Spirit Realm Chapter 403-406

Chapter 403: Netherpassage!

Only the basic spirit diagrams inside the Astral Thunder Hammer were damaged. It might take Qin Lie some time to repair it, but it wouldn’t be too difficult

Spirit Storage, Spirit Gathering, Amplification, and Strengtening were the most basic spirit diagrams, and Qin Lie had them memorized. The basic spirit diagrams inside this Astral Thunder Hammer were Spirit Storage, Spirit Gathering, and Strengthening.

It was clear that these three spirit diagrams had been simplified from the ancient spirit diagrams that Qin Lie knew of. From his perspective, the structure was very simple.

“Help me buy the main components needed to make Terminator Profound Bombs. I won’t be leaving this place for now.”

Gripping the Astral Thunder Hammer, Qin Lie took a deep breath. His mind gradually calmed down and he prepared to get to work.

“Mn, I know.” Song Tingyu moved over with a smile on her face and stood next to him. Her eyes shone as she looked at the Astral Thunder Hammer, and she did not seem like she would leave.

“Then go.” Qin Lie raised his head to look at her.

“I arranged for Uncle Tian to do that before I came here. He will purchase all of the materials needed for the Terminator Profound Bombs. I don’t need to work on that.”

Song Tingyu glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “What? Do you want to send me away? Are you worried that I’ll disturb you?”

“I need silence.” Qin Lie raised his hands helplessly. “You know that one cannot divide their attention when inscribing spirit diagrams. Any break in concentration can cause a mistake and waste all previous effort.”

“Me being here… will divide your attention?”

A blush appeared on Song Tingyu’s exquisite face, her beautiful eyes filled with an intoxicating warmth.

She got closer and stopped a few inches away from Qin Lie. Her pink lips parted slightly, and she exhaled on Qin Lie’s face. Then she said in a light seductive voice, “Will this divide your attention?”

A cunning light flashed through her eyes.

She was deliberately teasing Qin Lie.

Qin Lie’s gaze suddenly became feverish.

With the mask off, Song Tingyu was like a blossoming flower. Her movements and smile were capable of overwhelming a person’s mind, and could prevent that person from taking their eyes off of her body.

At this moment, the naturally mesmerizing Song Tingyu was intentionally being flirty. She made people’s minds wander and got their blood to race.

“Fine, you don’t need to go. I won’t touch the Astral Thunder Hammer for now.” Qin Lie put away the Astral Thunder Hammer. His eyes clearly shone with the light of desire, and he reached out to pull her into his arms.

“Go away!”

An orange-red light appeared on Song Tingyu’s translucent palm, and she slapped his hand. The light gave off a bright rainbow.

“Crack!”

Qin Lie’s outstretched arm went numb when it was swatted away by her jade hand.

“Haha! You can stay here and focus on repairing your spirit diagram. Big Sis won’t tease you.” Song Tingyu sauntered out, a bell-like laughter left in her wake.

She entered the room next to Qin Lie’s.

Inside the room was an enormous copper mirror. Her seductive body suddenly froze when she saw herself in the mirror.

It showed a beautiful, flushed face with a provocative smile. Her bewitching eyes were filled with glee, clearly showcasing her happy mood.

Song Tingyu unconsciously touched her cheeks, feeling heat. This made her feel even more embarrassed.

“The person in the mirror… is me. When did teasing a man start making me so happy?” Her eyes looked pensive, and a complex and strange expression appeared on her face.

She started to think back to how she and Qin Lie met.

Song Tingyu originally found Qin Lie because of the Terminator Profound Bombs which significantly hurt the five factions and opened the evil nether passageway. That was the first time she paid attention to this unknown youth.

Profound Heaven Alliance had arranged for her to go to the poisonous bog to meet Qin Lie and negotiate a partnership. She met him for the first time in the poisonous bog.

When she used her charm concept on Qin Lie, it was the first time it had failed. She was hurt by the backlash and felt that she and Qin Lie had been married for three lifetimes as a side effect. It had taken her a lot of effort to resolve the backlash.

Then, in order to fool Mo He, she lied and said she was engaged to Qin Lie. The two of them had pretended to hug for a while.

After that, they fell into the Nether Realm together. They fought side by side against the Horned Demon Race, slowly making their way back to the Scarlet Tide Continent step by step.

She gradually discovered that Qin Lie had all kinds of secrets. She became more and more curious. She wanted to know about Qin Lie’s identity and origins, of his past, and where many of Qin Lie’s special abilities came from.

Just like that, her relationship with Qin Lie had grown closer. They started to trust each other. There were no barriers between them and they could talk to each other freely.

A long time later, Song Tingyu sighed softly.

“It shouldn’t be like this,” she thought inwardly, lying to herself. “This is definitely the backlash from the concept which hasn’t been completely eliminated. It seems like I need to cleanse my mind.”

Qin Lie sat in the other room, a burning heat in his eyes.

A moment later, he grimaced and shook his head. He took out the Astral Thunder Hammer again and slowly calmed his mind.

He first examined his Soul Lake.

“Hm?!” he suddenly exclaimed.

The Soul Shadow in the middle of the clear lake that had been blurry had grown and become clearer.

Qin Lie used his mind consciousness to feel it.

Suddenly, a wondrous feeling flowed into his mind and entered every part of his soul.

All of his memories, thoughts, consciousness, past, remnants of thoughts, emotions… all of them turned into threads of wondrous flowing light that flooded toward the Soul Shadow inside his Soul Lake.

Memories, thoughts, personality traits, and other things that filled every part of his mind had been scattered and disorderly.

At this moment however, all of the soul thoughts, memories, experiences, personality traits, and other things that belonged to his soul flooded into the Soul Shadow in the middle of the Soul Lake.

The Soul Shadow, which had been intangible, suddenly became became an actual, tangible existence, and formed a True Soul.

With a shudder, he discovered that his original body, his true self, was the True Soul in the Soul Lake!

Then he felt like he was inside of the Soul Lake—like he was the true form of the True Soul!

Once the source of his soul and all of its imprints melded together, he clearly felt the existence of his soul for the first time. He realized for the first time just how wondrous a fully formed True Soul was.

A Soul Lake was made from mind consciousness and mind power power. A True Soul was immersed in the depths of the Soul Lake, and one could use their soul to feel the mind consciousness and mind power within the Soul Lake.

With a thought, threads of mind consciousness within the Soul Lake turned into flowing threads of light that spread outside of his body like thousands of tentacles.

Once the mind consciousness left the Soul Lake, it was invisible to his eyes. However, after his True Soul had formed, he could feel the mind consciousness that had flown out from the True Soul in the Soul Lake.

Qin Lie closed his eyes. When his mind consciousness went out, he could slowly “see” everything in the surroundings.

The mind consciousness was like multiple pairs of eyes. Everything it came into contact with was relayed back to his True Soul.

This was the genuine Netherpassage Realm.

Qin Lie grinned.

When he laughed, he was immediately forced back into his original form, and the wondrous feeling disappeared.

“The Netherpassage Realm! I finally crossed the threshold and formed my True Soul!” His mood shifted, he laughed. He calmed down again and used one thread of mind consciousness to try and reach the neighboring room.

The mind consciousness could easily pass through obstacles like walls, objects, and earth.

“Poof!”

His thread of mind consciousness suddenly hit a thin barrier like a fly and was bounced back.

Qin Lie felt Song Tingyu’s presence in that “thin barrier.” He immediately understood that Song Tingyu had detected his arrival and used her mind consciousness to form a barrier to stop his mind consciousness from going in.

A mind consciousness could fly into the sky and pass through the ground, walls, and other objects. Only barriers that were also made out of mind consciousness could stop it.

“Qin Lie, don’t you need to focus on repairing the spirit diagram?” Song Tingyu’s soft voice came from the other side of the wall. “Does your mind consciousness get split when you forge artifacts? Does it spread into the surroundings? I’m about to rest, and you released a thread of mind consciousness this way. What do you want?”

Her tone gradually became irritated by the end.

“This is just a misunderstanding.” Smiling weakly, Qin Lie hurriedly retrieved that thread of mind consciousness. “I am about to start now. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you in the future.”

“If you dare send mind consciousness over here, I’ll have you know that you will pay a price for disturbing me.” Song Tingyu snorted.

Chapter 404: Scanning the Island

At the top level of the spirit artifact hall inside Sea Moon Trade Group, someone rushed in to report while Han Xing, Luo Chen, Zhang Chendong, and Zhao Xuan were speaking. “Celestial Artifact Sect’s Bi You has arrived.”

The group stopped talking amongst each other.

“Send him in,” Han Xing ordered.

Before long, Celestial Artifact Sect’s Bi You arrived at the top level, bringing Jiang Tianxing with him.

“President Han, I am here to discuss some matters.” The moment that Bi You entered, he went straight to the heart of matter and said, “I am searching for a martial practitioner who cultivates both the power of lightning and ice. This person has obtained something important from the god corpse that is related to the Graveyard of Gods’ stability. The nine great forces have come to a unanimous agreement that this item must be found as soon as possible.”

Bi You had figured out the truth after meeting Jiang Tianxing, and they were now in a hurry to find Qin Lie.

Han Xing looked at Luo Chen.

Luo Chen nodded slightly. “Our superiors told us to cooperate with Celestial Artifact Sect and find the person who took the item from the god corpse.”

“What are you going to do?” Han Xing frowned.

“I plan to search all of Sea Moon Island with my mind consciousness!” Bi You was at the middle stage of the Fragmentation Realm, and he was actually a bit weaker than Han Xing. However, he came from Celestial Artifact Sect and worked as their deacon. He was not lesser in status than Han Xing.

“You plan to scan every martial practitioner on this island?” Han Xing asked in surprise.

“Mm. I admit that, with my realm, it will be a little difficult to cover the entire island with my mind consciousness.” Bi You sighed softly. “However, this matter is urgent, and the Trial is about to start. The nine great forces need that item to stabilize the Graveyard of Gods and reduce the risk to the participants.”

“Alright, do it.” Han Xing nodded.

With that, Bi You sat down on the ground.

Jiang Tianxing, who hailed from Celestial Artifact Sect just like Bi You, stood beside him. He had regained his sense of reason and wore a kind look since he had not channeled the Blood Spirit Art.

He was quietly examining Luo Chen who was in front him.

Luo Chen was also looking at him.

“Brother Jiang, I have a list of names in my hand. You will be representing Celestial Artifact Sect in this Trial, correct?” Luo Chen suddenly asked in a casual manner.

Jiang Tianxing chuckled. “That is correct. I will represent Celestial Artifact Sect in this Trial. I will do my best.”

Luo Chen raised a corner of his lips while revealing a hint of scorn in his eyes. He did not say anything else.

It was at this moment that a terrific mind fluctuation emerged from Bi You’s body.

The pupils of everyone in the room shrank.

Everyone could feel an enormous magnetic field of mind energy spread from Bi You, flooding in every direction like a tidal wave.

It spread outward to cover the entirety of Sea Moon Island!

It spread across the streets, the houses, Sea Moon Trade Group, Blue Star Association, the strongholds of many great forces, and the shops. Several thousand martial practitioners of different realms detected the tremendous surging aura.

People raised their heads and felt the terror of a giant, invisible web covering all of Sea Moon Island.

Han Xing also wore a look of surprise.

Sea Moon Island was several hundred acres in diameter, and even at the peak of the Fragmentation Realm, it would’ve been incredibly difficult for him to cover the entire island with his mind consciousness.

Furthermore, Bi You was only at the middle stage of the Fragmentation Realm, but he already possessed such a terrifying mind consciousness. This caused Han Xing to be inwardly surprised.

“As expected of someone from a Silver rank force.” Han Xing felt fear and respect, making up his mind to acquire a good position at Heavenly Sword Mountain once he ascended to the Nirvana Realm. He would borrow Heavenly Sword Mountain’s resources in order to increase his own strength.

Han Xing was treating Luo Chen carefully because he wanted to get on his good side. He hoped to acquire Luo Nan’s help in the future and stand tall in Heavenly Sword Mountain.

Invisible ripples that resembled intangible waves of water spread outwards in many waves.

Wherever the wave of mind energy went, martial practitioners caught within it would feel from their very souls that they were being watched. It was as if a bolt of electricity were passing through their bodies.

They felt a very uncomfortable feeling, quickly realizing that a powerful martial practitioner was covering all of Sea Moon Island and was specifically searching for something.

Those who were wise did not resist it and disregarded the surveillance, allowing Bi You’s mind consciousness to seep in.

Of course, there were people who weren’t wise and forcefully formed a barrier to isolate their mind consciousnesses, not understanding the situation.

Immediately, these people were grievously injured. The barriers formed from their mind consciousnesses were instantly blasted apart by Bi You.

On the streets, many low rank martial practitioners inside Sea Moon Trade Group suddenly sat on the ground and went pale.

A few people spat out a mouthful of blood and hatefully looked in Bi You’s direction.

There were several other elites in the Fragmentation Realm who were in secluded corners of Sea Moon Island. These people were not afraid of Bi You, and with a cold snort, they stared right at Bi You’s location as if their eyes were capable of seeing extraordinarily long distances.

They formed a barrier of isolation with their mind consciousnesses, forbidding Bi You from taking a single step into their minds.

When Bi You detected these kinds of experts, he would stop his push and automatically withdraw his mind consciousness, avoiding a confrontation with them.

The person that he was looking for was in the Manifestation Realm or the Netherpassage Realm. Anyone who exceeded this realm was obviously not his target.

Bi You’s actions made all of Sea Moon Island go into an uproar. Many people whose minds were invaded by his mind consciousness were discussing with each other, wanting to know what was going on.

At Profound Heaven Alliance’s stronghold.

Qin Lie and Song Tingyu were a wall’s distance away from each other. One of them was concentrating on cultivation, and the other was repairing the Astral Thunder Hammer.

Both of them felt a colossal mind consciousness land on them from the sky above. It was like a gigantic web in the sky that suddenly covered them whole.

Song Tingyu immediately came to realization and cried out, “Qin Lie! It’s coming for you!”

Qin Lie, who was absorbed in the spirit diagram of the Astral Thunder Hammer, suddenly shook and felt as if his very soul were trembling.

Bi You’s mind consciousness surged over.

Qin Lie knew that he could not resist it, and also knew that he needed to stop it from seeping into his mind or he could be exposed.

“Thoughtless Tranquility!”

In that critical moment, he remembered the Soul Suppressing Orb and cut off all random thoughts. His True Soul flew out of his Soul Lake and slipped into the orb.

Although Qin Lie did not feel anything special, Song Tingyu’s bright eyes changed a little.

She could no longer sense his existence.

Song Tingyu felt as if Qin Lie had suddenly become invisible and no longer released a single wisp of soul aura. It was as if he had teleported somewhere.

The mind consciousness covering the sky flooded the entire house like a tidal wave. Everyone felt as if their bodies were being swept through by lightning. Even Tian Pu was not an exception.

Bi You’s mind consciousness lingered for a while, and after discovering nothing, he had no choice but to leave.

At this moment, Song Tingyu walked out of her room and opened Qin Lie’s door.

Qin Lie was seated at the same spot without a trace of soul aura on him. Even his body was devoid of powerful life energy.

He felt like a beast in hibernation.

With a look of surprise, Song Tingyu’s eyes glittered, and she softly said, “He’s gone.”

“Miss!” Tian Pu’s voice came from outside. “The enemy came searching. Will there be any problems? Have they discovered you two?”

“I don’t think so,” Song Tingyu answered helplessly. Then, in a soft voice, she said, “Uncle Tian, how many people do you sense inside this room right now?”

“Only you, Miss.” Tian Pu said respectfully.

Song Tingyu smiled softly and waved her hands in assurance, saying, “Go, then. Everything is fine.”

Tian Pu left, his stomach full of doubt.

Fifteen minutes later, at the top floor of Sea Moon Trade Group’s spirit artifact hall, Bi You opened his eyes.

“I found sixty five people who cultivate spirit arts of thunder, thirty eight people who cultivate spirit arts of ice, and only five who cultivate both. Out of these five people, three are in the Manifestation Realm, one is in the Netherpassage Realm, and another is in the Fulfillment Realm.” Bi You stood up. His mind had already locked on to the five targets. He nodded toward Han Xing in gratitude and said, “I will send out people from Celestial Artifact Sect to seek out these five people and thoroughly search them. We will see if we can find the item on them.”

Han Xing smiled and said, “Please do.”

Bi You and Jiang Tianxing left as hastily as they arrived. A while later, they were completely gone.

“The person who fought against Li Rong at the bottom level of Sea Moon Trade Group is also skilled in the power of thunder. While he was fighting, I felt a vague aura of ice from him,” a Heavenly Sword Mountain martial practitioner softly said after Bi You left.

Han Xing went blank.

“There was also the aura of earth on him as well. It was weak, but it was definitely there,” another person interrupted.

The eyes of Joyful Union Sect’s Zhao Xuan abruptly lit up. “A person who’s skilled in the spirit arts of ice, lightning, and earth. Why do I feel like I’ve heard of such a person?”

“The Scarlet Tide Continent’s Qin Lie!” Eight Extreme Temple’s Zhang Chendong exclaimed.

“That’s him!”

Chapter 405: The Sixth Heavenly Sword

“The Scarlet Tide Continent’s Qin Lie!”

Heavenly Sword Mountain’s Luo Chen exclaimed in a soft tone, his eyes glowing with a strange light.

There were fifteen people from Heavenly Sword Mountain who were participating in this examination, and a total of fifteen sword tokens were made as proof of entry.

Heavenly Sword Mountain had five Heavenly Swords. The people who wielded them, simply referred to as “Heavenly Swords,” ruled Heavenly Sword Mountain together. They issued orders, managed subordinate martial practitioners, and held decision making power in important matters within Heavenly Sword Mountain.

Luo Chen’s grandmother Luo Nan was a Heavenly Sword, one of the most powerful people in Heavenly Sword Mountain.

However, very few people knew that there was another person in Heavenly Sword Mountain who also wielded a Heavenly Sword…

This person did not participate in any of the management or matters of Heavenly Sword Mountain. He did not educate disciples, nor did he have any special responsibilities.

His only responsibilities were to execute traitors and keep an eye on every person in Heavenly Sword Mountain. This also included the five Heavenly Swords.

This person was called the Sixth Heavenly Sword of Heavenly Sword Mountain. His name was Li Mu.

In all of Heavenly Sword Mountain, very few people knew about the existence of the Sixth Heavenly Sword. Outside of Heavenly Sword Mountain, obviously even less people would know.

Luo Chen learned about Li Mu through his grandmother Luo Nan. Li Mu was never in Heavenly Sword Mountain, and would always be adventuring on a floating island that he controlled.

This man would often not return to Heavenly Sword Mountain for eight to ten years at a time.

The Sixth Heavenly Sword named Li Mu was the sword that hung high above the head of every policymaker in Heavenly Sword Mountain. The moment that anyone betrayed Heavenly Sword Mountain or colluded with foreign enemies, harming Heavenly Sword Mountain’s interests, Li Mu would knock upon their doors.

For several hundred years, countless disciples perished at the hands of this man. Every single one of them had betrayed Heavenly Sword Mountain.

Even if these people ran to the corners of Spirit Realm, even if they attached themselves to powerful forces, they would still be caught by and killed by Li Mu.

The person who was called the “Sixth Heavenly Sword” might not participate in the various matters of Heavenly Sword Mountain or have any real power or authority, but he was the only one who frightened the other five “Heavenly Swords.”

Luo Chen knew about this person because his grandmother Luo Nan had told him. Five out of the fifteen of the sword tokens made by Heavenly Sword Mountain were taken by this man.

It was exactly because of these five sword tokens that Luo Chen paid attention to the Scarlet Tide Continent. He knew that the five sword tokens had been put in the hands of Song Tingyu, Zhang Chendong, Zhao Xuan, Xie Jingxuan, and Qin Lie.

As this time, Zhang Chendong and Zhao Xuan had already come willingly to express their good will. In order to improve his chances in the Trial, Luo Chen went to Sea Moon Island this time around in hopes that he could recruit Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan as his left and right hands.

In his eyes, Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan were members of Profound Heaven Alliance, and Profound Heaven Alliance was a vassal of Heavenly Sword Mountain.

He believed that, just like Zhang Chendong and Zhao Xuan, Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan would not be able to turn him down. He believed that they would follow him blindly and join his team to participate in the Trial.

Luo Chen had also gained an understanding of Qin Lie through various channels.

He believed that there were too many unpredictable aspects about Qin Lie. He did not see Qin Lie as someone he could rope into his group because, without an origin, Qin Li was too dangerous.

Furthermore, according to his knowledge, Qin Lie was only in the late stage of the Manifestation Realm. The only reason he had managed to cause such a commotion in the Scarlet Tide Continent was because he had borrowed someone else’s power.

However, in the Trial, there would be no external power for him to borrow. He did not think much of Qin Lie’s strength, and he did not believe Qin Lie could help him.

“So you’re saying that the person who easily defeated Li Rong and destroyed his sword in an explosion was Qin Lie?” Luo Chen snapped out of his trance as a bright light shone from within his cold eyes. “Could it be that he is the one who had obtained the item inside the god corpse?”

“You’ve already heard that the man and woman Celestial Artifact Sect’s Bi You is looking for rode away on a Flowing Cloud Rainbow Butterfly.” Zhang Chendong paused and continued solemnly, “Song Tingyu’s mount is precisely a Rank Five Flowing Cloud Rainbow Butterfly!”

“There should be no mistake then.” Luo Chen nodded.

His eyes shined with a cold, unfathomable light that resembled tiny criss crossing sword beams as he pondered, and after a moment, he said to Han Xing, “Uncle Han, have your men pay attention to Celestial Artifact Sect’s activities and see if they find this Qin Lie from those five people.”

“Mm,” Han Xing said with a dark face, “I also have a score to settle with him! Not only did he destroy my lights, he even stole the Astral Thunder Hammer.”

“Also, send men to watch Profound Heaven Alliance’s stronghold and see if that Song Tingyu is around. Actually, wait… have them see if a pair has gone in and out of that place lately—an unfamiliar man and woman.” Luo Chen knew that they could just change their faces if they really wanted to hide their identities.

“No problem, leave it to me!” Han Xing agreed.

“Do not tell Celestial Artifact Sect about this matter. Do not let them find out that we have a lock on our target,” Luo Chen instructed again.

“Understood.”

In this way, Celestial Artifact Sect and Blue Star Association split up and began searching throughout Sea Moon Island.

—They all wanted to drag Qin Lie out into the open.

……

Inside Profound Heaven Alliance’s house at Sea Moon Island.

Qin Lie’s True Soul returned to his Soul Lake, and he continued to concentrate on repairing the Astral Thunder Hammer. A dazzling bolt of electricity sparked from the tip of his finger, twisting and unleashing a surge of refined energy.

This time, Song Tingyu did not leave his side.

She sat on the soft floor inside the house and leaned against a wall seven or eight meters away. Her beautiful eyes glittered as she watched Qin Lie repair the spirit artifact.

This time, Qin Lie did not kick her out.

He did not know if the enemy would scour the place with their consciousness again. Song Tingyu could detect it beforehand and warn him if she was near.

Inside the Astral Thunder Hammer.

The simplified Spirit Gathering and Spirit Storage diagrams, as well as a dozen or so spirit lines, were broken and twisted into a chaotic bundle.

The damage to these dozens of spirit lines massively decreased the power of thunder once it was poured into the spirit artifact. This diluted the spirit energy within the two main diagrams, impacting the Astral Thunder Hammer’s full power as a result.

Qin Lie was currently trying reconnect the broken spirit lines. The ones that were twisted into a bundle would have to be slowly untied so that order could be restored.

Since the three basic diagrams had come from the ancient diagrams that he knew of, Qin Lie completely understood every tiny modification to the diagram.

“Zzzt!”

The spirit threads were like refined lightning that slowly twisted within the spirit diagram.

Qin Lie’s mind consciousness and spirit energy was swiftly being exhausted.

As time gradually passed, the finger he pressed to the Astral Thunder Hammer began to shake strangely. A strange buzzing sound came from it.

“Boooom!”

A low rumble of thunder came from within the Astral Thunder Hammer. The lightning pattern on the surface of the hammer suddenly shone with glaring light.

There were many tiny specks of light above the hammer and inside of the lightning. They glittered like evening stars and unleashed a violent, thunderous energy.

These blinking specks of light was the astral thunder that formed after thunder energy was condensed and refined!

A dozen or so strikes of astral thunder quickly formed as Qin Lie injected his power of thunder and lightning. They were like a sea of stars that moved strangely.

Qin Lie’s eyes were very bright.

After the spirit diagrams inside the artifact were completely repaired, the thunder and lightning energy he unleashed did not decrease in the slightest. All of it poured into the main diagram and made the Astral Thunder Hammer’s power become at least twice as strong!

The power of thunder and lightning was already violent and imposing. After being refined and condensed into astral thunder by the Astral Thunder Hammer, which held power that was even more concentrated, the destructive power of Qin Lie’s thunder would massively increase!

Qin Lie believed that, if he swung his Astral Thunder Hammer with all his strength and unleashed a dozen or so strikes of astral thunder toward his enemy like a starry downpour, then even a martial practitioner in the late stage of the Netherpassage Realm would probably only last a second before exploding to death.

This was different from the power of the Terminator Profound Bombs.

After the Terminator Profound Bombs exploded, they would have a violent impact that covered a wide area. This instantaneous explosive power had a wider range, which was why its power was also a little spread out.

The astral thunder formed by the Astral Thunder Hammer was the embodiment of refined and condensed lightning. The impact they dealt was extremely terrifying.

A big man could only topple a big tree if he used a giant stone pillar to ram it, but if he stabbed a tree with a thin sword, then he would be able to completely penetrate it.

The astral thunder formed by the Astral Thunder Hammer would be the equivalent a thin sword’s destructive power.

“Boom boom boom!”

Qin Lie stood up and waved the Astral Thunder Hammer, grinning and laughing happily.

A powerful roar of wind and thunder rumbled inside of the room. Astral thunder continuously glittered on the Astral Thunder Hammer, but it did not actually fly out.

A strange glitter shone in Song Tingyu’s eyes when she saw Qin Lie swinging his hammer in excitement. She cheerfully asked, “You succeeded?”

“What do you think?” While Qin Lie laughed, the Astral Thunder Hammer suddenly escaped from his hands.

“Boooom!”

A violent, thunderous explosion resounded from within the Astral Thunder Hammer and locked onto Song Tingyu with a destructive aura.

Song Tingyu’s expression changed, and the two silver bracelets on her lucent wrists flew out like two silver moons and glowed with a powerful light.

Dazzling silver light was unleashed as the bracelet howled. It rammed into the lightning power of the Astral Thunder Hammer, causing the interior of the room to become colorful with light.

After a melodious dinging sound, Qin Lie made a grasping motion in midair and withdrew the Astral Thunder Hammer into his spatial ring.

The light of the two silver disc-like bracelets in midair also became fainter and fainter.

Song Tingyu raised her arms and withdrew her bracelets as well. Then she asked in surprise, “How much power did you use?”

“Seventy percent of thunder power.” Qin Lie smiled.

“It’s really powerful! The power of thunder and lightning coming from it can shatter a middle stage Netherpassage Realm martial practitioner’s protective light barrier in an instant!” Song Tingyu exclaimed. Then she said, “If you unleash everything you have, then you have a fighting chance even against a normal late stage Netherpassage Realm martial practitioner!”

“Normal?” Qin Lie asked in surprise.

“For example, the late stage Netherpassage Realm martial practitioners in Profound Heaven Alliance and Eight Extreme Temple, such as the leaders of Dark Asura Hall and Seven Fiend Valley, can only be considered normal Netherpassage Realm martial practitioners.”

Song Tingyu nodded. “If your opponent is me, or people like Zhang Chendong and Zhao Xuan, we have rare spirit artifacts in our possession and will be clad in precious armor. Our spirit arts are miraculous, and our physiques are tempered in special ways as well… Your current strength might not be necessarily enough to deal with this type of person. Of course, adding that to your other skills and hidden strengths, it may be worth a try.”

Qin Lie’s expression changed as he thoughtfully said, “It looks like this Trial will not be an easy trip.”

“Even the average person in the nine great silver forces is around the level of Zhao Xuan, Zhang Chendong, and I. Their geniuses will most definitely be a lot more powerful than we are,” Song Tingyu said gravely.

“I know.” Qin Lie frowned.

……

Chapter 406: Reunion

In the south western corner of Sea Moon Island, five martial practitioners with bloody faces were kneeling in a zone with coral reefs, their heads facing downward.

Five spatial rings of different colors were in Bi You’s palm. He went through them one by one and shook his head in disappointment, “Nothing.”

“It’s not these five people.” Jiang Tianxing sighed softly.

“I’ve searched through all of Sea Moon Island with my mind consciousness, and I did not miss a single martial practitioner. To think that I still can’t find him…” Bi You’s eyes were grim. “He’s probably not on Sea Moon Island at the moment. Keep searching! Go to Spirit Eagle Island and search the surrounding reef zones. Search all of the boats going to and coming from Spirit Eagle Island!”

“Understood!” A few Celestial Artifact Sect martial practitioners nodded hastily before respectfully departing. They began searching the surroundings again.

“What secrets are hidden inside that tombstone?” Jiang Tianxing suddenly asked.

Bi You stared at him coldly before snorting, “Your father didn’t tell you?”

Jian Tianxing shook his head.

“You know nothing, yet you dream of taking the tombstone all for yourself. You are literally a failure!” Bi You scolded him bluntly.

Anger appeared in Jiang Tianxing’s eyes.

“You guys go look for it as well!” Bi You stared at the five people in front of them.

Five Celestial Artifact Sect martial practitioners were still restraining the five martial practitioners who cultivated the power of thunder and ice. In order to confirm that they weren’t wearing masks, all five of their faces were nearly torn from their heads. They looked horrifying.

“What do we do with them?” one person asked.

“Kill them all,” Bi You declared before flying away from the crowd and vanishing.

……

Sea Moon Trade Group.

Han Xing and Luo Chen were sitting at the top floor and waiting for news. They were not in a hurry to leave.

A Blue Star Association martial practitioner dressed in gray quietly walked forward and knelt before Han Xing. With a bowed head, he said, “Celestial Artifact Sect has killed the five people in the south western corner of the island. Bi You left in disappointment, so they probably haven’t found that person yet. Celestial Artifact Sect is still searching for him everywhere…”

Han Xing waved a hand, motioning for him to fall back, then said to Luo Chen, “It seems that Celestial Artifact Sect’s luck is not holding.”

Luo Chen nodded. “It is best if they don’t find him. That thing seems to be related to the Trial. If I obtain it instead of Celestial Artifact Sect… it may be greatly beneficial for our activities during the Trial.”

“You mean…?” Han Xing smiled and asked.

“Ignore Celestial Artifact Sect and just keep a close eye on Profound Heaven Alliance’s stronghold. We shall act once Celestial Artifact Sect leaves in despair.” Luo Chen stood up and said with an indifferent expression, “I will be borrowing your Blue Star Association’s cultivation area to practice my swordmanship.”

“I will arrange it immediately!” Han Xing stood up as well.

“Brother Zhang, Brother Zhao, you should take a walk around the Spirit Artifact District below. If there are any spirit artifacts that you fancy, put them on my tab.” Luo Chen nodded, then walked away.

“Thank you, Brother Luo.” Zhang Chendong and Zhao Xuan thanked him together.

……

Time flashed by, and yet another month passed.

Bi You and the others from Celestial Artifact Sect searched around Spirit Eagle Island and Sea Moon Island for a month. However, they still didn’t find anything.

In the end, they gave up and left on a flying spirit artifact in disappointment.

Sea Moon Island’s partially shut down teleportation formation slowly got up running again with Celestial Artifact Sect’s departure.

All the martial practitioners that were trapped on the island could now reach the Heavenly Wither Continent through the teleportation formation.

There currently was only a month and a half left before the Land of Chaos’ Trial.

Today.

Dressed in white clothing, Xie Jingxuan arrived late and stepped into the house at Profound Heaven Alliance’s Sea Moon Island stronghold.

“Is Sister Tingyu around?” After coming in, she immediately found Tian Pu, the person in charge, and asked about Song Tingyu’s activities.

“She is.” Tian Pu did not hide that fact.

“Bring me to her,” Xie Jingxuan said.

“About that…” Tian Pu looked troubled.

“What’s the problem?” Xie Jingxuan’s clear, calm eyes stared at him in displeasure. “The Trial is about to start, and both of us are participants. What’s wrong with us communicating with each other?”

“Miss Song is not alone,” Tian Pu said softly.

Xie Jingxuan’s bright eyes glittered. After some thought, she quietly said, “Uncle Tian, it was my Xie Family who took care of you before you came to Sea Moon Island.”

Tian Pu lowered his head, and after a few seconds of silence said in a hushed tone, “If I am not mistaken, the person who was arranged to be Miss Song’s follower should be the one who turned all of the Scarlet Tide Continent upside down…”

Xie Jingxuan completely understood and nodded lightly, saying, “Thank you, Uncle Tian.”

Under Tian Pu’s guidance, she walked through a long corridor and headed straight toward the rooms where Song Tingyu and Qin Lie were.

Inside Qin Lie’s room.

The tombstone that was two meters tall stood upright on the stone floor. Qin Lie sat in front of the tombstone with his hand only half an inch away from it.

Wisps of violent, surging blood energy condensed into a thick mist of blood. Under the urging of the seven divine lights within the tombstone, they entered Qin Lie’s palm one after another.

Wisps of bloody light swam across Qin Lie’s body like lightning. He was sweating considerably. All of his clothing was drenched in sweat, and blue veins were popping out of his neck. His eyes were closed, as if he were enduring pain with everything he had.

A powerful, violent blood energy fiercely roamed throughout his nerves, blood, and bones like numerous sanguine ribbons, tempering his body and increasing the potency of his blood. It made every drop of his blood become filled with vigorous, violent energy.

Song Tingyu executed a restriction inside the house to prevent the blood energy from leaking. She was protecting Qin Lie.

A month had passed. Not only had Qin Lie managed to repair the Astral Thunder Hammer, he had also mastered its secrets and forged twenty five Terminator Profound Bombs.

While he had been forging the Terminator Profound Bombs and meticulously inscribing the spirit diagrams, he discovered that he was able to swiftly stabilize his mind.

The minds of many people would usually be greatly affected when they first broke through to the Netherpassage Realm. This made their realms fluctuate a bit, and it was very easy for them to fall victim to a fiendish rebound while cultivating.

However, by forging the Terminator Profound Bombs and inscribing many spirit diagrams, Qin Lie was swiftly able to pass this phase.

Not only was he successful in stabilizing his realm, he was even acquiring a large amount of blood energy from the tombstone to temper his body. He refined his blood with the Blood Spirit Art and filled himself with the energy of blood.

This was all for the Trial that was about to begin.

Xue Li’s soul shadow quietly flew out, resembling a cluster of ghostfire, and quietly observed Qin Lie’s physical condition.

“How is he?” Song Tingyu was infinitely bored while protecting Qin Lie. Since Xue Li himself had come out, she asked him a casual question.

She was just bored and had nothing to do. She did not expect Xue Li to bother her either.

“With the tombstone’s assistance, his progress of his cultivation in the Blood Spirit Art could only be described as amazing.” This time, Xue Li surprisingly appeared to be very interested in talking. The glittering bloody light in his eyes shone with a passionate glow.

“Unfortunate. It’s unfortunate that I lost my true body, otherwise I could’ve swiftly increased my strength through this tombstone as well. The strange blood energy that this tombstone contains is many times more refined and immense than the one in the ultimate blood ground! To us, this item is essentially a godly artifact for cultivating the Blood Spirit Art!”

He finally understood why Jiang Tianxing had come from the Celestial Artifact Sect of the Heavenly Fissure Continent that was ten thousand miles away just to seek the tombstone inside the god corpse.

Jiang Tianxing and Jiang Zhuzhe shared the same appearance. From this detail alone, Xue Li was sure that Jiang Tianxing and Jiang Zhuzhe were related to each other, not to mention that the Blood Spirit Art cultivated by Jiang Tianxing obviously came from Jiang Zhuzhe.

Xue Li even believed that Jiang Tianxing had come to snatch the tombstone after receiving Jiang Zhuzhe’s orders.

“What aspect of Qin Lie does the tombstone enhance?” Seeing that Xue Li was interested in chatting, Song Tingyu could not help but ask again.

“Everything!” Xue Li’s expression was one of excitement. “The blood energy inside the tombstone enhances his blood energy, tempers his muscles, veins, and bones, and even nurtures his True Soul! If a person’s blood is vigorous, then his True Soul will also benefit from it!”

Song Tingyu’s eyes shone with a strange light.

“The thunder and lightning spirit art this kid cultivated is already miraculous in the first place. Having been constantly tempered with thunder and lightning from the Ninth Heaven, his body is outstanding, and the blood spirit energy can gradually cleanse his body with the blood energy so that his life force becomes exceptionally powerful. Blood can actually be seen as a source of life, and if a martial practitioner’s inner power is immense, then the combat strength of his physical power will become extremely deadly as well!”

Xue Li appeared somewhat excited. “Let’s put it this way—if the current Qin Lie battled any other martial practitioner at the peak of the Netherpassage Realm without using spirit energy or spirit artifacts in a situation where both parties are fighting with just their physical bodies, then Qin Lie’s body will have an overwhelming advantage over the other party’s!”

“Sister Tingyu, are you in here?” It was at this moment when Xie Jingxuan’s cries came from outside.

Xue Li frowned slightly and slipped into Qin Lie’s forehead. Qin Lie, who was cultivating using the wordless tombstone, stowed it away.

His eyes were shockingly red when he opened them. The bloody light in his eyes faded after a few seconds, then he finally nodded slightly at Song Tingyu before saying, “I’m fine now.”

“I’m here,” Song Tingyu answered loudly. Then she softly said to Qin Lie, “Tian Pu used to be a part of the Xie Family. He must have told her about you, so you won’t be able to hide from her even if you choose to avoid this encounter.”

“I want to talk to you about the Trial,” Xie Jingxuan said from outside.

“Okay.” Song Tingyu stood up and opened the door, welcoming her in.

“Hello, Miss Xie.” Qin Lie chuckled, willingly greeting her. He was casually sitting where he was before.

“You’re here as well?” Xie Jingxuan pretended to be surprised.

“The Trial is about to begin, and the teleportation formation on Sea Moon Island is still restricted. One cannot help but feel anxious.” Song Tingyu sighed quietly.

“It has already been unsealed. When I arrived on the island, I heard that anyone could pass through the teleportation formation and go to the Heavenly Wither Continent now.” Xie Jingxuan brought them the latest news. “I came looking for you because I wanted us to go together.”

“I see.” Song Tingyu also looked comforted by the news. “Qin Lie, it’s about time. Can we leave now?”

“Alright.” Qin Lie got up.

“Then we shall walk while speaking,” Xie Jingxuan said faintly.

And so the trio left together. Before Qin Lie departed, he made a new face with his face-changing fox skin mask.

Two hours later, the trio arrived at the teleportation formation on the opposite side of Sea Moon Trade Group. They realized that it was packed full of people. Many people were holding spirit stones and waiting in line for their turn.

“Gao Yu! Tang Siqi! Elder Mo! Instructor Feng! Lian Rou! Yi Yuan!”

When Qin Lie saw that bunch of familiar faces, he couldn’t help but cry out from the bottom of his heart. His face was full of surprise.

He could not have predicted that these people would appear at Sea Moon Island. Judging from their appearance, they were also getting ready to depart for the Land of Chaos through the teleportation formation.

This both surprised and exhilarated him.