls to strengthen one's spirituality.]
[Great Yin Spirit (Passive): The Night Wanderer has a strong body, vigorous vitality, and powerful self-healing. In the night, the various abilities of the Night Wanderer will be greatly enhanced.]
He had officially become a Night Wanderer, and he had gained 20% more experience points. Coupled with the tool rewards, the gains from this trial could be said to be generous.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the inventory. The red dancing shoes lay quietly in the first slot and the half-hour countdown had disappeared.
He was officially the owner of the red dancing shoes.
Two minutes later, he slowly adjusted to his new physical condition. The wounds on his arms had healed.
Then, Zhang Yuanqing turned his attention to the coffin.
The end of the quest meant a hundred percent exploration. So the coffin was empty?
"It seems that the banyan tree spirit is the temple attendant. This way, all the 'characters' appear. How did he become a tree spirit? Is that his physical body in the coffin?"
With this thought in mind, Zhang Yuanqing walked to the stone coffin and planned to loot it. Perhaps there were treasures buried in the coffin.
There was still more than two minutes until he had to leave the Spirit Realm. It was enough.
To be on the safe side, he summoned the red dancing shoes again and chose the second form.
The stone coffin was wrapped in dried tree roots. Zhang Yuanqing waved the Demon Subduing Staff and cut off these tree roots that had lost their moisture one by one. Only then did he see the full appearance of the stone coffin.
About two meters long, the coffin was intricately carved. The lid was covered in a light layer of dust.
Slide…
He slowly pushed open the lid and stared into the coffin. As a Night Wanderer, he could easily see through the darkness even without the help of the Demon Subduing Staff.
Inside the coffin lay a dead woman in an ancient skirt that had long since rotted away. Her arms were crossed over her flat stomach. Her waist was as thin as a willow, and her figure was graceful. There was no sign of decay.
The dead woman was beautiful. The lines of her cheeks outlined the perfect shape of her face. Her nose was straight and delicate, her lips sexy and pale. Her eyes were closed, and her eyelashes were thick and intertwined.
A stunning beauty.
This… Zhang Yuanqing retreated in shock. There was only one thought in his mind: Is she really Goddess Sandao!?
Compared to the sculpture in the main hall, this dead woman was less kind-looking. She was colder, less round, and had the delicacy of a young woman.
In terms of appearance, she was definitely seventy to eighty percent similar.
"Could the banyan tree spirit be telling the truth? Is the source of the disappearance of the disciples in the temple Goddess Sandao?"
For a moment, he was terrified and suspicious of his own judgment. Bad judgment inevitably came with great danger.
"No, that's not right. My mission is indeed complete, which means my theory is correct. So, the goddess in the coffin is part of a hidden mission?"
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly regretted opening the coffin.
Since Goddess Sandao was lying in the stone coffin, there must be a deeper plot hidden in the Mountain Temple.
This could very well trigger a series of bad chain reactions, such as triggering hidden missions.
He was about to close the coffin when he saw a dark sheen between the dead woman's lips.
There's something?
After a slight hesitation, he pinched her sharp jaw and pried open her full, sexy lips to see the dark sheen.
It was a dark, pure bead.
[Name: Spirit Body Crystal]
[Type: Consumable]
[Function: None]
[Introduction: A soul crystal purified by the power of the Sun God. It contains a huge amount of spiritual power. It is a tonic that the Night Wanderer desires the most.]
[Remarks: Goddess Sandao has purified the distracting thoughts in the crystal. Please eat it without worry.]
Zhang Yuanqing extended two fingers and took out the bead.
The bead quickly melted and turned into sticky energy that shot into his glabella.
[Ding… You have received 22% experience points.]
Zhang Yuanqing's strength soared, and he once again had the illusion of blowing up a planet with a punch.
He felt that he had clearly become stronger. He did not need to check his attribute panel to clearly sense the improvement in his skills.
The limit of Night Travel increased by three seconds, from six to nine seconds.
He had unexpectedly become stronger. Goddess, rest in peace… Zhang Yuanqing silently closed the stone coffin, pretending that he had never opened it.
Next, while waiting for the countdown, Zhang Yuanqing felt a little uneasy and especially anxious, afraid that something bad would happen, such as touching the hidden mission and interrupting his return.
Fortunately, nothing happened. Zhang Yuanqing watched as the timer on the fluorescent blue panel began to count down.
5, 4, 3…
Suddenly, a long breath sounded in the dark and silent cave.
Zhang Yuanqing was speechless.
The lid was pushed open from the inside. A pale, delicate hand reached out and grasped the edge. Immediately, the beauty in the coffin sat up.
The dead woman's deep eyes swept the grotto and met Zhang Yuanqing's stiff expression.
She gazed at Zhang Yuanqing, her lips curving.
This smile almost scared Zhang Yuanqing to death on the spot.
At this moment, the scenery was like a reflection on the water being torn apart by the wind. The countdown ended.
The world was a blur.
After a while, the scene gradually stabilized. Bright white lights shone down from above. The white walls, the desk, the computer, the television, the king-sized bed…
The curtains swayed in the wind. Outside the window, birds chirped crisply.
He was back on Earth.
…..