Chapter 30: The Dark Blood Stirs

A maid, in her thirties, still retained a certain charm, with a full and voluptuous figure.

Upon hearing Qian Ye’s straightforwardness, she immediately put on what she considered her most alluring smile, swaying her body as she squeezed through the door. Her ample bosom nearly brushed against Qian Ye's arm as she cooed, "Handsome, just for you, it's half price, only fifty copper coins!"

Qian Ye was taken aback and quickly stopped the maid, whose girth was no less than his own. "No, I meant get me some food. Enough for three people! I haven't eaten all day!"

After saying that, Qian Ye handed over a silver coin. "The extra is for you."

The maid's smile froze. She looked at the silver coin, then back at Qian Ye, her expression turning sultry and resentful. "I'll get your food right away, but what about after? This silver coin is enough for anything!"

"No, just the food, please!" In the face of the sturdy maid's alluring yet melancholic demeanor, Qian Ye felt quite overwhelmed.

The maid grabbed Qian Ye's hand, tucking the silver coin and his hand into her cleavage, then sashayed out of the room.

Moments later, she returned with a tray full of food, trying to squeeze back into the room. Qian Ye managed to stop her, closing the door on her forlorn gaze.

The dinner at this inn was quite delicious. After finishing the meal, Qian Ye began his cultivation of the Bingfa Jue. With his bloodline providing a strong foundation, the bottleneck of the Bingfa Jue, where excessive original force tidal waves could damage the practitioner's body, had disappeared. Qian Ye even wondered what it would be like to break through to the ninth level solely by the Bingfa Jue.

As he practiced the Bingfa Jue, the original force began to surge from three nodes, gradually forming tidal waves within his body. Before the third node was fully nourished, the original force tides continuously filled this new node.

Through inner vision, he could see that the newly formed original force node was very dim, just beginning to take shape. The nodes in his chest and abdomen, however, were bright and radiant, especially the one in his chest, which glowed like a tiny sun, constantly spewing threads of original force in its light and dark cycles.

However, Qian Ye suddenly noticed that the impact of the original force tidal wave was much weaker than usual, with the original nine叠加浪的强度减少了约三分之一。

Is there a problem with the cultivation technique?

He focused, meticulously examining the entire process of the Force tide's generation, flow, and surge. Finally, he discovered that when the newly formed tide surged from the three nodes, it didn’t fully merge with the grand tide of Force within his body. A portion was entangled by a seemingly stagnant tri-colored blood energy within him, slowly blending into it.

This discovery left Qianye stunned. Could the black blood be devouring the Force?

The black blood in his body had not caused him any trouble for a long time. Even after three days and nights of extreme running in the wilderness and suddenly entering a bustling city full of blood energy, the thirst for blood had not reappeared. This made Qian Ye feel increasingly at ease. But what was happening now?

Qian Ye fell silent for a moment, but decided to complete his daily practice.

Twenty rounds of the original force tide passed, and Qian Ye stood up to stretch. He then practiced combat techniques for an hour. A few basic movements effectively trained his strength, balance, and flexibility. Only after completing the combat training did he consider his cultivation session complete. If he were at the Red Scorpion base, he would also soak in a restorative solution or have a medical check-up to avoid overexertion injuries.

Qian Ye let his thoughts wander until the end of his cultivation, then gathered his focus to ponder the discovered issue.

The black blood still flowed quietly in his veins, appearing calm on the surface. However, every time the original force tide surged, a trace of it was absorbed, a process completely beyond Qian Ye's control. With these portions of the original force being intercepted, the power of Qian Ye's original force tide was significantly reduced, dropping to a level barely stronger than that of ordinary practitioners.

During the initial tide, it was not noticeable, but after twenty tides, Qian Ye observed that the blood energy had grown somewhat. The immediate effect was a slowdown in his cultivation speed, with no other abnormalities. Yet, Qian Ye had a vague unease that, as the black blood grew stronger, he might truly become a blood race.

As dawn broke, Qian Ye still had no answers.

This unpleasant incident did not significantly affect Qian Ye's new life. Adhering to his pragmatic approach, since his cultivation speed had slowed, he decided to increase the intensity.

Over the next few days, Qian Ye devoted himself to intense cultivation, staying indoors, with all meals delivered by the maids. This was also the simplest and most effective way to avoid potential trackers when arriving in a new place.

Seven days passed, during which Qian Ye achieved the technique of controlling the infusion of blood energy into the blank original force bullets gifted by the old man from Ai Yi Firearms. The blank bullets were genuine, but the packaging, true to the old man's style, was a fake, detectable only by its weight.

Qian Ye took out a blank original force bullet and began slowly infusing it with original force. After about ten minutes, the bullet was filled with a misty aura of original force, within which a thread of blood energy slowly moved. He could now skillfully add or omit blood energy during the infusion.

Qian Ye placed the bullet in a box, but without proper sealing, it would lose most of its effectiveness in three days. He suddenly remembered the crystal box left by the old man named Wang Bo, which had also disappeared after the destruction of Mañjuśrī Flower. This thought lingered in Qian Ye's mind for a moment before settling with many other memories.

Having finished organizing everything, Qian Ye finally prepared to go out and gather information about the surroundings. Since he planned to settle in this city for the long term, he needed to find a way to earn money. The cost of living in Dark Blood City was not just higher than a small town; it was as if it belonged to a different realm compared to Black Flow City. While Black Flow City used copper coins as its unit of measurement, Dark Blood City used silver coins.

Before leaving, Qian Ye altered his appearance as usual. After many frustrating failures, he had learned a trick: to make his skin as dull and yellowish as possible. This way, the disguise would not be too obvious, yet his appearance would still be different.

Unbeknownst to Qian Ye, while he was concentrating on his cultivation in the inn, Yu Renyan had passed by his lodging twice. Seven days had passed, and Yu Renyan, following his plan, had combed through the entire Dark Blood City, but found no trace of the target.

This led Yu Renyan to return to his residence and contemplate.

Shortly after, he called a subordinate from the Dark Blade and instructed him to deliver a letter to Wu Zhengnan. In the letter, Yu Renyan mentioned that he had found some clues about the killer, but the person was very cunning, and he needed more time.

As for how much time, Yu Renyan summed it up with one word: indefinite. At the end of the letter, he asked if the mission should continue.

A day later, Wu Zhengnan's reply arrived, with a simple sentence: "Continue, until completion."

Yu Renyan immediately understood Wu Zhengnan's determination. However, he had his own style and methods. He went out leisurely, gathering a lot of items.

An hour later, Yu Renyan transformed himself into a tall, slender, blond man with changed eye color. The leader of the Dark Blade bought a small house with an independent courtyard in the city, registered as a free mercenary under a false name at the Mercenary Guild, and registered as a hunter at the Hunter's Home. He then went out of the city to hunt.

Clearly, Yu Renyan treated this mission as a vacation.

When Yu Renyan left Dark Blood City, Qian Ye happened to step out of the inn.

He first went to a random armor shop and bought a set of hunting leather armor. This armor was perfect for hunting in the wild—light, flexible, and with decent defense. When Qian Ye donned the armor, he finally looked a bit more rugged and masculine.

At noon, Qian Ye entered a nearby restaurant, climbed to the second floor, and sat by a window.

Using the brief daylight, he observed the passing pedestrians to familiarize himself with the city's residents' habits. After finishing his meal, Qian Ye took out some promotional materials and flipped through them.

These included brochures from the Mercenary Guild, Adventurer's League, and Hunter's Home. Finally, Qian Ye's eyes settled on the Hunter's Home.

Hunting the dark races was the profession that suited him. As for the mercenary-like Mercenary Guild and Adventurer's League, Qian Ye dismissed them.

He did not want to become a thug for the nobles, as having a clear stance meant inevitable trouble. Furthermore, being an adventurer often required specialized skills, such as mechanical repair. Qian Ye excelled in mechanics, but he had no interest in spending hours polishing parts. Let others do the fine work; Qian Ye was more interested in blasting the heads of dark races.

After leaving the restaurant, Qian Ye followed the map, winding through the streets, and finally entered a dark alley, standing before a three-story building.

A sign above the door read "Hunter's Home." Qian Ye checked it several times to confirm it was the right place.

The building was so dilapidated it seemed ready to collapse. The manager apparently had no intention of repairing it, and a large crack ran across the front wall, exposing a metal frame of questionable quality.

The door was open, and Qian Ye hesitated before stepping inside. His experience at Ai Yi Firearms had left a lingering unease. The Hunter's Home was a well-known hunting organization with branches across the Evernight Continent, but this particular branch seemed to have borrowed the name.

Inside was a small hall with two tables and a few chairs. Three burly men sat lazily around the table, with large mugs of beer in the middle.

At the end of the hall was a counter, behind which sat a thin old man wearing glasses, engrossed in something. His bald head shone brightly under the gas lamp.

At the sight of that bald head, Qian Ye's heart skipped a beat. No need for a good memory; the shape, the shine, the distinctive features—it was unmistakably the same bald head from the old man at Ai Yi Firearms!