Chapter 396: Blood Progenitor

Qin Lie roughly described the matters concerning Xue Li and Blood Fiend Sect.

The conversation topic then changed, and Qin Lie brought up the impending Trial. He explained that eight god corpses had emerged one after another in the various depths of the Land of Chaos’ seas.

“Jiang Tianxing and Qiu Yun threw corpses into the whirlpool at the god corpse’s neck, causing the god corpse to go on a rampage and making the tombstone in its navel reveal itself.” Qin Lie grinned and chuckled strangely. “I just happened to be next to the tombstone, and I seized it! Jiang Tianxing chased me like a rabid dog because of that tombstone. I do not know what’s inside of the tombstone that is worth the concern of the nine great Silver rank forces…”

“The tombstone is in your possession?” Song Tingyu’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s right,” Qin Lie said with a smile.

“Why don’t we find a place to settle down and take a look at it?” Song Tingyu suggested.

“Alright.” Qin Lie nodded.

“Follow me.” Song Tingyu smiled sweetly, as if a hundred flowers bloomed. She twisted her slender waist, and slowly got onto the rainbow butterfly. She then waved toward Qin Lie. “I’m very familiar with the seas around here. Let me bring you to a secret place.”

“Alright.”

Under the clear, cool glow of the moon, the Flowing Cloud Rainbow Butterfly turned into a streak of dim light and instantly flew into the distance.

An hour later, the rainbow butterfly landed on a tiny island. Qin Lie and Song Tingyu stepped onto the island one after another before the butterfly left on its own to search for food.

“This island is far away from both Sea Moon Island and the reef area. Very few people visit this place. Underneath the island is a natural stone cave that is very suitable for hiding. Follow me.” Song Tingyu led the way.

A moment later, the two of them arrived in the depths of the island through a hidden stone passage and stopped inside of a cave.

Song Tingyu took out around ten Sunflare Stones from her spatial ring, brightening the cave as though it were daylight.

“I’m interested in that tombstone as well,” Xue Li’s voice resounded in Qin Lie’s mind. “Let me come out and inspect it.”

“Didn’t you say your soul was weak?” Qin Lie asked.

“It’s indeed impossible for me to engage in battle, but it’s not a problem for me to merely come out for a peek.” Xue Li snorted.

Qin Lie chuckled and nodded, saying, “Fine then.”

In the next moment, like a bloody ghost, Xue Li revealed himself in the cave.

“Good day, Senior Xue Li.” Song Tingyu arced her body, bowing with a smile.

She learned about some of Xue Li’s past from Qin Lie’s explanation. She had a deep understanding of Xue Li’s tragic fate and felt that this old man was really unfortunate. He had actually been framed when he was at the very peak of his life, and was treated as a disgrace of Blood Fiend Sect. He instantly went from newly appointed sect master to criminal, and was imprisoned for more than a thousand years.

Looking at Xue Li, who was left with just a strand of residual soul, a bit of compassion grew in Song Tingyu’s heart. She felt that he was rather pitiful.

“Girl, I advise you not to participate in the Land of Chaos’ Trial,” Xue Li said neither coldly nor warmly. “You have a high realm, being at the peak of the Netherpassage Realm, and are merely a step away from the Fulfillment Realm. Yet this still isn’t enough. There are several people who are stronger than you participating in the Trial. Although a brat like you is smart and wise, you might not be able to hold an advantageous position in the Trial with just your smartness. You… will probably be killed by others in the end. If you encounter someone with an obscene personality, a more miserable misfortune will befall you.”

An unnatural smile surfaced on Song Tingyu’s beautiful face. “It’s really that dangerous?”

“I once participated in a Trial,” Xue Li said faintly.

Qin Lie’s and Song Tingyu’s eyes brightened in an instant.

“That Trial was intended for practitioners who were below the Fragmentation Realm. I was at the middle stage of the Fulfillment Realm at the time, and was proficient in the various secret arts of Blood Fiend Sect. I was confident that even a martial practitioner at the peak of the Fulfillment Realm might not be able to beat me! Back then, I was about to make a breakthrough into the peak of the Fulfillment Realm…” Xue Li pondered as he recalled his past. His eyes revealed that he was deep in thought.

Then, with emphasis on every word, he said, “I was heavily injured by someone and had no choice but to flee from the Trial. After I emerged, it took me thirty years to slowly recover my original ability. This directly delayed my rise to the late stage of the Fulfillment Realm by nearly fifty years!”

Qin Lie did not have any plans to participate in the Trial. After hearing these words, he simply furrowed his brow, surmising that Trials of the Land of Chaos were indeed a little dangerous.

Song Tingyu, however, suddenly sank into silence.

“Girl, I’m not trying to humiliate you. I know that you are able to quickly break through to the Fulfillment Realm, and think this is a great opportunity for you. However, compared to those of the nine great forces that were chosen by heaven, you’re still lacking in several aspects. You lack ferocity, a cold and emotionless heart, a high grade spirit artifact, and several death knights who would die for you at any moment!”

Xue Li’s expression was stern as he said, “The nine great forces will each arrange for a ringer to participate. Not only will these ringers possess superb realms and incredible strength, they will also be decisive when killing. They will wield strong spirit artifacts and be surrounded by specially prepared death knights possessing skills that would guarantee success. These nine people are the actual trailblazers of the Trial. If you participate, you will just become a funeral object. It’s impossible for you to go against those people! There isn’t a single shred of hope!”

“Thank you for your advice, Senior Xue Li. It seems that I have to seriously think this matter through.” Song Tingyu forced out a smile.

“I’m not in the Land of Chaos for the Trial. I have no interest in it. I’m here to search for grandfather, and to find news of him,” Qin Lie said.

“You’re not participating?” Song Tingyu was confused.

“I’m not.” Qin Lie shook his head.

Song Tingyu’s smile was dyed with bitterness.

“Let’s take a look at the tombstone.” Xue Li changed the topic.

Qin Lie nodded. With a twirl of his fingers, he brushed the spatial ring, and a streak of white light flashed past him. A jade tombstone two meters in height and one meter in width suddenly appeared inside of the stone cave.

The bizarre jade carried seven beautiful rays of light within it. It was as if rainbow lightning quietly resided inside of the tombstone. Faint essence fluctuations rippled out of the tombstone.

The three of them did not speak any further. Eyebrows furrowed, they quietly inspected the tombstone.

Like formless tentacles, their mind consciousnesses tried to make contact with the secrets within the tombstone.

“Zzzt zzzt zzzt!”

The seven rays of divine light inside of the tombstone suddenly became brighter, and an energy capable of exterminating soul intent shot out.

Song Tingyu grunted, her gorgeous face paled slightly, and she subconsciously took two steps back.

Xue Li’s bloody spirit dispersed, and it only managed to reconstitute itself after a while.

Qin Lie’s soul consciousness was merely stopped outside the tombstone. It was unable to dwell deeper, but it also did not suffer any damage.

As a result, he was safe and sound.

“The soul strand I released was exterminated.” A trace of bright red blood could be seen at the corner of Song Tingyu’s lips. She rubbed it off and looked at the tombstone in fear, unwilling to make another attempt.

“My consciousness was exterminated as well.” Xue Li finally managed to regather his soul, and he hastily moved further from the tombstone.

“I was only prevented from delving deeper.” Qin Lie said.

The three of them went silent.

“Out of the three of us, why did it treat you differently?” After pondering for a moment, Song Tingyu looked at him skeptically. “What’s so special about you?”

“When I made contact with the tombstone, my heart was shaken by a powerful blood aura, and I spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto the tombstone. That mouthful of blood instantly soaked into the tombstone. After that, the terrifying surge of blood energy from the tombstone finally withdrew, and I was able to store the tombstone into the spatial ring.” Qin Lie recalled the event and slowly described it, explaining that this was the only source of uncertainty.

“Touch the tombstone with your hand. Examine it slowly, little by little.” A ray of bright light flashed in Xue Li’s eyes.

“Let me try then.” Qin Lie reached out his left hand and slowly pressed it to the tombstone.

When his palm was a few inches away from the tombstone, thin strands of blood aura that even Xue Li and Song Tingyu could see flew out from the tombstone, gently entering Qin Lie’s palm.

Qin Lie’s body visibly shook.

Violent blood energy traced the strands of blood aura, pouring into his body like a rush of roiling blood.

The blood aura traveled along the tendons in Qin Lie’s arm, seeping into his bones, organs, and blood. It made his entire body experience agonizing pain.

The bloody light in Xue Li’s eyes were shockingly crimson. He looked at the tombstone sternly, and then at Qin Lie’s hand several inches away from the tombstone. With a trembling voice, he asked, “Kid, what are you feeling?”

“A wave of blood aura is charging into my body, causing me excruciating pain. It spread into my organs, my veins, and every single one of my bones!” Qin Lie suppressed the impulse to scream out, growling while gnashing his teeth.

“Endure it! That blood aura is very beneficial to you! Hurry and channel the Blood Spirit Art! Hurry!” Xue Li said in a sharp voice.

Qin Lie channeled the Blood Spirit Art as suggested, his body trembling like it was being shocked by electricity.

Streaks of bloody light flashed from within his body. These streaks of light numbered in the hundreds, and they clashed inside of him. They surged through his bones, tendons, and blood, causing him unbearably hot, agonizing pain.

Even Qin Lie’s mind seemed to have been invaded by the bloody light. In a trance, he once again witnessed the scene that he had seen once before.

Corpses littered a vast, cold, desolate land. These corpses were enormous. Some resembled the Evil Gods from the Nether Realm, some resembled the varying species of the Giant Spirit Race, some resembled spirits made from ancient trees, and some were god corpses…

Then Qin Lie suddenly noticed the corpse of a regular human being.

Among this multitude of enormous corpses, this tiny corpse was insignificant—small to the point of easily being overlooked.

This was the corpse of an adult male, and the only wound it carried was in its neck. The blood that flowed out from that wound formed magnificent, bloody crystals that were as beautiful as red gemstones.

The skin of this man was so white that it was basically transparent. Every single tendon and bone in his body resembled bloody crystals. They were beautiful, shone red, and looked strange and mystical.

“I see corpses. The Evil Gods of the Nether Realm, ancient colossal beasts, spirits made from gigantic trees several hundred meters tall, and copper god corpses.” Qin Lie’s was experiencing intense pain, and he kept talking to keep his mind off of it. “I even see a strange man. The skin on his body is a transparent white, and the tendons and bones of his body can be seen clearly. They are like bright and mystical blood crystals. The blood flowing from his body is turning into shining blood crystals, that are comparable to red gemstones…”

“W-what did you say? Repeat it!” Xue Li screamed, suddenly losing control of himself.

This scream was like the cry of a ghost and the roar of a devil, even causing Song Tingyu to feel pain from the shockwave.

“His skin is a transparent white, his veins and bones can be clearly seen, they are dazzlingly bright like blood crystals, and the blood that flows from his body turn into bloody crystals that are as clear as red gemstones,” Qin Lie repeated.

“Heavens! It’s the Blood Progenitor, the founder of Blood Fiend Sect!” Xue Li screamed as though he had gone mad.