Spirit Realm

Forefather Terminator’s eyes glowed with a shade of gray reminiscent of the dark cloud cover in the sky above. All of the explosive thunder that filled the valley suddenly went strangely silent, and the flaring lightning froze in midair like translucent tree branches. The shouts that came from outside the valley came to a stop too.

Before long, a middle-aged man that stood over two meters tall appeared. His dark blue heavy armor clanked and clattered as he swiftly entered the valley.

“Thump thump thump thump…”

The valley seemed to tremble and groan with every single step he took.

The moment this man showed up, Chu Li respectfully saluted him.

“Junior Uncle Lei Yan!” he said.

“Senior brother,” Lei Yan said as he approached, his face fixed into a rough grimace. “If Shi Xiuling’s message is true, the body of the Asura War God should be among those bodies of ancient elites as well!”

A spark of electricity flashed through Forefather Terminator’s grayish brown eyes. He pondered for a moment, then said, “You two send word to Hei Shite and take him with you to the Setting Sun Islands as soon as possible!”

“Hei Shite?” Chu Li asked, overwhelmed with shock.

“You’re inviting Hei Shite to go with us?” Even Lei Yan seemed surprised. “Wouldn’t that be a bit…?”

“Forefather!” Chu Li exclaimed. “Lord Hei Shite is an Asura Race expert. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for him to go there and select the body of an ancient elite?”

“We owe the Asura Race a favor,” Forefather Terminator said in a solemn voice. “Giving Hei Shite the chance to obtain his ancestor’s remains will be our way of paying them back.”

Forefather Terminator paused for a moment, then continued,” This Qin Lie is actually willing to reserve three bodies of ancient elite for you even though he didn’t know if you were dead or alive… he’s a good kid.”

“I’ve heard rumors about that kid being a remnant evil of Blood Fiend Sect,” Lei Yan interjected. “…that he cultivates the Blood Spirit Art.”

Chu Li chuckled bitterly. “He does, indeed, cultivate the Blood Spirit Art.”

“We have a normal relationship with the Asura Race, so who cares if we’re friendly with Blood Fiend Sect?” Forefather Terminator said with a careless wave of his hand. “Back when the Asura Race invaded the Land of Chaos, eating unfathomable numbers of martial practitioners alive, they were considered demons and devil. The likes of Jiang Zhuzhe and his men definitely don’t hold a candle to the sin of the Asura Race.”

“Understood.” Lei Yan nodded. “I will inform Hei Shite.”

“Go,” Forefather Terminator said. “And remember to bring Qin Lie back here once you have finished with that.”

……

A grand palace stood in the depths of Illusory Demon Sect territory. Numerous statues around a dozen meters tall lined its halls, their visages constantly shifting from one appearance to the next and making it difficult for people to get a good look at them.

In a vast room at the center of that palace, Xue Moyan knelt in front of an impressive throne, waiting for the woman sitting in it to speak. That woman possessed an illusory appearance as indistinct as the statues’. Contrary to how she looked, however, her voice rang loud and clear.

“I had Xiuling send word to Terminator Sect telling them that they could choose three bodies of ancient elites for themselves,” she said. “Them sending someone to do so will indicate that they don’t mind your identities as members of Blood Fiend Sect.”

“Thank you for all of your care, master,” Xue Moyan said softly.

“Luo Nan and Yan Baiyi of Heavenly Sword Mountain have already mobilized,” Yu Lingwei continued. Her gentle voice seemed to contain a magical, heartwarming power. “It won’t take long for them to arrive in the Heavenly Slaughter Continent and reach the Setting Sun Islands. With the acknowledgment of Heavenly Sword Mountain, Terminator Sect, and now Illusory Demon Sect, half of the six great Silver rank forces no longer abide by the terms set a thousand years ago. This means that Blood Fiend Sect will finally be able to see the light of day once more.”

Xue Moyan, still kneeling to the floor, trembled. Tears welled in her eyes.

This was what all of Blood Fiend Sect had always dreamed of!

“Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families can no longer claim that surviving members of Blood Fiend Sect are remnant evils that need to be exterminated. Their cause is no longer just.” Yu Lingwei sighed, then said, “However, if they continue to attack Blood Fiend Sect and justify it as inter-force conflict, you will still be at a great disadvantage.”

Xue Moyan gritted her teeth, resolve shining in her eyes.

“I won’t be able to provide any help in a conflict of such magnitude,” Yu Lingwei said grimly. “Blood Fiend Sect is also a Silver rank force after all. It is not one of Illusory Demon Sect’s vassal forces.”

“I understand.” Xue Moyan nodded slightly.

Conflicts between Silver rank forces had always been unfathomably brutal. Unless Blood Fiend Sect were willing to relinquish their independence and submit to Illusory Demon Sect as a vassal force, Illusory Demon Sect had no reason to interfere.

Conflict was eternal in the Land of Chaos, but even the bitterest of battles needed to follow certain conventions.

“This manhunt went on for more than a thousand years.” Yu Lingwei shook her head. “I hope Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families will be able to restrain themselves and cease their activities after this.”

She sighed again.

“The path you’ve chosen is an incredibly harsh one, Moyan.”

“This is what my mother, my father, and every elder of Blood Fiend Sect wants,” Xue Moyan declared. “No matter how hard it is to walk this path, no matter what price we have to pay, we will continue walking it.”

“Very well.” Yu Lingwei waved her hands. “Find your father. I hope he is still as aggressive and powerful as he was a thousand years ago.”

Xue Moyan bowed and left.

……

Back in the Setting Sun Islands, Xie Jingxuan, Song Tingyu, Luo Chen, and Du Xiangyang spent all their time and effort on the ancient elite bodies they had chosen, working hard to absorb everything that remained inside of them.

Qin Lie did not stay idle either. He used soul crystals and the Demon Sealing Tombstone to replenish his soul energy and blood day and night, facilitating the Soul Suppressing Orb’s creation of the new beings.

As of today, Qin Lie worked hard to recover the soul energy and blood that the Soul Suppressing had once again drained from him.

He condensed a wisp of soul consciousness and sent it into the orb, quietly observing its work.

Qin Lie had long since gotten used to this. Every time the Soul Suppressing Orb generated a powerful vacuum force and drained him of his soul energy and blood, which was every three to five days, Qin Lie just watched silently.

This time, he saw a seemingly endless river of light flowing to the restricted areas deep within the Soul Suppressing Orb. Soon enough, all of the soul energy and blood that this round of absorption drained from him entered this long river.

Qin Lie followed this river into the distance. It resembled a ribbon of light that became smaller and smaller as it continued deeper into the orb’s inner world.

This ribbon of light entered the space in which the ancient spirit diagrams and the frost concept diagram hovered in midair.

The Blood Progenitor’s body also inhabited this space, surrounded by a ball of bloody light that looked like a blood vessel.

In all actuality, this was the second space inside of the Soul Suppressing Orb. No matter where he looked, Qin Lie could only see an unrelenting haze of mist.

However, the five enormous diagrams that resembled clouds and the Blood Progenitor’s body weren’t the only things that existed in this space. As of this moment, Qin Lie used his soul perception and discovered that this space wasn’t nearly as vast as he originally thought.

Mist surged in the area directly behind the spirit diagrams. It almost seemed as if it were alive. The ribbon of light carrying Qin Lie’s soul energy and blood ultimately flowed to that area and disappeared within.

Qin Lie knew that this specific area led to the third space within the Soul Suppressing Orb. His wisp of soul consciousness flickered and arrived at this area of writhing mist. After a moment of hesitation, he tried entering it.

The second he did, a tearing sensation flooded his soul consciousness and made it tremble uncontrollably.

In spite of that, his wisp of soul consciousness managed to actually break through that restriction. In the next instant, it entered the third space within the Soul Suppressing Orb.

He had finally reached the third space!

This third space housed an enormous compound spirit diagram that filled every inch of it. It resembled spider web that enveloped the entire world!

Countless dense glowing blood vessels crisscrossed to form an indescribable, mysterious spirit diagram. Numerous basic spirit diagrams made up this enormous spirit diagram, and even more profound middle ranked spirit diagrams that Qin Lie had never seen before were visible inside of it.

The second Qin Lie’s wisp of soul consciousness entered this space, he came into contact with the blood vessels. This enormous, web-like diagram abruptly flared with intense light. Almost as if a magical lamp had been lit, all of this space instantly became incredibly bright. Information gushed into Qin Lie like a torrential onslaught. The remainder of his soul energy quickly ran out as a result.

This wisp of soul consciousness promptly became indistinct and rapidly dissipated.

“Whoosh…!”

The main portion of Qin Lie’s soul consciousness suddenly rushed from the third space inside of the Soul Suppressing Orb. It flew through the second space to the first, then exited the space between his eyebrows and returned to his Soul Lake.

In that instant, information on how to inscribe multiple middle rank spirit diagrams flooded into his mind like a tidal wave. This knowledge engraved itself into the depths of his soul like numerous translucent mental imprints.

Qin Lie’s back suddenly became ramrod straight, frozen where he sat. His eyes were gray and dim, and he seemed to have entered a strange meditative state.

He was currently in the middle of digesting the tremendous amount of information that flooded into him. He worked to organize the knowledge that the miraculous spirit diagram in the third space had transmitted to him and learn it.

As he did, a loud voice continuously rumbled in his head, leaving him a bit dazed.

“A spirit diagram holds the structure of the world and its laws within its lines. It is the most realistic, straightforward, and in-depth expression of power!”