Spirit Realm

“The Profound Yin Nine Leaf Lotus is beneficial to a human martial practitioner, but it shouldn’t be that important for you guys. Why do you need to hold on to it so obstinately?”

Qin Lie did his best to convince the other party through the fence. His words were earnest.

“As long as senior is willing to give us confirmation and as long as you are willing to talk, then anything is open to negotiation.

“Tell me any conditions you have, senior, and I will notify those people at Profound Heaven Alliance so we may have a good discussion.

“If it’s really impossible, you can just tell us your name so that we may negotiate with your race outside. What do you think?

“Senior, can you open your eyes and speak just one sentence, please?

Qin Lie persuaded ceaselessly from outside the cell. It could be said that he had completely racked his brains for those ten thousand contribution points.

This was the fifth time he had come in the past three days. He used a different kind of persuasion against the old man every time he visited him.

Unfortunately, not only did the old Horned Demon man with six horns continue to keep his eyes shut and say nothing, even the Horned Demon warriors with three to four horns were unnaturally quiet and kept their eyes shut as well.

No matter how he tried to persuade them, they treated him like air. No one opened their eyes to look at him even once.

Qin Lie was in great dismay. He suddenly felt that negotiating with these evil races was a huge headache. The ten thousand contribution points from Profound Heaven Alliance wasn’t as easy to gain as he had imagined.

“Never mind. Give it some thought, you guys. I will be back.” After a long time, Qin Lie gave up after his mouth became parched.

He turned around and saw Song Tingyu standing there, smiling while looking at him with interest.

“You were quite patient this time. You talked for an hour straight, which is a great improvement compared to the first few times.” Song Tingyu giggled and danced around playfully with tight, crystal-white fists, encouraging him, “Go go go, for ten thousand contribution points!”

“Your Profound Heaven Alliance’s contribution points are seriously hard to earn. Sigh... in my opinion, I’m just wasting my time.” Qin Lie smiled bitterly before shaking his head. He said, “I need to give this serious thought. Regular persuasion doesn’t seem to be effective at all.”

“What did you say to them?” Song Tingyu asked interestedly.

“What else can I say? I promised them that if they are willing to cooperate and talk about the Profound Yin Nine Leaf Lotus, then we would allow them to go home.” Qin Lie frowned. He also thought that things couldn’t go on like this and that he needed to find another way.

“Mn, if it were me, I would’ve done the same as well.” Song Tingyu smiled softly.

“We’ll stop here today.”

Qin Lie sat inside the simple stone room quietly with a straight back, thinking hard with a frown. He was prepared to switch to another line of thought and consider things from his point of view.

“Nether Realm. Evil race, Nine Hell Evil Scripture, Venerable One, blood of the Evil God…”

Wisps of thoughts circulated within his mind and troubled him like tangled strings.

Qin Shan’s relationship with the evil race and the opening of the evil nether passageway. The Ling Family and the wooden sculpture. The octagonal communication diagram… All of these seemed to be related somehow. Qin Lie needed to sort out his thoughts and understand the situation through them.

“Actually, the Manifestation Realm cultivates a person’s mind. At this realm, the cultivation of the mind is more critical than the increase of one’s spirit energy.

While thinking, Qin Lie slowly calmed down and observed his Soul Lake with his mind.

In his mind, the Soul Lake formed from his mind consciousness began to produce illusions within itself. Many confusing memories turned into instantaneous flashes of images that were reflected inside the Soul Lake.

The Soul Lake was like a mirror that constantly reflected different scenes.

Within it, the scenes where he and Song Tingyu fell into the Nether Realm and the great dangers he had experienced continuously moved, one after another.

Qin Lie held his breath, focused his mind, and stared closely at the scenes within the Soul Lake in his mind.

Many scenes flashed across his Soul Lake. A Soul Lake was like a mind’s eye for a martial practitioner. Everything he had experienced would be reflected inside his Soul Lake as long as he thought about them.

The scenes promptly became impossibly clear.

He saw himself and Song Tingyu hiding at the bottom of the lake inside the Flowing Rainbow Shield, attempting to hide themselves from the pursuit of a Horned Demon elite.

Inside the pond, he could clearly see that this old Horned Demon man with six horns was searching for him and Song Tingyu with his soul.

A hint of surprise appeared in Qin Lie’s eyes as he subconsciously looked to his spatial ring.

Qin Lie immediately recalled the situation of that time.

At that time, the wooden sculpture in his spatial ring suddenly underwent a magical change.

He clearly remembered that the wooden sculpture had shined brightly as if it had detected a something. It had appeared to be restless.

Meanwhile, that old Horned Demon man with six horns seemed to be grabbing something inside his sleeves with one hand.

That item seemed to be responsible for triggering the changes of the wooden sculpture inside his spatial ring!

The old Horned Demon man also appeared to have found something and looked incredibly excited. Even his emotions seemed to be a little out of control.

However, since Qin Lie was in a great crisis, he did not give the matter much thought. After that, he was busy escaping the Nether Realm and did not have the time to consider this matter.

At this moment, when Qin Lie connected this memory with the instance at Herb Mountain, when the bizarre octagonal diagram behind Herb Mountain had triggered a change within the wooden sculpture and transmitted that message...

Qin Lie immediately came to a realization!

It must have been something that the old Horned Demon man gripped inside his sleeves that triggered a great change in the wooden sculpture!

Following that, he recalled Xue Li’s suspicions of Song Tingyu. Xue Li had suspected that Song Tingyu was working with the evil races because there were obviously Horned Demon elites in the area when QIn Lie had been cultivating the blood spirit art at the ultimate blood ground. Yet they did not approach them.

Xue Li had suspected Song Tingyu because it was illogical.

“I believe that I finally know why.” Qin Lie opened his eyes as if he had cleared the thick mist before him and saw the truth at this instant. “The reason why the Horned Demon elites did not attack us relentlessly and push us to the brink wasn’t Song Tingyu at all. It was because of me—because of the wooden sculpture in my hands! That old Horned Demon man with six horns obviously sensed the wooden sculpture I possess. Perhaps he knew, from beginning to end, that I was inside the lake!”

Qin Lie shuddered greatly.

The fleeting, changing scenes within the Soul Lake in his mind that looked like it had been formed from mist instantly cleared up as if the mist was blown away by a wild gust of wind.

His Soul Lake suddenly became incredibly clear.

Qin Lie had the wondrous sensation that his Soul Lake had been cleansed and that his mind had rose to a higher level. The moment that this sensation arrived, he felt as if his intelligence had improved and that it was no longer that difficult to think about certain things.

“In the Nether Realm beneath the Scarlet Tide Continent is a clan of the Horned Demon Race. If I am not mistaken, the person who sent a message to my grandfather and the person who called my grandfather the Venerable One come from the Horned Demon Race!” Qin Lie’s thoughts suddenly became clear. “The wooden sculpture is my grandfather’s keepsake!”

His Soul Lake was bright and clean. The thick mist that had puzzled him for so long was gradually dispersed by him.

After pondering for a while, he gradually understood the situation and walked out of the stone room.

Song Tingyu heard his movements from the room beside his and rushed out. She cheerfully asked, “Are we going for another round of persuasion?”

“Eh?” Song Tingyu exclaimed before looking deeply into Qin Lie’s eyes and said suddenly, “Your eyes look incredibly clear today. Did you resolve a question or a knot in your heart that has been puzzling you?”

“You can tell?” Qin Lie was surprised.

“Of course.” Song Tingyu’s expression was serious. “The cultivation of the Manifestation Realm focuses on the mind and not the accumulation of spirit energy. Only by improving one’s heart and mind, finding and understanding one’s true self amid the countless manifestations of life, will one be able to continuously improve themselves.”

Qin Lie’s eyes lit up.

“The state of your mind has somewhat improved again. Don’t look down on this little bit of improvement. To enter the late stage of the Manifestation Realm, you will need these little bits of improvements in your mind. When you’ve accumulated them to a certain point, conditions will ripen and you will be able to ascend smoothly,” Song Tingyu explained to him in detail.

“Thank you for your guidance.” Qin Lie nodded as a pensive look flowed from his eyes. However, his footsteps did not stop as he walked toward the prison cell imprisoning the Horned Demon people with practiced ease.

A few minutes later, he stood outside the prison cell once more and looked at the old Horned Demon man with six horns through the fence.

“Tingyu, I wish to speak to him alone this time. Please give us the room,” Qin Lie said out of the blue.

“You want me to go away?” Song Tingyu covered her mouth and giggled. “I do not understand the Nether Realm language you’re speaking at all. I’m just watching for the funsies.”

“I plan to do something funny this time and I do not wish for anyone to see it.” Qin Lie said in a huff.

“Hehe, alright. Although I am very interested in watching, I know that you definitely won’t do it if I stay and watch.” Song Tingyu shrugged her shoulders and smartly turned around to leave. She even shut the door for him.

Qin Lie suddenly crouched down, and using his finger as a pen and spirit energy as ink, he quietly inscribed something on the floor.