Spirit Realm

Silver moonlight descended upon the water, shimmering on the rippling waves in a calm and peaceful manner.

Figures floated on the surface of the endless sea, heading in the direction of the Heavenly Slaughter Continent.

Seven young martial practitioners silently sat on prayer mats atop the water that seemed to have been woven from weeds. They wore cautious expressions, speaking to each other in low voices every now and then.

“The Pan Family received a message from Illusory Demon Sect and attacked us for the remains of ancient elites from the Land of Buried Gods,” Qin Lie said, looking at the water in the distance with narrowed eyes. He used his soul perception to examine the surroundings. “Celestial Artifact Sect definitely told everyone that the bodies would be in the seas between continents. This would make every force start a widespread search. We’ll probably encounter multiple search parties on our way to the Heavenly Slaughter Continent. We from the Scarlet Tide Continent are relatively unknown and shouldn’t attract attention.”

He turned to look at Luo Chen, Du Xiangyang, and Xue Moyan.

“But you three stand out too much.”

“You’re too famous in the Land of Chaos. Many people know how you look,” Song Tingyu added. “Especially you, Xue Moyan. You’re a prominent figure of Illusory Demon Sect. Most people in this area will probably recognize you.”

“Changing one’s appearance is a simple thing,” Xue Moyan replied.

Taking out a small porcelain bottle, she dripped a few beads of amber liquid onto her hand. She then softly rubbed them onto her face, making adjustments to her facial features.

A few seconds later, she wore a completely new face. It looked ordinary, significantly different from her original face.

Du Xiangyang smiled. “Such a thing is child’s play.”

He took out an opaque mask, casually put it on his face, and immediately turned into someone else.

Luo Chen did the same.

“Miss Song. Miss Xie. If you’re willing to disguise your beauty, I think we’ll be able to avoid a bit more trouble,” Du Xiangyang said casually.

“Mn. We’re fine with that,” Song Tingyu answered.

She and Xie Jingxuan quickly altered their faces.

“Much better.” Qin Lie grinned as he looked at the unfamiliar faces around him. He thought to himself for a moment, then said, “We still need a ship.”

Everyone instinctively looked into the water below.

On this bright, moonlit night, if one were to look under the water, they’d be able to see enormous silhouettes in its depths.

—These were the god corpses.

If someone went into the water, they would be shocked to discover that the eight god corpses, which had disappeared from the bottom of the ocean near the Heavenly Fissure Continent, were/travelled beneath Qin Lie and the others.

The prayer mats that seemed to be made of weeds were actually woven from the hair of the god heads. Since the heads of the god corpses reached just below the surface of the water, Qin Lie’s group could sit on top of them as the vessels that would take them to the Heavenly Slaughter Continent.

Under the water’s surface, the eight god corpses floated in a wide circular formation, their sixteen arms tied together with tree branches.

An enormous basket, likewise made from tree branches, floated through the sixty-five square meters of water between the god corpses. The god corpses held onto this basket, pulling the twenty three bodies of ancient elites that lay within it.

Suppressing the energy fluctuations within them so they didn’t create any waves, the god corpses silently moved underwater.

If someone were to look into the ocean at this very moment, they would see enormous shadows under the water. If it were daytime, however, and the sun were shining down onto the sea, the god corpses and the giant basket holding the remains of ancient elites wouldn’t have anywhere to hide.

“Mn,” Du Xiangyang grunted in agreement. “The god corpses can’t stay near the water’s surface. If they did, we’d definitely be exposed. They need to be concealed deep underwater to avoid search parties traveling through the air, so they definitely can’t carry us all the way.”

“Small boats made from branches won’t work. We’ll draw attention if we’re seen journeying across the ocean in a small vessel,” Qin Lie said calmly, rubbing his chin. “We need to capture a ship of suitable size.”

“It’s a pity that all three of the Pan Family’s crystalline war chariots were reduced to scrap,” Luo Chen said.

“I hope the first force we encounter is easy to deal with,” Gao Yu said, eyes cold. “I also hope they have a big ship we can… borrow.”

“There’ll be ships and flying spirit artifacts to use, Gao Yu.” Qin Lie frowned. “Are you really going to leave immediately?”

“I have other things to do.”

“Take three ancient elite corpses with you.”

“I’ve achieved my goal of obtaining the Evil God’s body. I currently don’t have the energy to take care of the other corpses and also don’t have a place to store them. Hold on to them for me, Qin Lie. When I’ve taken care of my matters and have need of them, I’ll find you.”

“You’re really going?”

“Mn. I want to find Jia Yue.”

“You know where she is?”

“The ice spirit won’t possess her body forever. It just wanted to avoid the Demon Sealing Tombstone and escape the Graveyard of Gods. Since the Graveyard of Gods collapsed and it no longer has to worry about being sealed by the Demon Sealing Tombstone, it should return to its original body.” Determination filled Gao Yu’s face. “In other words, Jia Yue will be fine. I… made an agreement with her. If she’s alive, she’ll go to a few places to wait for me. I must go to her.”

Seeing that Gao Yu had already made his decision, Qin Lie didn’t push the matter any further.

“I understand.”

……

Six days later, the strong afternoon sun shone onto the sea, the enormous shadows just below its surface easily discernable. Qin Lie and the others sat atop these enormous shadows and continued to travel toward the Heavenly Slaughter continent.

Their group had been relatively lucky thus far. They had yet to encounter any search parties or intelligent beings.

Qin Lie rested on the head of one of the god corpses, his eyes closed.

He felt confused.

Although the Demon Sealing Tombstone had sealed the earth, metal, and water spirits more than ten days ago, it still hadn’t given him any blood essences.

Essence emerged from the Demon Sealing Tombstone not long after it sealed the fire, wood, and thunder spirits, which he would then turn into blood essences using the Blood Refinement Art.

However, as the days continued to pass, the Demon Sealing Tombstone didn’t make a sound. Qin Lie gradually grew worried and started to suspect that something had happened to it.

When he spoke to Song Tingyu about his confusion, she thought to herself for a moment. Then she said, “The fire, wood, and thunder spirits were sealed and refined one by one. Of course you wouldn’t have to wait long for them. This time, the metal, earth, and water spirits were sealed all at once. The Demon Sealing Tombstone needs to refine all three spirits at once, so it’ll naturally take three times as long, maybe even more. Just wait a little while longer. I think the Demon Sealing Tombstone will undergo a transformation soon.”

“I hope so.” Qin Lie smiled.

He and Song Tingyu sat atop the head of the same god corpse. Xie Jingxuan, Gao Yu, Du Xiangyang, Luo Chen, and Xue Moyan were there as well, just a bit further from them. As long as the two of them didn’t talk loudly, the other five would be hard pressed to hear what they were talking about.

“How did you know that these god corpses, the Blood Progenitor, and the Voodoo Progenitor weren’t completely dead? That they just suffered the self-destruction of their Imperishable Souls?” Song Tingyu asked in a low voice. “Other than the divine language you use to communicate with the god corpses, did you receive anything else from the Demon Sealing Tombstone?”

“Yeah.” Qin Lie couldn’t keep it a secret from her. “I did receive more information.”

Along with the divine language, the Demon Sealing Tombstone had transmitted memories about the Graveyard of Gods and the eight god corpses into his mind. Those memories… he didn’t mention them to Luo Chen and the others.

Song Tingyu’s eyes lit up. “The god corpses and the Graveyard of Gods… what are they really?”

“According to the memories I received, what we know as the Graveyard of Gods is actually a divine altar that the Heaven Fighting Race uses to train its descendants. It isn’t a public burial ground, a place for ancient elites to be laid to rest. All of that is fake. The thunder lagoon and the Land of Buried Gods are just places to store power and resources,” Qin Lie said in a low voice. He paused, then continued, “The Graveyard of Gods, this divine altar… it’s basically like a blood pool. It was created for the development of the Heaven Fighting Race’s descendants.”

“The Heaven Fighting Race?” Song Tingyu exclaimed in shock.

Qin Lie nodded then said, “I learned that the Heaven Fighting Race probably built more divine altars similar to the Graveyard of Gods, all of which are sub-worlds independent from Spirit Realm!”

“A-are there a lot of them?” Song Tingyu asked, trembling.

“Yes!” Qin Lie exclaimed without a doubt. “The bodies of the Blood Progenitor, the Voodoo Progenitor, the Evil God, and the other ancient elites… the Heaven Fighting Race probably got them using unconventional means!”

“Unconventional means? What do you mean?” Song Tingyu covered her mouth in astonishment.

“They may have killed them and then collected their bodies or stole the bodies from their resting places.” After a moment, Qin Lie shook his head and pushed the stray thoughts from his mind. “It doesn’t matter how they got them, we’ll just use them. We may even be able to use the Demon Sealing Tombstone to find other altars in the future. By that time, there will probably be tons of ancient elite bodies for us to seize and use.”

“What about these eight god corpses?” Song Tingyu asked in a small voice.

“The members of the Heaven Fighting Race consider themselves gods. These god corpses… the Heaven Fighting Race calls them the people of god,” Qin Lie shook his head and laughed. “These supposed people of god serve the Heaven Fighting Race with unshakeable loyalty. In other words, they worship them.”

“Stop muttering to yourselves,” Du Xiangyang yelled from his position at the front of the god corpse’s head. His expression grew serious as he got to his feet. “I think we’ve got trouble.”

Qin Lie and Song Tingyu immediately stopped talking. They stood up, looked out at the sea before them, and saw enormous sails in the distance. Multiple iron ships, each nearly a hundred meters long, raised the same embroidered flag.

“Can you see the insignia on the flag?” Xue Moyan asked Du Xiangyang in a loud voice.

“An enormous golden sun,” Du Xiangyang replied, his voice just as loud.

“Those ships belong to Gold Sun Island, a Copper force stronger than the Pan Family. Their island master is at the peak of the Fragmentation Realm and has almost broken through to the Nirvana Realm!”

Everyone looked at Qin Lie.

“The peak of the Fragmentation Realm ...” Qin Lie said, thinking to himself. Then a serious look came over him as he asked, “Only the island master is at that level?”

“Yes, just him,” Xue Moyan answered immediately.

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem. Even if we’re exposed, the god corpses should be able to deal with it.” Qin Lie nodded.

As soon as he said this, everyone relaxed.