Beyond the town, on the side closest to the swamp, lay a cemetery of astonishing size. At a glance, one could see countless broken tombstones and even more unmarked graves. The exact number of graves was unknown, but it was estimated to be in the tens of thousands at the very least.
The existence of the cemetery had been for at least a century. Somehow, Heini Town had developed a tradition: whenever someone died nearby, the townsfolk would spontaneously dig a grave for them there. Those from the town who passed away were also buried here. Over time, this land became a grand necropolis, a testimony to the long and arduous struggle of humanity against the harsh environment and the dark races over the centuries.
Qianye silently gazed at the land before him, then, after a moment, he crossed the cemetery and entered the Black Mud Swamp.
Under the cover of night, the Black Mud Swamp was shrouded in a faint gray mist. Even with his night vision, Qianye’s sight was limited to only a few dozen meters. As he drew closer to the swamp, an abnormal, putrid stench grew more pungent, a mixture of hundreds of unpleasant odors. This stench was intolerable to creatures outside the swamp, and their keen sense of smell would be greatly impaired.
The edge of the swamp had no clear boundary; most of it looked like ordinary muddy ground, covered by a thin layer of plant life that resembled grass. However, these were not ordinary weeds; they included a mix of mosses and ferns. While the surface appeared dense and flat, beneath it were hidden countless deep, bottomless pits. An ordinary person, once trapped, would never escape, swallowed whole by the black mire.
Such terrain posed no challenge to Qianye. He strode forward, his boots treading through the mud, moving steadily and quickly. If the ground suddenly turned soft, Qianye would instantly become as light as air, passing over the mire without his boots even getting wet.
Qianye had undergone special training for such terrain, and he had learned from Hu Wei how to distinguish deep pits from the types of plants growing. Even so, his discerning eyes could not always avoid every trap, and sometimes he had to test the ground to determine if it was solid. This attested to the treacherous nature of the Black Mud Swamp. Only a warrior of level five or higher, with the adaptability and strength, could make mistakes and still move freely.
After walking for a while, Qianye suddenly stopped, drawing a multi-purpose military knife from his waist and digging out a black vine from the mud. He cut a piece of the vine, and the sap that oozed from the cut was thick and crimson, like rich blood.
This was Blood Vine, a specialty of the Black Mud Swamp, and a key ingredient in many potions. It was famous for its ability to enhance stimulants, significantly boosting their effectiveness. Most elite corps’ stimulant formulas contained Blood Vine.
This was one of the main attractions for scavengers and herbalists to venture into the black mire. A piece of Blood Vine, even as short as what Qianye held, could fetch several gold coins in Blackflow City, a fortune that could change a scavenger’s life.
The Blood Vine was named not for its blood-red sap, but for the many lives lost in the pursuit of harvesting it.
Suddenly, a peculiar buzzing filled the darkness, growing louder and more persistent. Tiny, finger-sized insects began to appear, circling around Qianye. They were attracted by the scent of the Blood Vine. These insects, resembling enlarged flying ants, had menacing mandibles and retractable venomous stingers.
Though common, in the Black Mire, these insects grew much larger and more deadly. The Blood Vine emitted a unique aroma when exposed to air, attracting these insects.
Experienced herbalists would process the Blood Vine underwater, wrapping it in special pouches to minimize the scent. Less skilled scavengers would cover themselves entirely in protective leather, allowing the insects to sting them until their venom ran out.
Now, Qianye raised his right hand, and a thread of blood aura mixed with primordial force emerged from his fingertips. The insects’ flight patterns immediately became chaotic, as if they sensed danger, hesitating to approach despite the Blood Vine’s allure.
However, the danger was not limited to these insects. A puddle of muddy water near a clump of ferns suddenly rippled, and a faint, dark shadow shot out like an arrow. With no warning, it struck Qianye’s calf, causing a sharp pain followed by numbness, and he lost sensation in his leg.
The creature was a snake-like being, half a meter long, with a sharp horn on its head. In a single strike, it pierced through the metal mesh in Qianye’s boot, directly stabbing his calf.
The Horned Snake, a companion to the Blood Vine, was another lethal threat. While the insects signified a mortal danger, the appearance of a Horned Snake was tantamount to death itself. Their horns were hollow, serving as blood-sucking organs, and their venom was fatal. Currently, the only antidote was a special military antivenom, and those poisoned had to rely on their physical constitution and primordial force to survive.
Qianye’s vampire physiology gave him natural resistance to biological toxins, and the numbness did not spread beyond his knee, indicating that the poison was not immediately fatal, though it still affected him. This demonstrated the intensity of the venom. No wonder Hu Li had said that entering the Black Mud Swamp was a gamble with one’s life.
Qianye remained unusually still. As the Horned Snake began to feed, he regained sensation in his leg, feeling his blood flow out. The snake’s gray belly was becoming increasingly swollen.
Estimating that the Horned Snake had nearly finished feeding, Qianye relaxed his control over the blood aura within him. A thread of ordinary blood aura rushed from his heart, finding the outgoing blood and mixing with it, sending out a burst of energy.
The Horned Snake jerked away from Qianye’s leg, thrashing and struggling in the mud, and soon, it went rigid, floating half-submerged in the water, motionless.
For the snake, that burst of blood aura was a lethal poison.
Qianye secured the Blood Vine and circled the area, clearing away most of the traces he left behind. However, if one looked closely, they would find that some corners were not completely cleaned, and intermittent traces could still be found. As for the Horned Snake, Qianye left it where it was.
After checking the area once more, Qianye felt satisfied and continued deeper into the swamp. This time, his steps were heavier, and each time he extricated himself from the mire, he left more traces.
Though outwardly calm, Qianye was in a state of heightened alert. He activated his bloodline’s latent power, carefully controlling the blood aura within him.
He had a hunch that the Blood Noble he had seen in Heini Town had not left and was even following him into the swamp. Though he had not detected any definitive signs of being followed, the faint sense of danger lingered.
This was Qianye’s blood aura sensing the Blood Noble’s blood power. Even though the noble had concealed his presence, the sensation remained, suggesting that the noble was still nearby.
After the Horned Snake’s attack, Qianye conceived a bold plan. He did not know if his setup would work against the high-ranking vampire. A vampire who dared to venture so deeply into human territory and stayed even after being discovered was clearly an experienced veteran, not easily tricked. Nevertheless, Qianye remained patient, knowing that the vast Black Mud Swamp provided ample time and opportunities.
Shortly after Qianye left, the scenery in a corner of the swamp suddenly distorted, and a dark figure seemed to materialize from the void. Dressed in a dark cloak, his eyes glowed a faint red in the night. He crouched, examining the water before him.
From this angle, he saw a faint footprint in the water. In the Black Mire, with its seemingly calm but turbulent currents, shallow footprints vanished quickly. The fact that this print remained indicated a particularly heavy step.
The Blood Noble did not look ahead but back toward the direction of the footprint. Rising, his form became blurry and twisted, floating as if weightless, and he moved toward where Qianye had come from.
Soon, he found the spot where Qianye had dug up the Blood Vine and saw the Horned Snake, still stiff and floating on the surface. In the Black Mire, the Horned Snake was a dominant predator, and even in death, no other swamp creature would approach it for a long time.
As the Blood Noble approached the snake, he suddenly froze, stopping in his tracks!
He slowly removed his hood, revealing silver hair and a stern, dignified face. His deeply hooked mouth and hawk-like eyes exuded a cold cruelty. But in this moment, his expression was twisted, and a low, almost animalistic groan escaped his throat, his fangs protruding from his lips.
He stared at a patch of low, twisted shrubs, their thorny branches topped with sparse, dark green leaves.
The noble inhaled deeply, letting his sense of smell guide him closer to the shrubs. Finally, he found his target: a drop of dried blood on a leaf.
Even though the blood was dry, the lingering scent was still so sweet and aromatic. What must it have tasted like when fresh?
The Blood Noble leaned closer to the blood drop, inhaling deeply once more, then holding his breath, closing his eyes, and savoring the moment with a look of intoxication.
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