In the golden radiance, the colossal beast roared to the heavens. The entire hall echoed with the sounds of cracking and shattering. Debris rained down from the ceiling, while the cave walls themselves began to fissure. Some passageways were blocked by falling rocks, while others opened new gaps.
Nighteye, who had already fainted, tumbled out from the crumbling cave wall, unconsciously colliding with the waves of golden light before being flung back. Qian Ye was startled and used the last ounce of his strength to rush over, catching her body and pulling her away just before she could crash into the broken stone pillar. They both then fell heavily to the ground.
Qian Ye lay on his back, gasping for air like a fish out of water. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and the air he inhaled seemed to be burning as well. His vision was hazy, and he felt disconnected from his body, unable to even sense where his limbs were, let alone move them.
The tremors in the cavern finally ceased. The beast, now lifeless, lay amidst the rubble, its once robust and resilient body appearing to have shriveled.
Qian Ye’s body was almost completely devoid of any strength. The Primordial Lance had drained him of all his origin power and blood energy. This lance was even more powerful than the one in the Black Forest, but it also demanded an even more terrifying amount of origin power and blood energy. Even with Qian Ye’s current strength, he was nearly depleted instantly.
However, this moment was the most perilous. The will of the beast had never been clearer, a vast and overwhelming presence that transcended the entire continent, as if the entire void was tilting and pressing down on Qian Ye. In the face of such a will, the individual’s own will seemed like a mere speck of dust, being drawn into that immense force. If he were to merge, there would no longer be a life named Qian Ye.
At this moment, Qian Ye’s mind was unusually serene. All the tumultuous emotions—love, hate, resentment—had receded. He gazed up at the distinctly different world in the void, as if a stream of enlightenment was flowing through his heart. The meaning of life, the purpose of power, and the significance of the faint glimmers of light he had found in the darkness.
As the all-consuming void gradually turned pitch black, those glimmers were the only constant, and Qian Ye could even feel a warmth. Though his life had begun with suffering and injustice, it had also brought him many precious things in the midst of hardship.
The desire to live was for what he already had, and the pursuit of power was to prevent further loss.
At that moment, the Black Book slowly appeared, flipping open by itself. From its pages, strands of origin power emanated—not just dark origin power, but also dawn origin power. These two extreme forces coexisted harmoniously, miraculously without conflict, like the dawning of the day when the first light pierces the night.
The profound and distant fluctuations of the Black Book isolated the will of the void beast, protecting Qian Ye’s fragile consciousness.
Qian Ye’s body, like a long-dry field, greedily absorbed every drop. Soon, his blood core began to pulse again, sending out a few threads of golden blood. A shallow tide of Soldier’s Decisive Wave surged across the ground, and Qian Ye regained his mobility.
Silence reigned in the cavern. Qian Ye struggled to turn his head; Nighteye lay in his arms, still unconscious. During the crisis, he had protected her before collapsing, and now in this position, he could only feel her breathing, heartbeat, and the rise and fall of her chest, knowing she was still alive.
Qian Ye slowly sat up, being careful not to jostle Nighteye too much. He shifted, finding a relatively intact part of the cave wall to lean against, supporting his exhausted body. He then lowered his head to check on Nighteye.
Even in her unconscious state, her brows were tightly furrowed, clearly still enduring pain. Her breath was erratic, and there were traces of fresh blood at the corners of her eyes, standing out starkly against her pale skin.
Qian Ye reached out, gently wiping the blood from her eye with his fingertips. The blood was still bright red, even a bit warm. There was no visible wound, so the blood must have come from her eyes.
Qian Ye’s hand trembled, feeling a sudden weakness. He hesitated to examine her eye injury further, afraid of what he might find. Despite his experiences in the underworld, having seen countless bloody scenes, he was still afraid.
After a moment, Qian Ye’s hand moved downward, examining her body. Using his true sight, he assessed her condition. She had several broken ribs, likely from the impact with the cave wall. There were also some scrapes, bruises, and shallow cuts, possibly from previous injuries or the aftermath of the Primordial Lance.
These were minor injuries, even the broken ribs and internal damage could be healed by the vampire’s strong regenerative abilities in a few days. However, the most severe injuries were in her eyes and blood core.
Her blood core was unstable, fluctuating erratically. Qian Ye sensed an abnormally vibrant life force emanating from the core, and through his true sight, he could see bright, colorful blood vessels seeping out.
This was not a good sign. It indicated that her blood core was severely damaged and could no longer contain the source blood within. Combined with the injuries to her eyes, it was clear that Nighteye had recently faced a formidable enemy, resulting in her eye techniques being counter-attacked.
When Qian Ye had encountered Zhao Jundu in the Silent Flame Plain, he had experienced something similar. But Zhao Jundu had held back, avoiding a harsh counterattack, so Qian Ye hadn’t been seriously injured.
But Nighteye’s situation was different. If she didn’t receive timely treatment, her eyes would suffer permanent damage, losing her eye techniques, and she might die slowly due to the damaged blood core.
Qian Ye’s hands, cold as ice, moved stiffly as he adjusted Nighteye’s clothing. He took the source blood from Viscount Pas and dripped it into her mouth. As the source blood went down her throat, her face regained some color, and her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, showing less pain.
Hope ignited in Qian Ye’s heart. Placing his hand on her chest, he could sense the source blood seeping into her bloodstream, bringing vitality and attempting to activate her body’s natural healing process.
But like a cup of water poured into a vast lake, the effect was minimal, quickly overwhelmed. The damaged blood core continued to struggle, each beat spilling colorful blood, taking away a thread of life.
Qian Ye forced himself to remain calm, rummaging through Anduyar’s mysterious space and finding a dozen blood crystals, both large and small. He crushed them one by one, injecting the stored blood energy into Nighteye’s body. But even the source blood couldn’t fundamentally reverse the injury, so what use were these few blood crystals?
Feeling a surge of helplessness, Qian Ye lowered his head, burying his face in Nighteye’s soft hair. If the source blood was ineffective, the only solution for a wounded vampire would be a blood pool. But within the vast skeleton of the giant beast, who knew how long it would take to get out, let alone return to Eternight?
In his unease, Qian Ye looked up and saw the dead beast among the rubble. Carefully moving Nighteye off his knees, he drew his bloodsucking blade and approached, stabbing it into the beast’s body, feeling the surge of potent blood enter him.
Though the Primordial Lance had consumed most of the beast’s origin power, the remaining blood essence was still abundant. The warmth and fullness brought by the absorbed power provided a slight comfort to Qian Ye’s restless heart.
He didn’t activate the Profound Chapter, allowing the dark gold and purple blood energy to absorb the external blood essence in the most primitive way. Suddenly, a thought rose from the depths of his consciousness, not his memory, yet so vivid.
Startled, Qian Ye instinctively grabbed those fragments from his consciousness, as if opening a valve. A torrent of blood surged, almost knocking him off balance. When Qian Ye came to, his mind was filled with new knowledge, perhaps best described as inherited.
Qian Ye’s thoughts were a tangled mess, but he knew without a doubt that this knowledge came from the memories of the ancient war, revealing the origins of the vampires and the long river of blood that flowed through the tides of time. Although it was only a minuscule part, it included knowledge of vampire power, inheritance, and abilities.
A faint, sweet aroma suddenly filled the air, snapping Qian Ye out of his daze. He turned quickly, seeing Nighteye’s chest rising and falling more rapidly, her breath becoming hotter, and the scent coming from her respiration.
This was not a good sign; her injuries were worsening, driving her towards a deep slumber.
While conscious, Nighteye could control her injuries, but after a prolonged, deep coma, the balance of self-healing was disrupted, and all suppressed injuries erupted. To protect itself, her body initiated a deep sleep. This was a natural healing method for vampires, but without external assistance, this slumber could last centuries.
Qian Ye knelt beside Nighteye, taking her limp hand. Their hands intertwined, both pale and cold. Waking her was becoming increasingly difficult, and doing so might worsen her condition. The best external aid, besides a blood pool, was source blood from a higher-ranked, more powerful vampire.
There was one vampire present who might be the most suitable: Qian Ye himself.
Gazing at Nighteye’s perfect face, Qian Ye’s resolve hardened. For the first time, his eyes glowed with a blood-red light, his pupils like the purest rubies, free of any impurities.
His blood core throbbed with deep, powerful beats, each one like a blow to the heart of the world. The entire cavern hall trembled and moaned again. A drop of source blood slowly condensed at the center of his blood core, vibrant, lively, and brimming with life, with a golden crystal at its heart.
This was Qian Ye’s source blood, his first drop.
Though the knowledge from the long river of blood was vast, it was fragmented. Qian Ye had learned how to condense source blood but not how to extract it. However, there was always a primal method.
Qian Ye touched Nighteye’s cheek, then undid his clothes, removing his inner armor to expose his muscular chest.
He drew a short knife and stabbed it into his own chest!
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