Chapter Thirty-Eight: Transcendence

Leaving the dungeon, Li Yunfei glanced at the bloodstains covering him and shrugged. By now, he had undergone his baptism in blood, and was wholly accustomed to the scent of gore.

He placed the scythe, which had drunk its fill of rat blood, against the wall, then flipped his hand to retrieve a bottle of mineral water. He opened the cap and held it in his left hand, while his right formed a seal. Chanting softly, he recited, “Wash the body by day, cleanse the dust by moonlight; Immortal touches the crown, Jade Maiden follows the form. Twenty-eight constellations align with me; a thousand impurities, a myriad filth, are swept away by water—hasten as the law commands.”

Upon finishing the incantation, Li Yunfei directed the seal toward the mouth of the water bottle, infusing it with a surge of spiritual power. He then flung the water into the air, where it transformed into a mist that enveloped him entirely.

A few breaths later, the mist dispersed, and the blood and grime vanished without a trace—he was spotless, fresh as new.

The little fox beside him bounced about gleefully, urging him to do the same for her. Li Yunfei smiled gently and showered her with another mist; soon, she too gleamed clean and refreshed.

With the last bit of water, Li Yunfei cleansed the scythe, then stored it together with his ant armor set in the system’s inventory.

The spell he had just cast was called the Purification Charm, which came in three tiers: high, medium, and low.

The low-level Purification Charm, as Li Yunfei performed it now, cleansed the body and dispelled filth.

The mid-level version not only purified but also removed any lingering miasma.

At its highest tier, the Purification Charm could eliminate all negative states, dispelling all poisons, evils, and curses.

Though this spell lacked offensive or defensive power, it was exceedingly practical—a fine auxiliary charm.

The "Secret Canon of Supreme Purity" recorded hundreds of such spells, but at present, Li Yunfei could only use about twenty. Even among those, they ranged from low to high grade, and he could only manage the lower tier for now—his spiritual cultivation had only just entered the Qi Refining stage, and he lacked the strength to wield more advanced charms.

Checking his phone for the time, he saw it was past four in the afternoon—time to go to Fourth Granduncle’s house for hotpot.

He mounted the little fox and headed toward the riverbank. A few minutes later, they reached the pier, boarded a boat, and crossed the river.

When Li Yunfei arrived at Fourth Granduncle’s, the people who had helped the previous night were already gathered, and the aroma of hotpot filled the house.

The villagers greeted him warmly; Aunt Dayong, in particular, asked enthusiastically if he had a sweetheart and offered to introduce him to someone.

Li Yunfei politely declined, but after repeated urging from the elders, he finally invoked Zhang Ziying as a shield, which settled the matter. After all, they had all met Zhang Ziying and knew well enough that none of the village girls could rival her.

Before long, the hotpot was ready. Fourth Granduncle brought out his finest homemade wine, and Li Yunfei enjoyed a hearty meal and drinks with the elders.

That night, a little tipsy, Li Yunfei stayed over at Fourth Granduncle’s, and the next morning returned to the village to clear more dungeons.

He breezed through all five levels of the rat holes, raising his level to seventeen, while the little fox reached just over sixteen.

He secured all five sets of equipment dropped by the Rat King; apart from keeping what he needed, he sold everything else, ordinary or super-strong, earning about 510,000 coins.

His system inventory now held 822,817.5 yuan.

It had been only a week since he began clearing dungeons, yet he’d already earned enough for a hundred-square-meter house.

Now, flush with cash, Li Yunfei understood that equipment would be replaced over time; there was no need to cling to items that could be sold. As long as they weren’t destroyed beyond repair, he could fix them in the system shop. If irreparable, he could simply buy another set—money was no longer an issue.

Besides his financial gains, his four basic attributes had surged.

His stats now read: Strength 46 (10), Agility 39 (8), Constitution 46 (10), Energy 36 (7).

By mere physical prowess alone, he had surpassed the limits of ordinary humans, stepping into the ranks of the extraordinary.

With the aid of supplementary charms, his strength could rival the Golden Wheel King at the tenth stage of “Dragon Elephant Power,” and his speed could match the unrivaled East Invincible.

Imagine a person who possessed the strength of the tenth stage of the Dragon Elephant and the speed of East Invincible—his combat power would be truly terrifying.

And this was only considering his attributes plus auxiliary charms, not even factoring in spiritual power boosts!

In short, Li Yunfei had undergone a monumental transformation—and all within just one week.

...

“Gate of the Southern Heavens, Palace of the Jade Emperor, Mighty Spirit’s power, sealed within the charm; subdue monsters and ghosts, vanquish evil, eradicate misfortune—hasten as the law commands.”

“Divine soldier flies, swift as lightning and wind; capture spirits and chase monsters, obey my command; I summon you now, act at once—hasten as the law commands.”

“One becomes two, two becomes three, three true flames; God of Fire descends, Heaven’s Will proceeds; True Fire blazes, subduing monsters and ghosts, incinerating evil—hasten as the law commands.”

In the courtyard of the old house, Li Yunfei stood at a table, tirelessly drawing charms.

Over these days, he hadn’t just been clearing dungeons; he also made time to draw charms each day.

Now, his inventory held over a thousand charms, a third of which were Exorcism Charms.

Others included auxiliary charms such as the Mighty Spirit Charm for a temporary surge in strength, or the Flying General Charm for a boost in agility.

He had also stockpiled offensive charms like the True Fire Charm, Mystic Ice Charm, and Five Thunder Charm.

He drew every charm he could wield and stored them in abundance.

After all, these charms weren’t just for combating ghosts—they worked equally well against living creatures.

Charm paper and cinnabar, once sold in the system shop, could be purchased endlessly, since they were standard commodities.

However, fresh liquid rooster blood and child’s urine were not accepted by the system, as they weren’t traded on the open market. When he ran out, Li Yunfei had to buy them from poultry farms and general stores.

Fortunately, his previous purchases of rooster blood and child’s urine were ample and would last for some time.

Charm paper, the largest consumable, could be bought without limits, so there was no issue.

Recently, Li Yunfei hadn’t stayed at Fourth Granduncle’s, but had set up a tent near the pier as a temporary base.

Each morning at dawn, he drew charms; at late morning, he set out to clear dungeons until afternoon. Afterward, he rested until evening, resumed drawing charms until nightfall, then returned to his temporary base by the pier.

He even took a day off, boiled water, and processed several of the wild boars, turning them all into meat strips.

These weren’t just for his own meals—the next stage of dungeons featured fewer ordinary insects or small mammals like rats.

Instead, he would face poisonous creatures such as toads, snakes, centipedes, scorpions, and spiders, or omnivorous mammals like wild boars, hedgehogs, and weasels. The meat strips were prepared for these dungeon monsters.