Jing Liyu fell to the ground, staring at the sky, still muttering to herself. Ao Banwei called out to her from the side, but it seemed she hadn’t heard. Clearly, she needed some time to accept what had happened.
At this moment, the Spirit of the Secret Realm suddenly glanced in a certain direction and gave a faint, almost imperceptible nod.
“Everyone.”
The Spirit of the Secret Realm’s voice drew Qin Gou and the others’ attention once more.
“Since Fellow Daoist Qin and White Tiger Primordial Lord have both confirmed they do not require the method of merging, I shall not disturb you here any longer!”
“Where do you wish to go?”
“Where? This Secret Realm is my foundation. I merely believe that you no longer need me to remain here.” For some reason, the Spirit of the Secret Realm seemed even more confident than before. “And I am quite weak at the moment, so I also wish for some peace and quiet.”
Qin Gou’s brow furrowed. “Do you still not understand? Along the way, we neither excessively coveted the marvelous treasures of this place nor accepted your method of merging. Coupled with the deadly methods you ruthlessly employed against A’Yuan and Shangguan Ju… can you guess what I truly desire most at this moment?”
“You don’t mean… my head?” The Spirit of the Secret Realm chuckled in disbelief.
“An eye for an eye.”
Qin Gou nodded slightly, articulating each word. “There’s no need for you to worry excessively. From now on, we will only target you personally, not deliberately set this entire Secret Realm ablaze. The legacy of your Spirit God Cult will not be completely severed. Don’t you still have Jia Er and the others?”
The Spirit of the Secret Realm, however, was unnervingly calm. It nodded with a smile, its expression unchanged. “Yes, I am not a complete fool. Naturally, I had already guessed your intentions, which is why I struggled for so long… and made the worst possible preparations!”
The Spirit of the Secret Realm’s words were clearly pregnant with meaning. Suddenly, ‘Jia Er’, bound by Qin Gou’s spiritual power, seemed to have understood something and cried out in alarm, “My Lord, you… but you promised that one day you would help us sisters reincarnate and regain our lives!”
The Spirit of the Secret Realm indifferently shifted its gaze. “Jia Er, it is a matter of time and fate. You can only rely on your own fortune now. Perhaps in a hundred years, we can still meet again, and you will be grateful to me then!”
“No! The only outcome of your actions is to take all of us down with you!” Jia Er’s eyes turned crimson as she shrieked in rage. “And you still talk about preserving the legacy of the Spirit God Cult? What you truly care about is only your own slim chance of survival!”
“Then you can’t blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame them for forcing me into a corner!” With that, the Spirit of the Secret Realm bared its teeth at Qin Gou in a ferocious grin.
And in the next second…
Its sinister grin and all its movements froze entirely. However, it wasn’t the Spirit of the Secret Realm that had a problem. A semi-transparent thread had suddenly shot into its soul body, rendering it unable to move even a fraction.
This was precisely the profoundly mysterious ‘Soul-Stabilizing Thread’ condensed by Qin Yuan.
“It’s useless. This is merely the will and soul body of the Spirit of the Secret Realm, not its origin. Controlling it will do you no good! As long as the statue where its soul origin resides remains, it can still succeed, even if it takes more time!” Jia Er’s eyes were bloodshot as she gritted her teeth.
“Jia Er, what exactly is the Spirit of the Secret Realm trying to do?” Qin Gou immediately turned to Jia Er and asked.
“The so-called worst-case scenario is that it will self-destruct the Secret Realm, making all living beings here its sacrificial lambs! If I’m not mistaken, outside the Secret Realm, all the cultivators from the surrounding sects it has manipulated over the years should have gathered. They were deceived to block your path and will ultimately die obscurely in the self-destruction of the entire Secret Realm.”
Jia Er gave a bitter laugh. “This plan has been in the making for years, all to gather as many cultivators as possible to die in vain here. And now, with your strong souls, it has been greatly nourished… Plus, as inheritors of the Spirit God Cult, who are skilled in the path of souls, and with the aid of marvelous treasures, it can successfully transform into an incomparably powerful ghost cultivator within a hundred years, regaining its freedom.”
“Then do you know where the true body of the Spirit of the Secret Realm is?” Qin Gou continued to press, while immediately ordering Mo Qingxin to absorb the will and soul body of the Spirit of the Secret Realm.
“Its original statue also possesses a counter-attack technique. If it is destroyed, the entire Secret Realm will instantly self-destruct. If we go and destroy it now, it will likely only reduce the probability of it successfully transforming into a ghost cultivator in the future, but we ourselves will still find it difficult to survive.”
“Then you know the location? Why must we destroy it? As long as its soul exists within, A’Yuan’s Soul-Stabilizing Thread will be effective! Jia Er, if you want to survive, lead the way immediately. In the meantime, I will focus on breaking the formation!” As he spoke, Qin Gou immediately released Jia Er from her restraints.
Seeing this, Jia Er stood up, her eyes grave as she glanced at Qin Yuan. As if making a final gamble, she gritted her teeth and said, “Follow me.”
For a moment, everyone followed Jia Er. Qingyu revealed her true dragon form, allowing Qin Gou to ponder the method to break the formation on her back.
“Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan, I hope you can create a miracle again,” Jia Er said, her voice hoarse as she walked quickly.
“Jia Er, have you seen me before?”
“I was like you.”
Jia Er’s face turned bitter, and she gave a self-deprecating smile. “But not everyone is qualified to be included in the so-called ‘Spiritual Body Plan.’ This includes Jia Yi and Jia San. My sisters and I used to believe in this ridiculous notion of a ‘Legacy Secret Realm’ just like you! But we didn’t have your strength to survive such a great disaster. Since then, I’ve never been able to step out of this Secret Realm again. And those few Secret Realm Clones of the Spirit God Cult who were trusted by the Spirit of the Secret Realm, and were Spirit God Cult followers in life, have long since secretly replaced some of the sect leaders and elders in the surrounding sects. They only return periodically to have their Dao bodies stabilized by the Spirit of the Secret Realm.”
“I see. This time, as long as we cooperate wholeheartedly, I believe you, Jia Er, will surely be able to escape successfully.” Qin Yuan’s eyes were firm.
“I hope so… However, without the regular blessings of the Spirit of the Secret Realm, I don’t know how long this body of mine can last. At that time, could I trouble Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan to keep our ‘Jia Sisters’ Soul Jars safe? They are sealed not far from the origin of the Spirit of the Secret Realm.” Jia Er’s gaze appeared fragile, and her tone was pleading. “I am willing to swear my loyalty, just for the chance to see the light of day again.”
“Of course, that’s possible. But I wonder if keeping your three Soul Jars requires some special soul-based techniques? I dare not be careless, as I have never delved deeply into this path myself. But fortunately, we have many capable individuals among us. Perhaps…”
“Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan! Just do not give our Soul Jars to that Qiu Qianyue!”
Jia Er blurted out instantly. After finally calming herself down, she sighed with a bitter smile. “Of course, if I could get the help of a truly upright, gentle, and kind-hearted fellow Daoist, that would be even better.”
“Gentle and kind? Jia Er, your insight is good. That clearly describes my father!” A’Yuan said earnestly. “Plus, Father has been accompanying Mo Qingxin for a long time, so he must know how to best protect remnant souls.”
“Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan’s father… Senior Qin Gou?”
Jia Er’s face was full of shock, her voice trembling uncontrollably. “Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan, is what you say true?”
“Yes, according to Jia Er’s wishes, my Daddy is clearly the most suitable person among everyone present,” A’Yuan said eloquently. “Jia Er may not know yet, but my Daddy is actually known as a ‘Celestial Master,’ and he consistently ranks on the ‘Saint Immortal Ranking’ of righteous sects in the Cultivation World, as well as various similar, and even higher-level, Saint Rankings!”
“But in my life, this is the first time seeing that the Spirit of the Secret Realm would be stunned and intimidated by someone, unable to even dare to speak out. That person was Senior Qin Gou. And the Mad Demon Qiu Qianyue, whom I fear the most, that kind of world-stirring demon king, actually respects him like a god, and would never dare to disobey him in any way!”
Thinking of Qiu Qianyue, whom she feared greatly, acting so respectfully in front of Qin Gou, Jia Er shivered and dared not dwell on the reason any further.
“Cough, well, this…” A’Yuan intended to help his father clarify, but after racking his brains, he could only brace himself and force a smile. “But he is truly… just not very obviously gentle and kind!”
