Spirit Realm

The solid block of ice drifting beneath Qin Lie’s feet suddenly stopped.

He frowned as he watched the Blue Star Association members riding on the Sword Leaf Boats, roaming across the sea like lightning, wielding exquisite spirit artifacts, and hunting down all of the people clinging to floating wooden boards, logs, and the remains of the boats.

He looked at Qiu Yun.

Since Blue Star Association had lost some of their men and there were plenty of empty Sword Leaf Boats, Qiu Yun currently took one for himself. The somewhat thin figure stood tall and sharp atop the boat like a blade.

His face still wore the same kindly smile, but his eyes were now as sharp as a cold blade.

Qin Lie finally understood why that arrogant Kong Xiang would regard Qiu Yun so highly.

Not only was Qiu Yun a martial practitioner who had reached the Netherpassage Realm, he was also incredibly deceptive. His true self should be cold and merciless.

The idea to profit off of the riches of dead men and slaughter those who were not yet dead were probably his.

Regardless of the type of group, the person with the highest realm was usually the coldest, the cruelest, and the mastermind of the group as well. Blue Star Association was clearly not an exception.

It was obvious that Qiu Yun was the true commander of this group.

Qin Lie looked back at the people being pursued.

They were people who, just like him, had taken the large ship heading to Spirit Eagle Island. Their realms were also similar to his, around the level of the Manifestation Realm. There were very few people who had reached the Netherpassage Realm.

Martial practitioners with powerful realms usually had very powerful backgrounds and identities. In the Scarlet Tide Continent, the Flowing Cloud Continent, and the Heavenly Fate Continent, Fulfillment Realm martial practitioners would be considered famous individuals.

These people would own their own spirit mounts or special boats. They would not need to squeeze into such a cargo ship with the others.

According to Qin Lie’s knowledge, Copper forces such as Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple used their own personal ships when traveling between continents.

Ships that were willing to accept someone like Qin Lie, whose identity was questionable, normally did not have a powerful backer to support them. The passengers were either low realm martial practitioners or loners.

Among these people, there wouldn’t be any elites who were truly powerful.

This was also why Qiu Yun and Blue Star Association did not think anything of these people’s lives. Even if the matter were exposed in the future, they did not need to worry about a dangerous force coming after them.

—Since the deceased did not have powerful backgrounds.

“Boom boom boom! Zing zing zing! Crackle crack crack!”

Most of the Blue Star Association members were at the Manifestation Realm. There were only a few people who had reached the Netherpassage Realm.

Their realms were actually a match for the people scattered throughout the sea. Not only did they have the numbers, tallying up to about forty, but the ranks of their spirit artifacts were also higher. Martial practitioners who had reached the Netherpassage Realm like Kong Xiang were even clad in battle armor.

They had the advantage in terms of numbers and spirit artifacts. The Sword Leaf Boats they rode were also as swift as lightning.

Due to the greed of Blue Star Association, a bloody scene took place on the sea that had just regained its calm.

As the light of spirit artifacts mingled, and as the Sword Leaf Boats sailed across the sea, intercepting the survivors before killing them one by one, new corpses began to spill blood into the sea.

“I told them to turn around a long time ago. They just wouldn’t listen and kept walking to their own deaths.”

Kong Xiang grinned while waving a serpent spear covered in snake-like patterns. Dark green serpentine shadows shot from his spear and rushed toward the drowning men like lightning.

“Splurt!”

One of the dark green shadows penetrated a drowning person’s chest and revealed a bloody hole the size of a fist.

“I’ll take you with me!” the person who yelled harshly abruptly charged out of the water, looking like he would drag Kong Xiang with him into death.

“Die!”

Kong Xiang laughed coldly, and with a shake of the serpent spear in his hands, seven dark green serpentine shadows immediately shot out.

Like spirit snakes, they bit the person’s body and left seven bloody holes in it.

The body of the person who charged out of the sea paused in midair before losing all signs of life, falling into the sea once more and turning into a bloody floating corpse.

Kong Xiang let out a strange laugh and approached the body while directing the Sword Leaf Boat. He seized a beast skin sack from the body’s waist.

“Fire Demon Stone! Water Spirit Jade! Bluelight Copper! Heh, my luck is good today!”

With a smile, Kong Xiang took the items out of the beast skin sack and tossed them into his spatial ring one by one. Only then did he casually toss the beast skin sack away in satisfaction

Upon finishing, he looked toward the sea while laughing madly, and yelled at his hooting companions, “Make sure it’s done cleanly! Do not bring any sort of trouble to Brother Yun! Heh, as long as we follow Brother Yun’s lead, we will enjoy great luxury and eventually be able to enter the Netherpassage Realm!”

“We will obey Brother Yun’s command!”

“Nothing will go wrong as long as we follow Brother Yun’s lead!”

“We can gain a lot of credit, spirit materials, and spirit stones by doing this. What an amazing idea!”

The Blue Star Association martial practitioners who were controlling the Sword Leaf Boats and slaughtering all of the drowning men were laughing loudly, wearing happy expressions on their faces.

It was as if their deceased companions who had just been devoured by the giant whirlpools had nothing to do with them.

At this point, there were only nine people in the sea who weren’t dead yet.

These nine people regretted their actions so much they wished they could turn back time. If they had known that these Blue Star Association members were this ruthless, they would not have uttered a single word just now.

Look at this mess.

Not only did these bastards from Blue Star Association want to profit from the riches of dead men, they were also planning to seize the riches of living men for themselves.

The remaining nine people were holding onto floating wooden boards and logs. They had absolutely no hope of escaping from the Blue Star Association martial practitioners riding Sword Leaf Boats.

Seeing that the Blue Star Association’s Sword Leaf Boats were heading in their direction, they all learned their lesson and quickly dove into the sea.

By doing this, they would struggle at death's door and delay their deaths as much as possible.

“Hehe, I believe you’ll come out eventually!” Kong Xiang screamed and ordered his men to watch the surface of the ocean for the moment they would reappear.

The moment that those people reappeared, Kong Xiang and the others would immediately destroy them with their spirit artifacts.

It was at this moment that the solid block of ice beneath Qin Lie’s body finally began to move once more.

He headed toward the members of Blue Star Association!

From atop a Sword Leaf Boat, Qiu Yun hadn’t been doing anything other than smiling benevolently and watching Kong Xiang, who was issuing orders on Qiu Yun’s behalf with a calm expression.

The moment he saw Qin Lie coming over on a solid block of ice, Qiu Yun finally asked, “Why did it have to come to this, friend?”

He had seen Qin Lie a while back.

In fact, the reason he advised Qin Lie not to approach earlier was to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

He had already seen that Qin Lie was wearing a spatial ring. Qin Lie might have only been at the Manifestation Realm, and was therefore not a threat to him, but the fact that a mere Manifestation Realm martial practitioner possessed a spatial ring meant that Qin Lie most likely had some sort of background. He may have even been a member of a Copper rank force on par with Blue Star Association.

Furthermore, not only could the ice beneath Qin Lie’s feet float on the sea, it also enabled Qin Lie to move swiftly. This made Qiu Yun to feel cautious on the inside.

He wasn’t certain of Qin Lie’s background, and he was afraid that Copper rank force elites would investigate if Qin Lie died here. Since Qiu Yun was afraid of the potential trouble that might this may bring him, he attempted to persuade Qin Lie earlier, and hoped that he would leave.

He was well aware of the fact that what they were doing was even worse than “pirates.” If it were exposed, he would definitely suffer the consequences.

However, from the moment that Qin Lie refused to heed his advice, officially stepping into this region and witnessing them commit murder, he already planned to kill Qin Lie.

He would never allow this matter to be exposed!

The reason why Qiu Yun did not participate in the slaughter was because he was quietly paying attention to Qin Lie. The second that Qin Lie showed any sign of leaving, he would immediately chase him down and kill him no matter what the cost.

Yet no matter how great his imagination was, he could not have guessed that, not only Qin Lie did not try to escape, he preemptively approached even after observing the slaughter.

This irrational outcome made Qiu Yun become suspicious and wary.

“Kong Xiang!” Qiu Yun exclaimed and glanced at Qin Lie, hinting with his eyes.

Kong Xiang immediately understood his meaning and rushed toward Qin Lie on his Sword Leaf Boat while laughing aloud.

“Kid, Brother Yun did not wish to cause trouble and, after seeing your spatial ring, already advised you to leave. Yet I see that you are a stupid kid who just couldn’t help but forfeit your life. Now that you’ve seen what we’ve done, you will no longer have the chance to leave even if you want to.”

Kong Xiang raised his serpent spear, and rings of green spirit light appeared on his arm before entering the spear’s snake-like patterns.

“Seven Serpent Sting!”

The sudden hiss of a spirit snake came from within the spear. Kong Xiang’s arms began to shake, and seven dark green serpentine shadows charged out into the open.

Qin Lie shook his head and grinned. He wore a cruel smile on his face.

Qin Lie stomped on the corner of the block of ice, and the sea blue ice turned into a shield, instantly rising from the sea.

The surface of the sea blue ice shone with a prismatic color in the evening sky, instantly blocking the paths of the seven dark green serpentine shadows.

“Prak prak!”

The ice shield shattered as bits of ice were scattered everywhere. The dark green serpentine shadows also dissipated due to the heavy impact of spirit energy.

At almost the same time, Qin Lie stepped on the surface of the sea, as if he were stepping on a harsh, icy light, and appeared in front of Kong Xiang in the time required to take a single breath.

“Frost Storm!”

Qin Lie yelled, and with a bang, the sea beneath him erupted with ice fragments that resembled flying blades.

The ice fragments were like a condensed storm of frost that shot toward Kong Xiang.

Kong Xiang was in the early stage of the Netherpassage Realm, and his soul perception was incredibly sharp. He had already sensed when Qin Lie made his frost energy permeate through the sea’s surface and condense the ice fragments.

When the ice fragments exploded in his direction, not only there was a thin shield of green light around his body, the battle armor he wore, which was woven from snake bones, also released a cold, icy halo.

It was a double-layered protection!

“Prak prak!”

The ice blasted against the green light barrier, rapidly distorting it for a few seconds until it abruptly exploded.

The ice fragments lost their momentum and were barely able to touch Kong Xiang’s armor, disappearing without a trace.

However, Kong Xiang did not look relaxed at all. His expression had even changed all of a sudden.

This was because, from under the cover of the ice fragments, Qin Lie had arrived right in front of him, standing atop the Sword Leaf Boat.

Qin Lie clenched his fist.

“Rrmmb!”

A dull, thundering noise resounded from his fist, and a ball of bright, blinding light ferociously burst toward Kong Xiang’s chest.