Spirit Realm

At the bottom level of the Nether Battlefield.

Under the dark red sky, a giant blood crystal altar that appeared to be forged from Blood Essence Stone shone with translucent blood red light.

The blood crystal altar was translucent and crystalline. Qin Lie was inside of it, surrounded by wisps of bloody light.

The blood crystal altar was about two thousand five hundred square meters, shaped like a three story round tower. Qin Lie was located deep within the altar as if he had been frozen and sealed within its blood crystal.

Meanwhile, half of Xue Li’s soul was like a blood-colored ghost suspended high atop the blood crystal altar.

Ripples of turbulent waves emanated from Xue Li’s soul, spreading to the surroundings like the tide of the sea.

Wisps of rich and refined blood spirit energy flowed like hundreds of thousands of rivers to the sea, attracted by his soul fluctuations and gathering from all over the place.

The more the blood spirit energy got closer to Xue Li’s soul, the closer they were to the blood crystal altar, the purer they became as they were cleansed and refined.

Gradually, the blood spirit energy gathered unto itself to form mist. From mist they condensed to form bloody vapor and, a while later, they had turned into crystalline droplets of blood!

The blood droplets fell like rain onto the blood crystal altar.

The light within the blood crystal altar grew more and more bright and dazzling. The blood spirit energy was so thick that it was suffocating, yet actually carried an absolutely inconceivable clean and sweet smell.

Not far away from the altar, Song Tingyu’s eyes glittered with an awed light. She had been sitting quietly all this time and the expression of shock on her face that looked like she was about to faint hadn’t faded in the slightest.

Just a few days ago, she had seen Xue Li executing some kind of secret arts with her own eyes, continuously gathering the blood spirit energy from this so-called “ultimate blood ground.” He had continuously gathered spirit energy and refined the spirit energy of the blood into literal liquid blood. Through Qin Lie’s frost powers, this bloodwater was magically frozen and shaped into the blood crystal altar.

Once the blood crystal altar was built, the might of Xue Li’s secret art increased greatly. It was as if Xue Li’s soul energy had covered the entirety of the ultimate blood ground, pulling all of the existing blood spirit energy over to help Qin Lie cultivate his Blood Spirit Art and refine his blood, assisting him in filling his blood with the surging energy.

Song Tingyu could feel magnificent blood energy coming from Qin Lie’s body inside the blood crystal altar. She knew that, with every passing second, Qin Lie’s blood became more refined and powerful.

This feeling was so incredibly distinct.

“Blood crystal altar. Ultimate blood ground. Blood spirit energy, Blood Spirit Art, Blood Fiend Sect…” Song Tingyu muttered while her face let out a look of deep worry.

She suddenly realized that this Xue Li, who had suddenly appeared on the Scarlet Tide Continent, might bring a change to the Scarlet Tide Continent that would shock everyone.

……

At the Demon God Mountain Range.

The old Horned Demon’s eyes were deep and quiet, thinking god knows what as he stared at the demonic body that had appeared after the two Evil Gods had collapsed.

The snake-headed Evil God, the devil-winged Evil God were now much shorter when compared to the three other tall mountains. They looked a bit off.

After Qin Lie, the gigantic thunder python, and Xue Li had slipped away, the two Evil Gods had become quiet once more, standing in front of the Demon God Mountain Range. It was as if they had exhausted all the energy in their bodies or entered a kind of hibernation.

“Uncle, the Evil Gods are fine, aren’t they?” An old priest gripping a white bone scepter asked carefully.

There were many Horned Demon priests and warriors who were also looking at the old demon in awe.

It was obvious that this old demon’s status was special among the Horned Dem Race. He was deeply trusted and respected by these clansmen.

“The Evil Gods have just exhausted their accumulated energy and fallen asleep once more. However, this kind of sleep will not last. It won’t be long before they awaken once more.” While his ghost eyes burned, the old demon stared deeply at the Evil God that Gao Yu was in. “The Son of the Demon God has already arrived and successfully received his legacy. This means that the remnant souls of the Demon God that were scattered across the world are already slowly gathering. Moreover, the evil nether passageway has already been opened. The moment our race returns to our homeland has arrived…”

“Our race will definitely return to our homeland!”

“Our gods will definitely awaken!”

Hearing his assurance, the Horned Demon priests and warriors all stirred and hooted excitedly.

The old demon’s eyes shone with fanatic light as he rallied his men before finally arriving at the outer edge of Demon God Mountain Range, ready to meet Duo Luo who was about to march for evil nether passageway.

Outside the mountain, the densely packed Horned Demon Elites and nether beasts were all ready to go.

Duo Luo, who looked as stalwart as a mountain, was seated above a Bloodthirsty Blade Demon. Upon seeing the old demon, Duo Luo’s figure abruptly blurred before suddenly appearing beside him. Then he saluted respectfully and said, “Uncle, I am about to head for the Scarlet Tide Continent. Before I leave, I would like to tell you the latest news.”

“Speak.” The old demon said with narrowed eyes.

“I have learned their identities from Scarlet Tide’s Ka Meng. The one holding the Venerable One’s keepsake, the human youngster who looks a lot like the Venerable One, is called Qin Lie. He is the newly appointed sect master of an Armament Sect above the evil nether passageway. He knows how to forge artifacts just like the Venerable One and the evil nether passageway was coincidentally opened by him. Uncle, it appears that your assumptions were completely accurate.” Duo Luo said in awe.

“A youngster who shares the same surname as the Venerable One, holds his keepsake, knows how to forge artifacts, and even opened the evil nether passageway…” The old man nodded, “It appears that there is no mistake. This youngster was likely sent down by the Venerable One to inform us that he has fulfilled his promise to us.”

“The human girl is called Song Tingyu. Her father is the alliance chief of the Copper force above our heads, Profound Heaven Alliance.” Duo Luo’s face darkened as he said coldly. “That so-called Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Hall has been obstructing our return for many years already. Many of our clansmen have died horribly in their hands. Uncle, what do you think of this girl?”

“They haven’t left after so long?” The old demon was slightly surprised. “Haven’t you made it so that they are allowed to pass unhindered?”

“They stayed at the bottom level and did not leave. That youngster seems to be cultivating some kind of spirit art and the human girl is also staying beside him. I have listened to your orders and informed our clansmen to avoid that area as much as possible. We have been waiting for them to leave this whole time, but it seems that they are still on that level…” Duo Luo explained.

“The human youngster who holds the Venerable One’s keepsake must be the Venerable One’s close relative. We cannot let anything happen to him otherwise we will not be able to explain things to the Venerable One once we meet him. As for that human girl, you know what to do. However, you must remember not to disturb the Venerable One’s family, especially since he is cultivating at the moment. Plan carefully on your own accord.” The old demon pondered for a moment before instructing carefully.

“I know what to do.” Duo Luo grinned and answered with cold eyes.

“Mn. Now go and do what you must. When you meet Ka Meng up there, tell him not to be reckless. Observe the situation first and await our arrangements down here before deciding on the next step,” the old man said calmly.

“Don’t worry, Uncle. I have kept in contact with Ka Meng all this time. He will not act recklessly for the time being.” Duo Luo guaranteed.

“Good. That is good.”

……

Inside the blood crystal altar, Qin Lie soared freely within the blood crystal sealed with thick blood spirit energy while cultivating the Blood Spirit Art.

He felt like he was being flooded by a sea of blood. It was a strange feeling, like the sealed parts of his body were drenched in thick, pure blood again and again.

Inside the blood crystal altar, the blood vessels in Qin Lie’s body were like great unrestricted rivers. The blood inside him flowed turbulently as he continuously gathered blood spirit energy into his body with the energy channeling method of the Blood Spirit Art.

The liquid blood energy gathered by Xue Li was incredibly refined without the slightest trace of hostility or negative aura. They were like extremely purified gems with no impurity at all—it was the purest essence of blood spirit energy!

Inside the blood crystal altar, it was as if Qin Lie had connected every blood vessel in his body with the essence of blood spirit energy according to the Blood Spirit Art Xue Li taught him. He had refined, ablated, and sunk into his own blood.

All of Qin Lie’s blood looked like boiling water amidst the bloody light. It was as if it were burning and unleashing a terrifying, turbulent amount of blood energy. The energy contained within his blood radiated an incredibly refined and destructive power that caused Qin Lie to feel both surprised and excited.

This was a completely new kind of energy—the energy of blood—and the Blood Spirit Art was also an incredibly rare cultivation spirit art. It specialized in the tempering of one’s blood to bring forth tremendous strength from it.

Qin Lie concentrated entirely on cultivating.

Xue Li’s soul was like a bloody ghost that hovered above the blood crystal altar. He appeared to also be borrowing the ultimate blood ground to cultivate.

Suddenly, Xue Li’s soul twisted as ripples of soul energy spread out as if searching for something.

Song Tingyu could sense this change very clearly as she opened her eyes and looked at him in surprise.

“The seventh wave.” Xue Li looked at Song Tingyu suspiciously. “This is the seventh wave of Horned Demon clansmen…”

Song Tingyu was shocked. It was only at this moment that she noticed that something was amiss. “This is the seventh wave already?”

“Yes.”

“Then why have they not rushed us? Senior, is it because they were intimidated by your power that they did not dare to come closer? Is it because of your existence that we have not met anyone along the way? Were they wary and afraid to harm us all this time?” Song Tingyu asked with her understanding of the situation.

“Hehe!” Xue Li chuckled strangely in a low tone. His glittering bloody eyes circled around Song Tingyu’s body. “Little girl, you have a secret contact with these Horned Demon clansmen, don’t you? Just what exactly is your objective bring this stupid little kid to the Nether Realm? Do you think that you can keep me in the dark?”

“I do not understand your meaning, senior.” Song Tingyu frowned deeply.

“Stop feigning ignorance.” Xue Li laughed coldly. “I have been hiding my aura all this time, so there’s no way the other party could detect my existence unless they stood right in front of me. Otherwise, with the strength of my soul, it wouldn’t be possible for the likes of them to see us. They obviously know that you are here and yet they do not come closer, simply observing from afar. If it wasn’t for that stupid kid Qin Lie, they naturally would have come for you. Just what kind of deal do you have with them?”

“You have misunderstood, senior. Profound Heaven Alliance and the Horned Demon Race have been fighting each other for a long time. How could I possibly have any connection with them?” Song Tingyu pleaded her innocence.

“You know in your heart whether I’ve blamed you wrongly. As long as that kid is fine, I’m too lazy to comment anyway. Do what you want.” Xue Li snorted once and no longer bothered with Song Tingyu. He seemed to firmly believe that she had a secret understanding with the Horned Demon Race.

Song Tingyu felt wronged and just as she attempted to explain, she discovered that Xue Li had become quiet once more.

“Is what he said true? Have the Horned Demon clansmen come over seven times?” Song Tingyu also turned doubtful. Along the way, her journey with Qin Lie had been unusually smooth. It got to the point that she couldn’t believe they could arrive at the bottom level of the Nether Battlefield so easily and still enjoy such a long period of calm.

“He suspects that I have an understanding with the evil races? I know myself, so of course it isn’t me. In that case… who can it be?” She suddenly looked at Qin Lie inside the blood crystal altar. “Could it be him?”

Song Tingyu’s expression became strange as her gaze grew more and more complex. She felt as if she was engulfed in thick mist and found it difficult to view the situation before her.

This rarely happened to her.

“Qin Lie. Oh, Qin Lie…” Song Tingyu gazed at the blood crystal altar and muttered. The light in her eyes glittered continuously, thinking about god knows what.