Qian Ye opened his eyes, and all the sounds vanished. It seemed that it was indeed an illusion. The forest remained as silent as ever, to the point where he could even hear the blood flowing under his skin and the beating of his heart.
Back in the Netherworld, he had undergone training in extreme quietness. It was a highly dangerous course, with many students going mad during the process. Qian Ye knew he must do something now, so he tried to examine his body.
The energy he had drawn from the blood crystal earlier was not enough to fully activate True Sight, but it rekindled the weakened blood energy in his heart. He could feel his numb body gradually recovering.
Pain, either light or heavy, came from every corner, but this made Qian Ye feel strangely refreshed—it was the feeling of being alive.
However, Qian Ye’s current physical condition was dire. He was severely injured, with three penetrating wounds, and almost all of his internal organs were damaged, including half of his liver being shattered. His blood flow was slow and viscous, with only a small amount oozing out even at the damaged areas. The faint blood energy in his blood prevented excessive bleeding, maintaining his fighting strength—this was the power of the Bloodline Constitution Runes.
But now, the blood energy within him was extremely weak. If it completely dried up, the forcibly halted blood might suddenly burst, leading to massive blood loss. Gritting his teeth, Qian Ye drew out a strand of ordinary blood energy from his heart and used a thread of Dawn Origin Force to dissipate it.
This was like a small skirmish within his body. When the blood energy dissipated, Qian Ye groaned and his face turned deathly pale. However, the dispersed blood energy quickly seeped into his blood, injecting fresh vitality into the withered blood energy at the wound sites. The surrounding muscles also responded, preventing the further deterioration of his injuries.
This was one of the secret techniques derived from the Bloodline Constitution Rune, using self-dispersed blood energy to heal severe injuries.
In terms of healing, this method was highly effective, far surpassing human cultivation techniques. As long as the core, heart, and brain were undamaged, even the most severe injuries were curable. The downside was that a bloodline’s rank was directly related to the quantity and quality of blood energy. Self-dispersing blood energy was equivalent to demoting oneself.
Qian Ye drew out another strand of ordinary blood energy and used Origin Force to disperse it. After all, he was not a true member of the bloodline, and although he understood the principle, he could not fully control the blood energy. He could only use this clumsy method. However, after two strands of blood energy were dispersed, the remaining blood energy retreated deep into his heart, refusing to emerge no matter what he tried.
Fortunately, the two strands of dispersed blood energy were enough to stabilize his injuries. Now, the purple blood energy in his body was still within the runes, immobile, while only the dark golden blood energy retained some vitality, continuously circulating around his heart, occasionally sprinkling a few sparks that sped up the regeneration of the wounded muscle tissue.
In this forest, Qian Ye’s senses were severely disrupted. Not only did he lose his sense of direction, but his concept of time also became blurred. He took out his Origin Force sundial and checked, only to find that what felt like a lengthy period of healing had only been an hour.
But then, Qian Ye noticed that the directional needle on the sundial was not moving, clearly indicating that it was malfunctioning. This raised doubts about the accuracy of the time needle as well. This was a serious problem; in a forest where everything looked the same, it was possible to walk for a whole day and end up back where he started.
Qian Ye began to carefully observe his surroundings. As his injuries stabilized, his True Sight also cleared up.
The Dark Forest gradually shed its outer layer, revealing its true nature. Similar to other parts of Eternaria, this place was also filled with Dark Origin Force, but it was exceptionally active, and mixed with other things. When Qian Ye noticed these impurities, his previously obstructed senses returned, and he felt a slight tingling sensation on his skin.
Qian Ye immediately felt a chill. This sensation was not unfamiliar; it was similar to touching black titanium. In other words, there was radiation in the Dark Forest, and it was incredibly intense!
Qian Ye slowly stood up and gazed around, as his True Sight continued to unveil the secrets of this world. Gradually, he saw streams of Void Origin Force occasionally seeping from the ground, dispersing and neutralizing. Clearly, this was the source of the radiation.
Void Origin Force came in many types, and both pure and gentle Dark or Dawn Origin Force could be utilized. But the Void Origin Force here was extremely close to the boundary between Eternaria and Dawn, making it abnormally violent and twisted, harmful with no benefits. Radiation of this intensity was too much for humans below the rank of Warlord to withstand. Only the robust bodies of the dark races could stay for extended periods.
Qian Ye took a deep breath. This was clearly one of the secrets of the Dark Forest: the violent Void Origin Force.
This land could not have appeared out of nowhere on the Eternaria continent. He didn’t know what it originally was, but the presence of so much Void Origin Force indicated its uniqueness. In Eternaria, the more unique a place, the more dangerous it was.
Most of Qian Ye’s senses had now returned to normal, and he could feel the blood energy in his body resisting the radiation, though it was also being slowly consumed. The situation was dire; the environment was so harsh that without a quick solution, he would likely die in this strange forest. Looking around, the trees in all directions were equally dark and eerie, with no end in sight.
Without hesitating for long, Qian Ye walked forward, no longer trying to discern the direction. If even True Sight couldn’t find a way out, then any choice was as good as any other.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a large tree nearby suddenly gave Qian Ye a strange feeling, and the dark golden blood energy accelerated its movement.
At first glance, it was just another ordinary tree in the forest, with a deeply twisted trunk and sharp branches like iron thorns. Even through True Sight, it seemed no different.
Qian Ye didn’t stop and continued towards it. In this silent, unchanging forest, any anomaly might be a chance to escape.
The tree was wide enough for three people to encircle, and it looked normal from the front. But when Qian Ye circled around to the back, he was shocked.
There were over a dozen tree holes on the back, each sealed by a transparent membrane, and they were mostly filled with murky liquid. Inside each hole was a creature, most of which were grotesque and unidentifiable. Some of the holes contained nothing more than a mass of writhing flesh.
The tree looked like a bizarre incubator, created by a mad scientist who cut and stitched various creatures together randomly, resulting in this monstrous form.
Before Qian Ye could decide what to do, one of the membranes burst open, and a creature emerged, spilling a wave of murky liquid. It fell to the ground and immediately sprang up, launching itself straight at Qian Ye’s face!
It was a spider-like monster, but with a large mouth on its abdomen filled with densely packed teeth, resembling some kind of sandworm.
Facing the charging monster, Qian Ye drew Crimson Tooth and swung it in front of him. The creature impaled itself on the blade, and although it looked terrifying, its attack was only at the level of a fifth or sixth-grade beast, which was no match for Qian Ye.
Surprisingly, this indescribable creature had a disproportionately strong essence, surging with immense vitality, much stronger than an ordinary beast.
This vitality was so potent that it was uncontrollable. From his studies in the Netherworld, Qian Ye knew that if a lifeform possessed such vitality, all its tissues would grow uncontrollably, eventually turning into an irregular mass of flesh, killing itself.
Similarly, the essence rushing into Qian Ye’s body along Crimson Tooth would be toxic to a regular bloodline. Upon contact with his blood and muscle, it released a powerful force, attempting to accelerate the growth of his bodily tissues.
But Qian Ye noticed the anomaly and promptly activated the Profound Chapter, forming a massive vortex to grind the essence. Like absorbing essence, he pulled in the hyperactive strands, crushed them, and converted them into pure Dark Origin Force.
With this supply of Dark Origin Force, the dormant purple blood energy finally stirred, and Qian Ye let out a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the other creatures in the tree seemed to sense something and began to stir. Several bizarre beasts broke through their membranes, and even the shapeless masses of flesh began to wriggle desperately.
Instead of attacking Qian Ye, the beasts began to slaughter and devour each other. Their strength was on par with the previous one, and Qian Ye watched, intrigued.
In a blink, only one beast remained. Its shape had changed slightly, growing to the size of a mountain wolf, but with three heads and eleven legs.
It snarled threateningly at Qian Ye but did not attack. Instead, it turned and pounced on the tree, pulling out and consuming the remaining creatures inside. Then, before Qian Ye’s eyes, it began to grow visibly.
This process was utterly revolting. The beast’s insides churned like a boiling pot, with lumps and organs forming chaotically. However, this growth did not come with increased strength; instead, the vitality started to wane.
Seeing this, Qian Ye knew it wouldn’t last long. He stepped forward, easily dodging its lunges, and pinned it to the tree with a single strike.
The beast screeched and struggled, but it had no real strength beyond its vitality. It was powerless against the powerful suction of Crimson Tooth, and soon, it lost all its vitality and stopped moving.
Qian Ye sliced open its corpse, and as expected, the insides were a chaotic mess. Bone-like objects grew haphazardly, and the organs were fused with the flesh. There were even a few glands clumped together.
This was a completely chaotic lifeform, one that shouldn’t exist. However, it provided Qian Ye with essence far greater than that of a knight.
Prepared this time, Qian Ye calmly absorbed all the essence and immediately sat down to cultivate, completing a full cycle.
With the supply of Dark Origin Force, the purple blood energy finally revived and began to circulate slowly. Though still weak, the revival of the purple blood energy meant that Qian Ye’s bloodline constitution was recovering, albeit slowly. At least the immediate crisis had passed.
Qian Ye gained a little confidence. If he could obtain essence in this forest, there was still hope.
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