Chapter 227: The Hunt

Deep within the land of Yongsu, Qian Ye and Ye Tong stood side by side at the edge of a cliff. Before them lay an endless sea of trees, with a faint mist swirling among the treetops, blending into the distant horizon.

“Let’s stop here,” Qian Ye said.

Ye Tong remained silent.

Qian Ye gently embraced her, “This is a critical moment for your power to recover. You must find a safe place to rest and cannot keep running around with me. Come find me after you become an archduke, or even a great lord.”

“What about you?”

Qian Ye smiled slightly, holding a mass of grayish primordial force in his hand, “With the primordial chaos force, as long as the demon emperor doesn’t take matters into his own hands, who can catch me?”

Ye Tong still seemed worried, but the little Zhu Ji chimed in, “Don’t worry, if Dad can’t handle it, there’s still me.”

Zhu Ji was in a rather peculiar state; her bloodline power had yet to mature, but her body was incredibly strong, almost like a combination of an ancient bloodline and an ancient arachne. It was difficult to gauge her with the usual noble rank system. Once, she had forcibly pried open Soza’s grip and escaped. Having this little one by Qian Ye’s side was like adding wings to a tiger.

Ye Tong, decisive as ever, said, “Alright, then I’ll be on my way.”

She gave Qian Ye a light kiss on the lips and turned to leave without another word.

Only after Ye Tong’s figure vanished did Zhu Ji ask, “Why did Auntie leave?”

“She needs to find an ancient blood pool and hibernate for a while. When she wakes up, she will be even stronger. By the way, weren’t you calling her sister before? Why the sudden change to auntie?”

“I’ve recently realized that a girl’s age is very important. To avoid misunderstandings about my age, it’s better to call her auntie! After all, I’m still young, and Mom says that we should count our age from the time we hatch.”

Qian Ye couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. What theory did Song Zining teach her that she got mixed up again? He really didn’t know how to calculate the age of arachnes, but the so-called hatching age for humans refers to egg-laying creatures, right?

Ah, this little one, despite being small, was quite clever. Once she grew up, her intelligence developed exceptionally fast, and he could no longer treat her as a child. But did she really think she was less than ten years old?

Qian Ye looked up, and beyond the void, the Valhalla was moving away.

The last time, the demon clan had sent Soza, and this time, more great lords would surely come. In front of great lords, the defenses of Valhalla were insufficient. This was the foundation of Qian Ye, and it could not be destroyed.

Back then, Duke Blox was defeated when Qian Ye rushed onto his flagship and bound him, and the ship was lost. Qian Ye could not make the same mistake.

Qian Ye and Zhu Ji entered the forest, disappearing into its depths.

The light inside the forest was dim, the ancient tree crowns and the mist hanging in the air blocked the sky, making it hard to tell day from night. Moss growing on the tree trunks and ground emitted a faint glow, barely illuminating the surroundings.

The entire area was dark and damp, filled with bone-chilling cold. Anyone who stayed here for too long, even if they were below the level of a warlord, might fall ill.

In a small clearing, Qian Ye started a fire, slowly roasting a small beast he had caught. He asked, “How do you feel?”

Zhu Ji looked up at the sky, “Still a bit blurry, but I can see some clouds now.”

“Not bad, keep practicing. Perception is the most important thing for a good hunter.”

Zhu Ji nodded, staring intently at the treetops and white mist, trying to penetrate the obstacles.

This forest was quite famous on Yongsu, known as one of the deadly zones. The thick fog in the forest obstructed perception, and under the cover of the chilly, damp air, streams of primordial force drifted. These forces were harmful to all living beings, and even strong warriors would suffer if they stayed too long.

However, these problems were insignificant to Qian Ye, and Zhu Ji felt as if she was in her element. Qian Ye came to the forest to use its unique environment to hide and wait for the demon clan to pursue him. If he couldn’t choose his opponent, choosing the battlefield was crucial.

In the forest, perception was not only limited but also often misleading, which was especially fatal in combat. Qian Ye, with his eyes of control, was unaffected. Zhu Ji, naturally adapted to harsh environments, even had enhanced perception, leaving Qian Ye speechless. It was precisely because of this special environment that Qian Ye brought Zhu Ji along.

Watching the hard-working Zhu Ji, Qian Ye sighed inwardly. The little one was growing too fast, and it was time for her to start cultivating, but Qian Ye had no arachne cultivation methods, nor did he have suitable power application techniques for her extraordinary talent.

Qian Ye thought, once this crisis was over, he might need to seek out the arachnes and snatch some top-notch inheritances for Zhu Ji.

The small beast on the fire was not yet cooked when Qian Ye suddenly felt a disturbance, looking up at the sky. Beyond the clouds, a warship flew in from the void, hovering above the forest. The ship’s door opened, revealing several figures, with one towering nearly four meters, his face an odd bluish-gray.

“Grand Duke Minick, Duke Rollo, we have arrived.”

The grim-faced Grand Duke Minick gazed down at the vast forest, “According to Prince Pratek’s prophecy, this is one of the possible hiding places. Our task is to thoroughly search this area. If Qian Ye is indeed here, we must hold him back until the Commander arrives. Everyone must be cautious and ensure their own safety, we cannot repeat the mistakes of Blox. Understand?”

The powerful figures nodded in agreement.

Minick said to the giant in the middle, “If there’s a battle, we will need Prince Pedro’s assistance.”

The giant replied in a deep voice, “Rest assured, with the Queen’s command, I won’t slack off, and I certainly won’t be as useless as Soza.”

Minick was relieved, “That’s good to hear.”

The three top-level warriors leaped from the warship, flying in different directions to begin a thorough search. The vast forest, even with their immense power, made it unclear how long it would take to find Qian Ye’s trail.

Outside the void, a massive warship hovered, painted with a huge wheel of fate. Staring at the pattern for too long caused a slight dizziness.

In the central study of the warship, Pratek stood before a map, deep in thought. Several areas on the large map glowed faintly.

A knock sounded, and a demon officer entered, bowing, “Your Highness, Grand Duke Minick reports that they have reached the target area and have begun the search. All search teams are now in position.”

Pratek nodded, “I hope he’s not as foolish as Blox. That arrogant fool, thinking he could face Nighteye alone, it’s no wonder he perished. Even with Soza beside him, he still fell, truly unlucky.”

The officer dared not comment.

Pratek showed a hint of fatigue, “I will rest for now. Tell them I will reposition in a day.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As the officer left, Pratek did not immediately rest but instead looked at the four scattered glowing areas on the map, shaking his head in exasperation, “The margin of error is so large, is it because of Qian Ye, or the Black Book? If it’s the Black Book, I would like to see it myself.”

In the forest, Qian Ye, who was sprinting, suddenly stopped, sensing a gaze piercing through the void, falling on him. Neither space, thick clouds, nor the forest could block that invisible gaze.

Instinctively, Qian Ye activated his vitality concealment, concealing all his auras, blending seamlessly with the surroundings. The gaze pierced through him but was absorbed by the Black Book, splitting into four beams, each shooting in a different direction.

“Is this… a divination spell?”

Qian Ye was familiar with the divination and feng shui spells of both factions. As his perception improved, his sensitivity to such probes increased, but this was the first time he clearly saw the entire process.

In the past, those spells either missed or were shielded for various reasons. Sometimes Qian Ye sensed them, other times he was oblivious. This time, he watched as the Black Book interfered, and the divination spell was split into four before it could touch him, sending it afar.

Of course, this thwarted Qian Ye’s plan to counterattack.

Recalling his earlier perception, Qian Ye confirmed the gaze came from the Evernight faction, not the Empire. He pondered briefly and changed direction, sneaking towards one of the points where the message landed.

On the warship in the void, Pratek woke from a nap, rubbed his dry eyes, and examined the newly marked map, sighing. He summoned the on-duty liaison officer, “These are the latest possible locations, inform the exploration teams.”

The new officer was an arachne, and upon seeing the map, he was startled, “Prince Pratek, this… seems quite different from yesterday’s locations.”

Pratek’s face darkened, “Are the arachnes questioning my feng shui skills? Do you want to know my current position? Then let Fokasi take over.”

The arachne officer was shocked. The chief seer position in the parliament was fiercely competitive. After Master Gray of the demon clan passed away, neither the demon clan’s Gonsa nor the blood clan’s Webber could win the support of the masses. As for whether Fokasi had ambitions, the liaison officer did not know, but he knew he could not afford to anger the present demon prince and master seer.

The arachne hastily retreated, passing on the orders.

After the officer left, Pratek furrowed his brows, staring at the map in silence. He knew the divination spell had issues.

But the interference method was unprecedented, and not the expected confrontation in the realm of divination and feng shui. Even he couldn’t explain what went wrong, why there were always four stable regions?

Pratek knew the demon emperor was reluctant to let him influence the grand scheme, fearing Lin Xitang’s lingering influence. Though Pratek obeyed, he wasn’t convinced. During Lin Xitang’s life, he might have been inferior, but the man was dead. Even a great lord’s influence couldn’t persist after death.

Yet, after Soza’s failure, the demon emperor suddenly allowed Pratek to participate in hunting the special Qian Ye. Pratek shook his head, not understanding the emperor’s intentions, and thinking of this, he couldn’t help but think of Harbs. Sighing, he seemed to have no other choice.

Above the forest, a beam of light descended, and Minick appeared, reaching into the light to grab a sealed metal cylinder.

He opened the seal, glanced at the map, and his face darkened. He tore the map to shreds, “Ridiculous! Could Qian Ye escape hundreds of kilometers in front of me?”

After hesitating, he still flew towards the marked location on the map.

Qian Ye moved like a phantom through the forest, with Zhu Ji closely following, not a step behind. She showed great interest in the forest sprint, often leaping and ricocheting between the tree trunks, moving like lightning, but silently, showing the demeanor of a top predator.

While running, Qian Ye suddenly halted, his foot suspended mid-air. He slowly withdrew it, crouching down to brush away a layer of leaves.

Under the leaves, a metallic gray spider was quietly lurking. Had Qian Ye stepped down, he would have crushed it.