Chapter 75: The First Battle

As the alien insect returned and perched on Qian Ye’s shoulder, he bestowed a name upon it.

“Thornflight, from now on, you shall be called Thornflight.”

The alien insect let out a long, joyous cry, clearly delighted. It preened its antennae while rubbing against Qian Ye’s neck.

Carrol suddenly said, “It can actually use origin power!”

Qian Ye was momentarily taken aback, but upon recalling, he realized that when Thornflight pierced through the beast’s head, it had indeed been enveloped in a layer of origin power. Only by mastering origin power could one unleash such terrifying explosive force and penetration.

“It is indeed extraordinary,” Qian Ye remarked, not overly surprised. Many fierce beasts in the Evernight World were born with the ability to use origin power, and the void behemoths were among the best, far surpassing any race on the land in their mastery of origin power.

“No, you misunderstand. I mean, it seems to be a life form of this world. It wields the origin power here.”

Qian Ye gently flicked Thornflight, feeling the vibrations from its wings. He discovered that Carrol was right. Even at their level, they had to adapt to the new world and gradually master the techniques to harness the special origin power here. But Thornflight relied entirely on instinct, which was on a different plane from technique.

“Perhaps it evolved here?”

“Maybe,” Carrol was uncertain.

Now, as they landed again on the blue crystals growing on the stone pillars, they felt a difference.

“Could these crystals enable life forms to evolve? Regardless of whether they are native to this world?”

“If that’s the case, the dark races would go mad,” Qian Ye said.

“Not just the dark races, maybe humans too. If your insect can, why not others?”

Thornflight let out a short, sharp chirp, clearly expressing its displeasure. Qian Ye patted it, smiling, “It has a name now, Thornflight.”

Thornflight responded with a happy chirp.

Carrol, naturally, did not argue with an insect, “Regardless, we need to confirm the true function of these crystals. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the Evernight Council went all out to open this new world.”

“How do we confirm it?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Just like how you confirmed the function of the beast’s blood gland, do the same for the crystals.”

This meant conducting live experiments. Qian Ye frowned slightly but eventually nodded. In the face of such a significant matter, mercy for individuals was almost unnecessary.

Qian Ye looked at the few stone pillars within his sight, feeling a mix of emotions. Each pillar represented multiple opportunities to elevate life to a higher level.

For ordinary beings, this might not be very meaningful, given their low starting point and limited potential for enhancement, perhaps even struggling to cross into a new class. But for high-level life forms, especially intelligent races like the four dark races and humans, such opportunities could drive entire clans to madness.

Suppressing the urge to gather more crystals, Qian Ye said to Carrol, “Let’s move forward. We’ll stop at the forest today.”

“Alright.”

Qian Ye and Carrol took to the air, flying towards the forest at the edge of their sight. Along the way, they saw no more stone pillars, indicating that they were confined to a specific area.

Low-lying plants grew on the ground, and some rocks had a strange color, clearly containing some special minerals. However, Qian Ye did not stop to investigate; their primary task was not mining. The mineral veins here were very shallow, requiring more analytical skills. To secure these resources for the future, they needed to explore the surrounding area as much as possible, ideally discovering the movements of the alien beast army.

As they flew faster, the forest soon came into view.

Qian Ye did not rush into the forest but ascended to several hundred meters, looking around. The forest was not large, only a few dozen kilometers in circumference, surrounded by desolate plains. In the vast wasteland, the presence of this forest seemed out of place, contrasting sharply with the surrounding terrain.

Qian Ye committed the view to memory, then descended to carefully observe the forest.

The forest was composed of various types of trees, some similar but clearly of different generations. Most of the leaves were tinged with blue, with a few being dark red. Each tree’s canopy was exceptionally dense, with branches intertwining like a large roof.

Qian Ye landed and slowly entered the forest.

As soon as he stepped in, the surroundings became dark, as if entering another world. Thornflight arched its body, emitting a restless chirp.

Qian Ye felt a vague unease, drawing out the Dongyue sword and holding it in hand as he walked deeper into the forest, towards the source of his discomfort.

Carrol followed a few steps behind, guarding Qian Ye’s rear.

The forest was almost pitch black, with only faint light coming from some bioluminescent plants and moss. The silence was eerie, with no signs of life—no beasts, no birds, not even insects.

Despite the forest’s size and the uniformity in all directions, Qian Ye managed to reach the center by memory. A strange giant tree stood before him.

This giant tree was not particularly tall, but it was incredibly thick, with a diameter of several dozen meters, resembling a large water barrel. Its branches grew at the top, giving it the appearance of a giant mushroom.

At the base of the giant tree was a small pond filled with pale red water. On the tree trunk, some burls had burst, dripping the same pale red liquid, which trickled into the pool beneath.

Qian Ye approached the tree, cautiously observing for a moment before scooping up some water from the pond and sniffing it. “It smells like the blood of the beast,” he told Carrol.

Carrol, with her unique constitution, was even bolder. She dipped a finger into the pond, tasting it briefly. “Very similar, and even closer to the feel of the blood gland.”

“Could drinking this water have the same effect as consuming the blood gland?”

“Let’s try and see, shall we?”

As Qian Ye pondered the role of this life form in the new world, a chill suddenly ran down his spine!

Without hesitation, he flashed and appeared in the air a hundred meters above. A faint light streaked past where he had stood, grazing the giant tree and leaving a deep groove. Pinkish tree sap immediately flowed from the groove, resembling the diluted water in the pond.

The attacker missed Qian Ye but injured the giant tree.

An enraged roar echoed through the forest. The six-armed creature Qian Ye had seen before emerged from the woods, each of its five hands holding a different weapon, with one hand free.

It ignored Carrol, focusing entirely on Qian Ye, gazing up and roaring angrily, clashing its weapons, clearly challenging him.

Qian Ye’s expression grew serious as he slowly descended near the giant tree.

The six-armed creature, furious, brandished its weapons and roared, but did not advance. Carrol observed that the creature was hesitant, fearing it might injure the giant tree again.

Qian Ye glanced at Carrol, gestured, and she nodded.

Qian Ye stepped away from the giant tree, and the six-armed creature retreated, its demeanor slightly calmer, less frantic.

“Should we fight outside?” Qian Ye pointed towards the edge of the forest.

“Ve…ry…good.” Surprisingly, the six-armed creature spoke in Imperial language, though haltingly and with a strange accent.

“You first.”

The six-armed creature turned and strode out of the forest, waiting in the wasteland for Qian Ye.

Qian Ye followed, but did not immediately attack. “What are you? Why have you come to our world?”

The six-armed creature spat, “You…all…die!”

It showed no interest in conversation. Raising two saw-toothed blades, it swung them at Qian Ye!

The blow was unbelievably fast, with the blades appearing right before Qian Ye without even a trace, as if teleported.

Qian Ye dropped, using the Dongyue to parry one blade, then shifted sideways, avoiding the other.

But as he dodged, two more blades struck! Qian Ye raised the Dongyue, blocking with raw strength. The impact was brutal, sending both fighters reeling.

Qian Ye was forced back, plowing a deep furrow in the ground, his face pale with a taste of blood in his mouth. The six-armed creature was also pushed back, its arms faltering.

Ignoring the pain, Qian Ye braced himself as the six-armed creature charged, slashing with five blades in a whirlwind of strikes.

Wielding the Dongyue, Qian Ye’s bones creaked, his strikes powerful and precise, matching the six-armed creature’s relentless assault.

But the creature’s sheer strength and straightforward attacks made each clash feel like being hit by a behemoth. Although Qian Ye could still trade blows, the secret technique he used was not sustainable. Once it wore off, he would be at a disadvantage.

The six-armed creature’s combat prowess was terrifying, capable of overwhelming an ordinary god-general in minutes.

Qian Ye remained calm, continuing to exchange blows. As the technique’s duration expired, his strength waned, and each strike sent him reeling.

The six-armed creature, sensing victory, roared, raising its blades for a final, devastating strike!

It gathered power quickly, the blades flashing down with incredible speed and force. Just as Qian Ye thought he could not withstand it, a muffled thudding sound came from deep in the forest, like someone cutting wood.

The six-armed creature’s expression changed, and it let out a shocked and angry cry. Its blades scattered, swinging wildly in different directions, none of them hitting Qian Ye. The chaotic strikes backfired, injuring the creature.

Abandoning Qian Ye, the creature turned and rushed back into the forest. Qian Ye, faster, flashed overhead, shooting a dark light feather that embedded in the creature’s neck.

The creature barreled on, crashing into trees, until two more Primal Guns struck, piercing its body.

It continued to plow through the forest, knocking down countless trees, before finally collapsing with a thunderous crash.