Anwen clearly didn’t want to be so formal with the girl, but under Bai Kongzhao’s insistence, he had no choice but to take the white fruit and tend to his wounds. By the time his injuries had somewhat recovered, the cold night had arrived once more.
Anwen came prepared. Instead of using the white fruit, he took out a secret potion from the demon lineage, carefully unsealing it. The potion was in a silver-gray sealed tube, and when opened, a faint black vapor drifted out, which Anwen inhaled entirely.
The girl watched Anwen quietly. Anwen held up the sealed tube and said, “This will help me get through tonight. Unfortunately, it’s made from the demonic aura of a prince, and can only be used by us, the demon lineage. Otherwise, I could have given it to you.”
With that, Anwen casually tossed the sealed tube aside. But in a flash, the girl leaped and caught the tube, peering inside and placing the remaining half of the white fruit inside before sealing it again.
Anwen was taken aback, and upon seeing the girl carefully stowing the sealed tube away, he understood her intentions.
This potion was extremely precious, and there were very few within the entire demon lineage. To protect the potion from spilling and to maintain its potency in various conditions, the sealed tube itself was a valuable treasure, possessing properties such as airtight sealing, shock resistance, anti-corrosion, and the ability to isolate primal energy. Within the Great Vortex, this tube was a rare and valuable container.
Anwen was well aware of the girl’s mysterious obsession with treasures and strength, and couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.
After some thought, he said, “We are part of the second wave to enter the Great Vortex. Most of the powerful human empires’ elites entered earlier than us, yet we haven’t seen them. On the other hand, there are many who entered after us, but we haven’t encountered any of them either.”
The girl waited quietly for him to continue, not understanding what he was saying.
Anwen drew a short knife and sketched a complex pattern on the ground, then added several lines. The girl watched closely, but could only see that a single line entering the complex pattern split into countless smaller lines.
Anwen alternated between deep thought and adding a few more strokes, finally satisfied after a long while. He looked up at the girl and, noticing her puzzled expression, smacked his forehead. “Oh, I forgot you can’t understand these. It doesn’t matter. In fact, whether it’s in the Evernight or the empire, very few can. Just listen to what I say.”
He pointed to the complex pattern. “This is a rough map of the spatial channel we used to enter.”
Bai Kongzhao immediately widened her eyes, unable to discern how this intricately carved, three-dimensional polygonal pattern related to the spatial channel.
Anwen pointed to a part of the pattern. “These are the inherent structures of the spatial channel. When we think we’re moving in a straight line, we’re actually spiraling in the void and jumping from one point to another. These are the primal forces that guide us to the next segment.”
The girl still looked confused.
Anwen smiled. “These details aren’t important. What matters is the outcome after passing through the channel. Even though we enter from the same point, the environments we encounter and the forces guiding our jumps are different. For example, starting from this point, we might jump to the first point or the second point. The next stage is similar. Thus, we end up in different positions within the Great Vortex.”
The girl finally asked her first question. “How do you know this?”
Anwen shrugged. “I enjoy doing research, especially exploring the void. Over the years, I’ve read all the records in our clan about this, learning a lot. Much of what I drew is related to divination, but unfortunately, most mages now use these skills for trivial matters, neglecting their true purpose. If all diviners combined their efforts to study the structure of the void, perhaps we would have long left this cage-like world.”
The girl’s wide eyes and perplexed expression showed she didn’t fully grasp what he was saying.
Anwen gave a self-deprecating smile. “I forgot you haven’t studied this. But it doesn’t matter. Besides you, no one else listens to me. The elders in the clan are always thinking about how to wipe out the vampires and let us, the demon lineage, dominate Evernight. They don’t care about my research with no obvious benefits.”
He then moved his finger to the scattered lines. “As I said, even though we entered from the same point, our exit points can be scattered. By observing the changes in the environment over the past day and using this model, I can roughly conclude that the stronger the person, the closer they appear to the core area after entering the Great Vortex.”
The girl asked, “Then why are we together, given our vast difference in strength?”
Anwen smiled. “Because we entered together. I temporarily fixed the jumping points while crossing the channel. You followed behind me, naturally taking the same route. If there was a slight delay, some jumping points might disconnect and lead elsewhere. This means that two people following each other will have slight deviations, but as long as nothing unusual happens, the deviation is minimal.”
“Ah, so following a strong person is good, then?”
“That’s definitely not a good thing,” Anwen laughed, pointing around. “Look, not everyone can withstand the cold, dark nights here. Even with my preparations, I can’t last for long. We need to leave quickly. And the risks during the day are no less than the cold, dark nights. I doubt what fate awaits those captured by the natives. So, if anyone follows me, they’ll be dragged into a harsh world far beyond their capabilities, unable to survive.”
“Moreover, although I’m not keen on killing, I won’t hesitate to attack if I see a vampire. If they end up near us, even if they don’t die from the cold, they might die by my hand.”
Bai Kongzhao understood that following a strong person into the channel was not a good idea, as they might be pulled into a situation beyond their abilities.
Anwen said, “There’s something I can’t figure out. When we first entered, we saw traces of the empire’s camp. But to my knowledge, Zhao Jundu of the empire is still leading battles on the floating land and hasn’t entered the Great Vortex. Who else in the empire could have strength comparable to mine? If this camp isn’t their initial entry point but a second or third camp, it’s even more interesting.”
Though he said it was interesting, Anwen’s face was solemn.
The girl looked at him and asked, “Are those people very strong?”
Anwen nodded. “The Great Vortex is different from the outside world. It’s more suited to us, the nobles of Evernight. Humans entering, even if they have the same combat power as me, should appear further from the core. But now, this person is closer to the core than me. From the traces left, there are more than one of them, which is indeed strange. I can’t recall when the empire had such a task, so I want to follow and see who is closer to the core than me. Are you afraid?”
“Will they have treasures?”
“Of course, how could they not? And they entered the Great Vortex before us, so the stone fortress we saw yesterday was probably attacked by them. At the very least, they won’t lack white fruits and white fruit wine. If we encounter others along the way, we’ll take whatever we can.”
The girl was finally tempted. “We’ll leave here early tomorrow.”
Anwen sighed in relief. With the promise of treasure, he could finally coax the girl to leave. He didn’t want to charge into the stone fortress again. Last time, he was lucky not to be hit by the white fog. But even so, he had inhaled a considerable amount, and he couldn’t let it build up any further.
When dawn came again, Qian Ye and the two girls finished their cultivation and continued towards the initial region.
After about an hour of running, the three of them simultaneously felt a slight tremor, as if passing through a thin membrane. The gravity around them rapidly decreased, settling at just twice the normal level. After days in high gravity, they felt a great sense of relief and ease.
Qian Ye stopped and looked back, seeing a boundless forest stretching to the horizon, with occasional hills visible. Ahead, the terrain was varied. The vast plains were lush, with a large, winding river cutting through, clusters of trees dotting the landscape, and hills and valleys. In the distance, a majestic mountain range could be seen, with peaks towering into the clouds, impossible to gauge their height.
Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing both gasped, then exchanged glances.
Li Kuanglan pointed to the distant mountains. “That mountain range might be the Qingcang Mountains. See how the river appears at the foot of the mountains. If it’s correct, it’s the Yulan River. Here, we are close to the known regions. A little further, and we should be able to determine our exact location.”
Ji Tianqing looked at the ground, summoned a rock, and examined it closely. “See, this stone has blue streaks, a characteristic of the star-patterned stones unique to the Great Vortex. They are rarely found, and seeing them here indicates we are close to the empire’s known territory.”
Li Kuanglan suddenly pointed to the distant river. “Look, what’s that?”
From their vantage point, the three, with their keen eyes, could see several pure white lotuses growing in the river not far from a cluster of trees. The hearts of the lotuses shimmered with a constant, changing light, clearly not ordinary.
Ji Tianqing didn’t recognize the lotuses, and Qian Ye was even more baffled.
Li Kuanglan said, “If I’m not mistaken, those are White Water Lotus. They are one of the essential ingredients for the Mirror Water Purification, found only in the Great Vortex.”
The Li family’s Mirror Water Purification and the Heavenly Wind and Cloud Pearl were both extremely rare. No one would complain about having too many life-saving potions, so whenever Mirror Water Purification appeared on the market, it was snapped up immediately. In recent years, it had become almost impossible to even see, let alone buy, Mirror Water Purification. Even the top families couldn’t secure a single batch.
It was said that the next ten years’ worth of supplies had already been pre-ordered by influential figures.
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