Chapter 244: Harm Oneself to Entrap Others

The leaf shot through the air like a bolt of lightning, instantly slicing the demonic aura in two.

The front part of the demonic aura continued forward but with waning strength. Although it barely touched the edge of the great star’s halo, causing a ripple in its starforce, that was all. As the demonic aura dissipated, the already fluctuating starforce gradually calmed down once more.

Anwen gazed at all this dumbfounded, his face suddenly flushing red as he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Only now did he realize that Song Zining wasn’t just fooling around below; instead, he had set up an extremely sinister trap. Song Zining didn’t care about refining his own original crystal; his focus was on sealing off the great star that Anwen might try to harness. In short, if he couldn’t refine the original crystal himself, he wouldn’t let Anwen obtain the source blood either.

This kind of underhanded move almost made Anwen spit blood in anger. But destruction is always easier than construction, and setting a trap near a great star was much simpler than touching the star itself. Even though Song Zining’s cultivation wasn’t as high as Anwen’s, he still had more than enough to cause trouble.

Anwen, on the brink of success but ultimately failing, suppressed his rage and cast a distant glance at Song Zining, then looked at the great star with lingering resentment. Another strand of demonic aura shot out from his fingertips, curving and twisting, heading towards another great star.

There were still faint ripples of starforce around the previous great star, indicating that Song Zining hadn’t left just a single leaf. Anwen would not fall for the same trick again.

As the demonic aura gradually moved forward, Anwen coldly thought, “Can you seal off all the great stars?”

Of course, Song Zining couldn’t seal all the great stars, and Anwen seriously doubted whether Song Zining had just gotten lucky and found the right great star, or if he had calculated which ones were particularly effective for the demon race.

In comparison, Anwen was more inclined to believe the former. Calculating starforce trajectories was an extremely complex matter, different from regular celestial mechanics and the Night’s prophecy techniques. How old was Song Zining, and how much time and resources did he have to study this?

But when Anwen’s demonic aura was cut off by another suddenly appearing leaf, he finally realized that he was facing the worst-case scenario: Song Zining probably knew exactly which great stars were useful to the demon race.

Watching the severed demonic aura slowly dissipate, even someone as mild-tempered as Anwen couldn’t help but curse. His anger surged, and he flicked his finger, sending another strand of demonic aura.

This time, Anwen directly targeted the hardest great star to reach.

Among the great stars beneficial to the demon race, the starforce varied in intensity. The higher the level of starforce, the more it twisted space, making it harder to contact. Therefore, Anwen initially chose the two easiest stars. He hadn’t expected Song Zining to be so cunning, setting traps around both, trapping Anwen twice in a row.

Anwen’s face was now as calm as water, all his anger suppressed. Breaking Song Zining’s tricks wasn’t too difficult; he just needed to wait for a while until the primal force Song Zining left in the well naturally faded. But since Anwen was already in the well, he had no other options.

Even if Song Zining had identified all the great stars beneficial to the demon race, could he possibly seal them all? If he really had that ability, he wouldn’t have been captured by the witch.

Qian Ye, watching this, said, “You can’t possibly seal all the great stars on the Evernight side, can you?”

“Of course not, nor is it necessary. But just watch, even if I can’t seal all the great stars, I’ll still make things hard for them.” Song Zining smiled mysteriously, not continuing further.

Qian Ye was not in a rush, watching as Anwen’s demonic aura wound its way closer to a somewhat dim star.

This star, though not very bright, was exceptionally large, larger than the two great stars Anwen had initially tried. Its starforce was naturally more potent. It only appeared dim because it leaned more towards dark primal force.

Song Zining was also watching. After a while, he suddenly said, “It should be fine now. Qian Ye, it’s your turn next.”

“Alright,” Qian Ye replied without asking why. If Song Zining said so, there must be a reason.

The demonic aura had just passed halfway, clearly much more challenging than the previous two great stars. Taking this opportunity, Song Zining opened his folding fan, extending it towards Qian Ye, and said, “Memorize this incantation. If you have the energy later, you can give it a try in the well.”

The incantation looked familiar. Qian Ye had seen a similar one in the ancient Song clan scrolls, though there were some minor differences. After a quick read, Qian Ye memorized it completely and understood its use.

This incantation was derived from the Thousand Floating Leaves technique, primarily used to create and hide floating leaves beneath the starforce. In essence, it allowed setting traps like Song Zining’s. Qian Ye, having practiced the ancient Song clan scrolls, possessed the highest-tier Dawn Enlightenment primal force, and had a basic understanding of celestial mechanics, could easily use this technique.

After memorizing it, Qian Ye nodded to Song Zining.

“It’s about time. Let’s watch the show,” Song Zining said with a smile, pointing to the Well of Stars.

In the well, Anwen’s demonic aura had penetrated numerous obstacles, reaching the outer edge of the great star. At this point, even Anwen, with sweat on his brow and pale face, was breathing heavily. A little longer, and he might not even have the strength to leave the well.

But the great star was just a step away, and soon, its starforce could be drawn. Though Anwen was nearly exhausted, drawing even a small amount of starforce would bring him close to victory.

Anwen calmed his mind and controlled the demonic aura forward. However, the moment the aura approached the great star, the starforce suddenly rippled outward. Anwen’s heart sank, realizing it was too late. The starforce ripple overwhelmed his already weakened demonic aura, causing it to explode.

The initial two great stars had starforce ripples, but they were far less intense than this most difficult one.

In an instant, Anwen’s mind went blank, with only one thought: “He was waiting for me here all along…”

Song Zining couldn’t possibly seal all the great stars. Perhaps sealing the two easiest was his limit. There were no traps around the most difficult great star, but its starforce was powerful, rippling like waves, overpowering Anwen, who had already expended two rounds of demonic aura. Song Zining didn’t need to do anything else; Anwen was already spent.

If it weren’t for the earlier failures, Anwen might have succeeded even with the starforce fluctuations. But the failures had already taken their toll, and despite his reluctance, he had to return in defeat.

He took a deep breath, glanced at Song Zining, and soared out of the Well of Stars.

Song Zining smiled, signaling the Empire’s people forward, then patted Qian Ye on the shoulder, saying, “Your turn now.”

Walking to the Well of Stars, Anwen didn’t leave. He told Song Zining, “Empire’s War God, your methods are truly remarkable. This round, I lost, but next time, it won’t be so easy.”

Song Zining smiled, “Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. Next time, I will prepare thoroughly.”

“I look forward to it.”

Anwen left without looking back. Three attempts at the great stars had depleted his demonic aura, leaving him unable to set traps like Song Zining. This time, it was Qian Ye’s turn to benefit.

Without a word, Qian Ye jumped into the Well of Stars, sinking deeper under the pull.

He had experience and had watched both sides refine original crystal and source blood. Though not as skilled in calculations as Anwen or Song Zining, he had his own advantages. Ultimately, the quality and quantity of starforce absorbed depended on one’s own strength.

This time, Qian Ye stopped at a depth much greater than before, taking out the Cloud and Wind Pearl, placing it in front of him, and activating his True Vision to look around.

Many chaotic images were filtered out, leaving only flickering stars.

Among the great stars, some were beneficial to vampires and arachnids, some to demons, and many to humans. Even the great stars of the vampires and demons, when their starforce was drawn, could produce usable original crystals, perhaps even rare abilities.

After stopping, Qian Ye didn’t act immediately but pondered, waiting for a clearer sense of the great stars. Then he extended his finger, igniting a flame of dawn light, injecting it into the Cloud and Wind Pearl.

His first move was pure Dawn Enlightenment.

As the pinnacle of dawn primal force, Dawn Enlightenment had unparalleled attraction to similar starforce. Almost instantly, a great star on the dawn side lit up, its starforce surging.

This smooth process was partly due to Qian Ye’s full effort and partly because the Empire’s people had cleared the smaller stars. Especially Song Zining, who had triggered over three hundred small stars’ starforce, using them to mask his hidden traps, effectively draining the well’s stars.

To Qian Ye, the well’s starfield felt cleaner.

He poured in Dawn Enlightenment without reservation. The great star’s starforce was hot and bright, increasing rapidly, combining with the Dawn Enlightenment to ignite a tiny sun within the Cloud and Wind Pearl.

As the primal force and starforce merged, more great stars were stirred, and soon, a second great star began releasing its starforce. This doubled the speed of starforce accumulation, intensifying the turmoil among the great stars.

Qian Ye didn’t hesitate, injecting more primal force. With two great stars supporting him and minimal interference from medium and small stars, the original crystal he was refining was clearly of a higher grade, possibly even outstanding among the upper-tier. But Qian Ye didn’t stop, continuing to inject Dawn Enlightenment, trying to draw more starforce.

Song Zining had dealt a heavy blow to Anwen, and Anwen, with his temperament, would not let it go. He would find a way to get back. It was clear that this was Qian Ye’s last chance to refine the original crystal peacefully. Next time, the well would be filled with insidious traps.