Monarch of Evernight - Chapter 1068

Chapter 1068

Chapter 1068: A Tangled Chase

Despite having escaped his pursuers, for the time being, Qianye’s heart was covered in a layer of dust . This uncomfortable feeling was a sign that danger hadn’t left . That six-armed giant possessed terrifying vitality and would heal in less than half a day’s time . Actually, the wound didn’t really hamper his ability to chase them down .

Qianye began thinking of a plan while fleeing .

Just running wasn’t a solution because the six-armed giant possessed boundless stamina—almost as though it would never grow tired . Qianye could run all the way back to the Imperial fort due to his full essence blood stores, but he would also be luring the giant over . Although Ji Tianqing had described the fort as incomparably sturdy, there was no telling if it could actually stop the six-armed giant .

Neither fight nor flight seemed to be a viable option . Qianye’s all-out attack had struck the monster’s head, a weakness for most creatures, yet the six-armed giant was still fine . Qianye was at a loss about what to do since the only way was to find its true weakness and deal a single lethal blow .

Zhao Ruoxi had mentioned her killing a six-armed general, but according to her recount, the opponent was only half the size of this one . The strength of the creatures in the high-gravity region corresponded to their size . Those without sufficient strength couldn’t even stand up .

Zhao Ruoxi had killed a six-armed general with relative ease mainly because she possessed the Red Spider Lily . The magnum had grown exponentially more powerful in the Great Maelstrom, and its attack targeted space and spirit, the bane of such creatures . Her easy kill caused Qianye to underestimate the enemy’s strength . Only after personally fighting the six-armed giant did he truly experience how terrifying it was .

Such a terrifying creature also possessed secret arts that could see through Qianye’s Spatial Flash . It could also discover people with hidden auras, which would turn any potential ambush into a disastrous joke . How was one to fight such an enemy?

The first thing to do now was to find a way out .

Qianye recalled the map of the Great Maelstrom as he ran . The map he had in his mind was pieced together from the data provided by the Ji, Li, Song, and Zhao families . There was probably no second map so complete, but from what he had experienced on this journey, it would seem the map only covered a small corner of the Great Maelstrom .

The map was incomplete in many areas, much like ink spots on a sheet of white paper . And that was exactly where Qianye planned to go .

These empty areas intersected closely with the Empire’s charted lands . Just as the Constellation Well had belonged to the Empire for a long time, these places were resources controlled solely by Evernight . Human experts had never paid them any attention because they were useless for the Empire . The number of people entering the Great Maelstrom from each faction was very limited, so no one would spend limited human resources on useless things .

Qianye plotted a convoluted route that would pass through several empty regions . This was a plan to divert one’s calamity . It was fine if no one was around in these spots, but if the dark race experts happened to be around, they would find that the six-armed giant’s attacks were a force to be reckoned with .

Having formulated his plan, Qianye switched directions and ran swiftly ahead . That murky feeling in his chest never went away, which meant that the six-armed giant was still targeting him .

One day and night passed by in the blink of an eye . Qianye was still running along the mountain range . Far away behind him, several pillars of smoke could be seen rising into the air .

That was a mining zone . The dark races had built a small fortress at some point, and there were a dozen or so experts guarding it . There were also a large number of servspiders, some of them dozens of meters in height . These creatures, possessing a basic level of intelligence, served as manual labor for the mines . Apparently, the dark races were planning something important here .

Qianye ran past the fortress walls without any concealment, alarming the entire base . Alarms blared as the dark races swarmed out like the tides . However, Qianye was so fast that he was already long gone by the time the fortress had reacted . Meanwhile, a massive figure began to appear over the distant horizon .

An arachne count was in charge of defenses here . His legs went soft the moment he saw that giant figure, almost collapsing to the floor . Before he could even issue an order, a heavy arrow flew in from yonder .

“T-This…”

All sound was temporarily devoured by the earth-shattering explosion .

Several days passed by as Qianye weaved through eight such dark race territories . Most were empty, but three of them were well-constructed, just like the Song clan’s Heavenschild Pasture . Unlike the pasture’s single occupant, however, the dark race settlements were garrisoned by various races . The most useful of the lot was still the arachne servspiders .

Developing the three resource points to this state was a decade’s worth of work at least . After Qianye passed by with the six-armed giant on his tail, the monstrosity destroyed everything in its wake . This misdirection was extremely malicious, and dealt a heavy blow to the dark races who had decided to set up camp here .

Qianye discovered that he couldn’t shake off the six-armed creature no matter what he did . During the several days of pursuit, not only did the giant not grow tired, but it even started to move faster and faster—it was clearly adapting to the low-gravity environment . Qianye’s troubles weren’t just behind him, though .

Several four-armed warriors walked out of the forest in front of him . They glanced over at Qianye, weapons at the ready .

Qianye accelerated calmly . As the two sides closed in, he let out a loud roar and swept forward with his domain power, taking this opportunity to pass through the staggered enemies .

These four-armed natives finally steadied themselves and were about to give chase when a massive shadow appeared . Soon, a giant leg descended from the air and crushed two warriors into meat paste .

The six-armed giant was entirely ignorant of the situation beneath its foot—perhaps it wouldn’t care even if it was aware . It merely took the next step and was soon dozens of meters away .

After the six-armed giant had left, the surviving four-armed warriors walked about in confusion for a while . Then, as though having sensed something, the natives quickly formed a group and ran away in a certain direction .

In Qianye’s consciousness, the map was already filled with a tangled mess of lines—that was the route he had just weaved through . Although he had destroyed several dark race bases in the process, he still couldn’t lose the six-armed giant . He didn’t dare approach the Imperial settlement, either . If Song Zining and the others were hiding there, everyone would be done for .

After playing cat and mouse for so many days, there was a question Qianye couldn’t quite figure out: how was that six-armed giant sustaining itself?

The giant’s build was massive, and as a native of the high-gravity region, every muscle in its body was incomparably heavy . Every step should rightly drain a great deal of energy . Yet, the monstrosity had chased Qianye for several days and even forced him to use Spatial Flash in the most recent exchange . The latter had already exhausted all essence blood in his body, and there was no backup stock in the Book of Darkness, either . He had no other choice but to fight the intercepting four-armed warriors and use Life Plunder to replenish himself .

At this rate, the six-armed giant would catch up to him sooner or later .

Qianye felt worried as he checked the map . He had been running back and forth, but every time, the six-armed giant would intercept him . Each trip wasn’t much, but the giant had run for shocking distances in accumulation . Currently, the monstrosity was on par with Qianye in terms of speed and possessed much greater endurance . Leading it in circles wasn’t a practical idea .

While thinking about what to do, Qianye’s eyes suddenly landed on an eye-catching mark .

Pond of Life!

This was a dangerous location, but also one of great opportunities . Ignoring everything else for now, just the Marine Lotus alone was enough for countless Imperial experts to throw themselves in . On the other hand, this was the most notorious place, so much so that it could only be more perilous than the high-gravity region where Qianye had started out .

He had several ways to deal with the frigid night, like robbing white-fruit wine and using it to suppress the effects . Those possessing higher cultivation and certain secret arts wouldn’t need to pay a steep price . Ji Tianqing, for instance, was surviving quite well on her own before meeting Qianye .

The Pond of Life, however, was different . This trial of spirit and willpower had nothing to do with one’s cultivation . Stronger experts usually possessed greater willpower and determination, but all of this was relative . According to Imperial records, less than half of the divine champions could even approach the pond .

Besides, one couldn’t fake the trial or try to pass just by boasting about determination . Hypnosis or risking one’s life wouldn’t work, either . That was why countless experts had fallen in the Pond of Life, including many famous names . There were even geniuses among them at Zhao Jundu’s level .

Because the Pond of Life posed a greater threat than the benefits it offered, the empire had no choice but to figure out a different plan . For instance, they would pick out a desperate or crazy prisoner, and teach him special secret arts . Then, he would be placed in the Great Maelstrom for the Pond of Life .

These people afforded the empire a stable method to harvest the marine lotus and other secret herbs .

This kind of secret art involved a great price . Once over-channeled, the operator would lose all emotions and be left with neither sorrow nor joy . In the end, they would be devoid of all desires and wants, completely transforming into a living dead . Hence, from a certain perspective, those entering the Pond of Life were more or less expendable .

The Pond of Life was part of Qianye’s planned trips back when he was in the high-gravity region . Hence, Ji Tianqing had taught him this secret art . In case Qianye lost control of himself and couldn’t leave the pond in time, channeling this art would allow him to hang on to dear life . The process of zombification required a month or two at least, just enough time to make arrangements for the future .

The Pond of Life placed great restraint on both humans and dark races . It didn’t hold back against the natives, either . Every year, a large number of strange new beasts would be produced here from the cross-mating . Most creatures, however, would lose themselves and ultimately sink to the bottom of the pond .

The six-armed giant had been heavily injured, and it was going berserk out of instinct . Qianye wanted to lure it into the Pond of Life and see how firm its willpower was . If it was affected or even controlled, Qianye would have the opportunity to escape completely .