30: Small dungeons unlocked, face reality.

A quarter of an hour, eight times.

Zhou Yan felt somewhat incredulous. Was this really a dungeon he had cleared before?

Now, regardless of his Realm or damage, and even with the added bonus of the Duan Yu version of the Six Meridian Divine Sword, why couldn't he pass it?

Zhou Yan had to change his opinion of Wang Yao. Wang Yao's 20,000 HP had already been relegated to "trash mob" status in Zhou Yan's heart.

This game still loves to balance its numbers by throwing darts even after changing worlds.

Realizing he couldn't take down Wang Yao in the short term, Zhou Yan decided to get some sleep.

Sleeping for the minimum required time could refresh a certain amount of status, so Zhou Yan had preserved the good habit of sleeping well.

This was what Zhou Yan had always upheld: "Just get some sleep; everything will be better when you wake up."

The next morning.

"Oh, for crying out loud, where the hell did this bring me? Is this still the country?"

Looking at the blue water and sky before him, Zhou Yan was completely bewildered.

When the mini-map refreshed, he was indeed still within the territory of Great Yu. As for where exactly? The border of Great Yu was still within the territory.

Zhou Yan gazed at the boundless ocean and fell into deep thought.

Finally, he made up his mind, jumped into the sea with a graceful dive, and swam a distance further into the ocean.

Sure enough, the mini-map lit up another area. Looking at the map markers again, Zhou Yan was now in the Northern Abyss region.

"Screw you! Don't let me find out who made this AI-controlled flying boat!"

At this moment, inside the main hall of the Sect Master of the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

"Achoo~ Why did I suddenly have a premonition?"

"Which damned enemy is thinking of me again?"

Shaking his head, the Fourth Elder returned his thoughts to the matters at hand. "How long is this going to take? Day one of missing you, Second Elder."

He couldn't go into the sea anymore.

Swimming back to the shore, Zhou Yan began to hustle for his future.

According to the records in the resting area for Prodigy Disciples in the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven.

The Northern Abyss belonged to the Yao Race and had complex factions, with the majority of the Yao Race groups being hostile to the Human Race.

Although he didn't know if it was safe here, even if it were, Zhou Yan had to head inland.

During this time, Zhou Yan had come to understand that his luck in this world was definitely ranked quite high.

During this period, his fortune was either extremely good or extremely bad.

This unstable fortune made him disbelieve in the so-called "one in a ten thousand chance," because for him, "one in a ten thousand" would definitely become "ten thousand."

"But this forest is just too big." When Zhou Yan farmed primitive forests on Blue Star, he had never seen such a lush jungle.

He didn't know if it was the influence of the coastal climate in the cultivation world, but the plants here were all very huge.

"Help!" Deep in the forest, a cry for help that sounded like a young girl reached Zhou Yan's ears.

"Heh."

"When my head was fuzzy in the Secret Realm, I wouldn't fall for such tricks, and now that my head is clear, don't even think about tricking me with this stuff."

"I am now the cold and ruthless Heavenly Venerable Zhou; nothing can deceive me."

"Ding, side quest released: Rescue the young girl."

"Quest reward: Depends on the completion of the quest and the content of the quest."

"Little girl, do not panic!"

"I am the savior of the suffering, Heavenly Venerable Zhou."

Confirming the direction from which the target's voice came, Zhou Yan leaped away.

Even if it was a trap, he accepted it. It wasn't like he hadn't had such experiences when fighting the Black Monkey. Now, the pressure of this "Nascent Soul Loan" had already made Zhou Yan blind.

Although he said that, the scene was indeed a bit eerie.

【Wolf?】

【Rank: Qi Refining Level 7】

【HP: 2100 / 2100】

【Mana: 20 / 20】

What kind of thing is this?

Zhou Yan predicted the source of the sound. The young girl should be moving at high speed, so he appeared in front to intercept her.

As a result, he saw a wolf holding a young girl, sprinting on two legs?

What kind of day is this? Why does every strange thing happen to me?

But saving people was more important.

"You Yao Race wolf, let go of that child, or you will end your life here!"

The Strange Wolf looked at Zhou Yan, its eyes revealing a hint of human-like anger and despair.

And on the mini-map, a red dot representing the Strange Wolf appeared.

The Strange Wolf opened its mouth, and a fishy smell wafted out. If it were someone else, they might be dizzied by this aura.

But unfortunately, Zhou Yan had already entered combat state.

With a light tap of his toes, Zhou Yan shifted his figure, quickly closed the distance, appeared in front of the Strange Wolf, and followed up with a Stone-Crushing Fist, successfully triggering a Fatal Strike.

The Strange Wolf howled, and its HP became 【1956 / 2100】. He didn't know if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he felt that for a split second, the wolf's HP bar seemed to turn into 【85 / 100】.

The Strange Wolf took Zhou Yan's blow head-on and flew backward.

While flying out, as if worried about hurting the young girl, the Strange Wolf held her tightly in its arms.

Finally, it rolled all the way to the side of a large tree.

Feeling that something was wrong, this scene had an indescribable weirdness to it.

Zhou Yan didn't continue the pursuit but quickly arrived next to the Strange Wolf, snatched the young girl, and ran towards the flying boat.

Seeing the young girl being snatched away, the Strange Wolf ignored the pain, its eyes turning red, and chased after Zhou Yan.

Just like that, a wolf running upright in the back and a person holding a young girl in the front formed a strange picture in this dense forest.

Seeing that it couldn't catch up no matter how it chased, the Strange Wolf's eyes grew even redder. It finally switched from running on its hind legs to running on all fours, and drool flowed from its mouth, seemingly very eager for the flesh and blood of the young girl and Zhou Yan.

"Duang!"

The Strange Wolf crashed headfirst into a hard wall.

This collision seemed to make it a bit sober. Looking at Zhou Yan standing on a stranded boat, the Strange Wolf barked at him like a dog.

Zhou Yan ignored its barking, as that was the incompetence of the loser. "Stupid, I'm home."

The Strange Wolf clamored for a long time, but seeing Zhou Yan come out with that opening taunt, the rest was just looking at it coldly.

Knowing there was no result today, it turned and left, but gave Zhou Yan a vicious glare before leaving.

"Oh~ So this is what they call 'eagle-eyed and wolf-gazing'?"

After confirming that the Strange Wolf had gone far away, Zhou Yan carried the young girl into the cabin and placed her on a small chair.

The young girl had been staring blankly with trembling eyes since just now; she must have been truly terrified.

A normal child would have started wailing from the beginning, or would be venting their emotions by now.

But for the young girl to become like this, who knows what she had experienced.

Anyway, if Zhou Yan had been carried away by such a monster when he was a child, he would have been scared unconscious long ago.

This thing fit the classic monster image that parents used to coax children to sleep when they were young—the one where if you don't sleep, some monster will come to catch you—perfectly.

Although there were differences, the essence remained the same; it was the first Chinese urban legend that children in the country were forced to know.