Chapter 1017: Diversion
Anwen apparently didn’t want to divide everything too clearly with the girl, but Bai Kongzhao was insistent. So, he had no other choice but to accept the white fruit and start treating his wounds. The frigid night had arrived by the time he was done.
Anwen was prepared. Instead of using that white fruit, he produced a secret demonkin medicine and opened it up carefully. A wisp of black energy wafted out of the silvery tube, which he duly inhaled.
He waved the tube at the observing girl. “This can help me get through the night, but unfortunately, it’s made from the demonic energy of a prince and can only be used by demonkin. Otherwise, I would’ve given it to you.”
Anwen tossed the tube to the side, but surprisingly, a figure flashed in front of him as the girl leaped over and caught the tube. She peered inside and then sealed the remaining half of her white fruit into it.
Anwen was surprised. Only when the girl had hidden the tube carefully did he realize her intention.
This demonic medicine was extremely valuable, and not many in their entire race could produce it. The tube itself was also a treasure as it was required to protect the medicinal effects of its contents against all sorts of environmental conditions. It served to seal, absorb shocks, prevent deterioration, isolate origin power, and so on and so forth. It was a rare container in the Great Maelstrom.
Anwen knew that this girl was highly attached to strength and treasures, but he really didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
He gave it some thought and then said, “We can be considered the second batch of people entering the Great Maelstrom. Those imperial experts arrived first, but we never saw them. Similarly, many people from the Evernight side had also entered, but we didn’t see them, either.”
The girl waited quietly for him to continue, mostly because she had no idea what he wanted to say.
Anwen produced his dagger and drew a complicated diagram on the ground. Then, he carved out a series of lines on it. The girl looked carefully, but all she could tell was that each string would turn into countless branches after entering the diagram.
Anwen would ponder at times, and then add more strokes to the diagram from time to time. He only looked satisfied after a good deal of work. Noticing the girl’s expression, he patted her forehead, saying, “Don’t worry, not many people in the Empire and Evernight can understand this, you just listen to me explain.”
He pointed at the complicated diagram. “This is the spatial tunnel through which we had entered.”
Bai Kongzhao’s eyes went wide. She simply couldn’t connect this complicated drawing with the spatial passage.
Anwen pointed at one part of the image. “This is the tunnel’s structure. Yes, we thought we had traveled in a straight line, when in truth, we had taken a long course through the void, even jumping from point to point at times. These are the forces drawing me to the next jump point.
The girl looked baffled.
Anwen said with a smile, “That’s not important. What’s important is the result after passing through the tunnel. Although we entered the same entrance, we would encounter different environments and jump forces. For instance, we started out from this point which could either bring us here or here. The next segment is also a similar situation. In this manner, we all ended up in different places within the Great Maelstrom.”
The young girl finally asked a question, “How did you know?”
Anwen shrugged. “I like studying things, especially in the field of void exploration. I never had much to do in recent years, so I memorized all clan records related to this field and learned many things in the process. A lot of the things I drew just now are related to divination. Unfortunately, most people today are using divination arts to foresee trivial things and have forgotten their real uses. In fact, if people were to integrate all divination arts to study the structure of this tunnel, we would’ve been able to leave this caged world long ago.”
The girl’s eye widened, and her expression showed that she had no idea what he was talking about.
Anwen laughed self-deprecatingly. “I forgot you have never learned all these things. Nevermind, no one apart from you would listen to what I’m saying anyway. Those elders from the clan are only thinking about how to destroy the vampires and monopolize the Evernight world. They have zero interest in looking at research with no immediate benefits.”
With that, Anwen’s finger pointed at yet another diverging line. “I told you that we entered from a single entrance but were split into many exits. After observing the surroundings for the past day and calculating from the same model, I can say for sure that the stronger people would always end up closer to the core region of the Great Maelstrom.”
The girl said, “There’s such a big gap in strength between us, so why did we end up together?”
Anwen smiled. “That’s because we entered at the same time. I stabilized the jump points as we went, so you simply had to follow me in a straight line. If they had been slightly delayed, some of the jump points would’ve disconnected and pointed in a different direction. That means, people entering at the same time won’t land too far off unless there are special circumstances.”
“Oh, isn’t it a good thing to follow a powerful expert?”
“Nope.” Anwen laughed, pointing at the surroundings. “Look, the frigid night here isn’t something ordinary people can handle. I came prepared, but it’ll only last a couple of days. We must leave this place quickly. The danger hidden in the daytime isn’t inferior to the night. I suspect that those captured by the natives will not meet good ends. So, if some bloke follows me in and lands in a place that’s well beyond his level, how will they survive?
“Besides, I might not be interested in killing, but I won’t hold back if I meet people from the vampire race. If they land beside us, they will die in my hands if not the frigid night.”
Bai Kongzhao understood this topic. Following an expert into the tunnel wasn’t a good thing as they might land in an adverse environment.
Anwen said, “There's something I don’t quite understand, though. We saw traces of an Imperial camp after arriving here. But from what I know, Zhao Jundu is still heading the war on the void continent. Who among them could possess strength equal to mine? It would be more reasonable if that camp was their second or third camp instead.”
Anwen’s expression grew solemn.
The girl asked, “Are those people strong?”
Anwen said with a nod, “The Great Maelstrom is different from the outside world. It’s much more suitable for us Evernight nobles compared to the other races. Humans entering this realm should’ve landed farther away from the core region even if they’re as strong as I am. But now, it would seem they were even closer to the core region than I was, and there’s more than one of them judging from the traces. It’s strange because I simply can't remember when the empire dispatched such people. I want to catch up to them and see who exactly they are. Are you afraid?”
“Do they have treasures?”
“Of course, how could they be lacking? Besides, they arrived in the Great Maelstrom first and they’re probably the same people who raided that stone castle before us. At the very least, they should possess a good deal of white fruits and wine. Let’s rob them first if we run into them.”
The girl was finally moved. “We’ll leave this place first thing tomorrow morning.”
Anwen heaved a sigh of relief. He had finally managed to entice the girl into leaving this place. He really didn’t want to raid the stone castle again. Last time, he had barely managed to escape being sprayed, but even then, he had inhaled a fair bit of it. He couldn’t afford to accumulate more.
As dawn arrived, Qianye and the two girls concluded their cultivation session and continued traveling toward the starting area.
After running for an hour, the three of them felt a jolt throughout their bodies. As though they had passed through a thin membrane, the gravitational pull around their bodies fell sharply to double the normal gravity. After experiencing high gravity for several days, it was almost as though a thousand-ton weight had been lifted from their shoulders. They felt inexplicably relaxed.
Qianye stopped to look back at the boundless forests and the black hills popping up here and there. The geography in front of them, on the other hand, was fairly varied. There was a river winding across the verdant plains, with groves, hills, and ravines dotting the land. There was a majestic mountain range far off in the distance, with peaks stretching god-knows-how-far into the clouds.
Exchanging glances, Li Kuanglan and Ji Tianqing gasped softly.
The former pointed at the distant mountain range, saying, “That is the Ashen Mountain Range, the great river runs from the base of those hills. If I’m not wrong, that should be Jadewave River. Beyond this point is charted territory, we should be able to discern the actual direction as we keep going.”
Ji Tianqing looked down at the soil beneath her feet, and then grabbed a rock to study in detail. “Look, there are veined patterns on these rocks. It’s the star stone, a limited product specific to the Great Maelstrom. Now that we can see these stones, it means the empire is not far off.”
Li Kuanglan pointed at the distant river. “Look, what’s that?”
Their current field of vision was optimal, and all three of them possessed acute eyesight. Several dozen kilometers away near a grove, there were several bunches of white lotus flowers blooming in the river. Shrouded in specks of starlight, it was obvious that they were extraordinary.
Even Ji Tianqing didn’t know what those flowers were, and Qianye was even more baffled.
Li Kuanglan said, “If I’m not wrong, that should be the Silk Lotus, a necessary component for Stillwater Rebirth that’s only found in the Great Maelstrom.”
The Li family’s Stillwater Rebirth and Storm Pearl were extremely rare commodities. Nobody would complain about an extra life-saving drug, so the former would be bought out immediately upon coming into the market. It was even rare to see Stillwater Rebirth, let alone buy one. Even high-ranking aristocratic families would find it hard to order one.
Reportedly, the entire quota for the next decade had already been booked by major characters.