Spirit Realm

An Earth Grade Two Cloud Sailboat flew with the wind in the clouds of the vast Razed Desert and traveled ten thousand miles in a day.

The Cloud Sailboat was two hundred meters long and fifty meters wide. Clouds floated by its sails and released a powerful wind which propelled it forward.

This Cloud Sailboat was traveling from Black Jade City toward the Lin Family that was in the eastern part of the Heavenly Calamity Continent. There were hundreds of martial practitioners from the subordinate forces of the Xiahou and Lin Families on the Cloud Sailboat. They moved between the immense areas that the two families ruled.

Qin Lie stood at a corner of the Cloud Sailboat and watched as this flying spirit artifact moved through the air. Under him was an endless desert.

He had already spent seven days on this ship.

The Cloud Sailboat traveled ten thousand miles each day. This meant that he was seventy thousand miles away from Black Jade City.

A person that appeared to be in his fifties was also standing on the deck. He casually asked, “Friend, where are you going?”

“To the Blood Cloud Mountain Range,” Qin Lie answered nonchalantly.

“Blood Cloud Mountain Range?” The person was surprised and said, “There hasn’t been any people there for a long time. Ever since Blood Fiend Sect was destroyed, very few go to the Blood Cloud Mountain Range. Why are you going to the Blood Cloud Mountain Range?”

“To find some special spirit grasses,” Qin Lie deflected.

“Nothing has grown in Blood Cloud Mountain Range since the battle,” the person said.

Qin Lie’s brow furrowed.

“You didn’t know?” The person smiled and then introduced himself. “I am Bei Mo, a martial practitioner that was born and raised in the Heavenly Calamity Continent. One of my elders once participated in the battle that destroyed Blood Fiend Sect, so I know a bit.”

“Can you tell me more?” Qin Lie asked.

“About twelve hundred years ago, Blood Fiend Sect was still the ruler of the Heavenly Calamity Continent. The Xiahou, Lin, and Su Families were just small forces at the time. Of them, only the Xiahou Family was a Copper rank force. The Su and Lin Families were just Black Iron rank forces. More than a thousand years ago, the Xiahou, Su, and Lin Families were just subordinates of Blood Fiend Sect. They were completely obedient to Blood Fiend Sect and did not dare to disobey its orders!”

Bei Mo seemed to have been bored. When Qin Lie’s question showed his interest, Bei Mo explained with a smile.

Qin Lie’s gaze moved.

Xue Li never said that the three major families of the Heavenly Calamity Continent had once been subordinate to Blood Fiend Sect.

That was definitely because Xue Li found it humiliating. Forces that originally obeyed his whims had become Silver forces more than a thousand years later, while Blood Fiend Sect, who had once ruled the continent, had completely disappeared.

Xue Li definitely wouldn’t be willing to accept that. He would be ashamed of this reality, so he wouldn’t tell Qin Lie of the connection between the three families and Blood Fiend Sect.

“Why was Blood Fiend Sect destroyed?” Qin Lie asked seriously.

“More than a thousand years ago, something occurred at Blood Fiend Sect. Xue Li, the new sect leader at the time, was rumored to have cultivated one of Blood Fiend Sect’s forbidden arts and was imprisoned. His junior brother, Jiang Zhuzhe, took over as sect master of Blood Fiend Sect. Blood Fiend Sect was one of the strongest forces in the Land of Chaos at that time.

“Yet, not long after, Blood Fiend Sect became chaotic.

“Many of the martial practitioners of the forces in the Heavenly Calamity Continent that were subordinate to Blood Fiend Sect inexplicably disappeared. Everyone was worried and tried to find out why.

“Then someone discovered that the people who had mysteriously disappeared had been captured by members of Blood Fiend Sect and killed upon being drained of their blood for consumption.

“When this matter was exposed, many members of Blood Fiend Sect started to go crazy. They were active all across the Heavenly Calamity Continent, finding those that were powerful and consuming their blood to increase in realm and power!

“The Heavenly Calamity Continent was thrown into chaos by Blood Fiend Sect. The evil actions of Blood Fiend Sect, consuming the blood of martial practitioners, shocked all of the Land of Chaos.

“At that time, the Silver forces of the other continents rebuked Blood Fiend Sect, insisting that they restrain their members. They criticized such actions and did not permit them to continue cultivating by consuming blood.

“However, the sect master of that time, Jiang Zhuzhe, went insane from cultivating the forbidden art. Members of his sect also went crazy and were unable to control their urges.

“The forces in the Heavenly Calamity Continent fled overseas in hopes of finding peace. Blood Fiend Sect quickly realized that the martial practitioners disappeared from this continent. They were unable to control their desire for blood, so they extended their reach toward other continents.

“However, Blood Fiend Sect encountered the combined resistance of all the continents and their forces. More than a thousand years ago, all of the Silver rank forces formed an alliance and stepped into the Heavenly Calamity Continent!

“They initiated the extermination of Blood Fiend Sect.

“In a short half year, almost all of the members of Blood Fiend Sect in the Heavenly Calamity Continent were killed. The alliance then went into the Blood Cloud Mountain Range and the main base of Blood Fiend Sect. Regardless of gender and whether or not they had gone insane, the alliance killed all of the martial practitioners that cultivated the Blood Spirit Art.

“All of the forces in the Land of Chaos have an agreement. Regardless of the location, if they see members of Blood Fiend Sect who cultivate the Blood Spirit Art, they must be exterminated.

“After that, the members of Blood Fiend Sect on other continents and islands, regardless of whether or not they had consumed human blood, were completely wiped out.

“In the decades afterward, no Blood Fiend Sect martial practitioners could be found in all of the Land of Chaos.

“The Blood Spirit Art became known as an evil art. Anyone who cultivated it would be killed if they were discovered.

“The Xiahou, Lin, and Su Families performed exceptionally well in this battle. After the battle, the three great Families divided the spirit materials of Blood Fiend Sect from the Blood Cloud Mountain Range. They allowed the forces from overseas to divvy up Blood Fiend Sect’s mines, lands, medicinal fields, ponds, and territories in the Heavenly Calamity Continent.

“For the thousand years after the end of Blood Fiend Sect, the patriarchs of the three great families used the enormous resources they obtained to slowly develop and reach their current size.

“It could be said that the three great families consumed the blood of Blood Fiend Sect to become the Silver rank forces of the present.”

Bei Mo’s tone was calm as he explained in detail. He told Qin Lie why Blood Fiend Sect was destroyed, and how the the three great families rose to power.

Qin Lie slowly digested Bei Mo’s words and was inwardly shocked.

“There is nothing left in the Blood Cloud Mountain Range. Anything of value was taken by the three great families.” Bei Mo’s tone was calm as his eyes flashed with an otherworldly light. “Haha, the three families garnered fame and profited from their attack on Blood Fiend Sect. By stepping on the corpse of Blood Fiend Sect, the three families prospered on this land. The patriarchs of the three families are wise. They are people that I, Bei Mo, will admire throughout this lifetime.”

For some reason, Qin Lie could see and hear a deep-seated hatred from Bei Mo’s gaze and tone.

It seemed as though he had a grudge against the three great families. He seemed to despise what the three families had done. This made Qin Lie curious.

“Friend, what is your surname?” Bei Mo suddenly asked.

“Qin. My name is Qin Lie.”

“Oh. It doesn’t matter what your surname is, as long as it isn’t Jiang,” Bei Mo said sharply.

Qin Lie was surprised.

“There isn’t anything to look for in the Blood Cloud Mountain Range. There aren’t any spirit grasses. Going there is a waste of time.” Bei Mo looked at him deeply. Then, after saying those words, he turned to walk to the rooms of the Cloud Sailboat.

Qin Lie thought that this person was strange.

Three days went by quickly, and the Cloud Sailboat passed through the Razed Desert.

On this day, the Cloud Sailboat stopped at a small city. Many martial practitioners got off the boat, and new martial practitioners got on after paying enough spirit stones.

Qin Lie was among those that got off the boat.

He identified a direction, then left the city at dark, walking alone toward Blood Cloud Mountain Range.

After walking for two days, he stepped into the Blood Cloud Mountain Range around noon.

The clouds above his head seemed to be dyed with blood and were a frightening red. Under the light of the sun, the mountain range was terrifyingly bloody.

A faint odor of blood was mixed among the energies of the world. It was very unique, but Qin Lie did not feel any discomfort when he breathed it in.

Xue Li, who had been silent in for a long time, suddenly spoke inside his mind, “The Blood Cloud Mountain Range! You’ve reached the Blood Cloud Mountain Range!”

“I’m here,” Qin Lie answered.

“Walk towards the mountain further in. Go to the tallest, crimson mountain peak!” Xue Li’s voice resounded intensely within Qin Lie’s mind.

Qin Lie followed his directions.

Around Qin Lie were mountains that were thousands of meters tall. They were as red as blood and bare—devoid of any flora.

Collapsed structures were visible on the mountain peaks. On the paths at the base of the mountains, there were white bones, clothes, and pieces of armor everywhere.

It was completely desolate. When Qin Lie spread out his mind consciousness, he could not detect any signs of life.

“Someone is following you!” Xue Li said suddenly.

Qin Lie’s steps slowed.

He stood next to a mountain. With a frown, he turned his head and coldly said, “Come out.”

There was no sound. Once again, he searched with his mind consciousness, but he did not discover anything.

“There is a person is behind the piece of rock to the left!” Xue Li advised.

Qin Lie suddenly glared in the direction that Xue Li spoke of and shouted, “How long are you going to sneak around?”

An awkward cough came from behind an enormous piece of rock, then a figure popped out. The person had a strange expression on his face. “You are only in the Netherpassage Realm. How were you able to find me?”

“Bei Mo!” Qin Lie shouted.

It was Bei Mo, the stranger who had come over to talk with Qin Lie on the Cloud Sailboat and explained how Blood Fiend Sect had been destroyed.

“Blood Fiend Sect was destroyed long ago. Almost all the members of the past Blood Fiend Sect were killed. Some of those who managed to get away do not dare to step into the Heavenly Calamity Continent. They stay far away from Blood Cloud Mountain Range, afraid that people will find them.” Bei Mo calmly walked toward Qin Lie and said with a sharp gaze, “Why do you dare to come here?”

“I only came here to find spirit grasses.” Qin Lie frowned.

Bei Mo shook his head with a smile. “You cultivate the Blood Spirit Art… one that is quite pure. I sensed it the moment you stepped onto the Cloud Sailboat at Black Jade City.”

Qin Lie’s expression changed.