Chapter 651: Casualties
Riding atop the crystal war chariot, Qin Lie descended from the Floating Island and saw the that the practitioners of Blood Fiend Sect and Gold Sun Islands were still counting their casualties.
He landed on Flaming Sun Island, where he had been earlier.
At this time, a numerous number of the practitioners who had come over from the Scarlet Tide Continent gathered together and made their way to Flaming Sun Island.
“Qin Lie, Jingxuan and I are planning to return to the Scarlet Tide Continent for now.” As Qin Lie made his way over, Song Tingyu took the initiative to speak. “It’s been so long since we left Profound Heaven Alliance. We wish to go home and see how everyone is doing. Maybe later…”
Qin Lie became startled for a moment, then asked, “Will you two come back?”
Song Tingyu smiled, but didn’t directly answer Qin Lie’s question as she asked, “Do you wish for me to come back?”
“Of course,” Qin Lie answered earnestly.
The tips of Song Tingyu’s delicate lips curved up as an enchanting beautiful smile gradually emerged. “Then I will definitely be back.”
“Miss…” Qin Lie had initially wanted to directly address her as Miss Xie, but suddenly felt that it was improper. Changing his tone, he asked, “What about you, Miss Jingxuan?”
“We’ll see,” Xie Jingxuan replied, not giving a straight answer.
“Or perhaps you two can wait a few more days, so… we can all go back together?” Qin Lie suggested.
“Why would you want to return to the Scarlet Tide Continent?” Song Tingyu confusedly questioned.
“There are some matters I must take care of and some people I must meet. Moreover, I hope to bring some more people over,” Qin Lie explained.
In the blink of an eye, two years had already passed since Qin Lie left the Scarlet Tide Continent. He wished to return in hopes of convincing several old artificers from Armament Sect to come over, and also to visit some old friends such as Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian.
“Then we will wait for you. After all, we are not in any hurry.” Song Tingyu smiled sweetly as traces of exuberant joy emerged in her eyes. It was clear that she was happy about Qin Lie’s accompaniment.
Afterwards, Gold Sun Island’s Hu Yun approached from afar with heavy steps. He said, “Qin Lie, the First Island Master and the others request that you and Lang Xie come over.”
“Alright.” Qin Lie nodded.
Following Hu Yun, Qin Lie and Lang Xie moved shoulder to shoulder towards the newly renamed Gold Sun Island.
“How many casualties were there?’ Qin Lie asked as they traveled.
Hu Yun sighed, then replied, “Half of the thirty-two envoys of Gold Sun Island, including my good friends Liu Qing and Fang He, have died. Two of the six enforcers, Xu Changsheng and Xu Jiadong, were also lost during the battle and even Enforcer Xiang Xi was seriously injured. Of the Netherpassage and Manifestation Realm practitioners, one third of them died during the battle as well. All in all, Gold Sun Island has suffered major damage in this battle.”
“What about Blood Fiend Sect?” Qin Lie’s heart was full of grief.
“Their casualties are about the same.” Hu Yun’s furrowed his brows. “The good news, however, is that their Blood Fiend Ten Elders are safe. As of right now, they are preparing to condense blood demons with their blood essence. That being said, they are being extremely cautious right now. As for the number of casualties of Blood Fiend Sect’s Netherpassage, Fulfillment and Fragmentation Realm practitioners, it is about the same as Gold Sun Island’s.”
The three made their way over to where the First Island Master was waiting.
On the way, they observed many practitioners of Blood Fiend Sect and Gold Sun Island quietly weeping as countless corpses floated in the channels of water between the various islands.
While some of the still floating corpses belonged to the Black Voodoo Cult and others belonged to the three great families, there were also many corpses which belonged to the Blood Fiend Sect and Gold Sun Island.
Under the dark gloomy sky, warship fragments, shards of blown up crystal war chariots, and pieces of flying type spirit artifacts floated atop the sea water, giving people a sense of desolation and bleakness.
“Uuu, uuu…”
Numerous people suppressed their cries as they attempted to weep soundlessly. They gathered together around their friends’ corpses and looked distraught with grief.
Many of them still couldn’t accept the truth.
The little boat carrying Qin Lie, Lang Xie, and Hu Yun traveled amidst the floating corpses whilst carefully avoiding the bodies of the voodoo insects which were still releasing poison as the group slowly made their way to the newly renamed Gold Sun Island.
The island itself was similarly covered with strewn corpses. There were also many seriously injured practitioners of Blood Fiend Sect still lying on the ground and slowly recovering.
Xue Li, Mo Lingye, Xue Moyan, and the rest of the family had all gathered in the biggest square on the island following the bloody battle.
The Blood Fiend Ten Elders, three Xing siblings, and Xiang Xi were all sitting next to them.
Upon arriving, Hu Yun stopped. He motioned for Qin Lie and Lang Xie to go over, and then sat himself down far away.
The sound of songs of mourning resonated from every corner of the island as if a ritual was being held to send away the dead.
Qin Lie and Lang Xie stepped into the square and quietly sat down beside Xiang Xi. Qin Lie gently consoled Xiang Xi. “Old Xiang, my condolences…”
“I’m fine.” Xiang Xi’s expression was somber, but a fire of vengeance burned inside his eyes. In a low voice, he said, “I’m already very pleased with the fact that Gold Sun Island managed to defend against the combined attack of Black Voodoo Cult and the three great families. To think that Gold Sun Island, which was originally only a little Black Iron rank power, could make it until today and defend against the four Silver rank powers! I feel nothing but pride!”
Qin Lie was a bit surprised.
“In the past, I always prevented the Xing Family brothers from embarking on the extreme path. I didn’t want them to become blinded by vengeance and begin a blood feud with the three great families because they would be like an egg striking a rock,” Xiang Xi quietly continued, “However, I have now realized that upon developing hatred, you will never forget it!”
“Everyone shouldn’t be too sad. If we want to establish ourselves in the Land of Chaos, there will be countless more fights like this in the future. No one can avoid these.” Mo Lingye gazed at the people around her as she spoke in a comforting voice and consoled everyone. “In fact, today’s result was much better that what I expected. Our losses can be accepted.”
She had expected that in this battle, the ten elders would have died.
She had originally believed that even if Blood Fiend Sect managed to survive the conflict, at least the greater half of its experts would have died.
But currently, the Blood Fiend Ten Elders were all still safe and sound, Xue Li was still alive, and the body of Blood Progenitor had not been lost. For her, this result already couldn’t be any better.
“If Duan Qianjie hadn’t destroyed Pu Ze’s Soul Altar in the beginning, the Blood Fiend Ten Elders could have died. In all honesty, without arrival of Jiang Zhuzhe, we wouldn’t have been able to match the Gongye brothers. And without his Blood Drinkers, our casualties would have been doubled. Then, if the eight god corpses hadn’t followed Qin Lie’s orders towards the end, we wouldn’t have been able to protect the body of the Blood Progenitor or our most valuable treasure, the Bloodthirsty Dragon.” Mo Lingye spoke quietly with a calm and peaceful tone, as she slowly stated the facts.
No one interrupted her as they all silently listened and pondered over her words.
Even Xue Li… chose to remain silent.
There was a deep hatred between him and Jiang Zhuzhe, but he still didn’t refute Mo Lingye when she stated the usefulness of Jiang Zhuzhe and his Blood Drinkers.
“Lingye, I’ll hand everything here over to you. I must go to the ultimate blood ground and cultivate in isolation for some time,” Xue Li suddenly said.
Mo Lingye focusedly looked at him and then gently nodded. “Indeed, merging with the body of the Blood Progenitor is the priority now. You should focus your attention and do it as soon as possible.”
Xue Li suddenly transformed into a streak of bloody light and left.
As everyone watched the disappearing streak of bloody light, they thought about the tribulations they had experienced during this fight and could all feel Xue Li’s depression.
A thousand years ago, Xue Li had been the most talented successor candidate in Blood Fiend Sect. A thousand years ago, he had been at the same level as Forefather Terminator Nan Zhengtian and had infinite potential.
But after Jiang Zhuzhe’s plotting and his imprisonment, Xue Li’s cultivation had not only not increased, it had decayed.
Then, one thousand years had quickly passed.
When he finally returned to the Land of Chaos, he discovered everything he knew had changed. Nan Zhengtian, who had originally been on the same level as him, had already became the invincible tyrant of this era.
After a thousand years of bitter cultivation, even his younger junior brothers, who used to only be able to deal with him through schemes and plots, had stepped into the middle stage of the Imperishable Realm and constructed the second layers of their Soul Altars.
Even nameless character like Guan Xian, who used to only be able to look up to him, had completely transformed, becoming an instructor of Black Voodoo Cult with a power of peak Nirvana Realm practitioners and was able to match him in combat.
Xue Li had realized that time had passed, but his own understanding had not deepened any further.
After this bloody conflict, he had finally understood that the current Land of Chaos was no longer the one he once knew.
If not for Qin Lie helping him find the body of the Blood Progenitor, Xue Li, without a physical body and with only half of his soul, wouldn’t even be able to stand for himself in the Land of Chaos.
However, even though he now possessed the body of Blood Progenitor, he was still unable to display all of its power due to the short period of time in which he had it.
As a result, he could only watch as Guan Xian, Pu Ze, Jiang Zhuzhe, and Gongye brothers—practitioners who used to have been nothing more than bugs in front of him—displayed their power before him in combat against each other.
It was unbearable for him!
Deep inside, he knew that he would never forget the oppression and humiliation that he had suffered today!
He knew that if he wanted to change everything and reverse his situation, that if he wanted to regain his dignity and pride, he could only attempt to fully merge with the body of Blood Progenitor as soon as possible!
That was his only hope!