“How do you plan to form the origin crystal?” Ji Tianqing’s curiosity had been piqued.
Anwen pointed at the Constellation Well. “You won’t let us do it here by any chance, will you?”
Ji Tianqing shrugged. “Of course not. It’s not like you can beat us.”
Anwen wasn’t angry. “The origin crystal we want to form is special, it doesn’t need a lot of star power. This isn’t the only opening to the Constellation Well, just the biggest and most convenient one. To us, though, the star power here is too close to daybreak, so the other wells are actually more suitable.”
Ji Tianqing asked in surprise, “There are other wells?”
Anwen said, “Of course. Don’t forget that you humans learned of the Great Maelstrom from us. Our understanding of this place is far superior.”
“Fine, good luck then.” Ji Tianqing waved her hand.
Nodding, Anwen left in a different direction with Bai Kongzhao.
Ji Tianqing called out from behind, “Thanks for the sculpture!”
Anwen looked back with a smile. “If you really want to thank me, then let me use this well later on.”
“Don’t you only have one Storm Pearl?”
“I just want to study what’s different about this well. I feel that the secrets of this world are hidden inside these stars.”
Qianye shook his head, feeling that this Anwen was somewhat crazy. One would be defenseless once inside the well and usually required someone to stand guard at the opening. As this was a common gathering place for Imperial experts, Anwen entering the well alone was akin to suicide. He had Bai Kongzhao with him, but Qianye knew no one could control that girl or know what she was thinking. No one knew where she would aim her blade the next moment.
But Qianye had no reason to stop a demonkin from killing himself, let alone an extremely important person. He had chosen to avoid an unnecessary fight against Anwen, but he wasn’t about to stop one of Evernight’s fighting powers from disappearing.
It was night by the time the duo departed. As it was already dark, Qianye’s group picked a hidden place to camp for the night. The two ladies decided to take turns standing watch and allow Qianye to recover his origin power as much as possible. According to Ji Tianqing, he was a goose that could lay golden eggs and thus needed to rest well.
Qianye didn’t refuse the offer. The effects of Elder Lu’s wine were still there, so he should grasp this opportunity to cultivate. It was possible for him to break through again before the wine wore off.
The night was quiet.
Qianye slowly opened his eyes as the first rays of dawn appeared and shot out crackling beams of scarlet gold. At this point, his origin power was at its maximum capacity, and his sixth origin node was almost full. Countless crystalline particles were swirling inside the vortex, making it difficult to discern which was liquid and which was crystal.
His seventh origin node had swollen to its limits and looked like it would explode within days, turning into an origin vortex.
Qianye opened his eyes and glanced at the coming dawn. Today was one of the best days in his life.
It was at this time that Li Kuanglan’s voice rang out. “Who goes there!?”
The only reply was a surge of origin power, followed by a muffled sound. It was a shot from an origin gun!
From what Qianye remembered, both Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing knew that origin firearms shouldn’t be used in the Great Maelstrom. Gunshots would produce an earth-shattering sound, and the origin power would ripple dozens of kilometers out. No one knew what kind of danger such a ruckus would draw. Back when Qianye was forced to use Heartgrave, the sound traveled hundreds of kilometers out.
This shot was definitely not from Li Kuanglan or Ji Tianqing.
Qianye stood up and ran at full speed toward the sound.
A blue silhouette was shuttling through the forest like flashes of lightning, locked in a fierce battle against several black-robed experts. These enemies were so powerful and well-coordinated that they were gradually boxing Li Kuanglan in.
With her dagger in hand, Li Kuanglan attempted to charge through the encirclement several times. However, the dark-robed people seemed to understand her sword technique quite well—they would switch to a solid defensive stance whenever they saw her charging, leaving no gap at all for her to exploit. The target only needed to impede her for a split second, and the rest of the team would arrive to surround her.
Li Kuanglan knew she had to avoid being surrounded, so she would retreat immediately after missing the first strike and change targets.
Although the forest was a familiar environment for her, the black-robed men were all powerful and agile. Their strength was inferior, but it wasn’t out of the question for them to block a couple of blows from her.
There was also a woman in the periphery—the sniper rifle in her grasp was following Li Kuanglan’s movements. The shot she had fired just now had almost found its target, so despite not pulling the trigger yet, the pressure was still just as intense.
Qianye saw this scene immediately after entering the forest. Seeing that Li Kuanglan was still able to hold out, he refrained from stepping in immediately. Instead, he hid his presence and began looking for Ji Tianqing.
The latter was on the other side of the forest, in a showdown against two mysterious black-robed people who had blocked her in a pincer formation.
The soil on the ground had been overturned, and several of the nearby trees were leaning at crazy angles. Apparently, the two sides had already exchanged blows. Ji Tianqing’s countenance was clear and calm. She merely stared at the black-robed man in front of her and ignored the one behind.
The enemy behind her finally lost his calm. He produced a crossbow from his robe, loaded a bolt, and took aim at Ji Tianqing’s back. He then moved forward step by step.
This crossbow was exquisitely crafted with three sets of bow arms and a body covered in origin arrays. Although not very big, its firepower could not be underestimated. This black-robed man was now a mere ten meters away from Ji Tianqing, where a sudden shot could pose a significant threat to her.
The latter was bent forward slightly in an attack stance, her target still the black-robed man in front of her. She seemed to be ignoring the man behind her entirely.
The black-robed man in front stood calmly without any preparatory movements. It would seem he was quite confident about the situation.
After scanning the battlefield, Qianye sped toward the black-robed man in front of Ji Tianqing. This person possessed a deep aura that was entirely contained, and his combat abilities seemed far above his peers.
Qianye channeled his Bloodline Concealment as he moved toward the black-robed man like a ghost. When they were several dozen meters away, the man suddenly sensed something and turned toward Qianye’s direction.
Qianye erupted with origin power and speed, arriving before the black-robed man within seconds and delivering a downward slash.
The man’s aura fluctuated momentarily, seemingly startled. A slash from East Peak was as heavy as the mountains. How would he dare to take it head-on? The black-robed man evaded the slash with an immediate retreat, but his smooth retreat turned strangely sluggish all of a sudden.
It was during this brief moment that Qianye planted East Peak in the ground and threw a punch at the enemy’s chest. There was no evading this square punch. Qianye was apparently planning to contest strength with strength and decide the match with a single punch.
The black-robed man also knew this. “Insolence!” he roared as he also responded with a similar punch.
Qianye unleashed a shout akin to spring thunder as the joints in his body reverberated with a thunderous toll. His ancient vampire strength, combined with the explosive power of Excavator, all poured out in one punch.
Groaning, the black-robed man retreated several steps, but with every step he took back, Qianye would take a step forward. The fists connected repeatedly, and wave after wave of Excavator power traveled through Qianye’s fist and crashed into the black-robed man.
The series of attacks was bold and unreserved, aiming to defeat the enemy in one blow and even kill them.
However, the black-robed man’s power was like a boundless marsh. It was vast, heavy, and extremely tenacious. It remained unscattered in the face of Qianye’s Excavator, and even its retaliation was growing stronger.
The man took seven steps back before finding a stable footing once more.
Qianye attacked several more rounds, but the black-robed man took everything quite calmly.
This man’s strength was well beyond expectation, but Qianye had other tricks up his sleeve. He stepped back all of a sudden and picked East Peak up. Nirvanic Rend!
This slash was abnormally swift. Just as the black-robed man thought to evade, his figure slowed down yet again as it was restrained by the Eye of Control. Since he couldn’t evade the blade, all he could do was block forcibly.
He crossed his arms in front of his body, producing a meshwork of purple blood energy to lock down the incoming beam. Both sword and blood energies froze for a brief moment, and then exploded with a loud boom, turning into countless streams of sharp energy that shot off in all directions.
Qianye remained standing in place, only lifting his left hand slightly. A stream of energy flitted past his face, leaving a shallow trail of blood therein.
The black-robed man was blasted miserably by the streams of energy. He shook his body with a harrumph, duly shattering the black robe as he raised his head and revealed his true appearance.
The man’s figure appeared in Qianye’s eyes. “ Edward?”
The one standing opposite him was indeed the vampire holy son, Edward. The Empire had listed this person as an important target since his appearance in Indomitable, and even those who hadn’t seen him before could recognize him.
Qianye observed the purple blood energy seeping out of Edward’s body. He was fairly shaken because the pressure it brought about was unprecedented. Since his cultivation of the Song Clan Ancient Scroll and the dark golden blood energy, Qianye had never felt pressure from another vampire.
Edward looked at Qianye. “Qianye?”
Qianye nodded. “Yes.”
Edward drew his sword and said proudly, “I heard you’re a member of our vampire race and have obtained the inheritance of the River of Blood. Why aren’t you kneeling after seeing me?”
“Why aren’t you kneeling?” Qianye sneered.
Edward was furious. “I’ll teach you some things since you’re a mixed-breed. All vampires have their own place in the River of Blood. The closer one is to the source, the more powerful and respected they are, this is an iron rule since the birth of the vampires! Since you’re part of our race, why aren’t you respecting the rules?”
Qianye laughed. “On the topic of the River of Blood, do you think your so-called Holy Son status makes you superior to a mixed-breed?”
