Spirit Realm

“Uncle, now that you mention it, that human youngster does look quite similar to the Venerable One.”

Duo Luo, the Horned Demon warrior with six horns, knelt and saluted Qin Shan’s sculpture once before standing up again. His deep, dark eyes gazed carefully at the wooden sculpture.

“He has the Venerable One’s keepsake with him!” The old man exclaimed.

Duo Luo’s expression changed as he couldn’t help but cry out, “The Venerable One’s keepsake?! Uncle, are you sure?”

“I am not one who can confirm that, but this can!” The old geezer gripped the wooden sculpture in his hands tightly. Demonic light blinked deep within his pupils. “The Venerable One once promised our race that he would one day open the evil nether passageway and allow my race to return to their homeland. Our race also made an agreement and a promise with the Venerable One at that time!”

Duo Luo’s expression was solemn as he said, “But we have not communicated with the Venerable One for a very long time, have we?”

“As long as the Venerable One is alive, the agreement will not be broken. Even if he has died, as long as the keepsake exists and as long as they are willing to acknowledge it, then the agreement is still valid!” The old man pondered and thought seriously for a moment before saying, “The Venerable One is not one who breaks promises. For the past few years, he should have been looking for the evil nether passageway and attempting to open it. Now, the evil nether passageway has been opened and this human youngster who possesses the Venerable One’s keepsake has even fallen from the passage to the Nether Realm. All of this… may very well be the Venerable One’s arrangements. The passage was likely opened by the Venerable One. The fact that he allowed this youngster to step into the Nether Realm may very well be a signal to us!”

“What signal?” Duo Luo asked.

“He is telling us that he has upheld the agreement and helped us open the evil nether passageway!” The old man said word by word.

Duo Luo’s tough body abruptly shuddered. “In that case, the Venerable One is requesting us to uphold our side of the agreement as well?”

“That should be the case.” The old man’s tone was affirmative.

“That human youngster has caused a huge commotion among our race. He has even acted recklessly at the Demon God Mountain Range. If he came under the Venerable One’s arrangements, he shouldn’t be provoking us, should he? He doesn’t seem to know the truth…” Duo Luo asked again.

“Yes, he probably doesn’t know the truth but, since he holds the Venerable One’s keepsake with him and looks like the Venerable One, then he must be someone close to the Venerable One. It may be that the Venerable One does not wish for him to know about the agreement between us and thus kept the kid in the dark.” The old man guessed.

“Then what do we do now, Uncle? That youngster is probably trying to return to the Scarlet Tide Continent through the Nether Battlefield. Are we going to stop them?” Duo Luo asked.

“Since the Venerable One has kept him in the dark, it is probably to keep him from knowing too much. That is why I have not exposed him and tried speaking to him even though I detected the keepsake on his body just now.” The old man said thoughtfully. “If the Venerable One does not wish for him to know, then we shall respect his wishes. The fact that he has carried the keepsake down to the Nether Realm and caused such a huge commotion at the Demon God Mountain Range, alerting you and I, may be the Venerable One’s orders. He is telling us that he has upheld the agreement and opened the evil nether passageway.”

“We let them leave, then?” Duo Luo confirmed again.

The old man nodded, “Notify the men at the Nether Battlefield. The warriors in the bottom three levels are to let them through without leaving behind any trace.”

Duo Luo nodded and said, “Understood.”

……

A few days later.

Qin Lie and Song Tingyu arrived at a huge, towering mountain. The gigantic mountain stabbed deep into the thick clouds. The surrounding area was thick with nether demonic energy.

The duo stood at the foot of the gigantic mountain. They were a little surprised that they could not see its peak.

“Qin Lie, are you sure that we must enter the Nether Battlefield from this mountain’s peak?” Song Tingyu’s eyes shone with a strange light.

“If the memories I analyzed are correct, then this mountain peak, which the Horned Demon clansmen call the ‘Sky Stairs,’ is the way to the Nether Battlefield. According to their memories, as long as we move along the mountain and head all the way towards the sky, we will be able to arrive at the lowest floor of the Nether Battlefield…” Qin Lie chose his words carefully and said quietly, “That is to say, the Nether Realm where the Horned Demon Race live is right beneath the lowest floor of Nether Battlefield.”

Song Tingyu shuddered a little while exclaiming softly, “Then do you know where the Nether Battlefield is in the Scarlet Tide Continent?”

“Where?” Qin Lie was confused.

“The bottom of the Purple Mist Sea.” Song Tingyu’s expression was odd.

Qin Lie also went blank for a moment.

A rather clear image suddenly appeared in his mind—it was a spatial structure diagram.

Beneath the deep, immeasurable depths of the Purple Mist Sea, there was an entrance that reached straight to the Nether Battlefield.

There were seven levels of the Nether Battlefield in total and they were right at the bottom of the Purple Mist Sea. The bottom of the seven wide levels of Nether Battlefield was actually the Nether Realm’s “Sky Stairs,” mountain peak that connected to this region…

Purple Mist Sea was at the edge of the Scarlet Tide Continent. The depths of the sea were several meters deep and the underground several meters beneath it was called the Nether Battlefield. There was no telling exactly how deep or wide the seven levels of Nether Battlefield were and, if one was to go beneath it, they would reach the dark gray skies of the Nether Realm. If they went further, they would reach the vast lands of the Nether Realm.

Qin Lie suddenly realized just how magical the evil nether passageway was. They had passed through the evil nether passageway and who knows how much of a dimensional distance from the Scarlet Tide Continent to reach the Nether Realm directly. Just how wondrous of a feat was this?

With the existence of evil nether passageway, the evil races of the Nether Realm did not have to go through the “Sky Stairs” to enter the Nether Battlefield. They did not need to go through the seven levels of the Nether Battlefield and pass through several thousand meters of water to reach the backlands of the Scarlet Tide Continent. They could go directly to Armament Sect.

“The boundless universe is truly miraculous. It is only today that I have gotten a clearer understanding of the gap between the Nether Realm and Scarlet Tide Continent. Space… is truly mysterious and immense. Unfathomable secrets are contained within it.” Song Tingyu exclaimed.

“Let’s go. We need to avoid the Horned Demon clansmen as much as possible. The mountain peak is so high that it may not be so easy to climb up to the final level of the Nether Battlefield.” Qin Lie raised his head and looked at the mountain peak covered by thick clouds. “We don’t know if there are Horned Demon elites watching over the mountain peak either. If there are, then it will be troublesome to deal with them…”

“How would there be no elites standing guard at this time?” Song Tingyu let out a quiet sigh. “You’ve caused such a commotion in the Demon God Mountain Range that, if I were a Horned Demon clansman, I would’ve been furious as well. They’re not stupid; they must have guessed that we would be returning through the Nether Battlefield. I predict that there will be Horned Demon warriors with five horns standing guard at the mountain peak. They are just waiting for us to fall into their trap.”

“Then we…” Qin Lie’s expression was heavy.

“We will have to charge through by force! At this time, it may be that the opponent has not yet organized powerful defenders to stand guard over the entrance. If we continue to delay until a Horned Demon warrior with six horns shows up, then it will truly be a dead end for us.” Song Tingyu’s expression became a gaze of determination. “If it is just a five horned warrior, there is hope for us to charge through using everything I have and unleashing my forbidden arts. However, I will be weakened for a time after unleashing the forbidden arts. You will have to protect me from all harm in the bottom three levels of the Nether Battlefield. If you can’t, then all that’s left for us is death.”

“I will do my best.” Qin Lie exclaimed softly.

Qin Lie was secretly shocked. He did not expect that Song Tingyu actually still had a trick up her sleeves. Even up against a five horned warrior that can rival a Fulfillment Realm expert, she had the confidence to break through the entrance with her forbidden arts and lead him into the Nether Battlefield. This alone showed how strong this woman was.

“Let us recover our strength before we climb the mountain. We may run into Horned Demon elites at any time upon entering this mountain.” After carving out a cave beneath the foot of the mountain, Song Tingyu climbed in before waving for Qin Lie to come in as well “What kind of spirit materials do you need to forge the Terminator Profound Bombs? List all of the ingredients and I’ll see if I have them in my spatial ring. If I do have them, then it would be best if you could forge a few more Terminator Profound Bombs. They would be very useful as a last resort when we charge into the Nether Battlefield.”

“Oh. Pay attention then…” Qin Lie also knew how effective the Terminator Profound Bombs would be when they charged through the Nether Battlefield later. He no longer had any misgivings, knowing it was in order to return to the Scarlet Tide Continent alive. He told her all the ingredients required to forge the Terminator Profound Bombs.

Song Tingyu narrowed her eyes. Her long eyelashes shook slightly and her eyes shone with a divine light. She listened to Qin Lie seriously.

When Qin Lie finished stating all of the spirit materials he needed, she let out a bright smile. “Heh, what a coincidence, I have all the spirit materials you need. In fact, I have quite a bit of them. Take a look…”

Rays of rainbow light shot out of the spatial ring on her translucent, jade-like finger. Spirit materials were put on display one by one amidst the light.

They were all the spirit materials required to forge a Terminator Profound Bomb!

Qin Lie was dumbfounded for a moment before he stared deeply at Song Tingyu and said in shock, “You seem to have prepared this long in advance.”

“Profound Heaven Alliance wishes to acquire the method to forge the Terminator Profound Bomb, therefore… I prepared a little bit of all thunder type supportive materials.” Song Tingyu did not deny it and smiled. “Originally, I was going to trade with Armament Sect. We would provide the materials and Armament Sect would forge the Terminator Profound Bombs. Then, we would purchase the final product for a price. That is why I have these materials prepared. Yet I had not expected that the trade I had planned for would be completely rejected by you…”

“Your plan was very thorough and your preparations were sufficient.” Qin Lie looked at the materials on the ground and thought for a moment before saying, “This cave is a little too small, and it is not secure enough. We need additional cover to prevent spirit energy from escaping…”

Qin Lie had a furnace and a source of fire in his spatial ring. He wasn’t lacking in anything. As long as the stone cave was wide enough and well hidden enough to prevent the Horned Demon clansmen from discovering them, he could begin forging at any moment.

“Not a problem at all. I can solve all of that for you.” Song Tingyu continued to carve the stone cave with her sharp blade to make it wider. Then she blocked the stone door and covered it up with some wild grass. She used many magical, ribbon-like jade sheets to form a miraculous barrier that covered up their aura…

Before long, a cave similar to the one Qin Lie used in Armament Sect was completed under her hard work.

Song Tingyu had even formed a magic barrier surrounding the cave that could prevent sound and spirit energy aura from leaking.

“How is it? Can you begin now?” After finishing up all these, she asked smilingly.

“I can.” Qin Lie nodded. “Now the only thing left is for you to leave.”

“It is too dangerous outside. I have exhausted myself greatly so I’m going to rest inside the cave.” Song Tingyu rolled her eyes at him before sitting down at the side. She took out spirit stones, closed her eyes, and began replenishing her strength.

—it was obvious that she wasn’t going to leave.

Qin Lie thought to himself, hesitating for a moment. This was the Nether Realm and Song Tingyu wasn’t an artificer after all. So he did not insist on driving her away and began forging the Terminator Profound Bombs.

He did not notice that Song Tingyu had opened her eyes a tiny bit, allowing her to observe his every movement while he attentively merged the spirit materials with his furnace.

Song Tingyu secretly recorded every movement he made, every method he used, the order every spirit material was placed in, and even every minuscule pause.