Chapter 1498: Heaviness

Narsen easily tore open a spatial rift and left the Vermillion Bird Realm with his clansmen.

Qin Lie and the Ice Emperor could do nothing but watch them leave.

“This man is a pretty famous expert within the Spirit Race. He is really strong after he merges with his demon pet,” the Ice Emperor said in a serious tone. “His full strength might even measure up to Han Che, patriarch of the Profound Ice Family. I doubt we’d be able to kill him even if we were to go all out just now.”

The Soul Beast avatar’s bluish green eyes were also filled with worry.

He knew that the Ice Emperor’s assessment was correct.

After Narsen had merged with his demon pet, his power, soul energy, and lifeforce had risen to a level that stifled even him, a newly ascended rank ten Soul Beast avatar.

Narsen wasn’t the only rank ten bloodline expert in his family either. If that wasn’t enough, he was also supported by many rank nine Spirit Race clansmen as well.

Their overall strength could only be bigger than what they had scraped together in the Vermillion Bird Realm.

Qin Lie knew that there was nothing he could do against Narsen. That was why he had seen them off without taking any action.

“I had heard a little about Great Sage Tian Qi of the Spirit Race before. It is rumored that that man is well-versed in the secrets of fate, and that he has the ability to see into the far future.” The Ice Emperor waved a hand and summoned his icy crystal ball back into his nine-level frost Soul Altar. Then, he let out a sigh. “Spirit Realm can’t possibly be destroyed in the future… can it?” Even the Ice Emperor was looking a little lost at this moment.

Great Sage Tian Qi was one of the three Blood and Soul Mentors. He was a sage to the galaxy and the hundred thousands of races that lived within.

Moreover, his prophecies were famed for their unerring accuracy!

If he was the one who claimed that Spirit Realm was going to “die” in the future, then not even someone like the Ice Emperor could afford to ignore it.

If Spirit Realm was going to end one way or another, then what does that say about the Three Emperors’ efforts? Had it really been all for naught?

Even the Ice Emperor was feeling a surge of helplessness.

It was at this moment Dan Yuanqing, Chen Lin, Curtis, and the Lizard Progenitor flew over from the direction of the Vermillion Bird Realm’s realm entrance.

“Is that guy gone?” Chen Lin asked.

Qin Lie gave him an affirmative nod.

Chen Lin fell silent for a moment before saying, “His mastery of space has probably reached my master’s level already. As you know, all experts of space are notoriously hard to pin down. A realm like this is like a playground to him, and I doubt there’s anyone in the entire Spirit Realm who can trap him completely, unless their mastery of space is at least as high as his and they have benefit of surprise.”

Chen Lin sighed before continuing. “Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure there are no experts in Spirit Realm who are as well-versed in the power of space as him.”

“If my master was still alive, then maybe Spirit Realm would’ve had a glimmer of hope.”

He shook his head helplessly.

“This man is extremely well-versed in the truths of space. He can appear in any realm he wishes, and there’s no way to restrict him at all.” Dan Yuanqing smiled bitterly. “There are two two Soul Race clansmen causing havoc in the Ji and Ao Families right now, but we have no way to drag them out either. The six great forces had gathered all their power to take down the Profound Ice Family members who were currently stranded at Shattered Ice Realm, but they had also suffered huge losses during the attempt…”

“Only a small number of Soul Race, Spirit Race, and God Race clansmen had made it to Spirit Realm, but that didn’t stop them from wreaking havoc all over the place.”

“The future… doesn’t bode well for us if this situation were to continue.”

Even the Ice Emperor had fallen silent at his words.

A while later, the Ice Emperor said, “We’ll deal with our problems one at a time.”

He made a seal on his nine-level frost Soul Altar and withdrew his frost powers to restore the Vermillion Bird Realm to its former appearance.

Every frost mist or stream that was scattered during the battle was drawn back into the Soul Altar under his guidance.

The ice and snow that covered a part of Vermillion Bird Realm started melting.

An hour later, every strand of cold energy he had spread across Vermillion Bird Realm had been withdrawn back into his Soul Altar.

Qin Lie looked down to the ground from above. He could see collapsed mountains and holes all across the Vermillion Bird Realm.

The realm’s devastation was evident.

A huge number of Vermillion Birds and fire-attribute spirit beasts had perished during the battle.

“Swoosh swoosh!”

Tong Yan and Tong Zhenzhen walked out from the foot of a volcano and flew next to him in human form.

Tong Zhenzhen’s eyes were red and teary. Tong Yan was wearing a sorrowful look as well.

Qin Lie’s lips trembled once before he apologized, “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Tong Yan sighed quietly before continuing. “The Vermillion Bird Race had lost at least two-thirds of their clansmen in this battle. However, my subordinates at Boluo Realm are alive and well, and this battle ultimately hadn’t ended with the destruction of the Vermillion Bird Race. As long as a spark still lives, the Vermillion Bird Race will rise again one day.”

Qin Lie pondered for a moment before replying, “You should move all remnant Vermillion Birds and other creatures living here to Boluo Realm for now. Give me some time. The Vermillion Bird Realm… will not perish from the world. In fact, I promise to return you a better Vermillion Bird Realm in the near future!”

Tong Yan’s eyes lit up with hope.

Tong Zhenzhen was no different.

“I promise that the Vermillion Bird Realm will become an even better place for cultivation in the near future!” Qin Lie declared.

The Ice Emperor looked at Qin Lie with surprise.

None of the volcanoes of Vermillion Bird Realm were erupting even though he had withdrawn his frost powers.

In fact, the entire Vermillion Bird Realm seemed to have ran out of fire power. Right now, it was completely unsuitable for the Vermillion Bird Race.

In the Ice Emperor’s opinion, even the Flame Emperor would be hardpressed to restore the Vermillion Bird Realm back to its former glory.

But Qin Lie had promised Tong Yan to return her a better Vermillion Bird Realm.

It was why the Ice Emperor thought that Qin Lie was being excessively boastful.

“Trust me!” Qin Lie said.

Tong Yan nodded lightly. “You had never disappointed me before.”

That was the last thing she said before she left the area with Tong Zhenzhen. Her next course of action was to gather all surviving Vermillion Birds and fire-attribute creatures that were still alive in the Vermillion Bird Realm.

The Ice Emperor didn’t probe deeper into the matter. Instead, he remarked, “Right now, our top priority is to find the Soul Race clansman who’s lurking within the Ji Family. The longer we delay, the greater his threat to the Ji Family and the entire Central World.”

“I will do my best!” Qin Lie said.

It was at this moment Chen Lin’s wristband suddenly rang crisply.

Chen Lin narrowed his eyes and listened to the incoming message with his soul. Then, his face darkened as he said, “The evil dragons had suddenly invaded Asura Realm after taking over the entire Dragon Realm!”

“The evil dragons are attacking the Asura Realm!?” Qin Lie was stunned by this latest news.

“The Asura Race clansmen there had suffered a complete defeat. They were even forced to evacuate from Asura Realm,” Chen Lin reported.

“What troubled times we’re in.” The Ice Emperor’s eyes looked very troubled. “The Asura Race and the Giant Dragon Race were allies in the past, and the Asura Race had hunted down many evil dragons while they were leaving Spirit Realm with the God Race. It looks like the Evil Dragon Race is taking revenge against them.”

“The Asura Race got everything they deserved!” Chen Lin uttered coldly.

“Is there any news regarding the Demon Dragon Race?” the Ice Emperor asked.

“I heard that Barett’s two brothers had gone away to meet with the patriarch of the Evil Dragon Race. There is no way to know exactly what they were discussing and what agreements they had arrived to,” Chen Lin answered.

“A force of over three hundred, with eight or nine at rank ten, and possibly support of the Demon Dragon Race…” The Ice Emperor shook his head with a sigh. “The overall strength of this group is probably bigger than even the Profound Ice Family members who are holed up in Shattered Ice Realm right now. Also, they’re definitely more threatening that those two Soul Race princes and the Satorius Family in a direct fight.”

“What should we do?” Chen Lin asked.

“All I hope is that they’re not all against us. If a conflict were to break out between any two of these forces, then we’ll have a chance to turn the tides to our favor.” The Ice Emperor smiled bitterly before replying, “But if they stayed out of each other’s way and focused all their efforts onto Spirit Realm, then…”

The Ice Emperor looked both depressed and helpless.

Everyone felt an unspeakable weight inside their hearts when the Ice Emperor was done speaking. They all thought that the current crisis was more difficult to handle than the Blaze Family and Darkness Family’s invasion thirty thousand years ago.

Both Qin Lie and the Ice Emperor recalled the words Narsen had left with them prior to his departure. The future felt even uncertain as a result.

“Anyway, let’s do our best and find those two Soul Race clansmen first,” the Ice Emperor declared quietly.

Qin Lie nodded. “Let us return to Spirit Realm first. The denizens of Vermillion Bird Realm can solve their own problems.”

He knew that this land would be trouble-free as long as he never came here again.

For now, he was Narsen’s only target.