Spirit Realm

Thick prismatic miasma covered the poisonous bog.

Blood Spear and the Ling Family clansmen were escaping toward the former Armament City with everything they had. The shrill cries of spirit birds could be occasionally heard in the clouds above them.

For more than half a year, Feng Rong and the Blood Spear martial practitioners had been carving out a land of their own at the poisonous bog, so they were very familiar with the terrain. With their guidance and Mo Hai’s antidote pills, no one had fallen into a swamp or had been affected by the poisonous miasma along the way.

“Be wary of the sky. It looks like there are Golden Boned Birds of Eight Extreme Temple. That’s the mount of a white robed envoy.”

Feng Rong looked at the bolt of golden electricity that flashed above her head before vanishing. Her expression was grim as she warned the Ling Family clansmen to be careful.

Eight Extreme Temple’s white robed envoys were normally at the Netherpassage Realm. Their numbers were plentiful, and they were able to keep a close eye on Blood Spear and the Ling Family clansmen while riding Golden Boned Birds, Rank Three spirit beasts, and borrowing their speed.

Yet they did not act hastily.

The white robed envoys were waiting for reinforcements, for the Profound Heaven Alliance experts to catch up, and for Blood Spear and the Ling Family clansmen to reach a wider area before killing them.

Blood Spear and the Ling Family clansmen passed through many swamps, and they finally were closing in on where the new Armament Sect was located.

That location had previously been developed by Blood Spear and the Armament Sect martial practitioners. The swamps had been burned to dry land with scorching flames and the poisonous miasma in the sky had also been dispersed.

In this area, not only did Golden Boned Birds have a wide range of view, it did not have to worry about the corrosion of the poisonous miasma and could freely fly through the area.

So they finally took action.

A dozen odd large, shiny golden birds swooped down from the sky with giant hook-like claws.

They were going to tear the Ling Family and Blood Spear’s martial practitioners apart!

“You’re courting death!”

Feng Rong smiled coldly. Seeing the Golden Boned Birds rushing toward them, she raised her hands and tossed out three metallic balls shrouded in lightning.

“Explode!”

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Promptly, the three Terminator Profound Bombs donated. Snake-like electricity danced wildly, thunder roared and rumbled, and the wild energy caused by the shockwave was so violent that even the collapse of the sky seemed inevitable.

The Golden Boned Birds that swooped downward and the Eight Extreme Temple white robed envoys on them failed to react in time before being flooded by the aftermath of the explosion.

“Terminator Profound Bombs!”

Ling Xuanxuan raised her head to look at the sky as a strange gleam flashed across her purple eyes, and she could not help but cry out.

“Thank goodness Qin Lie brought some of the Terminator Profound Bombs to Blood Spear. A weapon like this can overcome all odds. Unless a Fulfillment Realm expert arrives, we will not be defeated as long as we still have Terminator Profound Bombs!” Feng Rong let out a sigh of relief on the inside.

After the three Terminator Profound Bombs detonated, the white robed envoys of Eight Extreme Temple and their Golden Boned Birds in the sky were all blasted into a bloody mess.

They had all turned into charred flesh that fell from the sky in horrifying fashion. After they fell to the ground, they spasmed from time to time, obviously more dead than alive.

“What’s that noise?”

“What a powerful explosion!”

“What’s going on?”

Inside the rebuilt Armament Sect, many Armament Sect members exclaimed in shock and rushed out. They looked toward where the explosion came from.

“Terminator Profound Bombs! It’s the explosive sound of the Terminator Profound Bombs!” Many people had already descended into panic.

“Blood Spear! It’s Blood Spear!”

“Sect Master Tang is there as well!”

“Elder Mo Hai!”

Many members of Armament Sect ran out. The moment they saw Feng Rong, Tang Siqi, and Mo Hai, expressions of shock could be seen on their faces.

“Siqi!” Lian Rou lost control and screamed, “What are you doing? Where are you going?”

She saw that Tang Siqi and the Blood Spear martial practitioners were not headed toward Armament Sect, but the former Flame Volcano.

In addition, she also saw helplessness and bitterness deep within Tang Siqi’s eyes.

Nor did she know that, deep inside the poisonous bog, the three Copper rank forces, Profound Heaven Alliance, Eight Extreme Temple, and Joyful Union Sect, had already decided the execution of Blood Spear and the Ling Family.

“Sister Lian Rou. In the future… take care of yourself.” Tang Siqi sighed softly. She wore a bitter smile upon hearing Lian Rou cry out and did not explain.

“Instructor Feng! What happened?” an outer sect elder yelled.

“From now on, Blood Spear cuts all ties with Armament Sect.” Feng Rong turned around, looking at the new sect and the familiar faces. She said, “Take care of yourselves, everyone!”

“Let’s go.” Mo Hai sighed softly before speaking to the people who had come out of the sect, “Everyone, please seek your own fortune. If you are able to leave Armament Sect, then do not stay here any longer. The current Armament Sect has been tainted by Joyful Union Sect. If you do not wish to associate yourselves with evil, then please leave and seek your own destiny.”

Throwing down these words, Mo Hai, Feng Rong, and Tang Siqi headed toward Flame Volcano without hesitation.

They left the Armament Sect members, who had rushed out into the open, standing there. Those members all looked dumbstruck and were frowning in thought.

What had happened that caused Blood Spear to betray Armament Sect and also made Elder Mo Hai and Sect Master Tang Siqi so determined to leave?

They did not understand.

Not long after Feng Rong, Mo Hai, and the others left, Lang Xie and Ling Yushi also passed through this area.

“Lord Lang Xie!” the crowd cried out in surprise once more.

Lang Xie paused for a second, turned around to glance at the new Armament Sect, and let out a silent sigh before turning his head and leaving as well.

He did not even leave a single word behind.

This caused many Armament Sect members to grow increasingly anxious and worried.

They were experiencing the feeling of being abandoned...

Another hour passed after Lang Xie and Ling Yushi left. Qin Lie’s figure also appeared in that area—it was along the path that needed to be tread in order to reach Flame Volcano from the poisonous bog.

“Qin Lie!”

“S-Sect Master Qin!”

“Qin Lie the traitor!”

After his figure appeared, many Armament Sect members cried out again .

After Armament sect survived the combined assault of the five forces, the members who had seen what Qin Lie did for the sect all called him Qin Lie or Sect Master Qin.

Those who traveled back to Armament Sect from outside were all Ying Xingran’s associates. They all saw the three great reverends as the foundation of Armament Sect. Therefore, they thought of Qin Lie as a traitor.

Qin Lie’s footsteps also came to a halt.

He knew that Ku Luo had gone ahead of him. He also knew that Lang Xie and Ling Yushi had probably joined up with Blood Spear and the Ling Family already.

With the Eye of Frost in hand, he wasn’t worried about being killed by the Eight Extreme Temple or Joyful Union Sect martial practitioners. Therefore, he pondered for a moment after stopping before speaking to the people who had rushed out of the sect, “The three great reverends, Luo Zhichang, Fang Qi, and Jiang Hao, have followed in Ying Xingran’s footsteps and were killed by my own hands!”

The moment he said this, all Armament Sect members wore shocked faces and stared at him in fear.

“Qin Lie! You—!” Tong Jihua cried out.

Lian Rou was also shocked beyond words.

“I once did everything in my power to protect Armament Sect. I worked hard so that Armament Sect would rise to the top. I wanted to do everything I could for Armament Sect.” Looking at Tong Jihua, Lian Rou, and several other familiar faces, Qin Lie wore a heavy expression and said gravely, “However, the Armament Sect led by Ying Xingran and the three great reverends was entirely different from the Armament Sect I envisioned. For the sect’s interests, they would sacrifice anything and any member of the sect. Furthermore, they even colluded with Joyful Union Sect. They had already lost sight of what was important.”

A great number of Armament Sect members went silent.

Tong Jihua and Lian Rou frowned slightly and now had pensive looks on their faces.

“I have lost all confidence in this cold, heartless sect that does not have a trace of humanity left.” Qin Lie sucked in a breath before continuing indifferently, “May you be successful in seeking out your own destinies, everyone.”

“Qin Lie, where are Siqi and Elder Mo Hai going?” Lian Rou asked worriedly.

A bitter look appeared in Qin Lie’s eyes as he shook his head and said, “You will know very soon. Senior Sister Lian Rou, I recommend that you… leave sooner rather than later. Look for Yi Yuan. He has always been waiting for you. Go.”

“Elder Tong, please take care.” He then glanced at Tong Jihua again before turning to leave.

Due to Lang Xie’s arrangements, fatty Kang Zhi and Han Qingrui had gone to Dark Asura Hall a while back to join Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian after Qin Lie killed Ying Xingran.

That was also the reason why there was no longer anyone in Armament Sect that Qin Lie was reluctant to part with.

Tong Jihua and Lian Rou watched him leave. Both of their expressions were a little strange.

They were already hesitating about whether or not they should leave in the first place. After hearing Qin Lie’s words, they seemed to have finally come to a decision.

They were also ready to leave Armament Sect.

A long time later.

Qin Lie arrived at the land covered in nether demonic energy, the edge of the area held by the Horned Demon Race. He discovered that the Ling Family clansmen and Blood Spear were waiting outside of it.

It seemed that they were hesitating to take this step and enter the lands tainted by nether demonic energy.

“If we take this step, then we will truly become a part of the evil race, unable to clean the wrongs from our bodies.” Feng Rong hesitated.

“I’m sorry. It is my fault that Blood Spear was met with such a terrible disaster.” After Qin Lie arrived, he looked at Lang Xie, Feng Rong, and the other Blood Spear martial practitioners with an expression of regret. He said, “Don’t worry. I will fix this. The circumstances of the Scarlet Tide Continent will not stay the same forever.”

“Fix? How are you going to fix this?” Feng Rong smiled bitterly.

“It is not necessarily a bad thing for you to take this step.” Xue Li reformed into a blood shadow and looked at Lang Xie and Feng Rong. He chuckled eerily. “By connecting with the Horned Demon Race, you who have cultivated the Blood Spirit Arts should be able to enter the ultimate blood ground and cultivate. For you to cultivate, there is no land more precious than the ultimate blood ground! I was originally worried. Even if I constructed the teleportation formation, how was I going to have you guys cultivate at the ultimate blood ground under the watchful eye of the Horned Demon Race? I now believe that I no longer have to worry.”

He looked toward Ling Yushi, then at Qin Lie before chuckling strangely. “I finally figured it out.”

“Figured out what?” Qin Lie was surprised.

“Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple did not do you an injustice. You’re obviously related to the Horned Demon Race! Back when you were escaping from the Nether Battlefield, I suspected that the girl from the Song Family was secretly in cahoots with the Horned Demon Race the entire time. That’s why you were both able to leave safely—and right underneath their noses.” Xue Li shook his head and chuckled strangely. “Yet I was wrong. It was you! It was because of you that the Horned Demon Race let you go!”

“Qin Lie, you... you and the evil race?” Ling Chengzhi was surprised.

Lang Xie and Feng Rong’s expressions also changed slightly.

Qin Lie was silent.

A long while later, he looked at Ku Luo and the six horned warriors, Ka Meng and Duo Luo, as they rushed over from afar. He said to Ling Yushi, “Yushi, please pass me my grandfather’s wooden sculpture.”

Ling Yushi passed the wooden sculpture to him.

Holding the wooden sculpture, Qin Lie spoke to Ku Luo, Duo Luo, and Ka Meng in the language of the Nether Realm, “Do you recognize this?”

With Ku Luo, Duo Luo, and Ka Meng leading them, every four horned and five horned member of the Horned Devil Race who had arrived glanced at the wooden sculpture before kneeling on one knee.

Xue Li, Lang Xie, Feng Rong, and everyone else looked shocked to their very cores.

……