Chapter 229: The Dispute Over the Well of Jing Shang

Gazing at the witch drawing near, Qian Ye remained motionless, which perplexed her greatly.

“Why don’t you run?”

“If I flee, wouldn’t this Well of Stars be handed to you for free?”

“Fool.” The witch’s visage was shrouded in a black mist, making her expression indiscernible. After the rebuke, countless tendrils of black fog swirled around Qian Ye, transforming into razor-sharp blades that sliced towards him.

Qian Ye wielded the Eastern Peak, and his blade pierced through the fog. Yet, the mist quickly reformed and continued to float towards him.

Raising his eyebrows, a vermilion-golden primal force flame suddenly ignited on the edge of the Eastern Peak. Instantly, he swung four strikes in all directions!

The Dawn Enlightenment’s primal force flames met the witch’s invisible dark blades, instantly flaring up fiercely. The raging fire devoured the faint mist, incinerating all the dark blades within moments.

Qian Ye took a step back, teleporting dozens of meters away, putting distance between them. The witch, without pursuing, raised her hand to retract the remaining dark blades, her face grim. Meanwhile, Qian Ye stared at the vermilion-golden primal force flame on the edge of the Eastern Peak, silently calculating, lost in thought.

The confrontation just now was a direct clash of primal forces—dawn versus darkness, without any tricks, comparing quality and quantity. Both parties were now gauging their opponent’s strength based on the consumption during the confrontation.

After a while, Qian Ye lifted his head, his eyes wary and serious. The black mist around the witch rippled subtly, indicating her unsettled emotions.

The previous exchange had resulted in a stalemate, with both sides equally matched!

Since mastering the Dawn Enlightenment, Qian Ye had never encountered anyone whose primal force essence could match his, be it in the Empire or Evernight. The elder generation had no chance to compete, so it wasn’t worth mentioning. Even among the younger generation, Zhao Jundu’s Purple Pinnacle of Youth, though advanced, still fell short of perfection, lagging behind the Dawn Enlightenment. His early promotion, in the end, left some regrets.

However, the Zhao family possessed secret methods during the Divine General’s Celestial Trial to further purify primal force, giving Zhao Jundu another chance to catch up and reach the pinnacle after becoming a Divine General.

In Evernight, whether Edward or Aiden, their primal force essence was inferior to Qian Ye. Even if Edward’s purple-black blood carried the aura of a grand duke, it couldn’t suppress the dark golden blood, and in combat against the Dawn Enlightenment, it would still fall short. And even though An Wen had great wisdom, perhaps wise men are not diligent enough; thus, while his demonic essence was strong, in terms of quantity, it was only slightly better than Aiden.

If one must name a rival, it might be Qian Ye after her awakening. However, post-awakening Qian Ye was unfathomable, with unimaginable inherited powers. Qian Ye couldn’t discern her primal force essence’s true level.

Only now did Qian Ye encounter a true adversary.

From the fluctuation of the demonic aura, one could see the witch’s shock far surpassed Qian Ye’s. Perhaps she never imagined meeting someone whose primal force quality matched hers. Like her appearance, in her mind, she was always superior, unique, and unparalleled.

The witch slowly spoke, “In the Indestructible City, I merely thought you were decent, but not my true adversary. Now, I take back that thought.”

Qian Ye replied, “Perhaps soon, you will find your current opinion wrong as well.”

“Is that so? I am looking forward to it, but unfortunately, you won’t have such an opportunity.”

Before her words faded, the witch’s figure flickered, appearing behind Qian Ye, her hand, wrapped in demonic energy, reaching for his neck.

But her grasp found only air. The demonic energy activated, creating a series of crackling sounds. Amidst the dense black mist, a few slender fingertips appeared, each enveloped in thin electrical sparks.

A mere clench invoked numerous anomalies, clearly showing tremendous power. Many of the observing vampire nobles changed countenance, especially the blood barons, who felt a chill down their spines, knowing they couldn’t withstand the witch’s light touch.

Qian Ye appeared a hundred meters away, staring at the witch. At the critical moment, he used void blinking to dodge her attack. But when he glanced at his original position, he found the exploding demonic energy and electrical sparks lingering, while the witch vanished.

Without hesitation, Qian Ye flashed again, disappearing. Suddenly, a finger emerged from the void, aiming for the back of his head, but it struck only a residual image.

When Qian Ye reappeared elsewhere, he sensed a subtle change. A light black shadow, like spreading ink, appeared before his eyes. His pupils reflected this dark shade, momentarily delaying its spread and distortion. With this brief reprieve, Qian Ye activated void blinking and vanished once more.

The ink shadow expanded, forming the witch’s figure. She let out a faint, cold laugh, transforming into a light black band, rushing toward the empty space. Mid-flight, Qian Ye appeared ahead.

Yet, Qian Ye seemed to have anticipated this, sidestepping her lunge, and vanished again. The light black band, undeterred, made a turn, and attacked the empty space again.

In a fleeting moment, they had already exchanged several blows. The vampire barons couldn’t keep up with their movements, seeing only crisscrossing dark bands and multiple lingering residual images of Qian Ye. Only the marquises could barely follow, their faces filled with astonishment.

Edward and others remained relatively calm. After watching for a while, An Wen suddenly said, “Rorol, Edward, the two of you go down the Well of Stars first. We will guard you.”

Truth be told, An Wen’s timing was perfect. Edward and Rorol were both intrigued. Now, the witch was engaged with Qian Ye, and others couldn’t intervene, achieving a precarious balance. There was no need to worry about Qian Ye’s interference.

Behind this suggestion, An Wen was not entirely selfless; he wanted to observe the process of converting star power and refining source blood by Edward and Rorol. Neither Edward nor Rorol minded. Both clans had secretly researched for years to refine the method of converting star power, finally finding a suitable medium to perfect the conversion. If An Wen could master it just by watching, it would be absurd.

Rorol said, “Alright, I’ll go down first.”

He took out a milky-white spider egg and tossed it into the Well of Stars, then leaped in after it.

The spider egg rapidly descended, but a spider thread shot from above, suspending it mid-air. Rorol’s massive body stepped onto the illusory web, slowly descending.

He continuously sensed the gravitational pull and star power, controlling the descent of his body and the egg. In certain areas, Rorol showed signs of strain, having to rise a bit before stabilizing.

He constantly spat out clusters of white mist with a tinge of gold, which the spider egg absorbed. As more mist was absorbed, several stars began to shine brighter, and their specks gradually drifted towards the egg, being absorbed along with the mist.

Seeing the method effective, Edward visibly relaxed. Since both techniques originated from humans, the vampire conversion method was akin to the Spider Demon’s principle. If it worked for the Spider Demons, it should work for the vampires.

An Wen observed closely, lost in thought. Surrounding him, demonic energy fluctuated, revealing countless symbols and complex formulas, causing Aiden to feel dizzy. Aiden had to admit that in these matters, An Wen indeed had an extraordinary, almost unbelievable talent.

But in reality, An Wen was not as relaxed as he appeared. He never expected the witch to appear in the Great Maelstrom. Once she dealt with Qian Ye, she would surely mock his weakness.

Unfortunately, An Wen recently had a misstep. When confronting Qian Ye, his unique talent ensured a hit, yet insufficient strength prevented a killing or at least severe blow, leading to his defeat and ejection from the main well. This would eventually reach the witch, proving his negligence.

But in truth, how many could guarantee a severe blow to Qian Ye?

An Wen sighed deeply. It didn’t matter how few there were, because the witch could do it, and that was enough.

Steadying his mind, he continued observing the changes below, analyzing the Spider Demons’ method of absorbing star power.

Below, Rorol wasn’t relaxed either. The web under his limbs trembled, showing considerable strain. His actual strength was much greater, but focus eluded him.

The peril of the Well of Stars was apparent only to those deep inside. Rorol attempted to anchor a spider thread to the well’s entrance, but it disintegrated after tens of meters. Trying to anchor to the walls, he found the space changing, increasing the downward pull and decreasing the star power.

This meant the conversion time would multiply, and even with the spider thread’s help, Rorol couldn’t endure.

After several attempts, Rorol accepted the reality, realizing there was no shortcut. He couldn’t understand how the well had such spiritual insight, thwarting any trickery.

Over time, Rorol grew increasingly distracted. Below, he was vulnerable, initially relying on the witch. Yet, despite logic, the witch struggled to defeat Qian Ye, and the ongoing battle above diverted his attention, slowing the conversion.

The witch and Qian Ye continued their instant exchanges. Her face obscured, the increasing chill and murderous intent showed her genuine anger. She waved, releasing over a hundred dark blades, blocking and intercepting Qian Ye. Failing to subdue him was embarrassing, so she unleashed all her demonic energy, aiming to swiftly defeat or drive off Qian Ye.

Her tactics were precise, deducing that Qian Ye’s void blinking couldn’t last. Slowing by a fraction, he’d be intercepted. The best choice was to escape while he still could.

The witch waited for that moment, a trap set for Qian Ye.