Furan took the "Spirit World Atlas" she had exchanged from the Point Exchange Hall and began searching for the type of spirit world guiding artifact she had in her hand.
She compared the characteristics of the guiding artifact against the entries in the book.
"Emitting a blue light, and the brightness is relatively high... this is a characteristic of a trial. After passing it, one can receive excellent rewards."
"This kind of trial is different from those given by the spirit world itself; it is produced by the region itself. General rewards include Spells, items, knowledge, and in very rare cases, ownership of a spirit world region."
"Since the guiding artifact is a stone, its region should be in places like the Earth Mountains, the Jade Corridor, or the Pure Valley."
[You have identified a spirit world guiding artifact, Spirit World Tour skill proficiency +1]
Furan now had a general understanding of where this guide pointed and what its purpose was.
However, she felt that the reward Richter received was a bit of a trap, wasn't it?
Judging by the notes she had obtained earlier, Richter clearly intended to follow the Modification School's own path of advancement, rather than advancing through the spirit world.
So this thing seemed completely useless to Richter. He couldn't exactly switch to the spirit world method and discard all his previous accumulation just because he got this.
Considering Richter's reputation, Furan suspected that the staff member issuing the rewards disliked him and deliberately gave him this useless item.
Or, perhaps this thing is actually very useful, but its value is only revealed after participating in it?
Regardless, Furan intended to give it a try. After all, with the 'newbie protection period' Teacher Yiqi mentioned, how could she not go and test it out?
There were no classes tomorrow, the potion delivery deadline was still far off, and she had no appointments with others—perfect.
Furan lay on the bed, touched the spirit world guiding artifact, and recited the incantation.
Unlike the first time where her consciousness lagged while ascending, this time Furan's consciousness rose rapidly, and she blacked out instantly.
---
When Furan tried to open her eyes, she found it pitch black; she couldn't see anything.
Additionally, she felt as if she was wrapped in something. Although the pressure wasn't great, she could still feel it pressing against her skin.
When she moved her hand, she heard a sound of cracking, and then felt a certain spot on her shoulder lose that wrapped sensation, feeling a bit chilly.
Furan exerted a little force, and her whole body suddenly felt lighter. The sound of cracking and objects hitting the ground echoed.
Only then did Furan see the scene before her.
The area was surrounded by stone walls above and below, looking like a cave. The sides and ceiling of the stone walls were scattered with glowing protruding rocks of various colors.
Although it looked like a cave, it seemed to extend very far; Furan couldn't see the end.
She patted the things still clinging to her body and shook herself twice before she finally managed to clean them off.
She then looked at the ground; it was covered in dark red debris. It seemed she had been encased in these things just now.
"Hmm?!" She felt something wedged between her hand and her body, only noticing it when she moved her hand.
She caught it with her hand and held it before her eyes, giving herself a start.
It was actually that tattered book she had seen when she exited the Spirit World Tour last time.
"This book really has haunted me, just like Teacher Yiqi said."
Furan calmed her emotions before she began to examine it.
This time, the book didn't seem any different from before, at least from the cover.
Opening the book, unlike the previous blankness, this time even the blank inside cover had text on it.
The inside cover read:
[Trial Quest: Find three pieces of jade stone. For each one found, you will receive a reward upon exiting the spirit world.]
[Hint: The first jade stone is on your companion.]
[Hint: The second jade stone is in a dark place.]
[Hint: The third jade stone can be found by following the flow of the river.]
Furan was somewhat puzzled as to why this trial quest was written in this book. Furthermore, if she didn't have this book, would the content still have appeared?
She didn't know the answers, but she continued her analysis regardless.
First, finding three jade stones was essentially a material collection quest. There would likely be some danger near these jade stones.
The hints were a bit like riddles.
She had absolutely no idea what 'companion' meant. She looked around and saw nothing that moved; she didn't think it was likely referring to this book.
As for the 'dark place', she didn't know where to look either; she was completely unfamiliar with this area.
Regarding the final 'flow of the river', she did see a small river in the distance. It seemed this was the only place with a solid lead.
Just as she continued to clean the debris off her body, she suddenly realized what she was wearing.
She looked down and found herself wearing a grayish-yellow robe, and she also noticed something was wrong with her body.
She felt she had grown taller, taller than her original body, and her chest now had breasts of a certain size.
"Ah!"
She cried out in surprise, only to find that her voice had changed as well.
"It feels like I've become a different person."
She felt the differences on her body, feeling quite confused. She clearly remembered that during her first time in the spirit world, she used her own body; the height was the same, and there was no discomfort.
So why was her body different this time?
Furan suppressed her confusion and decided to start moving.
She took a step and walked toward the distant river.
As she walked, she gradually got used to this body covering more distance with a single step than her original one.
After walking for a while, she found that there was still a long distance to the river.
"Why is it so far?"
"Hmm?"
Just as she was lamenting, a sound suddenly came from behind the hillside to her right, followed by the sound of footsteps.
Furan stopped and turned to look. A tall figure appeared from behind the hill.
He wore a suit of leather armor that bore many marks of combat, with many small cracks and covered in a lot of dust and dirt; it was quite filthy.
Several daggers hung at his waist, each one gleaming with a cold light, looking well-maintained.
In his hand, he held a short sword with a purple blade. The blade was like crystal, shimmering with a faint light.
"Oh!" he said, in a tone that suggested he had finally found something.
He lifted his short sword, brought it to his chest, and assumed a combat-ready stance.
"I've finally found a companion!"
"You..."
Furan heard these words and wanted to communicate with him, but the opponent had already charged toward her.
Furan sighed and prepared to meet the enemy, condensing a Wind Blade in her hand.