Spirit Realm Chapter 553-554

Chapter 553: The Search of the Nine Forces

A great many experts gathered on one island off the coast of the Heavenly Fissure Continent to discuss important matters.

The Graveyard of Gods had undergone spatial collapse, and it was unknown whether or not the martial practitioners who participated in the Trial were alive. It came to light that the Graveyard of Gods was a divine altar that the Heaven Fighting Race use to train their descendants, and that Jiang Zhuzhe, an evil remnant of Blood Fiend Sect, gave that information to Celestial Artifact Sect…

All kinds of reports spread across the Land of Chaos through different channels of communication. They alarmed the leaders of the nine great Silver forces, all of whom sent people to make sense of the situation.

Black Voodoo Cult sent Guan Xian, their Nirvana Realm chief instructor responsible for teaching others how to raise voodoo creatures.

The person leading Illusory Demon Sect’s forces was Shi Xiuling. She possessed a cultivation of the Nirvana Realm and was the sworn sister of Yu Lingwei, sect master of Illusory Demon Sect.

Terminator Sect mobilized He Shangsheng, a senior of He Wei famed for his fiery temper.

Representing Heavenly Sword Mountain was Luo Nan, Luo Chen’s grandmother and one of the five Heavenly Swords.

The Xiahou Family sent Xiahou Qi, the Su Family sent Su Zhi, and the Lin Family sent Lin Bin, all three of which were greatly respected elders in their own right.

Aside from Celestial Artifact Sect and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, these seven great Silver rank forces paid close attention to the Graveyard of Gods. Everyone they sent to investigate were people that held power in their respective force and the trust of their sect leader.

These seven forces sent several dozen elite martial practitioners to participate in the Trial that took place in the Graveyard of Gods. They also contributed great treasures as rewards for those that survived.

No one could have expected Celestial Artifact Sect and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain to send word that the Graveyard of Gods had been destroyed and that the fate of the Trial-participants was unknown.

This news rocked all seven forces to their very cores.

“The eight god corpses, which were imprisoned under the sea, broke free of their restraints, and we don’t know where they’ve gone. Elder Luo tried to open the spatial passageway to the Graveyard of Gods early, but couldn’t lock onto its coordinates. In all likelihood… this means that it no longer exists,” Bi You of Celestial Artifact Sect said with a sigh, explaining the situation to the people of the seven other forces. “According to the information we’ve currently gathered, something outside of our expectations definitely occurred within the Graveyard of Gods. If that weren’t the case, we’d be able to lock on to its position.”

“I heard that Jiang Zhuzhe, a remnant evil of Blood Fiend Sect, told Celestial Artifact Sect about the Graveyard of Gods!” Xiahou Qi said with a cold snort. “Every force worked together to destroy Blood Fiend Sect a thousand years ago. All martial practitioners that cultivated the Blood Spirit Art were hunted down. Jiang Zhuzhe is a madman that sucks human blood, yet you dare to communicate with him in secret. I think your carelessness has caused this entire incident! How dare you believe someone like Jiang Zhuzhe? You working with him has pushed all of us from the frying pan into the fire!”

Su Zhi and Lin Bin voiced similar opinions. All of them accused Celestial Artifact Sect of doing things that endangered everyone.

Guan Xian of Black Voodoo Cult nodded in agreement, his expression cold and grim.

“Jiang Zhuzhe caused the greatest calamity to ever have fallen on the Land of Chaos. Your Celestial Artifact dared to collude with such a person, so you should have expected such upheaval to occur in the Graveyard of Gods!”

A thousand years ago, Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families were the ones that led the other forces in eliminating Blood Fiend Sect.

These four forces had always them as an eyesore. They never stopped hunting down survivors of Blood Fiend Sect.

Jiang Zhuzhe caused the calamity of a thousand years ago. In their eyes, he was the most terrifying of them all.

They had always been searching for Jiang Zhuzhe, having thought of all sorts of ways to kill him.

Upon hearing that Celestial Artifact Sect had secretly been working with him, they were furious.They naturally didn’t give them face.

“Only Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families consider Blood Fiend Sect public enemy number one.” Bi You smiled coldly. “Your forces were the ones that wanted to eliminate them. My Celestial Artifact Sect never expressed the same intentions. We only took action in the past because Jiang Zhuzhe and his followers committed atrocities, drinking human blood and eating disciples of our sect. Celestial Artifact Sect only joined you to… teach them a lesson.”

“Everyone who actually drank human blood and ate human flesh were just a small fraction of Blood Fiend Sect,” Shi Xiuling of Illusory Demon Sect said with a sigh. “The actions we took back then… they truly were excessive.”

Illusory Demon Sect and Black Voodoo Cult resided in the Heavenly Slaughter Continent. As a result, they always fought with one another, both out in the open and in secret. Guan Xian represented Black Voodoo Cult, so she obviously had to oppose him.

She was also aware of Xue Moyan’s status as Blood Fiend Sect’s true successor. When Sect Master Yu Lingwei accepted Xue Moyan as one of her personal disciples, she informed Shi Xiuling of this fact.

As a result, she stood on Blood Fiend Sect’s side.

“Although what Blood Fiend Sect did was indeed terrible and did require everyone to band together and attack them, we of Terminator Sect have always disapproved of later actions. There was no need to hunt down and kill every survivor afterward,” He Shangsheng said calmly.

“A majority of Blood Fiend Sect did not drink human blood to cultivate,” Luo Nan of Heavenly Sword Mountain said. “We should not have hunted them down.”

“We of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain agree,” Tu Mou said. “Going that far definitely wasn’t necessary.”

One by one, Celestial Artifact Sect, Illusory Demon Sect, Terminator Sect, Heavenly Sword Mountain, and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain voiced their opinions about the matter concerning Blood Fiend Sect. All of them agreed that eliminating Blood Fiend Sect so thoroughly had been the wrong choice.

This development made Guan Xian and the elders of the three great families look at one another, grim expressions on their faces.

When Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families targeted Blood Fiend Sect a thousand years ago and refused to back down, the other five forces forces tacitly accepted it without objection.

Why had they suddenly changed stances?

Guan Xian exchanged looks with the other three and felt a bit suspicious. They felt as though there were an invisible power at work, urging the other five forces to change their attitude.

This entire situation made them feel threatened.

“Let’s not discuss Blood Fiend Sect first,” Guan Xian said, changing the topic. “How shall we resolve the matter concerning the Graveyard of Gods? Celestial Artifact Sect and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain caused it, yet they now don’t have any clue what to do?”

Feng Yi of Celestial Artifact Sect and Qi Yan of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain were both absent. In the eyes of other people, the two were clearly hiding something.

The moment the Graveyard of Gods was mentioned, Terminator Sect, Heavenly Sword Mountain, and Illusory Demon Sect immediately held the same opinion as everyone else. All of them targeted Bi You and Tu Mou.

“Alright, everyone, let’s not panic. It may not necessarily be the case that everyone in the Graveyard of Gods died in the collapse.” Bi You raised his hands, trying to calm the group of people present. “Even if everyone that participated in the Trial died, the corpses of the ancient elites in the Graveyard of Gods shouldn’t have been destroyed. According to the information that was given to my Celestial Artifact Sect, once the Graveyard of Gods breaks apart, the bodies within it should have appeared throughout the Land of Chaos. We have summoned everyone today in hopes that we can work together and search for clues in every territory.”

“You summoned us here just to tell us this? You want us to go on an aimless search for the remains of ancient elites?” Guan Xian’s expression darkened.

“The search will not be aimless,” Bi You said. “According to how information, the bodies should appear in regions of the sea near continents where there aren’t many people.”

“All of you should send your subordinates out to search these areas,” Tu Mou said. “You may find something.”

The other seven factions saw that Celestial Artifact Sect and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain weren’t willing to say anything other than this. They had no choice but to do as they said.

At the command of the nine great Silver forces of the Land of Chaos, numerous smaller forces, sects, and families mobilized in this fashion, searching empty regions of the sea for bodies of ancient elites.

The collective command of the nine great Silver rank forces, having thousands of smaller forces search the Land of Chaos for the remains of ancient elites, spread throughout the world.

The Pan Family received orders from Illusory Demon Sect as well.

Atop a crystalline war chariot, Pan Tong wore a stern expression.

“We’ll take at least seven more days to get there!” he said.

The brows of all the Pan Family clansmen were furrowed. They definitely weren’t as relaxed or happy as before.

“We need to move quickly. Every significant force is currently searching for the remains of ancient elites. If someone gets to them before we do, our family will miss its biggest opportunity!” Pan Tong took a deep breath then gave the order. “Advance at full power! Even if we go against the wind and our chariots are damaged, we need to get there as fast as possible!”

The three crystalline war chariots of the Pan Family burned tons of spirit stones to move even faster. Martial practitioners with stronger realms even used their spirit power to forcibly increase their speed.

The chariots sped through the sea of clouds like three bolts of lightning, operating way beyond their capacity.

The Pan Family even went as far as sacrificing their valuable crystalline war chariots to try and reach the location where the bodies of the ancient elites had fallen as fast as possible—

—all just to seize them before the other forces found them.

Chapter 554: What Have You Come For?

Unbeknownst to Qin Lie, every force in all of the Land of Chaos, big or small, was currently searching for the remains of the ancient elites.

He had already arrived in the valley of scattered stones.

Qin Lie had already gotten hold of the Demon Sealing Tombstone and examined it over and over. The eight god heads lay on the ground, randomly strewn throughout the valley.

He attempted to delve deeper in the tombstone with his mind consciousness, but found himself forced back every single time.

Even though he had gotten his blood on the surface of the Demon Sealing Tombstone and established a connection with it, he didn’t seem to have actually obtained its acknowledgement.

This discovery depressed him.

Having no other option, he continued to recover his strength using soul crystals and spirit stones to return to peak condition.

……

“Krak!”

The fifth day after Pan Qianqian transmitted the message, yet another soul crystal burst into dust in Qin Lie’s hand. He still sat within the stony valley, turbulent waves of energy surging within his Soul Lake.

His True Soul sank deep into his Soul Lake, allowing the waves to wash over it. Soul energy gathered above his True Soul like miraculous wisps of flame in the process of refining it.

He steadily progressed toward the late stage of the Netherpassage Realm.

……

The sixth day after Pan Qianqian transmitted the message, the rest of Qin Lie’s group stopped searching for the bodies of the ancient elites. They once again gathered at the beach they initially arrived at and shared their findings.

“This desolate island holds three bodies of ancient elites, one Asura Race elite and two fearsome beasts of the Giant Spirit Race.”

“As for the surrounding waters, there are two corpses of Gray Wing Race elites, one Giant Spirit Race corpse, and one corpse of a Wood Race clansman.”

“We found the carcass of a beast that looks like a dragon on the island directly across from this one.”

Everyone shared the targets they’d found.

“Some bodies of ancient elites escaped from the Graveyard of Gods just like we did,” Du Xiangyang said with a sigh, rubbing his chin. “The Asura Race elite, whose body we found on this island, must have cultivated the power of flame. Every bone in his body contains a tremendous amount of fiery energy. Too bad I don’t dare to act carelessly and touch it. It’s such a shame.”

“The body of the Wood Race clansman contains an astonishing amount of refined life energy,” Xie Jingxuan said nonchalantly, looking at Xue Moyan. “It would be incredibly useful to you and me.”

“All we can do is wait for Qin Lie to come back.” Xue Moyan looked somewhat helpless.

Xue Moyan’s mother needed the Spring of Life to recover her life force. The refined life force within the body of the Wood Race elite remained intact despite its soul having perished.

If Xue Moyan could extract a portion of that refined life force and condense it into a Spring of Life, her mother would wake up from her self-imposed coma and be filled with energy once more.

—This was literally Xue Moyan’s goal in life.

Unfortunately, all of them had seen Ye Yihao’s and Huang Zhuli’s horrendous deaths. No one dared to be reckless.

“I’ve also decided which body to target.” Song Tingyu’s eyes sparkled with a strange light.

“Shouldn’t Qin Lie have found the Demon Sealing Tombstone by now?” Luo Chen frowned.

“Yeah. He shouldn’t be taking so long.” Du Xiangyang looked at the sea and off into the distance, disbelief on his face. “I saw him control the Blood Progenitor’s body earlier. He used it to traverse the sea in a fearless manner. He must’ve found the Demon Sealing Tombstone rather quickly.”

“Maybe something else delayed him.” Song Tingyu interjected.

“The Pan Family will arrive in a day or two,” Xie Jingxuan said calmly, reminding everyone of the impending crisis.

All of them subconsciously looked in the direction of a small mountain further inland.

They had imprisoned Pan Qianqian in a cave they had dug into that mountain, which was several thousand meters away.

“About Qianqian…” Xue Moyan looked like she wanted to say something.

The others, who had been in the middle of a heated discussion, suddenly fell silent the moment they heard her name.

The expressions on their faces were not cheerful.

The moment she saw this, Xue Moyan couldn’t help but sigh. She knew that she probably wouldn’t be able to change their opinions of Pan Qianqian, so she had no choice but to be quiet as well.

Gao Yu, who was quietly sitting beneath a coconut tree far from them, suddenly opened his cold eyes.

“Flying spirit artifacts incoming!”

Looks of alarm leaped to everyone’s face.

“It must be people of the Pan Family!” Du Xiangyang cried.

“How can that be!?” Song Tingyu exclaimed anxiously. “Dammit! They arrived a lot earlier than we expected! Where has Qin Lie run off to? Why hasn’t he returned yet?”

“Forget Qin Lie for now!” Du Xiangyang paused for a moment, thinking to himself before breathing in. “Gao Yu! Please bring Pan Qianqian over here!”

Gao Yu nodded.

“Whoosh…!”

Wraiths flew through the air, carrying Pan Qianqian out of the cave she had been imprisoned in.

Vile souls and wraiths had tortured her the entire time she had been confined several thousands meters away from the others, leaving her in a constant state of terror. She looked pale, and cold sweat covered her forehead.

The wraiths flew all the way to the center of the group and slowly lowered to the ground. They then transformed into grayish-black bindings that continued to tightly restrain her.

Pan Qianqian attempted to speak, her lips quivering. However, the restraining power of the wraiths prevented her from doing so.

She anxiously looked at Xue Moyan, practically begging with her eyes.

She hoped that Xue Moyan would speak on her behalf and help her.

“I tried, Qianqian. It’s no use.” Xue Moyan didn’t dare to look at her. “I cannot help you.”

Pan Qianqian’s complexion was as gray as death.

She understood that she was probably going to die… and truly despaired.

“If your family cares about you at all, you may not need to die here,” Du Xiangyang said indifferently.

The moment he said this, Pan Qianqian’s eyes lit up with the fire of hope once more.

She placed that hope on her uncle Pan Tong, believing that he would negotiate with Qin Lie’s group to save her.

She held these expectations within her heart.

“They’ve come! Fast, aren’t they?” Luo Chen asked coldly.

Everyone turned their attention to the sky.

Three crystalline war chariots moved through the clouds and toward their island, wobbling all the way. They shone with a dimmer light than they clearly should have, and cracks riddled their exteriors.

The war chariots, which were supposed to be dazzlingly bright, resembled little girls that had been ravaged by a horrific hurricane. They were in terrible, pitiful condition.

The people atop each chariot, however, were full of energy. The light of greed that shone from their eyes couldn’t be concealed in any way.

“What a terrifying amount of blood energy! Such incredible power!” one of the Pan Family elders cried out, shaking as he held up a shiny mirror. “There isn’t just one, either! Ah! There are multiple sources of tremendous blood energy! Th-there are at least a dozen bodies of ancient beings here!”

All of the Pan Family martial practitioners standing in the three crystalline war chariots looked incredibly excited. It was as if they had injected themselves with chicken blood!

“Let’s find Qianqian first!” Pan Tong said with comparable excitement, waving his hand. “We must first ask her about the situation! Ah, right, she also mentioned that some companions were with here. Companions…”

Murderous intent flashed through his eyes.

Every martial practitioner of the Pan Family came to the same conclusion on the way to this island. They naturally knew what they had to do.

“You can stop looking!” Du Xiangyang yelled. “We’re right here.”

Since they were going to be found sooner or later, Du Xiangyang decided that they shouldn’t hide like cowards. As a result, he revealed himself to the people in the clouds.

Everyone aboard the crystalline war chariots suddenly went silent. The three worn-out flying spirit artifacts turned in the direction of Qin Lie’s group.

Soon enough, the three war chariots descended upon the desolate island. After the Pan Family clansmen disembarked from each chariot, a hundred or so martial practitioners quietly surrounded Qin Lie’s group.

“M-Miss Xue?”

“Luo Chen and Du Xiangyang of Heavenly Sword Mountain?”

“Who are those people?”

People immediately recognized Xue Moyan, Luo Chen, and Du Xiangyang, but none of them were familiar with Song Tingyu, Xie Jingxuan, and Gao Yu. To them, the three from the Scarlet Tide Continent seemed very strange.

“You’re here too, Miss Xue?” Pan Tong smiled softly as he arrived at the encirclement. He immediately questioned them. “Why are all of you holding Qianqian captive? Was there some sort of misunderstanding?”

Xue Moyan possessed quite a reputation in Illusory Demon Sect. Its sect master, Yu Lingwei, held her in high regard. Everybody that belonged to a vassal force of Illusory Demon Sect knew who she was.

In the eyes of many, Xue Moyan was destined to become the future sect master of Illusory Demon Sect. Yu Lingwei would appoint her to lead the sect on her behalf, bestowing an enormous responsibility upon her in the future.

In the past, Pan Tong would always be respectful whenever he brought tributes to Illusory Demon Sect and encountered Xue Moyan. He didn’t dare to offend her and tried to curry favor with her instead, hoping that she would take good care of Pan Qianqian.

Seeing Xue Moyan where he least expected her, he wasn’t able to shake off old habits and appeared to be extremely humble and polite.

Xue Moyan stared at Pan Tong with disgust.

She had clearly heard what the Pan Family clansmen said when their crystalline war chariots were still in the air. Even now, the greed in their eyes couldn’t be hidden.

She was well aware of what the Pan Family had come here for.

In addition to everything else, the three war chariots showed clear signs of spirit energy overload. This only exhibited how anxious the Pan Family was!

Now that Pan Tong dared to walk toward her with a false smile on his face, she couldn’t even begin to describe how ugly and disgusting he looked to her.

“Qianqian revealed us to you without our consent, so we bound her.” Xue Moyan did not wish to beat around the bush with Pan Tong and immediately got to the heart of the matter. “If you leave now and don’t stay in this area, I guarantee we’ll then ensure Qianqian’s safety.”

“We’re here to help you!” Pan Tong exclaimed hurriedly.

“Either you leave… or we kill Pan Qianqian.”

Du Xiangyang was even more blunt than Xue Moyan was.

Pan Qianqian stared at her uncle, Pan Tong, with pleading eyes.

“Patriarch, they already know what we’re here for,” a man said in a low voice, terrifying killing intent slowly welling up within his eyes.

The smile on Pan Tong’s face gradually disappeared, and his face soon became completely grim.

“Release Qianqian and surrender. Even before we got here, Qianqian had me promise not to kill any of you. I assure you, I’m telling the truth!”

“And what if we don’t surrender?” Song Tingyu snorted coldly.

“Then we’ll bury all of you alongside her!” Pan Tong shouted, a ghastly frown on his face.

“Xue Moyan is Illusory Demon Sect’s ringer, and the other two girls are astoundingly beautiful,” a man said, licking a corner of his lips. He allowed his lustful gaze to linger on the bodies of Xue Moyan, Xie Jingxuan, and Song Tingyu. “You’re familiar with my tastes, right, big bro?”

This man was Pan Tao, Pan Tong’s younger brother and Pan Qianqian’s fourth uncle.

“Gao Yu, kill Pan Qianqian.” Du Xiangyang shrugged. “I don’t believe these Pan Family clansmen intend to let us go at all.”

He stared at Pan Tong closely.

Gao Yu, Xue Moyan, and Pan Qianqian stared at Pan Tong as well.

But Pan Tong said nothing.