Chapter 166 - 159: Dungeon Settlement Failed

Chapter 166: Chapter 159: Dungeon Settlement Failed

[Ding! Finalizing results for Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon... Finalization failed. Dungeon in progress.]

[Clear Condition: Exploring]

[Clearance Rating: Not Unlocked]

[Dungeon Rewards: None]

[This Dungeon has not been cleared. Cannot activate this God-tier Dungeon.]

[Dungeon Node recording complete.]

[Consume 3,000 Soul Energy Points to enter the Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon?]

The wooden table and bed were no longer made of luxurious nanmu wood. The bed was no longer draped with embroidered silk curtains, but was instead a hard, unadorned wooden frame.

The fragrances of wine, perfume, and books, along with that other special aroma, were all gone. All that remained was the faint scent of dampness and dust.

The scene before him was no longer the decadent, luxurious room in the Snow Feather Tower. Instead, he was back in the detached wooden cabin assigned to him by Meteor University.

Li Heng had never been bothered by the abrupt change of scenery when exiting a Dungeon before. This time, however, emerging from the Snow Feather Tower left him feeling a little dizzy, though he recovered quickly.

"It felt like a dream."

Li Heng sighed to himself. It might have felt like a dream, but he still needed to check. He quickly inspected the contents of his medium-sized Space Stone.

Yun Han.

The Yin Bone Paper Fan.

A jug of Snowflake Brew.

Two jars of hundred-year-old fine wine.

16,000 Soul Energy Points.

The Li Hua Demon Soul Bead!

Everything was neatly arranged inside the medium-sized Space Stone, which was now packed to the brim.

"Whew! It’s all still here! That’s what matters."

Seeing that all his items were safely in the Space Stone, Li Heng breathed a sigh of relief. His four days of effort hadn’t been for nothing. And all that posturing he’d done at the end... that had paid off, too.

Name: Cold Mountain Palace Snowflake Brew

Type: Soul Energy Item

Rarity: Mythic

Effects:

1. When consumed by those below the Soul Energy Grandmaster Realm: extremely high chance of intoxication; extremely high chance of increasing cold affinity; extremely high chance of purifying cold-attribute Soul Power. Cold-attribute cultivators have a high chance of advancing their realm.

2. When consumed by those at or above the Soul Energy Grandmaster Realm: a chance of intoxication; a chance of increasing cold affinity; a chance of purifying cold-attribute Soul Power.

3. After consumption: Alcohol Resistance +8, Required Alcohol Quality +3.

4. When practicing the corresponding Swordsmanship of Cold Mountain Palace: Synergy +5.

5. A medicinal catalyst for the Cold Mountain Wine Spirit Pill.

6. A favorite item of the Snow Spirit Phantoms of Cold Mountain Palace.

7. Collectible.

[Consume 1,000,000 Soul Energy Points, 1,000 Epic Points, and 100 Mythic Points to upgrade this item?]

——

Name: Hundred-Year-Old Qingfeng Wine

Type: Soul Energy Item

Rarity: Mid-Grade Epic

Effects:

1. When consumed by those below the Soul Energy Grandmaster Realm: Alcohol Resistance +3, Required Alcohol Quality +1.

2. For those below the Great Soul Warrior Realm, there is an extremely high chance of purifying Soul Power.

3. Collectible.

[Consume 300,000 Soul Energy Points and 3 Epic Points to upgrade this item?]

Li Heng glanced over the descriptions for the Hundred-Year-Old Qingfeng Wine and the Snowflake Brew. They were undoubtedly top-quality wines. He didn’t know much about wine, but he certainly understood the meaning of "Epic" and "Mythic" rarities.

He wasn’t overly excited about the other effects, but two phrases in particular piqued his curiosity: "purify Soul Power" and "increase attribute affinity."

Curiosity was one thing, but Li Heng didn’t unseal the jars to start drinking right away. There was an "extremely high chance of intoxication," after all. Judging by their descriptions, both the Hundred-Year-Old Qingfeng Wine and the Snowflake Brew were likely incredibly potent.

Getting wasted right after returning to the real world was obviously a bad idea. Besides... more important than the wine, the system’s messages upon exiting the Dungeon had left him deeply confused.

’Finalization failed. Dungeon in progress!’

’Dungeon Node recording complete!’

There was no doubt that Li Heng had exited the Dungeon. ’But is the system trying to tell me that the Dungeon is still active?’

He was also confused about the "node recording." Based on his past experiences, whenever he exited a Dungeon, the system would finalize the results, give him a rating, and reset the entire instance for his next run.

’So what’s the deal with this NPC-filled Dungeon?’

’Is the system... starting to mess with me?!’

After a moment of thought, Li Heng concluded that the "Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon" probably hadn’t reset when he left. Instead, it seemed to have saved his exit location and time.

’No way... If that’s true, how could I possibly dare to go back in? And what about my plan...’

Li Heng’s original plan had been simple. Since the Dungeon would reset, he could just attend the Hundred Flowers Assembly over and over, targeting the Snow Feather Tower to continuously farm it for loot.

He’d grab as many Mythic treasures as he could and, ideally, win a high-tier Soul Beast pet egg at the auction.

But based on his current theory, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to farm any more loot. Not only that, but going back in would likely be a death sentence.

If his theory was correct—that this NPC-filled Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon didn’t reset and had saved his exit time and location—

then the next time he entered, he would very likely have to face a Soul Saint: Hua Lingyan.

Not to mention the Snow Feather Tower, a place powerful enough to have two Soul Saints acting as doormen!

GULP.

At that thought, Li Heng couldn’t help but swallow hard. He was imagining a very, very bad scenario.

He had exposed Hua Lingyan’s identity, and there was no good way to explain how he knew. On top of that, while the Snow Feather Tower had sold him a fake, he didn’t have a single coin on him and had never planned on paying in the first place.

’Besides, even if I had the money... thirty million Soul Crystal Coins? That would mean I’d have to kill six million Silver Thread Flying Fish. There’s no way I could ever afford that!’

...

Li Heng sat on a stool in his room, lost in thought for a long time. Finally, he took a slow, deep breath, trying to calm himself.

After a few more deep breaths, Li Heng began to feel more composed. He tried to reassure himself.

’Maybe it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be. I’ll figure out the real situation the next time I enter the Dungeon.’

There was no rush to go back in, anyway. Sitting here and worrying about it wasn’t going to solve anything. It was better to just wait, enter the Dungeon again, and see for himself. Then he would know for sure.

Even if it meant facing a Soul Saint!

It was still just a Dungeon. No room for fear!

Li Heng decided to put the matter aside for now. Once he’d composed himself, he planned to step outside for some fresh air and check on things.

After all, he hadn’t been out of the house in four days. Before he’d started his seclusion, Gu Qingwu had told him things should be fine for three days, but he’d already passed that mark.

Checking on the real world was now his top priority.

He pushed open the door to his cabin. Besides the still-overgrown yard, Li Heng noticed that the wooden training dummy he had placed in the yard had been moved.

’Did someone come in while I was away?’

Seeing that the training dummy had been moved, Li Heng walked over to it without giving it much thought.

"In Seclusion. Please Leave."

He had carved those four words with his Empty Cicada Longsword before entering the Ancient Dust Continent Dungeon. But now, beneath them, was another line of text.

"Find me when you’re finished. - Gu Qingwu"