The blood instantly froze into chunks of ice and dropped into the pool, or turned directly into vapor, forming a mist hovering above the blood. Only the two flames, following Evan Yang's command, surged straight toward the Blood-Essence Core.
Everyone was shocked. They hadn't expected Evan Yang to have such powerful means—the blood couldn't even touch those flames. But what happened next stunned them even more.
Originally, the Blood-Essence Core was about to attack someone, but when it saw the two flames suddenly fly out, it rushed over, wanting to extinguish them.
But only Evan Yang knew—these flames were far from ordinary. Even now, he still couldn't figure out their true nature or why they possessed such power, so he pinned all his hopes on them.
As the two flames collided with the Blood-Essence Core, the core felt as if it were trapped between extreme heat and cold, furious to the point of madness.
Everyone watched as the Blood-Essence Core darted around the blood, trying to escape, while the two flames chased after it relentlessly.
"Brother Wood, hurry up and take it down!" The representative shouted excitedly after seeing Evan Yang's flames were effective. The others were just as excited, and those still trapped in the blood felt their lives were finally saved, watching the flames chase the core with intense focus.
In the end, whether from exhaustion or the controller's resignation, the Blood-Essence Core suddenly dropped with a splash into the blood.
The two flames paused for a moment, then dove down after it.
Wherever the flames passed, strange hissing sounds echoed—some spots turned to vapor, others to ice, making the whole blood pool look bizarre.
Finally, everyone saw the blood pool freeze solid, with blood mist floating above it—a scene so bizarre it left them stunned. Those who had fallen into the blood took the chance to break the ice and climb out.
Shivering, they walked over to Evan Yang and the others, and Evan's flames had already returned.
As for the Blood-Essence Core, it was nowhere to be found, as if it had vanished completely.
"Brother Wood, you're amazing! You froze the whole blood pool." The representative said excitedly after things were settled.
"Too bad it got away," Evan Yang said suspiciously.
His words made everyone fall silent. What was up with this Blood-Essence Core? No one had ever heard of one so powerful, and with such strong self-awareness.
Only Evan Yang kept his divine sense locked onto the surroundings, searching for any clue.
After a while, in another location, he spotted the Blood-Essence Core—it was in the canyon, nervously fleeing toward a cave.
Evan Yang frowned. "Let's go. I know where the Blood-Essence Core is."
He quickly headed toward the back of the canyon. Seeing Evan Yang—the masked man who could suppress the core—leave, the others hurried after him. Those who had fallen in the blood pool dragged their trembling bodies to follow, afraid they'd run into something strange again.
Everyone was curious how Evan Yang had suddenly figured out where the Blood-Essence Core went. But after seeing him save people twice, they didn't doubt him at all—instead, they all followed without hesitation.
More than forty people quickly arrived at the canyon's edge. Evan Yang pointed to a suspended cave entrance and said, "It went in there. Are you coming?"
His meaning was clear—he was asking if they wanted to go check it out. No one had the guts to stay behind; they'd rather follow Evan Yang and take their chances, so everyone agreed to go see for themselves.
Evan Yang flew to the cave, and the others followed, then walked inside—only to find it was a maze, with countless tunnels branching out.
A maze? For Evan Yang, he simply split his divine sense into four hundred threads, extending into every tunnel to search for the Blood-Essence Core. The others could only try their luck, searching one passage at a time, hoping to stumble upon its whereabouts.
Evan Yang kept searching with his divine sense. As he zigzagged through the maze, no one questioned him—even if they wanted to, they didn't dare, for fear of being left behind to face the masked man and the Blood-Essence Core alone.
He kept his lock on the target, and when he found the Blood-Essence Core in a certain part of the maze, Evan Yang quickly led everyone there.
When they arrived, the Blood-Essence Core spotted the group and tried to dodge away, but there was nowhere else to go—the only two exits had already been blocked by people Evan Yang sent.
The Blood-Essence Core hovered in the air. It had no eyes, but the aura of resentment it gave off was palpable.
"Speak up. Don't play dumb—I know you understand us," Evan Yang said to the Blood-Essence Core.
It was the first time anyone had heard of a Blood-Essence Core understanding human speech. Just as they wondered if Evan Yang was really right, the core actually spoke: "Damn you! Who are you? Why did you ruin my work?"
"I'm human. But you—are you a Blood-Essence Core or something else?" Evan Yang asked suspiciously.
"Blood-Essence Core? Maybe that was my former self. Now I'm not—I am the Vampiric Skylark," the creature said arrogantly.
"An evolved Blood-Essence Core?" everyone wondered. Evan Yang was curious too—could the core really evolve? And what intrigued him even more was who created it. He asked, "Tell me, who made you?"
"You aren't worthy to know, you lowly humans," the Blood-Essence Core snorted, showing its disdain for everyone else.
"If you won't talk, aren't you afraid of being burned?" the representative threatened, implying Evan Yang could subdue it.
The Blood-Essence Core understood, and snorted, "If not for that damned man, you'd all be dead already."
Everyone exchanged glances, knowing the core was right—without Evan Yang, they'd have died in the first Gold Bug attack.
"So you are lowly humans—even you, who just happen to possess two strange flames. Otherwise, you'd be nothing," the core retorted, refusing to submit to Evan Yang.
The others looked curiously at Evan Yang—could it be those two flames weren't cultivated by him, but merely tamed?
"Oh? You look down on me that much?" Evan Yang sneered.
"Did I say anything wrong? You're just another lowly human," the Blood-Essence Core retorted, refusing to submit.
"That's simple. If you won't yield, I'll beat you until you do," Evan Yang snorted. Everyone suddenly felt his terrifying aura, but before they could react...
They heard the Blood-Essence Core scream miserably. Evan Yang had left his original spot, and all they saw were shadows flashing around the core. When Evan Yang appeared again, he clapped his hands and smiled, "Well? Will you yield?"
The core was dripping blood onto the ground, its voice now weak: "Damn you..." It never expected Evan Yang's normal attacks—without using any artifacts—to be so effective. Artifact attacks didn't scare it at all, but Evan Yang's ordinary strikes were its nemesis, and incredibly powerful ones at that.
"Will you yield?" Evan Yang asked again.
The core had experienced Evan Yang's strength—its body was still bleeding. The others were shocked; they knew artifacts were useless against the core, but Evan Yang had managed to make it bleed. They'd thought only his strange flames could subdue it, but now he'd done it without them.
"Fine, I admit defeat—but I still won't talk," the core said stubbornly, refusing to yield completely.
"Stubborn, are you? I don't believe it," Evan Yang said, attacking a few more times until the core fell to the ground, weakly saying, "I... I yield."
"Speak," Evan Yang said with a smile. The others' respect for him grew even higher—they now regarded him as a true expert.
"I was created tens of thousands of years ago. At first, I was just a Blood-Essence Core, but after slowly cultivating, I achieved what I am today. I thought you were all Nascent Soul cultivators—I could collect your souls and offer them to him, fulfilling my mission," the core said weakly.
"Tens of thousands of years?" everyone gasped, shocked that the core had existed for so long.
Evan Yang was stunned, too—tens of thousands of years? Impossible. If someone at the Divine Soul peak had created it, their lifespan would've ended long ago.
So he asked skeptically, "The 'him' you mentioned—is that the one who created you?"
"Yes," the core replied.
No one understood why Evan Yang asked that, but when they heard the core's answer, they were all shocked—a person who created a Blood-Essence Core tens of thousands of years ago and is still alive? What kind of monster could survive that long?
Evan Yang frowned. "Where is this 'him' you speak of?"
"I don't know," the core replied gloomily.
"Then how do you hand over the souls to him?" Evan Yang asked.
"An envoy comes here every year to collect them," the core answered weakly.
"An envoy? Not the creator himself?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Yes," the core replied, already intimidated by Evan Yang's aura.
Everyone exchanged glances, surprised that the old monster had helpers.
"Tell us, who is this envoy?" Evan Yang, like the others, was eager to know.
"Every few years, it's someone different. This time, it's a young man," the core replied.
A young man? Evan Yang immediately thought of the masked man. The others were suspicious, but Evan Yang asked if the envoy looked like the masked man. Sure enough, the core confirmed it. The group finally realized—the one who released the bugs was the envoy the core spoke of.
With this discovery, Evan Yang frowned, deep in thought.
The representative asked the core, "Where is the envoy now?"
Evan Yang pondered while watching the core, also wanting to know.
This time, the core didn't answer—until Evan Yang prompted, "Speak."
"He's still in this space; he hasn't left," the core replied, trembling in fear—afraid Evan Yang might destroy it. After all, this body took tens of thousands of years to cultivate, and if anything fears death, it's this arrogant creature.
"Do you know where he is?" This space was vast—no one's divine sense could lock onto every corner, so Evan Yang asked the core.