Chapter 607: Undercurrents

“I never thought you would actually bring the bodies of ancient elites out of the Graveyard of Gods,” Chu Li said with a sigh. “I figured you would have been blasted to smithereens when that subworld collapsed.”

At this moment, Qin Lie and Chu Li were in the middle of speaking to each other while Xing Yumiao led Hei Shite and Lei Yan to accommodations that had been arranged for them.

“I’m not surprised that you survived, but I didn’t think you’d be able to come to the Setting Sun Islands so quickly,” Qin Lie said, smiling. “You seriously are one tenacious fellow.”

“Like hell I’m tenacious!” Chu Li smiled wryly. “I only managed to survive because I had Forefather’s Thunder Pearl with me, that’s all. If I hadn’t used it to protect myself when the Graveyard of Gods collapsed, I would have been obliterated instantly. After that, I spent a long time floating through chaotic spatial streams. If Forefather had taken even a tiny bit longer to find me, those streams would have eroded the defenses of the Thunder Pearl and reduced me to dust.”

“Chaotic spatial streams?” Qin Lie asked in surprise.

According to what Qin Lie knew, the chaotic domain Chu Li spoke of was absolutely terrifying. It held perpetual energy storms, nameless black holes, and explosions capable of destroying one’s origin.

An Imperishable Realm expert would gradually be worn away if they accidentally entered that domain, and even their souls would completely dissipate.

Just the fact that Forefather Terminator had safeguarded Chu Li’s life using the Thunder Pearl and pulled him back to Spirit Realm and Terminator Sect was unbelievable.

“Yes, chaotic spatial streams,” Chu Li said, a serious expression slowly surfacing on his face. “I heard that experts who ascend to the Nirvana Realm possess the qualification to explore the twisted domain in which they exist. Forefather secluded himself many times over the past few years mainly because he was studying them. He had only been able to preserve my life with his Thunder Pearl because he understood some of the secrets of chaotic spatial streams. This means that Forefather’s insights into the power of thunder have reached a level that common people couldn’t possible imagine.”

Chu Li paused for a moment, the continued, “I believe that Forefather will be able to help you. He’ll be able to point you in the right direction. That’s why I think you should meet him.”

“Does he wish to see me?” Qin Lie asked in shock.

“That’s our main reason for being here,” Chu Li said in a solemn voice. “Aside from the bodies of ancient elites, we’re here to deliver a message. We hope that you will return to Terminator Sect with us. This is an invitation from Forefather himself.”

“I’ll definitely visit Terminator Sect, but I’ve gotten mixed up in all kinds of trouble recently, so I currently don’t have the time.” Qin Lie thought to himself for a moment, then asked, “How much do you know about Spirits of Void and Chaos?”

Chu Li shook his head, his wry smile returning to his face.

“How about this jade token?”

“I’m… not really sure about that either,” Chu Li answered.

Qin Lie had nothing left to ask about. Chu Li, on the other hand, did.

“What happened in the Forbidden Land of Ice?”

“A great deal…”

Qin Lie didn’t hide anything from Chu Li. He explained all of the things that happened there, such as encountering Jia Yue, the Jiang father-son duo, and so on.

Once he had gone over everything, envy could be heard in Chu Li’s voice when he said, “You’re so damn lucky.”

After they finished speaking, Chu Li stayed in accommodations provided by Gold Sun Island just like Hei Shite and Lei Yan.

Qin Lie continued to use soul crystals and the Demon Sealing Tombstone to replenish his soul energy and blood. He also practiced inscribing spirit diagrams every day.

Time quickly passed in this way, and seven days later, a luan bird that radiated prismatic light carrying Illusory Demon Sect experts landed on one of the Setting Sun Islands. Shi Xiuling led these experts, and their arrival alarmed every expert of Gold Sun Island. They hurried out to welcome them, afraid that the fury of Illusory Demon Sect would descend upon them.

Strictly speaking, Gold Sun Island was a vassal force of Illusory Demon Sect. They figured that Xue Moyan must have reported their decision to serve Blood Fiend Sect once more.

Xing Yumiao feared that Illusory Demon Sect would take revenge against them.

Yet surprisingly enough, Shi Xiuling seemed extremely gracious when the matter came up. She didn’t look unhappy at all, cleanly cutting Gold Sun Island’s relationship to Illusory Demon Sect and allowing them to break away smoothly.

Despite her generosity, the Xing Family clansmen and Xiang Xi’s faction worried that Illusory Demon Sect just decided to appease them for the moment and would come back for revenge later on.

Only when Shi Xiuling hinted at how Xue Moyan’s close relationship to her master wouldn’t suffer from this, stressing that the two were extremely close, did everyone in Gold Sun Island finally relax.

After that had been settled, three more days passed.

“Phew…”

Qin Lie exhaled as he opened his eyes. He watched as the soul crystal in his hand crumbled to fragments devoid of energy, then quietly waited for the Soul Suppressing Orb to drain him of the soul energy he had just replenished.

Yet the orb didn’t react at all.

It had been a long time since the Soul Suppressing Orb didn’t immediately absorb his soul energy after he recovered it.

Understanding shone in Qin Lie’s trembling expression.

“I see,” he said. “Without even realizing it, I accumulated enough soul energy for Spirits of Void and Chaos to be born.”

Two more days passed by with Qin Lie continuing to use the Demon Sealing Tombstone to refine blood. Then, when he replenished the blood in his body, he waited for the Soul Suppressing Orb to absorb it. After a decent amount of waiting, he came to the conclusion that it had drained enough from him. Only then could he finally relax.

At this point in time, the amount of soul energy and blood needed to create three more Spirits of Void and Chaos had been provided. Qin Lie just needed to wait for the miraculous space in the depths of the Soul Suppressing Orb to merge it with the three remaining Pure Soul Springs and the blood essences of the metal, earth, and water spirits. Then it would give birth to the Spirits of Void and Chaos.

“The Soul Suppressing Orb…” Qin Lie murmured to himself, rubbing the space between his eyebrows.

He grew more and more convinced of its incredible value.

……

Within a region of active volcanoes in the depths of the Heavenly Fissure Continent, an area where lava flowed across that land in rivers and burned like feverish blood, Celestial Artifact Sect’s Sect Master Feng Yi and several elderly elders stood at the mouth of a volcano. They were gathered around the Artifact Scripture, carefully examining its contents.

“What an extensive, profound text!” Feng Yi exclaimed. “All these ways to forge artifacts… all of these profound spirit diagrams… none of them could possibly be found in the Land of Chaos.”

All of the elders wholeheartedly agreed with him.

At that moment, Bi You swiftly approached from a distance. Upon arrival, he greeted all of the elders, then respectfully reported to Feng Yi.

“The remains of ancient elites have been found,” he said.

“Oh?” Feng Yi set the Artifact Scripture down, his eyes shining brightly..

“They are reportedly at a place called the Setting Sun Islands in a region of the sea near the Heavenly Slaughter Continent, a region under Illusory Demon Sect’s control. Judging from the latest information, it seems that Luo Chen, Du Xiangyang, Xue Moyan, two unknown women, and… the Qin Lie that our young sect master spoke of… are currently there.” Bi You pondered for a moment. A strange expression appeared on his face when he continued, “The junior known as Qin Lie sent word to Terminator Sect, Heavenly Sword Mountain, and Illusory Demon Sect, telling them to take their pick of the remains.”

The moment he said this, shock filled the Celestial Artifact elders. Serious expressions set on the faces of everybody present.

“And how did those three forces respond?” Feng Yi asked, the barest hint of displeasure in his face.

“Lei Yan and Chu Li of Terminator Sect have already arrived at the Setting Sun Islands with Hei Shite of the Asura Race,” Bi You said with utmost respect. “Shi Xiuling of Illusory Demon Sect has also arrived there. Luo Nan and Yan Baiyi of Heavenly Sword Mountain are on the way there and will be arriving there in two days, maybe sooner.”

“Terminator Sect, Heavenly Sword Mountain, and Illusory Demon Sect…!” Luo Han, one of the elders, exclaimed gravely. “None of the three are to be trifled with!”

Feng Yi didn’t respond.

“The eight god corpses are currently under Qin Lie’s command,” Bi You added. “He also has the body of the Blood Progenitor in his possession and is able to control it with his soul.”

“How could he possibly control those god corpses?” Feng Yi shouted, utterly shocked. “That’s impossible!”

“All eight of them have even recovered their heads.” Bi You smiled bitterly.

Luo Han suddenly spoke up, a deep darkness filling his eyes.

“The Demon Sealing Tombstone… the eight god corpses… and the six spirits…” he murmured. “The three of these together… have all of you figured it out?”

“He must be a descendant of the Heaven Fighting Race!” Feng Yi exclaimed, his face twisted into an ugly expression. He took a deep breath and said, “We’re the ones who know the most about the Demon Sealing Tombstone, the god corpses, and the seven spirits. For now… Celestial Artifact Sect will stand by and watch. Let’s try not to get involved. Send word to Jiang Zhuzhe. Tell him he can do whatever he wants!”

“And Black Voodoo Cult and Ten Thousand Beast Mountain?” Bi You asked. “What about them?”

“If we know about this, they obviously will as well.” Feng Yi sighed. “We… will ignore the Setting Sun Islands.”

Some of the elders hesitantly voiced their concerns.

“Aren’t there twenty three bodies of ancient elites there?”

“We suffered huge losses in the Graveyard of Gods, and we have yet to get anything in return, right?”

“Those bodies of ancient elites are already spoken for,” Feng Yi said helplessly. “We can only blame Yiyou’s failure to obtain anything on bad luck.”

Feng Yi sighed. “Just him making it home at all is thanks to Jiang Zhuzhe keeping his promise. In light of that, we’ll just treat this matter as… internal conflict within Blood Fiend Sect and its endless, thousand-year war with Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families.”

“Everyone now knows that Xue Moyan is Xue Li’s daughter and the rightful successor to Blood Fiend Sect. That Qin Lie… he also cultivates the Blood Spirit Art and can be considered a member of Blood Fiend Sect.” After a moment of hesitation, Bi You then asked, “What is our stance toward Blood Fiend Sect?”

“We have no stance,” Feng Yi snorted. “This is between Black Voodoo Cult, the three great families, and Blood Fiend Sect. We shouldn’t have gotten involved with them a thousand years ago, so it naturally has even less to do with us now.”

“Understood.” Bi You nodded.

……

In Black Jade City on the Heavenly Calamity Continent, the patriarchs of the three great families and an assortment of elders gathered in a sparsely decorated hall to discuss pressing matters.

Xiahou Jie, patriarch of the Xiahou Family, had dark skin and looked like a mountain. He wore an ugly expression on his face as he spoke.

“Xiahou Sheng and Xiahou Chang have been killed,” he said. “The Qin Lie we’ve all heard about… is rumored to be Xue Li’s disciple!”

“Descendants of the Xing Family control Gold Sun Island,” Su Pan said. “The Xing brothers have been returning to the Heavenly Calamity Continent and secretly killing our clansmen for years. They’ve never forgotten their hatred toward us and have done numerous small things behind our backs.”

Lin Yuehan frowned. “If Blood Fiend Sect becomes strong, they will definitely come after us and exact bloody vengeance. It’s only a matter of time until they take back the continent.”

All three patriarchs made their opinions known.

“But Terminator Sect, Heavenly Sword Mountain, and Illusory Demon Sect went to the Setting Sun Islands,” Xiahou Qi said. “Blood Fiend Sect is clearly trying to win their support by using the remains of the ancient elites.”

“They will end up being neutral at best,” Xiahou Jie snorted. “Blood Fiend Sect isn’t a vassal force of any of the three, so they have no reason to act or speak on their behalf.”

“If that’s the case…”

“Summon all of our experts and prepare to depart for the Setting Sun Islands! We will eliminate every last remnant evil of Blood Fiend Sect!”

“And Black Voodoo Cult?”

“They will work in tandem with us!”

“Good!”

The three great families had come to an agreement.