Dark Blood Path

On the Chaos Continent, a prevalent group will soon emerge known as alchemists. They were a mysterious and helpful bunch that could be further subdivided into potion brewers, magic scroll makers, blessing engravers, and so on. No matter where they went, any one of them would be immensely popular, and all major forces would unanimously offer them olive branches and generous treatment. Battle-wise, they may not be powerful, but according to their skill set, they could receive top-notch treatment.

Alchemists might singlehandedly boost the strength of a group since they could make a wide variety of consumables, such as magic potions and powerful magic scrolls, as well as impart unique attributes or abilities to equipment.

Xiao Yu explained: “This is a recipe for a magic potion. You can use spiritual power to infiltrate it and obtain a spiritual imprint. After collecting enough materials, you can then craft a potion of curing. But the premise is to become an alchemist, which on its own requires an “Alchemist’s Flame”. This blueprint is now worthless, but any alchemy blueprint is very valuable. It can be sold for a substantial sum at a later period when the timing is right.”

“What, this thing can’t be used for now?” Zhao Changping was a little puzzled and generously threw the blueprint to Xiao Yu, “Since it isn’t worth much at the moment, I may as well give it to you; after all, you seem to know much about it.”

Xiao Yu pondered a bit and then removed five lower soul gems from his space ring. An alchemy recipe blueprint was very expensive. After a few months of obtaining this first-rank potion of curing recipe, let alone trading it for five lower soul gems, you may be unable to purchase it using fifty lower soul gems. It was more expensive than some peak white-grade equipment.

Zhao Changping had a few soul gems on hand, but not nearly enough to restore everyone’s equipment. He was considerably less wealthy than Xiao Yu; hence, those five lower soul gems at this time were a considerable sum for him. He gladly handed over the alchemy blueprint recipe, oblivious to its worth.

Xiao Yu placed the potion recipe inside his ring as the sixteen individuals resumed their mission. They killed almost a dozen trolls along the way before collecting a few gray items and two pieces of equipment, but nothing particularly noteworthy. Xiao Yu didn’t care about such gear, so he left Zhao Changping’s comrades-in-arms to distribute it amongst themselves.

The trolls in the surrounding area had been mostly cleared, and everyone could now safely proceed to the location containing the Fountain of Life. With no time to lose, Xiao Yu and the others moved out at once, cautiously making their way through the forest’s winding paths. At the end of their path was a short mountain, only tens of meters away and about the same height as a standard six-story residential building, with a very strange shape. Three massive fissures separated the mountain into four sections. The middle section was cranked into an indentation, where bursts of refreshing air constantly emanated outward.

Around the Fountain of Life were bright wildflowers, green grass, verdant vegetation, and lush trees, which refreshed the spirits of those who approached, as even the air was full of vitality.

There were as many as twenty ugly forest trolls entrenched next to the fountain of life; unfortunately, they were all forest troll headhunters.

Amidst them, two trolls looked peculiar, one of which was extraordinarily tall and burly, holding an exquisite green spear in hand with sharp eyes and an imposing demeanor. This creature was a forest troll chieftain, a monster in the middle stage of the first order, though its strength was not as great as that of a goblin leader.

The other was a forest troll witch doctor with wrinkled skin and short stature, wielding a green magic wand. It was also a middle-stage first-order monster and most likely a magic-type monster.

When Zhao Changping and others moved closer, Xiao Yu suddenly informed them: “Don’t go any further; there’s a trap ahead!” He pointed to a particular buried spot and explained, “This is a trap; stepping on it will result in an explosion.”

He pointed to another place, and everyone looked in that direction. A strange staff was stuck on the ground, with an orb-shaped object at the top. But, If you look carefully, you will find that it is an eyeball that was turning back and forth while closely monitoring the surrounding area. The staff was highly concealed as it blended in with its surroundings, so ordinary people could not tell it apart.

Xiao Yu continued: “This should be the spell the troll witch doctor used for surveillance. The monitoring radius should also cover the Fountain of Life; it’s almost impossible to approach it stealthily! At this point, storming in looks to be our only option!”

Zhao Changping frowned and said, “Two powerful first-order monsters might not be so easy to deal with. It would be difficult for me to defeat any of them with my strength.”

Xiao Yu nodded and said, “The more than twenty forest troll headhunters surrounding them are not weak either. Just with one volley, our numbers would be reduced by half. Their javelin weapons, however, are limited; therefore, we must first strive to deplete their armaments. Then, let the other people engage in close quarters with the monsters; this way, the forest troll headhunters’ advantages won’t come into play.”

Zhao Changping pondered for a moment, “Then you and I will launch the first round of attacks first.”

Xiao Yu pointed to the forest troll chieftain and said, “When the fight starts later, you are responsible for holding it back. I will take care of that forest troll witch doctor.”

“Okay, let’s do it!”

Zhao Changping sprang up as soon as he spoke; he slipped to the sides, jumped up without hesitation, and rushed toward the fountain of life with a loud roar. His left hand waved vigorously, and more than a dozen small flying arcs and thunderbolts smashed into the trolls in an instant. The jumping thunderlight shuttled back and forth amidst the monsters. The majority of the troll headhunters were engulfed in the lightning; their corpses burned black as smoke surfaced from their bodies.

Angry roars sounded in the forest.

The troll headhunters lifted their javelins in unison, ready to launch them. But, unfortunately, Zhao Changping lacked Xiao Yu’s level of insight, so when twenty to thirty mighty troll headhunters threw their weapons at the same time, he felt as if dozens of sniper rifles fired at him simultaneously, which posed him a great threat.

If he didn’t act, he could die on the spot.

When the trolls’ attention was centered on Zhao Changping, a ping-pong-sized fireball came out from the opposite side of the forest and landed precisely in the middle of the monsters. The powerful magic attack detonated, and three to four troll headhunters were blown to pieces on the spot; a large number of the surrounding trolls were also severely injured before succumbing to death, and the remainder were blown to the ground, their wounds not light.

With a single move, Xiao Yu created havoc in the surroundings.

Although more than twenty javelins were thrown, they were all crooked and not very sharp. Zhao Changping avoided most of the blows, and although one javelin grazed his shoulder, the wound wasn’t severe. However, these weapons were all smeared with paralyzing poison. And at the moment of his injury, he felt his entire arm grow limp and weak as if he had been injected with an anesthetic.

Even so, Zhao Changping’s hands kept moving as the lightning surged from his fingertips and condensed again in his palm. Then, in a heartbeat, more than a dozen arcs of lightning descended down, and the forest troll headhunters wailed in pain.

“Roar!”

The forest troll’s chieftain let out an angry roar, and its burly body rushed toward Zhao Changping in the blink of an eye, brandishing a spear and pressing down with fierce momentum. The latter swung his lightning-wrapped long sword to repel the attack. Still, because he wasn’t as strong as his opponent, coupled with the poison slowly running through his veins, he was at more of a disadvantage, and with a bang, he got sent flying several meters away, causing him to tumble to the ground. Fortunately, the forest troll chieftain was also hurt. The electric current on the long sword hit it straight on, making its whole body twitch and convulse as it became paralyzed, which stopped it from taking advantage of the situation.

The forest troll witch doctor finally made a move. It raised the staff in its hand, waving it back and forth, and a green beam of light started radiating from it before the light passed through all of the wounded troll headhunters. Right then, something magical took place—almost all of the wounds on those injured trolls healed in the blink of an eye. Right afterward, the now-healed monsters turned their heads toward the direction where Xiao Yu was standing while roaring and threw their strong javelins.

It used its healing spell!

Xiao Yu abruptly jumped out of the woods without waiting for the spell to be used a second time. The javelins hurtling toward him were shot down one by one as he swung his long blade like a whirlwind. Finally, his feet landed on the ground; he kicked ferociously and flew up again. A cyan blade glow flashed, and a streak of light shot directly toward the forest troll witch doctor. The latter dodged awkwardly before it thrust its hand into the ground as four to five thorny roots appeared from beneath Xiao Yu’s feet and quickly tried to entangle his body.

Xiao Yu’s knowledge of the troll witch doctor’s tricks, combined with his incredible insight, allowed him to react and dodge the moment it cast its magic. He directly cut off all the roots that surfaced with his blade; otherwise, this move could’ve truly restrained him.

He knew that even a few seconds were enough to get him killed.

The fourteen combatants brought by Zhao Changping also rushed out at this time, each holding a weapon and ready to launch a round of charges against the forest trolls. The formation of the forest troll headhunters was utterly disrupted by Zhao Changping and Xiao Yu’s previous attacks. Now that this team of veterans had intercepted them, they quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.

The roar of the forest trolls echoed throughout the woods, and after a while, another group of forest trolls appeared in the vicinity to join the battle. Of course, Xiao Yu and the others did not search every corner and cranny of the nearby woods, so they weren’t surprised to find these new incoming monsters, but as more and more forest trolls responded to their companions’ calls, everyone on the human side realized that this battle had to be resolved quickly; otherwise, they would get surrounded by hundreds of monsters, and by then it would be too difficult for them to escape.

The forest troll witch doctor’s fighting power was not strong, but it frequently casted healing spells, which put tremendous pressure on others; hence, killing it became the most urgent thing. The forest troll witch doctor retreated steadily as Xiao Yu slashed left and right, trying to end its life quickly. However, it was still unwilling to remain passive in this exchange as it waved its staff around, causing the soil underneath its feet to surge, and several sharp roots shot out straight, stabbing toward Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu took a step forward, his body bending slightly, and persisted in going through the gap between the thorny roots. Then, finally, his blade’s light flashed, and the tree roots fell to the ground in sections before he sliced at the forest troll witch doctor’s head.

Dang!

The blade landed on a translucent barrier. Following a dull sound, Xiao Yu felt his arm tremble, and the energy barrier collapsed. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, the forest troll witch doctor staggered a few steps back before it cried out. Xiao Yu had already taken out two of its most powerful spells, and he could clearly see the surprise in its eyes.

Upon hearing its call, several troll headhunters rushed to block the witch doctor’s path.

Without any hesitation.

“Bullet time!”

Everything around him came to a standstill in an instant.

“Blast Flame!”

Casting the blast flame skill usually requires a certain amount of time. However, in the “bullet time” state, the time needed for the ability to be prepared was naturally significantly reduced. From the onlookers’ perception, Xiao Yu amassed a ball of blazing flame energy and hurled it toward his opponent in the blink of an eye. It seemed almost impossible to believe, but from the start of the action to its conclusion, it had only taken a few seconds, and the moment the bullet time skill was released—boom! There was another earth-shattering explosion!