Qian Ye was treading carefully, as if navigating through a thorny labyrinth. In the seemingly empty space, faint tendrils of dark energy drifted about, almost invisible to the naked eye. These wisps, thin as hair, seemed to float aimlessly, harmless at first glance. But Qian Ye knew that these strands, visible only in the true vision, were formed from the witch’s demonic energy, part of her domain. A careless touch would alert her instantly.
However, after a moment’s thought, Qian Ye realized that these dark strands were not entirely impenetrable. He had just seen a small beast dash by, breaking several strands without any reaction from the witch’s domain.
It seemed the witch had an extremely fine control over her domain, able to discern between mere beasts and real threats based on the strands’ reactions.
Qian Ye extended a finger, cautiously approaching one of the dark strands. As his fingertip drew near, the strand reacted, darting like a fish towards him. Qian Ye immediately suppressed his aura, cutting off his outward flow of primal force. The strand then resumed its aimless wandering, as if it had lost its target.
Qian Ye now understood. These strands not only served as invisible alarms, providing the witch with location information, but they were also highly sensitive to the power of dawn. They could actively seek out those imbued with it.
Such detection methods were truly insidious. If not for his true vision, Qian Ye might never have discovered how the witch found him.
Qian Ye did not rush to leave. Instead, he released a bit of blood energy. To his surprise, the dark strands within a dozen meters responded immediately, swarming towards the source like sharks sensing blood.
This time, Qian Ye did not retract the blood energy but allowed the strands to collide with his fingers, observing their reaction.
The strands plunged into the dark golden blood energy, causing a violent clash, sparking with tiny flames. The strands, though minuscule, were instantly incinerated, but their response was equally intense. Each strand took a roughly equal amount of dark golden blood energy down with it.
Qian Ye was surprised to find that the strands were even more sensitive to blood energy than dawn power. It seemed the witch was either particularly focused on the blood race or, as previously known, once reaching a certain level, blood energy and magic would clash violently, almost to the point of mutual destruction, more fiercely than the conflict between darkness and dawn.
Whether this sensitivity to blood energy was good or bad remained uncertain.
After a brief experiment, Qian Ye withdrew the blood energy, suddenly remembering something. He felt a growing unease. In the Great Maelstrom, aside from Edward, few, if any, had blood energy potent enough to attract so many strands. If that was the case, the witch likely already knew his location and was on her way.
With this thought, Qian Ye’s figure flickered, initiating a void flash, vanishing from sight in an instant.
No sooner had he disappeared than dark ribbons appeared where he had been standing, crisscrossing and slicing the space into fragments. Had Qian Ye still been there, he would have been hard-pressed to escape.
The witch’s form materialized in the air, her voice cold, “Fleeing so fast, are you?”
In a breath, Anwen, Edward, and Lorenzo arrived. They all saw that the witch had not caught Qian Ye and remained silent. In the past, her infamous temper, combined with her unmatched combat prowess, meant anyone who crossed her rarely fared well.
Now, with Qian Ye slipping away again, it was clear how she must feel.
The witch said coolly, “He won’t run for long. I’ve got him.”
As she spoke, her figure vanished. Anwen followed, tracing the residual magic.
The Eternal Night’s elite moved with lightning speed, covering ten kilometers in moments, only to see the witch standing calmly in the air, indicating that Qian Ye had escaped once more.
Indeed, Qian Ye’s void flash was unparalleled in evasion. Although similar techniques existed among other races, the version refined by Duke Arduin of the Blackwing Clan offered overwhelming advantages in distance, speed, and energy consumption. Thus, Qian Ye could keep eluding the witch with repeated flashes.
This time, the witch did not speak much. After a moment of silence, she pointed in a direction, transforming into a black ribbon, and vanished. The others followed without a word.
In no time, they saw the witch standing still in the air. Everyone understood the unspoken agreement, waiting quietly for her to locate Qian Ye.
The witch did not disappoint. In a few breaths, she re-established Qian Ye’s location and pursued him.
Once again, she returned empty-handed.
By now, even Edward and the others realized that the witch was taking longer each time to lock onto Qian Ye, indicating that she was losing his trail or that Qian Ye had found a way to counter her tracking.
However, using the void flash repeatedly was draining. Coupled with the two uses of the Primordial Gun, even if Qian Ye’s cultivation outmatched his peers, his energy and vitality must be severely depleted. Now, it was a test of endurance. If Qian Ye faltered first, he was doomed. If the witch couldn’t keep up, she would let him escape, giving him a crucial respite.
Initially, the witch should have held the advantage, as the void flash consumed far more energy than normal flight. However, maintaining such a vast domain required an immense, continuous outpouring of magic. Her ability to sustain it was truly awe-inspiring.
None expected what should have been a surefire hunt to turn into a war of attrition.
Still, no one dared to ask the witch how she tracked Qian Ye or offer any unsolicited help. Even someone like Edward might harbor a secret sense of schadenfreude.
Deep in the forest, Qian Ye emerged from the void. He quickly locked onto a nearby small beast, spurring it to leap and run frantically through the woods. Meanwhile, Qian Ye crouched low, almost crawling alongside the creature.
The startled beast ran faster. Qian Ye kept pace, neither too fast nor too slow.
The running beast frequently collided with the dark strands, and Qian Ye would occasionally brush against them as well. Using his bloodline concealment, as he had anticipated, the strands did not trigger a chain reaction. In the witch’s perception, it was just two unknown beasts racing through the forest, a safer disguise than any simple illusion.
After running for several kilometers, the area showed no signs of the witch’s attention. Qian Ye reached out, pinning the beast down, rendering it unconscious, then found a large tree, leaping into its canopy to hide.
Since the battle began, this was his first chance to rest.
Qian Ye knew his respite would be short-lived. If the witch couldn’t find him, she would systematically search areas with signs of animal activity, eventually leading her here.
Calmly, Qian Ye checked his condition. His primal force was still more than half, but his blood energy was down to a third. The two uses of the Primordial Gun and the void flashes had drained most of it. Running in a state of bloodline concealment also consumed the energy of his blood core, making the expenditure even greater, despite his blood energy being comparable to that of a Great Duke.
On the Primordial Wings, only one luminous feather glowed. He had only one shot left, the most powerful one already used against the witch, another to clear a path and intimidate enemies. However, Qian Ye noticed that after using the black-edged feather, another with a black edge appeared on the opposite wing.
This meant he still had two powerful special feathers for the Primordial Gun.
Without time to investigate, Qian Ye retrieved the Black Book, allowing its stored essence to pour out, infusing the Primordial Wings. The wings, like waking from a dream, swam in the essence, absorbing it, and a regular feather began to glow faintly.
When the Black Book’s essence was exhausted, a new feather on the Primordial Wings was mostly illuminated, only the tip remaining dim.
Qian Ye estimated that a full Black Book could provide enough essence for a complete new feather. The Black Book’s benefit was that it made the stored essence purer, ready for immediate use. For instance, the essence could directly fuel the Primordial Wings or even trigger a Boiling Blood state. Though not as potent as dark golden blood energy, it was a reliable fallback in emergencies like now.
Putting away the Black Book, Qian Ye’s gaze fell on a large tree nearby, where a giant python dwelled. Its robust vitality meant a copious amount of essence, especially in the Great Maelstrom, where all life forms were exceptionally rich in essence.
Qian Ye leaped, grabbing the python’s body, his fingers digging into its scales, piercing its flesh. The pained python struggled, but the narrow space hindered its efforts. As it turned, Qian Ye seized its neck, initiating a tug-of-war.
Though the python was formidable, it was no match for Qian Ye, who possessed the ancient blood race’s physique. It was no match for a Marquis of the ancient blood race.
Subdued, the python was subjected to the Essence Seizure. Blood threads emerged from Qian Ye’s fingertips, penetrating the python’s body. It took a full minute for the python to stop struggling.
Qian Ye sighed, sweating profusely. The Black Book was refilled, yet the python’s essence was not fully drained. This highlighted the monstrous strength and rich rewards of the Great Maelstrom’s beasts.
Without delay, Qian Ye’s figure flickered, and he vanished.
Not long after, the witch appeared, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the dead python in the tree hollow, her killing intent palpable.
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