But how could one allow others to sleep near the bed? Having a group of powerful enemies around while a companion condenses origin crystals was a worrying thought as well. Besides, Edward wasn’t like Anwen.

After a moment of silence, Qianye’s gaze gradually turned cold. “Did you think you have the right to bargain? Enough with the babbling, let’s fight. Let me experience again the Holy Son’s position in the River of Blood!”

At this point, Qianye hadn’t really used his powerful moves yet. Edward’s dark purple blood energy was profound, but it was somewhat flimsy in its current state. Qianye had no fear of it so long as he was equipped with the dark golden blood energy. He hadn’t used that black feather on the Wings of Inception yet—even Edward wouldn’t be able to stand that shot.

In addition to that, he possessed Life Plunder to slaughter all of Edward’s lackeys. Qianye had never feared anyone in a group battle.

Edward was livid. Not expecting Qianye to be so firm, Twilight said, “Then we’ll take a step back and let you pick three things you want from us, you can also ask us to tell you what we’re doing in the Constellation Well.”

Edward was surprised. “How is that appropriate?”

Twilight replied, “Why not? This secret isn’t ours alone. Even if we don’t say it, can you guarantee the demonkin and arachne won’t leak the information?” Twilight continued, “Time is of the essence, and we’re not the only ones who can get here. The three of them aren’t the only ones from the Empire, either.”

Edward nodded after a moment of silence.

Qianye discussed things with the other two. “Fine, you’ll tell us that secret. There’s no need for other spoils.”

Twilight stretched out her hand with a knowing expression, producing an oblong hexagonal crystal. The item was red, similar to blood but a bit different as well.

Looking at the red mist acc.u.mulating within the crystal, Li Kuanglan’s expression changed slightly. A sense of premonition welled up inside her heart.

Twilight said, “You humans have the Storm Pearl, and we vampires have the Misty Blood Rod. It can absorb star power from the well to refine our origin blood, increasing our bloodline power.”

Li Kuanglan said, “How is that possible? The Constellation Well has existed long before we invented the Storm Pearl. The stars here are daybreak in attribute, how can you use it?”

Twilight replied with a question of her own, “There are countless stars in the well, are all of them daybreak?”

Li Kuanglan was at a loss of words. In truth, she knew well that the ratio between darkness and daybreak was six to four—there were a fair number of stars that leaned toward darkness origin power. The dark races had never come to draw on their power because they had no good tool to do so.

“So, we’ve told you our secret, about how we plan to use the Constellation Well. Will you keep your promise or fight us?”

Now, this was a good question. Qianye glanced at the other two and took note of their reactions. The two girls were proud characters—despite her usual frivolousness, Ji Tianqing was abnormally firm in her stance. Since she had already agreed to the terms, she was more inclined to accept it.

Qianye, on the other hand, felt that they shouldn’t fuss too much about the method when killing enemies. It was the best opportunity to finish off Edward’s entourage. The Holy Son had no way to escape the Shot of Inception, and he would be gravely injured even if he were to escape death. Thereafter, Qianye could cross out this powerful enemy from his list of adversaries. The difference between him and the other experts was that he was very much willing to take damage in order to claim the victory.

After careful thought, he discovered that this was Song Zining’s influence on him. Could it be that the smarter one was, the less they were inclined to adhere to the rules?

“Fine, you guys can remain in the area, but you must search for a different well,” Qianye said.

“There are other openings?” Twilight was surprised.

“Yes, according to a certain demonkin. I have no idea if he speaks the truth.”

Twilight said after some thought, “Very well, we’ll go search for it. But we’ll return if we can’t find it.”

“Fine.” Qianye nodded.

After all the vampires had retreated, Qianye asked, “What do things mean for us now that the vampires can also use the Constellation Well?”

Ji Tianqing’s expression seemed somewhat unnatural. “They just wanted a piece of the cake because the Empire has been using the well for too long. How can absorbing star energy be that easy? I think they’ll just produce something mediocre after expending great effort.”

Li Kuanglan shook her head. “Not necessarily. I had a good look at their Blood Rod, it looks very similar to our Storm Pearl in many aspects. The external appearance isn’t relevant in this regard. The Storm Pearl was born of our ancestor’s sweat and blood, not something that’s easily copied. I have a feeling there’s a story behind all of this.”

“Perhaps it’s related to your Li family?” Ji Tianqing didn’t hold back.

Li Kuanglan smiled wryly. “Perhaps.”

Transactions with the dark races had existed since countless years ago, and the empire had both profited and taken losses from these deals. At least, it was not the place for someone like Qianye to comment on all the merits and demerits, the rights and wrongs. Seeing Li Kuanglan become speechless, Qianye only shook his head and kept his silence.

Li Kuanglan said, “It’ll be a good thing if they can’t find a different well entrance. At least, we’ll be able to see how they absorb star power and how the Blood Rod works. Perhaps I’ll be able to find out the difference between the Blood Rod and the Storm Pearl.”

Qianye nodded and brought the girls back to camp to rest. The three of them were in no state to produce origin crystals after the battle and would need to rest for a day.

In the high-gravity region of the Great Maelstrom, a large, beautiful wolf was shuttling through the forest. It would stop to sniff here and there, confirming the direction before speeding off into the distance.

In the depths of the forest stood a tall, young girl. Her skin was on the darker side; her figure was beautiful and gave off an aura of the liveliness of spring. There was a small braid behind her head, decorated with seash.e.l.ls and nuts.

She was dressed in a short leather suit. Her legs were glistening smooth, with a narrow waist supporting a bountiful bust. She was exceedingly attractive.

She gazed about nervously, the short hunting dagger in her hand jumping about between her fingers. There were several natives strewn across the ground around her, and there was even a four-armed woman among them. There were traces of combat on the nearby ancient trees and even some traces of white mist.

The young girl wasn’t injured at all, and not even in a sorry state. It would seem she had a fairly easy time dealing with this group of natives.

She didn’t have to wait too long before a streak of lightning leaped out of the forest. The large wolf appeared before her, shaking his golden mane as he came to a stop.

The young girl looked happy. She ran over to the giant wolf and said, “You’ve escaped?”

The giant wolf shook his head. “I only slipped away for a while, I’ll have to go back soon.”

The young girl was fairly surprised. “Why? Haven’t you already left?”

“No! She’s a female-devil! No one in the Great Maelstrom is a match for her and that Grand Magnum. Neither you nor I can contend against her. She has already remembered my aura, so she can find me wherever I am. If we’re together, we’ll definitely be caught in one go.”

The girl was stunned. “That powerful?”

“Yeah, that powerful!” The giant wolf looked solemn.

“Then, what do we do?” The girl lost her spirit.

The giant wolf patted her head with his claws. “You’re the hope of the Summit of Peaks. Do you remember the place I told you about? Go wait there for me and I’ll come as soon as I can. This place is a high-gravity region. Although six times gravity isn’t dangerous for us, the beasts and natives here are quite terrifying. I don’t feel at ease leaving you alone here. So you should leave and head in that direction.”

The giant wolf pointed toward the starting region.

The girl nodded hesitantly. “But, you’re the true hope of the Summit of Peaks. How about I swap positions with you? That young girl doesn’t look so evil, perhaps she won’t kill me.”

The giant wolf replied, “She’s not evil? Didn’t you see her kill that six-armed monster like it’s nothing? She didn’t even try to talk. Moreover, she likes fur. She likes brown colors and hates white, that’s the only reason I haven’t been done in.”

“Brown fur?” The girl s.h.i.+vered.

“Yes!” The giant wolf became even more serious.

“Okay, then I’ll be waiting for you at the place,” the girl forced out the words, “but I’ll leave marks along the way. If you manage to lose her earlier than expected, remember to come find me.”

The giant wolf nodded.

It was at this time that a clear whistle echoed far off in the distance. The giant wolf immediately became nervous. “Tanya, I need to go back now. Otherwise, she’ll capture you as well! It’s almost night, so be careful.”

The young girl Tanya was apparently moved by the wolf’s farewell. She made to leave but seemed hesitant. She hugged the giant wolf, saying, “The nights here don’t affect me, but William, you should take care of yourself.”

“I will.” The giant wolf turned about and, with a jump, vanished into the depths of the woods.

The girl remained in place, staring toward where the giant wolf had vanished. Only when a wisp of nocturnal cold brushed against her body did she start running toward the starting region.

The giant wolf flickered through the forest like a bolt of lightning, but soon came to a sudden stop and looked at the ground. There was a red spider lily blooming near his feet, but it faded away before it could wilt. The wolf knew that it had entered her warning range. It shook its mane restlessly and began running toward an empty patch in the woods.

There was a bonfire crackling at the center of the empty patch, which was now covered by a field of red spider lilies. A young spirit-like girl was gazing into the flickering blaze, lost in deep thought.

The young girl sensed the giant wolf’s arrival and waved at it.

The latter seemed somewhat apprehensive of the red spider lilies on the ground, but it mustered the courage to move toward the girl and lay on the ground beside her. The young girl reached out subconsciously and grabbed its golden mane. The giant wolf narrowed its eyes in apparent pleasure.

The girl sighed. “Who would’ve thought this place is so big. Say, do you think we’ll find him?”

“Woof!”

“Sigh, I forgot you can’t speak or understand what I say, but that’s good. These words aren’t for anyone to hear anyway. I’d have to kill whoever finds out about them.”

The giant wolf trembled.