Chapter 161: Dark Fiend (D)

Whoosh—

Although the targets moved with incredible speed, Lan Qingyou still caught glimpses of something dodging the Dispel Light Spheres.

No, perhaps they were dodging the light itself?

Staring at the weathered monster remains scattered in the illuminated area, Lan Qingyou felt a flicker of uncertainty. She needed a closer look.

Consequently, she ordered her magic puppets to toss out a few more light spheres.

Whoosh— Whoosh—

Fully prepared this time, Lan Qingyou finally managed to catch a clear glimpse of the fleeting silhouettes.

[Dark Fiend (D)]

[Health Points: 200]

[Skills: (Concealment) (Dark Pierce) (Mind Blast)]

[Description: Darkness is their ultimate refuge and their perfect disguise. Stepping into their domain means walking straight into their trap. However, there is no need to worry—light is their greatest enemy.]

'Well now.'

'This is the first time I have ever seen a monster with higher Mana Points than Health Points.'

However, this detail also indirectly confirmed her suspicions.

'Were these creatures deliberately placed here to fend off intruders?'

'How else could one explain all those scattered bones on the ground?'

Although it was merely speculation, Lan Qingyou felt it was highly probable. Therefore...

"Wipe them out!"

Lan Qingyou coldly issued the command to her magic puppets.

Running into someone like Lan Qingyou was simply a stroke of terrible luck for these Dark Fiends.

While their abilities were certainly impressive and their combat prowess in the dark was likely formidable, unfortunately for them, Lan Qingyou's magic puppets were not exactly pushovers either.

Crucially, every squad of magic puppets was equipped with a Magic Carriage Lantern, rendering the creatures utterly incapable of hiding within the glaring light.

Only when the magic puppets engaged the enemy did Lan Qingyou finally get a clear look at these Dark Fiends.

Her very first impression was that they were hideously ugly.

The Dark Fiends were pitch-black from head to toe, seamlessly blending into the shadows.

They had no faces—or rather, no discernible facial features—except for a gaping, maw-like cavity packed with jagged fangs right about where a chin should be.

But that was not the most noteworthy detail.

The most important detail was that they stood upright on two legs, possessing two arms and two legs like a person.

"Oh! Humanoid monsters!" she exclaimed.

Lan Qingyou raised an eyebrow, then immediately dashed forward and cast Soul Siphon.

'Talk about someone handing you a pillow right when you want to sleep! I was just worrying about my lack of humanoid Soul Crystals, and now they deliver themselves right to my doorstep!'

However, despite her brimming confidence, Lan Qingyou quickly realized upon entering the fray that taking down these Dark Fiends would not be as easy as she had imagined.

It was true that light was their absolute bane.

However, they were far from lacking in combat intelligence.

Precisely because the light was so lethal to them, they immediately began to swarm the Purple Knights that carried the Magic Carriage Lanterns.

Fortunately, the combination of Purple Knights and Horned Lion Beasts naturally excelled in agility. The Dark Fiends found it incredibly difficult to shatter the lanterns attached to the knights.

After all, the Purple Knights were flanked by other magic puppets, not to mention that Lan Qingyou herself had stepped onto the front lines.

Her Funnels played a truly pivotal role during this clash.

Although her own limitations meant her attacks could not quite keep pace with the sheer movement speed of the Dark Fiends...

...they were exceptionally effective when used simply to restrict the enemy's movements.

Simply put, the Funnels sealed off their escape routes, forcing the agility and speed advantages of the Dark Fiends to drop by a whole tier.

Squelch—

Squelch—

With Lan Qingyou joining the fray, the sparse remaining number of Dark Fiends were systematically picked off one by one by the magic puppets.

When the final enemy collapsed onto the ground, this brief encounter—which could hardly even be called a proper battle—finally came to an end.

Lan Qingyou gazed at the Dark Fiend Soul Crystals resting in her palm and nodded with utmost satisfaction.

She then ordered the magic puppets to gather up the corpses of the Dark Fiends as well as the scattered monster bones, deciding to take a brief rest right where they stood.

Taking photos to upload, dissecting the corpses for research, and installing the new Soul Crystals into her Humanoid Magic Puppets—by the time Lan Qingyou finished everything step-by-step and checked the time, it was already well past eleven at night.

Sure enough, the concept of time simply ceased to exist in an underground cavern like this.

Lan Qingyou felt as though she had only just stepped inside.

Perhaps this was simply how time seemed to warp whenever one was thoroughly engrossed in their work.

Feeling a bit peckish, Lan Qingyou retrieved the food that Gu Xiaobei had distributed in their group chat and began to eat.

Naturally, she did not forget to portion out some essential food for Wireball and Little Spoon.

After finishing her meal, a reinvigorated Lan Qingyou felt as though she did not need to sleep at all. Or rather, knowing that treasures lay just ahead, she simply could not bring herself to rest.

Therefore, she decided to just push through and burn the midnight oil.

'Pulling an all-nighter? Anyone who has ever dedicated themselves to research has pulled an all-nighter before, right?'

So, fully sated, Lan Qingyou promptly packed up her tent. With her magic puppets and two little companions in tow, she flew deeper into the winding tunnel.

"Squeak, squeak!"

Not long after they left the relatively open cavern behind, Little Spoon, safely tucked into Lan Qingyou's arms, finally reacted.

Lan Qingyou peered ahead and noticed a tiny white dot appearing in the distance.

"No, that's a light!"

What initially seemed to be just a speck of white quickly revealed its true nature upon closer inspection.

'Does that mean that is the exit to this passageway?'

Lan Qingyou immediately accelerated, kicking her speed into second gear as she and her magic puppets dashed straight toward the glowing source.

The moment they crossed from utter darkness into the radiant illumination, the intense glare forced Lan Qingyou to squint sharply, even raising a hand to shield her eyes.

"Whoa!"

When Lan Qingyou slowly opened her dazzled eyes, she was absolutely breathless at the stunning scenery laid out before her.

From the cavern ceiling—which must have been a good one to two hundred meters high—hung colossal clusters of glowing crystals. They looked like an inverted, cascading galaxy, spilling a soft, pale-gold luminance over every inch of the vast expanse.

Vines clinging to the rugged rock walls and towering trees bloomed with delicate, pale-purple bellflowers. Lush ferns stretched their feathery fronds beneath the warm glow, and vibrant butterflies rested upon clusters of wild roses, their gossamer wings refracting an iridescent rainbow of colors.

It formed a surreal, magical contrast against the raging blizzard tearing across the surface above.

It was as if someone had sealed an eternal spring entirely underground.

Even more astonishing were the scattered architectural ruins nestled within the greenery. A wooden tower, built with traditional mortise and tenon joints, leaned haphazardly against a massive tree. Clusters of wildflowers cheerfully poked out from weathered doorframes, while moss-covered terracotta jars still remained precisely as they had been stacked centuries ago.

In the far distance, situated upon a gentle slope, sat a stone house with a partially collapsed domed roof. Cascading vines poured from the cracks in the masonry, weaving a thick, flowing blanket of emerald green over the ruined walls.

Far from appearing desolate or abandoned, these ancient traces of human civilization actually felt incredibly serene, softened by the gentle, restorative power of nature.

As breathtakingly beautiful as the scene was—resembling a true Utopia—Lan Qingyou still cautiously deployed all of her magic puppets in a defensive perimeter around herself before slowly making her way toward the solitary stone house in the distance.

After all, this cavernous space was exceptionally large, and that ruined house stood out as the most uniquely intriguing location.

Heading straight for it first was the best way to save time.

Otherwise, with the cavern spanning an area the size of at least a dozen football fields, Lan Qingyou would waste entirely too much time meticulously scouring the area inch by inch.

However.

Just as Lan Qingyou, flanked by her entourage of magic puppets and two tiny companions, advanced barely ten meters toward the stone house, a sudden, violent smack echoed out. The vanguard Purple Knight was instantly sent flying backward, struck by an unseen force.

Had it not been for the Automatic Cruising system and the newly integrated Dark Fiend Soul Crystal—which allowed the Purple Knight to instinctively raise its shield the very millisecond it detected an incoming attack—that single, devastating blow might very well have scrapped the puppet entirely.