Chapter 85 Tomorrow Village (4) Yu Xing Determines to Save the Villagers

Chapter 85 Tomorrow Village (Part 4): Yu Xing's Resolve to Save the Villagers

Yu turned to head back to the village.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise echoed from behind him: "Xingxing!"

He spun around. Only three people remained. Yu Xing was gone, swallowed by swirling mist.

Yu’s eyes widened in alarm. The mist was perilous. Villagers who had entered it before fully mutating into monsters had never returned.

He rushed to the mist's edge, hesitating, when footsteps and heavy breathing emerged from within.

The mist, carried by the wind, drifted onto Yu’s face. Two figures flashed past, bursting from the fog.

Yu stumbled back, gaping at the sight. Yu Xing had emerged—not alone, but with the villager who had just vanished into the mist.

The villager stood bewildered, a return to the village something he’d never imagined.

Ignoring their reactions, Yu Xing turned to Miao Yuanjin. "Can he be purified?"

Miao Yuanjin snapped to attention. "Yes! Of course!"

Theoretically, anything not fully transformed into a pollutant could be purified. This villager, though showing signs of contamination, still possessed a clear mind and restrained himself. This meant he hadn’t yet become a pollutant and could still be purified.

Miao Yuanjin had been mired in sorrow, but Yu Xing’s interruption jolted her. *I’m a Moon God’s Chosen. I can purify them. Why am I standing here crying?*

Without hesitation, she waved at Yu Xing. "Keep him still. Move aside!"

Ritually rolling up her sleeves, she clasped her hands together, her expression turning solemn.

Yu, confused, tried to step forward, but Yu Xing yanked him back. "What are you doing?"

Overwhelmed, Yu stammered incoherently, too agitated to form words.

Then, he witnessed a Divine Skill.

Sacred light enveloped the villager, who first shivered, then thrashed in pain as his already twisted features contorted further.

Miao Yuanjin commanded sternly, "Don’t let him escape!"

Zhao Lan and Da Ya immediately seized the villager’s arms, pinning him down.

As the light persisted, dense purple specks emerged from his body and dissipated—the telltale sign of Purification. The group watched with anticipation.

Gradually, the villager stopped struggling, his expression shifting to one of peace.

His appearance also began to change visibly.

The villagers here had deep, darkened skin, not merely tanned but stained by unnatural pigmentation—especially on the fleshy tumors covering them.

As the purple specks faded, his skin lightened, returning to a normal tone.

Next, the growths shrank and withered. Yu stood frozen in shock.

The process was long, exhausting Miao Yuanjin.

At first, she had been optimistic, thinking purifying one person would be easy—she even dreamed of cleansing the entire village.

But as she worked, she realized the truth: these villagers had been contaminated since birth, accumulating pollution over years until they reached the brink of transformation.

By the end, she was gritting her teeth to hold on.

A tell-tale itch crept into her nose—blood was flowing.

"Yuan Jin," Zhao Lan warned. "That’s enough. Stop."

Miao Yuanjin lowered her hands, reeling unsteadily. Da Ya caught her.

Clutching her nose, she looked at the villager. His appearance had been utterly transformed.

His skin was now normal, and the growths had nearly vanished. However, years of deformity had left irreversible marks—his features, though symmetrical, still carried an uncanny quality.

Yet, it was infinitely better than before.

Yu stood speechless.

The villager remained dazed, overwhelmed by an alien sensation of comfort and lightness.

Yu Xing smiled, manifested a small mirror and held it up to him.

Startled, he recoiled, covering his face with a cry.

"Don’t be afraid," Yu Xing reassured him. "This is you."

Trembling, he hesitantly looked again, touching his face—no growths, just smooth skin. He could even feel his bones, something impossible before.

His mind buzzed as he stared at the reflection—a stranger with clear skin, symmetrical eyes, and no deformities.

He gaped, prodded his cheek, and the reflection mirrored him.

*This face…* He glanced at the outsiders—it looked like theirs!

Like the pictures in books! Like people before the Great Disaster!

The realization hit him, and tears spilled freely.

He rushed to Yu, gibbering excitedly. Yu, understanding, nodded tearfully, patting his back.

Leaning against Da Ya, Miao Yuanjin chuckled weakly before groaning, "Why am I leveling up so slowly? If I were a Level 2 Divine Blessed, or even a Level 3 Mountain’s Beloved, I could purify faster—cleanse the whole village!"

Upgrading—this was something taught in the church.

The instructors had said it simply: venerate the gods more devoutly, and use Divine Skills frequently.

Yu Xing, not a true Divine Chosen, lacked true devotion. But Miao Yuanjin’s faith in the Moon God was already unshakable, and she used her skills often—yet she hadn’t leveled up.

According to the teachers, this was normal. They had only been Divine Chosen for months—taking a year was standard.

"You think you’re like Xingxing?" Da Ya ribbed. "Leveling up that fast?"

Miao Yuanjin chewed her lip, frustrated but helpless. She knew she couldn’t stay here long—without provisions, she’d starve.

But with her current abilities, she couldn’t purify many people as she was now.

She looked up and said, "What if we report the situation here to the authorities after we leave and ask official Divine Chosen to come and purify them? Or maybe take them away from here directly?"

She spoke without overthinking; she simply wanted to find a way to help the villagers. However, Zhao Lan had different thoughts upon hearing it.

Zhao Lan pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "I don’t agree with reporting this to the authorities."

Miao Yuanjin was stunned, as if splashed with cold water. "Why? Don’t you want to help them?"

Zhao Lan glanced at the excited villagers nearby and said, "Look, even after being purified, they’re still different from us. Language, culture, common knowledge—all of these are barriers. If they enter the walls, they might not be able to live well. How could you help them then?"

Miao Yuanjin raised her chin proudly. "So what? I have money. I can provide them with enough survival supplies—I could keep providing indefinitely."

Seeing her reaction, Zhao Lan sighed. Yuanjin had probably rarely encountered problems that money couldn’t solve growing up.

"Survival supplies are the least of their problems," Zhao Lan said, unsure how to explain. "You should know that not everyone within the walls is as kind as you. If they just enter like this… I mean, what happens afterward is beyond our control."

Yes, here they were Divine Chosen, bringers of miracles for the villagers. But within the walls, they were just ordinary new Divine Chosen.

"Then what should we do?" Miao Yuanjin felt powerless for the first time. "Are we just going to abandon them?"

"I need time to think of a solution," Zhao Lan said, lost in thought.

At that moment, Yu came over. He was so excited that he walked straight to Miao Yuanjin, stammering excitedly, his accent becoming strange. "Please… beg… beg you, everyone… help us."

Miao Yuanjin grasped his meaning but looked helplessly at Zhao Lan.

Zhao Lan stepped in front of Miao Yuanjin and patiently explained to Yu that Divine Skills weren’t unlimited—Miao Yuanjin needed to wait until her spiritual energy recovered before she could purify again.

Meanwhile, Yu Xing recalled the transmigrator seniors on the forum. Both Xiao Li and A Yuan had mentioned that pollution sources were a fusion of energy and spiritual energy, and they could easily remove the spiritual energy from pollution sources. Did that mean they had a way to solve the pollution problem?

With this in mind, Yu Xing walked around restlessly before seizing the moment to speak. "Ah, why don’t you all head back to the village first and talk there?"

She patted the villager on the shoulder and added, "This brother has returned from death. Take him back quickly so his family can celebrate."

Yu came to his senses and immediately grabbed the villager, ready to head back to the village.

Yu Xing continued pacing and said to Zhao Lan and the others, "You should all go too."

"Aren’t you coming?" Zhao Lan caught the implication in Yu Xing’s words.

"Oh-ho," Yu Xing had already prepared an excuse. "We’ve been gone too long—Shen Tanrong and the others must be worried. I’ll go back first to reassure them."

Da Ya asked, "You’re taking them into the village?"

According to Zhao Lan’s earlier stance, the fewer people who knew about this village, the better.

Yu Xing said, "Until we decide how to help the villagers, it’s best not to let too many people know about this place."

With that, she took a few steps in the opposite direction and waved at them. "I’ll go calm them down. You use this time to think of a solution."

Then she turned and left, her figure disappearing into the woods.

Yu Xing moved through the heavy fog and returned to the swamp’s edge. There were no more twisted people here—only the lingering mist. She had chosen this place because no one would disturb her.

She found a smooth rock and sat down.

When she opened the forum, she saw her storage ring and instinctively took out a piece of cake. Staring at it, she felt conflicted. Her storage ring held plenty of food, but she didn’t dare share it with the others.

Now that she was alone, should she eat it by herself?

After a few seconds of hesitation, she put the cake back into the storage ring.

Everyone was starving—she really couldn’t eat it.

She quickly opened the forum and posted a thread:

"Help! How to solve the pollution problem? Urgent, waiting online!"

[By coincidence, I found myself in a village outside the walls. The people here have lived here since the Old Era…]

Yu Xing carefully described the villagers’ situation, hoping for a quick response.

Soon, forum users began replying.

[Zihan of the Douqi World: Oh man, that’s terrible!]

[ABO’s Only Sister: This makes me tear up. Someone help our heroine, please? My tech world can’t help here.]

[Jiaxin in the Zombie Apocalypse: Next person.]

[Jiahao of the Spiritual Resurgence: Let me think…]

[Little Li in the Magical World: This is complicated. I’m not entirely sure what pollution even is. I’ve obtained pollution sources before, but I don’t know the specifics of people who haven’t turned into pollutants. If it’s just a matter of spiritual energy erosion, then the solution is to remove the spiritual energy—but it’s complicated. First, I used magic to deal with the spiritual energy in pollution sources, but our heroine can’t use magic.

Second, removing spiritual energy from pollution sources was no burden for me, but our heroine has to deal with living people. The problem is, people don’t just have invasive spiritual energy—they have their own spiritual energy too. If you accidentally remove their own spiritual energy, they’d be practically dead.]

[Xiao Xi in the Infinite World: Seems really complex.]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: This reminds me of soul possession in my world—how to expel an invading soul from a living body.]

[Cultivator A-Yuan in the Immortal Realm: Zhang Wei got it exactly right. When I cleansed the spiritual energy from pollution sources, it felt similar. But my method probably won’t work for our heroine.]

[Yu Xing in the Wasteland World: Tell me about it!]

[Cultivator A-Yuan in the Immortal Realm: Spiritual energy—the best way to counter it is with more spiritual energy. If your spiritual energy is strong enough and can be extended outward, then in theory, you can expel the foreign spiritual energy.]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: Right. We use a similar approach in my world. The best defense against possession is a strong soul—which is similar to spiritual energy.]

Yu Xing’s frown deepened. She didn’t have a soul or spiritual energy—what could she do?

Was there really no solution?

[Yu Xing in the Wasteland World: Isn’t there some kind of purification method? Like the Moon God’s Purify Holy Light in our world?]

[Cultivator A-Yuan in the Immortal Realm: Honestly, I’m curious about what that Purify Holy Light is. Spiritual energy isn’t evil energy—how does it get purified?]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: I… might have an idea.]

Yu Xing’s eyes lit up. Just when she’d lost hope, a new possibility emerged!

[Yu Xing in the Wasteland World: Hurry, tell me!]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: Same approach—only spiritual energy can counter spiritual energy. But given your situation, solving the villagers’ pollution problem from outside is basically impossible because you can’t project spiritual energy.

But we can strengthen the villagers’ own spiritual energy. If their spiritual energy grows strong enough, it’ll automatically resist the foreign invasion.]

[Little Li in the Magical World: So the question is, how to strengthen the villagers' spiritual energy?]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: I have an item called Spirit-Nourishing Warm Jade, allegedly crafted from remnants of the Five-Colored Stones forged by the goddess Nüwa to mend the heavens.]

[Jiahao of the Spiritual Resurgence: Whoa, that sounds OP!]

[Cultivator A-Yuan in the Immortal Realm: Allegedly! If it were real, if he really had such a treasure, would he be willing to give it to Ten Thousand Charms?]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: Buddha be praised, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-tiered pagoda—saving an entire village must be worth countless pagodas. Besides, this item isn’t much use to me. Rather than letting it gather dust in my storage pouch, it’s better to give it to Ten Thousand Charms. If it can save lives, that’s its destiny.]

Yu Xing was thrilled.

[Ten Thousand Charms of the Wasteland World: You’re giving me the Spirit-Nourishing Warm Jade?!]

[Zhang Wei in the Primordial World: Ahem, let’s make a fair trade—you give me the taint source, and I’ll give you the jade.]

[Zihan of the Douqi World: Pfft, and here I thought you were being all noble just now…]

Yu Xing had two taint sources on hand, so she wasn’t worried about the trade. She carefully asked Zhang Wei about how to use the Spirit-Nourishing Warm Jade.

Zhang Wei’s method was to tuck the jade beneath the tongue while cultivating to nourish and strengthen the soul. He believed the jade was meant for adept cultivators like himself, while the villagers were just mundane folk who wouldn’t need it for long—just holding it in their mouths overnight ought to do the trick.

The villagers can take turns using it, prioritizing those with severe symptoms. It shouldn’t be a problem.

Once she learned the method, Yu Xing didn’t hesitate. She opened a dimensional exchange and completed the exchange with Zhang Wei.

When the gently luminescent Spirit-Nourishing Warm Jade emerged from the channel, Yu Xing excitedly took it in her hand.

The jade was carved into the image of a human-headed serpent, about two fingers wide. It radiated warmth; just holding it made Yu Xing feel her spirit lift.

Was it really this effective?

She turned the jade over in her hands for a while. Still skeptical, she decided to try it out personally first.

She opened her mouth, about to place the jade inside, but before it touched her lips, she suddenly realized—Zhang Wei must have held this in his mouth too, right?

What a creep! Was he tricking her into a mouth-to-mouth by proxy?

Yu Xing immediately put the jade down, took out holy water from her storage ring, and scrubbed it repeatedly.

Only after thorough washing did she feel barely satisfied. Following Zhang Wei’s instructions, she placed the jade under her tongue.

The moment the jade entered her mouth, Yu Xing suddenly entered an ineffable Divine Skill trance.

It felt like… her soul had left her body.

No, not just left—it had grown enormous, larger than her body, breaking free and becoming a colossus astride heaven and earth.

Her emotions became profoundly tranquil, almost like the enlightened detachment of a cultivator in novels—no joy, no sorrow, no fear.

She was a cosmic titan, her gaze piercing horizons.

She saw the village beyond the fog, the villagers, and Zhao Lan’s party.

The purified villager had returned home, embracing his family in excitement. His relatives, still mourning, didn’t recognize him at first. Only after Yu explained did they reunite, collapsing into tearful embraces.

She also saw Shen Tanrong and the others outside the village. The passengers, exhausted and hungry, dozed on the ground. Shen Tanrong and a few soldiers kept watch, growing restless—Yu Xing’s group had been gone for too long. They debated sending someone to investigate.

“I’ll go,” Shen Tanrong said, gripping his dagger. “I’ll check it out.”

As soon as he spoke, Yu Xing blurted out, “Don’t go!”

Then she remembered she wasn’t actually there.

But Shen Tanrong tilted his head and asked, “Who said that?”

Huh? Surprised, Yu Xing tried speaking to him again: “I’m the Bull Warrior. We’re fine. Just wait there—we’ll be back soon.”

Shen Tanrong’s eyes widened. He whipped his head around but saw no sign of Yu Xing.

And the voice was strange—as if it had appeared directly in his mind…

He went rigid. The other soldiers, noticing his reaction, asked what was wrong. Shen Tanrong gulped. “I… suddenly think we should stay here. They’re Divine Chosen—they’ll be fine. We should trust them.”

Pleased, Yu Xing smiled and ruffled his hair. “Good boy.”

Then her vision expanded further, seeing straight through the bamboo forest to the tracks beyond.

A group of people in containment gear had gathered near the tracks, discussing whether to enter the forest for rescue.

So help had arrived. Yu Xing thought they’d better leave Tomorrow Village quickly—they couldn’t let outsiders discover its existence.

Shen Tanrong stood frozen, his expression odd.

Was it his imagination? Why did he feel like someone had patted his head… and called him a good boy?

“Captain?” A soldier looked at him worriedly. “Why is your face so red? Are you sick?”