Spirit Realm

God corpses emerged from the water around the Setting Sun Islands like ancient deities.

Potent energy surged from the god corpses to form a twister of energy that could be seen with the naked eye. The twisted spread in every direction with a dull rumble.

Over a hundred crystalline war chariots of varying sizes flew through the sky like shining lanterns, chasing down Xing Family clansmen and Gold Sun Island martial practitioners loyal to the Xing Family.

However, when that twister of energy spread from the god corpses, the crystalline chariots swayed and shuddered as if they were malfunctioning. The spirit energy within them went out of control.

“Woosh woosh woosh!”

The chaotic spirit energy damaged the spirit stone formations inside the chariots, causing them to suddenly plummet through the air.

The Black Cloud Palace and Heaven Sea Pavilion martial practitioners aboard the chariots began to panic. They frantically wrapped their chariots in spirit energy and directed them toward distant islands.

The god corpses in the water utterly terrified them. They stood there like enormous aquatic behemoths with gaping maws and radiated a vicious aura that seemed capable of consuming all beings.

The Black Cloud Palace and Heavenly Sea Pavilion martial practitioners definitely didn’t want to fall into the sea.

Xiahou Chang’s miserable fate of being eaten whole was a nightmare that instilled fear in every single one of them. It frightened them down to the very core of their beings. None dared to go even the tiniest bit closer to eight god corpses.

“It’s Blood Fiend Sect!” Xiahou Sheng exclaimed, a grave expression on his face. Terror filled his eyes as he analyzed the situation. “Blood Fiend Sect is back from the dead!”

Zheng Zhihe and Jiang Hao also took stock of the situation, uncertainty in their eyes.

Xiang Xi, holding his giant bronze cauldron in one hand, looked down at Qin Lie with a grim expression and exclaimed, “M-my friend!”

He had thought that Qin Lie was just the direct disciple of Forefather Terminator.

Yet in this moment, when Qin Lie unleashed the ultimate treasure of Blood Fiend Sect, took over a body filled with fiendish blood energy and created a Blood Weeping Ghost Claw, and had the eight god corpses emerge from the sea, Xiang Xi realized that Qin Lie had another identity.

—He was a survivor of Blood Fiend Sect.

After a moment, Qin Lie suddenly said, “Encorcer Xiang. If you surrender now, I will have mercy on you. Since you were working for the good of Gold Sun Island and haven’t truly committed a great mistake… I can let you live.”

Xiang Xi was silent.

“Xiahou Sheng did not honor your agreement, nor did Black Cloud Palace or Heavenly Sea Pavilion.” Qin Lie pointed at the two ships below them. “The first thing they did was slaughter Xing Family clansmen. They acted with the intent to exterminate the Xing Family.”

Xiang Xi looked down at the Wavebreaker and discovered that Xing Shengnan was one of many Xing Family clansmen that were wounded or dead.

Corpses could be seen strewn across the other ship that Heavenly Sea Pavilion had been in charge of dealing with. All of them belonged to Xing Family clansmen and martial practitioners loyal to the Xing Family.

Qin Lie clearly wasn’t trying to deceive Xiang Xi. Xiahou Sheng, Heavenly Sea Pavilion, and Black Cloud Palace definitely had a tacit agreement not to abide by their promise to him.

Xiang Xi’s expression slowly darkened.

“Hmph!” Xiahou Sheng smirked. “You seriously thought that the three great families would have mercy on the Xing Family? On the survivors of a family that dealt a heavy blow to them? On people who tried to kill me? Wake up, Xiang Xi! From the moment you accepted my proposal and came to an agreement with me, you passed the point of no return!”

Xiang Xi wore an expression of uncertainty. He hovered in the air silently, a conflicted look in his eyes.

Qin Lie smiled and calmly pointed at the other ship that the Xing Family still controlled, using his soul consciousness to give orders.

Three god corpses began walking through the waves, moving faster and faster until they were charging toward the ship like enormous ocean behemoths. The Heavenly Sea Pavilion martial practitioners were their targets.

At that moment, Zheng Zhihe suddenly realized that it had been a while since he had seen his son.

“Wh-where is Yun’er?” he exclaimed.

“Are you talking about him?” Guo Yanzheng shouted from below.

Zheng Yun’s corpse was still on the Wavebreaker beside him and Qi Jing.

Zheng Zhihe turned to look, his eyes immediately going red as he screamed, “Yun’er!”

Zheng Yun was Zheng Zhihe’s youngest and most beloved son, the one who was most similar to him personality-wise. Zheng Zhihe relied on him greatly and had picked him as the future palace master of Black Cloud Palace.

He had brought Zheng Yun along on this excursion because he figured that it wouldn’t be dangerous. He believed that this trip would allow Zheng Yun to let off some steam.

To make sure of this, Zheng Zhihe had even arranged for three Fulfillment Realm elders to protect Zheng Yu and guarantee his safety.

He never thought that Zheng Yun would be killed while he wasn’t paying attention.

The pain of losing Zheng Yun made Zheng Zhihe go insane with fury.

“Who did this?” Zheng Zhihe shouted at the top of his lungs. “Who killed my Yun’er? Who!?”

Zheng Zhihe abandoned the encirclement tying down the Xing brothers and charged downward.

His eyes locked onto Xing Shengnan!

He believed that Xing Shengnan was the one who killed Zheng Yun!

All of a sudden, Qin Lie’s cold voice rang out.

“It was me.” Qin Lie said, raising the tattered remnants of a pitch black flag with one of the Blood Progenitor’s hands. “Your son seemed to have used this rag, but I tore it to pieces. It’s probably as useless as he was.”

He was clearly testing the limit of Zheng Zhihe’s fury.

“It doesn’t matter who you are!” Zheng Zhihe shrieked, predictably changing targets and charging at Qin Lie. “You’re going to accompany Yun’er in death!”

As Zheng Zhihe flew at Qin Lie, giant black flags appeared between them.

Black clouds roiled within the fabric of these flags as they billowed in the wind. Vicious, evil beasts that resembled savage gods seemed to reside within each one, taking shape and howling along with Zheng Zhihe.

The black clouds within the flags seemed to swallow all light, gradually making the sky turn black.

Day soon became pitch black night.

Beneath the clouds, an evil darkness slowly descended upon the world like a pitch black curtain, completely shrouding the space above Qin Lie. It formed a darkness that prevented one from seeing their hands even if they held them up in front of their faces.

Zheng Zhihe seemed to have disappeared.

“This…” Traces of shock could be seen on Xing Yuyuan’s face as he gravely exclaimed, “This is the Black Sky Swallowing Art! Zheng Zhihe is at the peak of the Fragmentation Realm! Even you would pay a steep price to withstand one of his attacks, big brother! That boy…”

Xing Yuyuan couldn’t help but worry about Qin Lie.

“This Qin Lie is in the Netherpassage Realm, and the bloody body he has possessed gives off a terrifying aura.” Xing Yumiao furrowed his brow as he used his soul perception to examine Qin Lie. He discovered that he couldn’t come to a proper conclusion and said, “How strange… so extremely strange…”

“Little brother!” Xing Shengnan screamed from the Wavebreaker.

Xiahou Sheng and Jiang Hao wore grim expressions, their eyes flashing with excitement.

They knew how powerful Zheng Zhihe was. They also knew that him using the Black Heaven Swallowing Art meant he was putting everything on the line.

What would happen if a martial practitioner at the peak of the Fragmentation Realm faced off against the body of an unknown person possessed by a soul in the Netherpassage Realm?

They wanted to see how strong Qin Lie was.

They still didn’t know that the bloody body was the body of the Blood Progenitor and that Qin Lie had taken from the Graveyard of Gods.

Neverending darkness engulfed Qin Lie. Eerie power fluctuations emanated from within that darkness as Zheng Zhihe’s terrifying aura spread throughout the area and made everyone feel his strength.

Qin Lie disappeared.

Even Xing Yumiao and Xiahou Sheng couldn’t pierce the darkness and see what was happening inside of it.

When they tried to use their mind consciousnesses to delve into the darkness, they discovered that it had a power to distort and confuse. It threw their consciousness into disarray and forced it to collapse, causing them to withdraw in shock.

As a result, everyone watched this area covered in a curtain of darkness but had no idea what was happening inside of it.

“Aaaaaoooooo!”

All of a sudden, the Bloodthirsty Dragon’s roar echoed through the air.

A sanguine pillar of light that exuded a savage, destructive aura shot out of the darkness.

The darkness couldn’t smother this bloody light as it gradually grew brighter and brighter.

“Haaa, haaa, haaa!”

The heavy breathing of a god corpse could be heard from the surface of the water as it consumed the dense darkness, revealing Zheng Zhihe and Qin Lie.

Qin Lie, possessing the body of the Blood Progenitor, sat securely atop the bloody bone dragon. His eyes gave off an astonishing light as if they were bloody suns.

Streaks of blood flowed through the sky like rivers and slowly formed a complex yet mysterious formation.

“Blood Arts: Soul Shackle!”

Rivers of blood that contained mysterious sealing properties suddenly formed sanguine chains. They fell through the sky, constantly changing shape from thick to thin, then suddenly constricted and shattered into countless rays of bloody light. This light broke apart once more, exploding into strange bloody runes that filled the air.

These runes flew toward Zheng Zhihe, flapping their wings like billions of bloody butterflies and disappeared into his body.

Pitch black clouds emerged from Zheng Zhihe’s body, moving like evil spirits trying to struggle out of the force shackling them.

Yet more and more bloody runes entered his body and merged into his blood. The black clouds seeping out of Zheng Zhihe gradually became red.

Zheng Zhihe’s struggling gradually died down. Countless bloody webs appeared in his eyes, shackling his True Soul and his Soul Lake.

In the end, Zheng Zhihe went still. Except for the blood that flowed out of his body in a strange fashion, his body made no other movements.

Even his soul eventually became calm.

“Qin Lie!” Gao Yu suddenly shouted from the back of the Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix.

Qin Lie raised his head and looked at Gao Yu in shock.

“What?” he shouted back.

“I want that person’s soul!” Gao Yu exclaimed, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes. “I want the soul of that peak Fragmentation Realm martial practitioner that you’ve shackled and rendered powerless to fight back!”

Qin Lie nodded. “Alright!”

Under everyone’s shocked gazes, Gao Yu, who was only in the Netherpassage Realm, leaped from the fire phoenix and plummeted through the sky.

He didn’t even have a crystalline war chariot to help him descend.

Everyone thought that he, with his measly Netherpassage Realm, was crazy for falling hundreds of meters through the air.

They thought he was suicidal!

“Woosh!”

A dark shadow materialized behind Gao Yu, gradually expanding.

In the span of five breaths, the enormous body of the Evil God, with its vast pair of wings and curved horns atop its head, appeared before Gao Yu.

It resembled an ancient monster that had suddenly invaded the world.

Gao Yu leisurely moved to sit atop the Evil God’s shoulder as he descended, his dark, cold eyes flashing with excitement.

He had sensed that Zheng Zhihe cultivated a pure spirit art of the Nether Realm. He could tell that an evil soul fragment was hidden within the man’s soul—

—the one thing that Gao Yu had been dreaming about.