In the heart of the snow-capped peak, surrounded by thousands of pillar-like structures, there lay only a barren expanse of scorched earth. The land, as if scorched by fierce flames, was blackened and clumped together. Apart from this desolate patch, there was nothing else on the snowy peak.
Qian Ye walked to the edge of the rock and gazed out. Suddenly, he felt that the terrain ahead seemed somewhat unnatural. He moved closer and with a wave of his hand, the accumulated snow was cleared away, revealing a mass of white bones beneath. Some of the bones barely retained the outline of werewolves, while others were mere fragments. If not for the specific setting of the snow peak’s sacrificial ground, it would have been impossible to identify their origin.
The sheer number of bones was staggering. Even just the exposed ones were several meters thick, and who knew how many more corpses lay hidden beneath the snow!
“Qian Ye, I found the entrance!” Carol called out from a distance.
In a flash, Qian Ye appeared beside Carol. In front of her, a massive stone slab had been lifted, revealing a wide, deep passage underneath.
As they stepped into the passage, a pungent stench of decay assailed them. Carol immediately covered her nose. Qian Ye ignited blood fire around him, burning away all the foul odors. The tunnel was not long, and after a turn, they entered a vast hall.
The hall, tens of meters high and extremely spacious, seemed to have been carved out of the natural mountain. Every ten meters along the walls, bone torches flickered, their greenish phosphorescence casting an eerie, pale glow over the entire chamber.
This made the areas beyond the phosphorescent light even darker. Despite Carol’s night vision, her view in the dim phosphorescence was even more blurry than in total darkness. This environment, coupled with the pervasive stench, made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing her pale face, Qian Ye raised his right index finger, and a small light glowed at the tip. The light quickly grew intense, like a newborn sun, instantly filling the cave hall with both light and heat.
From several corners, screams echoed, and several wolf-like creatures tumbled out of hiding. Their fur, upon contact with the light, began to smolder, emitting acrid smoke. The writhing shadows cried out in agony, rolling on the ground in pain.
Qian Ye slightly reined in the origin power at his fingertip, and the light dimmed, still illuminating the hall but no longer with its destructive heat and intensity.
Carol whipped out her lightning whip and pulled the wolf-like beings in front of them. On closer inspection, they realized these were young, incompletely developed werewolves. Their bodies bore numerous clean cuts, not battle wounds.
The young werewolves kept their eyes tightly shut, moaning in agony, with bloody tears streaming down. They, being dark creatures, were blinded by the intense light of Qian Ye’s origin power.
Carol observed them for a moment and said, “Why do they seem to have lost their senses?”
Qian Ye, equally puzzled, said, “This doesn’t seem to be caused by the Dawn origin power’s burn. After a quick examination, he sighed, “They are missing many organs. It’s a miracle they are still alive.”
“Are these all werewolves? Why did the Duke of White Bones treat them this way? Does he enjoy torture so much?”
Qian Ye shook his head, “It should be… useful, I suppose.”
“Useful!” Carol choked. She suddenly thought of the columns on the platform outside and the unknown energy, shivering involuntarily.
Qian Ye’s gaze swept across the hall. In the center stood a stone altar, entirely purplish-black. Closer inspection revealed that the purplish-black color was actually layers of dried blood, solidified over the years.
In the center of the altar, there was a raised disc, its edges etched with an array of origin power, designed to stimulate vitality and growth. Used on this altar, it also served for bloodletting.
The altar lay silent, without any reaction. Qian Ye looked around and saw rows of tall cabinets along the walls. Opening one, he found his face slightly changing.
The cabinets were filled with various organs, some fresh, others decaying. These organs must have been harvested from countless werewolves.
In the center of the cabinets, there were several workbenches. Though Qian Ye couldn’t decipher the purpose of the various instruments and pipes, he recognized some as being from the Great Qin Empire. The plaques on them indicated they were devices for tissue purification.
Seeing this, Qian Ye understood that this must be where the Duke of White Bones purified the young werewolf geniuses’ bloodline and transplanted it into himself. Although he wasn’t sure of the altar’s exact function, the layout and equipment suggested the method was not very advanced. The devices were old, with only one being a newer model, but it didn’t match the rest.
This explained the state of the young werewolves. Their organs had been removed, and perhaps they had suffered other tortures, causing them to lose their minds and revert to a half-wolf, half-human state.
Removing their organs but not letting them die, the Duke of White Bones seemed to be aware of his impending physical collapse. His intention was less about transferring the bloodline and more about tormenting them, perhaps out of envy and resentment towards the young.
Qian Ye lit an origin flame on his fingertip and flicked sparks. The sparks of dawn light fell on the young werewolves, instantly turning them into torches.
With this, Qian Ye gained a deeper understanding of the Duke of White Bones and unraveled the mystery of the Emerald Sea werewolves’ rapid defection. Over the centuries, the Duke had killed countless young werewolf geniuses, reducing the overall talent of the Emerald Sea werewolves by two levels.
Despite their primitive tribal form, the werewolves had wise leaders. They knew the root of their decline and hated the Duke of White Bones, but were suppressed by the overwhelming power gap. Over time, this gap became insurmountable.
In the backward industrial technology of Yonglu, the Emerald Sea, with its scarcity of shallow mineral deposits, was a barren land, producing only a little game and a few crops. Thus, no strong figures came to contest the Duke’s territory. Otherwise, a marquis of the Great Corridor could have stopped Zheng State, but the chieftains and priests of the Emerald Sea could not protect such a large area.
All these factors combined, ensuring the Duke of White Bones’ three-century rule.
With no one to check him and nearing the end of his life, the Duke grew increasingly mad. From his actions, it was possible that, at the end, he might drag all the Emerald Sea werewolves to their doom.
This underground altar, aside from witnessing the Duke’s brutality and madness, had no other value. Qian Ye had intended to burn it all, but reconsidered, deciding to leave it as a witness, so the werewolves could clearly see what the Duke had done.
Leaving the underground hall, Qian Ye circled the snowy peak, finding and slaying the hidden beasts in the blizzard. Then, he leaped into the sky, calling the mercenaries and werewolf nobles from the warship.
Seeing the severed limbs and the underground altar, the werewolves reacted with grief and rage. A chieftain held the not-yet-decayed body of his son, who had been brought here only a month ago, and wept.
Werewolves, with their keen sense of smell, could not only distinguish scents finely but also trace lineage. The severed limbs, if not too old, could often be identified as belonging to their tribes.
After the werewolves’ sorrow subsided, Qian Ye led them back to the war cruiser, ordering the temporary sealing of the underground altar. The various tribes would come to collect the remains later. The werewolf nobles agreed.
Moreover, Qian Ye wondered if the Duke’s choice of the altar’s location was merely coincidental or had some special significance.
Departing the snow peak, the next destination was the Heavenly Gifted Land they had passed earlier. The vast fields of cloud wheat looked neat and prosperous from afar, but up close, they were chaotic, growing naturally without much human care.
The field could be called a farmland only because of the sparse weeds. Werewolves, when willing, made excellent laborers, capable of sustained, high-intensity work. Simple tasks like weeding suited them well.
Seeing the wheat field, Qian Ye had a new idea. Many werewolves, though not all fit for combat, were suitable laborers, especially for pure physical tasks, surpassing ordinary humans.
This meant the resources within the Emerald Sea, with the werewolves, were sufficient.
Qian Ye crouched and picked up a handful of soil. It was soft and fertile, with a greasy texture, explaining the good growth of the cloud wheat. However, the werewolves, knowing nothing of crop rotation or fertilization, somehow kept the land fertile, which was truly mysterious.
Placing his hand on the ground, Qian Ye carefully sensed and gradually felt a subtle flow of origin power deep within the earth. This vibrant, lifelike power seeped into the surrounding soil. Its scale was enormous, like an underground river of origin power, flowing beneath the entire Heavenly Gifted Land.
This must be the source of the Heavenly Gifted Land. At other locations, Qian Ye also sensed the underground river and, through multiple points, roughly determined its course.
Standing up, Qian Ye gazed into the distance, mentally mapping the river. He found its course to be a large, regular arc, centered on the Duke of White Bones’ altar.
He walked around the entire Heavenly Gifted Land, tracing the river’s flow. The subterranean current did not match the natural terrain; part of it submerged in the Emerald Sea, and another part extended to the mountains. Only the plains between the mountains and the sea showed the characteristics of the Heavenly Gifted Land.
Qian Ye, intrigued, boarded the war cruiser and ordered the captain to fly along the route he had marked, observing the terrain changes below.
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