Chapter 70 Completion

"Roar!" The soul zombie, blocked by bricks hurled to bar its path, unleashed a series of sonic attacks.

Dizzy and disoriented, Yun Qing noticed that Villager Three’s health bar was also dropping.

This troubled her greatly. Physical attacks she could more or less withstand, but these sonic blasts—she was powerless against them now!

She could only grit her teeth against the discomfort in her head and hurry to hurl more bricks at the soul zombie.

The soul zombie’s health bar dwindled slowly. Yun Qing’s own health ebbed at the same pace. But Villager Three’s life was draining even faster.

Watching Villager Three’s health dwindle to a sliver, Yun Qing grew frantic. The mission target was about to die!

"Ye Little Wolf, Ye Little Wolf, please hurry up! We’re about to fail the dungeon!"

Ye Little Wolf was escorting Villager Two swiftly, his speed limited only by the villager's slow pace. He was deeply worried about Yun Qing, and as soon as Villager Two reached the safe zone, he didn’t even wait to hear the rest of his instructions before hurrying back, anxiety gnawing at him.

He’d heard the soul zombie’s roar.

As Yun Qing silently prayed for a miracle, a shadow flashed in the distance. With a single thrust, Ye Little Wolf’s spear pierced the soul zombie trapped by Yun Qing’s makeshift brick wall.

With the weapon withdrawn, the soul zombie’s half-remaining health was instantly wiped out.

Villager Three, left with only a sliver of health, walked through Yun Qing’s low barricade as if nothing had happened and continued forward.

Yun Qing quickly stowed her barricade-making supplies in the system backpack, followed behind Villager Three, and scooped up the loot dropped by Ye Little Wolf’s kill.

From there, it was a smooth journey. Together, they finally escorted the battered Villager Three safely to the checkpoint.

Thankfully, there was still an hour left on the clock.

The last villager’s house was a bit farther off.

Yun Qing easily spotted his location on the mini-map, but she couldn’t say so directly. She had to crouch and creep with Ye Little Wolf, circling the village before finally finding him.

Outside Villager Four’s house, Ye Little Wolf thought, "This should be the last villager we need to escort. Once he’s safe, I can finally focus on slaying soul zombies for vitality."

Yun Qing mused, "This is the last trapped villager to find and rescue. After this, the dungeon is complete."

Though they took a long detour, their careful stealth ensured they didn’t alert any soul zombies, and their pace was still fairly quick.

Yun Qing, ever the odd-jobs expert, broke down the door, and the two of them finally met the last villager—whose features were identical to the other three, save for a head of stark white hair that begged for ridicule.

Ye Little Wolf couldn’t help but remark, "Truly worthy of a cultivator’s touch—even their puppets have the look of ageless sages."

Yun Qing silently replied, "Didn’t bother customizing the face? At least add a few wrinkles!"

The escort journey for the white-haired villager was longer, with two stops and two soul zombies to fight. It took over twenty minutes, but at last, he reached the safe zone.

As soon as Villager Four entered the safety area, Villagers One, Two, Three, and Four appeared together. They spoke in unison, "Thank you, brave heroes, for escorting all our villagers to the teleportation array. We shall take our leave first."

Yun Qing rolled her eyes internally. The whole village consisted of four people, all cast from the same mold, embodying every age and gender.

Ye Little Wolf’s gaze grew dark. A village with only four survivors—he’d seen worse than this in illusory realms, but it was always grim.

After bidding their farewells, the four villagers vanished in a burst of white light from the teleportation array.

Unexpectedly for Ye Little Wolf—but just as Yun Qing had anticipated—an irresistible force whisked them both out of the secret realm. Just before being teleported away, Yun Qing caught the system prompt:

As the countdown hit zero, words appeared in the air above the cave: "Congratulations! You have found and rescued all trapped villagers. Rewards: Combat Experience +15,000; Crafting Experience +8,000; Gathering Experience +8,000."

No items or skills this time, but a wealth of experience points.

By the time Yun Qing was ejected from the dungeon, her character had reached Level 30—only about 700 combat experience points short of Level 31.

So close—just one more step to Postnatal.

Liuliu lounged lazily on a tree branch. Yun Qing felt there was much she wanted to ask him, but now, having completed the dungeon, she found she had nothing to say—perhaps only some complaints.

Now that it was all over, she could hardly remember what about the dungeon had been so frustrating.

Not far away, Ye Little Wolf’s presence was impossible to ignore.

His aura had changed. Even separated by a tree, Yun Qing could feel the power radiating from him.

Ye Little Wolf had grown stronger. Yun Qing still couldn’t discern his level. If Level 39 was the peak of Postnatal and she, at Level 30, couldn’t see his level, that meant Ye Little Wolf had broken through to Innate.

His powerful aura lingered for a moment before he suppressed it. Looking at his hands and dantian with joy, he realized that, thanks to the opportunity in the illusionary array, he had made his breakthrough.

Glancing at Yun Qing in the distance—she still hadn’t reached Postnatal. That puzzled Ye Little Wolf. Was the Yun Qing in the illusion real or not?

He probed, "Eighty, eighty—what did you mean by that?"

At these words, Yun Qing nearly fell from her perch. If Ye Little Wolf hadn’t entered the dungeon with her just now, she might have suspected he was a transmigrator too.

She grinned. "Shouting it when breaking down doors makes it feel less exhausting."

Ye Little Wolf’s eyes narrowed. He was nearly certain now: Yun Qing had been with him in the illusionary realm.

He continued, "That was really dangerous just now."

Yun Qing had never considered that Ye Little Wolf might doubt the reality of her presence in the illusion. She only hoped he wouldn’t connect the array’s activation to her. She smiled, "Yes! If you hadn’t arrived in time when I was saving that child, I don’t think I could have managed it."

They truly had gone together, it seemed. Maybe it was the array’s influence, but the Yun Qing inside felt different from the one outside. Still, he didn’t have the mind to ponder why.

Leaping down from the tree, Ye Little Wolf said, "Let’s head back to the village."

"Now? Weren’t you planning to hunt more game for the villagers?"

"I always thought it’d take me much longer to break through to Innate. I’d prepared some resources for the attempt, but unexpectedly, entering the illusion with you gave me the opportunity I needed. Now all those resources can go to the village—I don’t need to spend more time hunting."

So he’d really reached Innate. Yun Qing cupped her hands in salute. "Congratulations, Little Wolf—you’re the first in our group to reach Innate."

"Thank you," Ye Little Wolf replied with a smile. "Though I might not be the first—Wenjing and Mingyu could already be there."

Ye Wenjing had joined Lingyun Sect; she would have a way to break through. Ye Mingyu was half-soul, half-human—almost like a soul zombie. To some extent, as long as he mastered the Soul-Devouring Poison, he could reach Innate as well.

"So, when do you plan to leave for Rogue Cultivator City?" Yun Qing jumped down to walk beside him on the road back to the village. She was eager to go herself—she’d triggered the dungeon hoping to reach Postnatal sooner, but instead, she’d only sped up Ye Little Wolf’s departure.

"Today!" Ye Little Wolf replied firmly.