Chapter 94 – Town Rune Crystal

Miniature Ancient World, Misty Canyon:

Shi Feng pulled the reins of the Thunder Wolf and stopped in front of the Misty Canyon. Then, he looked back to Hidden Soul and said, “We’re here. It’s your turn next.”

As a Level 120 map, the Misty Canyon was filled with Level 115 monsters or above. Even if he had reached Level 105 already, he would still be under a lot of pressure if he had to fight against monsters ten levels higher. After all, the challenge difficulty of ordinary Great Lords would increase to that of Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species with such a level difference.

Even if his Strength Attribute had reached the Tier 4 threshold already, he wouldn’t dare to go up against several hundred Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species simultaneously. While these monsters couldn’t outright kill him, they were more than capable of exhausting him to death.

Not to mention, the Misty canyon was considered a neutral zone in the Miniature Ancient World. It was also the map that linked two God’s Domains together. The monsters inside weren’t just limited to Great Lords and Grand Lords. Mythic Field Bosses probably littered the place as well. If he came across one of these Field Bosses, he would have difficulty even escaping.

Meanwhile, the Assassin class was the most suitable class for exploring maps. This was because the effects of level suppression did not apply to the perception of monsters. With the Stealth Skill and her combat standard, Hidden Soul could remain undetected even if she moved within 100 yards of a Level 120 Mythic Boss.

“The terrain here is incredibly complex. Are you sure you want to go inside?” Hidden Soul asked after glancing at the canyon ahead.

Rather than a canyon, the Misty Canyon looked more like a giant meteor crater. Moreover, in addition to the complex terrain, mist also enveloped the entire crater, which reduced visibility to less than 300 yards. Even if she scouted the area beforehand, it’d be very easy for them to encounter a group of monsters if they weren’t careful. The chances of such encounters would also increase the deeper they traveled into the Misty Canyon.

“Of course. Why would I bring you here otherwise?” Shi Feng replied in an affirmative tone.

Now that the various powers had increased their efforts in recruiting manpower in the Miniature Ancient World, he needed to do something to make sure Zero Wing didn’t fall behind. Meanwhile, with Zero Wing’s lack of resources and funding, the best solution to improve Zero Wing’s situation was to secure the Misty Canyon.

There were more than ten NPC Cities’ worth of players trying to enter the Boundary River. Meanwhile, these players could only get to the Boundary River through the Misty Canyon. Adding on the fact that there were no NPC settlements located in or near the Misty Canyon, it went without saying that various powers would fight to establish Guild Towns in the Misty Canyon in the future.

Now that Shi Feng had a Town Rune Crystal, he naturally had to secure the best location in the Misty Canyon as soon as possible. Once he did that, not only could he increase the leveling efficiency of Zero Wing’s members, but the Guild would also have its funding problem resolved.

Once players reached Level 110, there would be many experts flooding into the Misty Canyon. At that time, there’d be no need to worry about no players coming to rest in Zero Wing’s town. It’d also become much easier for Zero Wing to recruit expert players. After all, who could resist the opportunity to get a huge lead ahead of others in the Miniature Ancient World?

“Whatever, it’s your choice. But don’t blame me if you die.”

Hidden Soul stopped trying to dissuade Shi Feng after hearing his answer. Although she didn’t know what Shi Feng was trying to do here, she had no reason to give up on an opportunity to earn 500,000 GCPs just by completing a simple task.

Immediately, Hidden Soul jumped off the Thunder Wolf’s back and activated Instantaneous Movement, vanishing into mist and disappearing from Shi Feng’s perception in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Shi Feng had to admit that Hidden Soul was indeed a monster.

…

After Shi Feng waited for nearly two hours, he received a message from Hidden Soul that contained a detailed road map leading to the Misty Canyon’s inner region. Hidden Soul had also marked the layout of monsters along the route and made notes of their rank, level, and perception range.

Her infiltration skills are truly amazing. It’s no wonder she managed to kill all those Outerworld God-ranked experts and fight Demon’s Gate’s Death Wind to a standstill, Shi Feng thought as he looked at Hidden Soul’s road map in admiration.

It should be known that the Death Wind was one of Demon’s Gate’s Nine Great Experts, and he claimed that he had a Divine Eye. in terms of strength, Death Wind was capable of going against an entire sub-world’s experts all by himself. No matter how weak a sub-world was, it would have at least several dozen Tier 6 God-ranked experts. In other words, Death Wind was capable of going up against several dozen Tier 6 experts simultaneously.

Yet, Hidden Soul managed to fight Death Wind to a standstill in the past. This showed just how much talent and skill she possessed.

Although the Hidden Soul in this life had only managed to only reach Tier 5, she definitely wasn’t as simple as she seemed.

Meanwhile, after Shi Feng researched the road map, he recalled the Thunder Wolf and started following the map on foot.

…

An hour later…

“We can’t go any further from here. The area ahead of us is infested with Level 120 Grand Lords and Level 120 Mythic Bosses,” Hidden Soul said as she pointed at the area that linked the Misty Canyon and the Boundary River. “I have already explored the surrounding area for locations without monsters and vast terrain as you requested. Two places match your requirements. Take a look at them yourselves.”

After saying so, Hidden Soul marked two locations on Shi Feng’s map of the Misty Canyon.

Of the two locations she found, one was located by a creek near the Misty Canyon’s core region, and the ambient Mana here was incredibly dense. The other location was at the top of a cliff in the Misty Canyon’s inner region, which overlooked a significant portion of the Misty Canyon. Although it had less dense Mana, the location was easily defensible.

Meanwhile, after looking at these two locations, Shi Feng hesitated only for a moment before he had Hidden Soul lead him to the creek.

Mana was the basis of everything in God’s Domain. Denser Mana meant quicker improvements. A Mana-rich area would be especially useful when nurturing newcomers in the Guild.

After circling past a bunch of Level 118 Demonic Beasts, Shi Feng and Hidden Soul arrived before a forest surrounded by a creek.

“That’s the place,” Hidden Soul said as she pointed at the lush forest ahead. “That’s it for our agreement. If you don’t need me for anything else, I will be taking my leave now.”

“Aren’t you curious why I came here?” Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at Hidden Soul.

“I might have been curious before, but is there even a need to wonder after seeing all of the actions you have taken here?” In a nonchalant tone, Hidden Soul said, “You are neither here to grind nor search for treasures. You even asked me to find a safe and spacious area. Other than building a town, I can’t think of anything else you would be doing here.”

Hidden Soul wasn’t particularly surprised to learn that Shi Feng was trying to establish a town here. After all, Shi Feng was an Outerworld God-ranked expert. He must possess means beyond the imagination of ordinary powers, so it wouldn’t be strange if he could come up with a Guild Town sp shortly after the Miniature Ancient World opened.

However, in response to Hidden Soul’s words, Shi Feng shook his head and smiled, saying, “You’re only half correct.