Spirit Realm

The news that Qin Lie had caused every single one of the twelve spirit pattern pillars to react spread like a virus. It quickly infected Dark Asura Hall, Seven Fiends Valley, Cloud Sky Mountain, Purple Mist Sea, Dark Shadow Tower, and all the nearby forces.

In these nine hundred years, master artificers had been all amazing people and led an era had first shown themselves through comprehending the spirit pattern pillars before walking down the path towards being a legend.

Even the founder of Armament Sect had only been able to cause four spirit pattern pillars to react. This action had established his status in Armament Sect.

Before Qin Lie, no one had dared to think that there would be someone in the world that was able to cause all twelve spirit pattern pillars to react.

Qin Lie managed to do it…

Black Iron forces like Dark Asura Hall and Seven Fiends Valley, and Limestone forces like Nebula Pavilion and Water Moon Sect, anywhere there were martial practitioners, they were all discussing the same person—Qin Bing!

Qin Bing’s name quickly became well-known and everyone’s main topic of discussion.

An unknown person became noted in everyone’s minds in the span of a few short day, and shocked everyone.

……

In the back area of Flame Volcano the woods were shrouded in layers of bloody mist. From the sky it appeared that the forest was covered in a bloody cloud.

The outer sect of Armament Sect was at the base of Flame Volcano which was at the front of the mountain while the inner sect of Armament Sect was on the slope and peak.

But there was also a vast forest behind Flame Volcano that was only known to a few.

There were strong restrictions and barriers around that forest. Even the inner and outer sect disciples of Armament Sect were forbidden from entering this place, much less any outsiders.

This was a forbidden area.

“Sect Master.”

“Sect Master.”

At the entrance to the forest shrouded in blood colored clouds, four Blood Spear martial practitioners that were half-naked, exposing the strange blood-red tattoos on their chest, abdomen, and back, suddenly appeared in four balls of bloody light when Ying Xingran had arrived.

The four respectfully bowed and disabled the defenses at the entrance, allowing Ying Xingran in.

When Ying Xingran came here, he started to cough heavily and was slightly unable to stand the thick bloody tang of this place.

He suppressed the discomfort in his abdomen and nodded. He asked, “Where is Lang Xie?”

“Sire is inside,” someone answered.

Ying Xingran walked into the forest and headed for the interior. Bloody pools slowly appeared in his field of view. These pools were just the size of a room and were scattered inside the forest in patches. Each bloody pool held a bloody liquid that bubbled thick red.

Streams of bloody smoke evaporated from these bloody pools and gathered in the air above the forest.

The bloody mist that always covered the mountain was formed from the steam coming from these bloody pools. The heavy scent of blood in the forest also came from the same source.

Quite a few martial practitioners who were naked were inside the numerous pools of blood. They included people of both sexes and various ages.

Inside the bloody pools they had extremely pained expressions. Many people howled like wild beasts. All the muscles of their bodies were tightly tensed and their tendons bulged.

Ying Xingran looked closer and found that many people’s bodies were split open and that threads of the thick, bloody liquid were seeping inside their bodies.

What happened after was that the howls of these people would become even louder.

“Sect Master.” The brawny man that had appeared three days ago in the plaza came out of the depths of the forest and arrived by Ying Xingran’s side.

When he got there, the bloody liquid in the surroundings pools suddenly started to furiously bubble as though the liquid was beginning to boil.

The young men and womens that were immersed in them howled inhumanly.

Ying Xingran’s face became cold and then he shouted, “In order to maintain the liquid of the pools of blood, Armament Sect expends spirit grasses and medicines worth thirty thousand Profound Grade One spirit stones every month! So many people on the outside hope to step into this place and hope to immerse themselves in the blood pools. You must not fail to live up to the generosity that Armament Sect gives you!”

The people in the bloody pools bared their teeth as they nodded, shouting loudly, “We will not fail the sect!”

Ying Xingran nodded in satisfaction. His expression became normal as he ordered the brawny man, “Lang Xie, in the sect, some people have come from Dark Shadow Tower. There are also people in the city that belong to Dark Shadow Tower. I am worried that they have thoughts about the sect and are planning to killing Qin Bing at any cost. You also know that the people from Dark Shadow Tower are very skilled in killing and have endless ways to do it.”

The middle-aged male called Lang Xie nodded and then asked, “Sect Master means to?”

“I do not want any accidents to befall Qin Bing. Even if there is a possibility of an accident, I hope that it can be eliminated beforehand,” Ying Xingran said gravely.

“I know what must be done,” Lang Xie replied simply.

Ying Xingran smiled faintly and his worries disappeared. “Mn, I just came to mention this matter and hope you can take care of it well.”

“Sect Master, I have a presumptuous request,” Lang Xie suddenly said.

“Say it.’ Ying Xingran’s expression stilled.

“When Qin Bing walks out of the plaza, Sect Master, please have him come here so I can train him.” Lang Xie’s tone was cold, but his expression was extremely serious. “Blood Spear will of course protect him, but if he has some offensive ability, then Blood Spear will have a much easier time and he will be much safer.”

Ying Xingran’s brow furrowed and he seemed slightly hesitant. “He should not waste time on the martial way.”

“If it was any other person, I would definitely not request this,” Lang Xie said in a deep voice, “but he is different. With but a small amount of time, he will be able to increase his combat potential greatly here. Also, with his talent, he will encounter many difficulties and grudges in the future. He needs a certain amount of strength for self-protection.”

Ying Xingran was silent.

He knew that Lang Xie was right.

Even an idiot could see what a genius that could comprehend twelve spirit pattern pillars could bring to Armament Sect.

How could Armament Sect’s enemy factions or competitors idly stand by and watch as Armament Sect quickly prospered?

They only needed to act early on to stop Armament Sect's growth. Only killing one person would bring that to fruition, so what choice would they make?

“Alright, when he has finished with the spirit pattern pillars, I will ask him for his opinion on this matter and if he is willing to come and stay here for a period of time,” Ying Xingran nodded.

“Many thanks, Sect Master,” Lang Xie said.

……

“Yesterday, when Liu Fu was forging, his smelting furnace had a big explosion and he died right there.”

“Something happened to Zhao Yu when he went out two days ago. He seemed to have encountered a spirit beast that was hunting for food and was torn apart outside the city. That is what Elder Tong said. I do not know if it is true or false. It is strange. How can there be high level spirit beasts just outside of Armament City?”

“Wang Tong seems to have disappeared for five days as well.”

Many disciples inside Armament Sect would mention these events in daily conversation.

Inside Armament City.

Xie Jingxuan and Liang Zhong were waiting for their transaction with Armament Sect to be completed. In the days they had been waiting, the two tried to not leave the city and only sent people to gather information.

“The estate that we had cleaned up has been infiltrated again by someone else. Black Shadow is dead, and that was where he died. When I went to visit, I ended up finding his corpse rotting there,” Liang Zhong reported.

Inside the room, Xie Jingxuan was silent but her cold eyes glinted.

“All the employees of a shop called Dark Orchid Pavilion in the Wind District were all killed last night. There were no survivors. According to our information, that Dark Orchid Pavilion is controlled by people from Dark Tower, but rarely interact with Shadow Tower.” Liang Zhong continued, “I have received information that there are people constantly dying inside Armament Sect for no reason. These people came from Dark Shadow Tower and their subordinate territories. Now they are dying one after another.”

Xie Jingxuan nodded lightly and said, “Blood Spear is starting a purge. No matter if it is inside the sect or inside the city, anyone who is related to Dark Shadow Tower is on the list to be cleaned out.”

“Ying Xingran is really willing to harden his heart for this Qin Bing. I heard that three inner sect disciples were directly killed. These three had been nurtured through the efforts of Armament Sect. One person was just the nephew of someone powerful in Dark Shadow Tower, he really was undeserving of this calamity,” Liang Zhong grimaced.

“He does not want to take any risk at all.” Xie Jingxuan knew what Ying Xingran thought. “For this Qin Bing, he will remove all of Dark Shadow Tower’s teeth and claws. In the future, he will not allow anyone from Dark Shadow Tower to come into Armament City. Before Liang Yangzu has stated his position and surrenders, Armament Sect will not drop their guard when it comes to Dark Shadow Tower.”

“Liang Yanzu’s most beloved son has died. I do not know what he will do, I have no idea if he will be able to restrain himself,” Liang Zhong remarked.

“If Liang Yangzu can accept this, he will not be Liang Yangzu. Ying Xingran knows his personality which is why he has not hesitated to act.” Xie Jingxuan shook her head and then concluded, “After we complete our transaction with Armament Sect, we will leave the city as soon as we can. Otherwise, we will be dragged in.”

“It seems like a storm is coming,” Liang Zhong sighed emotionally.

……

In a mountain range, there were towers and pavilions in the dark shadows between the mountains. These buildings were clearly divided into two groups.

Many martial practitioners with dark and cold eyes walked between the buildings and did not look at anyone else at all.

They would not converse.

So many towers and so many martial practitioners that were all moving around, but there was no sound. It was as though the martial practitioners of these towers were all dumb and did not know how to speak.

“Shaoyang is dead,” said Liang Yangzu to Dark Tower’s tower lord Di Shijiu after having gone from Shadow Tower to inside the secret basement of Dark Tower.

Di Shijiu was small and thin, shrunken back in the dark corner of the secret room like a remnant of a soul.

“He is your son. You can do anything you want, but it has nothing to do with me,” the lord of Dark Tower, Di Shijiu replied emotionlessly.

“You also agreed to having Shaoyang to go to Armament Sect. Now that Shaoyang is dead, you are not going to do anything?” Liang Yangzu’s eyes were deeply set with his nose unusually high. This caused him to look shadowy and dark, giving people the feeling of viciousness and formidability. “My son has been killed. If Dark Shadow Tower does not make a sound, how can Dark Shadow Tower establish itself in this land?”

“Dark Tower and Shadow Tower have always stayed out of each other’s way. So your Shadow Tower can resolve the matter of your Shadow Tower.” Di Shijiu was unmoved.

Yet when he finished speaking, a bell by his left hand suddenly sounded.

Di Shijiu’s brow furrowed. A claw-like hand pulled the bell into his palm as he listened to the information inside the bell.

A while later, his face gradually turned dark and cold. He said to himself, “Lang Xie, you dare to move against my Dark Orchid Pavilion, are you forcing me to find you for a fight?”

Liang Yangzu’s expression shifted slightly as he looked in anticipation.

“Good, I will fulfill your wish. Let’s see if you can still defeat me after so long!” Di Shijiu said darkly.