Chapter 236: The Darkness of Immortality

Sonya Moonwood, with its ruined altar and wind-eroded structures, exudes a sense of desolation and mystery, evoking a feeling of ancient remoteness.

The White Elves belonged to the Saturn Empire and were allies of the humans. Later, during the territorial conflict between the Greenland Empire and the Saturn Empire, the White Elves in this area were forced to migrate to distant Saturn under the constraints of a peace treaty.

White Elves had not appeared in Greenland for several centuries, so to the players of Greenland, they were merely a distant legend.

In his past life, after Nie Yan attained the rank of Grand Thief, the “Forgotten History” expansion had just started, and only occasionally did one or two White Elves or Orcs appear in Carol City, though not many. After all, the teleportation fees between the Saturn Empire and the Greenland Empire were prohibitively expensive, allowing only the leaders of large guilds to visit back and forth. Just before Nie Yan assassinated Cao Xu, the Greenland Empire opened its hippogriff cages for sale, allowing players to ride hippogriffs between the two empires. However, Nie Yan never got to see that.

This is the development path of the game’s faith system. Each city’s map is vast. Initially, players operate within a single city. Once land mounts become available, players can travel between cities. With flying mounts, players can truly tour the entire world.

Each empire has its own unique rules, professions, beliefs, customs, and cultures. The Mainframe gradually unfolds this magnificent and dazzling world before the players’ eyes, leaving them in awe and fascination.

Nie Yan’s current activity is still confined to Carol City. However, from the ruins left behind by White Elves, Dark Elves, and Orcs scattered across various regions, glimpses of their former grandeur can still be seen.

If Nie Yan could collect all parts of the “Scroll of Order, Volume I,” the “Forgotten History” expansion might arrive ahead of schedule.

Nie Yan wasn’t sure whether this was a good or bad thing. However, one thing was certain: acquiring such a legendary item would greatly benefit his future development.

After crossing a dense jungle, six Moon Bears appeared in the clearing ahead. These Moon Bears were much more robust than ordinary ones and were wandering aimlessly. Around them stood remnants of broken walls, with faint ancient patterns and Elven inscriptions still visible on the surfaces. This area was once their site for worshipping the Moon Goddess.

These Moon Bears appeared to be elite creatures. Nie Yan slowly approached behind a wall and cast a “Scout” spell on them.

Rock Moon Bear: Level 35 Elite, HP 11,000/11,000.

These Rock Moon Bears were formidable melee opponents. Without a Priest, no melee character below level 40 would dare to attack them.

Nie Yan’s path forward was blocked by these Rock Moon Bears.

Observing their patrol routes, Nie Yan hesitated briefly before consuming a Speed Scroll and activating Shadow Dance, swiftly dashing forward toward the Moon Bears.

One Rock Moon Bear detected Nie Yan and let out a low growl, swiping a massive paw toward him.

Nie Yan suddenly accelerated, performing a sharp sidestep to evade, narrowly slipping past the bear.

The bear’s massive paw nearly grazed Nie Yan’s body before slamming empty to the ground. It paused momentarily, but by the time it tried to locate Nie Yan again, he was already several yards behind it.

Dodging the Rock Moon Bear’s attacks using Shadow Dance was effortless.

After dodging the attack of one bear, the remaining five charged at Nie Yan, looking as if they were about to tear him to pieces. One of them reared up and slammed down with a Shockwave Attack.

Nie Yan quickly stepped back. With a thunderous crash, the bear’s paw struck the ground in front of him, leaving a deep crater.

Nie Yan nimbly dodged their attacks, slipping through the narrow gaps between the bears’ strikes.

He pushed his speed to the limit.

As the bears charged again, Nie Yan produced a handful of Flash Powder and threw it. With a burst, the powder exploded into blinding light.

All five Rock Moon Bears were blinded, roaring in confusion and crashing into each other. Nie Yan seized the opportunity to leap more than ten yards away, vaulting over the broken wall and vanishing into the jungle without a trace.

Since this area had not yet been explored by others, there were alarmingly many elite Moon Bears nearby. However, Nie Yan skillfully maneuvered deeper into the Moonwood using his superior evasion techniques.

Once he reached level 35, it would be a good idea to bring Cui Can Dao Guang and his team here for exploration. With Cui Can Dao Guang’s defense and the healing support of Daotou Lao Di Qi Qi, a group could handle this place without much trouble, Nie Yan mused.

What excited Nie Yan a bit was that while searching for the “Scroll of Goodness,” he encountered two Golden Chests and several Silver Chests. One of the Golden Chests even contained a recipe for the Basic Magic Conduction Potion.

The Magic Conduction Potion was one of the most coveted potions. Though its ingredients were simple, its formula was exceedingly rare. It was classified into four tiers: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert. In his previous life, even an Intermediate-tier recipe had sold at auction for prices surpassing some sub-legendary equipment. Advanced and Expert-tier recipes were practically unheard of. The value of a Basic Magic Conduction Potion for characters under level 50 was beyond estimation.

(Note: I’ve made slight adjustments for natural English flow while preserving all key information. “Potions” → “Potions” corrected from apparent typo, and standardized tier naming with hyphenation for consistency.)

Basic Magic Conduction Potion: Increases Advanced Magic Power by 20%, reduces Advanced Magic Casting Time by 10%, and increases Magic Scribing Speed by 20%.

For a Basic Magic Potion to have such effects was truly rare.

The Magic Conduction Potion recipe was extremely rare, making each potion worth dozens of gold coins. Many Mages could only afford such an expensive potion after reaching the Grand Mage rank.

The cost of producing a Basic Magic Conduction Potion was not high—around fifty silver coins—but it required more than thirty common ingredients. The only drawback was that an Intermediate Alchemist needed ten minutes to brew one, with a success rate not exceeding 30%, meaning each successful potion cost around forty minutes of effort.

Every minute of an Intermediate Alchemist was extremely valuable.

However, the Magic Conduction Potion was invaluable to high-level Mages like Grand Mages or even Archmages. In the later stages, while powerful Advanced Magic required at least one to two hours, sometimes even three to four hours, to inscribe into Magic Scrolls, a single Basic Magic Conduction Potion could save significant time. Essentially, it traded the time of an Intermediate Alchemist for the valuable time of a Grand Mage or Archmage, making it a highly cost-effective exchange. Additionally, consuming the potion significantly reduced Advanced Magic casting time, which was crucial in every second of battle.

“Got lucky,” Nie Yan thought excitedly. He now understood why various guilds were so enthusiastic about exploring high-level zones despite the losses.

Not participating in exploration in his past life had been a huge loss. Upon returning to the guild, he should encourage his subordinates to explore high-end maps.

“Nie Yan, where are you now?” Just then, Guo Huai sent a message.

“I’m in Sonya Moonwood. What’s up?” Nie Yan asked. Guo Huai must have something important to say, given the timing.

“Biluo Cangqiong has merged into Guangming Shengyan.”

“Oh.”

“Aren’t you worried?” Guo Huai was surprised by Nie Yan’s calm reaction. Biluo Cangqiong was a massive guild with twenty thousand members!

“What’s there to worry about? I already guessed it would happen, either by Kaituan Empire or Guangming Shengyan.” Nie Yan replied. The feud with Biluo Cangqiong was inevitable. Whatever came, he was ready. He had never regretted his decision to support Ku Ye Studio previously.

“Since you’re prepared, I won’t say more. But there’s something else you should take seriously. The Kaituan Empire has recently recruited Heian Busui Studio. It’s said to be targeting you. Be careful.” Guo Huai warned. Heian Busui was the largest studio in the country.

“Ying Sha?” Nie Yan was momentarily stunned. History had indeed taken a slightly different turn. He hadn’t expected them to successfully recruit Heian Busui. He wondered what price they had paid to convince that person to join the Kaituan Empire.

In the world of Shadow Dance in his past life, there were two legendary figures. One was Sun, who rose from an unknown youth to become a brilliant genius, shining brightly. The other was Ying Sha. He rarely appeared in public and didn’t even participate in the Shadow Dance Challenge. His identity was shrouded in mystery. Yet before Sun emerged, Ying Sha had already gained fame as the leader of Heian Busui, the largest studio in the country. Most people only knew his name but never saw him.

Ying Sha usually only accepted assassination contracts, charging exorbitant fees that were often unbearable. He only targeted the most difficult victims, seemingly treating it as an exciting game. He had never failed. In his past life, his assassination list included Kaituan Empire’s leader Potian, Guangming Shengyan’s leader Yeshen Shenguai, and Kuangzhan Lianmeng’s leader Aiqing Shashang. He didn’t care about factions, only money. As long as the price was tempting enough, he would take the job. Even when Potian of Kaituan Empire was dominating the game, he still fell victim to Ying Sha.

“That’s him.” Guo Huai replied gravely. In previous games, Ying Sha had always been an unattainable figure to countless players.

“Do you have any information on him?”

“No, only that Heian Busui has temporarily joined the Kaituan Empire, and both Kaituan and Guangming Shengyan’s leaders have met him.”

“He’s targeting me?”

“There’s a 90% chance. So be careful.”

“It’s an honor to be the target of Ying Sha.” Nie Yan replied calmly, a faint smile on his face.