The tree root, as thin as a thumb, swiftly burst into golden flames, then turned to charred remains.
The tree roots covering the tunnel walls were instantly stimulated, coming "alive" all at once, like a dense swarm of snakes crawling on the walls.
The Banyan Tree Spirit didn't expect this outsider mortal to possess such remarkable wisdom. Seeing its lies exposed, it simply dropped the pretense and said sternly:
“Since you refuse to come closer, then die!”
The floor of the grotto cracked in response, with broken pieces rising up. Thick tree roots broke through the earth, resembling twisted tentacles, coiling towards Zhang Yuanqing.
At this distance, even without the Red Dance Shoes, Zhang Yuanqing could escape.
As expected, it wants to trick me into getting closer... Zhang Yuanqing didn't retreat but instead advanced, performing a sliding tackle to evade the entanglement of the tree roots. He shortened the distance between himself and the banyan tree, then leaped up, soaring several meters into the air, once again dodging a sweeping attack.
More and more tree roots broke through the surface, dancing wildly in the grotto.
Zhang Yuanqing leaped and bounded among the tentacles, his movements graceful. No matter how hard the tree roots tried, they simply couldn't catch him.
If he hadn't subdued the Red Dance Shoes and relied solely on the Demon Subduing Pestle, a novice facing this challenge would have an extremely high mortality rate.
Thump, thump, thump... The Red Dance Shoes sprinted along the walls, avoiding the entanglement and slapping of the tree roots. With a spring in his knees, they propelled Zhang Yuanqing like a sharp arrow through the encirclement of tree roots, crashing towards the tree trunk.
Seeing the human shooting towards it, the face on the tree trunk showed obvious fear.
Boom!
The stone beneath the base of the tree roots cracked, and more tree roots erupted like a geyser, forming a wooden wall.
Zhang Yuanqing slammed the Demon Subduing Pestle forcefully.
Golden flames spread across the surface of the wooden wall, burning the Banyan Tree Spirit and causing it to shriek in anger.
Zhang Yuanqing seized the opportunity to smash through the carbonized wooden wall, driving the three-edged point of the Demon Subduing Pestle deep into the tree trunk.
Thud!
The three-edged point pierced deeply into the tree trunk, and a dazzling, scorching sun erupted from the dark cave.
The golden light twisted the tree trunk, twisted the human face, causing it to emit a shrill scream and release sizzling green smoke.
In an instant, those souls hidden within the tree trunk also turned into green smoke amidst the screams.
All the ghosts and monsters vanished, disappearing into the golden light.
The golden light faded, and the cave returned to darkness, but it suddenly became clean and clear.
The first thing Zhang Yuanqing did was not check whether the Banyan Tree Spirit was completely dead, but to quickly remove the Red Dance Shoes and store them in his inventory.
It had been almost five minutes since he entered the cave.
After storing the Red Dance Shoes, Zhang Yuanqing turned his attention to the large banyan tree. It was withered, its bark cracked, devoid of moisture, and its roots scattered throughout the cave.
A cold voice echoed in Zhang Yuanqing's mind:
【Ding, congratulations on completing the S-level trial mission. Character card activated. Calculating rewards.】
【Acquired item/prop: Demon Subduing Pestle.】
【Reward experience points: 100%】
【You have become a Night Wanderer.】
【Reward experience points: 20%】
【Character card reward activated. Reward item: Red Dance Shoes.】
【Leaving the The Way of the Extraordinary in five minutes...】
Finally over... Zhang Yuanqing felt completely exhausted, as if he had been drained of all strength.
He had cleared the Sheling Tunnel, accomplishing something that no one had been able to do for decades.
As the notification sounded, the black moon mark on Zhang Yuanqing's forehead became prominent. A strange and mysterious power was released from the burning mark, rushing into his body with an almost barbaric force.
His skin turned red, like a cooked shrimp. The strange and mysterious power washed over his body, merging into each cell, merging into each bone. The injuries on his arms healed at a visible speed.
He twitched involuntarily, and two illusory black moons appeared in his eyes, then disappeared.
The pain quickly subsided, followed by a feeling of comfort like soaking in a hot spring.
So comfortable... Zhang Yuanqing felt lazy all over, wanting to stretch instinctively. He instinctively looked down and was startled 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. With a thought, his soul immediately sank and merged into his body.
After regaining control of his physical body, Zhang Yuanqing realized that something was different. Something called talent.
He naturally accepted this talent, as if it were innate.
At the same time, he felt that his body was full of endless energy and strength, even feeling like he could punch and shatter a planet.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the character attribute panel:
【Name: Yuan Shitianzun】
【Race: Human】
【Class: Night Wanderer】
【Level: 1】
【Skills: Night Wander, Soul Devour, Spirit of Taiyin】
【Experience Points: 20%】
【Morality: 60 (Initial Value)】
【Night Wander (Active): Condenses the power of Taiyin to shroud oneself, entering a state of Night Wander. During the duration of the skill, briefly becomes invisible, and reduces one's scent, breathing, and hides the body's sounds and heat. Duration: six seconds.】
【Soul Devour (Active): Devours souls to enhance one's own spirituality.】
【Spirit of Taiyin (Passive): The Night Wanderer's physique is strong and healthy, possessing abundant vitality and powerful self-healing abilities. In the darkness of night, the Night Wanderer's abilities are greatly enhanced.】
He had officially become a Night Wanderer, and he had an additional 20% experience points. Coupled with the item rewards, the gains from this trial in The Way of the Extraordinary were remarkably bountiful.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory, and the Red Dance Shoes were quietly lying in the first slot. The half-hour countdown had disappeared.
He had officially become the owner of the Red Dance Shoes.
Two minutes later, he had preliminarily adapted to his physical condition, and the wounds on his arms had completely healed.
Then, Zhang Yuanqing turned his gaze towards the stone coffin.
The completion of the mission meant that the exploration degree had reached 100%, so the stone coffin was empty?
“It seems that the Banyan Tree Spirit was the temple priest. In that case, 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 strolled to the stone coffin, intending to loot the spoils. Perhaps there were treasures buried with him in the coffin.
There were still more than two minutes before he was forced to leave The Way of the Extraordinary , enough time.
Just to be safe, he summoned the Red Dance Shoes again and chose the wearing mode.
The stone coffin was wrapped in withered tree roots. Zhang Yuanqing wielded the Demon Subduing Pestle and chopped off the dehydrated tree roots one by one, finally seeing the full appearance of the stone coffin.
It was about two meters long. The coffin was carved with exquisite patterns, and the lid was covered with a layer of light dust.
“Creak…”
He slowly pushed open the coffin lid and stared into the coffin. As a Night Wanderer, even without the divine power of the Demon Subduing Pestle, he could easily see through the darkness.
A female corpse was lying in the stone coffin, wearing an ancient silk dress that had long since decayed. Her arms were crossed over her flat abdomen, her waist was as thin as a willow, and her figure was graceful and slender, showing no signs of decay.
The female corpse had a beautiful face. The lines of her cheeks outlined a perfect face, her nose was straight and delicate, her lips were sensual and pale, her eyes were closed, and her eyelashes were thick and intertwined.
A stunning beauty.
This… Zhang Yuanqing staggered back in shock, with only one thought in his mind:
Is this really the Sandaoshan Goddess?!
Compared to the statue in the main hall, this female corpse lacked the charity, added some aloofness, lacked the roundness, and added the slenderness of a young woman.
But the features of her face were definitely seven or eight points similar.
“Could it be that the Banyan Tree Spirit was telling the truth? Is the source of the missing disciples in the temple the Sandaoshan Goddess?”
For a moment, he felt inexplicably uneasy and doubted his own judgment. And a wrong judgment would inevitably be accompanied by a huge crisis.
“No, that’s not right. My mission has indeed been completed, which means that my speculation is correct. Then, the goddess in the stone coffin is part of a hidden mission?”
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly regretted opening the coffin.
Since the Sandaoshan Goddess was lying in the stone coffin, then the Mountain God Temple must still be hiding a deeper story.
This was likely to trigger a series of bad chain reactions, such as triggering a hidden mission.
Just as he was about to close the stone coffin, he suddenly saw a gleam of dark luster between the female corpse's lips.
There's something there?
After hesitating slightly, he pinched her pointed chin and pried open her plump, sensual lips, clearly seeing the dark luster.
It was a black, pure bead.
【Name: Spirit Crystal】
【Type: Consumable】
【Function: None】
【Introduction: A soul crystal purified by the power of the Sun God, containing vast spiritual power. It is the most desired tonic for Night Wanderers.】
【Note: The Sandaoshan Goddess has purified the distracting thoughts in the crystal. Please consume with confidence.】
Zhang Yuanqing stretched out two fingers and picked out the bead.
The bead quickly dissolved, turning into a viscous energy that rushed into his forehead.
【Ding, you have gained 22% experience points.】
Zhang Yuanqing's whole body surged with power, and he once again had the illusion of punching and shattering a planet.
He felt that he had obviously become stronger. Without even needing to check the attribute panel, he could clearly perceive the improvement in his skills.
The delay time of Night Wander had increased by three seconds, from six seconds to nine seconds.
Unexpectedly, I became stronger. Goddess, please rest in peace... Zhang Yuanqing silently closed the stone coffin, pretending that he had never opened it.
Next, during the countdown process, Zhang Yuanqing felt restless and extremely anxious, fearing that something bad would happen, such as touching a hidden mission and interrupting his return.
Fortunately, nothing happened. Zhang Yuanqing watched the timer on the blue screen start to count down:
5, 4, 3...
Suddenly, a long sigh echoed in the dark and silent cave.
Zhang Yuanqing: “…”
The coffin lid was pushed open from the inside, and a pale, delicate hand reached out, grabbed the edge of the coffin. Then, the beauty in the stone coffin sat up.
The female corpse's deep, pool-like eyes swept across the grotto, meeting the gaze of the stiff-faced Zhang Yuanqing.
She stared at Zhang Yuanqing and raised the corner of her mouth.
That smile almost scared Zhang Yuanqing to death on the spot.
At this moment, the scenery was torn apart like the reflection of a water surface by the wind, and the countdown ended.
Everything became blurred.
After a moment, the picture gradually stabilized. Bright, snow-white incandescent lights shone down from overhead, illuminating white walls, a desk, a computer, a TV, a double bed...
The curtains swayed in the wind, and cheerful birdsong could be heard outside the window.
He had returned to the real world.
.....
ps: That's all for today. A consecutive update is to ensure the continuity of the plot and give you a better reading experience. Typos will be corrected later.