Chapter 524: Chapter 524: Small Town

With a gain of one on all attributes, it was a pleasant surprise. Previously, when he was in Doomsday City, he could only absorb lunar essence for fifteen minutes daily. The effect was not particularly significant as Song Jian often found it ending before he even felt anything.

He didn’t expect such a significant harvest after leaving Doomsday City today;

Perhaps it was because the lunar essence within his body had become plentiful. No matter how Song Jian tried to activate the absorption of lunar essence, it was impossible to enter the absorption state, so, he had to give it up eventually.

In the middle of the night, Song Jian suddenly felt someone approaching, immediately became alert, as a dark shadow slowly moved towards his location.

When the shadow was about seven or eight meters away from where Song Jian was, it stopped in its tracks;

“Who’s there?” Song Jian clenched his long sword and demanded in a low voice.

“Who else could it be?” Qi Yun seemed quite amused at Song Jian’s alarmed state, took off his hood and revealed a gnarled, emaciated face.

At this point, Qi Yun had removed all the black cloth strips wrapped around his body. His exposed skin was an abnormal shade of blue and was without any flesh. He looked more like a skeleton wrapped in skin than a human.

“Why have you come so late? Hasn’t the circus uncovered your real identity yet?” Song Jian asked, his brows slightly furrowed.

“You don’t need to worry about me, just do as I instructed,” Qi Yun glared at Song Jian and replied.

“It seems like you don’t need me to stay with the circus anymore. So I’ll head directly to the Dark Castle in the Shadowfang Mountain Range to wait for you!” Song Jian said, his face somber.

“Aren’t you curious about this Shadow Circus?” Qi Yun’s red eyes pierced Song Jian. A thin smile emerged upon his dried lips. “It is a rare occurrence that they are having problems with their shadow crystal. The Circus’s high-level fighters have to expend their own strength every day to maintain this shadow crystal. This is the best time for us to attack them…”

Song Jian considered Qi Yun’s words carefully, recognizing that there indeed lay many valuable items within the Circus. Just the Ant Emperor Ancestor Set he had obtained was enough to provoke intense envy.

Moreover, he knew the circus also possessed a Complete Recovery Potion. Song Jian had discovered that among the troupe, there was a master level alchemist who could possibly have created this potion.

After some hesitation, Song Jian eventually shook his head and said, “I just want to complete the mission as soon as possible. I don’t want any more complications!”

Although he could terminate the contract with Qi Yun, Song Jian had no way of finding the Blood of Blasphemy, so he would need to stick to the contract’s terms in good faith.

“Hehe, just because you have no interest in the Circus doesn’t mean others won’t…

Song Jian was startled and quickly asked, “Are you suggesting that someone plans to ambush the circus on the road?”

“You are totally ignorant of this Shadow Circus, it happens to be one of the dragon servant troops that the Shadow Giant Dragon values the most…” Qi Yun stared pointedly at Song Jian, then slowly his body turned into a pile of black sand and vanished.

Looking at the place where Qi Yun had disappeared, Song Jian wore a contemplative look on his face.

The reason he hasn’t agreed to stay with the Circus was that he believed that with his current ability, he wouldn’t be able to gain any advantages there.

No matter what the problem was, to safely reach the Dark Castle in Shadowfang Mountain Range, he would need the guarantee of several high-end fighters.

Therefore, no matter what Qi Yun said, Song Jian would never believe that all high-end fighters from the Shadow Circus could be considerably weakened due to the shadow crystal’s issue.

But if someone was genuinely planning an ambush on the Circus, then this could potentially be an opportunity for him.

In the past, they only agreed to meet once after leaving Doomsday City. After that, Qi Yun would no longer concern himself with Song Jian’s itinerary. Song Jian just needed to reach the Dark Castle in Shadowfang Mountain Range within the stipulated time.

In fact, Qi Yun was constantly alluring Song Jian to attack the Shadow Circus, even consistently hinting that he could derive immense benefits from it;

“Perhaps, as you mentioned, there will be an ambush on the Circus and I’ll be able to profit from it. But…” Song Jian’s eyes grew sharper, and he chuckled, “I don’t trust you!”

Turning into a dark cloud, Song Jian floated off into the distance. Not too far away, behind a rock, Qi Yun watched the shrinking cloud with red eyes and a disappointed expression on his face.

….

Song Jian only knew the general direction to Shadowfang Mountain Range. Although Qi Yun had given him some information about the Dark Castle, Song Jian realized after leaving Doomsday City that without a detailed map, it was incredibly easy to lose his way if he traveled blindly.

After walking in the wild for three continuous days, Song Jian saw no trace of any modern civilization. All he saw was barren, infertile land strewn with rubble and full of mutated, corrupt creatures that crazily threw themselves at him without caring for their strength mismatch.

This was entirely different from the monsters in Doomsday City, who seemed more rational. Even the most crazed of monsters there knew to steer clear of powerful players.

At first, Song Jian would kill them, but there were so many creatures that he started growing impatient. With these low-level monsters offering insignificant experience points and dropping nothing more than garbage, Song Jian, having limited inventory space, couldn’t possibly pick up all the junk, leaving it abandoned in the wilderness.

Taking the form of a dark cloud, Song Jian was flying in mid-air, continuing towards Shadowfang Mountain Range. The skies above the wilderness were dangerous as flying monsters tended to be stronger than their same-level counterparts that couldn’t fly. Song Jian proceeded cautiously, evading whenever he encountered large amounts of flying creatures and continuing on his journey only after they had flown far away.

That day, Song Jian unexpectedly saw a deserted town ahead and immediately flew towards it;

In the wilderness, finding an abandoned town was quite a fortunate occurrence because it offered a place to rest and shelter from the weather.

System: You have discovered Garden Town and earned 2000 Experience Points;

A wide asphalt road was laid out head of Garden Town, although the road was hardly recognizable now, completely covered by overgrown weeds. It was challenging to discern that it had once been a road unless one looked closely;

Near the road, there was a massive gate with the words ‘Garden Town’ engraved upon it. This entrance had collapsed halfway, leaving the words ‘Garden’ remaining.

There were several shops and houses built beside the gate. These structures were still mostly intact.

Moving further in, there was a deserted plaza with an enormous flower bed in the center, filled with a variety of vibrant flowers;

Song Jian glanced towards the flower bed, feeling an unsettling eeriness about it and a sense of discomfort.

Just as Song Jian was about to investigate the flower bed, a voice behind him warned, “If I were you, I would never approach this flower bed!”

…