As Qian Ye’s figure flickered, his face turned pale, and the Eastern Peak in his hand suddenly felt much heavier. He smiled self-mockingly, realizing that he had only been focused on using the technique but had forgotten the horrifying cost of Void Flicker. Andua’s creation, Void Flicker, required at least a Marquis to truly activate, and the one Qian Ye had grasped was a watered-down version. A slightly longer distance almost drained him of all his blood energy.
The dark warriors were thrown into confusion, abruptly losing sight of their enemy. It took them a moment to realize that Qian Ye had somehow appeared in the center of their formation. Shaken, their eyes filled with a cruel, bloodthirsty gleam. In their view, the enemy’s move was like throwing himself into their net.
But as they raised their weapons, they suddenly felt an immense weight, hearing the roaring waves of the sea in their ears. Their vision blurred, and they saw countless red threads crisscrossing their field of vision.
The power of the Sea of Qi suppressed them, followed by the life-draining force. In an instant, only a dozen or so dark warriors could still stand around Qian Ye. Not because they were exceptionally strong, but because they were incredibly lucky. The blood threads of the life-drain did not reach them.
In the center of the battlefield, Qian Ye took a deep breath, his figure flashing past the surviving stragglers, cutting them down one by one.
In moments, the battlefield was empty except for Qian Ye. He exhaled softly, his face flushing, and then he spat out a mouthful of boiling blood, with golden sparks burning within.
These dark warriors were elite, their essence blood far exceeding that of ordinary soldiers of the same rank, some even doubling it. The Spider Demon Viscount’s essence blood was comparable to that of a first-rank Viscount, indicating that he was once a man of extraordinary talent. If not for meeting Qian Ye, he might have had a bright future, but now he lay dead in the Misty Forest.
Life Drain did not discriminate between friend and foe, attacking only the most vibrant lives within its range. Thus, a considerable number of the blood threads struck the Spider Demon Viscount. The other Barons, Knights, and lower-ranking dark warriors could not escape, helplessly watching as the blood threads pierced their bodies, instantly draining their essence blood.
However, absorbing such a large amount of essence blood was too much even for Qian Ye. He spat out a mouthful of blood, rich with vitality. This relieved him somewhat, though he still felt a swelling sensation, like a balloon inflating inside him.
Looking down, he saw no visible change in his body; the feeling of swelling was an illusion. After a while, part of the essence blood would disperse throughout his body, and the rest would be absorbed by the Book of Darkness and the Primordial Wings, alleviating the discomfort.
Qian Ye quickly cleaned the battlefield. The spoils from defeating such a squad were naturally abundant. The military merit alone from this battle exceeded the total from the previous month.
Moreover, this elite unit’s equipment and supplies were far superior to those of regular units. After rummaging through, Qian Ye wished he could take everything. However, even with Andua’s mysterious space, he could only carry a limited amount.
First, he collected the military merit tokens, then gathered as many non-bulky items as possible, such as ammunition and blood crystals. For weapons, he only took those from Knight-rank and above.
Armor, being too bulky, left Qian Ye with no choice but to strip the Spider Demon Viscount’s. Though human races could not use spider demon armor, the materials were valuable enough to occupy a place in Andua’s space.
Finally, after a busy period, Qian Ye was about to leave when he noticed a small sapling emerging from the ground nearby, growing rapidly.
This was a giant tree seedling, reaching over a man’s height in moments, growing several times faster than Qian Ye had seen before. Strangely, the crown of this giant tree was a crimson red, speckled with gold.
A chill ran down Qian Ye’s spine. He realized the sapling was growing where he had spat out the essence blood. Seeing the eerie tree, Qian Ye knew he couldn’t let it fully grow. He had no desire to explore its mature form.
For Qian Ye, the Misty Forest was already dangerous and troublesome enough.
He leaped up, the Eastern Peak sweeping across, slicing the young tree with a crisp sound. The tree was unusually tough, more resilient than common giant trees. If it grew to full size, Qian Ye might not be able to cut it with a single strike.
As the sapling was cut, it let out a wretched, agonized scream, and a gush of thick, bloody fluid spewed from the severed stump.
Shocked, Qian Ye stared at the broken tree, uncertain whether it was a plant or a living creature. His expression changed as the scream spread, and the surrounding giant trees began to come alive, their crowns writhing, with numerous blisters forming, from which monstrous little creatures threatened to emerge.
Qian Ye scanned the area. The activation of the giant trees was extensive, with everything in sight trembling. Feeling as if drenched in ice, he dared not linger and fled at full speed.
Despite his speed, Qian Ye could not completely escape the activated trees’ range. He was surrounded by the beasts. Fortunately, he was near the edge of the beast wave. Using the power of the sea, he overpowered the creatures, relying on his sharp sword and thick armor, breaking through the encirclement and escaping.
Once free, Qian Ye used his bloodline and stealth skills to hide, traveling nearly a hundred kilometers before daring to stop and rest. As he sat under a giant tree, the memory of the overwhelming, endless beast wave still frightened him.
After checking the surroundings and finding it safe, Qian Ye leaned against a giant tree, beginning to refine the essence blood. He had not practiced the profound chapter of the Song Clan Ancient Scroll for a long time. Now that his Dawn Force had reached the eleventh level, his suppressed blood qi could rise again.
Large amounts of essence blood were refined, purified, and transformed into streams of Dark Qi, absorbed by the blood core. With each absorption, the core pulsed, pumping out a drop of Gold-Infused Blood.
Qian Ye observed internally, seeing the Gold-Infused Blood spreading throughout his body, reaching most parts, except for the tiniest capillaries. Normal blood was scarce in his system.
Once all his blood was converted to Gold-Infused Blood, Qian Ye would reach the peak of Viscount level, according to the standards of the ancient lineage of the River of Blood.
The night passed quickly, and all the essence blood was converted. Qian Ye finished his cultivation, feeling refreshed and energized. He checked his equipment and supplies, then left his temporary refuge to continue hunting.
In the following days, Qian Ye encountered several scout and hunter squads of the dark races, sometimes twice in a day. The continuous, intense battles depleted his ammunition, leaving him with almost nothing.
However, his military merit and spoils increased like a volcanic eruption. Qian Ye now disregarded Knight-level weapons, only picking those from Baron level and above. The Spider Demon Viscount’s armor was replaced by a more valuable set, the complete light armor of a Demonic Noble Viscount.
Qian Ye wished Andua’s space could be doubled, though even a tenfold expansion might not suffice for all his spoils.
Only Qian Ye could hunt so efficiently. The power of the sea combined with Life Drain was perfect for crowd control, clearing a ten-meter radius with a single use.
The dark race units in the Misty Forest, typically around a hundred, were the ideal target for this tactic, often incapacitated by a single strike.
Within less than ten days, Qian Ye’s military merit had multiplied. Assuming others’ progress remained stable, he estimated he would soon top the leaderboard.
The unique environment of the Misty Forest was crucial. Outside, his advantages in recovery and cleanup would be less pronounced. Additionally, the death marks of Life Drain should not be seen by the higher-ups, but in the forest, the purple base consumed all suspicions.
Qian Ye noticed that the closer he got to the central labyrinth, the more frequent and elite the dark races became. Sometimes, the targets were too strong, and he had to retreat.
He suspected that the dark races were entering the central labyrinth in large numbers, hiding some secret there.
Meanwhile, a team of Li family soldiers set up a temporary camp in the Misty Forest to rest.
In a tent at the center, a youth, not yet thirty, frowned as he studied a map. This map of the Misty Forest, with its giant trees and purple base, made orientation difficult. To avoid getting lost, the Li family installed plaques with different identifiers on the giant trees. Using these, one could calculate their position.
The youth, with the pride of a noble scion, also bore a grave expression. An old general beside him, his hair turning white, said, “Young master, there is no need to worry. This setback is temporary. It cannot always be as smooth as last month. The top three on the merit board will surely include you.”
These words did not cheer the youth. He sighed, “What good is the top three? I still can’t surpass my cousin, Qingyun. Alas, even I, Li Jingzhan, a hero of our generation, must step aside for him.”
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