Spirit Realm

Chapter 584: Inside Job

Within a freezing hidden room built out of ice jade crystals, a giant blood cocoon hung in midair. Numerous blood vessels and muscle tissue ran from the walls of that vast room to that cocoon, holding it aloft and making it resemble a heart.

Wisps of spirit energy and blood energy constantly flowed through the blood vessels and into the blood cocoon, maintaining Mo Lingye’s life force.

Xue Li’s soul quietly floated beside the blood cocoon like a ball of sanguine flame.

A dozen or so martial practitioners in long, red robes also stood within the hidden room. All of them sighed softly as they watched Xue Li’s soul.

One of them looked extremely similar to Mo Bei, the young man that Qin Lie and Xue Li had met at the Blood Cloud Mountain Range.

This was none other than Mo Bei’s father, Mo Jun.

“Sect master…” Mo Jun called out softly.

“I haven’t been Blood Fiend Sect’s sect master for a long, long time.” Xue Li shook his head.

“…Big Brother Xue,” Mo Jun said. “The madam is currently in a precarious position. If her life force can’t be replenished with the Spring of Life, she might not be able to hold out for more than three years.”

He sighed deeply. “This is all our fault. We’ve been useless for the past thousand years, only living as if we were encumbered by chains, not bothering to try and revive Blood Fiend Sect. If we were the Blood Fiend Sect of a thousand years ago, we would’ve gotten something as cheap as the Spring of Life a long time ago. Look at how powerless we are now!”

The rest of the Blood Fiend Sect elders within the room bowed their heads in shame.

It had been over a thousand years, but none of them, none of the members of Blood Fiend Sect that had escaped from the Blood Cloud Mountain Range, were able to rebuild the sect.

In fact, they didn’t even dare to reveal themselves to the outside world because of Black Voodoo Cult’s and the three great families’ relentless ongoing hunt. They could only hide in the shadows.

“None of you are at fault.” Xue Li’s bloody eyes shone with pain. “If anyone deserves blame… it would be me! I was the one who wasn’t careful enough. I gave Jiang Zhuzhe the opportunity to capture me and wound me greatly!”

Everyone else hung their heads in sorrow.

All of a sudden, Xue Li’s eyes burned with hope.

“Has there been any news from the Graveyard of Gods?” he asked. “Qin Lie is in the Graveyard of Gods with… her. I heard that the Spring of Life could be in there. They may yet succeed!”

Xue Li had placed all of his hopes on Qin Lie and his daughter. He hoped that they’d be able to obtain the Spring of Life from the Graveyard of Gods, enough of it to help both Xue Moyan and Mo Lingye escape their predicament.

“We haven’t received any news.” Mo Jun forced himself to answer. “I’ve only heard… that the Graveyard of Gods completely collapsed and almost all of the Trial participants perished. Only the remains of ancient elites, which are unfathomably tough, were able to endure the shock waves of the spatial collapse and escape.”

“That can’t be,” Xue Li said and began to constantly reassure himself. “Qin Lie won’t die. He won’t! He’ll definitely escape the Graveyard of Gods with Xue Moyan! That kid is extraordinary. He can do it!”

Mo Jun and the others looked at him, their eyes filled with sympathy, and sighed inwardly.

All of them pitied Xue Li’s family.

Xue Li had been imprisoned for a thousand years, but even after he managed to escape from his confinement, Jiang Zhuzhe refined his body and half of his soul. In addition to that, his daughter was born with an extremely short lifespan. His wife was in a coma and her soul consciousness was now so weak that she couldn’t communicate with the world outside of the blood cocoon. Her life was like a candle flame on the verge of being extinguished by the wind. It could go out at any moment.

The tragedy that befell this family was as heartbreaking as one could imagine.

Mo Jun and the others didn’t think that Qin Lie, a person they’d never heard of before, a person that Xue Li had high hopes for, could change this family’s fate.

All of them assumed that Xue Li simply didn’t wish to accept the fact that his daughter had died in the Graveyard of Gods.

“I know you don’t believe it, but I do!” Xue Li exclaimed softly. “I’ve known Qin Lie for a long time. I understand him. He isn’t normal, and he holds many secrets I cannot begin to fathom. He’ll definitely exit the Graveyard of Gods with Moyan and bring new hope to Blood Fiend Sect!”

Mo Jun and the others shook their heads and exchanged bitter smiles.

They simply couldn’t believe his words from the bottom of their hearts.

They no longer thought that Blood Fiend Sect had a future.

They believed that it was their destiny to hide in the shadows, living as if burdened by chains.

……

Day changed to evening, and the Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix of the Xing brothers hovered above the five ships of Gold Sun Island. Xing Yumiao and Xing Yuyuan descended to the deck of the Wavebreaker as Xing Shengnan, Xing Yao, several other Xing Family clansmen, and Gold Sun Island martial practitioners came out to greet them.

“Big brother. Second brother. Where is Xing Lie?” Xing Shengnan asked the moment she saw them. “Why have we not seen the fire phoenix of the enforcers yet?”

“We will be arriving at the Setting Sun Islands in two days,” Xing Yao said, clearly more concerned about something else. “Xiang Xi, the three enforcers with him, and their islands envoys have always managed those islands. Shouldn’t we be more vigilant?”

Xing Yumiao and Xing Yuyuan glanced at each other, bitter expressions on their faces.

Ever since they confirmed that Qin Lie was Forefather Terminator’s direct disciple, both brothers had been wracked with headaches. They weren’t able to come up with a plan capable of dealing with Qin Lie.

“It’s fine,” Xing Yuyuan said with a smile. “Today’s the day we’ll be speaking with them. They should be arriving soon enough.”

According to the spies he had planted in the midst of Xiang Xi’s men, Xing Yuyuan knew that Qin Lie’s group of seven was fine. He also knew that Xiang Xi and his men didn’t dare to act recklessly after discovering Qin Lie’s other identity.

Xing Yuyuan was even more aware of the fact that Xiang Xi and Qin Lie seemed to be getting along quite well. In fact, they now appeared to be rather close to one another.

This made the Xing brothers grow increasingly worried.

If Xiang Xi’s men successfully pull Qin Lie to their side, how were they supposed to treat him, a Blood Fiend Sect disciple that had the support of Forefather Terminator?

This matter left the two brothers at a loss.

“They are here!” Guo Yanzheng exclaimed softly.

The moment he did, a bright, beautiful Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix and the same type of flying spirit artifact that looked as though it had weathered a storm flew over at the same time.

Then a small crystalline war chariot rumbled from a distance, descending through the air and approaching the ships.

The chariot carried Xiang Xi, Bo Boze, and Qin Lie, all of whom were standing shoulder to shoulder.

Xiang Xi and Qin Lie chatted with each other cheerfully. They looked incredibly close to each other, as if they’d been friends for countless years.

The members of the Xing Family on the deck exchanged glances, their expressions becoming grim.

“How utterly shameless!” Xing Yao yelled harshly. “He’s just as bad as the rest of them!”

Astonishment filled Xing Shengnan’s face.

“When did little brother become such good friends with chief enforcer?” she asked with a frown.

She had no idea that Xiang Xi and the others had long since been planning a rebellion, but she did know that the relationship between them and her brothers wasn’t nearly as amicable as it seemed. She herself disliked Xiang Xi from the bottom of her heart, so when she saw that Qin Lie had become friendly with Xiang Xi, she immediately assumed that he had been fooled.

She thought about finding an opportunity to warn Qin Lie so Xiang Xi couldn’t continue fooling him.

Enforcers Guo Yanzhen and Qi Jing, as well as many other martial practitioners on the ship, were trusted servants of the Xing Family. All of them knew about the relationship between the Xing Family and Xiang Xi’s side.

In light of this, their faces twisted into ugly expressions the moment they saw Qin Lie and Xiang Xi standing side by side and laughing loudly together.

Words couldn’t even begin to describe the frowns on the faces of Xing Yumiao and Xing Yuyuan.

The brothers mistakenly thought that Qin Lie was a direct disciple of Forefather Terminator. When they saw Xiang Xi being so friendly with Qin Lie, they immediately assumed the worst—

—that Xiang Xi and Qin Lie were on the same side!

The Xing brothers immediately believed that the situation had become several times more complicated than before. Dealing with Xiang Xi was no longer a simple matter.

When the crystalline war chariot approached the ship, Xiang Xi immediately laughed loudly and struck the Xing brothers with a low blow.

“Hahaha, I see! Someone of my temperament truly has many things in common with Xing Lie,” he shouted. “Many thanks, first and second island masters! Thank you for sending Xing Lie to my side. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had the chance to get to know a young genius who understands me. Hahaha!”

The faces of the Xing brothers became even uglier than before.

Qin Lie inwardly sneered as he stood atop the crystalline war chariot and looked down on Xing Yumiao and Xing Yuyuan.

He knew exactly what the Xing brothers had been planning when they sent his group to Xiang Xi’s Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix.

They had hoped to use Xiang Xi as an instrument of murder to get rid of him. This way, Qin Lie wouldn’t be around to hurt Xing Shengnan, and they’d be able to easily justify their actions if Blood Fiend Sect came looking for answers.

Xiang Xi took the initiative to ask, “Would you like to speak with your clansmen, Brother Xing Lie?”

“There’s no need for that. I wouldn’t have anything important to say to them anyway.” Qin Lie shook his head then looked at Xing Shengnan from afar. As seriously and sincerely as he could, he said, “You don’t have to worry about me, big sister. I’m fine.”

When he saw Xing Shengnan open her mouth to speak, Qin Lie cut her off, saying, “We can talk once we return to Gold Sun Island. I’ll explain everything then.”

Xing Yumiao, on the other hand, spoke with a heavy voice.

“Come down here, little brother!” he called out. “There’s something we need to discuss!”

Since the current situation required it, even though the title was false, this was the first time he referred to Qin Lie as little brother.

Xing Yumiao finally gave Qin Lie the attention that he deserved.

A few days ago, he had simply stood outside of Qin Lie’s door and couldn’t be bothered to enter his room. He even went as far as threatening Qin Lie, warning him to disappear before they reached Gold Sun Island or be killed without question!

He hadn’t given Qin Lie any chance to explain himself!

Xing Yumiao did that because he believed that the current Blood Fiend Sect couldn’t get him to truly submit. He no longer held Blood Fiend Sect in high regard.

In much the same way, he believed that Qin Lie didn’t deserve his respect.

Yet… things were different now.

Qin Lie now had Forefather Terminator and Terminator Sect looming behind him like a terrifying shadow. Xing Yumiao had no choice to reconsider his opinion of Qin Lie.

Qin Lie stared at Xing Yumiao, an almost imperceptible sneer playing at the corner of his lips. He thought that having a powerful backer and a mighty force was more important than anything else.

Even now, he understood that Xing Yumiao didn’t care about him at all. What he cared about was the non-existent Forefather Terminator behind him.

“We’ll talk once we return to Gold Sun Island. I’m just here to see big sister,” Qin Lie answered with a casual smile. He didn’t refer to Xing Yumiao as his big brother. Then he turned to Xiang Xi and said, “I’m tired. Let’s go back.”

“First island master. Second island master. Third island master. Cultivating for the past two days has left Xing Lie tired, so… we’ll be leaving for now,” Xiang Xi said as if mediating the conversation and chuckled. He then quietly ordered his men to leave without bothering to have the crystalline war ship land on the deck of the ship.

Xiang Xi had obviously grown bolder after becoming certain that Qin Lie was Forefather Terminator’s direct disciple. This was why he dared to openly defy Xing Yumiao even though they had yet to properly end the conversation.

Every Xing Family clansman wore an ashen expression.

Everyone could clearly see that Qin Lie had gone against Xing Yumiao’s instructions. He obviously didn’t think of himself as a Xing Family clansman or consider Xing Yumiao his big brother.

Other than Xing Shengnan, whom he showed real concern for and actually deferred to her as her little brother, he treated everyone else with indifference that might as well have been arrogance!

None of the Xing Family clansmen could understand or tolerate his behavior.

Where in Spirit Realm did he get the nerve to behave in such a way?

“This kid’s gone crazy, hasn’t he? His surname is Xing! Why is he at Xiang Xi’s side?”

“What a blind fool. He had no idea where he belongs!”

“I think he’s even more arrogant than Xiang Xi! How dare he not listen even to the first island master! How utterly shameless!”

The Xing Family clansmen and the other martial practitioners who cared about the Xing Family scolded Qin Lie with righteous indignation.

All of them thought that Xing Yumiao would immediately punish him.

However, surprisingly enough, Xing Yumiao neither spoke up nor attacked Qin Lie in any way. He simply wore an ugly expression on his face and maintained his silence.

Only Xing Yuyuan understood why his big brother didn’t act.

Xing Yumiao had to tolerate Qin Lie’s insolence because he believed that Forefather Terminator loomed behind him.

……