Chapter 123: A Twist of Fate

“Malice.”

Eunuch Liu’s answer was succinct, and Qian Ye couldn’t quite understand it. As a Great Monarch capable of dominating an entire continent, would he truly be afraid of something as abstract as malice?

If it is indeed malice, there must be a source, right? Generally, those with keen senses might feel a presence beyond the five senses when encountering an enemy. But if Eunuch Liu meant no more than that, he should have clearly stated the source of the threat.

When Qian Ye pressed for more information, Eunuch Liu countered, “You’ve been exploring the new world for some time now. Have you not felt any malice?”

Qian Ye reflected carefully. He had indeed experienced various discomforts and unease, but in such a harsh environment, the body can react in unpredictable ways, making it hard to determine if it was truly malice.

Eunuch Liu said, “Actually, this might be a good thing for us humans. The new world harbors immense malice towards the top-tier powers, and this is a fact. From the scattered information we have from the Evernight, we can confidently say that the malice towards their Great Monarchs is far greater than that towards the Imperial Emperors. I’m not entirely sure why, though.”

“So, what exactly is this malice?”

“The old duke once ventured into the new world and confirmed that the malice does exist. He said something unknown lurks within, hidden in the shadows, silently observing everyone who enters. Even with his strength, he doubted he could stand against it, let alone others. Other emperors have also entered the new world. Fortunately, despite the malice, it has shown no significant action. Even when the Emperor of Stabilization took over the forest of the Four Sacred Trees, it did nothing but watch.”

“Is it hiding nearby, or in the void?”

“It’s impossible to pinpoint its location; no one knows where it’s hiding, and that’s the terrifying part. In the new world, whether they’re emperors or great monarchs, everyone must be on high alert, not daring to be careless. If not for Sosa’s distraction, I wouldn’t have been able to succeed so easily.”

Qian Ye understood. Even someone as powerful as Sosa could fall to Eunuch Liu if he wasn’t focused. Since the malice is much stronger towards the Evernight, the Great Monarchs need to be even more cautious.

If ambushed by an Imperial Emperor, they might suffer serious injury, if not death. At such a critical juncture of exploration, a severe injury could mean losing years of potential benefits.

Qian Ye himself hadn’t clearly sensed the malice Eunuch Liu spoke of, and could only mock his own lowly power, which didn’t seem to draw the entity’s attention.

The Hall of Heroes returned directly to Yongsu, and Eunuch Liu left on his own. Qian Ye tried to persuade him to stay, but to no avail. Eunuch Liu ascended into the sky, presumably heading to a waiting floating ship in the void.

Without pausing, Qian Ye immediately re-entered the new world with the Hall of Heroes, continuing to explore and conquer territories. Upon entering, he paid special attention to the so-called malice, but sensed nothing.

To the contrary, an intangible force descended from the void, enveloping him. Qian Ye felt a sudden lightness, as if his origin power had become more lively. The previously difficult-to-control foreign origin power in the environment now gathered around him, expressing acceptance and joy, as if it were alive.

Caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events, Qian Ye was stunned. He had opened his senses, hoping to detect the malice, but instead encountered goodwill. This contrast was so great that he struggled to accept it.

Qian Ye had not anticipated such a drastic change simply by entering and exiting. There must be a reason, but what?

He ordered the Hall of Heroes to hover above the base, not advancing further. It was better to be cautious until he understood the cause.

Sosa’s caution also served as a warning. A Great Monarch, not facing an Imperial Emperor, still chose to absorb a minor loss, clearly showing how much he feared the malice.

If the new world harbored something, it must be stronger than the mysterious entity in the neutral lands’ Eastern Sea, perhaps even surpassing a void beast like the Sky Demon.

Dealing with such a being requires utmost caution, even if the new world shows goodwill.

Qian Ye sat down, reflecting on everything that had happened, trying to identify any anomalies. Suddenly, he remembered the two Sacred Trees on the Hall of Heroes. Could they be the reason?

He returned to the ship and headed to the Sacred Trees.

The trees were placed in the largest vacant area of the Hall of Heroes. Though each tree was several dozen meters tall, the space was ample. This area hadn’t been fully developed yet, and the outer walls were sealed, making it a perfect spot for the trees.

Upon entering, Qian Ye was surprised.

The Sacred Trees appeared to be thriving, their branches and leaves spread out. The soil, previously used to protect the roots, was now spread out, and the sap pools beneath the trees had vanished. The roots were fully extended, spreading throughout the Hall of Heroes as if they intended to grow within.

Qian Ye approached the trees and noticed something odd about the soil. He knelt down and brushed away the dirt, revealing the flesh of a ground dragon. The roots of the Sacred Trees had deeply penetrated the ground dragon’s flesh.

A slight tension gripped Qian Ye’s heart. The trees were alive, while the ground dragon only had residual will. He hoped the transplantation didn’t damage the dragon ship, as that would be a loss.

Communicating with the ground dragon, he felt a sense of joy. He realized the residual will had taken control of the trees, using them to breathe and absorb the new world’s foreign origin power. The trees seemed content, willingly entering a symbiotic relationship.

This was an unexpected outcome.

If the dragon ship were alive, the trees would be like lungs and nostrils, allowing it to eat and breathe. For a void beast, origin power is the only food. Previously, the ground dragon relied on its heart to draw origin power, sustaining slow growth. Now, with the trees, the efficiency increased at least tenfold, leading to the growth of a layer of flesh beneath the roots.

Whether the ground dragon would eventually revive was another matter.

It seemed the two Sacred Trees were the reason for the new world’s goodwill towards Qian Ye.

They had integrated with the dragon ship, and the ground dragon followed Qian Ye’s will. The new world recognized Qian Ye not just as a native, but one with high authority due to the trees. The trees’ natural ability to manipulate foreign origin power allowed Qian Ye to benefit, attracting many sources of origin power.

For a moment, Qian Ye felt incredibly lucky, having moved the trees out of caution, only to find such a blessing. His actions were not out of pity, but to avoid retaliation and for the value of the trees.

Gaining the new world’s goodwill allowed Qian Ye to mobilize the surrounding origin power more effectively.

The foreign origin power in the new world was awkward for both the Evernight races and humans, rarely usable. This left even the highest ranks feeling powerless, as if billionaires were suddenly penniless.

In such conditions, battles became exceedingly dangerous, with a single mistake potentially leading to death. Even Sosa was injured by Eunuch Liu’s ambush. No one wanted to die in such a humiliating way.

Understanding this, Qian Ye changed his plan and directed the Hall of Heroes towards the Mozer Werewolves’ domain.

On the map, he drew a line, intending to keep the werewolves on the other side. With limited resources, blocking an entire continent’s forces was already a challenge.

The dragon ship moved more flexibly, as if resurrected, navigating the new world’s skies and claiming forests.

Meanwhile, on Yongsu, resources flowed in from the Empire, with thousands of werewolves equipped, trained, and injected with elixirs, ready to enter the new world. The Imperial Research Institute had developed elixirs using the Sacred Tree sap, significantly increasing its efficiency.

With the support of various clans and Zhao Jundu’s secret instructions, the Imperial Military finally agreed to Qian Ye’s proposal to exchange Sacred Tree sap for elixirs, setting a fair exchange rate. Essentially, one unit of sap could be exchanged for two elixirs, a 50-50 split benefiting both sides.

Thus, Qian Ye’s military strength in the new world grew, and he could control a larger area.

During the expansion, Qian Ye noticed an interesting trend: after gaining the new world’s goodwill, the six-armed creatures and beasts became increasingly hostile towards him, almost to the point of mortal enmity.

However, the forests showed goodwill. When Qian Ye entered, they no longer warned him, instead using gentle breezes to cleanse him of the foreign world’s taint. This allowed Qian Ye to enter the forest’s center, witnessing the six-armed creatures in a different light.

Previously, the six-armed creatures were either sleeping or hostile, constantly searching for intruders, ready to fight. With the forest’s help, Qian Ye saw them in their normal state.

In the forest’s center, a single Sacred Tree stood, with a small pool of sap. The six-armed creature kneeled beside it, striking a long stone rod with rocks. The rod gradually sharpened, forming a weapon.

The stone spear was nearly complete, in the fine-tuning stage. The creature began more precise strikes, aiming to make the spear sharper.

Qian Ye was speechless. Generally, at this stage, sharpening would require polishing, not striking. The creature, obviously unaware, continued, and Qian Ye observed.

The material for the spear was goldstone, a unique metal ideal for origin arrays but not the best for weapons due to its softness.

After much effort, the spear didn’t get much sharper. The creature, looking dejected, gathered the goldstone fragments, compressed them, cut its arm, and sprinkled blood on the lump, placing it in the sap.

The goldstone slowly absorbed the sap and the surrounding origin power.