Chapter 22: A New Beginning

A wave of dizziness swept over her, and the environment of the relief station where Yun Qing had been vanished without a trace. She now found herself outside the Ye family village.

As she glanced around, she noticed that the black Labrador who had always stayed by her side, day and night, was no longer with her.

So it really had slipped away! This was only the very beginning, and on her first attempt at a dungeon, it had already abandoned her.

At this moment, cracks had appeared in the village’s defensive formation, and black mist was seeping into Ye family village.

Text appeared in the sky: Dungeon Plane!

At the same time, an “immortal” with white hair, a youthful face, and flowing white robes materialized before her.

The immortal in white introduced himself, “I am Xu Yuan, the Immortal Sage, your novice guide. Please follow the instructions to complete the dungeon.”

At last, she had met the novice guide NPC. Yun Qing asked, “Am I currently inside a game, or have I traveled to the Zhongzhou Continent? What will happen to Ye family village?”

Xu Yuan, the Immortal Sage, ignored Yun Qing’s barrage of questions and simply said, “Please follow the prompt to collect your experience items.”

At that moment, an arrow appeared at Yun Qing’s feet, pointing out the direction she should go.

Following the arrow, Yun Qing walked to a corner outside the village, where a box shimmering with white light awaited her.

“Please claim your magic robe!”

Yun Qing opened the box to find a set of white robes, glowing with spiritual light.

She put them on, and her aura changed dramatically. The ordinary girl was now enveloped in a transparent barrier; her white robes billowed, radiating spiritual energy, her features now obscured, her bearing nearly equal to that of Xu Yuan, the Immortal Sage. She looked every inch the fairy—except she couldn’t fly.

Once she finished changing, another arrow appeared at her feet. She followed its direction and found another glowing box, inside which was a small sword, no larger than her palm.

Following the instructions, she collected many items: clothing, weapons, elixirs, beautiful stones, and scrolls to activate various temporary skills. Upon closer inspection, the skills included fireball, escape, rolling, sword-flight, and more.

Each item and skill came with a description; all items would be automatically reclaimed after leaving the dungeon.

After picking up so many things her hands grew tired, Xu Yuan finally assigned her a different quest: “Heal fifteen villagers, slay fifteen spirit corpses.”

In her temporary skill bar, the escape technique was flashing, so Yun Qing silently recited, “Use Escape!”

The moment she uttered the words, her figure leapt forward dozens of meters, and from being outside the village, she instantly found herself within it.

Yun Qing surveyed her surroundings. The sky was pitch-black, the village illuminated only by torches and bonfires. Some villagers patrolled, weapons in hand. She suspected this dungeon had been generated based on the real Ye family village, for the buildings and overall situation seemed identical.

There were no arrow prompts or mini-map markers for the healing and slaying tasks; she would have to seek out the villagers in need and the spirit corpses herself.

If the dungeon had been generated from reality, then real villagers would probably be found in their homes, with a few in the medical hall. After a brief search, Yun Qing found her first patient: a villager lying outside his own door, clutching his head as if in great pain.

Yet she couldn’t make out his face, even up close. His name and level were both unknown, marked in white—indicating he had not yet become a spirit corpse and could still be saved.

But how? Yun Qing saw no other option. She took out one of the newly acquired elixirs from her pack, unstoppered the bottle, and placed a pill in the villager’s mouth.

As soon as the miracle medicine touched his lips, the villager’s suffering vanished. He stood up, saw the fairy-like cultivator before him, and immediately knelt down in gratitude.

Her quest progress now read 1/15—it truly was the elixir that saved them.

Yun Qing then noticed there were only fifteen pills in the bottle. This meant there was no room for error; she had exactly enough to save fifteen people.

On to the next rescue. The escape skill was quite effective—Yun Qing murmured, “Use Escape!”

Her figure flashed again, reappearing a dozen meters away as she searched for the next villager in need.

Going one by one was a little slow. After she had successfully saved three people, Yun Qing headed toward the medical hall in search of the fourth.

If the dungeon mirrored the real world, perhaps her teammate Ye Mingyu would be there. Whether or not she could recognize him, perhaps she could help.

A sudden roar erupted as Yun Qing neared the medical hall. A spirit corpse lunged at her from the side of the building.

Its name was marked red, its level indiscernible.

Xu Yuan’s voice reminded her, “Avoid monsters far above your level. Use your fireball skill!”

Yun Qing wanted to retreat, but the spirit corpse had already seized her. Its roars were blocked by her magic robe, so she took no damage, but the creature’s strength far surpassed her own—she couldn’t break free.

Struggling, Yun Qing muttered irritably, “That warning came a bit late.”

The spirit corpse gripped her tightly, roaring at her from inches away. She could see its face, now blackened, and black liquid oozing from its mouth.

Fortunately, the magic robe shielded her from the sound and stench.

She tried to use a skill, but whenever she recited “Use Fireball,” a message appeared: “You are currently restrained. Escape this state before using the skill.”

Summoning all her strength, Yun Qing still couldn’t shake herself free. As she was still thinking of a way out, the spirit corpse gave a mighty shove, sending her flying uncontrollably for dozens of meters, landing outside the medical hall.

Protected by the robe, she was unharmed, but her situation was dire. Several spirit corpses had gathered outside the medical hall, and she had been flung right into their midst.

Before she could even get up, another spirit corpse grabbed her, and then several more swarmed in, seizing her limbs.

She couldn’t break free from even one—let alone the entire group.

Their attacks did her no harm, but Yun Qing was powerless to escape or push them away.

After several minutes of futile struggle, Yun Qing sighed in frustration, “Aren’t you supposed to be an artificial idiot? Why are you so formi