Chapter 25: Mission Accomplished

Yun Qing was simply trying her best to avoid repeating the half-hour dungeon run again. What she didn't know was that even within the dungeon, there was only one Radiant Spirit Sword talisman. Once it was used, it was gone.

If she restarted, she’d either need to find another way to deal with the Soul Body of the Demon from Beyond, or, if the system judged her performance too poor after several repeated failures, it might refresh other items for her.

Through Yun Qing's disdainful effort, she managed, though not without peril, to block all the black masses with her own body.

When the last black mass was blocked, Yun Qing felt the light dim; where she could previously see outside the protective array, everything suddenly plunged into darkness.

It turned out that, upon slaying the Soul Body of the Demon from Beyond, the single-use Radiant Spirit Sword talisman also perished, its light vanishing instantly.

The boss was slain, but the dungeon was not yet over. The Immortal of the Void issued her one final quest.

“Use the Radiant Spirit Mirror and restore light to Ye Family Village.”

So, that beautiful stone was called the Radiant Spirit Mirror.

Radiant Spirit Mirror: Temporary rare treasure, slumbered for ten thousand years in a place rich with radiant spirit energy, gathering dense powers of light. By a stroke of fortune, it was brought to daylight and can amplify and reflect radiant energy, dispelling darkness.

It seemed a remarkable item—not single-use, but still temporary. Like all the other things she picked up, it would be reclaimed after the dungeon was complete.

An upward-pointing arrow appeared before Yun Qing, instructing her to fly upward. The Radiant Spirit Mirror in her backpack pulsed with red light, vibrating to signal that it was time to release it.

Yun Qing willed it out, retrieving the Radiant Spirit Mirror from her system backpack.

As soon as she took it out, it radiated light in all directions. The halo spread like spherical waves centered on Yun Qing, expanding outward. Her previous ascent was reasonably swift, but now, with the Radiant Spirit Mirror breaking through the darkness, her speed increased hundreds of times.

Her body became a streaking light-rocket, launched skyward by the “Sword Flight” technique.

Such speed was beyond her control. The shield on her robes protected her from any harm caused by rapid ascent, but without spiritual sense or energy, she could see nothing.

In the darkness, many shadowy creatures attacked her, but as soon as they neared, they were scorched by the radiant energy. Even if not burned, they could not pursue Yun Qing in the presence of radiant spirit energy.

In just two seconds, Yun Qing flew beyond the boundaries of the black wall, stopping in midair.

The piercing sunlight made her, just out of the darkness, unable to open her eyes—the sun was too dazzling to face directly. Yun Qing lowered her gaze.

Below, dense black clouds rolled like a storm was brewing.

The Radiant Spirit Mirror had flown from her hands, gathering radiant energy from all directions. On the other side, like a laser, it shot toward the black clouds.

The black clouds struck by the laser scattered as if blown by fierce winds, and along with them, the night that shrouded everything disappeared.

Where the laser touched the black clouds, the point of contact became the center, and waves rippled outward rapidly, expanding to the distant horizon.

Unlike when she first took out the Radiant Spirit Mirror, this time the darkness faded visibly wherever the halo spread.

After several waves had spread, the dense black clouds beneath Yun Qing vanished without a trace. Looking down, she could see the vast rivers and mountains; the night had receded without notice.

The Immortal of the Void reminded her, “Dungeon complete. Upload or restart?”

Yun Qing knew restarting meant replaying the whole thing, but fighting monsters would no longer yield experience—just a chance to use those experiential items again. Another run would take about an hour; she had no desire to repeat it.

“What does upload mean?”

“Complete the dungeon, upload your results, and receive dungeon rewards.”

“Upload!” Yun Qing’s eyes lit up. With rewards on the line, she had to upload.

“Congratulations on completing the dungeon!”

With those words flashing before her, a floating white treasure chest appeared.

Open the chest!

She wondered what treasures it would yield—hopefully something she could use in reality, perhaps to help Ye Family Village weather the crisis.

Yun Qing approached, touching the white chest. As soon as her hand made contact, a transparent progress bar appeared.

As Yun Qing awaited the outcome, the chest vanished after opening, replaced by two items—a white book and a number.

“Congratulations, you have acquired the skill: Purification; Level 1 Energy: 1000.”

Even without experience, Yun Qing silently marveled at her luck—just as she was troubled by the toxic wheat field’s polluted resources, now she had the Purification skill, perfectly suited for the task.

She had also gained 1000 points of Level 1 energy, finally allowing her to study the cave mansion.

Yun Qing checked her skill panel.

Purification: Level 1, consumes 1 unit of spiritual energy. Can purify common polluted items. If no spiritual energy, can substitute with 1 tael of silver. Can upgrade as character level increases.

Reading this skill description, Yun Qing was momentarily speechless. She had no spiritual energy and couldn’t use the skill. The system, aware of her predicament, provided a solution—the skill could be used by spending silver.

Ordinarily, 1 unit of spiritual energy would be worth more than 1 tael of silver, but it was clear that spiritual energy could be replenished for free from ambient spiritual air, whereas silver could not.

Having crossed over for about forty days, during the first month she gathered herbs and apprenticed at the slaughterhouse, earning little—barely enough to support herself, and certainly not enough to feed Liuliu. After joining the hunting party, things improved slightly, but her silver was just enough to learn basic skills—not even enough to buy weapons.

Still, being able to use it was better than not.

A countdown appeared in the air, signaling her departure from the dungeon: 5, 4... 1.

When the number 1 appeared and vanished, Yun Qing felt her vision blur. In the next moment, she found herself back in her own room, with a black Labrador lying beside her.

Yun Qing gritted her teeth and said, “Liuliu, you sure ran fast!”

The omniscient system sprite, not a combat assistant, opened its mouth and looked at Yun Qing: “So hungry, really want some meat.”

Yun Qing secretly rolled her eyes and surveyed her current situation.

Unlike when she entered the dungeon, now the sky outside her window was no longer pitch-black—it was full of light, though torches still burned nearby.

Yun Qing focused her gaze around; the air was normal, with occasional black streaks drifting by—perhaps a bit more than before nightfall, but still far less than in the toxic wheat field. For healthy people, it was negligible.

Had time reversed, or had the night passed?

She wanted to check outside, but something else beckoned more urgently—now that she had energy, she had to examine the cave mansion that could preserve her life.

Yun Qing willed herself into the cave mansion.

This time, Liuliu didn’t prompt her about lacking energy or urge her to leave.

Inside the mansion, there was not a trace of black toxic gas. Yun Qing took a deep breath, savoring the clear air filling her lungs, and sighed: The atmosphere in this cave truly feels wonderfully soothing.