Spirit Realm Chapter 571-572

Chapter 571: Utmost Care

After playing and eating their fill, the three strange beings returned to the Soul Suppressing Orb and went quiet.

Qin Lie used his soul consciousness to try and peer into the depth of the Soul Suppressing Orb and immediately saw the three tiny beings sleeping within. They had yet to go deeper than the space where the four ancient diagrams hovered and were sleeping near them.

The small Fire Qilin radiated a faint scarlet aura of extremely potent fire energy.

In much the same way, the little wooden person gave off a verdant aura that contained a strong life force.

As for the Thunder Crystal Beast, it exuded an eye-catching electric aura. If one were to listen closely, the rumbling of thunder could be heard resonating from its tiny body.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Lie decided not to disturb the three slumbering beings. He also refrained from refining the blood essences of the other three spirits.

“I’m heading below to check on Gao Yu,” Qin Lie said as he left the room.

When he opened the door and entered the hallway, the door to Xing Yao’s room coincidentally opened as well. Xing Yao emerged and glanced at Qin Lie as he walked away, then silently followed him, her eyes trained on his figure.

Since her set of rooms was right beside Qin Lie’s, she had felt the energy fluctuations of the three entities flying out of the Soul Suppressing Orb and happily playing around.

This had piqued her curiosity.

In addition to that, she was worried that Qin Lie had asked for information about Gold Sun Island, so she blatantly followed him and observed his every move.

Qin Lie ignored her as he walked down the hall to the stairs and descended to the lowest level of the ship.

Qin Lie soon began to hear voices.

In a filthy corner of the vast, chaos-filled room that made up the lowest level, amongst the intermingling smells of sweat and piss, Qin Lie saw Gao Yu, Luo Chen, and Du Xiangyang.

“Qin… Xing Lie!” Du Xiangyang shouted as soon as he saw Qin Lie.

Du Xiangyang greeted Qin Lie loudly, but was forced to change his words when he saw Xing Yao behind him.

“How have the past two days been?” Qin Lie asked as he moved to them, a smile on his face.

“You’ve seen the conditions we’ve had to endure,” Du Xiangyang said, a bitter, pained expression on his face.

Gao Yu and Luo Chen, on the other hand, remained silent. Both of them were similar in personality and only nodded slightly to acknowledge Qin Lie. They didn’t complain like Du Xiangyang did.

However, from the way that both of them furrowed their brows, Qin Lie could tell that they also weren’t satisfied with their current accommodations.

Qin Lie turned around and gestured to Xing Yao with a smile on his face.

“My dear niece…” he said. “Could you help move my three friends here to more… comfortable quarters? Even you can see how horrible the conditions here are, right? You are, after all, covering your nose. I can clearly see the disgust on your face.”

When Xing Yao followed Qin Lie through the room, she had actually put a hand to her face, her expression twisting in revulsion.

This level of the ship had originally been hectic and restless, but the moment Xing Yao appeared, several Netherpassage and Manifestation Realm martial practitioners of Gold Sun Island converged on the area. This resulted in the atmosphere calming considerably.

Everyone silently focused on the area she was in.

Seeing Qin Lie gesture toward the young miss of Gold Sun Island and refer to her as his “dear niece,” the subservient smiles on their faces were replaced with strange expressions.

“There’s nowhere for them to be moved!” Xing Yao sneered. Then, after pausing for a moment, she said, “Furthermore, I’m not your dear niece! You’re not a member of my Xing Family!”

“Your aunt and Enforcer Guo have confirmed that I am. Why do you still not accept it?” Qin Lie laughed, then sarcastically said, “Earlier, in front of your aunt, did you not call me your dear uncle?”

As Qin Lie said this, all of the Gold Sun Island martial practitioners staring at him became dazed, their eyes filling with respect.

“As long as my father doesn’t acknowledge it, you are not a member of my Xing Family!” Xing Yao declared, steeling her resolve.

Qin Lie chuckled. “He will acknowledge it.”

“You don’t need to worry about us,” Gao Yu suddenly said. He could tell why Qin Lie had come to them. “We’re fine. No one here can harm us.”

He glanced at the Gold Sun Island martial practitioners around them then said, “Go. Focus on your own business.”

“Still… please help us move elsewhere if possible,” Du Xiangyang pleaded. “We don’t need to be in the top level of the ship. Just the middle level would be enough.”

“I’ll try,” Qin Lie replied.

As they spoke, Xing Wu emerged from the stairwell and approached Qin Lie.

“Xing Lie,” he said. “Big sister would like a word with you. She’s at the training area of the second level.”

“Alright.” Qin Lie nodded.

He followed Xing Wu to the large training area on the second level of the ship. Upon arrival, he saw countless early stage Fulfillment and peak Netherpassage Realm martial practitioners of Gold Sun Island cultivating, polishing their spirit arts, and discussing ways to break through bottlenecks.

Xing Shengnan, who resembled a mountain of meat, currently sat in the midst of several Fulfillment Realm martial practitioners, explaining what they would need to be careful of when breaking through to the next realm.

Xing Shengnan was currently in the early stage of the Fragmentation Realm. Since no one else here had a higher realm, she was qualified to teach others.

Only then did Qin Lie realize that, although Xing Shengnan’s bulk seemed rather unsightly, she was still a warm-hearted person.

Xing Shengnan painstakingly dealt with every question that the martial practitioners presented to her, carefully explaining every detail of her answers without reservation.

She even patiently answered the questions of several nearby peak Netherpassage Realm martial practitioners

Qin Lie could see from the eyes of every Gold Sun Island martial practitioner that they truly respected this woman and trusted her words.

The moment she saw Qin Lie, Xing Shengnan chuckled heartily and waved at him from a distance.

“Little Lie, you’ve come!” she exclaimed.

Qin Lie smiled a broad, toothy grin as he leisurely walked over and asked, “Were you looking for me, big sister?”

“Yes, I was,” she answered. “It seems to me like you’ve just broken through to the late stage of the Netherpassage Realm and have yet to stabilize it. I called for you because I wanted to let you know what to focus on during this time. The path of your cultivation will be a smooth and straightforward as a result.”

Xing Shengnan gestured for Qin Lie to take a seat on the floor, then turned to the people around her. She had been helping them earlier, and now introduced them.

“This is Liu Qing, and this is Fang He,” she said, pointing to the men one by one. “The one over there is Hu Yun. All of them are in the late stage of the Fulfillment Realm and will soon break through.”

Xing Shengnan then pointed to Qin Lie, her expression growing bright as she introduced him to the others. “This is Xing Lie. He is the biological grandson of my seventh grandfather, the closest family member of my Xing Family!”

“So it is Young Master Lie!”

“Greetings, Young Master Lie!”

“Greetings, Young Master Lie!”

Seeing how formal Xing Shengnan had become, the three men didn’t dare waste time and quickly greeted Qin Lie in a respectful manner.

“You’re too kind! All of you are too kind.” Qin Lie became flustered and waved his hands. “In the past, I cultivated deep within the mountains of the Heavenly Calamity Continent. It was only recently that I emerged and took a ship to the Heavenly Slaughter Continent. There is much that I have yet to understand, so I hope that all of you will take care of me.”

Upon hearing that Qin Lie had been cultivating deep in the mountains, traces of scorn appeared in the eyes of the three late stage Fulfillment Realm practitioners.

The foundation of the path of cultivation was based on the accumulation of experiences. One needed to constantly practice, exchange ideas, and partake in combat to break through to higher realms. They needed to do all three of those things equally and cultivate proper spirit arts, strengthening themselves, and be lucky enough to advance continuously.

In the eyes of these three, Qin Lie was just a boy who had been cultivating deep in the mountains for his entire life that never had any opportunities to exchange ideas or engage in combat with other people. The possibility of him having fortunate encounters or rich experiences was just was nonexistent.

A martial practitioner who only knew how to cultivate would possess mediocre strength at best. They wouldn’t be able to shine in anyone’s eyes.

Although they respected Qin Lie’s status as a member of the Xing Family, they considered Qin Lie himself insignificant.

—They didn’t believe that Qin Lie would be able to inspire them in any way.

“Little Lie, since you cultivated in solitude, your knowledge and experience are most likely… greatly inadequate,” Xing Shengnan said, sighing softly. “I, myself, also need to cultivate, so I cannot personally guide you all the time. So, from this day forth, you must come to this level of the ship and ask your seniors to personally teach you about the secrets of cultivating.”

“Yes, big sister,” Qin Lie promised obediently. “I will.”

“The late stage of the Netherpassage Realm focuses on the condensation of one’s True Soul and the accumulation of soul energy. Only by repeatedly cleansing and tempering the True Soul can one’s capacity for soul energy reach the amount needed to get a glimpse of the bottleneck before the Fulfillment Realm.” Xing Shengnan pondered for a moment, then continued, “You have only just entered the late stage of the Netherpassage Realm. Don’t be in a rush to condense your True Soul. Be patient. Only when your spirit sea is bright and clear should you begin using your spirit energy to temper and refine your body. This will allow you to stabilize your realm in a quick, efficient manner.”

Qin Lie knew that Xing Shengnan was speaking from experience, so he carefully committed all of her valuable teachings to memory, nodding his head in agreement the entire time.

“Big brother will be here in two days. He should have several True Soul nourishing pills with him,” Xing Shengnan said. “Once he arrives, I’ll help you ask for one.”

Even with the three other men present, Xing Shengnan didn’t hide a thing and clearly expressed her concern for Qin Lie.

“Yes!” Qin Lie said with a smile. “Then I will first thank big sister.”

Ignoring everyone else, Xing Shengnan continued to explain all of the matters that Netherpassage Realm practitioners needed to pay attention to, speaking to Qin Lie without stopping.

Once she couldn’t think of anything else to explain, she stood up.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “Let’s call it a night. Ah, that’s right. Little Lie, come over again tomorrow. I’ll get some basic spirit arts for you to take a look at. We’ll see if we can find any that suit you.”

“Alright.” Qin Lie nodded yet again.

“I’ll be going up first. Don’t be in too much of a hurry. Take this time to speak with your seniors and listen to the experiences they had when breaking through the Netherpassage Realm to the Fulfillment Realm. It will be very helpful to you.” Xing Shengnan then turned to the others and said, “I ask that all of you spend some time and help Little Lie. It hasn’t been easy for my little brother.”

“Yes, of course! We will, we absolutely will.”

Before Xing Shengnan, the three men had no choice but to nod in agreement. However, that wasn’t necessarily what they were thinking.

Today’s original plan was for Xing Shengnan to help and instruct them. Yet with Qin Lie’s arrival, Xing Shengnan seemed to have completely forgotten about them, diverting all her time and effort to helping Qin Lie.

This had already made the three of them silently curse their luck.

Then, even after that, Xing Shengnan asked for them to help Qin Lie continue learning. This naturally pissed them off even more.

“Alright, I’m leaving.”

In spite of her gargantuan size, Xing Shengnan disappeared in the blink of an eye, her steps as light as air.

After Xing Shengnan left, Liu Qing stood up as well, stretching his back.

“Well I still have matters to attend to,” he said, taking his leave. “Fang He. Hu Yun. You two discuss matters with Young Master Lie, okay?”

Immediately afterward, Fang He spoke up as well. “The time has come for me to go and gather spirit energy. My apologies Young Master Lie, but perhaps we can talk tomorrow.”

Without waiting for Qin Lie to so much as nod in response, Fang He got to his feet, dusted himself off, and also left. He clearly didn’t want to waste any time with Qin Lie.

Then Hu Yun opened his mouth too. “I…”

Qin Lie’s expression sunk as he suddenly sneered, “You have something to do as well, right? I understand. Farewell.”

Although he had already stood up and was about to leave, Hu Yun saw Qin Lie’s expression and sighed subconsciously. He silently cursed Liu Qing and Fang He for leaving so quickly.

“To be honest… it’s nothing,” he said, sitting back down. “Well, if Young Master Lie has any questions, please ask.”

Chapter 572: Heart-breaking

Hu Yun felt as though he were full of bad luck.

Like Liu Qing and Fang He, he didn’t want to waste time speaking to Qin Lie. He wanted to leave early. However, seeing the displeasure clear on Qin Lie’s face, he thought it over for a moment and decided it would be in his best interests to stay.

Qin Lie’s current identity was that of a direct descendant of the main Xing Family line, one that Xing Shengnan cherished immensely. If Qin Lie had a loose mouth and ratted him out to Xing Shengnan, Hu Yun wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment.

Hu Yun, having come to a decision, sighed as he said, “Ask away, Young Master Lie.”

Qin Lie looked at Hu Yun, but didn’t immediately start asking questions. Instead, his brow furrowed slightly.

If Xue Li, Blood Fiend Sect, and Lang Xie’s group were to merge and appear in the Land of Chaos, they would be an extremely strong force.

That would especially be the case once Xue Li possessed the Blood Progenitor’s body. Based on how much he had relied on Xue Li’s experience and skills, Qin Lie was certain that Xue Li’s power would increase by leaps and bounds once he had the Blood Progenitor’s body.

Of course… the body of the Blood Progenitor had a myriad of spirit diagrams inscribed upon it. Qin Lie would be able to use them to secretly control it.

This meant that, even if Xue Li’s soul fused with it in the future, Qin Lie would still be able to bind him. This would then allow him to hold great influence over Blood Fiend Sect and force it to carry out his own agenda.

However, even before all of that, he and Blood Fiend Sect needed to gather enough power and people.

To that end, Gold Sun Island was a great place to start.

Qin Lie planned to take over Gold Sun Island and make the Xing Family return to Blood Fiend Sect’s control. In order to do that, he first needed to learn more about the Xing Family clansmen. Only after understanding the circumstances of the Xing Family and its members would he be able to determine its strength and adjust his plans accordingly.

To him, Hu Yun was a way to learn more about the Xing Family.

A series of thoughts ran through Qin Lie’s mind as he formulated a plan. He casually smiled at Hu Yun, glancing at everyone nearby in a restless manner. Then, he took out two soul crystals and handed them to Hu Yun.

“Although I am a member of the Xing Family, I have only just arrived and thus have no understanding of the Xing Family’s circumstances,” he said. “I presume that Mister Hu has lived on Gold Sun Island for several years. I ask that you answer my questions and enlighten me.”

Seeing the two clear, dazzling crystals in front of him exuding a faint aura of soul energy, Hu Yun’s lips trembled.

“Are… are those soul crystals?” he asked hesitantly.

Qin Lie smiled and nodded.

Without warning, Hu Yun’s eyes shone with shocking light as his hand shot out, snatching the two soul crystals from Qin Lie.

He immediately closed his eyes, trying to absorb the pure soul energy from one of the crystals in his hand with his True Soul.

Qin Lie chuckled.

Three seconds later, Hu Yun’s entire body shook as he immediately stored the two soul crystals into his spatial ring, subconsciously looking around him. Discovering that no one in the area was paying attention to him, his entire body relaxed, and a smile emerged on his face. “Young Master Lie, please ask whatever you want. If I know the answer, I will hold nothing back!”

For martial practitioners in the process of condensing their True Souls, soul crystals were the scarcest kind of soul energy enhancer. Soul crystals were countless times more precious than spirit stones.

Hu Yun had just broken into the Fulfillment Realm. He was just about to begin condensing his True Soul and increasing his soul energy, so these two soul crystals were extremely beneficial to him.

“How many people are in the Xing Family? And how many key figures are in Gold Sun Island? How are its forces organized? Who holds the most power, and who should I avoid offending? Who…”

Like a repeating crossbow, Qin Lie fired off all of the questions on his mind in quick succession.

“I’ll answer all of your questions one by one,” Hu Yun said once Qin Lie finished.

“Island Master Xing Yumiao has a younger brother and sister. His brother is Xing Yuyuan and his sister is called Xing Shengnan. He has one son and one daughter. His son is Xing Xiao, and his daughter is Xing Yao. Second Island Master Xing Yuyuan has a son named Xing Fusheng, while Third Island Master Xing Shengnan… has yet to marry. They make up the immediate Xing Family.

“The three Xing siblings lead Gold Sun Island’s forces. Beneath them are the six enforcers, and below them are the various island envoys. Island envoys control the smaller islands in the vicinity of Gold Sun Island and follow the orders of the enforcers. Gold Sun Island currently has a total of thirty-two island envoys. I am one of them.

“The ones with the most power are the Xing siblings of course. The six enforcers come after them. Of the six enforcers, Xiang Xi holds a special status in Gold Sun Island because he used to be its leader when it was still a Black Iron rank force. However, after the Xing siblings joined Gold Sun Island, they used their formidable strength to slowly garner everyone’s respect, then quickly raised Gold Sun Island from a Black Iron rank force to a Copper rank force. As a result, Xiang Xi voluntarily gave up the position of island master and became an enforcer.

“As thanks for Xiang Xi’s noble action, the island master has always treated him with respect. Furthermore, he even told every member of the Xing Family to be respectful to him as well.

“That’s why Enforcer Xiang holds a special status within Gold Sun Island. The other five enforcers are much weaker than him. Of those five, Enforcer Guo and Enforcer Jing are martial practitioners from the Heavenly Calamity Continent that Island Master Yumiao invited to join Gold Sun Island. I heard that they had some kind of intimate relationship with the Xing Family in the past.

“As for the other three enforcers, they served Gold Sun Island before the coming of the Xing Family and are extremely loyal to Enforcer Xiang. Their loyalty to him even surpasses their loyalty to the island master…”

After obtaining the soul crystals, Hu Yun treated Qin Lie’s questions seriously, giving fully detailed answers. Only when he started speaking about the various enforcers did his voice gradually soften until he eventually stopped speaking.

Qin Lie quickly recovered his wits and realized that Hu Yun’s words addressed an important internal issue.

“Of the six enforcers, three of them revere Xiang Xi?” he asked. “Their loyalty to him surpasses their loyalty to the island master?”

Hu Yun laughed, then quietly whispered, “If you understand, then I’ve said enough.”

Qin Lie wanted to continue asking questions and figure out all of the details, but he discovered that Xing Yao had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. She was walking toward him quickly, a cold expression on her face.

Seeing that the expression on Xing Yao’s face didn’t bode well, Hu Yun hurriedly stood up and left, saying, “I shall be on my way.”

The second she arrived in front of Qin Lie, Xing Yao’s eyes narrowed, and she sternly said, “I had some people investigate, but none of them found any information about any ships being destroyed in a recent storm!”

She had found Xing Wu earlier and explained the situation to him.

Xing Wu then investigated and told her that he hadn’t found any news about the wreckage of a ship appearing in nearby regions of the sea.

As a result, she believed that Qin Lie was lying.

“Your information could be incorrect,” Qin Lie replied casually, narrowing his eyes. His posture made it clear that he didn’t want to respond to her.

“I know you’re lying!” Xing Yao shouted, gnashing her teeth. Hatred filled her voice as she continued, “If you’re willing to simply disappear without a word, I will no longer question you or even pay you any mind. I… I’m even willing to give you some spirits stones. As long as you stop deceiving my aunt, I’m willing to take a loss and consider it my own misfortune!”

Qin Lie gave her a blank look.

“Do you agree?” Xing Yao shrieked.

“I truly am your uncle,” Qin Lie responded.

Xing Yao’s face suddenly filled with rage, murderous intent radiating from her as she stomped away shouting, “You’ll definitely die a horrible death!”

Qin Lie just stood there in a daze.

Once Xing Yao left, Hu Yun returned and asked, “What did the young miss say to you? She seemed incredibly angry.”

“She doesn’t trust me. She believes that I’m pretending to be a member of the Xing Family and is afraid that I’m deceiving her aunt,” Qin Lie said with a shake of his head, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “Because of that, she keeps paying close attention to me.”

“She’s probably just afraid of third island master getting hurt again,” Hu Yun said in a low voice. “Five years ago, a young man like you arrived out of nowhere and claimed to be a member of the Xing Family. Third island master believed him and… treated him just like she’s currently treating you. She treated them like a little brother and told them everything about Gold Sun Island while giving him many precious things. Yet, in the end, that person suddenly attacked her out of nowhere and nearly killed her.

“Fortunately, thank the heavens, island master and second island master had long since seen through that man’s facade. They arranged for Enforcer Guo to constantly watch them from the shadows. When the man made his move, Enforcer Guo appeared in the nick of time and killed him on the spot.

“After that debacle, we confirmed that the man was a Pan Family spy that infiltrated us. Gold Sun Island and the Pan Family couldn’t help but come into conflict because of this, forcing Illusory Demon Sect to come forward as a mediator and calm both sides down. This matter left third island master depressed for quite a while. For the longest time, she wouldn’t come out of the shadows. She couldn’t believe that the “younger brother” she had cherished would suddenly try to kill her. It’s taken her a long time to recover from the shock.”

A complex expression came over Qin Lie as he asked, “She believed someone so easily?”

“Mn.” Hu Yun laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Come to think of it, it is quite strange. When it comes to other things, third island master isn’t so confused. Her talent is great, she treats people kindly and is smart when it comes to complicated matters. Yet… she’s been deceived so many times, and always in the exact same way. We caught three more enemy spies not too long ago. One of them also gained the trust of third island master by claiming he was a member of the Xing Family.

“How could this be?” Qin Lie exclaimed in confusion. He began to think that this situation was getting stranger and stranger.

“There’s a rumor…” Hu Yun paused. Then he lowered his voice and continued, “It’s rumored that third island master has a younger brother who was shot in the back with a poisoned arrow as they fled from the Heavenly Calamity Continent. It apparently pierced his heart and he died in the arms of third island master. She loved her little brother dearly, yet she had to watch him get shot and die in her arms… so she’s always kept that traumatic event suppressed deep within her heart. Whenever someone shows up and claims to be a member of the Xing Family, posing as her brother, she becomes extremely easy to fool. To put it plainly, third island master just doesn’t want to let go of her little brother’s memory. That is also the reason why she’s been hurt over and over again.”

At this moment, Qin Lie completely understood why Xing Shengnan trusted him so easily.

“I sincerely hope that you’re truly a member of the Xing Family and aren’t deceiving third island master, Young Master Lie,” Hu Yun said, his expression suddenly becoming incomparably solemn. “If you’re taking advantage of third island master, I swear that, no matter where you flee, I’ll find you and kill you!”

After he said this, Hu Yun turned and left.

Qin Lie furrowed his brow, his face gradually adopting a serious expression as he silently sat there on the floor of the training area.

With Hu Yun’s help, he finally understood why Xing Yao so desperately wanted to get rid of him despite the fact that she knew he was lying. She had treated him like some kind of disease she simply wanted gone. He understood why she was even willing to pay him spirit stones if he left quietly.

Xing Yao was afraid that Qin Lie would harm Xing Shengnan.

She was afraid that her aunt wouldn’t be able to withstand another blow to her heart.