Qian Ye remained calm in the face of danger. He first moved Li Kuanglan from his back to his right hand, then with a swift left-handed grab, he caught the sharp arrow. As soon as the arrow was in his grasp, Qian Ye felt a jolt throughout his body. The force of this arrow was extraordinarily powerful, almost comparable to that of a small warship’s crossbow. Fortunately, the ground by the riverbank was equally hard; otherwise, the arrow might have pinned Qian Ye to the ground.
As the arrow touched his hand, Qian Ye felt a searing pain in his palm. The arrow’s shaft was covered in barbs, slicing open his flesh and blood.
Several natives leaped out from the forest, including two tall, four-armed beings and four others who were roughly the same height as ordinary humans, similar to the fishermen. Oddly, among the four shorter natives, there were clearly two women, suggesting they belonged to the same race as the fishermen, while the four-armed beings likely belonged to a different race.
When these natives saw Qian Ye and Li Kuanglan, their eyes lit up, and they started shouting incomprehensible words. One of the four-armed women held a longbow, from which the arrow had been shot. Seeing Qian Ye’s bleeding palm, she became both excited and seemingly worried. After a series of unintelligible shouts, she threw a clay pot at Qian Ye, gesturing for him to apply its contents to his palm.
Qian Ye caught the clay pot and opened it, revealing a black, oily liquid with a pungent smell. He looked at his palm, noticing the black blood flowing from the wound, and the surrounding flesh turning a ghastly gray, already showing signs of decay.
The arrow was poisoned, but the toxin was not fatal. A corrosive poison was considered one of the lower-grade poisons. The truly lethal toxins directly affected the nervous system or even the origin power, capable of killing someone within seconds.
It appeared the four-armed woman had thrown the antidote. However, regardless of her intentions, Qian Ye did not believe she had any good will. Even if the natives didn’t want to kill him, Qian Ye had no intention of becoming a breeding machine, nor would he allow Li Kuanglan to fall into their hands.
Qian Ye put away the clay pot, even if it contained the real antidote, he dared not use it. Besides, the poison was as insignificant to Qian Ye as an insect bite. Without further ado, he ignited a blood flame in his palm, instantly burning away the toxic residue and the decaying flesh. The wound began to heal rapidly, leaving only a few thin lines of blood.
The four-armed woman watched in amazement, suddenly roaring at the other four-armed woman beside her. The latter, not to be outdone, brandished a thigh-thick stone club, making her threatening intentions clear. The two four-armed women began to quarrel, while the remaining four two-armed natives advanced towards Qian Ye.
“Put me down, I can handle these ants.”
Qian Ye glanced at Li Kuanglan and set her down. Li Kuanglan drew her blood-sucking blade and stepped forward to meet the approaching native.
The native warrior, upon seeing Li Kuanglan, let out a bestial roar, tore off his pants, and charged at her with his genitals exposed. Li Kuanglan was taken aback, never expecting such a situation. Though the man was full of flaws, she couldn’t help but feel the urge to cover her face and turn away.
These natives moved in a way that seemed ordinary, but under high gravity, their agility was impressive. Li Kuanglan hesitated, and the native was already upon her, reaching to tear her clothes. Instinctively, she slashed at his throat, but the warrior dodged, using his shoulder to block the blade, and grabbed her shirt collar. He would rather take a hit than let go of Li Kuanglan’s clothes.
Despite her genius, Li Kuanglan had never encountered such a reckless, lust-driven opponent. She was physically weak, and panic set in.
In that moment, a sword flash appeared, and Dongyue landed in front of Li Kuanglan, severing the native’s arms. The sword whirled again, decapitating the native in one stroke.
With Dongyue in both hands, Qian Ye stepped forward, and the sword seemed weightless, striking three times in rapid succession. The remaining three natives, two men and a woman, each had a hole in their chests.
The three strikes were incredibly powerful, leaving Li Kuanglan in awe. She remembered how heavy Dongyue was.
The two four-armed women, however, did not seem to understand the magnitude of Qian Ye’s skill. They temporarily ceased their argument and surrounded Qian Ye. The archer stopped at thirty meters, drawing her bow and fitting three arrows. The arrowheads were colored yellow and blue, suggesting different poisons. The club-wielding woman rushed to Qian Ye, raising her club, but instead of striking, she blew a puff of white mist.
This alarmed Qian Ye, and he abandoned any pretense of sword techniques, scooped up Li Kuanglan, and ran.
The white mist from the four-armed woman was extremely potent. Even from a distance, the faint wisps carried by the wind nearly incapacitated Qian Ye and turned Li Kuanglan into a lascivious state. If the mist had directly hit, Qian Ye wasn’t sure his vampiric constitution could withstand it. Moreover, in matters of reproduction, the ancient vampire bloodline seemed to resonate with the world’s creatures, often hindering rather than helping.
If not for Qian Ye’s strong Dawnlight Origin Power, which balanced the dark golden blood energy, the past two days and nights might have seen him and Li Kuanglan engage in many unspoken, unspeakable acts.
Dare not enter the forest, Qian Ye fled to the river, stowed Dongyue, kicked up a few stones, and leaped into the air, stepping on the stones mid-air to return to the other side. Under ten times gravity, even Qian Ye struggled to fly.
The two four-armed women chased to the riverbank, jumping and shouting, but they could not cross, either because they couldn’t swim or because they feared something in the river. Still, Qian Ye did not relax, running several kilometers upstream until the women were out of sight. He then let Li Kuanglan down, panting like a bull. Li Kuanglan herself was not light, and she wore a heavy inner armor.
This side of the river seemed safe, with no signs of native activity. Qian Ye found a sheltered, flat spot, built a campfire, and prepared to spend the night. Throughout, Li Kuanglan sat silently, lost in thought, offering no help. Qian Ye saw that she was still weak, unable to assist, so he set up the camp alone.
This time, Qian Ye did not build a hut but set up a ring of wooden traps around the camp, then prepared dinner with yesterday’s catch.
Suddenly, Li Kuanglan looked up and said, “Make me a large wooden basin.”
“What for?” Qian Ye wasn’t even planning to build a house, let alone furniture.
“I want to wash.”
Qian Ye was puzzled. Night was approaching, and the blood fire would burn away any dirt. There was no need for a bath. Moreover, the river might hold unknown dangers, as the natives fished there.
“I want to wash!” Li Kuanglan repeated emphatically.
Recognizing her resolve, Qian Ye complied. Making a wooden basin was easy for him. He selected a tree, cut it down with Dongyue, stripped the branches, and cut the wood into planks. He assembled them, binding them with tree bark, creating a basin large enough for one person. This task, though seemingly simple, was not trivial. The trees here were as hard as iron, and even the act of cutting one down with the dozens-of-tons Dongyue would be a challenge for a god.
In this damned world, strength was the law.
Qian Ye filled the basin with water and placed it on the ground. Li Kuanglan blushed slightly and said softly, “Guard me.”
Qian Ye nodded, sat by the river, and faced away from the basin. Soon, the sounds of undressing, splashing, and water movement followed.
She had some reason for needing to wash, but Qian Ye didn’t question it, watching the river quietly, waiting for her to finish.
As night fell, the two ate their dinner and extinguished the campfire to begin their respective cultivation. Li Kuanglan tended to her injuries, while Qian Ye refined more Dawnlight Origin Power to balance his blood energy. In this world, any creature had an unusually rich and abundant essence, and Qian Ye’s Book of Sanguineus was already full. With an unlimited supply of essence, if he refined and transformed without restraint, he would soon reach the rank of Marquis, standing on par with Nana and Julio.
But doing so would cause the Xuan Yao chapters of the Song Clan Scroll to completely lose balance, inevitably pushing Qian Ye towards becoming a pure ancient vampire.
However, the Song Clan Scroll operated much faster within the vortex, refining and transforming at nearly twice the rate outside. At this speed, in a month, Qian Ye would open his sixth Origin Vortex. Such a cultivation speed was rare in the entire Empire.
But after a short time, far from midnight, Li Kuanglan could no longer sustain herself and needed Qian Ye’s help to maintain her vitality. Having experienced this twice, they handled it efficiently, embracing in silence, waiting for dawn.
By the dim river, only the blood fire flickered intermittently.
Another night passed, and at dawn, Qian Ye rose and dressed. Seeing the worry on his face, Li Kuanglan asked, “Something on your mind?”
Qian Ye sighed, “Yes, I don’t know how long I can keep this up. The white mist from those four-armed natives was already formidable. Who knows what else we might encounter.”
Li Kuanglan was silent for a moment, then said, “We’re just trying to survive. Whatever happens, it’s not our fault. Once we leave, I think we’ll forget everything that happened here.”
“Maybe.” Qian Ye still looked worried. Wherever the blood fire was, it was like Qian Ye’s eyes and ears. By morning, without looking, he knew Li Kuanglan’s body was sticky, understanding why she insisted on washing.
Perhaps she was now in the same state he would be tomorrow. Every time he suppressed his instincts, Qian Ye felt as if he was fighting the entire world.
But how could one person stand against the world?
Li Kuanglan changed the subject, pointing across the river, “You said there would be a big reward in that direction. Let’s explore the forest today.”
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