Spirit Realm

Observing Qin Lie’s gloomy face as he walked in side by side with Lian Rou, Song Tingyu slightly furrowed her brows.

She took out her jade pendant and then quickly contacted Profound Heaven Alliance. She hoped to learn of Armament Sect’s situation in this manner.

However, Profound Heaven Alliance’s receiver at the other end told her that Armament Sect had been extremely peaceful and quiet during this period of time and that nothing abnormal had happened.

“Something’s not right…”

Song Tingyu began to feel increasingly puzzled. After pondering for a moment, she suddenly smiled and began to walk towards the entrance.

“Who are you?” The outer sect disciple called Liu Xiang asked. He had constantly paid attention to Song Tingyu, looking at her tempting beauty as his heart began to blaze. Now that Song Tingyu had walked over, he quickly walked up and greeted her. Ecstatically, he stood in front of her and blocked her way as he said, “Our sect master has given the order to not let anyone enter unless they are a disciple of the sect.”

“I am the person you were talking about earlier, Profound Heaven Alliance’s witch.” Song Tingyu sweetly smiled.

Liu Xiang’s expression slightly faltered.

A strange light suddenly flashed through Song Tingyu’s enchanting eyes as she looked deeply at Liu Xiang. She laughed softly and then said, “Let me enter, okay?”

Liu Xiang’s expression immediately went blank as if he were in a daze. He had already forgotten who he was. As if he were stuck deep inside a dream he would never wake up from, he muttered deliriously, “You can enter…”

“Thanks.” Song Tingyu chuckled, her laugh like a ringing bell as she casually entered the new sect entrance of Armament Sect

“Sis, wasn’t Qin Lie Armament Sect’s sect master? How… how come even he was prevented from bringing us in?” Ling Xuanxuan suddenly asked.

Ling Chengzhi, Ling Feng, and the rest were also shocked and confused. They just couldn’t tell what had happened to Armament Sect.

“Let us just wait outside for a while.” Ling Yushi’s expression was indifferent. She didn’t take advantage of the time Liu Xiang was dazed. Instead of entering with the Ling Family, she said, “Everyone stay together. Don’t walk too far away. Also, don’t move carelessly. All we have to do is wait. I believe that it won’t be long before Qin Lie can arrange for us to enter with ease.”

“If Qin Lie has lost his power and influence over Armament Sect, it might not necessarily be the right choice for us to stay at Armament Sect.” Light flashed through family elder Ling Kangan’s eyes as he said, “Everyone think carefully, think carefully about our future. Sigh. If we truly carry the title of evil race, then just how can our Ling Family remain on the Scarlet Tide Continent in the future?”

The Ling Family members once again fell into a deep silence.

……

“Senior Sister Lian Rou, the changes in this last half a year have been very great. Many new wooden buildings have been built, and the sect feels like a sect again,” Qin Lie said with a calm face as they walked further in.

As he walked along, he saw many new faces. They ought to be the people who had come in from the many Armament Pavilions scattered across the land.

He would see a familiar face every so often. After seeing Qin Lie and feeling a brief moment of shock, those people would then nod to him in greeting. However, emotions flickered through their eyes as they saw him, as if they were ashamed to see him.

This caused Qin Lie to understand that, in this last half year, some unforeseen event must have happened.

“Not long after you left, Sect Master Ying Xingran was revived by Profound Heaven Alliance. When he awoke, his mind was in great condition. He no longer had the aura of a person at death’s door. Under his command, we began to construct these wooden structures. Moreover, with the return of the sect’s personnel from the scattered Armament Pavilions, we also began to gradually expand. Thus, we were able to recover some of our past glory.”

Lian Rou’s steps slowed down as she suddenly said, “Upon hearing the news that you had fallen into the Nether Realm, Sect Master and the three great reverends acted as if you had died. They grieved for a while, but then never really expressed any sadness afterward. All they said was… that it was regrettable you didn’t leave behind the forging methods for the Terminator Profound Bomb…

“When the Ling Family was pressured by Seven Fiends Valley, they symbolically reprimanded Seven Fiends Valley a few times, but clearly didn’t actually want to help the Ling Family for you. Later on, when Seven Fiends Valley forced Ling Yushi and Ling Xuanxuan to be betrothed to Li Zhongzheng and Bu Xiang as concubines, Dark Asura Hall’s Tu Shixiong sent news over in hopes that Armament Sect would be willing to join them in stopping Seven Fiends Valley, but Sect Master and the rest just ignored them.”

Qin Lie’s expression became extremely cold, but he remained silent.

He suddenly began to kind of understand why Yi Yuan had rebelled against the sect and did the things that he did.

On one hand, it was for Lian Rou. On the other hand, it was because Yi Yuan was extremely disappointed with Ying Xingran and the others.

As Yi Yuan said in the past, when Lian Rou and Tang Siqi had been captured by Blood Shadow, he himself had personally reported the news to Ying Xingran.

However, at the time, Ying Xingran had just acted as if Lian Rou’s and Tang Siqi’s lives weren’t as valuable as Qin Lie’s. After calculating the pros and cons, not only had he given up on Lian Rou and Tang Siqi, he had also ordered Yi Yuan to not tell Qin Lie about the matter.

At this moment, as he listened to Lian Rou’s words, Qin Lie suddenly began to have a deeper understanding of the feelings that Yi Yuan felt at that time.

“Don’t think of it as an accident, Sect Master and the three great reverends have always been like this.” Lian Rou bitterly smiled. “In their eyes, it is only worth it to fully support the training of people who will be able to expand the sect and bring it hope. It was because of this philosophy that they sacrificed Tang Siqi and I so easily. It was because of this that, when you still had yet to display your talent in the past, they turned a blind eye to Liang Shaoyang’s attempts to murder you…”

Qin Lie’s face became grave.

“This instance was the same. They weren’t willing to make such massive movements just because of a ‘dead person.’ They believed that it wasn’t worth it and that it wouldn’t help Armament Sect grow at all.” Lian Rou was extremely direct with her words, continuing, “They don’t do anything that doesn’t benefit the sect.”

“I thank Senior Sister Lian Rou for enlightening me,” Qin Lie said deeply.

“Currently, in the eyes of the Sect Master and three great reverends, Fan Le is their true favorite,” Lian Rou snorted as she suddenly stopped, her brows furrowing.

“Fan Le? Who is he? How come I seem to have never heard of this name before? When did our Armament Sect gain someone like this?” Qin Lie coldly asked.

“I also don’t know who he is.” As Lian Rou mentioned this person, an obvious trace of disgust emerged within her eyes. “He suddenly arrived at Armament Sect a month ago accompanied by… some male and female pets, requesting to meet the sect master. From what I saw, the sect master and three great reverends were doubtful in the beginning, but when they saw the strange token that Fan Le produced, Sect Master and the three great reverends immediately became overjoyed and hurriedly invited him into a room in a respectful manner. There, they privately conversed for quite some time.”

“Male and female pets?” Qin Lie asked, dumbfounded.

Lian Rou laughed bitterly, then said, “Indeed. Male and female pets. This Fan Le… is infatuated with both males and females, and his hobbies are very strange.

Qin Lie was completely speechless.

“The token he took out was engraved and painted with the picture of an orgy between males and females. This Fan Le has recently turned the sect upside down, but the Sect Master and the three great reverends still stand by his side!” Lian Rou ground her teeth. “Siqi was ogled by Fan Le and could only go hide in the depths of the poisonous bog under the pretense of going to pick spirit herbs. As for me, if not for my secret techniques which makes my entire body poisonous, I’m afraid I would have also become entangled with those evil fellows.”

As Lian Rou spoke, she suddenly displayed some kind of secret art. Afterwards, strands of poisonous smoke began to emerge from her entire body. Her skin also became a frightening purple, as if it were highly toxic.

“Only after I displayed this did Fan Le not target me, allowing me to peacefully remain in the sect,” Lian Rou sighed.

“That Fan Le probably came from the Joyful Union Sect.” Song Tingyu’s gentle voice emanated from behind. She had seemingly been secretly listening this entire time as she now suddenly appeared beside Qin Lie and Lian Rou. “The Joyful Union Sect originates from the nearby Heavenly Fate Continent and is a Copper force like Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple. In the past, the great person who sheltered Armament Sect was a powerful practitioner who came from Joyful Union Sect. We only decided to join hands and attack Armament Sect after we learned that this powerful practitioner had left Joyful Union Sect and his many years of silence.”

“How long have you been listening for?” Qin Lie grunted.

“I’ve been listening since the start.” Song Tingyu smiled sweetly, as if she hadn’t seen the dissatisfaction on Qin Lie’s face, then continued, “Upon seeing the token Fan Le took out and learning that he was a person from the Joyful Union Sect, Ying Xingran and Armament Sect’s three great reverends would naturally regard him as a savior. It makes sense that they would definitely take care of him.”

“You are saying that he can solve Armament Sect’s crisis?” Qin Lie’s brows furrowed.

“Let me put it this way. In the past, the only reason Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple didn’t move against Armament Sect was due to misgivings about Joyful Union Sect. Joyful Union Sect is a Copper force like my Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple, but its strength is indeed a level higher than both of us. Only if my Profound Heaven Alliance were to work with Eight Extreme Temple would we possibly be able to compete with Joyful Union Sect.”

Song Tingyu didn’t bother hiding anything from Qin Lie and said frankly, “This Fan Le arrived holding a keepsake of Joyful Union Sect. Thus, as of right now, Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple no longer dare to move against Armament Sect. For Armament Sect, the symbol of Joyful Union Sect’s keepsake is their life-saving talisman. It takes their relationship with Joyful Union Sect to the next level and emboldens Armament Sect. Atop the Scarlet Tide Continent, Armament Sect no longer has to cower before my Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple.”

“So they have climbed to a higher branch.” Qin Lie’s eyes became slightly cold.

“Where’s Qin Lie?”

“Is Qin Lie around here?”

At this time, the voices of Ying Xingran, Luo Zhichang, and others echoed over from in front of the newly constructed Procedural Hall. They seemed to have just received the news as they walked out with joyful expressions on their faces.

Qin Lie stood in a corner and watched from a distance. Observing the happy expressions on their faces, he suddenly began to feel some annoyance in his heart.

“Qin Lie? Is he the fellow that pulled out the spirit pattern pillars and opened the evil nether passageway? He still dares to return?” An unfamiliar voice which contained an inexplicable arrogance resonated out from within the Procedural Hall., “The opening of the evil nether passageway caused the entire Scarlet Tide Continent to undergo a calamity. The culprit of all this is Qin Lie!”

The person’s words then took a turn as he sneered and said, “From my point of view, Qin Lie must have made a deal with the evil races! Otherwise, after falling into the Nether Realm, how could he have possibly escaped alive with his low level of cultivation? Heh, I’m afraid his falling into the Nether Realm was to go and personally speak of his merits to the evil races and to tell the evil races that he had helped them open the passageway. This is definitely the case!”

Before this Fan Le had even shown himself, he had already relentlessly slandered Qin Lie.

“Th-this…”

Observing Ying Xingran, Luo Zhichang, and the rest, only a look of embarrassment emerged on their faces as they awkwardly chuckled upon hearing Fan Le’s words. They actually seemed reluctant to refute his words, as if they were afraid of offending him.

This caused Qin Lie to become increasingly disappointed in them.