Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Chapter 289 Blackwood Ridge

Guan Xun folded his wings and landed steadily on a tall black tree branch.

A quick glance around revealed a landscape of gnarled, black trees with cracked bark and leaves that gleamed with an inky sheen, creating an eerie atmosphere that sent chills down one's spine.

Her landing wasn't loud, but it startled the crows perched among the trees, causing them to flap their wings and fly away with shrill, unpleasant cries before disappearing into the thick, dark forest fog in an instant.

Almost at the same moment she regained her footing, a figure landed right behind her, the hem of his robe brushing against the branches and leaves, creating a gust of wind.

Before Jin Chen could fully regain his footing, he raised his hand and waved it lightly around him.

The thick, dark mist that lingered among the trees was instantly forced back several feet, and even the chilling atmosphere that permeated the forest was somewhat reduced.

"The miasma is heavy, be careful."

"Hmm." Guan Xun responded softly, his gaze passing over the layers of black wood and looking into the distance.

A blurry outline can be vaguely seen, arranged in a staggered manner, resembling a town.

She frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled: "Could that be the City That Never Sleeps?"

"You'll know once you go and see for yourself," Jin Chen said calmly.

Guan Xun suddenly turned his head to look at him, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Are you going to stay here?"

"No." Jin Chen shook his head. "The Heavenly Infant Cicada Flower is on you. Wherever you go, I will go."

After hearing this, Guan Xun casually shrugged, as if to say whatever he wanted, and then casually said, "This flower cannot be refined."

"Your current cultivation level is too low, and your body's ability to withstand it is insufficient to refine it."

"Oh." Guan Xun understood, then suddenly remembered the connection between the flower and him, and asked seemingly casually, "It's your companion spirit flower. If I refine it, will you perish as well?"

"From the moment you took it off, my physical body was destroyed. Now, even if you refine it, it will have no effect on me."

Jin Chen gently shook his head, his icy blue eyes remaining calm. He paused, a hint of something ambiguous creeping into his voice: "However..."

"But what?"

“If you refine it, we will become one.” His voice was as gentle as a breeze across a lake. “From the moment the flower belongs to you, I also belong to you.”

These words, upon hearing them, felt like a feather gently tickling the tip of one's heart, leaving one inexplicably uneasy.

Guan Xun hissed softly, then raised his chin slightly, smiling brightly: "What if I die?"

Jin Chen's gaze had been fixed on the top of her head, and now, meeting her smiling eyes, his icy blue eyes flickered slightly: "You won't die."

"There's always a chance of something going wrong," she persisted. "What if—I mean, what if?"

"No ifs."

Guan Xun: "..."

Perhaps sensing her silence, Jin Chen paused slightly before adding, "If there's really that possibility, I'll go with you."

These words greatly surprised Guan Xun, and her smile deepened.

The next second, she turned her head, leaped nimbly, and sped towards the blurry outline of the town.

"Let's go."

Jin Chen moved swiftly and followed closely behind.

As they drew closer, the fog that had enveloped the town dissipated somewhat, and the two were finally able to see the scene ahead.

That wasn't a city at all, just a small town.

The town was quiet, with all the doors and windows tightly shut, and the doors covered in a thick layer of dust.

The streets were deserted, with only a few thin figures moving slowly, their steps unsteady like those of puppets on strings.

As soon as the two of them stepped onto the street corner, they were hit by a nauseating stench even before they got close.

Guan Xun subconsciously held his breath, his gaze sweeping across both sides of the street, his pupils slightly contracting.

Rotting corpses were scattered everywhere, in the corners of the walls and along the eaves. Some were unrecognizable as human, and white maggots crawled all over the festering flesh, frantically gnawing at the rotting flesh.

Scattered white bones were blown about by the wind, appearing particularly eerie under the gloomy sky.

The two figures were so conspicuous that people moving on the street stopped almost instantly.

They turned around stiffly, their movements as slow as rusty puppets, and after a long pause, a glimmer of light flashed in their lifeless eyes.

"Blood... fresh blood..."

A hoarse voice echoed through the deathly quiet town, carrying a chilling longing.

Immediately afterwards, the tightly closed doors and windows suddenly made a loud banging noise, as if someone had smashed them open from the inside!

A series of figures, large and small, darted out from inside the door, their genders indistinguishable.

Their skin was an eerie purplish-black, and their skeletal frame looked as if it might burst through their thin flesh at any moment.

His tattered clothes were covered in stains and scabs, and the sound of bones grinding together was clearly audible as he ran.

These people rushed towards this place like madmen!

Their faces were filled with unbearable hunger, and they kept muttering, "Blood, my...my..."

That appearance was utterly terrifying.

"Could this be a ghost?" Guan Xun subconsciously took a half step back, and as he spoke, he raised his hand and threw a ball of dark flame at the onrushing crowd.

The scorching heatwave exploded as soon as it hit the ground, quickly and steadily stopping those people along the tracks on the ground.

However, they did not seem to back down and instead rushed towards the flames one after another.

The dark flames scorched their bodies, and a sizzling sound rang out continuously, but even though their flesh was burned black and curled up, not a single scream was heard.

Those people remained in their attacking stance, their eyes fixed on the two people in front of them, their desire undiminished.

Guan Xun's brows furrowed even more.

With a flick of her wrist, the flames of the dark fire suddenly surged, licking everything around them like venomous snakes.

"What a hellish place," she muttered.

The fire raged, engulfing not only all the people who rushed towards it, but also setting the houses on both sides ablaze.

The raging flames shot into the sky, turning the gray sky a deep crimson.

The blackwood surrounding the town was also affected by the fire and quickly turned into charred remains.

Amidst the raging fire, Guan Xun reached out and grabbed a person who was engulfed in flames but was still struggling to stay afloat, pulling them out of the fire.

He immediately grabbed the other person's neck with one hand and asked in a cold voice, "Where is this? And where is the City That Never Sleeps?"

However, the man was clearly out of his mind. His turbid eyes were fixed on Guan Xun's fair wrist. Without warning, he opened his mouth, revealing a set of blackened teeth, as if he wanted to bite her hard!

"Buzz!" A red light suddenly flashed in Guan Xun's eyes.

An invisible shackle instantly froze the man's movements, leaving him in a bite-like position, his body as stiff as a clay or wooden sculpture.

A red light gradually enveloped his dull eyes, and a sliver of clarity struggled to emerge from the depths of his gaze.

Guan Xun then asked again, "Where is the City That Never Sleeps?"

"Ah...ah...ah..." Although the person was being controlled, his face showed an expression of extreme terror. His mouth opened and closed, but he could only make a few muffled sounds and couldn't utter a single word.

The next second, his neck suddenly twisted.

"Click."

With a crisp crack, its head slumped down, and it breathed its last.

died.

"..." Guan Xun disgustedly threw the corpse on the ground, unable to utter a single useful piece of information, but he died a quick and easy death.

She glanced at the charred remains scattered on the ground and the twisted, burnt skeletons of houses, a hint of hostility in her eyes.

This dilapidated town is just bad luck to keep it around.

With a thought, the dark flames in her palm flared up again, shooting up several feet high, which she then casually tossed around.

Instantly, thick smoke billowed up all around, enveloping the entire town completely.

In a short while, it was completely engulfed in flames.

Guan Xun walked on the fire, surveying the town, his fingertips slowly extinguishing the dark flames in the places he passed.

"It was burned quite cleanly."

Jin Chen followed behind her, his gaze fixed on the center of the ruins.

The ashes there were thinner than elsewhere, and a stone slab could be vaguely seen on the ground, its edges incongruous with the surrounding soil.

He stepped forward, and with a light tap of his toe, the stone slab covered in ashes flipped over, revealing a dark hole underneath.

The cave entrance was about the width of a person. A stronger, colder aura mixed with the stench of blood surged up, making one's nose sting.

Guan Xun also stepped forward, bent down to look into the depths of the cave entrance, and his eyes suddenly darkened.

A crescent moon totem is carved deep within the cave wall.

"This is……?"

"The sign of the City That Never Sleeps," Jin Chen said. "This is the entrance."