Zhao Jiandu arrived at the Council of Elders without a moment’s delay. After not seeing him for several days, the Sixth Elder appeared withered and his skin dry, as if he had aged many years.
He placed the glowing fang back in front of Zhao Jiandu and said only one sentence: “Within five days, that person will appear at the eastern border of the Silent Fire Plain.”
Zhao Jiandu nodded, “Thank you, Sixth Elder. I have already prepared the Mind Focusing Grass and Sea-Born Lotus. I will send them to Cousin Ruo Ming immediately.”
A smile of joy appeared on the Sixth Elder’s weary face.
The Mind Focusing Grass grows alongside the Time Wasteland, while the Sea-Born Lotus is unique to the Great Vortex. The former requires venturing deep into the Dark Domain, while the latter is a perilous natural fortress that even the strong dare not enter lightly. With these two main ingredients, one can make several high-grade potions to assist in advancing to the rank of war general, and even tailor them according to Zhao Ruo Ming’s innate qualities. With such gains, the ten years of cultivation that the Sixth Elder sacrificed was well worth it.
Zhao Jiandu returned to his residence, the Purple Garden of Jidi, and called for his trusted subordinates, briefly instructing them on the matters at hand. He had been preparing for his journey for several days, and most of the arrangements were already in place, ready to be handed over at any time.
In less than two hours, a small, high-speed hovercraft took off from the private landing field of the Zhao Estate, heading towards the Taihang Mountains.
At the same time, a slightly larger hovercraft was descending, passing close by.
The landing craft was an armed airship equipped with two aerial cannons. On the deck, a group of young men and women in military attire were engaged in lively conversation, most of them still carrying the scent of recent battles.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, “Hey, isn’t that the vehicle of the Fourth Young Master Zhao?”
Zhao Junhong turned around abruptly.
At this distance, through the porthole, he could clearly see Zhao Jiandu sitting in the main cabin, holding the distinctly green Celestial Sky!
The distant Silent Fire Plain remained unchanged, with its massive red scythe-shaped peaks stretching across the azure sky.
This time, Qian Ye’s route traversed more treacherous terrain. This section of the Taihang Mountains was almost entirely composed of steep cliffs, making it increasingly uninhabited, with even native beasts becoming scarce.
However, for Qian Ye now, such mountainous terrain was almost no obstacle. He used much less time than before to cross the Taihang Mountains, entering the hilly transition zone between the desert and the foothills.
The view of the Silent Fire Plain gradually expanded, and the ground beneath his feet began to mix with patches of red soil. This was the eastern border of the Silent Fire Plain, where the terrain was mostly flat, with almost no undulations.
As he ran, Qian Ye suddenly saw several blood clansmen in the distance, rapidly heading in his direction.
Trouble had come again!
It was daytime, and the wilderness was completely open, with only a few scattered, umbrella-shaped trees far apart, leaving no place to hide.
With Qian Ye’s current visual range, he could instantly see the details of those blood clansmen. Judging from their attire, insignias, and running speed, there were no viscount-level powerhouses among them. This was, at least, a small piece of good news.
Qian Ye decided to stop. He had been running at high speed for a while, and his stamina was depleted. If a battle was unavoidable, he might as well start it directly, replenishing his body’s blood energy. He drew out his Twin Flowers, loaded a demon-repelling bullet into each, and waited for the blood clansmen to approach.
The actions of the blood clansmen, however, were quite strange. Their attention was entirely on the rear, and they only noticed Qian Ye when they were within 500 meters. Their expressions were clearly panicked, and after a brief exchange in their secret language, they began to veer, apparently intending to bypass Qian Ye.
This surprised Qian Ye. Given the pride of the blood clan, seeing a lone human would never allow them to show such weakness. He suddenly noticed that the clothes of these blood clansmen were dark in several places, indicating that they were already injured.
These were all upper-rank blood clansmen, with pale skin, beautiful faces, exquisite attire, and fine weapons, obviously descendants of a somewhat influential clan. Who could have chased them to such a pitiful state?
Immediately, Qian Ye saw more figures appearing on the hilltop where these blood clansmen first appeared—blood clansmen, werewolves, and arachnids. His heart skipped a beat as he activated his True Vision, and instantly saw three massive origin force auras. They were three viscounts!
After a sharp intake of breath, Qian Ye didn’t waste any words and took off, naturally not in the same direction as the pursued blood clansmen.
By now, nearly a hundred dark warriors had gathered on the hill. They also spotted the scene in the wilderness. An arachnid viscount, leading a squad of over a dozen, began to chase Qian Ye. It seemed that even a chance encounter with a passerby would not spare their life.
Arachnids had a significant speed advantage in swampy terrain, but on flat ground, they only had the basic speed of a war general.
After running for a while, Qian Ye understood the difference in speed. Apart from the arachnid viscount, there were two upper-rank blood clansmen whose speed posed some threat. If he ran at full speed, he could easily outpace them within 100 kilometers, while the remaining dark warriors would fall behind within 20 kilometers.
Internal conflicts among dark races were not uncommon, and Qian Ye was not interested in the inner workings of this pursuit, but he was very interested in the pursuers, especially the arachnid viscount.
With his depleted blood energy, blood crystals were effective, but the fastest way was to directly absorb the blood essence of a strong individual. Without sufficient blood energy to protect his organs, the progress of his War General Technique would be noticeably affected, and his recovery rate would decrease accordingly.
A bold idea slowly formed in Qian Ye’s mind. He controlled his speed, and in less than an hour, the gap between him and the pursuers widened. The arachnid viscount was hot on his trail, with the two upper-rank blood clansmen slightly behind. The other dark warriors were several kilometers away, and the weakest servant spiders had long been left behind.
The time was about right.
Ahead, a towering tree stood, and at its base, a small oasis about ten meters in diameter. Qian Ye sprinted toward it, leaped up, and disappeared into the lush canopy. The branches swayed wildly, and broken twigs and leaves rained down.
The arachnid viscount, who had run up close, was taken aback. The tree was not a good hiding spot; his strength was enough to uproot it, and he was about to do so. A blinding light of origin force enveloped his entire forearm, ready to unleash a powerful strike.
But at that moment, a gray shadow quietly rolled out from behind the tree trunk, reaching the edge of the oasis before leaping up. In the air, a pair of bright light wings unfolded, and the Twin Flowers in Qian Ye’s hands merged into one. Layers of origin force patterns lit up, and the muzzle pointed straight at the arachnid!
Bang!
The gunshot echoed across the wilderness, long and continuous, like a dragon’s roar. The arachnid viscount was blasted into the air, even flipping backward, with emerald green light flashing across his massive arachnid form.
When the arachnid viscount landed, he had already transformed into his arachnid half, but the right shoulder and two arachnid legs were missing. When he realized something was amiss, he immediately shifted into his original form, which had stronger defenses, but the attack still breached his defense, tearing off half his body.
If the arachnid viscount had taken the shot in human form, he would have been obliterated. Even now, the situation was dire; if not treated immediately, he would barely cling to life.
One shot, just one shot, and the arachnid viscount was disabled! Even if he was only a third-rank viscount, this achievement was impressive.
But Qian Ye, standing at the edge of the oasis, was dumbfounded.
His Primordial Wings were fully charged, and the Twin Flowers, now fully energized, shimmered like flowing seawater, with the faintly visible blood-red and dark gold flowers. However, the problem was that Qian Ye had not yet pulled the trigger.
Someone else had taken out the arachnid viscount with one shot!
At this point, the two upper-rank blood clansmen had run up close, their faces filled with shock, but they couldn’t stop their momentum. The change was too sudden, leaving them no time to react, so they simply lunged at Qian Ye.
Qian Ye’s origin force was already at its peak, and in an instant, he separated the Twin Flowers, aiming at the two blood knights and blasting them to near death.
Qian Ye then quickly turned around, seeing nothing but the endless wilderness. Activating his True Sight, he scanned the horizon and finally detected a large concentration of origin force far away. But it was already a kilometer away, beyond even Qian Ye’s visual range.
Suddenly, a bright light rose from the origin force concentration, momentarily turning the entire sky emerald green.
At that moment, Qian Ye saw an origin force bullet piercing through the emerald world, whistling towards him. His True Vision traced the bullet’s trajectory, which would deviate slightly at 300 meters, drawing a shallow arc.
Qian Ye stood still, and the origin force bullet grazed his left arm, the emerald light just millimeters away from his sleeve. Even so, the light reflecting on his gauntlet condensed into several crystals, which instantly vanished before he could touch them.
Qian Ye turned his gaze, watching the origin force bullet fly towards the dark warriors chasing him.
The material of this origin force bullet was unknown, with extraordinary penetrating power, piercing through the bodies of three dark warriors and flying another ten meters before exploding into a ball of brilliant light.
The ones hit were three werewolf warriors, their upper bodies completely shattered, leaving only the lower halves. Such terrifying power needed no accuracy; even a graze would be fatal.
Compared to this frightening destructive power, what Qian Ye feared more was the sniper skill displayed by the hidden assailant. Especially the last shot, which, despite being over a kilometer away, managed to curve around his line of fire and kill three enemies with a single, precise angle, all masterful work. In comparison, he felt he was a step behind.
Qian Ye raised the Twin Flowers and fired three shots, blasting the heads of the last three pursuers. They were arachnid and werewolf knights, and with that, the entire team chasing him was wiped out. As for the trailing servant spiders, they were no longer a concern; it was doubtful they would even find this oasis afterward.
The desolate wilderness returned to its eerie silence, as if the crisis had passed. Qian Ye gazed at the horizon, sweat beads slowly forming on his forehead. He felt a needle-like point touching his glabella.
This feeling was very slight, and most people would overlook it. But an experienced sniper like Qian Ye knew it was the sensation of an origin force gun’s crosshair pointing right at his forehead.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage