Spirit Realm Chapter 567-568

Chapter 567: Outsmarted!

Seeing Guo Yanzheng about to take action, Xing Yao started laughing and nodding eagerly.

Guo Yanzheng held extraordinary status as one of Gold Sun Island’s six enforcers. Even Xing Yao’s sister-in-law, Xing Shengnan, had to give him face. It would be better if he were the one to search Qin Lie and the others.

First of all, Xing Yao could distance herself from the situation and avoid being blamed by Xing Shengnan.

Secondly, considering Guo Yanzheng’s identity as an enforcer, even if he didn’t find any proof of subterfuge, Xing Shengnan would just let him go after reprimanding him.

With this, Xing Yao’s worries soon evaporated.

“Enforcer Guo, please show some restraint and refrain from wounding them,” she said softly, warning him. “Just subdue them.”

Guo Yanzheng smiled proudly. Although he stood right in front of the door to Qin Lie’s set of rooms, he didn’t bother lowering his voice and said, “Isn’t it an easy matter to control a few juniors that are only in the Netherpassage Realm?”

Within the set of rooms, Qin Lie, Song Tingyu, Xie Jingxuan, and Xue Moyan stood inside of the cultivation room together. The women had once again changed their appearances to avoid being recognized.

“Even Gold Sun Island’s Island Master Guo Yumiao would treat me with respect if he saw me, yet a mere enforcer of Gold Sun Island wants to try and bully me? He doesn’t want to live!” Xue Moyan exclaimed through clenched teeth. “If I reveal myself and tell that Guo Yanzheng to kowtow before me, he wouldn’t dare refuse!”

“No, don’t!” Qin Lie shouted. He shook his head and said, “The world knows that you participated in the Trial and entered the Graveyard of Gods. If you reveal your actual appearance and expose who you are, every single one of us will be exposed as well.”

“Then what should we do?” Xue Moyan frowned. “If we allow him to search us and see even a tiny bit of what we have in our spatial rings, won’t that lead to the same result? I have the Illusory Demon Orb, Illusory Demon Sect’s ultimate treasure. If Guo Yanzheng catches a glimpse of it, he’ll recognize me.”

“Then we just don’t let him search us,” Qin Lie said with a snort.

“This person is much older than we are.” Song Tingyu could feel a headache coming on. “He’s also at the peak of the Fulfillment Realm, an entire realm higher than ours. If we want to fight him… it won’t be easy.”

In terms of talent, aptitude, and cultivation speed, all four of them surpassed Guo Yanzheng. The Gold Sun Island enforcer, however, possessed the advantage of having cultivated longer than them and being one realm higher.

Even a minor difference in realm could already be thought of as a great abyss. An entire realm gap was even more terrifying. Possessing a high grade spirit artifact or knowing powerful spirit arts might not be enough to bridge such a gap.

In other words, if they decided to fight him, the difference in realms would definitely result in their group of geniuses being defeated by Guo Yanzheng.

After a moment of thought, Qin Lie suddenly left the cultivation room.

“Stay here,” he said. “Let me deal with him.”

At the exact same time, Guo Yanzheng used the power of metal to break the lock on the door to Qin Lie’s room.

Guo Yanzheng strode into the room.

“Creak! Creak…”

Out in the hallway, the doors of the other rooms opened up. Men and women of different ages poked their heads out.

The Wavebreaker was Gold Sun Island’s main patrol ship. Xing Family clansmen and high ranking members such as enforcers occupied the rooms on this top level of the ship.

These people had been focused on cultivating, studying books about spirit arts, or resting.

Guo Yanzheng and Xing Yao hadn’t kept their voices down when they had been speaking to each other, so many people overheard their conversation.

These people were curious about the identities of Qin Lie and the others and wanted to watch the spectacle unfold, so they came out for a look.

Since Xing Shengnan’s cultivation room had a better configuration, its insulation diagram properly blocked all power fluctuations and sounds. In addition to that, her cultivation had gone extremely well up to this point. As a result, she was the only one that didn’t emerge from her room.

The other Xing Family clansmen and high-ranking members of Gold Sun Island came out of their rooms, watching the situation from the hallway with smiles on their faces.

“Close the door,” Qin Lie said calmly.

“Don’t think you can just bluff your way into our midst and establish a relationship with the Xing Family, boy!” Guo Yanzheng said loudly. He moved further into the room, a grin on his face. “Even if you have some knowledge of the Xing Family tree, simply making up a name isn’t enough to convince me.”

“Close the door!” Qin Lie said once more.

The Xing Family clansmen and other high-ranking members of Gold Sun Island drew nearer to Qin Lie’s room, crowding around the doorway curiously.

Xing Yao also moved closer to the doorway.

Guo Yanzheng laughed. “First let me shackle you, then we can talk!”

“Close the door!” Qin Lie repeated.

As soon as he did, Qin Lie’s eyes suddenly became a bloody red. The thick stench of iron permeated the air as his body gradually radiated a shocking fiendish energy.

Soon enough, a thin layer of bloody mist materialized around Qin Lie.

Guo Yanzheng suddenly became meek. His gaze trembled, and his lips shook as he exclaimed, “You… you’re…””

Shrouded within the bloody mist, Qin Lie’s visage was one of brutality and viciousness. His lips parted into a sneer, and he nodded.

“Close… the… door!” he snarled.

Guo Yanzheng turned around without hesitation, slamming the door shut before Xing Yao, the person nearest the doorway, could react.

“Bam!”

This left Xing Yao, the many Xing Family clansmen, and another enforcer named Qi Jing, outside.

Inside the room, Guo Yanzheng looked on in shock as Qin Lie’s bloody mist quickly withdrew into his body, and soon only his eyes remained a bloody red.

Qin Lie carefully inspected Guo Yanzheng’s expression.

Seeing Guo Yanzheng shuddering as though he were a completely different person, his relaxed and said, “Let’s talk inside.”

He went into the insulated cultivation room.

Guo Yanzheng followed him in, his body bent in a humble manner.

As soon as Guo Yanzheng walked in, the door closing behind him, he exclaimed, “Y-you’re from Blood Fiend Sect?”

Terror filled his voice. None of his previous arrogance could be seen.

“I cultivate the Blood Spirit Art and can be considered a member of Blood Fiend Sect!” Qin Lie snorted coldly, standing before Guo Yanzheng boldly. “I am truly called Xing Lie!”

“You really are seventh grandfather’s grandson!” Guo Yanzheng shouted in shock. “You can be considered a member of Blood Fiend Sect? How did you come to cultivate the Blood Spirit Art?”

“A thousand years ago, Blood Fiend Sect and the Xing Family faced an incredible threat. My… my grandfather hid in mountains in the Heavenly Calamity Continent with members of Blood Fiend Sect. It was through those people that I came to cultivate the Blood Spirit Art,” Qin Lie explained. “The Blood Spirit Art I cultivate isn’t the same as that of Jiang Zhuzhe and his disciples. I am a real member of Blood Fiend Sect!””

“M-my ancestors were also from the Heavenly Calamity Continent,” Guo Yanzheng said hoarsely. “I am a descendant of a Black Iron force that was destroyed along with Blood Fiend Sect.”

At that moment, Qin Lie glanced at Xue Moyan, his eyes filled with mirth.

Xue Moyan was speechless.

Over the last two days, she had informed Qin Lie of many things concerning the Xing Family of Gold Sun Island. She spoke of how many Gold Sun Island’s core and elite members were connected to forces that had been wiped from the face of the Heavenly Calamity Continent.

Xing Yumiao was a man that cherished the friendships he made. Not only did he search the Heavenly Calamity Continent for Xing Family clansmen, he also found the surviving martial practitioners of smaller forces that had relationships with the Xing Family in the past.

In other words, many people that held important positions within Gold Sun Island were connected to the Heavenly Calamity Continent and Blood Fiend Sect.

For a millennium, Blood Fiend Sect had prospered as the undisputed ruler of Heavenly Calamity Continent, dominating the Land of Chaos.

During that time, every force of the Heavenly Calamity Continent, including the Xing Family and the current Xiahou, Ling, and Su Families, were deeply terrified of Blood Fiend Sect.

They had been instilled with an intense terror that reached deep into their bones!

Guo Yanzheng’s ancestors came from one of Blood Fiend Sect’s smaller vassal forces.

Ever since he was a child, his seniors told him of Blood Fiend Sect’s terrifying power. This led to him feel fear and reverence toward Blood Fiend Sect—feelings that he still felt to this day.

Now, upon discovering that Qin Lie cultivated the orthodox Blood Spirit Art, Guo Yanzheng immediately believed that Qin Lie couldn’t be an enemy spy. He was basically convinced that Qin Lie really was Xing Lie, a Xing Family clansman.

How could he, Guo Yanzheng, dare to offend the grandson of the Xing Family’s seventh master, someone who was a member of Blood Fiend Sect, no less!

He immediately capitulated to Qin Lie.

“P-please forgive this old man, Young Master Xing,” Guo Yanzheng said, repeatedly bowing to Qin Lie, sweat dripping from his forehead. “This old man is foolish and didn’t know the truth.”

Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan exchanged looks of shock. They hadn’t thought that Qin Lie would be able to resolve the situation in such a simple way.

Xue Moyan found it funny.

She was the true heir to Blood Fiend Sect, but she never thought of using her identity to suppress Guo Yanzheng.

She also hadn’t expected this Guo Yanzhang to actually be a descendant of a force that used to serve Blood Fiend Sect, one that continued to fear the sect even now.

“I suppose that’s fine. The ignorant cannot truly commit a crime,” Qin Lie said impatiently with a wave of his hand. “Help me hide the fact that I cultivate the Blood Spirit Art. As for what we just discussed… I would prefer that others didn’t know about it. That should be all, you can leave. And remember to close the door for me!”

“Many thanks, Young Master Xing!” Guo Yanzheng exclaimed as he backed out of the cultivation room. “Thank you for disregarding this lowly person’s offense. This old man understands and will obey.”

“Creak!”

The tightly shut door to Qin Lie’s set of rooms opened once again. Guo Yanzheng walked out into the hall with a grimace on his face and carefully closed the door.

“Young Master Xing!” he said loudly. “I shall now return to cultivating!”

“As you were!” Qin Lie’s proud voice came from the other side of the door.

Out in the hallway, Xing Yao, other Xing Family clansmen, and Qi Jing, another enforcer, stared at Guo Yanzheng in disbelief. They rubbed their eyes, thinking that something was wrong with their eyesight.

“What are you doing, Brother Guo?” Qi Jing asked in shock.

Xing Yao felt just as astonished. “Enforcer Guo, you… what’s going on?”

None of them had heard a word of what Guo Yanzheng and Qin Lie discussed in the cultivation room, so all of them were confused.

What they did know, however, was that Guo Yanzheng didn’t have a good temper. He had charged into the room angrily, so they originally thought that a fierce conflict would erupt and that Qin Lie and the others would be captured alive.

No one had expected Guo Yanzheng to act so strangely humble before Qin Lie. This made their eyes bulge out of their sockets.

Everyone had one question on their minds.

—What happened in there?

“There is no mistake! Xing Lie is the grandson of seventh grandfather. This old man swears upon his life that this is true!”

After declaring this, Guo Yanzheng shot an icy glance at Xing Yao then walked back to his own rooms.

He left a crowd of shocked people in his wake.

Chapter 568: Resolution

The crowd of Xing Family clansmen and Qi Jing, one of Gold Sun Island’s six enforcers, stood in the hallway in shock. All of them had come out to enjoy a show and laugh at someone else’s misfortune, but what actually happened threw them for a loop.

When Guo Yanzheng returned to his own room, the crowd turned to look at Qin Lie’s tightly shut door once more. A subtle change occurred in the gaze of every person present.

Out of everyone there, this turn of events shocked Xing Yao the most.

She never could’ve imagined that the situation would develop this way. Guo Yanzheng, a peak Fulfillment Realm martial practitioner, had barged into Qin Lie’s rooms. However, not only did he not argue with Qin Lie at all, they simply went into the cultivation room and spoke in secret.

When he came out, Guo Yanzheng’s attitude had completely reversed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out why.

As Guo Yanzheng left just now, he clearly seemed extremely displeased with Xing Yao. It was as if he inwardly blamed her for getting him to force his way into Qin Lie’s set of rooms for no good reason.

Qin Lie had destroyed all of Xing Yao’s scheming in a way she couldn’t possibly imagine.

This made her feel as though she had been thoroughly defeated.

“How boring.” Qi Jing shook his head as he returned to his own room in puzzlement.

The moment he left, the other Xing Family clansmen realized they had no show to watch. One by one, they left as well.

Soon enough, only Xing Yao remained in the long, wide hallway.

Brow deeply furrowed, Xing Yao stared at the door to Qin Lie’s room with a profound intensity. After a moment of contemplation, she ultimately didn’t dare to barge in and try interrogating Qin Lie.

She could only return to her room bitterly.

……

“I didn’t think that Gold Sun Island enforcer would revere Blood Fiend Sect to that extent.”

Qin Lie couldn’t help but voice his opinion in amazement.

“It would seem that Blood Fiend Sect’s status as the previous ruler of the Heavenly Calamity Continent embedded itself deep within people’s hearts.”

“In the past, every elite force of the Land of Chaos went to war with Blood Fiend Sect, even so, my mother and a few elders, and even Jiang Zhuzhe and his men, managed to escape,” Xue Moyan said. “Even after fighting Blood Fiend Sect for years, Black Voodoo Sect never took the upper hand. In fact, we killed many of their experts instead. If Black Voodoo Sect hadn’t worked with the other Silver rank forces, borrowing their strength, how else could they have eliminated Blood Fiend Sect?”

Her eyes clearly shone with pride.

“In that case, if I use my identities as a member of Blood Fiend Sect and a Xing Family clansman to make Gold Sun Island believe that Blood Fiend Sect is no longer as weak as it was before and now possessed frightening strength…” Qin Lie paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, then said, “If I can do that, we may actually have a chance at recruiting Gold Sun Island.”

Xue Moyan suddenly clenched her hands into fists as excitement flashed through her bright eyes.

Her mother and many Blood Fiend Sect elders dreamed of doing exactly that!

Blood Fiend Sect had approached Xing Yumiao and Miao Yangxu many times with the intent to join hands with Gold Sun Island and Green Moon Valley in opposing the three great families.

Gold Sun Island and Green Moon Valley had turned them down repeatedly, firmly declaring that they weren’t ready to deepen their ties with Blood Fiend Sect. In fact, they no longer wanted to have any connection to Blood Fiend Sect.

If Qin Lie could find the opportunity to use his identity as Xing Lie to win over the Xing Family and really Gold Sun Island to their cause, Blood Fiend Sect would undoubtedly gain an important ally.

“Have you figured out where these ships are headed?” Qin Lie suddenly asked..

“They’re headed to Gold Sun Island,” Xue Moyan said with certainty.

She had spent the last two days deducing the destination of these ships using the compass in her spatial ring. She knew that Xing Shengnan was ready to return to Gold Sun Island.

“Is Blood Fiend Sect in the same direction as Gold Sun Island?” Qin Lie asked again.

“We can pass through Gold Sun Island on the way there!” Xue Moyan’s eyes shone with a strange light.

“So we don’t need to do anything but peacefully wait on this ship?” Qin Lie smiled faintly, nodding in understanding.

“Until we reach Gold Sun Island, yes,” Xue Moyan answered.

“That’s good.” Qin Lie sat down on the floor of the cultivation room.

Xue Moyan was in high spirits and hoped to continue discussing the matter with Qin Lie. However, when she saw that Qin Lie seemed to be in a hurry to cultivate, she had no choice but to give up.

Xue Moyan sighed softly, then after Xie Jingxuan left the cultivation room, she followed her out.

Song Tingyu, on the other hand, stayed behind.

Once Xue Moyan and Xie Jingxuan had left, Song Tingyu closed the wooden door of the cultivation room and leaned against the wall. She stared at Qin Lie with glittering eyes, and said, “It seems like Xue Moyan hopes that you will help Blood Fiend Sect by convincing both Gold Sun Island and Green Moon Valley to serve them again.”

“I’m not that capable.” Qin Lie smiled indifferently.

“Qin Lie… what do you think of Blood Fiend Sect? Tell me the truth.” A solemn expression took over Song Tingyu’s pretty face. “As of now, Blood Fiend Sect is still public enemy number one, a force that everyone loathes. It may not be easy to convince them otherwise, especially considering the fact that Jiang Zhuzhe is still around causing trouble. He’ll continue to operate in the Land of Chaos, and until he dies, his slaughter of innocent people and immoral cultivation using human blood will just keep going. That just makes it even more difficult to clear Blood Fiend Sect’s name.”

“The Demon Sealing Tombstone wasn’t able to take all the remains of ancient elites from the Land of Buried Gods. We can assume that Jiang Zhuzhe got his hands on some,” Qin Lie said, his face grim. “You’re right. After Jiang Zhuzhe and his disciples absorb and refine the remains they acquired, their strength will increase significantly and they’ll definitely try to invade the Land of Chaos once more.”

“If that’s the case, why do you still want to go to the Heavenly Slaughter Continent and meet up with Xue Li?” Song Tingyu asked, confused. “Are you really doing this just because you want to repay Xue Li for teaching you the Blood Spirit Art?”

“One more thing…” She paused for a moment, then asked, “What in Spirit Realm are you planning to do in the future?”

Qin Lie thought to himself for a very long time with a frown on his face.

He eventually said, “My current plan is to find my grandfather and find out who I really am. It would be the best for me to grow stronger and climb to higher realms at the same time.”

After saying this, Qin Lie fell silent for a long time. His fingers unconsciously drummed against the floor of the cultivation room, his eyes growing hazy with worry.

Song Tingyu patiently waited for him to sort out his thoughts and continue speaking.

A long time later, Qin Lie took a deep breath and continued, “I have a feeling that a tremendously powerful enemy will be standing in my way in the future! There’s a reason why my memories were sealed, why my grandfather brought me to the Scarlet Tide Continent, and why he left me there!”

Qin Lie knew many ancient languages and was privy to ancient secrets. He was born with the ability to merge spirit arts, and he even held the Soul Suppressing Orb in his head.

He believed many things happened to him in the past.

He needed to find answers and keep getting stronger so he would be able to face terrifying enemies in the future, ones so dangerous and powerful that even his soul would feel oppressed.

“In the Land of Chaos, we don’t have any foundation to rely on. Even Blood Fiend Sect can only barely count as one.” Qin Lie frowned as he spoke. “Lang Xie and the others are cultivating the Blood Spirit Art in the ultimate blood ground underneath the Scarlet Tide Continent and possess extremely potent strength. However, not even the Blood Codex contains any way to connect the Land of Chaos to that ultimate blood ground. Only Xue Li knows how.

“Once Xue Li truly merges with the Blood Progenitor’s body, he’ll be able to unleash the true potential of the Bloodthirsty Dragon. Then he and the elders of Blood Fiend Sect will have the power to rally allies and establish themselves within the Land of Chaos. Along with the eight god corpses I have and the remains of the ancient elites that Xue Moyan has, Blood Fiend Sect may actually have the chance to dominate the Land of Chaos and rule the Heavenly Calamity Continent once more!

“I need somewhere I can firmly set foot and a powerful force that I can control!” Qin Lie declared. “It’s only natural that such a goal would require taking risks. I’ve expected that for a long time!”

“I see,” Song Tingyu said softly. “You planned for this a long time ago.”

She finally accepted the fact that, whether she was willing to admit it or not Qin Lie had changed.

This change had nothing to do with the merge between the current Qin Lie and his former personality but instead because of the accumulation of experience.

Ever since he left the Scarlet Tide Continent, journeyed into a wider world, came to understand the minds of others, Qin Lie’s perspective on and attitude toward many things drastically changed.

Song Tingyu knew that this cruel world force Qin Lie to grow and adapt bit by bit. He now had his own set of principles and beliefs.

“What are you going to do with Gold Sun Island?” Song Tingyu asked.

“I’ll do my best to recruit them,” Qin Lie said, hiding nothing. “I will try to convince them to become our allies using our relationship with Blood Fiend Sect and the resources we currently possess.”

“Blood Fiend Sect tried to do that very same thing for years, yet Gold Sun Island never budged,” Song Tingyu reminded him, clearly less confident in their success. “Don’t you think it’ll be even more difficult for you to achieve that?”

“They couldn’t convince Xing Yumiao because they lacked the strength and the resources,” Qin Lie said with a snort. “Blood Fiend Sect lacked these things in the past… but I don’t!”

……

Deep within a sea of clouds, three giant scarlet phoenixes flew through the air and glowed with prismatic light.

Many Gold Sun Island martial practitioners stood on atop these phoenixes. They wore golden clothing, the backs of their shirts embroidered with the picture of a sun..

The phoenixes were large flying spirit artifacts called “Flowing Gold Fire Phoenixes.” They were one grade higher than Flowing Gold Firecloud Tents and were common amongst the Copper rank forces of the Land of Chaos.

The island master of Gold Sun Island, Xing Yumiao, and his brother, Xing Yuyuan, stood atop the largest Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix. Four of the Gold Sun Island’s six enforcers stood beside them as well.

They roamed regions of the sea around Gold Sun Island, entering the water’s depths every so often to search for the remains of ancient elites.

“Big brother! Sis sent us a frantic message saying that she found the grandson of seventh uncle out at sea. She said that we should hurry over if we aren’t far away.”

Xing Yuyuan received a message from Xing Shengnan today. He wore a bitter expression as he informed Xing Yumiao about it.

“The grandson of our seventh uncle?” A strange look came over Xing Yumiao. “A thousand years ago, when our Xing Family was exterminated, our seventh uncle had already perished, right? How in Spirit Realm could he have a grandson?”

“Of course we know about this.” Xing Yuyuan smiled bitterly. “However, we haven’t told our sister because we want to keep the hopes of our people alive.”

“Who dares to be so insolent? Who dares to pass themselves off as the grandson of our seventh uncle and toy with the Xing Family? I can tell they’re not familiar with the word death!” Xing Yumiao said with a cold snort. “How far are we from her?”

“Only a day’s journey.”

“Mn. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Yao’er. Let’s change course and head over to them. We’ll also pay a visit to the foolish brat pretending to be one of us.”

“Agreed!”

……