Spirit Realm

“Who is this Gao Yu?” Du Xiangyang asked.

Prior to entering the Graveyard of Gods, Du Xiangyang’s understanding of Qin Lie had been the same as other people’s. He had not investigated Qin Lie or those who had come with him from the Scarlet Tide Continent.

As a result, he wasn’t familiar with Gao Yu.

Xue Moyan and Pan Qianqian were also meeting Gao Yu for the first time.

“Gao Yu came from the Scarlet Tide Continent with us. He entered the Graveyard of Gods using one of the Xiahou Family’s command tokens,” Song Tingyu quietly explained.

“He and Qin Lie fought side by side several years ago. They are close allies,” Xie Jingxuan added.

Back when Qin Lie and Gao Yu both lived in Icestone City’s Nebula Pavilion, they helped Xie Jingxuan capture and kill a Soul Devouring Beast nearby.

Her impression of the two had always been good because of that.

“Gao Yu!” Qin Lie shouted, raising his voice.

Gao Yu, whose hands and neck were currently bound by a silver pillory, raised his head slightly. The coldness in his eyes sparked as he recognized Qin Lie. His expression became strange, but he didn’t say a single word.

“I placed a seal on his body that prevents him from speaking.” The white barbarian girl giggled as she held the sharp ice sword to Gao Yu’s neck. “I’m willing to trade this person for three Pure Soul Springs. Do you accept?”

“I can’t take them out,” Qin Lie said with a bitter smile.

“Swff!”

The girl jerked the ice sword slightly, drawing a thin bloody line on Gao Yu’s neck.

Blood seeped from the wound, immediately freezing because of the Forbidden Land of Ice’s cold conditions.

Unlike Du Xiangyang and the others, who were using shields of light to protect their bodies from the cold, Gao Yu and the white barbarian girl were unprotected. Similar to Qin Lie, they left themselves completely exposed to the icy air and snowy ground.

The power of frost emanated from the girl’s pores and made the area around her bone-chillingly cold. She clearly cultivated a frost spirit art.

She stood there looking pretty, seeming to blend into the Forbidden Land of Ice’s landscape and become a part of it.

—This showed that the conditions of the Forbidden Land of Ice suited her extremely well.

As for Gao Yu, a strange energy circulated within his body. Although it seemed to suppress him, it also protected him from the cold. It allowed him to be exposed to the Forbidden Land of Ice without freezing.

“It seems like you don’t want to trade.” The white barbarian girl raised an eyebrow. “If that’s the case, then I worked so hard to capture this guy for no reason.”

She tugged at the leash, and Gao Yu gave Qin Lie a blank stare, his eyes dim.

“Stop!” Qin Lie cried, realizing that the girl was about to do something. A look of anxiety leaped to his face as he said, “I already used the Pure Soul Springs. I truly don’t have a way to take them out. Give me another demand!”

“You used them?” the girl asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“The Demon Sealing Tombstone devoured them. I don’t have a way to take them out of it.” Qin Lie said with his hands open, frustration appearing on his face. “It isn’t that I don’t want to give them to you.”

“The Demon Sealing Tombstone?!” the white barbarian girl exclaimed in response, her eyes lighting up. “So Sen Ye really wasn’t lying. You actually have the Demon Sealing Tombstone in your possession?”

“It’s right here,” Qin Lie replied bluntly.

Qin Lie touched his spatial ring, willing the Demon Sealing Tombstone to emerge.

Once the Demon Sealing Tombstone appeared, it began to fly in the direction of the ice spirit again. Qin Lie held it down, keeping it from flying off by itself.

“This is the Demon Sealing Tombstone,” he said.

“It seems like you don’t want Gao Yu to die after all,” she said. “Now give it to me.”

“Qin Lie!” Du Xiangyang shouted.

A grim expression took over Luo Chen’s face.

The Demon Sealing Tombstone played a vital role. Having so many mysteries to unravel, it could be considered the most important artifact within the Graveyard of Gods.

If one could solve any of the Demon Sealing Tombstone’s mysteries and use it to seal the seven spirits, then the secrets of the Graveyard of Gods could finally be revealed, the location of the Land of Buried Gods could be discovered, and everyone would have the opportunity to obtain the remains of those that had long since passed away.

In everyone’s eyes, the Demon Sealing Tombstone was the key to the Graveyard of Gods.

Even though Gao Yu suddenly appeared, none of his group wanted Qin Lie to hand the Demon Sealing Tombstone over. If he did, they wouldn’t have something to guide them in the future.

Song Tingyu and the other three girls remained silent.

Gao Yu stared straight at Qin Lie.

“I’ll give you the Demon Sealing Tombstone!” Qin Lie shouted.

“Okay!” The white barbarian girl laughed softly, happily responding, “As long as you give me the Demon Sealing Tombstone, I promise that nothing will happen to this Gao Yu.”

“Ding ling ling!”

At that moment, the tokens at everyone’s waists suddenly began emitting harsh noises. The eastern barbarians that were chasing them grew closer and closer.

“Qin Lie, the eastern barbarians who have been chasing us will arrive soon.” Song Tingyu reminded him quietly. “If we’re making this trade, we need to do it as soon as possible. If we waste time, there’ll be trouble when they arrive.”

“Having chased us all this way without losing us, these eastern barbarians definitely possess higher realms,” Xue Moyan said, her expression grim. “They’ll be much stronger than ordinary eastern barbarians.”

“Are you going to come over here and take the Demon Sealing Tombstone or do you want me to bring it to you?” Qin Lie furrowed his brow.

“Bring it here,” the white barbarian girl ordered, a relaxed smile on her face.

This girl seemed to be around twenty years old and seemed to be a bit younger than Gao Yu.

She stood there in a large white cloak made from fur, looking pretty in the snow. Her figure was slender and her face was beautiful. She seemed surprisingly regal in stature, and probably had a high status among the eastern barbarians.

“Beware of any tricks!” Song Tingyu exclaimed.

Du Xiangyang and the others began to cry out, urging him not to go to the girl, with worried expressions on their faces.

“Okay!” Qin Lie said with a nod, then started taking large steps toward Gao Yu and the girl, ignoring the protests of his group.

Gao Yu watched Qin Lie stride over to them with the Demon Sealing Tombstone in hand, the ice sword still pressed against his neck. A strange light flashed in the depths of his dim eyes, and a complicated expression surfaced on his face.

Coming to a stop right in front of the girl, Qin Lie said, “The Demon Sealing Tombstone will direct you to the ice spirit, but you need to hold onto it so it doesn’t fly away.”

“I’m well aware of the Demon Sealing Tombstone’s mysteries,” the white barbarian girl said. “I know that I shouldn’t touch it directly. It should be stored within a spatial ring.”

She chuckled, then continued, “I believe I have a way to destroy your connection to the tombstone. Once it’s in my possession, I’ll do that and become its new owner.”

Shock jumped to Qin Lie’s face.

The rest of his group, who also knew the secrets of the Demon Sealing Tombstone, were shocked into silence upon hearing the girl’s declaration.

When Luo Chen gained possession of the Demon Sealing Tombstone, he hadn’t been able to figure out its secrets, resulting in it returning to Qin Lie.

Just like that instance, they believed that Qin Lie was only handing it over temporarily, and that when the white barbarian girl took it out again, it would return to Qin Lie once more.

However, the white barbarian girl’s words informed them that such a hopeful scenario wouldn’t come to pass. They realized that, once Qin Lie handed the Demon Sealing Tombstone over, it might actually be gone for good.

“So? Have you decided?” the girl asked. “Do you still want to exchange the Demon Sealing Tombstone for his life?”

“I do!” Qin Lie replied without hesitation.

“Good.”

The white barbarian girl stepped forward, extending one of her porcelain fingers toward the Demon Sealing Tombstone. On that finger was a spatial ring..

The instant she touched the tombstone, if disappeared into the ring like a puff of smoke.

“The eastern barbarians behind us are about to arrive!” Xie Jingxuan yelled.

“Qin Lie! Get Gao Yu so we can leave!” Song Tingyu exclaimed nervously.

“Release him!” Qin Lie glared at the white barbarian girl.

The white barbarian girl pursed her lips into a smile, nodding as she said, “There’s no need to be in such a rush.”

These words brought looks of realization to everyone’s faces.

The barbarian girl never intended to let them go.

—She only offered this exchange to delay them.

Fighting Qin Lie’s group until the other eastern barbarians caught up was most likely her real goal.

Upon realizing this, the hearts of Qin Lie’s companions sunk.

“Whoosh whoosh!”

The sound of cloth fluttering in the cold wind began to resonate from off in the distance, signifying that the eastern barbarians behind them would arrive soon.

“Qin Lie!” Du Xiangyang gritted his teeth and shouted. “The thought of allowing us to leave this place alive has never crossed her mind! Quick! Let’s get out of here before the other savages arrive. Forget about this Gao Yu and help us kill this girl! We need to leave as soon as possible!”

Everyone could see just how urgent the situation had become.

This white barbarian had only appeared to hinder their progress, delaying them long enough for the other white barbarians to catch up and kill them.

Looking at it now, it was clear that Gao Yu probably wouldn’t have lived regardless of whether or not Qin Lie relinquished the Demon Sealing Tombstone.

At this point, the most sensible thing to do was to stop caring about Gao Yu and kill the girl, leaving the area before the more powerful eastern barbarians could get here.

Otherwise, once the eastern barbarians surrounded them, it would be hard for even a single one of them to survive.

“Qin Lie!” everyone yelled in unison, staring at him.

Qin Lie understood the situation. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to take desperate measures.

Yet, at that moment, a voice suddenly spoke up.

“Jia Yue, return the Demon Sealing Tombstone to Qin Lie and let them go.”

The voice made everyone, especially Qin Lie, go deathly still.

And they all looked at Gao Yu in astonishment.

Hadn’t a seal been placed on Gao Yu, preventing him from speaking?

How did Gao Yu know the white barbarian girl’s name, and why did he speak to her in such a familiar tone?

What kind of relationship did they have that he could tell her to give the Demon Sealing Tombstone back and let them go?

Just what in Spirit Realm was going on?

The white barbarian girl furrowed her brow.

“I can let them go, Gao Yu, but the Demon Sealing Tombstone is too important,” she said in a pleading tone. “It wouldn’t matter if we were dealing with the martial practitioners of the Land of Chaos, the Scarlet Barbarian Tribe, or the Black Barbarian Tribe. With it, we’d have an absolute advantage in the Forbidden Land of Ice.”

“Bang!”

The silver pillory binding Gao Yu’s neck and hands shattered and crumbled to pieces, instantly giving Gao Yu his freedom.

“Do you want to keep the Demon Sealing Tombstone and... lose me in the process?” Gao Yu asked, glaring at the girl with a ghastly expression.

After hesitating for a moment, the white barbarian girl named Jia Yue took the tombstone out of her spatial ring with a helpless sigh.

“I’ll give it back.”

Before the tombstone could fly away, Qin Lie grabbed it and shoved it into his spatial ring.

He then looked at Gao Yu and said, “You better give me an explanation.”

“Jia Yue, take your people and leave first,” Gao Yu said, turning to look at Qin Lie.

“What about you? You aren’t leaving me, are you?” Jia Yue asked, clearly anxious.

“I’ll come find you.” A look of annoyance emerged on Gao Yu’s face.

“Alright then!” Jia Yue said in a cute manner, her expression softening. Then she left in the direction that Qin Lie’s group had come from, took out a horn, then blew it.

“Bwoooowoooooooo!”

A moment later, Du Xiangyang checked the token at his waist and cried out.

“Th-the eastern barbarians that were chasing us… they’ve stopped!”