Spirit Realm

The crowd of Xing Family clansmen and Qi Jing, one of Gold Sun Island’s six enforcers, stood in the hallway in shock. All of them had come out to enjoy a show and laugh at someone else’s misfortune, but what actually happened threw them for a loop.

When Guo Yanzheng returned to his own room, the crowd turned to look at Qin Lie’s tightly shut door once more. A subtle change occurred in the gaze of every person present.

Out of everyone there, this turn of events shocked Xing Yao the most.

She never could’ve imagined that the situation would develop this way. Guo Yanzheng, a peak Fulfillment Realm martial practitioner, had barged into Qin Lie’s rooms. However, not only did he not argue with Qin Lie at all, they simply went into the cultivation room and spoke in secret.

When he came out, Guo Yanzheng’s attitude had completely reversed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out why.

As Guo Yanzheng left just now, he clearly seemed extremely displeased with Xing Yao. It was as if he inwardly blamed her for getting him to force his way into Qin Lie’s set of rooms for no good reason.

Qin Lie had destroyed all of Xing Yao’s scheming in a way she couldn’t possibly imagine.

This made her feel as though she had been thoroughly defeated.

“How boring.” Qi Jing shook his head as he returned to his own room in puzzlement.

The moment he left, the other Xing Family clansmen realized they had no show to watch. One by one, they left as well.

Soon enough, only Xing Yao remained in the long, wide hallway.

Brow deeply furrowed, Xing Yao stared at the door to Qin Lie’s room with a profound intensity. After a moment of contemplation, she ultimately didn’t dare to barge in and try interrogating Qin Lie.

She could only return to her room bitterly.

…...

“I didn’t think that Gold Sun Island enforcer would revere Blood Fiend Sect to that extent.”

Qin Lie couldn’t help but voice his opinion in amazement.

“It would seem that Blood Fiend Sect’s status as the previous ruler of the Heavenly Calamity Continent embedded itself deep within people’s hearts.”

“In the past, every elite force of the Land of Chaos went to war with Blood Fiend Sect. Even so, my mother and a few elders, and even Jiang Zhuzhe and his men, managed to escape,” Xue Moyan said. “Even after fighting Blood Fiend Sect for years, Black Voodoo Sect never gained the upper hand. In fact, we killed many of their experts instead. If Black Voodoo Sect hadn’t worked with the other Silver rank forces, borrowing their strength, how else could they have eliminated Blood Fiend Sect?”

Her eyes clearly shone with pride.

“In that case, if I use my identities as a member of Blood Fiend Sect and a Xing Family clansman to make Gold Sun Island believe that Blood Fiend Sect is no longer as weak as it was before and now possessed frightening strength…” Qin Lie paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, then said, “If I can do that, we may actually have a chance at recruiting Gold Sun Island.”

Xue Moyan suddenly clenched her hands into fists as excitement flashed through her bright eyes.

Her mother and many Blood Fiend Sect elders dreamed of doing exactly that!

Blood Fiend Sect had approached Xing Yumiao and Miao Yangxu many times with the intent to join hands with Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley in opposing the three great families.

Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley had turned them down repeatedly, firmly declaring that they weren’t ready to deepen their ties with Blood Fiend Sect. In fact, they no longer wanted to have any connection to Blood Fiend Sect.

If Qin Lie could find the opportunity to use his identity as Xing Lie to win over the Xing Family and rally Gold Sun Island to their cause, Blood Fiend Sect would undoubtedly gain an important ally.

“Have you figured out where these ships are headed?” Qin Lie suddenly asked.

“They’re headed to Gold Sun Island,” Xue Moyan said with certainty.

She had spent the last two days deducing the destination of these ships using the compass in her spatial ring. She knew that Xing Shengnan was ready to return to Gold Sun Island.

“Is Blood Fiend Sect in the same direction as Gold Sun Island?” Qin Lie asked again.

“We can pass through Gold Sun Island on the way there!” Xue Moyan’s eyes shone with a strange light.

“So we don’t need to do anything but peacefully wait on this ship?” Qin Lie smiled faintly, nodding in understanding.

“Until we reach Gold Sun Island, yes,” Xue Moyan answered.

“That’s good.” Qin Lie sat down on the floor of the cultivation room.

Xue Moyan was in high spirits and hoped to continue discussing the matter with Qin Lie. However, when she saw that Qin Lie seemed to be in a hurry to cultivate, she had no choice but to give up.

Xue Moyan sighed softly, then after Xie Jingxuan left the cultivation room, she followed her out.

Song Tingyu, on the other hand, stayed behind.

Once Xue Moyan and Xie Jingxuan had left, Song Tingyu closed the wooden door of the cultivation room and leaned against the wall. She stared at Qin Lie with glittering eyes, and said, “It seems like Xue Moyan hopes that you will help Blood Fiend Sect by convincing both Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley to serve them again.”

“I’m not that capable.” Qin Lie smiled indifferently.

“Qin Lie… what do you think of Blood Fiend Sect? Tell me the truth.” A solemn expression took over Song Tingyu’s pretty face. “As of now, Blood Fiend Sect is still public enemy number one, a force that everyone loathes. It may not be easy to convince them otherwise, especially considering the fact that Jiang Zhuzhe is still around causing trouble. He’ll continue to operate in the Land of Chaos, and until he dies, his slaughter of innocent people and immoral cultivation using human blood will just keep going. That just makes it even more difficult to clear Blood Fiend Sect’s name.”

“The Demon Sealing Tombstone wasn’t able to take all the remains of ancient elites from the Land of Buried Gods. We can assume that Jiang Zhuzhe got his hands on some,” Qin Lie said, his face grim. “You’re right. After Jiang Zhuzhe and his disciples absorb and refine the remains they acquired, their strength will increase significantly and they’ll definitely try to invade the Land of Chaos once more.”

“If that’s the case, why do you still want to go to the Heavenly Slaughter Continent and meet up with Xue Li?” Song Tingyu asked, confused. “Are you really doing this just because you want to repay Xue Li for teaching you the Blood Spirit Art?”

“One more thing…” She paused for a moment, then asked, “What in Spirit Realm are you planning to do in the future?”

Qin Lie thought to himself for a very long time with a frown on his face.

He eventually said, “My current plan is to find my grandfather and find out who I really am. It would be best for me to grow stronger and climb to higher realms at the same time.”

After saying this, Qin Lie fell silent for a long time. His fingers unconsciously drummed against the floor of the cultivation room, his eyes growing hazy with worry.

Song Tingyu patiently waited for him to sort out his thoughts and continue speaking.

A long time later, Qin Lie took a deep breath and continued, “I have a feeling that a tremendously powerful enemy will be standing in my way in the future! There’s a reason why my memories were sealed, why my grandfather brought me to the Scarlet Tide Continent, and why he left me there!”

Qin Lie knew many ancient languages and was privy to ancient secrets. He was born with the ability to merge spirit arts, and he even held the Soul Suppressing Orb in his head.

He believed many things happened to him in the past.

He needed to find answers and keep getting stronger so he would be able to face terrifying enemies in the future, ones so dangerous and powerful that even his soul would feel oppressed.

“In the Land of Chaos, we don’t have any foundation to rely on. Even Blood Fiend Sect can only barely count as one.” Qin Lie frowned as he spoke. “Lang Xie and the others are cultivating the Blood Spirit Art in the ultimate blood ground underneath the Scarlet Tide Continent and possess extremely potent strength. However, not even the Blood Codex contains any way to connect the Land of Chaos to that ultimate blood ground. Only Xue Li knows how.

“Once Xue Li truly merges with the Blood Progenitor’s body, he’ll be able to unleash the true potential of the Bloodthirsty Dragon. Then he and the elders of Blood Fiend Sect will have the power to rally allies and establish themselves within the Land of Chaos. Along with the eight god corpses I have and the remains of the ancient elites that Xue Moyan has, Blood Fiend Sect may actually have the chance to dominate the Land of Chaos and rule the Heavenly Calamity Continent once more!

“I need somewhere I can firmly set foot and a powerful force that I can control!” Qin Lie declared. “It’s only natural that such a goal would require taking risks. I’ve expected that for a long time!”

“I see,” Song Tingyu said softly. “You planned for this a long time ago.”

She finally accepted the fact that, whether she was willing to admit it or not, Qin Lie had changed.

This change had nothing to do with the merge between the current Qin Lie and his former personality but instead because of the accumulation of experience.

Ever since he left the Scarlet Tide Continent, journeyed into a wider world, and came to understand the minds of others, Qin Lie’s perspective on and attitude toward many things drastically changed.

Song Tingyu knew that this cruel world forced Qin Lie to grow and adapt bit by bit. He now had his own set of principles and beliefs.

“What are you going to do with Gold Sun Island?” Song Tingyu asked.

“I’ll do my best to recruit them,” Qin Lie said, hiding nothing. “I will try to convince them to become our allies using our relationship with Blood Fiend Sect and the resources we currently possess.”

“Blood Fiend Sect tried to do that very same thing for years, yet Gold Sun Island never budged,” Song Tingyu reminded him, clearly less confident in their success. “Don’t you think it’ll be even more difficult for you to achieve that?”

“They couldn’t convince Xing Yumiao because they lacked the strength and the resources,” Qin Lie said with a snort. “Blood Fiend Sect lacked these things in the past… but I don’t!”

…...

Deep within a sea of clouds, three giant scarlet phoenixes flew through the air and glowed with prismatic light.

Many Gold Sun Island martial practitioners stood on these phoenixes. They wore golden clothing, the backs of their shirts embroidered with the picture of a sun.

The phoenixes were large flying spirit artifacts called “Flowing Gold Fire Phoenixes.” They were one grade higher than Flowing Gold Firecloud Tents and were common amongst the Copper rank forces of the Land of Chaos.

The island master of Gold Sun Island, Xing Yumiao, and his brother, Xing Yuyuan, stood atop the largest Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix. Four of the Gold Sun Island’s six enforcers stood beside them as well.

They roamed regions of the sea around Gold Sun Island, entering the water’s depths every so often to search for the remains of ancient elites.

“Big brother! Sis sent us a frantic message saying that she found the grandson of seventh uncle out at sea. She said that we should hurry over if we aren’t far away.”

Xing Yuyuan received a message from Xing Shengnan today. He wore a bitter expression as he informed Xing Yumiao about it.

“The grandson of our seventh uncle?” A strange look came over Xing Yumiao. “A thousand years ago, when our Xing Family was exterminated, our seventh uncle had already perished, right? How in Spirit Realm could he have a grandson?”

“Of course we know about this.” Xing Yuyuan smiled bitterly. “However, we haven’t told our sister because we want to keep the hopes of our people alive.”

“Who dares to be so insolent? Who dares to pass themselves off as the grandson of our seventh uncle and toy with the Xing Family? I can tell they’re not familiar with the word death!” Xing Yumiao said with a cold snort. “How far are we from her?”

“Only a day’s journey.”

“Mn. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Yao’er. Let’s change course and head over to them. We’ll also pay a visit to the foolish brat pretending to be one of us.”

“Agreed!”

…...