Chapter 46: The Blessing of the Sacred Rune Tree

He noticed that the prompt was somewhat different this time.

It explicitly stated that upon reaching Level 8, he would be able to choose a rare magic rune.

"Not bad..."

Ultimately, Qin Yuan swept up all the surrounding dropped items, naturally sparing none of the creatures he encountered along the way.

His experience bar surged to about the halfway mark in one go.

It could be considered a massive harvest.

After confirming that no fish had slipped through the net, Qin Yuan took the Grimoire of Murmurs and headed toward the area where the Holy Rune Tree was located.

The outer barrier had already vanished, allowing him an unobstructed journey right up to the giant tree.

On the thick trunk, that massive face emerged once again.

"Thank you both for your help," the Holy Rune Tree said sincerely with its deep, resonant voice.

"How is your condition now?" the Grimoire of Murmurs asked with concern.

The Holy Rune Tree revealed a slight smile and said, "Although there are still remnants of the abyss pollution within me, do not worry. Without any subsequent replenishment, I only need to fall into a slumber for a short while to completely purge them."

"Of course, before that, I can sense that a few abisal fiends still remain on this island. Shortly, I will tell you their approximate locations. Besides that... there is this."

As it spoke, a thick branch descended from above, its tip condensing a cluster of green light brimming with vitality.

It then slowly descended and merged into Qin Yuan's body.

A stream of information seemed to enter his mind directly.

Upon careful perception, he noticed this was like a massive map—specifically, the complete map of the floating island, marked with several small red dots which clearly represented the locations of the aforementioned abyss spiders.

After all, even though he had been wandering around here for many days, such a vast floating island bound to have a few漏网之鱼 (escaped fish/slipping through the net).

"The slumber will not last long, about ten-plus days will be enough. Well then, see you later..."

The Holy Rune Tree said with a smile.

Afterward, that huge face slowly faded away.

It appeared to have already fallen into a deep slumber.

Qin Yuan quietly sensed the emerald-green light cluster that had entered his body.

The next moment, a new prompt popped up before him.

[Prompt: You have obtained the blessing of the Holy Rune Tree.]

[Your Natural Attribute Affinity +2 (currently at 7 points).]

[Duration: Permanent.]

Qin Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

He quickly noticed the changes in his surroundings.

At a single glance, the flowers and plants within his line of sight all gave him a sense of intimacy.

Even the breeze blowing against him had grown gentle, as if softly caressing his face.

The entire forest seemed to be conveying its goodwill to him.

Of course, aside from these intangible things, Qin Yuan could tangibly feel that when he cast Vine Bind, it would be tougher and more powerful.

According to the content just revealed, his Natural Attribute Affinity had reached seven points, meaning that casting all nature-type spells would grant him a full thirty-five percent amplification.

"Not bad. You must know that such a blessing can only be cast once in the Holy Rune Tree's lifetime."

The Grimoire of Murmurs, having snapped back to its senses, circled around Qin Yuan and clicked its tongue in wonder. "The old man suffered severe curses back then due to exploring the abyss; he didn't even manage to receive this blessing before he went missing. In the end, I never expected it to benefit you instead."

"Is that so..." Qin Yuan scratched his head, then changed the subject. "I already know the locations of the remaining abyss creatures. Let's clear them all out first."

The Holy Rune Tree had such a massive influence over the entire floating island that the moment it woke up, it instantly perceived the locations of all the spiders. I'm afraid not even the slightest rustle of wind on the whole island could escape its perception.

For the remainder of the time, Qin Yuan rushed to the marked locations and eliminated the abyss spiders one by one.

With his enriched combat experience, these spiders posed no threat to him at this stage.

The operation went smoothly, but the experience points were truly meager—each one probably only provided one or two percent.

"It's time to find a new monster-grinding area... The monster levels need to be higher."

Qin Yuan thought to himself.

All the monsters across the entire island had finally been completely cleared out.

Next, he impatiently headed to the Slime Village to share this good news with the chieftain.

He did not disclose the details of the teleportation crystal, simply claiming that after he awakened the Holy Rune Tree, they jointly destroyed all the monsters and the teleportation tunnel. Afterward, the Holy Rune Tree fell into a slumber to cleanse the remaining abyss influence in its body and would wake up again after some time.

As for whether you believe it after hearing it...

Qin Yuan couldn't care that much anymore.

Upon first hearing this news, the elderly chieftain was somewhat dazed.

Decades ago, when he first arrived here, he left behind the tense adventurous life and entered this utopian region.

The outside world carried too many fond memories.

He had originally thought he would spend the rest of his days step-by-step in this subterranean realm devoid of sunlight.

He never expected that in just a few short days, the young man before him, in cooperation with the Holy Tree Lord, would completely deal with all those terrifying monsters.

Standing blankly in place for a moment, the old man finally snapped back to his senses, unable to conceal the excitement in his heart:

"I will immediately tell the villagers this good news!"

The slimes who learned the news felt disbelief at first, and then jumped up with excitement.

Everyone was eager to return to the sun-drenched surface.

Qin Yuan led the way in front, followed by a vast procession of slimes. Together, they passed through the long, narrow cavern and welcomed the warm sunlight onto the surface.

After an absence of more than ten years, some of the older slimes gazed with complex emotions at an environment both familiar and unfamiliar.

A small fraction of slimes who grew up underground were coming to the surface for the very first time.

They only felt that the sunlight shining on their bodies was warm and comfortable.

Gazing at the scene before him, Qin Yuan looked at the old man not far behind him. "What are your plans for the future?"

Hearing this, the chieftain's gaze turned toward the eastern direction. "We originally had a village not far to the east of the Holy Tree. I wonder if you have ever checked that side out."

"We are planning to spend some time rebuilding it!"

Qin Yuan led the slimes to the village.

Many mushroom houses similar to those underground were built here, but due to long-term abandonment, they were covered in a thick layer of dust, and some had been damaged by monsters.

Then the chieftain eagerly announced the reconstruction plan to the slimes.

Everyone was in high spirits and immediately began to bustle about.

The division of labor for the work was also very clear.

Some were responsible for sweeping away the dust, some for repairing damaged houses, and others for rebuilding new ones.

Even the chieftain himself joined in.

Qin Yuan also witnessed for the first time how these strangely shaped mushroom houses were built.

These slimes spat out globs of mucus from their mouths, piling them together. Once they naturally air-dried, they formed walls of various colors.

This was also the reason why those houses had so many colors.

The colors of mucus spat out by slimes of different colors were completely distinct, and when finally blended together, they formed a unique, harmonized hue.

Qin Yuan stood in place, quietly watching the slimes engage in the bustling reconstruction work.

The thriving and bustling scene involuntarily brought a smile to his face.

Not knowing how much time had passed before he snapped back to his senses, he smiled, shook his head, and walked toward the jungle to the side.

Things here had come to a temporary conclusion, and it was time to return to Iron Stone Village.

Of course, there was actually still one important matter left—the issue of the magic crystal vein. However, seeing that the slimes were so motivated and progressing so rapidly, he decided to postpone it for a day or two. Once things here were more or less settled, he would issue the plan for mining the magic crystals.

Besides that, the pool of magic spring underground could also be transplanted here another day.