My Misfortune Crushed Instances-Chapter 170: Sharpening the Axe Slows the Work—But in Reverse?

Hearing that the little Taoist from Shenxiao Palace wanted to clear out all the evil spirits, the spirits of the Elder Council were all overjoyed.

However, the Banyan Tree Spirit remained the most prudent.

"Daoist, you must act within your means. Although these Yin Sha are troublesome to us, they fear the Maiden and dare not invade the Holy Land's interior, only causing trouble at the periphery, so even if ignored for a while, it's not a big deal. You must prioritize safety."

Although it trusted Shenxiao Palace, this young Daoist was indeed too young. What it worried about most was that the young man, full of vigor, would insist on fighting against evil Yin Sha spirits beyond his control, which could lead to disaster if something went wrong.

After discussing matters, Li Rui left the Elder Council with Hea Yang.

At this time, the main quest had already updated.

[Phase Two: Exorcism and Dispersion of Evil (Level Three Difficulty).]

[Quest Objective: Eliminate the entrenched evil creatures, Cold Abyss 0/1, Five-Colored Cave 0/1, and Yellow Flower Gorge 0/1.]

[Time Limit: 14:00:00]

[Quest Rewards: Experience Points +54000x3, Free Attribute Points +1x3, Random Quality Enhancement Materials x5x3, Random Quality Consumable Items x4x3.]

This is just a five-star Secret Realm; the rewards aren't great, but they would multiply after raising the difficulty. Even so, it's still not a lot.

However, Hea Yang saw the reward list and was already very tempted.

When he came in, he was only level 21. With the experience plus what he had gained from the entry quest, it was enough to bring him to level 23.

Li Rui frowned.

With a full level-three difficulty barely giving 150,000 experience points, he was now level 26 and needed over 200,000 to level up, which was far too little.

What a lousy five-star Secret Realm.

He cursed inwardly. After leaving the Elder Council, a flower spirit of unknown type approached and said, "Honored Daoists, if you find yourselves weary from battling the evil spirits, please return here at any time. I can help you recover mana and heal your wounds."

This was a spring NPC that could rapidly replenish one's state, but it took time to return from the quest location. Generally, one couldn't come back too many times due to insufficient time.

Although the task time limit was 14 hours, most people would strive to finish within the first four hours. If dragged until total darkness, the monsters' combat strength would increase a notch, raising the likelihood of failure and death.

"Shouldn't we at least clear one before nightfall?" Hea Yang suggested.

Li Rui glanced at him, "No rush. If you are worried about having enough time, you can go ahead, but my advice is to stick with me."

Hea Yang wilted, at only level 21, he didn't dare to roam around alone.

"But what does 'no rush' mean?"

He didn't know but didn't dare to ask.

Li Rui, saying there was no rush, walked quickly. He did not rush towards the task location from the north but first entered the Holy Land village, to the Forest Spirit's dwelling.

"Let's see... according to the strategy guide, there was a Willow Tree Spirit that lost a purse near the pond in the Holy Land. There is a sub-quest to pick up."

"The Daffodil Spirit in the village center wants to find her brother's remains."

"Help retrieve a nest of yellow flowers from Yellow Flower Gorge."

"Retrieve a few Cold Stones from Lake Island in the Cold Abyss."

Li Rui blazed through all the sub-quest locations, picking them up without waiting for others to finish speaking and then dashed off.

About twenty minutes later, Hea Yang looked at the long list of a dozen sub-quests and felt his eyelid twitching.

"Bro, taking on so many quests? Won't it affect the timing..."

He began to doubt in his heart; besides the random events encountered along the way, the sub-quests alone would significantly extend the task process.

Although failing a sub-quest wouldn't cause a loss, all the sub-quest objectives were at the main quest location. Once accepted, they would change the monster configuration there, leading to uncharted difficulties.

In simple terms, it would take more time.

Li Rui reassured him, "Don't worry, sharpening the axe won't delay the cutting of firewood."

"True enough."

Hea Yang subconsciously agreed, then the more he thought about it, the more it seemed wrong.

No way! How is this axe sharpening but dulling instead?

However, by this time, Li Rui had already dashed to the northern part of the Holy Land. From there, heading southwest, the Five-Colored Cave, Cold Abyss, and Yellow Flower Gorge lay in each direction.

"Which do we head to first?"

Since entering the Secret Realm, Hea Yang felt his intelligence getting lower, almost as if he needed to ask which foot to step with first.

Mostly because everything that happened so far had somewhat exceeded his comprehension.

Who would take on all the sub-quests after choosing level-three difficulty?

Moreover, the optional quest taken before entry already cost some time, reducing the time limit further initially.

Li Rui calmly replied, "First head to the Five-Colored Cave. Enter through the entrance, fight through, then exit from the other end. Then, find the Daffodil Spirit brother's remains in the northwest highlands. On the way, head to the Cold Abyss. Directly jump off the cliff to Yellow Flower Gorge, and don't forget to grab the Aloe Vera Spirit's shed skin on the cliff face."

As he spoke, Li Rui was already sprinting towards the Five-Colored Cave.

Hea Yang was a Berserker, with decent constitution attributes, barely able to keep up.

Soon, they arrived at a cave, which used to be a mining area where many root types of spirit monsters worked here. The mined ores could be traded with Liangting or kept for crafting daily items.

Initially, when rumors of hauntings started circulating here, the Elder Council didn't immediately react because Peach Blossom Spring was under the protection of the Peach Blossom Maiden, generally making it difficult for evil spirits to form. They just thought it was a case of lost wanderers.

However, as one by one the spirit monsters went missing, the mine leader found it unsafe, consulted with the Elder Council, and finally got permission to evacuate the miners and deployed numerous Vine Spirit guards to search the cave for the source.

However, they never came back.

Since then, the Five-Colored Cave became a forbidden area.

Thinking about the backstory of this place, Hea Yang involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "Bro, are we just going in like this?"

Li Rui pondered and said, "Do you have any life-saving equipment or items?"

"Yes."

"Hold them tight, ready to use at any time, and stick close to me. Falling behind means death, understand?"

Hea Yang felt even more scared.

Seeing him like this, Li Rui was at ease. Actually, even if Hea Yang fell behind, he wouldn't let the client die in the cave. This was mainly to ensure he stayed close without wasting time rescuing him.

"Now, prepare... run!"

With these words, Li Rui shot into the mine.

Hea Yang dared not stay alone, so to keep up, he even cast Enrage on himself.

He scampered into the cave and hadn't gone far before he saw wraiths and corpses.

These were spirits born from spirit monsters' souls. They differed from human Vengeful Spirits, as their spirit bodies had no fixed form and usually appeared as halos of mist that harmed others through collision or shooting.

They could possess spirit monsters but could not enter human bodies, indirectly making things a bit easier.

The walking corpses were also spirit monster corpses, Vine Spirit Guards wielding knives and swords, their bodies riddled with holes and exuding a rotten aura.

"Trust Uncle, trust Li Rui, trust! He is a powerful expert; as long as I don't become a liability, I can help in battle, and we will fight to the other end, aiming to clear this cave within four hours," Hea Yang encouraged himself internally, brandishing his two-handed war hammer, ready to stand alongside Li Rui in battle, but as he looked up, he froze.

"Wait, isn't he just pulling the monsters without attacking?"