287: Chapter 287 The Battle Lasted Until Dawn

Salos knelt on the ground, tears dripping down his face one after another.

Oro was scribbling furiously on the side, while Arrow of the Moon had fallen into a deep state of self-doubt.

Watching these three top-tier lunatics of the Source Realm, Chen You sighed silently in his heart.

He tossed the near-empty bottle of strawberry-flavored Holy Light Essence aside; the empty bottle dissolved into specks of spiritual light in mid-air, his movements incredibly dashing.

"That is enough," Chen You said indifferently. "Since the blueprint has appeared in this world, it is your destined tribulation... ah, no, your destined encounter."

"By forcefully drawing upon heavenly secrets today and interfering with the operation of this world, karma has been forged."

"I need to enter seclusion to regulate my breathing and calm my energy. You all, go now."

Salos looked up abruptly, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Brother Chen... no, Brother Chen!" The five-meter-tall man, Salos, choked out, sounding like an aggrieved giant bear.

"I cannot thank you enough for this great kindness! In the future, if you need anything, just say the word!"

Oro also showed great respect and slammed his little notebook shut.

"Mr. Chen, your righteousness is profound! I shall return to the Sanctuary immediately and have the priests chant the Great Light Prayer for you day and night to restore your damaged fortune!"

Arrow of the Moon stepped forward lightly on her bare feet, floating gracefully to hand over a silver leaf emanating a rich lunar aura.

"This is a nascent leaf from the World Tree of the City of Eternal Night. Wearing it can nourish the soul."

Chen You took the leaf with an expressionless face, glanced at its attributes [All Resistance + 10%, Spirit Recovery Speed + 50%], and was overjoyed inside.

On the surface, however, he merely nodded slightly and slowly closed his eyes, adopting a mysterious, inscrutable posture as if he were about to transcend into the void, signaling for them to leave.

The three dared not linger; they tiptoed away, suppressing even their breathing, and quietly exited the dungeon.

Confirming that the party list was empty, the three finally left completely.

Only then did Chen You let out a long sigh. "Phew—acting cool is exhausting too."

He opened the dungeon panel and pressed [Reset] without hesitation. The scene shifted, and the mobs respawned. A few minutes later.

"Ding! Congratulations on obtaining [Blueprint: Divine Forged Radiance · Barbarian God War Boots (Mythical)]."

"Damn it, it's Titan's again. What a jinx!" Chen You grumbled as he put away the blueprint and pressed reset again.

The third, fourth, fifth time... Chen You was like a heartless farming machine, crazily ravaging this poor anniversary dungeon.

However, when he lit the grand salute for the sixth time, just as the fireworks were halfway through exploding in the sky, "Crack—" a harsh sound like shattering glass came from the sky.

The originally pink clouds instantly turned into a scarlet red, signifying extreme danger.

[System Prompt: Abnormal energy fluctuations detected within the "Colorful Land" dungeon, exceeding the capacity of the current spatial node.]

[Warning: The dungeon will be forcibly closed and enter cooldown in one minute. Please leave immediately, player!]

"What the hell? Again?" Chen You's heart sank. Although he had expected it, he still felt unwilling.

"Divine Firmament Heavenly Thunder Orthodox Method!" Boom! A purple bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket tore through the red sky, striking precisely on the head of the BOSS, Teddy.

Amidst the chaotic fragments, a golden light appeared exceptionally dazzling. Chen You grabbed the ball of light.

[Blueprint: Fortune · Heaven Opening · Heavenly Heron Daoist Robe (Mythical)] "Nice!"

He had already collected three pieces of the five-piece Mythical set exclusive to the Cultivator! Chen You immediately felt satisfied again.

With a flash of white light, Chen You returned to the Supreme Tower lobby. "Can't farm the dungeon? Then I'll continue getting the Heavenly Mandate Stones!"

He had previously converted all his Heavenly Mandate Emblems into the customized version. Now, he just needed to use them directly.

[System Prompt: You are about to enter the God-Gold level Heavenly Mandate Trial — Body of a Hundred Battles. Confirm?] "Confirm!"

With a flash of white light, Chen You and Loader Xier reappeared in that oppressive coastal defense fortress. A salty, fishy sea breeze blew past, and below were dense crowds of Tidal Flat Corpse.

"Respected member, long-term high-intensity simulated physical actions will cause my core temperature to become too high..."

Loader Xier stood beside that massive "Annihilation Magic Crossbow," seemingly not expecting to have to work again so soon.

"If the core temperature is high, add water cooling! Less talk, load the ammo!" Chen You stepped on the firing pedal, his eyes wild.

The trial began. The first wave, the second wave... the fiftieth wave... Chen You had completely entered an immersive monster-farming state.

"Faster, faster, faster! Xier, did you not eat? The reloading speed dropped by 0.5 seconds!"

"I am a Loader... besides, the barrel of the magic crossbow is already red... it's going to explode..."

"If it explodes, that's on me! Continue!" Loader Xier looked utterly hopeless, now completely reduced to a laborer in a sweatshop.

Time passed in endless slaughter. The second round, the third round, the fourth round... The night was deep, and the roaring inside the coastal defense fortress was deafening.

Chen You was like a tireless machine, mechanically repeating the actions of aiming and firing.

His spiritual power reserves were terrifyingly vast, and with the sets of spirit recovery pill in his inventory, he didn't need to worry about sustainability at all.

But Loader Xier could not do the same. Although she was a high-level NPC, under the special status of "Loader," she had to adhere to the physical laws of the trial space. She had her settings.

Every time she transported and replenished ammunition, it consumed her stamina data. When the eighth round of the trial reached the eightieth wave.

"Load!" Chen You shouted without looking back. There was no sound behind him. Chen You turned around and froze.

Xier, who was usually straight and meticulous, was now sitting slumped on the ammunition crate with no regard for her image.

Her crisp uniform was covered in dust and grease, and a button at her collar had popped open. Her hair, which had been neatly styled, was completely disheveled, with strands of hair sticking to her sweat-covered cheeks.

The most critical part was her eyes. Those eyes, which were originally filled with professional radiance, were now incomparably hollow, as if she had lost all attachment to this world.

"Are you... alright?" Chen You even felt a hint of guilt.

Xier slowly raised her head and glanced at Chen You. There was no anger in those eyes, only a numbness from being thoroughly beaten down by life.

"Respected member." Xier's voice sounded like she was about to cry. "According to the Supreme Tower Employee Protection Act, after more than eight hours of continuous high-intensity labor, I have the right to apply for forced sleep."

Chen You checked the system time; good grief, he hadn't realized he had been farming for so long.

He coughed twice, fished a bottle of peiyuan pill from his inventory, and shoved it into Xier's hand.

"Little Xier, young people these days just lack exercise. Think about it, every drop of sweat you shed today is adding bricks and tiles to your future career."

"This is not just loading ammo; this is a tempering of your will." Chen You skillfully painted a big picture, putting on the face of a standard capitalist.

Xier clutched the pill bottle, her mouth twitching twice, seemingly struggling to suppress the urge to break her underlying code. Finally, she just silently unscrewed the cap and poured the pills into her mouth.

"One last round." Xier spat out the four words through gritted teeth. "Deal!"

Although he said it was the last round, he actually dragged her through three more. As the last deep-sea behemoth collapsed with a crash, the system prompt finally sounded.

[Trial Complete! Rating: SSS!] [Congratulations on obtaining: Heavenly Mandate Stone · Source of Spiritual Power (Mythical)]

Chen You slumped on the ground, feeling tired as well. His moyuan star river robe seemed soaked in sweat, hanging limply on the ground.

He turned his head to look at Xier. This Loader was now slumped in the corner of the fortress with no regard for her image, her originally crisp uniform wrinkled.

Loader Xier's eyes were unfocused, and she was unconsciously muttering: "Load... fire... capitalist... exploiter..."

"You've worked hard, Little Xier." Chen You offered a perfunctory word of comfort, then impatiently opened his inventory.

After a whole night of crazy exploitation and throwing in several thousand gold coins, he had farmed the "Body of a Hundred Battles" eleven times. Finally, three Mythical-level Heavenly Mandate Stones, emitting seven-colored light, lay quietly in his inventory.