Spirit Realm

Qin Lie entered Armament Sect.

He walked directly to the foot of the volcano and stood atop the plaza which had the twelve spirit pattern pillars erected on it. Raising his head, he looked towards the mountain.

“Qin Bing, how come you are only returning now?” Yi Yuan, who was in a nearby stone building, upon seeing Qin Lie’s figure, hurriedly and loudly greeted him.

Qin Lie silently nodded in Yi Yuan’s direction and then began to directly walk to the caves on the side of the volcano.

“Qin Bing!” shouted Lian Rou.

Qin Lie turned his head and looked at her for a moment before saying, “I’m looking for Liang Shaoyang so I can resolve some private issues.”

Lian Rou’s expression slightly changed as she quickly mentioned, “Liang Shaoyang went out last night and has yet to return. Even if he returns, it would be best for you to not do anything rash.”

Qin Lie’s eyes were indifferent.

“Come with me,” said Lian Rou as she gestured towards him. “Come, I have something to speak with you about.”

Qin Lie furrowed his brows as he thought for a moment. Afterwards, he entered Lian Rou’s artifact refinement cave and asked, “What does Senior Sister Lian Rou want to talk about?”

“The status of the current Liang Shaoyang is even higher than before. Forget about you, even if Siqi were to clash with him, she would only be seeking her own demise.” Lian Rou sighed and then gave a brief explanation of what had happened recently, “Sect Master had Elder Tan take away all of the scrolls and books in Siqi’s possession. Currently, all of those high level spirit diagrams are in the possession of Liang Shaoyang. As of right now, everyone now knows that the Sect Master and the three great reverends have reached some kind of tacit understanding between themselves and have given up on Siqi, choosing to instead focus everything on grooming Liang Shaoyang.

Qin Lie’s mind trembled. He didn’t expect that in such a short time such a big change would have occurred within the sect.

Tang Siqi, who everyone had considered as the successor, had suddenly been abandoned by the sect master. Ying Xingran and the three reverends had chosen to elect Liang Shaoyang instead.

“Where is she?” asked Qin Lie as he quickly calmed down.

“She shut herself within her cavern and has not come out for several days. She has lost her will. Not even I know how to comfort her,” answered Lian Rou as she pointed towards Tang Siqi’s cavern.

“I’ll go and take a look.” Qin Lie turned around to leave.

“Perhaps you will be able to do something,” said Lian Rou with an expression of helplessness.

“Senior Sister Tang, it’s Qin Bing,” deeply said Qin Lie from outside the cave.

Tang Siqi opened the entrance to the cave and let him in.

After having not seen her for ten days, it was clear that she had lost a lot of weight. Her cheekbones were now slightly sunken in, and her face no longer had its former allure. Even her stunning, clear eyes had become dim and lifeless.

After letting Qin Lie in, Tang Siqi sat back in between her seven furnaces. Suddenly, she spoke to the furnaces, “I am just slightly unable to part with you guys.”

“Senior Sister Tang, it is merely a tiny Liang Shaoyang. Why are you so worried?” asked Qin Lie.

“It’s not because of him, but because of the attitudes of the sect master and three reverends. It’s because they don’t believe what I say.” Tang Siqi shook her head. “They don’t believe me, and thus, there is nothing left to say. I’m preparing to leave Flame Volcano after a while, lest they see me and feel angry.”

“You’re leaving?” Qin Lie’s expression sunk.

“You have yet to see the current Liang Shaoyang. Anyway, I cannot stand it anymore, being bullied by the sect. I might as well leave and feel more relaxed.” Atop Tang Siqi’s gorgeous face, a look of bitterness and helplessness emerged. “I don’t want to leave, but I can’t bear it any longer. Otherwise, I would not be as I am right now.”

She also had some regret.

She had thought that Ying Xingran’s words were only threats and that he wouldn’t truly do as he said. Thus, she hadn’t forged artifacts as ordered by Ying Xingran.

All this time, Ying Xingran and the three great reverends had greatly spoiled her, and thus, she had become accustomed to it since long ago. This was why she believed that Ying Xingran would give in to her.

But she had been wrong.

Ten days later, Ying Xingran didn’t come. The one who had come was Tan Dongling, and it was to reclaim the sect’s secret manuals that were in her possession.

At that moment, she had truly despaired as she knew that she had been abandoned by Ying Xingran and the three great reverends.

When Tan Dongling walked away, she had begun to cry. She cried for the entire night.

Ying Xingran and the three great reverends never again appeared outside her cavern. Other than Lian Rou, no one else had come to comfort her either.

Disheartened, she had reluctantly decided to leave. Upon telling her thoughts to Lian Rou, Lian Rou had quickly informed Ying Xingran.

Ying Xingran’s only response had been, “I understand.”

He hadn’t come over to try to converse with her over the matter.

She had thoroughly given up.

“When you are the envy of the heavens, everyone revolves around you. But when you fall, no one will sympathize with you, you can only quietly cry by yourself.

“I wasn’t as important as I thought I was.

“Without me, they don’t lose anything much, the sect will still continue on.”

These last few days, she had constantly repeated these words to herself and gradually realized the cruelty of reality. Her heart had grown increasingly disheartened.

Qin Lie’s expression was indifferent as he deeply looked into the dim, lifeless eyes of Tang Siqi. He suddenly said, “Don’t leave yet. Give me some time. I will let you reclaim everything that was yours.”

Tang Siqi lifelessly raised her head, her face full of confusion and puzzlement.

“As long as Liang Shaoyang dies, everything that is currently considered his will be returned to you.” After he said these words, Qin Lie, under the shocked gaze of Tang Siqi, turned and walked out of the cave.

He walked back to the plaza with the spirit pattern pillars.

The sun had just peeked out its head, and thus, there weren’t very many disciples moving around atop the square. Only Seven Fiends Valley’s Ouyang Jingjing sat below one of the spirit pattern pillars, hoping that she would be able to see through the mysteries on the spirit pattern pillar.

Qin Lie sat down in the very center of the square.

For the first time, he began to intently analyze the twelve spirit pattern pillars, analyzing the mysterious diagrams and patterns as well as the inscriptions which seemed to contain some kind of hidden mystery.

From between his brows, a wisp of light was released—it was the light from within the Soul Suppressing Orb.

Under the rays of the sun, the wisp of light was invisible. Not even Ouyang Jingjing, who was nearby, was able to see any abnormality...

The wisp of light illuminated the nearest spirit pattern pillar. Qin Lie closely observed, and after a few seconds, his body violently trembled as the look in his eyes became seemingly sharp enough to shoot people.

As if he had discovered some new great continent, he constantly turned his head and looked at the spirit pattern pillars around him!

The faint light from between his brows illuminated each spirit pattern pillar he looked at. Each time he looked at another spirit pattern pillar, his eyes would brighten by another level!

When Qin Lie looked at the spirit pattern pillar closest to Ouyang Jingjing, the look of Ouyang Jingjing, who was also observing the pillar, suddenly became dazed.

That was because, at this time, she discovered that the long rivers which made up the diagram atop the spirit pattern pillar suddenly seemed to have become animated. It was as if she could actually hear the sound of flowing water and see the momentum of the flowing waves in the currents.

Ouyang Jingjing’s body quivered. She was excited to the point that she almost jumped right up. Rubbing her eyes, she quickly took another look.

But at this time, Qin Lie had already retracted his gaze and turned to look at another spirit pattern pillar.

When Ouyang Jingjing looked again, she discovered that there was no change atop the spirit pattern pillar. The long rivers within the diagram were only inanimate things within the diagram without any movement.

Naturally, she no longer heard the sound of flowing water either.

“I must have gone crazy to have come up with such a hallucination. It seems like I need some rest.” Disappointed, Ouyang Jingjing sighed as she moved her stiff body and began walking towards the dining hall.

She didn’t care at all about Qin Lie who was nearby.

After she walked away, only Qin Lie was left within the plaza.

Atop the square, Qin Lie looked at each of the twelve spirit pattern pillars once more before suddenly standing up and walking towards Armament Sect’s sect entrance.

The sun gradually heated up. Under the sun’s intense rays, Qin Lie was like a sculpture of ice erected by the entrance as frozen energy covered his entire body.

He was waiting for someone to return to the sect.

“Sister Lian. Qin Bing, Qin Bing said he was going to kill Liang Shaoyang! He said he would help me reclaim everything!” exclaimed Tang Siqi in shock after rushing to Lian Rou’s cave.

“He’s gone crazy!” said Lian Rou as her expression changed.

“He’s truly gone crazy! When I looked at him, something looked off. I, I think he’s serious!” shrieked Tang Siqi.

“When did this happen?” hurriedly asked Lian Rou.

“It happened just now. At the time, I was too shocked and thought he was just joking, so I wasn’t able to react in time,” said Tang Siqi. When she thought back to Qin Lie’s expression, she increasingly felt like it wasn’t normal as she continued, “He’s going to kill Liang Shaoyang! He’s truly going to kill Liang Shaoyang. I can say it for sure right now!”

“Good heavens! Right now, Liang Shaoyang is a precious treasure in the eyes of the sect master and three great reverends. Why does he dare be so rash?!” anxiously said Lian Rou.

“Sister Lian, hurry and come with me to persuade him. He is no match for Liang Shaoyang, he’s only seeking death!” After thinking about it clearly, Tang Siqi had also become anxious. “Before Liang Shaoyang returns to the sect, we must convince him. Otherwise, even if Qin Bing dies, the sect master and three great reverends won’t put a single bit of blame on Liang Shaoyang.

“Let’s go find him!” decisively said Lian Rou.

She knew that the words which Tang Siqi said were absolutely true. Even if Liang Shaoyang didn’t have a reason for killing Qin Lie, Ying Xingran, Luo Zhichang, and the rest would at the most just say a few words.

If Qin Lie took the initiative to provoke Liang Shaoyang and was then killed, it was most likely that Ying Xingran wouldn’t even care about it.

They would just act as if Qin Lie deserved it!

In the eyes of the sect master and the three great reverends, Liang Shaoyang was the future hope of the sect. He was a seed which they had to make every effort to groom and raise!

As for Qin Lie, he was only a person who had stepped on lucky dogshit. He was an undeserving disciple who had been put into the inner sect by Mo Hai. There was simply no reason for them to care.

While Tang Siqi and Lian Rou were anxiously looking for Qin Lie, in a remote alley which lead to Armament Sect’s entrance, a bloody battle was happening.

Xie Jingxuan, Liang Zhong, and the rest of Dark Asura Hall’s practitioners, who were all clothed in white and wearing hideous masks to cover their faces, were currently facing off against Gray Shadow and Black Shadow as they chased after Liang Shaoyang.

Xie Jingxuan and Liang Zhong’s premeditated plan for murder had started at the darkest hour of night last night at Dark Shadow Tower’s secret stronghold.

Dark Shadow Tower’s sixteen death knights had already become corpses which would eternally remain within the secret stronghold. However, when Gray Shadow and Black Shadow had discovered that their stronghold had been surrounded, they had immediately escorted Liang Shaoyang through a secret underground path to escape. It was in this remote alley that they had come out.

Xie Jingxuan and Liang Zhong had long since known where the exit of the secret path was and thus had quickly brought several people and stationed them there, leaving several others behind to completely sweep through Dark Shadow Tower’s secret stronghold. They were barely able to catch Liang Shaoyang and Gray and Black Shadow.

“I know who you all are. Xie Jingxuan, you are Dark Asura Hall’s Xie Jingxuan!” Liang Shaoyang’s clothes were stained with fresh blood as blood wildly flowed on top of his body. Under the cover of Gray Shadow and Black Shadow who were fighting without a care for their lives, he calmly backed up towards the entrance of the alley, "From the time you stepped into the Armament Sect, I already knew what you wanted to do. Five years ago, your sworn sister and those candidate inspectors youths were all killed one by one by my hands. That sworn sister of yours, were more so violated to death by me. Those traces on the corpse, I believe you've also seen them."

Liang Shaoyang’s eyes were full of malicious and were insidious as a ghastly, ruthless aura exuded off of his body. His voice was rather relaxed as he said, “You all will also die. You all will all die within Armament City. Not a single one of you will escape. I am the future sect master of Armament Sect. The scrolls deemed by Ying Xingran and the three great reverends as the sect’s most precious treasures have all been handed to me. If you all dare to kill me within Armament City, then Blood Spear will definitely chase you all down and eliminate every last one of you.”

Looking back, he looked at Flame Volcano behind him. Looking at Armament Sect’s sect entrance which was gradually entering his line of sight, he said, “All I have to do is enter Armament Sect’s sect entrance, and you all will quickly die.”

After saying that, he ignored Xie Jingxuan’s gaze which was filled with bottomless hatred and laughed as he rushed towards Armament Sect without looking back.

At this moment, Gray Shadow and Black Shadow, along with the death knights of Shadow Tower, were meat shields which blocked the paths of Xie Jingxuan’s scythe and Liang Zhong’s Azure Moon.

Through their reckless methods, each death knight had managed to buy Liang Shaoyang some time. Even Gray Shadow didn’t show an ounce of hesitation as he too directly took on the scythe.

There wasn’t a single Dark Shadow Tower practitioner who was afraid of death.

Gray Shadow’s flesh was instantly torn, and as his hands clenched the scythe, his eyes didn’t show the slightest trace of fear. Before he died, he said, “Once young master enters Armament Sect, all he has to do is state your identities and you will all die at the hands of Armament Sect’s Blood Spear.”

Xie Jingxuan’s clear, cold eyes turned crimson red.

Watching Liang Shaoyang move farther and farther away and then quickly disappear without a trace, Liang Zhong also felt a sense of despair.

At that moment, Qin Lie, who had long since been standing by Armament Sect’s sect entrance, was still waiting for Liang Shaoyang to return like a statue of ice.