Spirit Realm

“Come with me. We’re going to see big sister.”

The youth called Xing Wu was only in the middle stage of the Netherpassage Realm, slightly weaker than Qin Lie, yet some of the martial practitioners in the boat with him were in the Fulfillment Realm.

Although they were stronger, they clearly treated Xing Wu as their leader. This showed that the Xing Family seemed to control Gold Sun Island.

With Xing Wu leading the way, Qin Lie followed these Gold Sun Island martial practitioners onto the largest ship and straight to its third level.

Qin Lie glanced behind him and saw that the rest of his companions were still quite a ways from the ship. The Sword Leaf Boat had clearly left them behind.

Gold Sun Island’s largest ship was called the “Wavebreaker.”

There were three levels to this ship. A dozen rooms made up the top level and served as the residences of the Xing Family clansmen. The middle level housed Gold Sun Island martial practitioners that had reached the Fulfillment Realm, and the lowest level held the Netherpassage Realm martial practitioners.

Xing Wu led Qin Lie into a vast, beautifully decorated room covered in thick, lush carpet. Side rooms, such as washrooms and a cultivation room, could be seen. Patterns of turtles and phoenixes peppered the walls, making the room appear grand and intimidating.

“Big sister,” Xing Wu said upon leading Qin Lie into the room. “I’ve brought him.”

“Alright.” A soft voice rang out from the behind the door of the cultivation room. “Take the others and arrange for them to stay in the lowest level temporarily.”

Xing Wu nodded, then spoke to Qin Lie in a low voice. “Big sister hasn’t finished cultivating yet. Wait here for now.”

“Oh,” Qin Lie responded calmly.

Xing Wu promptly took his leave.

Qin Lie casually looked toward the cultivation room. Instead of using his soul perception, however, he just waited, bored out of his mind.

About fifteen minutes later, the door of the cultivation room opened with a soft groan.

A woman walked out. She wore long loose robes that draped her swollen figure. She was tall and broad, like a ball with legs.

Qin Lie looked at her in confusion.

When he heard that soft voice, he expected its owner to be a beautiful woman. Now that the woman had revealed her actual appearance, it was as if a powerful blow had shattered the image in his head to pieces.

“I am Xing Shengnan. Xing Yumiao, Gold Sun Island’s island master, is my older brother. My surname is Xing, just like yours. The ancestors of my Xing Family used to live in the Heavenly Calamity Continent as well!” The moment Xing Shengnan walked out, she looked at Qin Lie and excitedly stated his identity. “You’re called Xing Lie? You said that you and your grandfather lived in mountains of the Heavenly Calamity Continent. Your grandfather… what is his name?”

“Xing… Xing Shan,” Qin Lie lied.

The Xing Family originally prospered in the Heavenly Calamity Continent, so it definitely had many clansmen. In addition to how much time had passed since its decline, Qin Lie didn’t think that Xing Shengnan would be able to discern any falsehood from a random name he gave her.

“W-what’s your grandfather called?” the bulky female asked once more, becoming agitated. “Say his name again!”

“Xing Shan!” Qin Lie shouted.

“Heavens!” Xing Shengnan exclaimed in shock.

All of a sudden, she moved forward and swept Qin Lie up in an excited embrace.

“You’re seventh grandfather’s grandson!” she cried joyfully.

Qin Lie felt as though he were being squished by a cotton ball.

“B-Big sister!” he shouted, struggling out of her enthusiastic embrace. “Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?”

“You’re right to call me big sister!” she shouted, waving her hands in the air. “I am your big sister! Xing Wu is just a member of a branch of the Xing Family. You, Xing Lie, are a member of our main family! I will inform big brother and tell him that seventh grandfather has a descendant!”

“This…”

The woman’s declaration left Qin Lie dumbstruck.

“Here! Look at our Xing Family tree!” Xing Shengnan took a book out of her sleeve as if she had performed a magic trick. She flipped through its pages, which were yellow with age, and pointed at one of the names, saying, “See? Seventh grandfather’s name is Xing Shan!”

Qin Lie moved closer to take a look and saw the name Xing Shan, just as expected. He inwardly grimaced, thinking about how much of a coincidence this was.

“A thousand years ago, every force of the Land of Chaos invaded the Heavenly Calamity Continent and hunted Blood Fiend Sect and its vassal forces. Our Xing Family was one of the five great families that served Blood Fiend Sect. As a result, we were massacred. They hunted down our clansmen and sent us fleeing, scattering us throughout the Land of Chaos. This is the Xing Family’s terrible past!”

Xing Shengnan gritted her teeth and cursed the forces that had invaded and destroyed the Xing Family. She directed her worst swear words at the Xiahou, Lin, and Su Families. She cursed so hard that spittle flew from her mouth and Qin Lie had to form a shield of ice in front of his face to block it.

“Fortunately, my grandfather had only been wounded and managed to survive,” she continued. “He took our Xing Family, my father, and other survivors and fled overseas until they eventually reached the Heavenly Slaughter Continent.

“Of the seven brothers of the Xing Family, my grandfather is the fifth oldest. Your grandfather, Xing Shan, is the youngest. Look! The records of our family tree show this clearly.”

Qin Lie was silent.

He hadn’t thought that the name Xing Shan would really exist in the Xing Family tree.

A name that he randomly made up just happened to be the reason why Xing Shengnan became so excited and treated him like family.

“Little brother, where’s your grandfather?” Xing Shengnan’s thick lips trembled. She couldn’t bear the ask, but she had to. “Where is your father and your other clansmen?”

“They’re dead.” Qin Lie answered with a sigh, bowing his head in dejection. “All of them were killed.”

“Damn those Xiahou, Lin, and Su Families!” Xing Shengnan clenched her fists and began a new wave of cursing. She directed all kinds of profanity toward the three great families. “They should all just die!”

Qin Lie laughed inwardly. He didn’t even need to say who the culprits were. Xing Shengnan filled in the blanks, saving him a lot of trouble.

He could see that this bulky woman had a quick mouth and had an extremely blunt demeanor. She didn’t care much for courtesy and wasn’t a scheming person.

Although she was a woman, she acted like a man.

“Oh, right. Little brother, you were floating in the sea for so long. Aren’t you tired?” Xing Shengnan asked worriedly.

Qin Lie nodded profusely.

He wanted to get away from Xing Shengnan as soon as possible. He was afraid that if this woman continued to ask questions, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his lie and his identity would be exposed.

“Xing Yao!” Xing Shengnan shouted toward the hallway. “Come here and meet your young uncle then take him to the room next to yours so he can rest! I’ll find your father later and explain everything so we can add him to the family tree! This is a momentous occasion for the Xing Family!”

“Sister-in-law!” A crisp, clear voice echoed from a corner of the hallway. “I’m still cultivating!”

“You awful girl!” Xing Shengnan scolded. “Get over here right now, you disrespectful child!”

Soon enough, a beautiful young woman wearing a light green silk dress reluctantly walked out into the hallway.

“A distant relative of grandfather? Sister-in-law, why are you talking this so seriously?” she muttered. “We don’t even know if he’s telling the truth or not.”

“How can he be lying? The family tree clearly shows that seventh grandfather’s name is the same as his grandfather’s.” Xing Shengnan glared at Xing Yao and hissed, “Xing Lie is your uncle, so you will refer to him as such! If you dare keep muttering like that, I’ll rip your mouth from your face!”

Xing Yao clearly couldn’t handle her sister-in-law. She couldn’t do anything but helplessly bow her head.

She didn’t even look at Qin Lie as she put an end to the matter and said, “Uncle.”

With that, Xing Shengnan finally felt satisfied. She waved a hand and sternly said, “Take your uncle to the empty room next to yours so he can rest.”

“Th-that… big sister, I can just go to the lowest level,” Qin Lie hurriedly said. “My friends are probably there by now.”

“Absolutely not!” A serious look came over Xing Shengnan’s face, and she said, “You’re seventh grandfather’s grandson, a direct descendant of our Xing Family! How could we possibly have you stay with the servants! That’s absurd!”

“Uh...”

“Xing Yao! What are you just standing there for? Don’t you know how to properly guide your uncle to his room?” Xing Shengnan began shouting again. “You’re such a stupid little girl!”

Xing Yao was terrified of her sister-in-law. She shrunk back from Xing Shengnan’s tirade, on the verge of tears as she said, “Let’s go, uncle!”

The way she spat out the word “uncle” showed just how much she detested Qin Lie.

“This…” Qin Lie was at a loss for words.

“Xing Lie, go with your niece. If the girl does anything you don’t like, let me know and I’ll punish her!” Xing Shengnan said with a snort. “Ah… ever since the Xing Family had been scattered, those little bastards forgot all about their ancestors and where the true home of the Xing Family is.”

Xing Shengnan sighed. She was clearly dissatisfied with her juniors.

Xing Yao didn’t want to stay one second longer. Seeing that Qin Lie just stood there, frozen to his spot, she angrily pulled at his sleeve and moved to leave.

Qin Lie stumbled because her forceful pulling, yet when she glared at him, all he could do was follow her out.

……