Spirit Realm

Two hours later, three Armament Sect outer sect disciples came to Qin Lie’s stone tower to weigh the bone dust.

Five days ago, it had been this trio that had delivered two large boxes of bone.

“Thirty-seven and a half kilograms, two contribution points per kilogram. Qin Bing, you have received seventy-five contribution points.” The person named Kan Yang coldly looked at Qin Lie. He glanced at Qin Lie’s arm and muttered in a small voice, “He wasn’t wounded…”

The other two people carried out the wooden buckets filled with bone powder. They had to deliver the power to Tang Siqi so they were standing outside at this time.

Qin Lie heard what Kan Yang muttered. His expression turned icy. “When you delivered the bones, you should have warned me about their origins and told me there was phosphorus poison in there. Also, you should have given me the specialized gloves!”

“What gloves?” asked Kan Yang in feigned ignorance.

“What is he talking about?” The two people outside chimed in agreement, “I don’t know what he means.”

Qin Lie knew that a portion of the outer sect disciples thought of him as an eyesore and would act against him if they had the chance. From the expressions of the trio, he knew that the specialized gloves had been provided, and even if they were not the ones that hid them, the three of them definitely were involved.

“Nothing.”

Qin Lie’s eyes turned icy as he raised a porcelain bowl covered in animal skin by his side. Under the puzzled gazes of Kan Yang and the other two, he suddenly took off the animal skin on the bowl.

With a shake of his arm, the glowing light inside the bowl sprayed out. The dots of green phosphorus fire flashed as they landed on Kan Yang and the other two.

“Phosphorus poison!”

The trio paled and yelled as they retreated. Their eyes were filled with terror.

As the phosphorous fire shot out, a smell that could cause people to lose their mind spread throughout the room. Qin Lie had to focus to deal with it.

When he learned from Yi Yuan that bones containing phosphorus poison needed to be handled with specialized gloves, Qin Lie had made preparations—he gathered a portion of it.

—Specifically to deal with the people that dared to withhold the gloves from him!

The phosphorus poison sprayed like sparks from a fire. Even though Kan Yang and the others had retreated outside the door, some phosphorus poison still made contact with their bodies.

The corrosive phosphorus poison caused their clothing to rot when it landed on them. Their flesh also immediately started to burn and crack.

The trio couldn’t help but shout.

There were many inner and outer sect disciples active under the twelve spirit pattern pillars in the plaza nearby. Hearing the wails, they all looked over.

“This is the taste of phosphorus poison that I have experienced over the past five days.” Qin Lie’s eyes were frigid as he said in an icy voice, “Next time, if I have to experience pain, I will let you taste it all and have you experience it with me! This phosphorous poison is the special gift I prepared for you!”

“Qin Bing! You dare to deliberately harm people, we definitely will not let you off! I will tell an elder and get the elder to punish you!”

The phosphorous poison on Kan Yang’s chest were like spots that rotted his flesh. As he bared his teeth in pain, he threatened in a vicious tone.

“Up to you. I want to see if the elders of Armament Sect listen to reason,” Qin Lie said with a cold face.

The trio’s bodies were being corroded by the phosphorous poison. At this time, he didn’t dare to speak more. Taking the buckets filled with bone dust, they hurriedly left. They had to treat their wounds as soon as possible.

Qin Lie knew that, according to the practices of Armament Sect, there would at least be a day or two of rest after completing a mission.

He shut the door to his stone tower after the trio left since he needed to leave Armament Sect and go to the little compound that Li Mu left behind. This was so he could use the Eye of Frost to go to the land of ice to cultivate.

On the plaza, many inner and outer sect disciples were gathered under the spirit pattern pillars.

Many people did not know their own limits and had delusions. They felt they were fated and could also understand the wonders of the diagrams on the spirit pattern pillars, that they could cause the pillars to react.

The twenty or so new disciples that had just been admitted naturally wanted to try after learning about the wonders of the spirit pattern pillars as well, so many people were present.

The Tian Jianhao that Qin Lie had beaten, Liang Shaoyang of Dark Shadow Tower, Ouyang Jingjing of Seven Fiends Valley. Even Yi Yuan, who said he was not interested in forging, was sitting under a spirit pattern pillar as though he was concentrating and using his heart to feel it…

If Qin Lie had to leave Armament Sect, he had to pass through this plaza. Many people paid attention to him when they saw him come over.

Pang Feng’s younger sister, Pang Shishi; inner sect disciple Yin Hao, Liang Shaoyang; and Tian Jianhao all looked at him as though they wanted to see his weaknesses and true personality.

“You’re going out?” asked Yi Yuan with a smile when Qin Lie walked past him, .

Qin Lie stopped and nodded. He then inquired with a creased brow, “Didn’t you say you were not interested in artifact forging?”

“I’m not interested,” Yi Yuan’s expression was slightly awkward, “but I want to try too. I want to see if I can understand the diagrams on the spirit pattern pillars, to see if I can cause changes in the spirit pattern pillars. Ha, those that pass the exams will all think they are unique, that their intelligence is above the rest, and will want to try. Even though I am not that interested in artifact forging, I am not immune.”

“Hope you succeed,” Qin Lie left behind as he sped up his pace to walk out of the plaza and leave Armament Sect.

Yi Yuan chuckled before putting his attention back on the spirit pattern pillars. His brows were creased as though he was thinking hard on some matter.

“He’s been in Armament Sect for a few days, but he hasn’t even sat under the spirit pattern pillars to look at them yet? Does he not feel the desire to? Doesn’t he want to test out his talent?”

“No one can be ambivalent. If they can understand one of the spirit pattern pillars and get the sprit pattern pillar to react, they can instantly enter the inner sect and receive the favor of Sect Leader and all the elders. They will receive all kinds of special benefits. What method is faster than this or more direct? And to go truly into the core of Armament Sect?”

“Then why hasn’t this guy come here yet?”

“Because Senior Sister Tang has detained him, and he has been given difficult missions. He does not have the time to come and attempt to comprehend the pillars.”

“Don’t pay attention to him. He clearly came for Senior Sister Tang. He probably doesn’t have much interest in forging. This guy… has high skills though. I still admire him greatly.”

“Mn, he really has high skills. Other people pursue Senior Sister Tang in hopes of getting Senior Sister’s affections to make Senior Sister Tang happy!. This guy goes in the opposite direction and always makes Senior Sister Tang unhappy or makes her hate him… I hadn’t expected that it would be pretty effective. Senior Sister Tang really is paying attention to him. I heard that Senior Sister Tang is furious with him and she seems to be at odds with him?”

“So strong! He really has moves!”

Under the spirit pattern pillars the inner and outer sect disciples chatted after Qin Lie had left.

Liang Shaoyang and Dark Asura Hall’s Tian Jianhao were under two separate spirit pattern pillars. Hearing the discussion, their expressions became extremely dark and ugly.

……

Under the Arctic Mountain Range.

Qin Lie was sitting at the peak of a glacier. Among this cruel and cold world of ice, he was holding a spirit tablet. The spirit energy grew and shrank out of his fingertip as he focused on inscribing something.

Inside the world of the spirit tablet, a spirit line was moving like a snake and depicted a cold scene.

—He was drawing the frost picture scroll inside the Soul Suppressing Orb.

“Cra-ack!”

The rock spirit tablet suddenly cracked into many pieces. The cold picture scroll inside crumbled along with it.

“The thirty-fifth tablet!”

Qin Lie shouted lowly. He didn’t look dispirited though as he took out a new spirit tablet and continued to sketch.

With his experiences of having failed hundreds of times when inscribing spirit diagrams, he learned long ago to accept failure. He knew that learning anything was a slow and difficult process. One needed to fail again and again until comprehension was finally achieved. Then one would gradually discover the path to success.

“Bam!” Another spirit tablet shattered.

“Seventy-third tablet!” Qin Lie shouted. He took a deep breath. Then, he temporarily stopped his inscription of the frost picture scroll and looked at the mountains of ice in front of him with furrowed brows. “Where is the problem? Why are the spirit tablets turning to powder while I inscribe the frost picture scroll? Is it because I have not grasped the thickness and density of each spirit line? Or is it that a certain spirit line is incorrect?”

Learning a spirit diagram was like learning a technique. One didn’t just have to understand the construction of the spirit diagram, one had to also know how much spirit energy to use when inscribing each spirit line.

The same spirit line, if drawn with a certain level of spirit energy, could successfully merge into the entire spirit diagram.

But if one used too much power when inscribing and used even an extra tenth or twentieth of the spirit energy required, the same spirit line would turn out incorrect and cause the entire spirit diagram to suddenly collapse.

This was why Qin Lie did not worry that people would learn the two diagrams after he inscribed the Spirit Gathering and Spirit Storage diagrams onto the Spirit Gathering and Spirit Storage Boards.

Being able to see the spirit diagrams inside the Spirit Gathering Board was one matter, learning it was another.

It was similar to powerful arts. If one only knew the moves but did not understand the corresponding inner techniques, they would forever be unable to display the full power of the art.

Being able to see the Spirit Gathering diagram but unable to know how much power and spirit energy to use when inscribing the spirit lines, that person would never be able to truly grasp the inscription of the Spirit Gathering diagram.

“It doesn’t seem easy to realize the drawing using spirit tablets…” Qin Lie said as he thought hard of solutions.

Spirit sea! Drawing in the spirit sea!

He suddenly recalled how he had drawn out the Spirit Gathering diagram using spirit energy in his spirit sea when he had made his breakthrough to the ninth level of Refinement. That had caused a spirit energy whirlpool to form in his spirit sea.

“Is there a way that I can use spirit energy to inscribe the frost picture scroll inside my spirit sea?” When this idea came out, he couldn’t control himself and immediately started to act.

Closing his eyes, he adjusted his state of mind. He channeled the spirit energy in his dantian’s spirit sea and first formed a spirit line.

With this spirit line as the beginning, he comprehended the frost picture scroll in his Soul Suppressing Orb as he tried to move the spirit line in the spirit sea. The line slowly started to move.

Seconds later, an enormous pain came from his spirit sea. That flash of pain passed through his entire body. Qin Lie’s expression changed dramatically as cold sweat covered his body.

At this time, he had just sketched out a tiny ice statue with the spirit lines!

“No, this is not the right path!” Qin Lie instantly stopped his nonsensical actions. His face was white. “I finally understand. The reason the spirit tablets would crumble is that it cannot withstand that… terrifying frost concept! The frost concept might have become a picture, but it still exists. If I use my mind to sketch and feel it, that will cause the frost concept to be pulled in!”

"Inside my body, which place can completely withstand the iciness of the frost concept without being injured?” he murmured to himself.

“Natal palace! The two natal palaces that have formed as ice balls!” Qin Lie’s eyes lit up again.