Spirit Realm Chapter 488-489

Chapter 488: To Each Their Own!

Qin Lie had been keeping quiet all this time.

He could see from the attitudes of Ren Peng, Hu Ping, Wei Liang, and He Wei that all four resented him. Chu Li was the only one that didn’t.

Qin Lie stood by and watched Hu Ping get struck by lightning because he believed that it was the proper punishment for Hu Ping not listening to advice.

He knew that the barrage of lightning strikes wouldn’t be enough to kill him, and instead would teach him a lesson.

However, he hadn’t expected that Hu Ping would hate him so much.

Later on, he quietly listened to both He Wei’s argument and Song Tingyu and Du Xiangyang’s counterargument.

With the help of Du Xiangyang’s explanation, Qin Lie finally noticed that he didn’t owe anything to He Wei or the others.

As of that moment, Chu Li was the only one who truly considered Qin Lie a friend. He Wei’s group of four… was not worth his friendship.

After Du Xiangyang laid out the details one by one and explained each of them, he calmly smiled and stopped speaking overbearingly. He gave He Wei, Hu Ping, Wei Liang, and Ren Peng a chance to refute his words.

They tried very hard to think of something to say in response, but unfortunately they couldn’t.

No matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.

The faces of He Wei and the others began to darken.

The group of people who had been talking with each other cheerfully only an hour ago suddenly went silent all at once. It was as if they had all become mute.

The scene had turned ugly in an instant.

At this moment, He Wei and the three remaining Terminator Sect martial practitioners were looking at Chu Li, whereas Du Xiangyang, Xie Jingxuan, and Song Tingyu were looking at Qin Lie.

“Qin Lie…” A bitter smile spread across Chu Li’s face.

“I guess it isn’t very likely for our two groups to work together even if we wanted to.” Qin Lie smiled calmly, no longer trying to be secretive. “Your three junior brothers deeply resent me, and I don’t want people with ulterior moments nearby only to betray me at a critical moment. Therefore, Big Brother Chu, I suppose we should just split up and act as we did before.”

Qin Lie stated the facts in a candid manner.

Chu Li seemed embarrassed as he spread his arms wide and said, “I didn’t think things would turn out like this.”

“I didn’t think so either. I originally invited all of you here purely out of goodwill.” Qin Lie sighed. “Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking. Grudges between us aren’t so easily buried.”

“Qin Lie, you wouldn’t mind if we explore this thunder lagoon, would you?” He Wei suddenly interrupted.

Chu Li frowned slightly,h a look of displeasure on his face.

Qin Lie flashed a calm smile, then confidently said, “Of course not.”

With that, he headed toward the other side of the thunder lagoon without another word.

The thunder lagoon took up an enormous area in the Land of Forbidden Thunder, and their two groups of people could definitely split up and explore its mysteries. If they were lucky, both groups wouldn’t even come across each other.

Qin Lie’s group had arrived in this location first. This was an excellent place to start exploring.

Yet he had stepped away of his own accord.

“As for the Pure Soul Springs, heh… to each their own, okay?” Du Xiangyang also left with a smile.

Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan didn’t say a word to Chu Li and the others before turning around and walking away, frowns plastered on their faces.

Soon enough, Qin Lie’s group departed and went to the other side of the thunder lagoon. Coincidentally, the thunder lagoon separated the two groups.

“Honestly? They pointed out the ways in which our groups conflicted and parted ways with us on purpose because they realized the value of Pure Soul Springs!” Ren Peng laughed coldly.

“Qin Lie obviously could’ve saved Hu Ping, but he paid him no heed. He was clearly trying to weaken us.” He Wei sighed softly. “The Pure Soul Springs are incomparably precious. How could he possibly want to share them with us? That Du Xiangyang treated us kindly all this time, but he suddenly became just as thorny. Aren’t the Pure Soul Springs the reason why all of that happened??”

“They think we won’t be able to acquire the Pure Soul Springs without them? Well I certainly don’t!” Hu Ping declared through gritted teeth. “Who does that Qin Lie think he is? He’s just a puny martial practitioner who came from a low rank continent. Does he seriously think he can overturn the skies in the Graveyard of Gods?”

Chu Li’s eyebrows were furrowed in deep concentration. He coldly stared at these people, choosing not to interrupt them.

Their attitudes helped him to gradually understand the situation. He knew that, be it He Wei herself or Ren Peng’s group, they harbored resentment for Qin Lie, Song Tingyu, and Xie Jingxuan down to their very bones.

If Qin Lie’s group hadn’t performed so well, both parties could’ve remained amicable.

Unfortunately, Qin Lie stood out too much.

Back at the village in the Forbidden Land of Wood, Qin Lie essentially forced everyone to give every bit of the Spring of Life to Xue Moyan. This incident had been a fish bone in the throats of Ren Peng and the others, causing them discomfort all this time.

Just now, Hu Ping’s greed blossomed and he ignored Qin Lie’s warning against inspecting the thunder lagoon. He had caused trouble for himself and blamed Qin Lie for not saving him.

Adding up all of these cracks, it would be naive for Chu Li to try and keep both parties together as if nothing had happened.

Chu Li already realized that the problem was on his side, but Hu Ping, Ren Peng and Wei Liang were his junior brothers who loved and respected him. Furthermore, He Wei was his beautiful childhood sweetheart. Even though Chu Li knew that the problem was on his side, he couldn’t just abandon them.

All he could do was stick with them.

At the other side of the thunder barrier, Song Tingyu was also muttering criticism.

“Once a crack forms, it’ll be very hard to mend it. Besides, it wasn’t our fault in the first place, so why should we have to put up with them?”

“If they wanted to save face, they wouldn’t have come,” Xie Jingxuan said coldly.

“You women…” Du Xiangyang let out an involuntary laugh, shook his head, and said, “You wouldn’t understand friendship between men. If it weren’t for his friendship with Chu Li, do you think Qin Lie would’ve let those people join us? His honor wouldn’t have let him…”

“Qin Lie, we didn’t mean to be at odds with them, but that He Wei kept distorting the truth. Everything she said was unpleasant to the ear. She kept making it sound like we owed them all along!” Song Tingyu’s beautiful eyes were full of helplessness as she pulled at Qin Lie’s arm and gently said, “We didn’t put you at a tough spot, did we?”

“It’s fine. I don’t like them either,” Qin Lie said calmly.

“That’s great then.” Du Xiangyang smiled.

After a momentary pause, his smile faded and his face became incredibly solemn. “Before we explore the thunder lagoon, I think we need to come to a consensus!”

“A consensus?” Song Tingyu repeated in confusion.

“About those people from the Terminator Sect on the other side of the thunder barrier…” Du Xiangyang pointed a finger in the direction of Chu Li’s group and sucked in a deep breath. Then he exclaimed, “From now on, our paths are separate. We won’t cooperate with them in the future! At the same time, the Pure Soul Springs within the thunder lagoon are miraculous treasures that would make anyone go green with jealousy. It is extremely likely that conflict will break out between both groups as we explore and search for the Pure Soul Springs. I want to know what your attitudes will be should conflict truly occurred!”

Qin Lie, Song Tingyu, and Xie Jingxuan’s faces experienced an abrupt change in color.

Du Xiangyang had brought up a very complicated problem.

The second Qin Lie’s agreement with Terminator Sect was broken, both groups could suddenly become enemies.

The possibility of conflict erupting between both parties as they explored the thunder lagoon and sought the Pure Soul Springs was definitely high. If they truly were to meet on the battlefield, what would they do?

An very grim predicament lay before them!

“Qin Lie!” Xie Jingxuan exclaimed softly.

Song Tingyu frowned deeply. Then, in a soft voice, she asked, “Why do you think we should do?”

“The second conflict breaks out, any mercy may result in casualties of our own!” Du Xiangyang’s expression was serious. “Furthermore, I believe that, except for Chu Li, none of those bastards would be merciful!”

He looked deeply at Qin Lie and said, “If everything were the same as when I first met you, I believe that you definitely wouldn’t have mercy on them. Now, however…”

After Qin Lie had his soul tempered by the thunder and lightning in the Forbidden Land of Thunder, Du Xiangyang noticed that he seemed to have become surprisingly gentle. His eyes no longer shone with the mad gleam of ambition. A seed of evil used to be buried deep within Qin Lie’s heart. He had been the kind of savage that would think of a way to offend others even if they hadn’t offended him.

Now, however, the current Qin Lie seemed both gentle and harmless.

Yet, when he clashed with Feng Yiyou and Yu Men, he looked as violent and extreme as usual.

Because of these conflicting images, Du Xiangyang wasn’t able to get a clear understanding of Qin Lie.

Du Xiangyang couldn’t figure out what Qin Lie was thinking, so he was worried that Qin Lie would let his relationship with Chu Li affect him—

—he was worried that Qin Lie would be merciful in a life and death situation, giving the other party the opportunity to harm them significantly.

“From this point onward, they are enemies,” Qin Lie said calmly.

After a momentary pause, Du Xiangyang chuckled and nodded. “Then I’m at ease.”

Xie Jingxuan let out a sigh of relief.

Song Tingyu giggled and hugged Qin Lie’s arm tightly. Her ample breasts pressed against his arm, covering half of it.

“Guard me. I’m going to inspect the thunder lagoon one more time to see if the Consecutive Soul Splitting Formation that Feng Yiyou left behind will be a threat to us,” Qin Lie said indifferently, adjusting his mindset as he sat down cross-legged. He gathered a wisp of soul consciousness and slipped it into the thunder lagoon.

Du Xiangyang, Song Tingyu, and Xie Jingxuan stayed by his side, watching over him.

……

Chapter 489: Detecting the Thunder Spirit

Qin Lie renewed his efforts to explore the thunder lagoon.

A wisp of soul consciousness quietly snuck into the thunder barrier like a shapeless ribbon capable of passing through anything.

In the field of crisscrossing electrical power, multiple bone ash urns were scattered throughout the thunder barrier, spinning chaotically.

Every urn contained a True Soul. The malice of these True Souls had been activated by some sort of evil power, riling them into a brutal frenzy. They looked like they would explode and disappear at any moment.

The Consecutive Soul Splittings Formation originally still lacked five sacrificial souls, but after Zhang Sheng and the others perished one after another, new True Soul sacrifices flew into the urns. This led to the formation gradually filling with soul energy.

With his wisp of soul consciousness, Qin Lie roamed around the edges of the thunder barrier. He grew shocked as he watched the Consecutive Soul Splitting Formation grow increasingly unstable.

He wasn’t sure when the formation would explode and didn’t dare to stay any longer than necessary, so he directed his soul consciousness into the depths of the thunder lagoon.

The moment Qin Lie’s soul consciousness moved farther inward, he immediately sensed six pure, unblemished soul auras.

It was the six Pure Soul Springs!

This time Qin Lie examined the area seriously and discovered that the six Pure Soul Springs continuously radiated clean and unblemished soul auras. They resembled pristine fountains of energy that flowed from the depths of the thunder lagoon.

These soul auras were powerful and vast, yet were as pure as newborn babies that had never experienced anything worldly. As a result, they contained no impurities.

Qin Lie’s wisp of soul consciousness hovered around the Pure Soul Springs before attempting to delve deeper.

All of a sudden, crystals filled with soul energy flooded his senses.

“Soul crystals! These are definitely soul crystals! The depths of the thunder lagoon are actually covered in them!” Qin Lie thought.

However, in the next moment, a violent, thunderous soul energy abruptly spread from underneath the thunder lagoon.

“Aooo!”

This ferocious, terrifying howl seemed to embody the rage of a thunder god. It resounded throughout all of the thunder lagoon.

Everyone in the area heard this deafening howl.

“Crack! Crack!”

Soul crystals could be heard rolling around the depths of the thunder lagoon. Then, as if the soul crystals had been pressed together into a single entity, they transformed into a strange, crystalline beast.

The thunderous energy in the entirety of the thunder lagoon immediately increased several times over. The lightning that struck from the depths of the clouds intensified to a shocking degree, looking like an overflowing heavenly river.

Startled by this, Qin Lie had his wisp of soul consciousness beat a hasty retreat.

In the next moment, right next to the thunder lagoon’s exterior, Qin Lie opened his eyes. They shone radiantly, and in a deep tone, he exclaimed, “The thunder spirit is in the depths of the thunder lagoon!”

“You woke it up?” Wariness showed on Du Xiangyang’s face as if he were facing a great enemy.

“Aside from the six Pure Soul Springs floating inside of the thunder lagoon, the bottom of the lagoon was also covered in soul crystals. That thunder spirit was a strange, crystalline beast. Not only was its soul incredibly powerful, its body was also filled with thunderous energy,” Qin Lie explained.

“There are soul crystals too? A large amount of them?” Song Tingyu grew excited.

“That’s right, a large amount of soul crystals!” Qin Lie said with certainty. After sucking in a deep breath, he continued, “First we need to deal with the thunder spirit. Once the thunder spirit is sealed, the barrier of the thunder lagoon should become inactive. Even the Forbidden Land of Thunder’s electricity-filled sky should vanish as well. The thunder spirit is the eye of this land’s formation. If it’s sealed, the formation here should cease to function as well.”

Having experienced the sealing process twice, once in the Forbidden Land of Fire and once in the Forbidden Land of Wood, Qin Lie was gradually figuring out how to they worked and steadily getting more of an understanding of the seven spirits.

Back in the Forbidden Land of Fire, meteors used to fall and flames used to scorch the sky. The temperature used to be frighteningly high, and there used to be lava ponds as far as the eye could see.

However, after the Fire Qilin was sealed, meteors no longer fell like rain in the Forbidden Land of Fire. The volcanoes there seemed to have gone dormant, and the originally blistering temperatures seemed to have gone done significantly as well.

Similar changes occurred in the Forbidden Land of Wood.

After the wood spirit was sealed, every ancient, towering tree seemed to have become lifeless, unable to attack in an organized manner with the disappearance of the wood spirit. It was as if they had all lost their souls at the same time.

Qin Lie believed that the Forbidden Land of Thunder would be no exception.

“You’re the only one who can seal the thunder spirit because you have the Demon Sealing Tombstone!” Song Tingyu said abruptly, her beautiful eyes alight. “Once the thunder spirit is sealed, the barriers around the thunder lagoon should disappear. Even the Forbidden Land of Thunder would lose the lightning and thunder that fills it sky. When that happens, you’ll lose the advantage that the Forbidden Land of Thunder gives you…”

“I don’t think Feng Yiyou and Yu Men would give up on the searching the Forbidden Land of Thunder.” Du Xiangyang’s expression was grim.

“The moment the Forbidden Land of Thunder is no longer covered in thunder and lightning, we might not be able to face Feng Yiyou and Yu Men as easily as we did before,” Xie Jingxuan interjected.

“There’s also Luo Chen to consider. He was the most knowledgeable about Forbidden Land of Thunder’s location, so he should be here somewhere. Then there’s also the people under Ye Yihao. After losing the wood spirit in the Forbidden Land of Wood, they should have come here. In addition to that…” Song Tingyu looked ahead of them at the people from Terminator Sect, saying, “They’re here as well.”

Qin Lie’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

Song Tingyu, Xie Jingxuan, and Du Xiangyang’s worries were justified. If Qin Lie did seal the thunder spirit, then the Forbidden Land of Thunder would lose the wide coverage of its violent thunder and lightning. He would no longer be able to control the area.

Once that happened, everyone they had previously beaten back would rush them and tear them apart like beasts.

“We shouldn’t seal the thunder spirit. At the very least, it shouldn’t be sealed right now!” Song Tingyu’s eyes shone intelligently. “The thunder spirit will be a threat to everyone, but it is also a solid stronghold on your side! The Forbidden Land of Thunder will only continue to unleash its thunder and lightning for as long as the thunder spirit remains the eye of its formation. This is the only way we can remain the strongest force in this land!”

“If the thunder spirit isn’t sealed, it’ll probably be incredibly difficult to enter the thunder lagoon and acquire the Pure Soul Springs and soul crystals,” Qin Lie argued.

“If even you aren’t able to explore the thunder lagoon and acquire the Pure Soul Springs or soul crystals, everyone else will be even worse off.” Song Tingyu smiled calmly. “Let’s wait. We will let others explore the thunder lagoon and see who is more patient. I believe that, as long as we bide our time, everyone will gather here eventually. When that happens, the situation will become incredibly chaotic!”

A crafty smile stretched across Song Tingyu’s face.

“That’s a good idea!” Du Xiangyang exclaimed in praise. “Miss Song is correct. The more chaotic the current situation becomes, the better it will be for us! Only when everyone has gathered together and started fighting—preferably losing some men, and by extension, their strength—it will be easier for us to acquire the Pure Soul Springs!”

“As long as the thunder spirit isn’t sealed away and the thunder and lightning continued to run rampant the Forbidden Land of Thunder, with you around, we’ll become the strongest force here!” Song Tingyu started to relax. “Since we’ll be at our strongest, why don’t we try our best to kill more of our enemies? If we preserve our combat power while everyone else gets weaker, then seal the thunder spirit and obtain the Pure Soul Springs, couldn’t we just retreat even when the Forbidden Land of Thunder ultimately loses its thunder and lightning?”

“Gather everyone here?” Qin Lie rubbed his chin in contemplation.

“Mn. We’ll release the news of the Pure Soul Springs and soul crystals. Using the tokens of the various forces in our possession, we’ll transmit the information and tell them the location of the thunder lagoon so that all of them will gather here,” Song Tingyu said excitedly.

“What do you guys think?” Qin Lie asked.

“In terms of planning and strategizing, I was never as good as Sister Tingyu. Naturally, I’ll follow her plan.” Xie Jingxuan wore a calm expression.

“Miss Song and I happen to be of the same opinion. I also believe that this is our best plan. We should try and decrease the strength of all forces in the Forbidden Land of Thunder while you are at your strongest. It would be best for us to make everyone grow green with jealousy over the Pure Soul Springs and engage each other in a free for all!” Du Xiangyang exclaimed.

“Alright! Let’s do it this way then!” Qin Lie nodded.

“Give me all the tokens at your waists. I will wander around the surrounding area and release a signal for Luo Chen and Ye Yihao to draw them to here!” Du Xiangyang volunteered himself for the assignment.

“Be careful.” Qin Lie gave the tokens of Black Voodoo Cult and the three great famiies to Du Xiangyang.

Soon enough, tokens of every force except Illusory Demon Sect were tied to at Du Xiangyang’s waist.

“Relax, I’m just provoking the enemy, not battling them to the death. I’ll be fine.” Du Xiangyang smiled and left.

……

“Du Xiangyang left!”

On the other side of the thunder barrier, Ren Peng, who had been constantly paying attention to Qin Lie’s group, softly cried out.

He Wei, Hu Ping, and Wei Liang’s gazes immediately focused on Qin Lie’s group off in the distance. Since they were separated by the thunder barrier, they couldn’t see Qin Lie. However, since Du Xiangyang had taken the long way around the barrier when he left, they noticed him leaving.

“What are they doing? Why haven’t they broken through the thunder barrier and explored its interior?” Hu Ping grew anxious.

“None of our soul consciousnesses can operate inside the thunder barrier, so there’s no way for us to venture deep into the thunder lagoon.” Wei Liang wore a worried frown. “The Consecutive Soul Splitting Formation is still inside the thunder barrier. That thing can explode at any moment, and we can’t act recklessly before getting a full understanding of the situation.”

“I wonder what they’re thinking.” He Wei was also secretly frowning.

Although they greatly desired the Pure Soul Springs, they had no way of entering the thunder lagoon.

They could only place their hopes on Qin Lie.

He Wei, Hu Ping, Ren Peng, and Wei Liang had already made up their minds to wait until Qin Lie broke through the thunder barrier and entered the thunder lagoon. Once they confirmed that there weren’t any issues, they would tail him.

They all knew that Qin Lie had the Demon Sealing Tombstone and that the thunder spirit had to be in the depths of the thunder lagoon. They were hoping that Qin Lie would use the tombstone to seal the thunder spirit, forcing the Forbidden Land of Thunder to lose its violent thunder and lightning.

From their perspective, when that happened, the Forbidden Land of Thunder would no longer be under Qin Lie’s control!

Once the thunder and lightning disappeared, the Pure Soul Springs would be up for grabs based on individual ability alone. They had already made up their minds to not go easy on Qin Lie.

They were plotting their own schemes.

Unfortunately, the plan that Song Tingyu came up with took all sorts of factors into consideration, including what He Wei and the others were scheming. That was why she had made the decision for them to bide their time.

“Ooooo! Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Aooo!”

Suddenly, the tokens at the waists of He Wei and the others began emitting shrill howls at the same time.

Fishing out a token and examining it with her mind, He Wei looked at Du Xiangyang, who was still within their line of sight, and screamed, “Du Xiangyang! What the hell are you doing!?”

“Du Xiangyang is voluntarily transmitting signals using the tokens and beckoning nearby martial practitioners of other forces to come here! Dammit! He’s going to make everyone else show up!” Ren Peng flew into a blind rage.