Spirit Realm

Qin Lie’s cultivation continued for a day and a half.

Xiang Xi, Bo Boze, and the other Gold Sun Island martial practitioners initially watched him cultivate from the other fire phoenix in the distance. A short while later, they grew impatient, gave up, and left.

They left Qin Lie’s group alone on that fire phoenix.

In the darkness of night, a lightning bolt struck through the sky. They criss-crossed, heading straight for the center of the eight slabs of Thunderblitz wood.

This was a peerlessly bright spectacle.

The thunder and lightning attracted the attention of numerous martial practitioners of scattered factions that were passing through nearby waters.

However, they quickly received messages detailing the situation. After watching from a distance for a while, they would silently leave.

These waters had always belonged to Gold Sun Island. Every martial practitioner received a message from the Xing brothers. It said that a martial practitioner of Gold Sun Island was attempting to make a breakthrough and warned other people to stay away.

Thus, many inwardly shocked martial practitioners stayed away from that Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix. They only watched from a distance before leaving.

In the cloudy night sky, Xing Yuyuan pointed to an area where lightning crackled and thunder boomed.

“Over there,” he said to Xing Yumiao. “It’s been going on for a day and a half.”

The two brothers weren’t riding their Flowing Gold Fiery Phoenix. They first approached this fire phoenix using a crystalline chariot, then snuck in using the flight granted by their Fragmentation Realm cultivation bases.

Xing Yumiao looked at the blinding pillar of lightning and felt the reverberating thunder. A puzzled expression appeared on his face as he exclaimed, “What potent thunder and lightning energy!”

“I also find it quite strange,” Xing Yuyuan said in a low voice, his brow furrowed. “According to Enforcer Gu, that boy cultivates the orthodox Blood Spirit Art. However, considering the energy coming off of him and the way he used those spirit artifacts to summon thunder and lightning, he’s clearly more skilled in a thunder spirit art.”

“He’s so young… with such a realm and skill with lightning and thunder…” Xing Yumiao thought to himself for a moment, then firmly declared, “This person must also be a direct disciple of Forefather Terminator!”

“What do you mean?” Xing Yuyuan asked, a confused expression surfacing on his face.

“Only a direct disciple of Forefather Terminator could cause such a change in lightning and thunder. Those eight spirit artifacts around him are most likely made from Thunderblitz wood, an extremely valuable, immensely rare kind of thunder-type spirit material! Only Terminator Sect would have such large amounts of Thunderblitz wood!” Xing Yumiao shouted. He took a deep breath, his expression becoming solemn. “This boy is probably a direct disciple of Forefather Terminator. His status in Terminator Sect may be even higher than Chu Li’s!”

“Ah!” Xing Yuyuan exclaimed in astonishment. “But... he clearly cultivates the Blood Spirit as well!”

“I believe that he’s the child of one of Blood Fiend Sect’s core elders. Since Blood Fiend Sect is in a precarious situation, they must’ve sent the boy to Terminator Sect to cultivate. He appears to be extremely talented, and as a result, he probably garnered Forefather Terminator’s favor. Forefather Terminator must have taught him an extremely powerful thunder spirit art!” Xing Yumiao said, confidently clarifying his thoughts. “In all of the Land of Chaos, only Forefather Terminator could have taught such a disciple! Even Chu Li probably hasn’t received his true guidance!”

“B-but… isn’t that unlikely?” Xing Yuyuan grimaced. “If Forefather Terminator indeed took him on as a disciple, wouldn’t he have seen that the boy already cultivated the Blood Spirit Art?”

“So what?” Xing Yumiao asked in return. “Do you really think Forefather Terminator would care about that? That he’d be afraid of the boy’s identity as a survivor of Blood Fiend Sect? Of other people’s gazes? To recruit a disciple with such excellent talent… such an identity would be nothing to Forefather Terminator!”

Xing Yumiao snorted, then continued, “Even if Forefather Terminator publicly proclaimed that his disciple was a survivor of Blood Fiend Sect, what would happen? Would Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families dare to demand that he hand over the boy?”

Xing Yuyuan froze in thought, nodding inwardly and saying, “You’re right, Big Brother. With his temper, Forefather Terminator wouldn’t be afraid of any of that. Even if he knew that this boy cultivates the Blood Spirit Art and is a descendant of Blood Fiend Sect... once he saw the boy’s exceptional understanding of thunder and lightning and took a liking to him, he’d definitely take him as a direct disciple! Forefather Terminator is one of the Land of Chaos’ top experts. He wouldn’t fear Black Voodoo Sect and the three great families.”

“This has become even more difficult.” Xing Yumiao sighed. He could feel a headache coming on as he watched the dazzling pillar of lightning.

Xing Yuyuan furrowed his brow deeply, his face twisting into a grimace. He shook his head and sighed as well.

“This boy… we can’t lay a hand on him,” he said.

“Your plan to use him will have to be adjusted,” Xing Yumiao said, his headache growing stronger. “Forefather Terminator is nothing like the current Blood Fiend Sect. If Xiang Xi kills him… all of us, all of Gold Sun Island would most likely be buried as well.”

He sighed again. “For them to send this boy… Blood Fiend Sect is despicable. We can’t do a thing.”

A thousand years ago, Blood Fiend Sect inspired both respect and fear in every other force. They terrified the Xing Brothers. The current Blood Fiend Sect, however, was nowhere near that powerful.

Forefather Terminator was different.

Terminator Sect had dominated the Heavenly Silence Continent. For a thousand years, Forefather Terminator reigned as one of the most terrifying existences in the Land of Chaos.

Even Illusory Demon Sect, the force that Gold Sun Island served, would have to think long and hard about fighting Terminator Sect.

The Xing brothers found themselves in quite a predicament.

At the same time, the other Flowing Gold Fire Phoenix that had left earlier that day slowly returned.

From a distance, Xiang Xi, Bo Boze, Xu Changsheng, Xu Jiadong, and dozens of island envoys watched the dazzling river of lightning pierce through the night. They stared at the silhouette sitting in the center of the eight slabs of Thunderblitz wood.

After more than a day, the four enforcers returned with their men under the cover of night to find that the disturbance had become even more stunning than before. That the furious thunder and lightning from earlier… had been tamed.

“This…” Bo Boze inhaled sharply, shouting in terror, “Th-the thunder and lightning have been tamed! This skill… this is clearly a skill that only Forefather Terminator has!”

The moment he said this, the faces of the other three enforcers went pale.

“How did it come to this?” Xu Changsheng asked dejectedly. “How did it come to this!?”

Xiang Xi wore an extremely grave expression.

“I think… I think that boy is from Terminator Sect! He must be a direct disciple of Forefather Terminator!” Bo Boze shook his head, a grimace on his face. He reached the same conclusion that Xing Yumiao had, bitterness filling his face.

Xiang Xi clenched his hands into fists. Cracking noises came from his bones, expressing the rage and displeasure he felt.

“Even if he truly is a member of the Xing Family… I think we need to reconsider our plan,” Xu Changsheng said, clearly feeling the urge to withdraw. “Who cares if we exterminate the Xing Family? Who can escape the furious retaliation of Forefather Terminator?”

As soon as they realized that Qin Lie could be connected to Forefather Terminator, the rebels that wanted to overthrow the Xing Family started to consider the possible consequences.

“If we exterminate the Xing Family, Gold Sun Island would still be a vassal force of Illusory Demon Sect. We wouldn’t have much of a problem there. If we do, we’ll just leave Illusory Demon Sect. Even joining Black Voodoo Cult would be fine. Illusory Demon Sect wouldn’t take action on behalf of the Xing Family because they don’t have close ties to them.” The fourth enforcer, Xu Jiadong, also grew worried. “Looking at the boy’s control over lightning and thunder, he has clearly received the secret skill of Forefather Terminator and is his closest, most favored disciple. If we kill him and enrage Forefather Terminator… don’t even think about it!”

“You’re usually clever, Brother Bo,” Xiang Xi said, an ugly expression on his face. “Do you have any ideas?”

Bo Boze’s eyes moved back and forth in thought.

“First, we need to learn the true connection between the boy and the Xing Family,” he said. “It would then be best to figure out if he is in contact with Terminator Sect. If they don’t know he’s here, they won’t know that he died here.”

“Multiple random martial practitioners saw him cultivating as they passed by.” Xiang Xi furrowed his brow. “These people have long since disappeared.”

“So if he dies, Terminator Sect will be able to trace it back to us.” Bo Boze sighed.

“He isn’t a member of the Xing Family!” Xiang Xi exclaimed.

Bo Boze went still. “What?”

“A thousand years ago, the three great families killed almost every member of the Xing Family,” Xiang Xi said in a low voice. “Xing Shan, the seventh master of the Xing Family, died right then and there!”

His three fellow enforcers looked at him in shock and disbelief.

“Chief enforcer… are you sure?” Bo Boze asked, inwardly alarmed. He finally realized that Xiang Xi was still hiding things from him. “Where did you learn that?”

“I… have secretly been in contact with the three great families.” Xiang Xi had no choice but to tell them the truth. “The people reinforcing our attack on the Xing brothers… include members of the three great families.”

Bo Boze and the others looked at him strangely.

None of them thought that Xiang Xi could be so ruthless. He knew that, of all the people in the Heavenly Calamity Continent, the Xing brothers hated the three great families the most. Yet he still communicated with them in secret.

What kind of great grudge was this?

Some of them even started to feel disdain for Xiang Xi.

“The three great families promised that, once this matter has been concluded, Gold Sun Island will receive great rewards!” Xiang Xi gritted his teeth. “I guarantee that everyone will get a share!”

Xiang Xi originally wanted to take all of the spirit materials and spirit stones that the three great families had promised. Now he had no other alternative but to say he’d share them with the others.

When Xiang Xi said this, the eyes of everyone who had begun feeling disdain for him suddenly lit up. They smiled, nodded, and voiced their respect.

“As expected… chief enforcer is very wise. This subordinate admires you!”

“We should be calling him island master!”

“Yes, haha! Island master! Island master!”

“Since the boy isn’t a member of the Xing Family, that makes everything much easier.” Bo Boze smiled softly. “If he’s impersonating a member of the Xing Family, he definitely has a goal in being here. We’ll find out what he wants and give it to him. Since we can’t find him, we’ll pull him over to our side. That shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

“Pull him to our side?” An idea gradually formed in Xiang Xi’s mind.

“Since he’s an imposter, he definitely hasn’t come to Gold Sun Island to oppose us. In fact… he may even be an enemy of the Xing Family.” Bo Boze’s mind moved quickly as he snickered and said, “If that’s the case, our chances of success are now much higher. Maybe… just maybe… we’ll be able to form a relationship with Forefather Terminator through him.

After he completed his analysis, everyone grew excited. His words made sense to them.

“I will completely defer to Brother Bo in this matter. I believe you will make us proud!” Xiang Xi patted Bo Boze on the shoulder and solemnly said, “Let’s find out what the boy likes. As long as we know that… we’ll use it to pull him to our side!”

“We don’t need to find out what he likes.” Bo Boze flashed a suspicious smile. “The boy is young, but he has three wives. Isn’t it apparent?”

“Beauty?” Xiang Xi exclaimed in realization.

“It’s painfully obvious, right?”

“I see...”