Spirit Realm Wanderer

Chapter 46: The Second Opening of the Spiritual Realm

“Find it—I’ve left everything there...” Zhang Yuanqing stared at those words, remaining silent for a very, very long time. Brother Bing, Brother Bing, you’ve really given me a tough puzzle to solve! Zhang Yuanqing sighed and focused his attention on the “clue.” “One life, two brothers—that was Brother Bing’s catchphrase back in his second year of middle school. If it were just an expression of emotion, he wouldn’t have included it in a code.” “Lu Er Ling San… a string of numbers—is it a code?” “Find it—what does that refer to?” Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow and pondered for a long time, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. He felt like he’d uncovered many clues, yet it seemed as if he’d gained nothing at all... he silently grumbled to himself. But this fit the formula of detective novels: to prevent the secret from being revealed, the assistant, Ah Bing, had left clues for the great detective Zhang Yuanqing that only the two of them could understand; once certain conditions were met in the future, he would naturally figure it out. After all, right now, the great detective was still a total wimp. “The so-called ‘everything’ must be related to the Demon Lord character card Brother Bing sent me, his disappearance, and his strange behavior during college. When it comes to a figure of the Demon Lord’s caliber, I’m really curious about what ‘it’ actually is.” Zhang Yuanqing tore the note to shreds, left the room, and went into the bathroom. “Gurgle, gurgle...” The toilet flushed away the shredded paper. Uncle Lei was very busy with work; his job served to numb him to some extent, easing the “grief of losing a son,” which only highlighted just how difficult life was for Aunt Zhou, the homemaker. Zhang Yuanqing said goodbye to Aunt Zhou and left Yinping Residential Community. Standing on the street outside the complex, he waited for a ride-hailing car while thinking “I definitely can’t tell Section Chief Shi or Old Si Ji about this. I’ll have to investigate on my own. With so few clues, there’s no point in rushing. The most important thing right now is the second Spirit Realm mission. “Leveling up is what matters most.” Zhang Yuanqing became increasingly aware of the importance of strength. “If a multiplayer Spirit Realm isn’t a ‘death-type’ mission, it’s a ‘punishment-type’ one. Failing the mission deducts experience points—one wrong move, and my strength might even regress...” “Rewards depend on the dungeon’s difficulty level and the traveler’s performance during the mission. My current experience level is 52 percent—I wonder if the second Spirit Realm will let me level up directly to Level 2.” Theoretically speaking, that’s impossible. He’d been asking around lately: as long as you survive a single-player Spirit Realm, the rewards are quite generous, so in theory, your leveling speed shouldn’t be slow. But veteran travelers like Guan Ya and Li Dongze—one stuck at Level 2 for a long time, the other stuck at Level 3 for just as long—face two main reasons for this. First, the Spirit Realm dungeons they enter aren’t very high-level, and the missions aren’t difficult, so the rewards aren’t as extravagant as those in S-rank dungeons. Second, multiplayer dungeons have their ups and downs... To put it simply: it’s inevitable to run into terrible teammates who drag down your score. Just then, the ride-hailing car arrived late. Zhang Yuanqing opened the door, climbed in, and headed home. “Grandma, I’m back from class.” Zhang Yuanqing called out toward the balcony. “Your uncle stopped by; he wants you to go see him when you get back,” his grandmother replied as she was washing the mop. “No, I’m really tired from class. I don’t want to sing and dance with him.” “I heard your aunt gave him some money recently.” “Grandma, I went over to my uncle’s house to play...” A dozen or so minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing emerged from his uncle’s house feeling satisfied. He returned to his room, opened the forum, and saw that the post reposted yesterday from the Night Wanderer official forum was still pinned at the top, but a new post had appeared below it. #Moment of Silence: A Colleague Died in a Multiplayer Spirit Realm# He clicked on it to read. The post stated that yesterday, a colleague from a certain branch had received a mission for the S-rank dungeon “Jinshui Amusement Park” and had informed his superior before entering. He never came out—it had been over 24 hours since he entered the Spirit Realm. [Days of Sorrow: I’m about to enter a multiplayer Spirit Realm soon, and I’m so scared...... ] [Call Me Queen: I’m afraid there won’t be a walkthrough anytime soon. You’ll just have to cross your fingers. But with so many multiplayer spiritual realms out there, you probably won’t be that unlucky. ] [The Future Is Long: Queen, the odds may be low, but if it happens, it’s a sure death. Plus, S-rank Spirit Realms are extremely difficult to clear—if it drags on for a year or two, who knows how many people will get stuck in there. ] This news sparked considerable panic and discussion on the forum. [I Have an Ailment: In the Transcendent stage, are there any exceptionally talented colleagues? Independent cultivators are fine too. People like that have strong resumes and are more likely to be assigned to S-rank Spirit Realms. They might actually be able to clear an S-rank. Days to Come, just keep a close eye on them. ] [Qi Ri Ku Duo: Great idea! ] Given the massive pool of Walkers, there are quite a few others like “Qi Ri Ku Duo” who are about to enter the Spirit Realm. They all gave it a thumbs-up, thinking this was a great strategy. In their eyes, genius players at the same realm level are even more important than Stewards or Elders, since the latter cannot enter lower-level dungeons. “The Yin Mountain Ghost School and Xin Feng Reservoir have already been cleared, while the Jinshui Amusement Park is a multiplayer Spirit Realm open to all classes. Although it’s S-rank, theoretically, it has a higher probability of being cleared than the Spirit Realms exclusive to the Night Wanderers. This ‘Long Road Ahead’ guy clearly didn’t do well in math.” Zhang Yuanqing scrolled through the comments, sharing his thoughts. Just then, he saw a notification pop up on his messaging app—Wang Qian, an informant for the Palace of Cease Killing, had sent him a message. Wang Qian: “Can you get your hands on the old guide for Jinshui Amusement Park?” Zhang Yuanqing: “Are you planning to enter a Spirit Realm soon?” Wang Qian: “My next Spirit Realm is the Musician’s Exclusive Spirit Realm, and it won’t be anytime soon. I just wanted to let you know that if you can get your hands on the old guide, you could make a little money.” “What do you mean?” “The Spirit Realm exclusive to Night Wanderers is experiencing anomalies—I’m sure I don’t need to repeat that. Jinshui Amusement Park is a multiplayer Spirit Realm for the Transcendent stage with the widest audience. On the black market, the old version of its guide is already selling for 300,000.” Spirit Realm dungeon guides are considered “strategic resources”—one of the cornerstones of the official organization, built upon the blood, sweat, and tears of countless official Walkers. In all his life, Zhang Yuanqing had never even seen 300,000. Wang Qian continued typing “A contact of mine is currently buying up old versions of the guide. Since you’re a member of an official organization, if you can get your hands on one, I can help you sell it—73 points.” “I have one!” Seventy percent of that is 210,000... Zhang Yuanqing replied instinctively, then immediately recalled the message. Wang Qian sent a question mark, expressing his confusion. Zhang Yuanqing: “I have an old version, but I’m not selling it.” Wang Qian: “Why not?” Zhang Yuanqing: “I don’t want to make money that way.” Wang Qian didn’t press the issue. It was clear that Yuanshi Tianzun came from a well-off family and had strong moral principles—which was a good thing, after all, since no one wants to deal with cold-hearted, ruthless people. “How much is the guide to the new version of Jinshui Amusement Park worth?” Zhang Yuanqing asked in a message. “S-rank Spiritual Realm dungeon guides command astronomical prices, but there’s no standard pricing. The exact amount can be negotiated with the buyer. However, I’m guessing that with your permissions, you probably don’t have access to S-rank dungeon guides anyway.” S-rank dungeons at the Transcendent stage are quite different from trial missions. Wang Qian: “I’ve got a patient to see. Let’s talk later when I have time. If you change your mind, be sure to contact me—I’m short on cash lately.” Wang Qian was really short on cash lately. Doctors don’t make much, and due to moral value restrictions, most opportunities for a windfall were off the table. After this casual chat, Zhang Yuanqing recalled the dungeon guide for Jinshui Amusement Park that Li Dongze had given him. He developed a slight interest in this dungeon. He exited the chat app, opened his email, and downloaded the attachment. [Jinshui Amusement Park, Spirit Realm ID: 6203, Difficulty Level: B, Type: Multiplayer (Punishment-based)] [Main Quest: Experience two or more amusement park rides. ] “Once you enter the dungeon, the Spirit Realm will prompt you on which rides to try. The amusement park features roller coasters, giant swings, pirate ships, haunted houses, Ferris wheels, a detective mystery house... “Most attractions test teamwork; the gameplay involves........ “The most dangerous attraction is the ‘Ghostly Marriage’ in the Haunted House. The ghostly bride will choose the most handsome male player to be her husband, and the chosen one is immediately eliminated. Therefore, once you enter the Haunted House, you must keep repeating: ‘I’m an ugly duckling!’ “When all the male players are shouting ‘I’m an ugly monster!’ , the ghost bride will make a random selection—at that point, it’s all about looks. Female players are the safest; they can pass this attraction without any trouble.” Zhang Yuanqing carefully read through the rules for each challenge. When he came to the ‘Ghost Wedding,’ he thought to himself, “Is it just elimination? This ghost bride is nowhere near as vicious as the one in the trial quest.” Although the old version is only for reference and shouldn’t be relied upon, it’s still very valuable for quickly understanding the dungeon’s layout. No wonder some people were willing to spend a whopping 300,000 to buy it. Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing’s expression changed. He quickly swiped the screen, scrolling the document back to the very top. Jinshui Amusement Park, Spirit Realm ID: 6203... Lu Erling San?! He froze, stunned for a long time. Was it a coincidence? “Does Lu Erling San refer to Jinshui Amusement Park? Does Bing Ge have an East XZ there? No, that’s impossible.” Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. Spirit Realm instances are randomly assigned—that alone makes it illogical. What if I hadn’t entered Jinshui Amusement Park? Then Bingge’s arrangements would have been for nothing. Unless Brother Bing could predict which Spirit Realm I’d enter. If it were possible to predict which Spirit Realm I’d enter in the future, then my Spirit Realm missions wouldn’t be random—and the thought of me entering the Sheling Tunnel would be downright terrifying... Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing washed up early, drew the curtains, turned off the lights, locked the door from the inside, and lay on the big bed, staring blankly at the digital clock on the nightstand. Before midnight, the Spirit Realm mission would surely arrive. He held five or six small blue pills in his hand, feeling time slowly slip by. He didn’t know how much time had passed when a familiar notification sound rang in his mind [Ding, Spirit Realm map loading. You will enter the Spirit Realm in 60 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering this time is “Jinshui Amusement Park,” ID: 6203] [Difficulty Level: S] [Type: Multiplayer (Death Mode)] [Main Quest: Experience two or more amusement park attractions] [Note: Non-Spirit Realm items cannot be brought in. ] [Introduction to Spirit Realm No. 6203: One day, a certain indescribable figure arrived at Jinshui Amusement Park. To her surprise, she discovered that after a long slumber, such fascinating toys had appeared in the world. She happily tried out all the rides and decided not to destroy the place. Before leaving, she instructed the spirits of the amusement park to find a young man for her—his name was XXXX. ] It really is Jinshui Amusement Park—it really is Jinshui Amusement Park... It felt as if ten thousand thoughts were racing through Zhang Yuanqing’s mind. Without a moment to spare, he popped a small blue pill into his mouth and dialed Guan Ya’s cell phone number. According to regulations, he had to report the Spirit Realm instance so that his superiors and colleagues would be aware—especially during this sensitive period. The call connected quickly, and Guan Ya teased “Every young woman whose sweet dreams are interrupted deserves a big meal as compensation.” “Tell Team Leader Shi that I’m about to enter the Spirit Realm—the instance is Jinshui Amusement Park...” “What?! Your multiplayer Spirit Realm is Jinshui Amusement Park? Hello, Yuan Shi? Hello, hello....” Guan Ya never received a reply.