The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 29 - 28: Protective Talisman_1

"Just around the corner, there’s a path that should only take about ten minutes to travel."

As Jiang Haowen answered, he looked around, his yellow pupils gleaming with fluorescent light, seemingly penetrating the dense bushes and reaching beyond.

The green-eyed owl perched upon his shoulder was constantly twisting its neck, occasionally staring at the sky with focused fascination.

All these details confirmed Ye Hanjun’s guess.

Jiang Haowen is a ’Scout’!

"Oh, Meng, look to your right."

"Fifty meters on the right, in front of that dark green tree, do you see it?"

Following Jiang Haowen’s surprised tone, Jiang Meng turned her head to look, a hint of interest appearing on her cute face.

"Is that a Candle Goblin? So tiny, it must be very young!"

"It’s not young, but probably has a damaged soul, severely harming its foundation."

Jiang Haowen shook his head, "What a pity, this is a high-quality type of Fond Spirit."

"A Patron of ordinary means could possibly leap in rank if they were able to form a contract with it."

"But this one seems to be discarded, I suspect that it was likely devoured by a stronger ghost kind of Fond Spirit, causing lasting disability, although it didn’t die."

Jiang Meng pondered thoughtfully and murmured,

"I read in books that injuries relating to one’s foundation are extremely difficult to heal."

"Even with substantial resources, it does not mean that one can completely recover. There can be many unforeseen sequelae."

"Yes," Jiang Haowen agreed, "Such as slow growth, inability to ascend, and mental deficiency..."

"Speaking of which, those with such resources and after weighing the pros and cons, from the start, would not be willing to invest in it."

"They have completely the means to find better Contracted Spirits. There is no need to grope about in a dead-end, doing thankless tasks."

"I have learned a lot." Jiang Meng slowly nodded, her eyes twinkling with thoughtful light.

Ye Hanjun glanced at them, unconcerned.

Such a type of Nether Fond Spirit can only evolve into a ’Candle Ghost’ at most. Although it had some potential, it was still far from his definition of high-quality.

"Whoosh——"

The moonlight was like water, splashing across the night sky.

The whispering sounds of insects never ceased. From time to time, strange night creatures emerged from the soil, bouncing onto branches.

Most of them were deformed, barely at the level of the ’Small Achievement of the Clay Body’. They were inherently timid and fearful.

Perhaps it was because they often saw humans, and the staff at the rescue center regularly fed them, these non-aggressive Fond Spirits could be reared freely without worry of them harming others.

Ye Hanjun’s eyes... slightly narrowed!

His crossed arms did not drop, only his lazy legs adjusted slightly to fit the ground better.

There was a killing intent.

Even if it was faint, a very slight trace, killing intent was killing intent!

Ye Hanjun did not act recklessly. He didn’t even look around, not wanting to alert the hidden observer.

He pretended to be blinded by the wind and sand, rubbing his eyes and closing them.

His suppressed perception, like a flood, all of a sudden, began to pour out without restraint.

"Boom——"

Around a three hundred meter radius, every blade of grass, every flower, every tree, transformed into overlapping illusions, interwoven into his soul’s world.

They were imaginary, yet real. Even if a breeze brushed past, causing a leaf to fall. The leaf twirled as it fell... every minute facet was firmly captured by Ye Hanjun.

"Meng, remember this, although Candle Goblins are Nether Fond Spirits, belonging to the Ghost type."

"It also has a fire attribute. The candle flame on its head can activate fire magic skills. If you encounter a healthy Candle Goblin in the wild, you must be caref..."

Before he could finish his words-

Ye Hanjun, who had been with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and stretched out his hand forward, shoving vigorously.

"Ah!" Jiang Meng, who was listening intently, was taken aback by sudden shove. She lost her balance and instantly fell sideways. Looking at Ye Hanjun in confusion, she wondered why he had done it.

"Swoosh!!!"

A massive black claw, carried the scent of blood, swooped down with immeasurable speed. Since the distance was so close, the sound of splitting air nearly ruptured ear drums.

Fear spread throughout her body from her heart to her mind, replacing the daze. Jiang Meng, who had fallen hard, didn’t mind the mud on her pretty pink skirt. The muscles on her cheek stiffened, her blood seemed to freeze, she bit her tongue and couldn’t make a sound.

"Gulp!!!"

The green-eyed owl was severely frightened, flapping its wings frantically, trying to fly up into the air at the first moment.

The chattering voice of Jiang Haowen abruptly halted, his face turning deathly pale.

In a split second, he became like a soulless body, with only frozen fear reflecting in his eyes.

The next second, he regained consciousness, his pupils trembling, his mouth uttering an incredible question:

"Solitary... Solitary Shadow Wolf?!"

"Swoosh-!" The large claw missed its target but paused momentarily, seeming to be taken aback.

Looking again, a cluster of shadows flashed explosively backward, and an extremely ferocious and robust monster appeared a hundred meters away.

It was a wolf.

A black wolf.

Its body length exceeded three meters, and its entire body was full of protruding tendons. It was hard to imagine the damage that the explosive power contained within could cause.

At this moment, it had adopted the most standard attack posture — its hind legs were stretched straight, its front legs bent to both sides, its head hung low, ready to spring and sprint at any time.

And that evil red pupil, although there was only one.

Combined with its snarling and violent expression, if one were to say it was a mad beast, there would be no doubt about it.

"How is this possible..."

Jiang Haowen’s legs were trembling. He couldn’t comprehend this inconceivable scene, and he gasped, muttering:

"The Solitary Shadow Wolf, as a dangerous Fond Spirit, does not have the freedom to move around. It is always bound in the corner of this layer... I saw it with my own eyes last time!"

"How is it possible... how could it have escaped... this isn’t normal!"

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

While Jiang Haowen was still dazed, Ye Hanjun activated the Emergency Rescue Function in his Personal Badge without any expression.

In an instant, an ear-piercing alarm sounded, and countless black crows rose from the surrounding bushes, fleeing desperately in all directions.

"It has advanced. It’s not the Mud-cast fetus at the Great Completion stage you mentioned, it has already ascended to the Perfection realm."

Ye Hanjun glanced at the giant wolf’s right hind leg, which was unable to stand straight and the pitch-black fur was mixed with a lot of blood.

A metal chain as thick as an arm was still tied around the ankle, and the other end of the chain had broken off, with obvious cutting marks on the cross-section.

When the giant wolf snarled, blood continuously dripped from its mouth.

In addition, there was a large amount of bloodstains and bloody footprints splashed on its path.

Without a doubt, this Solitary Shadow Wolf paid a considerable price, violently breaking free from its shackles to regain freedom.

"Its injuries are severe and it is less than a fifth of its peak state. Do you have the confidence to delay it?"

Ye Hanjun stood still on the spot, one hand gripping the Blood-Sucking Dagger, faintly assuming a defensive posture.

It was impossible to escape, absolutely impossible.

This was a speed-prone Fond Spirit of the Savage, with strong muscles and explosive power.

Under the premise that both Jiang Meng and Ye Hanjun were already seen as prey, neither of them could possibly escape to a safe distance.

The only hope was Jiang Haowen.

"I’m no match for it, but I should be able to stall it for a while."

In the crux of the situation, Jiang Haowen finally stabilized his mind and didn’t let Ye Hanjun belittle him even further.

He gritted his teeth, took out a stone-like object from his arms, bit his finger, and dripped a drop of fresh blood on it.

"Whirling~~~"

A light flowed and a semi-transparent barrier spread three meters around him, barely enclosing both Ye Hanjun and Jiang Meng within it.

Almost as soon as the barrier formed, the shadows flashed explosively again, having already rushed to the foreground.

When the giant claw fell, the sound of the air being torn apart entered the ear, heart-stopping.

Ye Hanjun frowned slightly, it had been a whole year since Jiang Haowen stepped onto the path of a Patron. The life-saving item he carried with him was even inferior to Su Mei’s Ant Guard Bracelet.

Just one claw swipe had caused cracks to appear in the barrier, its durability was lower than expected.

"Damn it, I used up my better treasures on the last mission and didn’t have time to replenish them..."

Jiang Haowen was sweating profusely, looking as pale as Ye Hanjun.

"Barely... it should be able to block three or five times, right?"

"Hiss... Lv Bao, I’m relying on you, quickly draw its attention. Don’t let it pass without obstruction!"

"Coo coo!"

The green-eyed owl responded, and it, hovering a hundred meters in the air, plucked up the courage to dive down.

"Whoosh——"

The Solitary Shadow Wolf was too fast. Even though it was severely injured, it moved like a fleeting ghost once it started its attack.

It used the trees to bounce, easily leaping several dozen meters into the air.

By the time it fiercely swiped its cold, gleaming claws, the green-eyed owl, who had attempted to strike with a wing attack, could not help but cry out in fear.

All it could do was to muster all its strength to close its wings, narrowly avoiding the onslaught of the wolf’s claws.

"It’s too fast, and too strong. We can’t compete at all..."

Jiang Haowen clutched his chest, both terrified and anxious.

The green-eyed owl was his Contracted Spirit Fond Spirit. If it were to die in battle, this rescue center would be the site of his heartbreak.

One step further, if the green-eyed owl was defeated and there was no other Fond Spirit to distract from the side, it would only take the Solitary Shadow Wolf how many breaths to shred the barrier and reach them?

"So scary..."

Jiang Meng, who was barely able to stand up, instinctively grabbed the corner of Ye Hanjun’s clothes, shivering.

She couldn’t even see the fight outside the barrier clearly. She could only hear the howling wind and the oppressing roar, cutting through the lonely darkness over and over again.