Ba Ao Tu nodded, agreeing with the old general’s words, and had the chief of staff put away the military map. Yet, her heart was heavy, as if a great boulder weighed on it, unable to be cast aside.
Similar doubts were also playing out in other battle zones, even at the headquarters of the expeditionary force, where Duke Ding Guo and Marshal Luo Mingji, the overall commander of the expeditionary army responsible for the Night Continent’s war situation, had been discussing, but without any results.
They had exhausted all means, even resorting to torture to break the mind of a spider-demon baron to obtain a confession, but the result was disappointing. This dark baron did not know why this war was being waged; he only received orders to fight on a certain battlefield and kill as many human warriors as possible, nothing more.
From this, it seemed that if there was any true plot, only those of the rank of duke or higher might know, and it wasn’t impossible that the classified authority level might be even higher, perhaps only those Night Continent councillors knew what they were really up to.
After endless discussions without any clue, the bigwigs on the human side finally reached a similar conclusion: continue to observe and fight a few more battles.
Qian Ye carefully traversed the war-torn Night Continent, half a month having passed in a blur of travel, combat, and cultivation. With the intensification of warfare in various places, he no longer dared to casually intervene, as it was easy to attract attacks from both sides.
During his journey, Qian Ye had also hunted down two patrol teams of the dark races, each time absorbing their essence blood, which required a considerable amount of time to digest. More than half of the refined dark origin power was consumed by the newly born dark golden blood energy, with the remainder shared by the purple blood energy, seven threads of dark red blood energy, and two advanced dark red blood energies.
Qian Ye then discovered that the dark origin power tempered by the Song ancient scrolls greatly promoted the evolution of the blood energy. In a short time, the ordinary dark red blood energy had recovered to nine threads, with two advancing to the second stage, while the already advanced purple blood energy became even deeper, looking like it would soon advance again.
The dark golden blood energy inherited the characteristic of the golden blood energy, growing much more slowly. It had consumed so much dark origin power yet was only slightly thicker than when it first appeared. But Qian Ye occasionally felt that the trail left as it moved contained two more runes that flickered uncertainly.
Qian Ye had coexisted with the blood energy for quite some time and now understood their functions. An increase or advancement in ordinary blood energy would slightly strengthen his body, and it would also automatically protect and repair his internal organs when they were damaged.
The purple blood energy was clearly the source of the vampiric constitution ability, and its growth and advancement brought significant reinforcement to Qian Ye’s body. The “blood poison” that was extremely lethal to the dark races, especially the vampires, was likely also derived from it.
The golden blood energy originally originated from the eye technique ability, and its advancement also enhanced physical strength, though not as much as the purple blood energy, but more than the ordinary blood energy.
The newly born dark golden blood energy seemed to have appropriated the ability of the golden blood energy, and although it was unclear how it would develop, it was evident that its enhancement to Qian Ye’s body was even greater than that of the purple blood energy.
Its origin was also perplexing. Qian Ye still wasn’t sure whether it was the golden blood energy that devoured the dark vortex and then advanced, or whether the Profound Chapter of the Song ancient scroll assimilated the golden blood energy.
But Qian Ye had gradually sorted out his cultivation into a system. Dawn origin power still relied on the Bingfa Jue, further purified by the Brilliant Chapter of the Song ancient scroll. Dark origin power came from the blood energy absorbed through slaughter, purified by the Profound Chapter and then consumed by the three types of blood energy in his body.
Since having an ample supply of dark origin power, the blood energy in Qian Ye’s body no longer consumed dawn origin power. Although running the Brilliant and Profound Chapters took some time, the dawn origin power was no longer lost, and his cultivation speed was basically unaffected.
Sometimes, Qian Ye would smile wryly at such a strange origin power system within him, but it was based on the balance established by the Song ancient scrolls, which felt more stable compared to the anxious confusion of trying to maintain the coexistence of dawn origin power and blood energy before.
However, after entering the capital city of Shanyin County, a shadow of worry once again clouded Qian Ye’s slightly relaxed mood.
This city, located in the heart of the Night Continent, was also a famous black crystal mining area under human control. Heavily garrisoned troops normally stationed there. Despite the tense situation throughout the Night Continent, the flames of war had not yet spread here, so the city remained bustling and orderly.
Qian Ye planned to cross the Cuiwei Peak, a branch of Hengshan, to head to the next battlefield. Therefore, he chose this city for supplies. There was a small business owned by a vassal family of the Song clan, as well as an unknown contact point of Song Zining.
It was a single-room storefront without a sign, specializing in repairing various firearms. Qian Ye originally planned to replenish some solid origin power bullets but unexpectedly learned that Song Zining had been trying to contact him through various branches about a week ago.
Such a broad-netted message naturally contained vague information. Qian Ye could only deduce that Song Zining wanted his help with something urgent.
This situation was absolutely abnormal!
Thinking of the brief words in the last letter from Song Zining, Qian Ye’s heart grew even darker. If Song Zining hadn’t encountered some problem, making it impossible for his core personnel to move, why would he try to find him like searching for a needle in the ocean?
This small contact point couldn’t provide more information. After hastily completing his supplies, it was already dusk. Qian Ye didn’t stay in the county city for the night and immediately set off for Weiyang City, the largest city of the Empire on the Night Continent, which not only had a base for cross-domain airships back to the mainland, but also had outposts of various forces.
In the night wind, Qian Ye climbed to the peak of a mountain north of the county city. He gazed toward the north, comparing the terrain before him with the map of Shanyin County he had just memorized, and finally decided to risk crossing the dark race-occupied area 100 kilometers away. This was the shortest route to Weiyang City.
Deep underground, the mysterious city opened by the Blackwing King Anduia was now under the strict guard of the direct soldiers of the Night Parliament. Apart from a few with special permits, no other living beings were allowed to enter or leave.
Though these soldiers directly under the Night Parliament were not numerous, they were the most elite and powerful fighting force of the entire Night faction, with even a common captain being a warlord. The selection of officers for this unit was extremely stringent, and not every warlord-class dark warrior could receive such an honor. Only true killing experts were qualified to be listed.
Even within the Night faction, this unit was a legend, with few able to see its members. They were the Black Sun, the sword-wielding guardians of the Night Parliament.
Such a large-scale underground city actually used the Black Sun squad to stand watch, and even the Black Sun warriors themselves only operated in the peripheral areas, as if an invisible boundary existed, preventing them from taking a step beyond.
The city was still empty, with no signs of life, except for a small group standing around the central altar.
From afar, this group of people varied in height and build, spaced far apart. Yet, the vast space of the altar seemed constricted, each person exuding a vast aura.
When they casually moved, their immense auras collided, creating a wave of shock that seemed to roll through the void. That was still a restrained effect, as perhaps the entire underground city was insignificant in the face of any one of them.
Even the captains of the Black Sun, at the warlord level, dared not cross that invisible line, nor dare they look at the central altar, as if a glance would scorch their eyes.
Most astonishingly, there were as many as twenty such terrifying entities of the same level.
A full twenty Night Parliament Councillors! Not just ordinary councillors, but several senior ones, and even a towering figure that resembled one of the legendary giants.
Among these major figures of the Night faction were a few young people, all prominent and promising, with some even having the potential to match the status of some ordinary councillors.
At the center of this gathering of geniuses, Ye Pupil stood as the focal point, the key figure of this mission.
Interlaced grooves covered the entire altar hall, filled with bright, flowing blood that seemed to have a life of its own, following the patterns and climbing upwards. The massive origin power array had been fully activated.
The blood flowing in the origin power array exuded a particularly vibrant life force, drawing the attention of several vampire councillors.
Above the altar, the blood energy was exceptionally thick, forming a dense, swirling mist that continuously churned, resembling the pulsating heart of an ancient beast.
An ancient, seemingly frail vampire councillor, seeing this, couldn’t help but say, “Those foolish humans, they are probably still thinking of fighting a few more battles and then see what we have in store. Haha, they don’t realize that we only need seven battles.”
A demon councillor spoke slowly, “Those humans are indeed foolish. However, it seems that some noble lords have been driven back by those foolish humans before.”
Another councillor turned sharply, coldly saying, “Fala, if you want to start a war, just say so!”
The councillor who turned out to be Gesitu, who had once gone alone to the Rock City of the Dark Blood City in the human territory, was severely injured and forced to retreat by a human girl using the Other Shore Flower. This incident had become a weakness, often used by his political rivals to attack him.
Fala snorted, dismissing Gesitu’s threat, saying, “I am merely stating a fact.”
Gesitu’s voice turned cold, “The fact is, if someone else had been hit by the Manjushaka, they probably wouldn’t have returned alive.”
Fala snorted heavily this time, his face darkening, but he didn’t refute. Among those present, some things didn’t need to be said, as defense was indeed his weak point. If he were truly hit by one of the Ten Famous Guns, the Manjushaka, he would likely be severely wounded on the spot, unable to escape.
At that moment, an aged, metallic-sounding voice rang out, “Enough! The treasure of Grand Duke Anduia has already appeared.”
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