Spirit Realm

“A great place. This is truly a great place. Poisonous miasma surrounds this area, but there’s another world within. The spirit energy in here is so plentiful!”

Joyful Union Sect’s Revered Thoughtful had just passed through the open passage before he began praising while shaking his head.

There were numerous clusters of colorful flowers and herbs growing inside the poisonous miasma. There were also plenty of trees that were recently transplanted, causing the inner area to be filled with greenery.

There were even multiple ponds filled with poisonous water. They were fatally dangerous, but were also as vibrant as ink paintings. When paired with the great number of pavilions built from white jade, it was no different from a heavenly realm at first glance. It was truly a beautiful place.

“Amazing! Truly amazing! To think there was such a wonderful place deep inside the poisonous bog!”

Revered Thoughtless, who had suffered a huge loss at the hands of Qin Lie, began praising non-stop. His bald head was imprinted with a gorgeous lotus tattoo, and his eyes gleamed with a demonic light.

Luo Zhichang, Fang Qi, and Jiang Hao, accompanied by Tang Siqi, several inner sect elders, such as Tang Dongling, and the other people of Armament Sect were also greatly surprised by the scenery after coming inside.

This was the first time they had entered this place. They suddenly realized that Blood Spear’s cultivation ground was even better than the new Armament Sect’s.

This caused them to secretly become jealous.

“Ling Family clansmen!”

Luo Zhichang’s eyes scanned the surroundings, and he immediately noticed Ling Xuanxuan and Ling Feng by a group of buildings. His expression immediately changed as he cried out.

“Lang Xie! Feng Rong! What the hell are you guys doing? These are Blood Spear’s restricted grounds. Outsiders are strictly prohibited. Why are the Ling Family clansmen here?”

Luo Zhichang accused Lang Xie, appearing so furious that his eyes were popping out and his beard was shaking.

Fang Qi and Jiang Hao also voiced their agreement.

“Elder Mo Hai! You haven’t returned to the sect for nearly half a year, have you? I almost thought that you disappeared, but here you are. Are you an inner sect elder or a Blood Spear martial practitioner? I almost can’t tell the difference anymore!” Fang Qi coldly criticized.

“Is Blood Spear not a part of Armament Sect? I am assisting Blood Spear in clearing out the obstacles and driving out the poisonous miasma. Is that a problem?” Mo Hai countered without changing his expression.

Fang Qi’s criticism was blocked for the moment.

“Lang Xie! Why is the Ling Family here?” Jiang Hao exclaimed.

“The Ling Family is closely related to Qin Lie. You dare to take them in and stand with that traitor?” Luo Zhichang questioned severely.

With Joyful Union Sect’s Revered Thoughtful and Revered Thoughtless beside him, Luo Zhichang’s courage had grown tremendously. He began shouting for Lang Xie and Feng Rong to give an explanation.

“The Ling Family sought refuge with Blood Spear, and all of their clansmen are Blood Spear fighters now!” Lang Xie snorted coldly with a dark face. “We don’t need to report to you three who we want to recruit now, do we?”

“You recruited the Ling Family clansmen into Blood Spear? All of them?” Luo Zhichang’s expression became cold. “Blood Spear had always been pretty strict about who they recruited. Since when did they recruit whoever they wanted? The cultivation of every Blood Spear disciple exhausts a great amount of Armament Sect’s spirit materials. Recruiting useless people would only waste the sect’s wealth! Furthermore, Blood Spear’s recruitment must first be approved by the sect master. Have you ever asked for the sect master’s opinion?”

“When we recruited people, Armament Sect’s sect master had just passed away. Whose opinion are you asking us to consult?” Feng Rong laughed in ridicule.

“You…!” Luo Zhichang was furious. He then yelled, “We have now chosen our sect master!”

Lang Xie suddenly went quiet.

After a moment’s thought, he bowed slightly towards Tang Siqi and respectfully said, “Blood Spear has recruited the Ling Family clansmen into our sect. Do you have an opinion to offer, Sect Master Tang?”

“I have none,” replied Tang Siqi.

Lang Xie looked coldly at Luo Zhichang.

Luo Zhichang’s expression was as ugly as one could imagine. “Sect Master Tang, matters important to the sect cannot be treated like a child’s games!”

“You need to think carefully before you answer!” Fang Qi also said.

“You’re threatening me, aren’t you?” A gleam shone from Tang Siqi’s bright eyes, and before the three great reverends could speak, she willingly removed the three spatial rings and threw them at the three great reverends. Then, under everyone’s surprised gazes, she exclaimed, “I refuse to work as a sect master any longer!”

She then flew over to stand beside Lang Xie and Feng Rong after finishing, resembling a cluster of delicate flames. She smiled apologetically at the two and explained, “They’ve been trying to force me into marrying Joyful Union Sect’s Zhao Xuan this entire time. I couldn’t think of a way out, but it is wonderful that I can meet you all now. I can finally be free.”

Once she said this, Tang Siqi stuck her tongue out adorably, as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Lang Xie and Feng Rong were speechless.

“You…! Girl, you truly do not know your place!” Luo Zhichang scolded angrily, “Do you think that the sect master’s position is something you can toss away as you please?!”

“You have read all of the sect’s secrets and memorized all of Armament Sect’s spirit diagrams as well. How are you going to return these to the sect?” Fang Qi demanded severely.

“I…” Tang Siqi became flustered.

“No one but the sect master is allowed to read them!” Luo Zhichang became serious. “It is fine if you do not wish to become the sect master, but you will have to die to prove your resolve! If you’re dead, then no one else will know those secrets!”

“Siqi, stop fooling around. Come and be our new sect master. The sect needs you…” Jiang Hao tried to smooth things over.

“Qin Lie left as well. Why didn’t you tell him to die to prove his resolve?” Tang Siqi was furious as she couldn’t help but complain, “You’re just being a bully! If you truly have the ability, then why don’t you go look for Qin Lie and take back what’s yours? Why are you just keeping an eye on me?”

The moment she said this, the expressions of the three great reverends became impossibly ugly.

Because what she said was the truth.

She had read the mysteries of the secret scriptures, and Qin Lie had read them as well. Furthermore, Qin Lie had even taken away the foundation of Armament Sect—the twelve spirit pattern pillars.

Yet did the three great reverends not watch him take away their treasure and leave, unable to do a thing?

To this day, Qin Lie still lived his life freely, and the three great reverends didn’t do everything in their power to take back what was theirs, did they?

“Hehe, this girl’s an interesting one.”

Inside the secret room beneath the Ling Family abode, Xue Li was communicating with Qin Lie within the Soul Suppressing Orb.

“Lang Xie must be regretting stopping you from killing the three great reverends. If it weren’t for his persuasion, you would’ve killed the three great reverends along with the sect master,” Xue Li said. “This kid is still a little too green, unable to become completely cruel and merciless for the greater good. Just based on this fact alone, she is incomparable to… the current you.”

“Are you praising me or insulting me?” Qin Lie snorted.

“Of course I’m praising you.” Xue Li laughed oddly. “Look, if the three great reverends had died at that time, then Armament Sect would be much cleaner right now. With the three great reverends around, Armament Sect is still as corrupt as ever. Even if that little Tang girl sits at the sect master’s seat, she would be nothing but a puppet who would be manipulated by the three great reverends, right? If they were all dead and Blood Spear supported the little girl’s leadership, taking true control of Armament Sect, then how would it be this easy for that Joyful Union Sect to infiltrate Armament Sect?”

“It isn’t too late to clean up what I didn’t tidy previously!” Qin Lie grinned and laughed savagely.

“This time, there are even more Joyful Union Sect experts. It won’t be easy to kill all of them,” Xue Li said. “Lang Xie can suppress Revered Thoughtless, but that Revered Thoughtful is in the late stage of the Fulfillment Realm. Even if my true body were here, I would not necessarily be able to take him down without returning to peak condition. How could you possibly kill this person? Without him dead, how would it be possible for you to harm the three great reverends?”

“That’s why we need to figure out a way.” Qin Lie unilaterally cut off communication with Xue Li and sealed Xue Li’s soul with his power of thunder so that Xue Li’s half soul would not be able to spy on him.

Then, he took out the Eye of Frost and activated it from within the secret room.

He directly arrived at the Arctic Mountain Range’s underground. In the land of frost, he contacted the thunder python, Mang Wang, with his soul.

“I am here.” Mang Wang of the Giant Spirit Race let out a wisp of thought from his gigantic body within the iceberg.

“How has your rest been?” Qin Lie asked.

“Did you run into trouble again?” Mang Wang immediately guessed his intentions.

“I need to borrow your power to deal with a martial practitioner in the late stage of the Fulfillment Realm. Can you kill him?” Qin Lie asked.

“The late stage of the Fulfillment Realm…” Mang Wang seemed to be pondering, and after a moment, he answered, “With my soul power alone, it will not be that easy to eliminate a martial practitioner in that realm. However, if you assist me by executing the secret art using the Thunderblitz Trees and forcefully attracting thunder from the Ninth Heaven, then it might be a possible.”

“The Thunderblitz Trees?” Qin Lie was surprised.

“Mn. Bring the Thunderblitz Trees and allow me to make some arrangements,” Mang Wang said. “You will channel the power of thunder to attract heaven’s thunder to assist us in increasing our power.”

“We can give it a try.” Qin Lie’s eyes slowly lit up.

He began to quietly execute the plan.

Last time, because of Lang Xie’s interference, Qin Lie had not eliminated the three great reverends and ended up leaving a great threat in Armament Sect. This had given rise to the current situation where Tang Siqi was being forced to marry Zhao Xuan.

Meanwhile, the three great reverends had set a fox upon their own geese, wholeheartedly planning to seek refuge with Joyful Union Sect and surrender all of Armament Sect with it.

Qin Lie believed that he was obligated to help Tang Siqi deal with the three poisonous tumors in Armament Sect and help set Armament Sect back onto the right path.