556 The Clans and the Three Sects
Bai Shiquan looked at Qin Huai, whose expression remained unmoved, the mockery in his gaze intensifying.
“Truly a pawn…” he mused, observing Qin Huai’s indifferent demeanor. Likely, he was a death warrior, raised since childhood by the royal family. There was no value in recruiting him.
“What a pity,” Bai Shiquan lamented, shaking his head as he left Qin Huai’s side. He had initially sought Qin Huai to see if he could poach this young man, who seemed to have extraordinary vitality.
Qin Huai’s gaze swept over their surroundings, attempting to spot any familiar faces from Qingzhou. Recognizing someone could speed up his attack and minimize any trouble.
However, Qin Huai had no intention of forgoing the opportunity to acquire the invincible vajra blood. According to Kong Binghuang, not many people in Qingzhou possessed spirit stones.
Perhaps only a handful did. Considering that even Kong Binghuang, the master of Wuji Mountain, did not have one, it was clear that such stones were exceedingly rare in Qingzhou.
“My lord, there are far too many experts here this time,” Long Huixing cautioned, looking around them apprehensively. “It would be wiser for us to stay inconspicuous. Once someone seizes the cultivation spot at the heart of the Golden Spirit Temple, a golden spirit auspicious sign will appear. Even by basking in the light of the surrounding trees, we can cleanse our essence and fuse our spirit blood.”
“Do you mean to say that once inside the Golden Spirit Temple, one cannot be attacked from the outside?” Qin Huai asked.
“I seem to remember reading something to that effect…” Long Huixing scratched his head, hesitant to confirm.
As they conversed, a commotion stirred in the surrounding forest. Qin Huai noted that numerous martial artists had begun to retreat, some even turned and left.
Following their gaze, he spotted four individuals, clad in plain robes, approaching the Golden Spirit Temple. They varied in appearances, yet shared a unique feature. Each had nine slender, dark blue stripes beneath their eyes, shimmering like an unconventional rouge adornment.
“Who…” Qin Huai trailed off.
“Fuzhou, Heaven Mountain, the Ying family, hereditary Nine Supremes King,” Long Huixing identified, recognition flaring in his eyes.
“Which of the eight royal clans does this group belong to?” Qin Huai questioned, watching them carefully.
Long Huixing paused before he replied, “In the Nine Supremes clan, the purer an expert’s bloodline, the more lives they have. They can survive up to nine times.”
At this, Qin Huai’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Previously, I speculated that the Sacred Heart Sect’s blood heart technique was derived from the members of the Nine Supremes clan,” he commented, musing over the new information.
“The woman in the center of the three must be the one with the purest bloodline of the current generation. She’s known as the Fourth Generation Fairy.” Long Huixing seemed well-versed with the current affairs.
Suddenly, he pointed to the other side of Qin Huai where an elderly man and a young man were approaching. Both were tall but grotesquely ugly. Even the worldly Qin Huai found himself recoiling at their sight.
They had thick eyebrows that resembled brush strokes hanging high above their hairlines, disproportionately large eyes with minuscule pupils, wide and lengthy lips, and bulbous noses. Even more unsettling were the two uneven, horn-like bumps on their heads.
The pair’s smile sent shivers down the spines of onlookers. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their portraits could frighten children into silence or ward off evil spirits.
“This is the Qiong Qi family from the Qiong clan of Barren State’s northern lands,” Long Huixing identified, scrunching his brows at their sight. “This clan is odd, fond of bullying the good. Hence, it’s an exile for bandits and felons in many parts of the Barren State. There are incessant killings every day.”
“The older one seems to be a guardian emissary, while the younger one appears to be the third young master of the Qiong family, the current Patriarch’s third son,” he explained further. “Despite their unappealing appearance, the Qiong Qi family is formidable and possesses a rather terrifying ability. Besides cultivation, they can augment their realm by consuming other living beings.”
Qin Huai was taken aback at this revelation. “Isn’t that the characteristic of the Sacred Heart’s cultivation technique?”
“Indeed. That’s why the Sacred Heart Sect Master is regarded as divine,” Long Huixing confirmed. “The blood heart technique he developed has incorporated the innate abilities of the top demons from the eight royal clans.”
With a sigh, Long Huixing added, “It’s regrettable that they’ve strayed from the righteous path. Nowadays, many of the Sacred Heart Sect’s followers have become human-shaped Qiong Qi.”
“Is the cultivation speed of the Qiong Qi clan as rapid as the Sacred Heart disciples?” Qin Huai asked, intrigued.
“Absolutely not. Their conversion rate of blood food into cultivation is slow, and every time they use their divine ability, they need substantial rest before they can use it again,” Long Huixing clarified. “Therefore, the Qiong Qi clan is very selective about their blood food. The good thing is there’s no risk of Qi deviation.”
He continued, “However, this is not the case for the Sacred Heart Sect followers. According to our years of observation, although the evil cult members of the Sacred Heart Sect progress quickly, only ten percent of them live past forty years of age, and only ten percent of those make it to eighty.”
As Qin Huai listened to Long Huixing’s revelations about the Sacred Heart Sect’s secrets, the shadowy figure of the Sacred Heart Sect’s Sect Master appeared in his mind once again.
Following Long Huixing’s explanation, Qin Huai started to piece things together. The surnames of these eight royal clans seemed quite arbitrary. Often, they’d use a word that represented their race as their surname, such as Bai Shiquan of the white tiger clan, Long Huixing of the dragon clan, and the Ying family of the nine supremes clan. The only exception seemed to be the Tang family of the Kun Peng clan from Qingzhou.
As they conversed, representatives from the three human sects began to make their appearances. The six clans and three sects that Long Huixing had mentioned earlier were all present now.
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