Anwen pointed at the starry sky beneath the well, saying, “Look, although there seem to be countless stars in the well, their number is actually limited. There are more stars that lean towards the Dawn Force, and fewer towards Eternal Night. This, in itself, isn’t a problem. However, after the star power has been drawn, those stars do not recover. The humans, whether intentionally or not, have been drawing a great deal of power from the smaller stars while condensing the original crystals. I thought it was due to their lack of strength, but now it seems to be a deliberate act.”
“Are you saying they first sweep away the smaller stars to make it easier for others to sense the higher-level stars?”
“Exactly so.”
In the Well of Stars, one must constantly resist the pull of gravity and also perceive the stars to draw their power. Even strong individuals like Edward and Aidan find it extremely taxing. The more small stars there are, the greater the interference, making it particularly difficult to sense and draw power from the larger stars.
Neither Ruluo nor Edward had deliberately swept away the smaller stars. Aidan, on the other hand, focused on sensing and drawing power from the medium and large stars, handling the smaller ones as a secondary task. The empire, however, had several people sweeping the smaller stars sequentially, significantly reducing their numbers on the Dawn side.
“So, what should we do now?”
Anwen responded slowly, “It’s not too troublesome. What the humans can do, we can do as well. Starting tomorrow, we will focus on clearing the smaller stars. The day after, you and I will take action. In the end, our progress will only be one day behind theirs.”
“That sounds good.”
Anwen said, “I’m quite looking forward to seeing what kind of origin blood will coalesce from that dark star.”
“A dark star? I will satisfy your curiosity.”
Anwen smiled faintly. When the witch speaks with such confidence, she is certain.
The next morning, the person the Eternal Night side sent into the Well of Stars was a surprise: Dusk.
Although Dusk was among the best of the younger generation of the Blood Clan, she was clearly inferior compared to Edward, Anwen, and others. Whether she could successfully condense the origin blood in the Well of Stars was still uncertain.
In comparison, three Blood Clan marquises might have been more suitable. Though their bloodline talents were not as high as Dusk’s, they had more cultivation time, resulting in much deeper blood energy.
However, since Anwen had already made the decision, no one objected, and they watched as Dusk entered the Well of Stars.
After just half an hour, Dusk emerged from the Well of Stars, unable to hold on any longer. Her attempt to condense the origin blood had failed.
Anwen remained expressionless, not blaming Dusk, and led the Eternal Night team back to their camp.
This round, the empire sent Zhao Yuying. As a direct descendant of the Duke of You, Zhao Yuying was not lacking in talent or cultivation, and she had rich combat experience and a strong will. After entering the well, she aggressively swept away the smaller stars. Although she couldn’t clear a hundred like Li Kuanglan, she still cleared over seventy smaller stars and retrieved an original crystal.
Of course, because she swept only the smaller stars, the quality of the crystal was poor, barely reaching the middle grade. But Zhao Yuying had completed her task. Now, nearly half of the smaller stars on the Dawn side of the Well of Stars had been cleared, making it much easier to sense the larger stars.
Seeing Zhao Yuying’s performance, Anwen pondered for a moment and then sent Ruluo down again. This would be Ruluo’s third entry into the Well of Stars. The Spider Demon had a naturally powerful primal force and a robust body, making him an ideal candidate for sweeping the stars in the well.
Ruluo did not refuse. After all, each trip into the well to condense the Spider Demon origin blood would greatly benefit both the clan and himself.
Once inside the well, Ruluo opened his mouth and sprayed out several webs, attaching them to various places. These webs acted as nodes, pulling in many nearby smaller stars.
In a single entry, Ruluo cleared a hundred smaller stars, a speed that even Anwen had not anticipated. He nodded silently, deciding to personally enter the well the next day to try and communicate with the few major stars related to the demonic race. As for the dark star, he was not without ambition, but the timing and method of communication were crucial, requiring further calculation and deeper demonic energy.
Thus, the day’s competition ended. On the surface, it seemed the humans had the upper hand, but the Eternal Night side had fewer smaller stars in the well to begin with, so they were not far behind.
With the dawn of a new day, the empire sent Song Zining, who appeared with a leisurely fan, lightly fanning it before closing it and jumping into the Well of Stars.
Once inside, leaves swirled around him, and the bright scenery intermittently appeared, showing off his elegant and unparalleled demeanor.
Anwen stood at a high point, coldly watching Song Zining show off in the well, but for some reason, he felt a vague unease.
Song Zining stood in the air, with more and more leaves floating around him, scattering in all directions, almost covering the stars.
Despite his grand display, the Eternal Night’s strong faces all wore smirks. Song Zining had already triggered a hundred smaller stars, and the number was rapidly increasing. Every two or three leaves could draw the power of a smaller star. It seemed that by the end, triggering two or three hundred smaller stars would not be a problem. However, each time he drew a portion of star power, he needed an equal amount of primal force. Even if Song Zining had crossed the divine general’s threshold, he did not have such a profound primal force.
Such a grand display would ultimately lead to an unmanageable situation. Even if he stopped now, it would be too late.
Indeed, not even half an hour later, Song Zining could no longer hold on and flew out of the Well of Stars, staying in there for less time than Dusk. His attempt to condense the original crystal naturally failed. However, before he came out, he had already triggered nearly four hundred smaller stars, creating a significant mess. The overflowing star power was wasted.
Next, it was Anwen’s turn to enter the well. As soon as he entered, his expression changed.
The star power left by Song Zining had not dissipated; it continued to surge in the well. It dissipated much slower than expected, and it would take at least one or two hours to completely dissipate. Each stream of star power interfered with perception, making the Well of Stars feel like it had suddenly gained hundreds of additional smaller stars, causing great headaches.
The key was that these star powers could not be utilized. Even if they were sensed, they could not be drawn. They were all biased towards the Dawn side, harmful to the dark races. To Anwen, these star powers appeared as burning flames, each one a small fire floating in the air, dazzling in large numbers.
Countless intricate patterns appeared around Anwen, enveloping him. The Dawn star power, when passing through these patterns, would be weakened layer by layer, while the Eternal Night star power would remain unaffected.
Anwen sneered. Such a small trick from Song Zining trying to interfere with him was too disrespectful to the young master of the demonic race. Anwen wanted to show Song Zining that abandoning the chance to condense the original crystal was a futile effort.
After filtering the Dawn star power, Anwen calmed his mind and extended his perception in all directions, touching the few major stars beneficial to the demonic race.
Neither the smaller nor medium stars were Anwen’s targets. Even the major stars could not fully meet his expectations. However, he was cautious, preferring to concentrate on a couple of major stars first, then proceed to the dark star. If possible, he might also try to sense the seven most powerful stars in the Well of Stars.
Anwen had absolute confidence. Among the younger generation of Eternal Night, he might not be the strongest in battle, but he was undoubtedly one of the most intelligent. After several days of observation, he had uncovered a part of the mystery of the star power in the Well of Stars.
With a single sweep of his perception, Anwen had connected with a dozen medium stars. These, however, were not his goal but merely stepping stones. He silently calculated the positions and star power flow data of these medium stars, then smiled faintly. A wisp of demonic energy followed a winding path, probing a major star that was especially beneficial to the demonic race.
On the mountainside, Qian Ye and Song Zining stood side by side. Blue light flashed in Qian Ye’s eyes. Under the real vision, although they were far away, Anwen’s demonic energy could not escape his sight. Looking at the winding path, Qian Ye’s brows rose, thinking of something, yet not entirely sure.
Song Zining praised, “Truly impressive! Look at his demonic energy; it has already accounted for the disturbance and pulling forces of the surrounding star power.”
Qian Ye observed carefully, “His demonic energy is clearly intermittent yet feels seamless. Why is that?”
Song Zining explained, “The star power of a major star is vast, warping the space around it. We can see it, but going straight through would never reach the target. Therefore, whether it’s the Li family or the Ji family, we use our own primal force as the foundation to draw the surrounding star power. But this method is very passive, drawing whatever we encounter. Whether or not we can draw the star power of a major star depends on luck.”
He paused, then continued, “Of course, it’s not entirely luck. The higher the grade of the primal force, the greater the attraction to the same-source star power, making it more likely to draw the star power of a major star. But Anwen’s method is different. He aims to break through the pulling forces and space warping, directly contacting the major star. Truly ambitious!”
Qian Ye looked grave, watching the demonic energy approach a major star. “It looks like he might succeed.”
Song Zining, however, gave a mysterious smile, “Not necessarily! I wasn’t idle during my time in the well.”
Qian Ye looked at him, speechless. Among everyone, Song Zining had spent the shortest time in the well.
In the Well of Stars, Anwen’s demonic energy gradually approached the major star, becoming increasingly sparse. Each time it penetrated the warped space, the demonic energy weakened. His persistence was due to his high-grade demonic energy, nearly pure darkness. More importantly, the channel he calculated was extremely precise, minimizing the weakening of the demonic energy. Without such skill, even if his demonic energy were several times stronger, he could not approach any major star.
The demonic energy moved forward, smoothly passing through two more spatial warps. The major star was right in front!
A smile finally appeared on Anwen’s face. Among the major stars beneficial to the demonic race, this was one of the easiest to contact. With success imminent, he still had the strength for another attempt. Drawing the power from this star might allow him to try another. Origin blood condensed from the star power of two major stars would at least be of the rank of a Marquis, and might even come with one or two useful abilities. Just one drop of such origin blood would add a core combatant to the demonic race.
Just as the demonic energy was about to emerge from the twisted space, a chaotic star power suddenly appeared nearby, transforming into a floating leaf, slicing across!
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