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After returning to the Wanxiang Sect, Liu Ming was also given a truth serum and revealed the true events of that night.
It turned out that Lei Kuo had bribed Liu Ming with ten thousand mid-grade Soul Crystals to help him cover up the lie.
Similarly, other Inner Sect disciples present that night also received Lei Kuo's bribes, helping him conceal the fact that he wasn't there.
Moreover, another matter shocked and deeply pained Lei Heng.
Lei Xiang was missing!
When Qin Wushuang and the others rushed to the scene of Lei Kun's incident, according to the mountain guard disciples' report, Lei Xiang suddenly left the sect.
"I fear that our Elder of Discipline, Lei Xiang, might also have colluded with the foreign Black Blood Clan," Qin Wushuang remarked with a chillingly cold expression upon hearing this news.
So, the matter temporarily came to a halt. Lei Kun was buried, and Lei Kuo's body was taken by Lei Heng to be chopped into pieces to feed dogs.
The Wanxiang Sect also issued a statement to Coastal State, declaring that Lei Xiang, the Elder of Discipline, had colluded with the foreign Black Blood Clan and defected from the sect.
Within the statement, they also detailed information about the Black Blood Clan to warn other forces to guard the cemeteries of their predecessors and ancestors.
The stronger a Soul Martial Artist's power, the stronger their body's resilience, making it less likely to decay.
According to Wei Wushuang's estimation, this Black Blood Clan might have fled to Coastal State, gravely injured for some reason, desperate to use the Blood Nourishing Corpse to restore itself and heal its wounds.
The appearance of such a foreign race like the Black Blood Clan in the weak regions of the human territory was by no means good news.
Instantly, the entire Coastal State was stirred by the Wanxiang Sect's statement.
What shocked the others was not the defection of the Elder of Discipline but the matter of foreign races.
Many in Coastal State, like Lin Qian and Lei Qian, had no idea that beings other than humans existed in this world.
For a time, the whole Coastal State buzzed with discussions about foreign races.
After all, the people of Coastal State had always believed that only humans existed in this world.
In a town outside a small city under the jurisdiction of Wanxiang Sect in Coastal State, there were two figures in an inconspicuous farmhouse.
Among them, a pale-skinned man with ghostly silver hair angrily looked at the elderly man in front of him, saying, "You're utterly useless, as expected of your grandson!"
"Must everything be blamed on my poor grandson?" Lei Xiang also stood up abruptly, glaring at the silver-haired man in front, "If you had explained more clearly beforehand, could such a mistake have occurred? You foreign race!"
"Now, my existence is known to everyone in Coastal State, making it far more inconvenient to act than in the past. I never expected that even in such a backwater, a remarkable figure would emerge." The silver-haired man paced back and forth in the room, anxious, "Time is running out. If I don't recover by the time that relic emerges, it would be a complete waste."
"This can all be blamed on Wei Wushuang and Lin Qian, that master and disciple pair!" Lei Xiang's eyes showed a hint of viciousness as he grit his teeth.
Upon hearing these two names, the silver-haired man also displayed frustration, "It's inconvenient, truly inconvenient."
Suddenly, the silver-haired man's eyes lit up, as though struck by an idea, and he urgently asked Lei Xiang, "In Coastal State, have you never encountered the Sea Clan?"
"Sea Clan?" Lei Xiang looked a bit confused and slowly shook his head, "Regarding races other than the human clan, I only became aware of them after meeting you. As for any Sea Clan, I've never seen them."
"Impossible, near such a vast ocean, how could there be no Sea Clan? After all, wherever there's sea, there will be the Sea Clan!" The silver-haired man's eyes lit up with a sinister smile, "There's only one possibility, near your Coastal State, there's a sacred land of the Sea Clan!"
"The Sea Clan's sacred land is where the bodies of successive royal families are stored. The Sea Clan cannot approach that direction." The silver-haired man said this, then chuckled lowly, "As soon as I find the Sea Clan's sacred land near Coastal State, my recovery will be imminent."
"Entering the sea?" Lei Xiang stared wide-eyed at the silver-haired man in front of him, his expression somewhat hesitant.
Seeing Lei Xiang's demeanor, the silver-haired man scoffed, "Don't worry, I only have one Soul Device suitable for surviving in the sea. I'm going alone, just wait here and await my return."
After he spoke, the silver-haired man covered himself entirely in a black robe and left the farmhouse, leaving Lei Xiang alone.
"Damn you, Lin Qian, for daring to kill my grandson!" Lei Xiang remained in the farmhouse, clenching his fists, faint sparks of electricity crackling around him.
At this moment, his gaze was like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, poised to strike without hesitation once the opportunity arose.
Maoqing Mountain, mountain peak residence.
After returning to the courtyard, Wei Wushuang placed the emptied Crystal Bottle on the table.
"Anyone related to Lei Xiang, even Lei Heng and Lei Qian, has already taken it, and nothing was discovered," Wei Wushuang shook his head, saying to his disciple in front of him.
Lin Qian nodded silently, speculating, "It seems that only Lei Xiang and Lei Kuo, that grandfather and grandson duo, were involved."
"And one more thing, I heard that during the competition, you brought a whole army of Ninth Level Nirvana Realm Soul Martial Artists, even three thousand men?" Wei Wushuang looked at his disciple in front of him, frowning.
"An ancient Soul Device from within the relic, capable of temporarily summoning a puppet army, discovered along with those potions," Lin Qian prepared an explanation, seemingly expecting his master to ask about this.
Wei Wushuang looked at Lin Qian with skepticism, clearly not believing such an ancient Soul Device existed.
"And where is this Soul Device now?"
"It broke after one use."
"..."
Clearly, Wei Wushuang did not believe his disciple's words; such a poor excuse was apparent upon hearing it.
However, this disciple, Lin Qian, troubled Wei Wushuang greatly, leaving him feeling that having such an outstanding disciple was, at times, a source of concern.
"Regardless, you won't tell me the truth. Anyway, when do you plan to break through to the Nirvana Realm?" Wei Wushuang then asked, looking at Lin Qian.
Breaking through to the Nirvana Realm was a significant event for any Soul Martial Artist.
Moreover, this disciple before him had completed an unprecedented twelve rounds of Nirvana!
"Tonight, I can cultivate once more to the Ninth Level of the Shape Origin Realm, then break through to the Nirvana Realm." Saying this, Lin Qian's expression held some anticipation.
The Nirvana Realm, already beyond the Basic Three Realms, was entirely another world.
What kind of level would twelve rounds of Nirvana bring?
"Ye Xin, having just broken through to the Nirvana Realm, could already defeat renowned Ninth Level Nirvana Realm powerhouses and is hailed as the next female Sword Saint."
"For such a talent, the Shengtian Sect will definitely have disciples target Ye Xin in the Middle Ages relic. You should enhance your strength before then; don't fail to protect your fiancée."
Wei Wushuang's words caused Lin Qian to burst into laughter, "If such a thing ever happened, I guarantee none of the Shengtian Sect's disciples would make it out alive."
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