The assembled powerhouses no longer objected. Though this force was small in number, its strength was astonishing. Even An Wen himself possessed formidable cultivation; on the battlefield, he would be a rare match for anyone of his rank.
None of the other powerhouses knew what mission An Wen carried, only that it was of extremely high importance. Even the duke who was responsible for his safety did not know the specifics.
As An Wen walked, he scribbled and sketched, without particularly hiding from them. However, the countless mathematical formulas were dizzying, and no one could understand what he was doing. In any case, it must be something significant.
An Wen walked and stopped intermittently, soon crossing a ridge to find a vast valley before him. Above the valley, an immense vortex of primal energy was slowly dissipating, with no one at its center.
An Wen’s eyes glowed with a strange light. The intangible vortex of primal energy became clearly layered in his vision as countless data points were collected, organized, and analyzed, leading to a conclusion.
“The Qin Empire’s military art? It doesn’t quite seem so. What use is absorbing so much impure primal energy? Could it be for some special secret method? But that’s not right either…”
Lost in thought, An Wen murmured, “It seems this person has a secret method that can greatly purify primal energy! There’s only one thing that can do that—the Ancient Scroll of Chaos. It’s Qian Ye!”
He was suddenly startled. A chill ran up his spine as if he had been spotted by a natural enemy, and he froze in place!
In the corner of his eye, he saw a few blood threads flash by, followed by a slight pain in his back as one of the threads pierced him. He swayed, feeling as weak as if he hadn’t eaten for a month, dizzy and about to fall backward.
At that moment, a large hand steadied him from behind, and a drop of essence blood returned, like fireworks blooming, instantly replenishing An Wen’s demonic energy.
“A little out of control, I missed,” Qian Ye’s voice sounded behind him.
An Wen turned and smiled bitterly, “I was sent here on a mission for safety. The other war zones are either already fighting or preparing to fight. I didn’t expect to run into you in Salfis.”
Qian Ye smiled and said, “I’ve been driven to a dead end by your emperor. Since I’m in danger everywhere, I might as well come to see the scenery in the Demon Race’s land. And look, I’ve met an old friend.”
An Wen sighed, “If I could, I wouldn’t want to meet you.”
“Too late now.”
“So, what do you plan to do? Kill me?”
Qian Ye pondered silently. Among the Demons, he held no particular grudge against An Wen or Aidon. He had just instinctively avoided An Wen while destroying the protective formation with a lifeforce drain, but one blood thread still hit him. Yet, Qian Ye immediately returned the drop of essence blood.
An Wen looked around and said, “My guards, all killed in an instant.”
“With my lifeforce drain, numbers mean nothing if they’re not strong enough.” After a moment, Qian Ye asked, “You mentioned a mission. What is it?”
“Just collecting data,” An Wen paused and added, “I need to gather data on the changes in primal energy flow across different continents. I also have to set up observation stations at key nodes to continuously record data. Here in Salfis, I’ll need to observe about several dozen nodes and establish six observation stations.”
“It seems we’re still in a time of war,” Qian Ye raised an eyebrow. “Is this research related to the war?”
“War only decides temporary gains and losses, but data is the ladder that helps us reach the true nature of the world!” An Wen’s eyes shone with passion as he spoke of his work.
Qian Ye watched An Wen for a moment and said, “Give me a reason not to kill you.”
An Wen thought for a moment and asked, “Why did you steal our family lineage charts?”
Qian Ye was taken aback. “How do you know I took the Demon Race’s family lineage charts?”
“These are the most important legacies of the upper Demon families. No single chart can be destroyed by water or fire. If a family perishes in war, those who handle the aftermath will collect these charts. Other races aren’t interested in them. Only the ruins of the families you’ve destroyed lacked the charts, not even traces. Perhaps there are other explanations, but the most likely one is that you have them.”
“What would I want with them? To study heraldry?” Qian Ye’s expression remained unchanged, but he felt a twinge in his heart. So, the Demons weren’t stupid; they had quickly figured it out.
Staring at him, An Wen said slowly, “You must have uncovered the secrets of our family lineage charts, haven’t you?”
“Only badges and historical records. What secrets could they hold?” Qian Ye responded calmly.
“If you didn’t see it, how could you have targeted so accurately? Besides the Origin of Ten Thousand Shields, the Mesiasthan, you’ve almost exterminated three minor branches, and hardly made any mistakes.”
At this point, Qian Ye admitted frankly, “That’s right. I came to cut off your bloodline. Speaking of which, does this reinforcement method really work?”
“Didn’t you see the results in the war with the Blood Race?”
Qian Ye nodded.
Before the attack on the Twilight Continent, Qian Ye always felt that the current rankings of the four ancient Dark Night races were somewhat exaggerated.
The Blood Race was exceptionally powerful, on par with the Demons, and even surpassed them in some places due to population. But from the start of the war, the Demons achieved overwhelming victories, wiping out over half of the ancient Blood clans.
Though the Demons seemed to have pulled the Spider Demons and Werewolves into the fray, they controlled the major events, and the other two races contributed little. The Demons trusted no one, handling the key points themselves.
While the Queen of the Night among the Blood Race was still in slumber, the Devil King hadn’t intervened, except for pressing down Habus. Mephisto’s betrayal was a significant factor, but why did he betray? The lure of power was present, but if he hadn’t seen the true power balance, he wouldn’t have switched sides so easily.
Judging by the war’s outcome, the Blood Race was indeed suppressed by the Demons.
An Wen took out a notebook and handed it to Qian Ye, saying, “Take a look at this.”
Opening it, Qian Ye found another Demon family lineage chart, though less detailed than the Black Book’s derivations, but in the same general direction.
Actually, the charts Qian Ye had collected from the Demon families were mostly inaccurate. The traditional Demon research method involved trial and error, gradually screening and comparing to find the best bloodline combinations. Given their long lifespans, it was a process that took millennia.
The results in the notebook, however, aligned 60-70% with the Black Book.
“This is…?”
“My seven years of research,” An Wen said.
Qian Ye fell silent. The formulas and calculations in the notebook were beyond him, involving complex spatial structures rooted in the genetic structure of the Demon bloodline. None of the hundred pages of derivation made sense to him.
The process didn’t matter; the key was the correct conclusion.
“Never thought the family charts could be derived this way.”
An Wen smiled bitterly, “You didn’t, and neither did the old fogies in our research institute. Even if they saw it, they wouldn’t believe me.”
Qian Ye sighed. He realized An Wen was a genius. Unfortunately, such talent was not in the Empire.
Drawing out his azure-blood sword, Qian Ye paused and switched to the Manjushaka. “Now I have ample reason to kill you. Anything else to say?”
An Wen smiled wryly, “I’m too weak to be worth killing.”
“A marquis who could become a great lord in the future, too weak?”
“I have a bad temper…”
“Even better to kill then!”
“I’m very stupid…” An Wen laughed at his own words.
Qian Ye didn’t laugh. Suddenly, gray feathers floated down, pinning An Wen in place.
“Ah…” An Wen shook his head, “You’re being too cautious.”
“You’re too clever. Those numbers and formulas are beyond me. Who knows if you have another escape trick? Better to secure you first.”
The gray feathers fell, and An Wen felt the weight of mountains, unable to stand, let alone resist or escape. Frustrated, he realized even his greatest secrets were useless against Qian Ye’s brute force.
Finally, An Wen gave up and smiled bitterly, “Your domain is almost as powerful as a great lord. Using it on me is a waste. I don’t want to die yet. The world is vast, and I want to see more. How about I ransom my life?”
“How?” Qian Ye asked.
“First, I’ll tell you how to avoid divination. Second, the secrets of the new world. Third, the true face of this world. In exchange, you’ll let me go and stop killing Demon bloodlines. I know you can, even if I don’t know how. Three for two, you don’t lose out.”
An Wen added, “You might think no one can figure out you’ve found the correct path through the Demon bloodline charts. The arrogant old fogies might admit it after more casualties. But there’s another supreme being, and he’s different.”
Qian Ye knew An Wen referred to the Devil King. He didn’t think An Wen was just bluffing; this was more of a warning.
“I already know how to avoid divination.”
“There are many methods, but none as effective as what I’ve calculated. I’m also a talented diviner.” An Wen was confident. “Besides, never underestimate a Demon High Wizard. Sometimes, they can’t do it because of the cost.”
“That’s true,” Qian Ye agreed. The Dark Night’s diviners had a much longer history than the human race’s Seers. Despite being overshadowed by Lin Xitang, if that was their full strength, the Dark Night would have long fallen to the Dawn.
“Then, a deal?”
“Not yet. Tell me the two secrets, and I’ll decide if it’s worth it.”
An Wen smiled, not bargaining. “Fine. First, the new world. Records from ancient times mention the new world, along with the six holy races and five holy mountain supremes. The five supremes sensed the new world’s approach and tried to pull it closer, opening a channel to the Dark Night world. But the power of a world is immense. Even with six races, the attempt failed, and one supreme fell, followed by another soon after.
“However, the effort stabilized the new world, preventing it from drifting away. This time, the three remaining supremes sensed the new world was close enough and opened the gateway.
“But we only opened the surface layer. The true entrance is at the center of the Black Sun Valley, which will appear when the black flames subside.”
Qian Ye frowned, “I already knew this.”
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