Chapter 19: A New Battle

After crossing the bridge, Ye Tong suddenly felt as if a thread of fate had snapped in the invisible realm, leaving an empty space in her heart.

She couldn’t pinpoint what she had lost, but the feeling of emptiness was unbearably uncomfortable.

Sitting alone, Ye Tong pondered, trying to find the answer. Suddenly, a figure appeared, causing her to pause.

“Could it be him?” Ye Tong felt surprised, but deep down, another voice seemed to tell her it wasn’t a surprise at all.

After resting for several hours, the team continued their journey. After passing through layers of mist, they finally saw a city before them.

The entire city was deathly silent, devoid of life and noise, with dust everywhere, having endured countless years in darkness and silence. They searched several buildings but found no corpses or skeletons; all the residents had vanished without a trace.

In the houses, pots remained on the stoves, dishes on the tables, and beds still unmade, but there was no sign of the inhabitants.

Their exploration proceeded smoothly, and at the center of the city stood an enormous temple that could not be missed. When the group entered the temple, they were all shocked by the sight before them.

The hall was extremely vast, with nothing but a central platform standing in the hundreds of meters of open space. At the four corners, statues of crystal maidens held their hands up, pointing towards a common spot in the air, as if beseeching something.

Though the place they pointed to was now empty, everyone felt the same sense: there should have been something there.

The missing object was likely the treasure they had been searching for so desperately.

Maers was about to fly toward the platform to investigate when Sadison pulled him back and pointed to the ground, saying, “Look at your feet!”

Maers looked down and gasped.

The entire floor was covered with intricate carvings, which upon closer inspection, formed a network of interconnected lines. To Maers, these lines made sense—they formed a primeval force array spanning the entire hall.

Looking at the array under his feet and then at the platform, Maers suddenly understood: “This is an altar!”

Sadison’s face was grave as he nodded slowly.

The carvings forming the array were actually grooves, serving as conduits for the medium. Clearly, the massive array required more than just primeval force to operate. And, as the name suggested, an altar needed a sacrifice to function.

So, what were the sacrifice and the medium? Were they related?

In Heini Town, Qian Ye had spent two days and one night in seclusion.

Most of the spider-demon blood energy had been nearly depleted, and a small vortex was swirling in his abdomen. The vortex was composed of extremely pure dark primeval force, its attributes closely resembling the dark source at the pinnacle of the Eternal Night side.

However, Qian Ye didn’t know that Brahms’ strength was due to his innate robustness. The spider-demon viscount had remained in a half-spider, half-human form for so long because his bloodline was not pure enough, preventing him from freely switching between human and spider forms like most upper-class spider-demons.

To extract such pure dark primeval force from such a vast but impure original blood would cause a great stir if known by the Eternal Night faction, rivaling the impact of a new seat in the Eternal Night Council.

But Qian Ye was puzzled by something else. According to the purification ratio of Dawn primeval force, the amount of dark primeval force seemed too little. He didn’t expect much dark primeval force, but the change was too significant to ignore.

The tiny vortex continued to spin, like the densest cloud, dark and deep, almost bottomless. Looking at it for too long, one might even see a hint of crimson in the endless darkness.

“Darkness with a tinge of red is Xuan.” This was the Song ancient scroll’s description of Xuan chapter cultivation, indicating imminent success.

Qian Ye sighed inwardly, knowing the final moment was near.

After two days and one night, his once-depleted Dawn primeval force had slowly returned to its original level. Now, within Qian Ye, the Dawn tide flowed along his bloodline, while a dark vortex swirled in his lower abdomen. When the dark primeval force was fully refined, its reaction with the already refined Dawn primeval force would be clear.

Was it the proven impossibility of fire and ice coexisting, as demonstrated by humanity over a thousand and two hundred years, or the incomprehensible balance of darkness and dawn in the Song ancient scroll?

Qian Ye didn’t think much about the impending result. There was no choice but to face it. He would rather take a chance on life and death than do nothing and let the dark primeval force consume him.

He guided the dark primeval force into its final cycle, the vortex spinning several times faster before contracting violently, finally forming a fingertip-sized black crystal bead.

What was this? Qian Ye was taken aback. Though the absence of conflict between dark and Dawn primeval forces was good news, he felt no balance between them.

Before Qian Ye’s consciousness could probe, the black crystal bead shattered, releasing a thin, almost indiscernible strand of golden blood energy.

This new blood energy was a dark gold, its aura extremely weak yet carrying a cold, distant, and ancient essence, as if it had existed for millions of years.

The dark golden blood energy began to flow, leaving a faint trail like a comet, which dissipated moments later.

Qian Ye suddenly noticed that there seemed to be extremely fine runes flickering in the trail. But the golden blood energy was so fine, the traces even more minuscule, making him uncertain if he had really seen anything.

The first area the dark golden blood energy explored was where the fragments of the dark crystal bead hovered. As it moved, the fragments disappeared one by one. Then it began to travel upstream along the flowing bloodline, as if familiarizing itself with this new world.

Qian Ye had a sudden realization. If the original golden blood energy seemed to have its own intelligence, this dark golden blood energy was like a newborn infant.

The dark golden blood energy finally reached the heart, where the golden blood energy’s pupil rune had not dissipated, still floating inside. The dark golden blood energy, like a curious child, circled the rune twice, touched it gently, and then settled, coiling and remaining still, as if confirming this as its new home.

When Qian Ye emerged from the training room, he saw Song Hu sitting outside, seemingly waiting for a long time. After the battle, there were many things to do, and Song Hu wouldn’t waste time here unless necessary.

“Is something wrong?” Qian Ye extended his hand, letting A Qi help him change out of his sweat-soaked clothes.

Song Hu said, “We’ve found traces of the dark race’s follow-up forces in the Great Swamp. General Wei wants you to meet him immediately after your training to discuss defense arrangements.”

As Qian Ye entered the conference hall, most of the expeditionary officers had dispersed, and several of the Wei family’s guards were preparing to leave after receiving their tasks.

Wei Bainen stood in front of the war zone map, turning to say, “There’s good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

“The good news,” Qian Ye replied, noting that Wei Bainen’s mood for a joke suggested the situation wasn’t the worst, though the faces of the officers he had passed in the courtyard didn’t look good.

“The good news is we confirmed that the dark army vanguard we annihilated was half of their forces in this direction. Compared to previous campaigns, our losses were minimal,” Wei Bainen said.

Qian Ye nodded, asking, “And the bad news?”

Wei Bainen smiled bitterly, “The bad news is, although the dark races haven’t reinforced, they have no intention of changing their course. Scouts report that follow-up forces have been spotted in the middle of the Black Mud Swamp. Leading them is likely Sodo Lieshen.”

“Lieshen? One of the werewolf tribes?”

“Yes, one of the ten major werewolf tribes, known for their aggressive and ruthless nature. What’s more, Sodo Lieshen is also a warrior.”

Qian Ye frowned, “Two warriors?”

Wei Bainen nodded, his expression serious, “Yes, losing half their forces hasn’t deterred them. This sector is just a small part of their deployment. But sending two warriors to a non-critical direction indicates an unprecedentedly strong offensive.”

Qian Ye approached Wei Bainen, looking at the latest annotated map on the table, asking, “General, how are your injuries?”

“Almost recovered, thanks to a private stock of special medicine. I didn’t want to use it, but another werewolf! Ah, that medicine is worth almost a Level 6 gun.” Wei Bainen shrugged, showing his reluctance.

Special medicines that could quickly heal a warrior’s injuries were extremely rare, used only in dire situations. But with another dark warrior approaching, Wei Bainen had no choice but to recover to his full strength.

Wei Bainen then redirected the conversation, “I’ve urgently pulled troops from other frontlines, leaving only those necessary for maintaining order. This way, we can barely maintain a numerical advantage. Your Darkfire Mercenary Corps will defend this section, about a hundred meters of the city wall, and the three adjacent blocks.”

Qian Ye pointed to the map, saying, “This area seems a bit weak…”

As he spoke, he suddenly felt discomfort in his left hand supporting the table and moved it. With a loud crack, the entire meeting table shattered into pieces, the military map tearing into shreds.

Qian Ye, still holding his left hand in mid-air, was stunned.

Wei Bainen was also surprised, instinctively asking, “What happened?”

“I… it seems I used a bit too much strength,” Qian Ye stammered.