Spirit Realm

Qin Lie wasn’t able to continue living such a wonderful, indulgent lifestyle.

On the evening of that same day, three Flowing Gold Fire Phoenixes slowly came into view above the Wavebreaker, a loud rumbling accompanying their approach.

The warm, evening light made the three flying spirit artifacts resemble phoenixes bathed in blood, dazzling as if they had just been reborn.

“The island master had come!” numerous Gold Sun Island martial practitioners cheered.

Every person that could see the Flowing Gold Fire Phoenixes looked up into the sky and waved their hands.

Qin Lie’s set of rooms had a window facing the sea. Noticing the commotion, he opened it and looked outside. Seeing those flying spirit artifacts as well, he immediately understood that Xing Yumiao and Xing Yuyuan had arrived.

He had a vague hunch that they arrived so quickly because of Xing Shengnan.

—which also meant they had come because of him...

“We have to face these two people eventually,” Qin Lie thought to himself, calm as ever. “The earlier we do… the better.”

The eight god corpses had been hiding in the sea below them this entire time. The moment he gave the order, they would surface and fight Gold Sun Island.

Xing Yumiao was only at the peak of the Fragmentation Realm. If the eight god corpses unleashed all of their power, they would be able to eliminate all of Gold Sun Island.

Even if that Xing Yumiao attempted to ambush him when his guard was down, Qin Lie still had the Blood Progenitor’s body. As long as he used his True Soul to control it, he might not necessarily fall to the Xing brothers.

These contingency plans were the reason he dared to stay in his rooms without worry, unafraid of any unexpected developments.

He calmly awaited their arrival.

“First island master! Second island master!”

As the Xing brothers walked through the air and landed on the deck of the ship, multiple Gold Sun Island martial practitioners there called out to them respectfully.

Xing Shengnan also came out to greet them with a smile.

“Big brother! Second brother!” she exclaimed. “You guys certainly showed up quick.”

“Father! Uncle!” Xing Yao yelled.

Xing Yumiao nodded, a calm expression on his face.

“Let’s talk inside, little sister,” he said, taking the initiative to head toward Xing Shengnan’s room on the level just below deck.

“Of course.” Xing Shengnan looked cheerful.

“Well met, island masters.” The two enforcers, Guo Yanzheng and Qi Jing, saluted them respectfully.

“Thank you for your hard work, both of you.” Xing Yumiao gave them his regards with a nod.

It didn’t take long for the three Xing siblings and Xing Yao to make their way to Xing Shengnan’s spacious room.

These four people were the true core of the Xing Family.

Guo Yanzheng, Qi Jing, and the other Xing Family branch relatives in the top level of the ship did not qualify to join them.

The moment Xing Yumiao sat down within Xing Shengnan’s room, he got to the heart of the matter.

“I heard you found seventh grandfather’s grandson, little sister,” he said solemnly. “Are you absolutely sure he is seventh grandfather’s grandson?”

“This time, there is definitely no mistake!” Xing Shengnan said excitedly. She began recounting how Qin Lie revealed Xing Shan’s name when they met and how he had lived deep within the mountains, unable to tell anyone his true name. When she finished explaining everything, she exclaimed, “Big brother. Second brother. We can finally add a new name to the Xing Family tree.”

After Xing Shengnan finished her detailed explanation, Xing Yumiao frowned deeply, pondering to himself for a moment before saying, “Adding a new name to the family tree is an important matter. We must not be hasty.”

He paused once more, then said, “Let us meet this Xing Lie first before we make a decision.”

“Mn.” Xing Shengnan agreed. “It’s true that adding a name to the family tree is no simple matter. Let’s do this properly once we return to Gold Sun Island.”

“Yao’er, please summon that Xing Lie,” Xing Yumiao instructed.

Xing Yao immediately walked out of the room.

The moment she did, she noticed Guo Yanzheng standing just outside the door, a look of hesitation on his face. Xing Yao didn’t pay him any heed and only gave him an indifferent nod before leaving.

“Island masters, your subordinate wishes to make a report,” Guo Yanzheng called out from the doorway. He had taken a long time to consider what he knew. In the end, he decided that he shouldn’t hide it.

“We’re discussing something important, Enforcer Guo,” Xing Yuyuan said with a smile. “Anything else can wait until tomorrow.”

Xing Yumiao frowned and stayed silent.

“My report is related to that… Xing Lie,” Guo Yanzheng said, gritting his teeth.

“It has something to do with little brother?” This realization stunned Xing Shengnan.

Shock took over Xing Yumiao’s face. Only then did he invite Guo Yanzheng inside by saying, “Please come in and say your piece, Enforcer Guo.”

Guo Yanzheng slipped into the room, rushing to speak before Qin Lie showed up.

“Young Master Xing Lie… is also a genuine disciple of Blood Fiend Sect. He cultivates the orthodox Blood Spirit Art. I guarantee that this is completely true,” he said, briefly detailing his meeting with Qin Lie.

Once finished, Guo Yanzheng hastily added, “Young Master Xing Lie told me to keep this a secret, but this matter is related to Blood Fiend Sect. Since I belong to Gold Sun Island, I naturally didn’t dare to hide this from you island masters, so…”

“Please take your leave for now,” Xing Yumiao said with a wave of his hand.

Guo Yanzheng nodded, making haste to leave before Qin Lie arrived.

Inside the room, Xing Yumiao’s and Xing Yuyuan’s expression became grim. Their look in their eyes seemed incredibly conflicted.

Xing Shengnan, on the other hand, secretly rejoiced at this revelation.

“Little brother is fortunate to be able to cultivate the Blood Spirit Art,” she said. “It would seem that seventh grandfather became pretty intimate with the disciples of Blood Fiend Sect while escaping the three great families.”

She became more and more certain the Qin Lie was Xing Shan’s grandson.

The thoughts of the Xing Brothers, however, were completely different.

“He actually hails from Blood Fiend Sect…” Xing Yumiao thought to himself. “Why in Spirit Realm is a disciple of Blood Fiend Sect pretending to be a member of the Xing Family? Have they still not given up on recruiting the Xing Family?”

After meeting Qin Lie, Xing Yumiao was originally going to find a suitable opportunity to kill him in secret. He was going to have Qin Lie mysteriously vanish so that Xing Shengnan wouldn’t be overcome with grief and confusion like last time.

Yet, now that he knew Qin Lie cultivated the orthodox Blood Spirit Art and was a disciple of Blood Fiend Sect, a headache immediately came over him.

The Xing Family shared a rather complicated relationship with Blood Fiend Sect. Xing Yumiao knew that the Xing Family was once a vassal force of Blood Fiend Sect. Even if Blood Fiend Sect presently had to stick to the shadows, he still felt a trace of respect toward it.

Since Qin Lie was a member of Blood Fiend Sect, his presence here appeared to be Blood Fiend Sect’s doing.

If he were to secretly kill Qin Lie, he would definitely upset Blood Fiend Sect. He might even bring unnecessary trouble upon Gold Sun Island.

This point of contention left Xing Yumiao unsure of how to deal with Qin Lie. He could no longer make a decision.

At this point in time, Xing Yao had already gone to Qin Lie’s rooms and told him about how the Xing brothers requested that he come to Xing Shengnan’s room.

“I told you to leave yesterday, but you just refuse to listen,” Xing Yao said as they walked through hallway, a cold expression on her face. Since she also hadn’t slept for the whole night, she had black circles around her eyes as well. “You won’t die if you don’t court death.”

“Are you saying that I’m simply courting death?” Qin Lie asked, calm and indifferent.

“You will die a horrible death,” Xing Yao declared icily.

Five years ago, her father told her that Xing Shan had died long ago, so she knew that Qin Lie was a fake the second he appeared.

She was well aware of what happened to people who pretended to be members of the Xing Family just to spy on Gold Sun Island.

She knew that Qin Lie wouldn’t last three days before… disappearing.

She also knew that him disappearing would make her aunt sad. That her aunt would try to look for him.

“You’ve come, little brother!” Xing Shengnan stood up and greeted him with a smile.

Qin Lie entered the room with calm, confident strides.

“This is your big brother, and this is your second brother,” Xing Shengnan said hastily, introducing them to Qin Lie.

Qin Lie laughed, nodded, and bowed to them, casually calling out to them.

“Hello, big brother. Hello, second brother.”

Xing Yumiao and Xing Yuyuan exchanged glances with each other. They nodded slightly, complicated expressions on their faces. Both could see helplessness in the other’s eyes.

“Can you tell us what happened to seventh grandfather? Where was he buried?” Xing Yumiao asked calmly.

“He was buried near Blood Cloud Mountain Range.” Qin Lie only had a limited knowledge of the Heavenly Calamity Continent. He was afraid of making a mistake if he said the names of places he wasn’t familiar with, so he could only use what he knew..

“The Blood Cloud Mountain Range…” Xing Yumiao snorted coldly on the inside.

In his opinion, Qin Lie used that detail to purposely expose his identity as a disciple of Blood Fiend Sect. Xing Yumiao also figured that Qin Lie knew Guo Yanzheng would reveal the fact that he cultivated the Blood Spirit Art.

This first impression convinced Xing Yumiao. The more he looked at Qin Lie, the more sure he became about how devious Qin Lie was. He believed that Qin Lie purposely chose to pose as a member of the Xing Family even though he represented Blood Fiend Sect, an unbelievably spiteful act.

“Does seventh grandfather have any other descendants?” Xing Yuyuan asked. He could tell from his big brother’s grim expression that he was irritated, but all he could do was interrupt the conversation by asking a question.

“There were other descendants, but…” Qin Lie sighed, regret filling his face. “The three great families killed all of them.”

“Fuck!” Xing Yuyuan swore inwardly.

By saying “killed all of them,” Qin Lie had cut off all other possible lines of questioning. Even if Xing Yuyuan wanted to get to the heart of Qin Lie’s lies and expose him, he no longer had any way to do so.

By this point, Xing Yuyuan was frowning deeply. He just nodded and said, “How tragic.”

He refrained from saying anything else. Instead, he thought about how he could kill Qin Lie after slipping away from his little sister.

“Let’s leave things like this,” Xing Yumiao suddenly said. “I have an urgent matter I need to discuss with Yao’er. We’ll arrange to have Xing Lie added to the family tree once we return to Gold Sun Island.”

“Big brother! Second brother!” Xing Shengnan exclaimed. “You have a lot of Soul Nurturing Pills on you, right? Would you please lend a few to little brother? He has just reached the late stage of the Netherpassage Realm, so he needs to stabilize it as soon as possible.”

Xing Shengnan wasn’t sensitive to subtle cues of emotion. Not only did she not notice anything amiss, she even requested pills on Qin Lie’s behalf.

The Xing brothers felt their headaches worsen. They had no choice but to force themselves to give Qin Lie a few pills. Their faces were frighteningly grim.

“Thank you, big brother. Second brother.” Qin Lie accepted the pills with a chuckle.

“Come with me, Yao’er.” Xing Yumiao walked out of the room, a solemn expression on his face.

Xing Yao rushed to follow after him.

“Hahaha… Little sister, I have a small matter I need to take care of. I’ll be returning to the deck,” Xing Yuyuan said and walked out of the room as well. He returned to the Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix, preparing to talk with his big brother before making any decisions.

“They…” This situation left Qin Lie somewhat embarrassed.

“Unlike me, they’re quite busy. Just ignore them.” Xing Shengnan said, then nodded at him with a wide smile. “You did well last night. I really like that young woman.”

Qin Lie could only laugh dryly.

At the other end of the hallway, Xing Yumiao arrived at Xing Yao’s rooms and entered the cultivation room. His face grim, he let out a snort and exclaimed, “You knew that seventh grandfather passed away a long time ago! Why didn’t you stop this person from meeting your aunt?”

“By the time I found out about him, it was already too late.” Xing Yao bowed her head, accepting the blame.

Xing Yumiao fell silent, pondering for a moment.

“When are you going to do it, father?” Xing Yao asked hesitantly. “Are we doing the same thing as before?”

“Do what?” Xing Yumiao snorted.

“Kill that fake bastard, of course,” Xing Yao said as a matter of course.

“Haah… if only things were that simple,” Xing Yumiao sighed, shaking his head. “We cannot kill this person.”

Xing Yao was dumbfounded.

……