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A group of about ten visitors from the Lower Continent gradually emerged from the forest behind them.
Pelle, an elder of the Mondnacht Clan, was in a dire state, his clothes ragged and his appearance resembling that of a beggar. Blood steadily dripped from a wound on his back.
Grimacing and groaning with pain, he had been gravely wounded by warriors of the Silver Scale Clan, and his injuries were still untreated.
A strikingly handsome member of the Void Spirit Succubus Clan, with a unique bloodline ability in his palm, cleverly concealed everyone's scent and the blood on the ground.
"Why do we have such terrible luck?"
The endearing Fruit Pear sighed heavily and looked back with sadness. "Sister Mi Tine is separated from us. I'm worried she might get caught."
"She's very clever; she'll likely avoid any trouble," Darke of the Void Spirit Succubus Clan reassured, though his heart was heavy at the thought of his companion who had to distract the enemy, resulting in their separation. "We from the Lower Continent must stick together as much as possible. Otherwise, our predicament will only worsen."
They continued their conversation as they walked.
Before long, they spotted a lush, verdant hillock ahead, teeming with dense foliage.
Beneath the dim, yellow sky, the modest hill was covered in thick vines and plants, with several secluded caves nestled among the trees.
"Grandpa Pelle, we need to tend to your wounds as soon as possible," Darke said, eyeing the cave entrances. "Mi Tine has drawn the pursuers away, so we should be safe for now."
He gestured toward the entrance of the verdant hillock. "Let's find a cave to rest and regroup. As long as we remain hidden from any other pursuers, we'll be fine."
Pelle gave a wry smile. "It seems we're just down on our luck."
This wasn't his first visit to the Upper Continent. In the past, he only had to contend with alien beasts, and even when encountering inhabitants of the Upper Continent like the Silver Scale Clan, the Rock Clan, and the Fire Lizard Tribe, conflicts were not as fierce.
That's because, should a real war break out between the Upper and Lower Continents, he would always prudently stay out of it.
Pelle had made sure there was no imminent threat of a major conflict before leading his people to the Upper Continent in search of rare medicinal herbs and minerals scarce in the Lower Continent.
Who would have expected to stumble upon such an odd predicament?
"Grandfather, we should take a moment to rest first!" Guo Li suggested.
"Let's head for that cave entrance," Darke called out.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, a figure burst out from the cave, carrying another person on his back. He swiftly exited one of the cave openings and disappeared into the distance.
The group was startled, their nerves instantly on edge.
"It's two members of the Dark Elfkind!"
"They must be fleeing from those chasing them from the Upper Continent, seeking refuge in the caves!"
"Hey! Dark Elfkind, don't run! It's dangerous to wander aimlessly; the Fire Lizard Tribe's hunters are nearby!"
Members of the Mondnacht Clan raised their voices in warning.
Yu Yuan ignored their calls and quickly made his escape.
Bewildered by the situation, the group decided not to interfere further. After Yu Yuan's departure, they approached the caves and began to conceal the entrances with broken vines and branches.
"Grandpa, Darke, come see the cave he was using!"
A man from the Mondnacht Clan, armed with an exquisite bow, let out a sharp cry that drew the attention of Pelle, Darke, and Guo Li.
He pointed to the scorched roots and dark red, heart-shaped leaves on the ground, explaining, "These are Flaming Heart Flowers! They're cultivated by the Fire Lizard Tribe under the orders of the Upper Continent's ruler!"
"Flaming Heart Flowers!" Guo Li gasped, her hand over her mouth.
Pelle's face grew stern. Despite the intense pain in his lower back, he conducted a thorough inspection of the cave, discovering more of the Flaming Heart Flowers' burnt stems.
"It must have been his doing," Pelle sighed.
"The scoundrel!" Darke slammed his fist against the stone wall, sending a shower of golden sparks flying. His voice was thick with fury, "His thoughtless actions have brought unwarranted suffering to so many from the Lower Continent. Some barely managed to escape, only to be captured and imprisoned by those from the Upper Continent, with dissenters meeting immediate death!"
"Three of our clan members are dead," Guo Li said through gritted teeth. "All because of him!"
They were all refugees from the Lower Continent, led by the Mondnacht Clan, and included individuals from the Void Spirit Succubus Clan and other demon races. They were filled with righteous indignation, cursing Yu Yuan for his reckless behavior that had brought calamity upon them all.
"Grandpa Pelle, which village does that Dark Elfkind boy belong to?" Darke asked with a grim expression. "I need to figure out his background and inform the furious ones from the Upper Continent of the real facts!"
"I'm not sure either," Pelle replied with a wry smile.
...
Yu Yuan, preferring solitude over the company of many, carried Chen Qinghuang on his back and drifted away.
After ingesting a bottle of "Soul Accumulation Liquid," his soul power rapidly coalesced. For a brief moment, he could slightly activate his Yin God to perceive the movements of nearby souls.
Naturally, this could only last for a short time.
Once the Life Altar detected the replenishment of his Yin God's soul power and began to draw from it, it wouldn't be long before he was reduced to his former state.
Yet, even in that brief moment, he could accomplish much and preemptively evade danger.
He managed to detect and deftly avoid the three search teams from the Fire Lizard Tribe.
Entering another dense forest, he furrowed his brow in hesitation.
He surmised that there must be other medicinal herb fields near the territories of the Silver Scale Clan, Rock Clan, and Fire Lizard Tribe, within the forests and the Great Swamp.
But those areas had become perilous, frequented by numerous outsider teams.
An encounter would inevitably lead to a fierce conflict, making it exceedingly difficult for him to remain concealed.
Venturing away from the herb-rich regions into the truly barren areas would be far safer.
However, doing so would also make it challenging to gather more medicinal herbs necessary for concocting more "Soul Accumulation Liquid."
This left him torn between his options.
Suddenly, his expression turned vacant.
From the pouch on his left side, a previously refined bottle of "Soul Accumulation Liquid" had vanished. The unconscious Chen Qinghuang, clinging to the empty bottle, had a trickle of pale green liquid at the corner of her mouth...
After a long moment of shock, Yu Yuan exclaimed with joy, "You're awake?"
"Who are you? And who am I?"
Chen Qinghuang climbed down from his back, her eyes, a vibrant green, shining like jewels. She examined Yu Yuan curiously, then turned to her own hands, touching her earlobes and cheeks as if rediscovering herself, her face awash with bewilderment.
Yu Yuan felt a subtle shock, and his eyes brimmed with an extraordinarily peculiar light.
The Chen Qinghuang before him, upon his meticulous scrutiny, was indistinguishably a member of the Dark Elfkind!
Her aura, the pulsations of her bloodline, her appearance, every minute detail had undergone a complete transformation.
The traits of the human race had vanished without a trace.
Yu Yuan was struck with the realization that only after the Life Altar evolved into the Yang God, and the Yin God was fully assimilated, could one achieve a flawless transformation into the Dark Elfkind, just as Chen Qinghuang had.
But why had this occurred?
Wasn't the revived Chen Qinghuang supposed to merge the forces of death, destruction, and rebirth, ascending directly into the ranks of the highest deities?
Why then did she resemble a newborn, a blank slate in the form of an infant?
"You are Chen Qinghuang, the Founder of the Luan Bird Empire, the greatest female emperor the Boundless Land has ever known."
Yu Yuan recounted her origins, hoping to spark her dormant memories or awaken her temporarily sealed consciousness and sense of self, so she could fully come to.
"Oh, I am Chen Qinghuang. I understand now," she said, nodding earnestly.
